#It also kinda reads like a statement tbh

[the-magpie-archives]

so i saw your post about finding a dead body and having had even weirder things happen to you... care to elaborate any?

I do indeed care to elaborate! To start off with, all of this is true, but whether or not you believe it, it's pretty interesting.

So for a long time my friends and I have joked that I'm cursed because wherever I am weird stuff tends to happen. Sometimes this is just normal mundane odd things, weird coincidences or accidental predictions, but sometimes it's worse.

On that particular day I mentioned in my previous post I'd just started season 2 of tma and I made a silly joke about kinning Jon, thought nothing of it! This was back when I was in college so I went in for my classes, everything was fine.

Back then myself and a friend would walk around the city every day after class until around pretty late at night, which in hindsight was quite dangerous but we survived so how bad could it really have been!

Anyways, that day we went into Paddington Station to grab a coffee and upon entering saw a very dead man slumped on a bench. I won't go into detail but it was very clear there was nothing we could do for him. I'm as anti cop as the next person but in that situation there's not much else you can really do, so we found an officer, told him what was going on, and carried on going to get coffee. It sounds dismissive but we really had done everything we could do.

That was one of the most memorable times I've heard the 'Inspector Sans please report' announcement. There was never any investigation or report on the death, the guy looked homeless and like he'd overdosed so that's just not the kind of death that's newsworthy in a big city.

We decided to carry on with our usual daily walk, not really wanting to hang around the station after that. We ended up playing a fun little manifestation game as we walked, in which you basically decide an intention and walk whichever way you feel is right in the hopes of manifesting what you want. We weren't doing it seriously and my friend said we should try to find a celebrity, so I agreed, and we started. Neither of us said it to eachother at the time but we both felt uneasy about it.

We walked through Hyde Park and came out in Knightsbridge where we carried on walking. At this point the unease reached a peak point and we both admitted to eachother that we felt like something terrible was going to happen. Every car stopping and every person shouting felt like it would be the start of something awful, but what could we do except carry on?

We did carry on, for quite a while too. The feeling changed though, and i couldn't for the life of me shake the feeling that we were being watched, being followed, perhaps even compelled. I'm pretty big on spiritual stuff and I've been ghost hunting for years and this energy was NOT one that I liked at all. My friend was dead set on a certain route, down a particular street, and i DESPERATELY wanted to go that way too, but it just felt wrong. I had no reason to want to go that way, there was nothing interesting there!

At that point I stopped and told her I couldn't say why but that we should turn around. She really didn't want to, and i was worried we'd end up outright arguing in the street, but eventually she agreed. The second we turned round and started walking it started to rain. An insistent, heavy shower. It was weird, but that feeling of being watched left almost as soon as we were off that road.

It was around sunset by then, and we grabbed another coffee before splitting off to head home. My friend left to catch a bus, and i went to try and find the station. It had gotten dark, and Google maps said that Green Park Station was only a couple of minutes away, so I headed towards it, but my GPS was screwed up and I ended up taking a weird loop through the park itself and around the outside of The Ritz before I actually got there.

In that maybe 10 minutes of walking around alone, in the dark, even more strange things happened! For a start, in the park I nearly bumped into someone who was loudly chatting to their friend who just happened to be called Basira! I accidentally followed a cop to a little side entrance of the Ritz, and then managed to arrive at the station just in time to witness the aftermath of a bus accident!

Apologies for the long ramble, but that is the full story of that particular dead body, it's one of many adventures of the sort, and is definitely the sort of thing that made tma even more fun to listen to than it already is!

[dumplingsfordays]

Reading 30 Strales and omg Blade smelling like citrus sounds amazing. I've been playing for about 3 weeks and after fulling catching up on the trailblazer quests I was like dang blade kills people a lot right, he probably smells like blood 24/7 that's so gross. All this to say... reject logic, I agree that blade smells like citrus. Do you have thoughts on what any of the others would smell like?

what the hsr men smell like

ft. blade, gepard, jing yuan, dan heng, luocha, and welt

cw!: mentions of blood, no pronouns for reader mentioned, implied relationship, cuddling, swearing, super fluffy :)

note - thank you so much for reaching out to me omg 🥺 i reject logic too so that's how the whole citrus thing came to be ajsjdk. also i know absolutely nothing about colognes/fragrances so i'm sorry if i mess some of these up ;-; hope you're having a great day/night though pookie <3

and as always, thank you for reading :)

˗ˏˋ ★ ˊˎ˗

blade

~ as mentioned above, def smells like citrus and bergamot.

~ sometimes you can catch a little metallic-y whiff of (cough cough) def not blood (cough cough), but it never lasts for long - when he hugs you, the smell of oranges invades your senses like a light summer breeze~

~ and don't get me started on how obsessed he is w this scent. if he stays somewhere for even 1-2 days, you know he's bringing along his 3 freakin citrus-scented candles!!

~ please run your fingers thru his hair when you're hanging out or cuddling. please. he will melt from headpats and your fingers will smell like his shampoo for the rest of the day, and since you love the scent of gentle lime, why not?

˗ˏˋ ★ ˊˎ˗

gepard

~ omg this man!! he's totally giving cashmere + hot cocoa for some reason??? he doesn't really use cologne/fragrances and prefers his natural scent, but does use cashmere and vanilla body wash + shampoo.

~ like sure, after a busy day at work or training he'll kinda smell like sweat but will immediately take a shower when he gets home. he hates being sweaty and thinks it's icky if he does for too long-

~ and when you snuggle up to him for cuddle time on a day off, you just wanna stay there forever bc his scent envelops you like a blanket on freezing winter nights <3

~ overall very comforting and warm, just like Gepard himself!! (cries in human heater vibes)

˗ˏˋ ★ ˊˎ˗

jing yuan

~ musk + cinnamon + a little bit of spice, and def uses cologne.

~ actually wants to smell nice and puts in the effort!! changes his sheets, washes his clothes, showers every day (but washes his hair every 3 days or so bc haircare)

~ speaking of haircare, this man's big on it. most of his haircare products smell like the aforementioned musk and cinnamon, but he uses this one cream that smells like cloves and you freakin adore it. sometimes you borrow it so that whenever you're going out and he's busy with his big boy general duties, it feels like he's with u <3

~ and ughhhh his bedroom smells like him so whenever you guys have le cuddle time you fall asleep almost immediately. ofc he eventually does too (bc he loves how u smell too pookie, don't tell him i said that though he would kill me aksjskd) and you're so warm and soft and how could he not fall asleep??

˗ˏˋ ★ ˊˎ˗

dan heng

~ very ocean-y (salty?), small hints of eucalyptus and cypress as well. when he uses cologne he uses very, very little, but he actually has 2 separate colognes, one for the ocean-y cypress, and the other for the eucalyptus

~ i feel like this is kinda a bold statement but he uses bath bombs. like he gets a bath bomb that smells like mint, gets in the bathtub w it, and glides his thumbs over its surface bc he likes the texture-

~ he might not be the cleanest man in the universe, but he sure does smell like it!! something about eucalyptus and cypress and mint and a hint of ocean breeze is chillingly refreshing and tbh you kinda dig it :D

~ mornings w dan heng. omfg they are ethereal bc he literally smells angelic??? like a gentle freshness yk and the pillows smell like him too so lazy mornings are def a thing that you guys love sharing <3

˗ˏˋ ★ ˊˎ˗

luocha

~ oooo he's kinda a wild card imo, but personally, i think that he smells like jasmine + honey (not just bc of his idle + technique!! pinky promise)

~ he lowkey smells a little like freshly-cut grass, very light n refreshing. however, jasmine takes center stage, and if you really bury your face in his long-ass hair, you can catch a whiff of chamomile :))

~ super big on herbal teas and honey as well - i hc that he brings a water bottle w him that's just green tea n honey so when you're close to his face (cuddling, hugging, etc) the honey adds this sweetness that blends super well w the aforementioned chamomile + jasmine <3

~ like jing yuan, super involved in haircare!! he does use less products, but you still freakin adore this chamomile shampoo that he uses. avid believer in aromatherapy, prob uses essential oils (not for curing cancer ofc)

˗ˏˋ ★ ˊˎ˗

welt

~ coffee and amberwood!! both are deep and rich scents and he probably uses cologne in very small amounts aksjdks

~ coffee addict and the scent faintly lingers, so the amberwood is really more prominent, but overall i promise he doesn't smell like dust or smth, he's not that old he takes good care of himself :))

~ burns incense in his room bc it helps him relax and concentrate on his drawings, so he does have a little resin smell to him, but you don't mind bc it's actually quite comforting. he once almost caused a fire bc he dropped a lit match onto the carpet but we don't talk about that-

~ loves to hug you so whenever he does, you always feel so cozy and loved and aaaaa ya'll are so cute i can't <3 and since he's pretty tall he sometimes rests his head on top of yours and hugs you from behind like that and you melt immediately bc it's like a blanket!! but smells super nice!!

˗ˏˋ ★ ˊˎ˗

[feroluce]

how do u imagine natasha + sampo’s relationship?

I. Feel a little bad for leaving this in my inbox as long as I did, especially since I said in this post I could write a whole essay on them. But then when I tried to actually answer this, I realized ah shit, I can't really articulate what I think of them at all OTL

(so have a bajillion words of meta analysis of them instead fklajklasjf)

Just! Sampo is very mysterious figure, and we know so little of his background and his motivations! So it's really difficult to get a solid read on some of his relationships with other characters. Regardless, I do think that Natasha is perhaps the one he's closest with, and that she is the one person who knows him the most intimately in all of Belobog.

And a lot of it IS hard to pin down because of Sampo's slippery nature, but also because it's like. If you look at just Natasha's dialogues about Sampo, it doesn't really look like much. It only becomes more meaningful when compared to how everyone else talks about him.

Most other characters just comment on what Sampo does, as in his observable actions that are easy to see on the surface or from a distance.

Natasha is one of the very, very few that actually speaks to Sampo's personality or philosophy. Like she not only is able to describe a certain behavior of his, but she's able to explain the why behind it.

At least part of this is probably that they spend so much time together- Hook even comments on it during her companion quest.

And tbh I don't really think it needs more proof or anything with such a flat out statement like that, but this is actually further supported by the fact that Seele is the only other character in Belobog to sorta-kinda comment on Sampo's personality; if Sampo were hanging around the clinic with Natasha all day, Seele would probably be the person he would see second-most there. Of the dialogues posted further up in this post, Hook obviously sees him all the time, but it's not always in the clinic, and besides she's still very young...she wouldn't have the same read on him an adult would. Luka avoids the clinic whenever he can because he's worried about taking up Natasha's valuable time. And the Landau siblings aren't even present in Boulder Town until after the Stellaron is quieted.

Seele, on the other hand, is extremely loyal and devoted to Natasha, and seems to worry about her a lot. She doesn't have the same reservations as Luka, and it would feel right to see her in the clinic frequently, taking orders and missions and trying to make sure Natasha doesn't run herself in the ground. So it would make sense for her to see a lot of Sampo if he's always in there, too, enough that she would have things to say about his personality, whether she likes that or not haha.

Of course we know from Sampo's lines that it's not that he's sick, he's just reporting back to Natasha. Sampo not only smuggles in supplies across the border like what most people know him for, he's also Natasha's source of intel.

Bringing back intel doesn't necessarily have to involve a lot of conversation though, especially because it would make more sense for Sampo to be turning in written reports. It decreases the chance of Natasha mishearing/misunderstanding something or having to rely on memory alone, neither of which are really things you probably want to be doing when bad intel can mean the difference between life and death in her circumstances. So I do really wonder what it is Sampo does in the clinic all day haha. Given that he's a big believer in the power of small talk bringing in big clients, it's entirely possible Sampo is just in there being chatty, happily making conversation and keeping Natasha company most of the time...which is kinda cute. He also really could just be talking shop, too, of course- Sampo does a lot of work for Natasha, and I don't think it'd be a stretch to assume she's his main client. There's probably a lot to discuss about supply quotas, incoming intel, scheduled drops, etc.

My favorite option, though, is actually based on one of Sampo's options from the main quest, where he says:

Because like! The way he says this, the way he specifies that this is his opinion, but no one seems to care what he thinks? And how he calls them stubborn in particular? It really sounds like Sampo has been trying to get Wildfire to operate in a different direction. And if you look up the exact definition of "artless," you get this

which very much fits Sampo, and how he does things. He has guile and deception down to an art form. Sampo goes on to call Wildfire "do-gooders," but then cautions the trailblazer not to underestimate them because of that- indicating that Sampo sees that type of philosophy as something naive, or at least just ineffective. Something that you would underestimate a person for.

And the person Sampo associates with the most in Wildfire, the one he's always seen with, the one who would hold the most sway to change the modus operandi of the organization is...Natasha.

So I wonder if Sampo has been trying, possibly for years now, to get Natasha to see what he thinks of as reason, and start playing dirty to survive. I wonder if that's what he spends so much time in the clinic for, is because he does care, and he wants her and the rest of them to live, and he has been trying to convince her to go with his way of doing things, but Natasha has been refusing him, refusing to compromise her morals.

Because we know from some readables and from the general Vibe, both up on the surface and down below, that things were getting pretty dire. Rivet Town has fallen. The Silvermane Guards are being whittled down and broken. The Fragmentum was right on everyone's doorstep, and I'm sure that if the Astral Express hadn't arrived- and that if Sampo hadn't set the stage so perfectly, if he hadn't played his part just so- then all of Belobog would have eventually been snuffed out. Sampo had to have known it was happening. He must have known the end was upon them.

He doesn't even have a stake in Belobog- he's not from here. He could, assumingly, call it quits and leave when shit got tough by whatever means got him there in the first place.

And I'm sure Sampo wants to save all of Belobog, but I think he's particularly endeared by Natasha. He famously phrases his view of Elation as "true happiness always entails the manifestation of the dignity of mankind." And like. Who else embodies that so much as her?

Maybe it is a little vague and up to interpretation, but I feel like Natasha is FULL of that kind of dignity. She has been doing this since before the blockade. She willingly chose to stay in the Underground where she could do the most good. She has seen so, so much death and you can see how it weighs on her; she's become bitter, and wary, and weary. She has it out for the Guards (understandable), and she openly taunts Gepard and goes right for his throat when he shows up in Boulder Town, ten years too late, trying to help with the Fragmentum.

Natasha even seems to have given up any belief she may have once had. She's completely lost faith in Qlipoth.

All of this, and yet she still chooses to be kind. She still chooses to help people. There is something immensely admirable in all of that.

And I feel like you can see how much Sampo admires her in just how often he thinks of her, especially when someone needs help. Sampo smokebombs everyone and needs to get them somewhere safe in the Underground? He takes them to Natasha. Svarog is about to fucking kill everyone? Go get Natasha. He finds the trailblazer passed out in an alleyway? He carries them to Natasha. The trailblazer is seeing weird shit out in the Fragmentum? Recommend they go get a check up. Specifically from Natasha.

It's a little silly, but I think you can also see some of this when Sampo is being melodramatic about being caught red-handed in the museum event. He echoes a very important sentiment to Natasha and Wildfire;

And the mission where this ideology was displayed strongest was titled, "To Rot or To Burn."

(Hell, in the dream sequence of Penacony- regardless of whether that dream bubble came from Sampo or Sparkle, it had to be informed by Sampo's tales of Belobog. Sparkle has never been there herself. And the kind trashcan that immediately helps you and sets you on the right path, that tries to rally everyone together, the only one with a name so clearly and obviously taken from someone Sampo knew in Belobog? Is Shatana- an anagram of Natasha. Even from a meta perspective, they have the same VA. No other trashcan there gets that treatment. None.)

I think they have the same goals, and even hold some of the same views. Natasha's are much more obvious, but still. Sampo says this about Belobog's circumstances:

And he says this as though it should be obvious common sense. That when things are rough, you share and make sure everyone has enough. I think they both share this belief, it's just that they disagree on how to go about making things even. Natasha believes in rallying people for the cause and giving as much of herself as she can to make up for whatever people lack. Sampo believes that if some dipshit with more money than what they need falls for his bullshit and he gets to spread it around? Well hey, that sounds like a whole lot of their own fault.

Natasha is definitely aware of this, and she has no problem threatening Sampo whenever she thinks he's stepping out of line.

She keeps him on a very short leash, which like. Yeah no that's valid fjkdlsajfdklj

Even so, the way she talks about him, like... Maybe it's just me, and my rose-colored glasses, but she doesn't seem to dislike him nearly as much as she could? She kind of just. Says these things as statements about him, without any real vitriol behind them. This is just kind of how he is. She even seems to have a sense of humor about it.

And again! She has so much more to say about him than almost any other character.

I'd like to think part of her...affection? of sorts? for him is simple camaraderie. Circumstances are dire. Past, present, and future are all bleak. Things like that deepen bonds with your foxhole buddies. Sampo is dependent on Natasha for work and pay and a place to get away from the Guards. Natasha is dependent on Sampo for food and medicine and life-saving supplies. They both heavily rely on each other in this harsh environment, and they have a really nice back-and-forth that I appreciate with how they help each other out by owing favors as payment.

And the other part, I'd like to think actually IS because she knows him very well- maybe not things like his past, but she knows some of his personality and beliefs, and finds them agreeable enough. She even has the audacity to call him a poor liar at one point- Sampo! Of all people! Known by someone well enough to be caught out as a poor liar! He's either intentionally leading her on and letting her think she's caught him, or Natasha just really is that good. Neither would surprise me tbh

I think Natasha is also just uniquely prepared to understand Sampo, and is able to see his better sides without letting her judgement be clouded by his slimy manner. She's able to appreciate that his actions ARE extremely helpful, regardless of how he does them.

Even as she acknowledges that he isn't always trustworthy, she does still choose to rely on him and give him chances. She was pleasantly surprised by him here, but she still chose to trust him with this in the first place. She never treats him harshly, and she never seems to bear any kind of grudge with him.

But my favorite example of Natasha being able to understand Sampo? My favorite is this. This one little throwaway line, that didn't even involve him, wasn't even about him. I feel like Natasha is capable of knowing and understanding Sampo on a deeper level than most people can, solely because of this.

She gets it.

(As a fun bonus: In the current trashcan event, there's a simple mechanic where you get one trial character for the initial battle. Then, for the harder stage, you get that same trial character, plus a couple of extras. This is true for every Proof- except for Sampo's. In his harder stage, you use Asta, Black Swan, and Luocha. But in his initial stage, in an event all about friendship and relationships...)

[rangercorpstherapy]

There is a post about ableism in the sorcerer/siege of Macindaw books. I'm not going to reply directly to the poster because I don't necessarily think they're wrong, but there's a bigger problem I want to touch on without derailing their post.

The post by @bronze-oakleaf Sorry, but John Flannagan isn't an ableist for describing disabled people as disfigured, Will is. John, although in his usual hit-and-miss style, goes out of his way to show us that the people Will and others are afraid of are not monsters. It's been a while since I read these books, but I can remember there being a few backstories and instances in which it's made clear that Malcolm’s people are just very normal people who have fun, interests and hobbies and love each other deeply.

Will's apprehension of disabled people is very clearly presented as a character flaw. John is a children's author and cannot go into depth about how monstrosity isn't physical but something that manifests in the soul a la Victor Hugo's Hunchback of the Notre Dame. Still, I don't think any child (at least I didn't) finished reading Sorcerer and Siege thinking that disabled people were any less deserving of respect and love than others and Will kinda had a point there in the beginning.

I think the only example of bigotry where there is a high chance of it reflecting John's real-life views is the way he characterises Romani and Sinti in that horrible short story. Without going into depth the key difference here is that not a single person in the story thinks that Alyss and Will are doing or thinking anything wrong. Nuance, even if it wasn't much, visible in Sorcerer and Siege is missing.

Now I have that out of the way, this post is actually about character flaws. I'm not trying to be smug by pulling the historical accuracy card, but honestly, Will's views of disabled people are one of the few ways John established the world of Ranger's Apprentice as a Medieval society. I don't know how to say this without sounding kind of like an asshole, but if you want to critique Ranger's Apprentice flaws you also have to apply the same critique to the characters within Ranger's Apprentice. Separating art from the artists in this case doesn't really work because the art exists within the context the artist created. I don't think we have to be overly critical of characters because otherwise we're bad people and not woke, but viewing your favourite characters as flawed makes them inherently more interesting. I think viewing Will as an enforcer of feudal oppression (cop), extremely privileged (has an education and can bear arms) and classist with a very obvious disdain for those who are below him (this man should be nicer to farmers who can't read) is way more interesting than a perfect boy who fell victim his author's bigoted world view. Will, and all Rangers tbh, think they're better than other people. Rangers are smart they aren't like the uneducated masses who think wizards are real and the devil will claim your soul if you sleep lying down. But are they really?

Will is confronted with the fact he is like everyone else. He's also afraid of the “dreadful caricatures of normal people”, but why? The treatment of disabled people in Medieval society was very complex, and without getting into the nitty gritty, most of the cultural feelings towards them weren't because they were 'just ugly' but relied heavily on superstition. Will might be educated, but he still grew up in a society where disabled people were viewed as cursed, their ailment a deserving divine punishment. Him not being confronted with his hypocrisy in these books is the true moral failing of John to be honest.

Now to my final statement: pleasepleaselpleasepleaseplae let the Ranger's Apprentice characters be bad people. Because they ARE. I guess this post was a very elaborate way of saying Will isn't an UWU soft boy but a grown man with hairy balls. So are Halt, Gilan, Horace, Crowley (I didn't forget the time you enslaved a man king) and Duncan (Truly truly sick a twisted individual for sitting back and doing nothing as his daughter was sold into slavery because 'We need everyone here'. That wasn't a convenient plot point so Halt could save the day but misogyny). This doesn't mean Will isn't/can't be trans (because he is) or Cralt isn't canon (it is) for the sake of historical accuracy. I just want to say that these characters are all very privileged and classist individuals with many flaws thanks to the society they were raised in, which makes them more interesting. Remember be gay AND do crime.

[tyetknot]

I thought you were joking when you said that the Farrar's books were outdated but holy shittt, even for 1970s wicca/witchcraft those guys were like full gender heterosexual white magic ye harm none thing, I was also seeing their interview were christian kids interview them, and boy it is hard to watch, but on to my question kskk, do you know if they changed later down?,like Janet seems to be okay sometimes,I can't find anything of them on their "controversial views" except their later polyamorous relationship (wich come to think of it I would love to hear their gender rationale on that), and also, how do you personally (if you do so) reconcile this type of author?, like there is no doubt that they are important in craft history, but now they kinda do more harm than good.

Hi Anon! I'm sorry if you've been waiting for a bit, you know how Tumblr is.

So one thing it's important to remember is: back in the 1970s and 80s a religion where women run the show was very progressive. Feminism got bolted onto Wicca pretty quickly once it hit the American West Coast and Starhawk wrote The Spiral Dance. Things like worshipping a goddess who didn't need a man around to tell her what to do were really unusual for the time. All this hippie-dippy shit like being naked in your rituals and such was far out, man, not like those totally square and boring Christians.

The problem is that, like many older people who were once cool and progressive, they just kind of stopped where they were in the 70s and 80s and didn't really......well, progress past that point. This leads to things like statements like that one in A Witches' Bible where they think that actually gay people are perfectly OK in ritual (this was a bit of a controversial point at the time) as long as they act like their biological gender, which is hilarious to us in 2024 because they obviously conflate being gay with being trans in some bizarre fashion. This was progressive for the time. It comes across as incredibly ignorant today. And of course, if their ideas did change, well, the book is already out there, people are reading it, and you can't go back in time and change something that's already been published. You can add notes or amendments to further editions, but I don't believe they ever did that, and Stewart Farrar died in the early aughts.

I find the polyamory thing to be pretty cringe, NGL, because I am a judgmental and suspicious piece of shit and think that an awful lot of the time polyamory is a tool used to make younger women sexually available to older men - good Lord, the age difference between Stewart and Janet - and that's very distasteful.

In my opinion the Farrars are probably the stodgiest and most conservatively-written books you'll find from that time period, and they're a good example of what coven-based Alexandrian Wicca looked like at that time, but there were a lot of more relaxed writers out there at the time and LOTS more a few years later. My primary complaint with A Witches' Bible is rather specifically that asinine Oak King / Holly King thing which they made up entirely and then ineptly shoehorned into the Wheel of the Year, where it just doesn't fucking work, and then everyone else just kind of went with it. No! It sucks and is bad, don't do it!

Do I think they do more harm than good? No, I don't. I think that anyone fairly new to Wicca shouldn't read this book first thing out the gate because it sets a lot of very unrealistic expectations, and because it's pretty old - Eight Sabbats for Witches was published in 1981, which makes it a few years older than me, and The Witches' Way in 1984, which makes it a year younger than me, and TBH there's much newer and fresher material being published every year. I would much sooner recommend someone like Thorn Mooney to new person interested in traditional Wicca.

[mybedroomceilingsbored]

spewing whatever shit pops into my head for all my fav tma characters

ALRIGHT babes a whole entire six people wanted to see my opinions on characters so far (i just finished #103), but i don't rlly have a direction to take with this. i was thinking about giving them ratings but idek what i'd rate them ON lmao. SO!

Jon-ohoho he's so DRY and so FUNNY and somebody needs to bitch slap this man. how am i supposed to get a goofy workplace drama if he's so genre-aware?? i don't like him THAT much, but honestly the whole show would be a lot more boring without his paranoia. also was his skin rlly so bad that it took an entire MONTH to get him thoroughly moisturized? ur body is a temple, johnny boy :(

Martin-omg he's such a bean. i relate to this man a lil too much for comfort-he's bullied waaay too much by absolutely everyone in this podcast. if he reads too many statements and turns into another jon or smth i'll SWIM to the uk specifically to yell at the writers, this man is to be PROTECTED at all costs! also he SOUNDS like a fucking redhead. you can hear it in his voice. and it shows very clearly in his poetry.

Tim-hehehe ICON. s1 finale tim was honestly the greatest thing ever, the way he's changed is absolutely breaking my heart. prancing into the office during a worm attack and immediately sitting down on 20 cans of CO2 sounds EXACTLY like smth i'd do, honestly props to him for staying so calm during the whole thing. and the fact that he's fucking all these cops for information is just *chef's kiss* tbh, his entire EXISTENCE is a power move. he's got a statement coming up and i'm kinda terrified. he's been so.. depressingly realistic lately and i'm scared for him :(

Sasha/Not Sasha-sasha seemed so sweet, i wish i'd gotten to know her better before the switch! all i remember from her first vocal appearance is staring into space afterwards, trying to remember how i used to pronounce 'calliope'. i feel like her death/switch didn't hold as much gravity as it should've-i rlly wish i'd seen more of her! also, the way not sasha was the LEAST suspicious to jon-that monster's got acting CHOPS. we need her in the local theater group, HOW TF can anyone be that convincing?!?!?!

Monster Pig-last statement i listened to, so it's VERY fresh in my mind lmao. this pig deserves DEATH. i don't fucking CARE if it's "friendly", it ATE a FUCKING CLOWN. KILL ITTTTT. i am a VEGETARIAN

Michael-by FAR my favorite, the best character i've come across in quite a while, god's favorite princess <3 i adore this wonky man, he's such a legend. PEAK laugh. and he's so chaotic lmao!!! (no he absolutely did not die, what are you talking about???? that didn't happen. or Michael Shelley's tragic backstory that had me literally crying over a gd podcast, no way. i'm in DEEP denial) i adore how his first vocal appearance was just strutting into Jon's office, kidnapping a realtor, monologuing abt his identity issues, stabbing the archivist, and sashaying away. SUCH a funky dude, i adore him

Elias-he gives me bitter oldest kid vibes, this man needs therapy. what a kooky asshat, stop peeping on people.

Jude-hot in every way possible. sorry but it's TRUE. a rlly bad liar tho. not only does she speak in fucking italics, but you can tell she's giggling kicking her feet twisting her short little hairs as she's trying to get jon to shake her hand. bitch, you're sexy and you know it, SPEAK UP!!

Wormy Jane-an icon, honestly. the whole EMBODIMENT of ick. not to mention if i actually saw this woman i'd lose my SHIT, she terrifies the bejeezus outta me. her statement was what made me (sorta) stop picking at my face (for a little bit at least). i honestly wonder what she was on that made her stick her whole fucking arm in a HAUNTED WASP'S NEST. it's also so hilarious that she was camped outside Martin's apartment for WEEKS and nobody rlly questioned it-this woman is on a MISSION. slay, ick queen.

Melanie-this woman has more balls than anyone else on this damn podcast (ahem, elias mostly). we stan a girlboss with a knife-the way she was just planning to JUMP him??? melanie's 100% RIPPED, she SOUNDS like a gym rat i think. i wanna see her beat the shit outta all these ghosts :3

You're A Lighter-idk how to spell his actual name and i'm too lazy to look it up, so this is what y'all're getting. the snotty old library dude with such a kooky voice, all i could think of when i first heard him was the Kool-Aid man lmaoo. and he needs to take better care of his assistants!! EXTREMELY unsustainable :( he's like a bowerbird collecting all the shiny homicidal books.

Helen-she ATE my babygirl??!!!!?!?!!?! COMPLETELY unacceptable. i won't deny the girl's got guts for just.. chilling in Michael's creepy hallways, but COUGH UP THE CREEPY BLOND for christ's sake.

Trevor Herbert-10/10 honestly. i LOVED his statements, the vampires are SO CRAZY CREEPY and i love how he just kinda fucks around? does some light stalking? and usually ends up with a bunch of dead monsters! in essence, he looked an eldritch horror in the face, called it a slur, and whacked it with a stick. legend.

[springseasonie]

Complicated | NJM (M)

Best friend's boyfriend x fem reader

Summary: you love your best friend. you've known each other for practically your whole lives. she knew practically everything about except for one thing: your relationship with her boyfriend Jaemin. all you wanted was to be like her, but now you've taken it too far and are suffering for it.

Warnings: sexual content, kitchen sex (scandalous), vanilla sex, oral (fem receiving), mentions of arguing/yelling, lots and lots of cheating/infidelity, lots of angst grrr, Jaemin is kinda mean tbh :/, may contain errors even though I proof read :p

Word count: 3,4k

Song recs: tread carefully by sza, open the door by lolo zouaï

A/N: heyyy. this is my first official onsehot that I'm posting 😭 kinda nervous to post it ngl. I wanted to post something before my birthday at least and I wrote so many other things but they didn't really stick. I like this this one enough to post it, so I hope you all like it too. Please let me know if I'm missing any warnings. Feed back is always appreciated 🩷🩷 also just know that Maya is just a character and not at all related to Maya from XG PLEASEEEE 😭

You felt so guilty, you really did. You hated yourself everyday for giving into your selfish desires, sinful needs, intrusive thoughts. Your best friend was important to you, the most important person to you in the world, but you couldn't help it. You wanted him, you needed him, and unfortunately he gave himself up to you.

It all started on a camping trip you and your friend group went on last summer. Maya wouldn't leave his side the entire time and it pisses you off. You didn't know why it pissed you off, but something about the way she stuck to him like glue was annoying.

"Jaemin, where are you going," she whined, making a childish pouting face.

"I'll be back. I'm just going to get more beer," he replied.

"I'll come too." You stood up following behind him back into the cabin.

Jaemin loved Maya, he really did, but he couldn't help finding himself becoming more and more irritated by her as the trip went on. Her constant nagging, need to be near him, treating him like he was her personal assistant. He had enough of it but couldn't tell her, in fear it would fuck up the vibe of the group.

Jaemin opened the door, allowing you to walk in before him. "Are you getting more beer," he asked.

You were taken by surprise, expecting for the both of you to walk to the kitchen in silence. "Oh no, I just wanted to get away from the outdoors. I don't like bugs and they get rowdy at night, you know?"

Jaemin chuckled softly at your statement, opening the fridge. You smiled as you watched him. Maya didn't really get him like you did now that you thought about it. Jaemin always laughed at your jokes. There wasn't one moment where the both of you felt uncomfortable around each other. You didn't know if it was because of his friendly nature or his good looks. Maybe it was because he reminded you of the dad you never had. You always felt envious seeing him beside Maya, protecting her, holding her, even when he didn't want to.

You've always envied her since a young age. She was perfect, probably everything you wanted to be. Perfect body, likable personality, amazing fashion. You never really understood why she was friends with you, the both of you being so different from each other. Maya never had trouble when it came to dating, but when you met her new boyfriend, you couldn't help but lothe how perfect their relationship looked and how much you wanted it too.

"Well if you aren't bringing anything, do you mind taking some of these for me," he asked.

"Yeah, sure I don't mind." Jaemin placed a couple of beers in your arms. You began to walk, but tripped on your own feet in the process. You felt your feet struggling to gain balance as you tried to pick yourself up, holding the bottles at the same time.

"Woah, woah. I got you." Jaemin wrapped his arms around you, balancing you. Your back was against his chest, and you could've sworn you felt his heart jump out his chest for a second. "You okay?" Jaemins face was leaning down from behind you. His closeness startled you, but didn't scare you enough to move away.

"Yeah! I'm fine just a bit-" you turned your head slightly, lips almost touching his. Jaemin swore time stopped at that moment. He hadn't felt this way with Maya in a while, but something about you was different. He was intrigued, but he knew he couldn't go further. The both of you knew you couldn't go further.

But at that moment, he didn't care. He didn't care that he was leaning into you, lips brushing over yours, sending tingles through your spine.

"Jaemin stop. You're dating my best friend," you say, trying to reason with him. You want your words to be convincing so badly, but the way they come out in a small whisper makes Jaemin feel insane.

Before Jaemin could even speak, he heard the door open with a loud call for his name. The both of you separated at the speed of light, you clinging onto the bottles and him pretending to look in the fridge for something.

"Jaemin," Maya called in a sing-song voice,"where are you two?"

"In the kitchen," he called back.

Maya waltzed in the kitchen, immediately gravitating to Jaemin. You stood there and watched as she hooked her arms with his. She looks so in love. This was the first time you felt the guilt hit you like a truck. Seeing her so happy, and realizing how you almost ruined it a second before she came into the room was your wake up call, and you were sure you wouldn't fall asleep again.

But it's never that simple is it?

You and Jaemin kissed later that night cleaning up the outside of the cabin. It was the most romantic thing that ever happened to you in your life. Under the moon and stars, in front of a campfire, his hand holding yours. You couldn't get it out of your head. The next morning when you saw Maya, you wanted to run and hide. You wanted to tell her right away, but something in you couldn't pull it out. You couldn't break her heart and neither could Jaemin, so the both of you decided to keep it a secret and never let that happen again.

"Jaemin, please. I need you so bad."

Jaemin kissed your neck feverishly as he sits you on your kitchen counter. His hands grasped your hips tight as his tongue ran down the sides of your neck. Jaemin moved his hands from your hips to your thighs, opening your legs wider. His hands make quick work of your shirt and shorts, throwing them somewhere in your kitchen.

You quickly unncliped your bra, shaking it off your shoulders and arms. Jaemin steps back watching you with hungry eyes as he pulls his shirt over his head, taking it off swiftly.

The guilt came in waves sometimes. It was there, then it wasn't. On some days, it was like a tsunami, flooding and pouring all over your mind. The heartbreak you couldn't escape not just for your best friend, but for yourself. You try to convince yourself that it wasn't all your fault, but instead all Maya and Jaemin, no matter how much they meant to each other, they were not good for each other. There were so many times where she called you crying or where you heard him yelling and shouting at her despite how perfect they looked on the outside. Maya was never as sensitive and soft as she looked though. She had a mean streak everyone around her knew about. Always taunting him and bringing up his parents when she knew him and his mother had a bad relationship. They were truly awful for each other, but at least they had each other.

Jaemin immediately attached his lips to yours, hands gripping your legs hard enough to leave marks. He bit your lip, tugging at it softly. When Jaemin pulls away, his eyes are foggy, almost like he'd been crying. He looks so pretty to you, it doesn't matter what he does. Jaemin dropped to his knees, pulling your legs apart even further. He makes quick work of your underwear, tugging them down roughly and throwing them somewhere obscure. Your hands tangle in his brown hair, watching him kiss up your thighs.

"Don't take your eyes off me," he mumbled against your skin.

And with that, his face completely disappeared between your legs. All you could feel was his lips and tongue working at you like he was made for you. You wanted to feel guilty right now. You wanted to hate yourself and him, but how could you, especially when he made you feel this good.

Jaemin held your legs to stop them from clamping around his head. You hissed in pain feeling his nails dig into your skin. His tongue moved against you quickly, making you against his mouth roughly. Your mouth opens, soft gasps and curses leave your lips.

Jaemin watched you as you basically fell apart right above him. You looked so pretty to him every time you fucked, never a dull moment with you. He didn't feel this way with Maya. Feeling like he could do whatever he wanted to you, the feeling knowing he could ask you if whatever and you would argue. Sometimes he wished that it was you he got to hug and hold and kiss and show around to everyone, but he was grateful to you for even letting him in your apartment.

Your brows furrowed as you felt yourself getting close. You let go of his hair, immediately moving your hand to the back of his head pushing his mouth closer to your core. "God, I'm so fucking close."

Jaemin nods, pulling your body closer to his. You let go of his head, placing your hand behind you to keep your balance. You feel your whole body shiver as a tight ball from your stomach. Your moans escape louder, filling the room and Jaemin's ears. His name spills past your lips over and over while you cum on his tongue, giving him satisfaction. Jaemin stood up, kissing you without giving you a chance to breathe. He pulled you off the counter and turned you around, immediately bending you over the surface.

"I-I thought you had something to do with Maya," you asked.

"She can wait."

You weren't as discreet with your excitement as you thought, but it didn't matter that much to you. Jaemin knew you didn't care and he didn't care either. He didn't care that he was doing something he wasn't, saying things he wasn't supposed to.

Jaemin pulled his length out his sweats, taking a condom out his pocket. You watch him as he quickly slides it on. You don't feel guilty, you never have. In fact, you couldn't be happier, especially when he's pushing himself into you slowly, filling your insides like right now. Every time he fucks you, you swear he was made for you.

Jaemin rocked his hips into you slowly, holding your hips firmly. Soft grunts left his lips while you let out soft moans, head resting on the counter.

"Fuck," you mumbled.

"That feel good?"

You nodded, moans becoming whiny with every movement. Jaemin loved every sound you made. Every moan, groan, whine, even gasp felt so genuine, so real. Only you could help him in his fucked up stressful days. Just your voice, body, just you, but he would never admit that, especially while he was with Maya.

"Faster Jaemin."

Jaemin obliged, thrusting inside of you faster. Your moans became louder with each movement, some muffled by your hands. You looked back at him, immediately being met with his piercing gaze. He loves looking in your eyes when he fucked you. It was something he never really did with Maya because she hated the emotional part of sex. But the emotion was something he always had with you, even with no eye contact and that's what scared him the most.

Jaemin's hands never left your sides, especially when you reached back and clasped your hand with his. He thrust deeper into you, making his brows furrowed in pleasure.

"You feel so good," he mumbled.

"I know baby.."

"Fuck Y/N.."

Jaemin leaned down, leaving small kisses on your neck. You tilted your head giving him more access. Jaemin, who was too wrapped up in his emotions, bit your neck softly. Maya told you he did that to her a couple of times, that he only does it when he's in a heated state of mind. This was the first time he did it to you, and probably the first time you felt so close to him in a while.

"I'm so close Y/N," he moaned softly.

"Me too."

"Cum with me okay?"

He watched as you moaned his name, throwing your head back. The grip you had in his hand grew tighter as your moans grew louder. You were close, so close.

"I-I'm cumming Jaemin," you whined loudly.

He nodded as he felt you squeeze around him tight, making him groan in pleasure. Jaemin came right after you, pressing his hips into you. The both of you stood there, Jaemin slumped over your body in pure bliss that was soon taken over by the irritation of having to leave right away.

You could tell how quickly the mood shifted when he lifted himself from your body and pulled out of you carefully.

"I have to go," he said plainly.

It took everything in you not to break down and cry right there. It was embarrassing really- a girl who just fucked her best friend's boyfriend for the 100th time- is sad because he has to go back to her. You're sad because he can't just stay with you for the rest of the day, just lay with you and cuddle. It shouldn't break your heart but it does every time.

"Can't you just say for a little bit?" Your voice came out small, shaky from trying not to break down. You were pulling on your clothes, hands shaking as he stood in front of you with a blank expression.

"I have to leave," he replied sternly.

"I never ask you for anything-"

"You do this every time." Jaemin's voice began to raise a bit. He often yelled when he was angry, you've heard it and experienced it on many occasions, but it was nothing like what Maya had to go through.

"Why do you act like I'm holding you hostage to stay here? Cut the fucking attitude."

Jaemin clenched his jaw, eyes scanning your face when you lean against your counter silently. He didn't want to leave you. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of your angry text, your threats, your attitude. "Why can't you just understand that I have to go and leave it at that?"

"Because you come here and fuck me, then leave and expect me to deal with it and not be upset," you confess.

"You shouldn't be upset. We shouldn't even be doing this," he groans in his palms.

You look at him, hurt filling your eyes. You hated it when he said it out loud. It's as if he doesn't know the torment that occurs every time you see him at your front door. You shouldn't be doing this, but neither should he.

"This wouldn't be happening if you didn't kiss me," you mumbled.

Jaemin moved his hands from his face, a shocked and confused smile on his lips. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

You looked at him, rolling your eyes. "What," you asked with indifference.

"Did you just try to blame this on me," he questioned angrily.

You stood there silent just staring at him with your arms crossed. You couldn't answer. Jaemin walked up to you, looking down at you with an intimidating, dangerous gaze.

"You can't talk all of a sudden," he taunts.

"Fuck you."

Jaemin let a dry, unamused laugh leave his lips. He backed up from you and leaned on your fridge. "Cursing at me isn't going to undo anything we just did you know."

"Do you think I don't feel like shit when you walk in here? You think I feel good knowing how much I'm hurting Maya?" The tears you tried so desperately to hold back began spilling. You frantically wiped your tears when you looked at you.

"No I don't," Jaemin answered, shrugging his shoulders. "I think you don't care enough to have been fucking me all this time."

"You're one to talk. You initiated this-"

"And you agreed. If you were a good friend, you would tell her, but you're not." Jaemin spoke plainly, heartlessly. His words cut through you like glass and it hurt him a bit more than it should. You needed to hear it though. It was the truth after all. "And you might not think so, but I feel guilty too."

"Coming here fucking me doesn't show it," you spat.

"You're not a saint." Jaemin was beginning to grow tired of your victim mentality. Nothing was ever your fault in your eyes. It was always him or her or them, but nothing was ever on you.

"I don't try to be," you yelled. "I'm going through a lot and-and I'm trying to work on it okay? Jaemin what we have is complicated-"

"Complicated," he questioned. "It's not complicated. Nothing about this is complicated."

"So you're telling me you feel the same way with her," you questioned.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're telling me when you leave here and go back to her you don't think of me?"

Jaemin's mouth opened to answer you, but he had nothing to say. He did think of you, all the time in fact, even when he was with Maya. Sometimes he couldn't wait to get away from her just to see you for 10 minutes at most. The first time he realized that was the first time he felt guilty. At first, it was just you and him and a small fling, but when you began arguing, that's when he knew it was much deeper. Maya wasn't good for him, but neither were you.

"Y/N…"

You felt your heart shatter into a million pieces hearing the way he said your name. You knew what was going to happen. You thought about it a lot more often than you should, but what did you expect? The relationship you built with him was nothing more than spontaneous. It wasn't supposed to go on for this long, just some fun for the both of you.

"Jaemin, please." The tears were spilling from your eyes freely, fat drops of salty water filling on your shirt. You were shaking, emotions at an all time high.

"We can't do this anymore," he said, a pained expression on his face.

"P-please Jae. I can't handle it. We can work something out," you sobbed. You grabbed his hand, holding it tight as hot tears fell from your face.

"I'm done with this, and I'm done with Maya. I can't keep doing this to the both of you and myself. I'm sorry," he mumbled. He watched you cry, wanting to just hold you in his arms, but he couldn't. He couldn't say the things he wanted to say, do the things he wanted to do. "We're gonna have to tell her.."

You looked up quickly, fear taking over your broken heart. You couldn't tell Maya. You've seen what she did to people who crossed her. Maya might've been sweet and funny, but she was ruthless to people she hated. You didn't want to be hated by her, that's the last thing you wanted from her.

"No, no, no. We-we can't," you stuttered, shaking your head.

"I know you're scared of her, but there's nothing that she'll do to you that she won't do to me," he said, attempting to comfort you.

"You don't understand, Jaemin. She will kill me. Please don't tell her," you begged.

Jaemin frowned, letting go of your hand. "I wish you would at least be truthful to her after this time. You don't have to do it for yourself or me, just her. She deserves to know that her best friend broke her trust.'

His words stung your heart. It was like him rubbing salt in the wound over and over again, reminding you of what you did. "Whatever, just leave."

He let out a heavy sigh grabbing his phone and keys from your counter. "Please know that I didn't want any of this to happen."

And with that, Jaemin left. You couldn't watch him walk out the door, not wanting to cry again in front of him. It's unfortunate that the person you had to fall for had to be your best friend's boyfriend, but that's the way life works sometimes. In the end, you'll always be the secret or the second choice. You were used to it and this was no different.

You stood there for at least an hour, staring at the door or your phone hoping he would come back or text you, but you got nothing. The months of just you and Jaemin finished as fast as it started. Not surprising to you in the slightest, just not what you envisioned. You wanted it to end on a poetic note, much more intimate and emotional, but how could you ask him of that? After all, what the two of you were was complicated.

It didn't matter now, what was done was done, and all there was left to do was wait for everything to crash and burn.

[utilitycaster]

Hi! This might be a bit of a weird ask (and a rambly one - sorry!) but you're one of the most level-headed and rational fandom members I know and I might need you to slap some sense into me, so to speak, especially considering you've been vocally critical of Marisha's choices for Laudna before. Now I loved the episode and the inner-party conflict in this episode. It was so fun and investing and tbh I've never been as interested in Laudna as a character as during last episode (she just doesn't work for me on several levels) and I do think Marisha did a stellar job RP wise. But something grated against my nerves about how she said OOC that Laudna hasn't lied. Because Laudna has lied. By omission, deflection or otherwise. It cannot all be attributed to Delilah being the pushing force of that. And I feel weird about Marisha (afaik) not acknowledging that. If she said "Laudna feels like she hasn't lied" it would probably be different but the "I still maintain: Laudna hasn't lied. It wasn't Laudna." at the end of the episode after Laura calls Laudna out for the direct lie about the harness feels kinda trying-to-have-my-cake-and-eat-it-too in this regard. I know that Marisha can make decisions that I don't gel with and make characters that can get under my skin in specific ways (and I enjoy that about her!) but idk maybe I have difficulties putting my trust in her with this because I didn't like a lot of her choices for Laudna so far. Anyway. Maybe I just need to hear from you that I'm being stupid about this and that Marisha is going to handle this in a differentiated way. (also highly unrelated but to end on a more positive note I'm excited for you to catch up on fhjy!)

Hey anon! Thank you for all the kind words, and good news! On CR Cooldown Marisha does clarify she means this as "Laudna is not lying because, whether or not it is correct, this is what she believes". I'm going to talk more below, but hopefully that helps.

For what it's worth, I tend to not put a huge amount of emphasis on things the cast says OOC as compared to what's happening in game, for a number of reasons, and advise others do the same. I think it's really easy for those statements to become outdated or outright contradict the text (remember when people kept bringing up Laura on like, one of the first 4SD episodes saying Imogen tries not to read people's minds and it's like. ok but in canon, she does this ALL the time so this is a useless argument?), the cast is working off more information than we are slash might deliberately be hiding info from each other, and also anything said right after they break is often a really emotional statement that they, as Marisha did here, will immediately either clarify or recant after a few minutes to, well, cool down.

The lies of omission thing is also incredibly rich as a source of conflict here, particularly between Imogen and Laudna, which, as someone who's been very frustrated with a lack of conflict on that front, is very exciting. What happens when you have someone who, in classic warlock fashion, hews to the law of lying (I didn't say anything literally false!) and not the spirit (lying by omission that Delilah was the cause) and who also makes promises she's unable to keep; and she's in a relationship with someone who is exceptionally sensitive to lies by omission, lying in general, and kind of has trouble with people simply not revealing their true intentions? I think Laudna is so suggestible that she's a liability, and the party just found out, and that's the dangerous thing - if she were malicious and lying maybe they could pick it up and this would have an easy fix, but she really does believe it will be different this time and Delilah isn't misleading her for power (Delilah is 100% misleading her for power), and that makes it much more complicated. It's very juicy.

[isa-ghost]

Isa my darling! Happy Birthday, albeit a couple of days early.

Seeing you screech in Philza's streams because Apollo hit you with that dodgeball yet again makes me giggle a lot.

How about since headcanon's for qPhilza's past/pre island relationship with qFit. How they got to know each other, and how quickly they became friends?

Idr if I said this on Tumblr yet but deadass I asked Apollo on my pendulum if qPhil is his blorbo and he said yes. He's been as invested in shit as me and it's been hilarious. I literally have crows yelling at me irl to keep writing rn but I'm answering headcanons first.

The entire time I've been distracted between writing these, crows have been yelling at me about it. Which. Is how Apollo communicates with me when I'm not actively talking to him through readings LMFAO.

Also thank you for the birthday wish :D [desperately hoping nothing else horrible happens this weekend please god]

Anyway qPhil headcanons masterlist let's go

Disclaimer that I didn't know of Fit before QSMP (I've only been in mcyt for 4 years monkaS) so these are gonna be largely pulled out of my ass and a lil repetitive.

These two both have experiences in anarchy and war, they've definitely brushed shoulders a couple times bc of it

They admired each other's work ofc. Phil is a macro scale kinda guy, total annihilation and victory that makes a statement. Fit's more of a micro scale kinda guy, zeroing in on one person or group individually and making their lives hell until the end in the name of surviving a little longer

On that note, I think we all sleep a little bit on the fact that Fit is Also a survivalist like Phil, just in a very different set of high stakes conditions. These two are equally skilled in it and equally sharp strategists

On that note, anyone who knew them from the past would fear the idea of them coming together to create a plan of any kind, especially of the anarchist-fueled variety. If the Federation has done their research right, they should know full well how terrifying this duo could be in an effort to dismantle their authority

Btw by brushing shoulders I don't just mean brief passings by, I mean they've like. Camped out for a night together, temporarily truced for the sake of safety in numbers, etc. More than a few conversations have been had even if the time they've spent together totals to less than a week.

However, even when they weren't actively paired together, they'd still occasionally trade or gift each other surplus resources. It was a genuine kind act, even if it simultaneously served as a reason for each of them to not come after the other. I scratch your back, you scratch mine.

Like why do you think Fit was one of the first threats on Phil's mind in Purgatory. He Knew(tm). And he knew Fit has an affinity for picking off the weak first, like a lion after a herd of antelope. To him, Purgatory was the awakening of a monster who'd been dormant for a long time.

See, present day they're QPR as fuck, they'd never do this now without 10x the pressure Purgatory put on them, but back in the day they took close notes on each other's strengths and weaknesses. Just In Case, yknow? They could very much kill each other. Back in the day they would've if it came to it, no matter how good an ally they were.

Something about how these two used to be so cold and hard to the world. Be it to self-preserve or some other reason. Something about how now they've both softened and warmed after becoming parents. They never could've imagined the other would "weaken" like this, especially back then.

Phil 🤝🏻 Fit - Phil being a historian of the deities/builds of his Hardcore World, Fit being a historian of 2B2T

A lot of this boils down to mutual respect, common interests, and secret admiration tbh. And what's more homoerotic than that?

They're both crisis preppers. Not doomsday type shit, just. Being ready for shit to hit the fan. They both come from places where life is significantly more dangerous than it is in other realms.

The crazy thing is though? Despite the above, they can't imagine being from each other's realms. Phil would LOATHE 2B2T and Fit would hate the absoluteness of Hardcore. Isolation is absolute, death is absolute. There's no wiggle room or margin for error.

With how adaptive the two of them are due to their origins, they could probably acclimate to any conditions. They'd complain about having to, especially if it was inconvenient, but they could. They used to swap tips & tricks with each other on how to improve their adaptability too.

Fit would've 100% been down to join Phil on Doomsday in DSMP. He was thoroughly impressed when Phil told him the story.

[moonxmagix]

MCR Songs & their vibes

MCR songs and whether I think they’re day, night, sunrise, or sunset songs.  Also adding seasons.  If you get it, you get it. If you don’t then idk what to tell  you homie. I do get carried away & include scenarios I personally picture with the songs. It took me a couple hours to write this so please read. This might make more sense for my fellow autistics though:  

First album: Bullets

As an overall album I don’t have a set season for it BUT if I had to pick it would be a transition from Summer to Fall. It’s also more of a Day album for me but not ever sunny. With exception of sunsets. 

Romance - Sunset but when the sun is almost down, Summer but transitioning into Fall 

HTMIBHFTBOU - Night but just after Sunset, still that Summer to Fall transition  

Vampires - Night, but sometimes fits a cloudy rainy day, Fall

Drowning Lessons - Night, probably around 9pm, then again I get rain vibes, Fall but  exceptionally chilly this day

Our Lady of  Sorrows -  Night, Fall, i imagine being aggressively drunk to this song in  some small shitty venue 

Headfirst for Halos - Day but slowly transitions into sunset, nice fall day

Skylines and Turnstiles - Day but super rainy/cloudy to where it looks night,  Fall

Early Sunsets Over Monroeville  - Day and night because it starts  off nice then progressively gets darker, winter

TITBDE - Sunset/night but  like right after the sunset, i imagine being at the fairground & setting the firewheel ablaze, Summer transition into Fall

Cubicles - Day but cloudy, Fall but getting close to winter, being miserable at a shitty  corporate office job, coffee & cigarettes 

Demolition Lovers - Day into night, Winter, blood in the snow

Second Album: Revenge  

Easily a Fall album with SOME Winter exceptions. From the story we know I get lots of vibes of murder and suicide. I get lots of screaming and yelling between a couple vibes too. Definitely a Night time album overall.  

Helena - Day but rainy & cloudy, funeral vibes but that’s so obvious, peak Fall

Give ‘em Hell Kid - Day but very cloudy it’s almost night, Fall,  definitely ‘just got out of school 4 the day’ vibes

To The End - Night,  a very eerie night somewhere in the woods bc you & your friends found a vampires mansion and the lore to the house is that a husband & wife lived there but they killed each other, Fall

YKWTDTGLUIP - Night but you're in prison so you don’t care what time of the day it is, Fall but it’s a bit chillier because it’s ALMOST winter 

I’m Not Okay (I promise) - Day, cloudy school day with light drizzle, Fall but a bit warmer but it feels like summer because the gym teacher made you run laps outside & you threw up on the side

The Ghost of You - Day/night but cloudy (Kinda going  off MV), Winter probably 

TJLIGKY -  Late Night, downtown somewhere sketchy in a hotel, missing person vibes tbh, rain, Fall transition into Winter 

Venom -  Night but early on, I imagine fighting for something you want/to keep living/fighting for love even if it’s not necessarily romantic love

Hang ‘Em High -  Day, Sunny fall day, emo cowboy vibes idc!, Sunset later on in the song though, very sinister & hungry eyes, possession comes to mind here

Fashion Statement - Night but just turned, graveyard, crawling out of coffin in ground, Fall but foggy

Cemetery Drive -  Day but cloudy and rainy, when you were found on the bathroom floor though it was night, staring out the window like a movie, Fall

INTYWIDFAL - Dead of the Night, lots of mania & killing, Staring at the mirror with blood on your hands, Fall

Third Album: Black Parade

This album is Winter through and through! Definitely a transition into Day from  Night. Themes of death obvi  and incompletion and self hatred. Lots of fire and potentially setting stuff ablaze, so arson! Memories on memories. 

The End - Day but you’re in an auditorium watching a play/musical until Night, lots of screaming & agony, Fall but just about Winter

Dead! - Day but it’s cloudy, lots of dreaming & being taunted by death, Winter

TIHID - Night, being in the woods late at night, walking in snow barefoot & blood trailing behind, seeing ghost, Winter 

The Sharpest Lives - Night but it’s  2am, drunk, cigarettes, trying to comes to term w/ your career & how you won't achieve anything, Winter

WTTBP - Day into Night, cloudy, dead of Winter but lot’s of fire to keep warm, seeing death finally 

I Don’t  Love You - Day but cloudy & rainy, Fall transition into winter, painful breakup but we knew that

House of Wolves - Night but downtown vibes so the lights keep everything alive, running  from cops vibes, personal rebellion against church & religion, reminiscing on running the streets with friends when young, the memories are Summer but song is Winter

Cancer - Right after Sunrise, patient dies early in the cloudy morning, body stays in bed until Night though so family can visit, lots of flashback of memories, Winter

Mama - Night, arguing with family, lots of anger, war flashbacks, rainy Winter

Sleep - 4am Night,  nightmares, sleeping in shitty hotel, haunted hotel,  creaky floorboards, sleep paralysis, Winter

Teenagers - Day, Fall, zombie like & judgy teenagers, reminiscing on teenage years, violence  

Disenchanted  - Night, drinking yourself away, disappointment, feeling like you didn’t do enough, Winter, around Christmas

Famous Last Words - Night 12am, realizing your memory will forever live on, coming to terms w/ death, Winter but the fire is enough to keep you warm

Fourth Album: Danger Days

If you say anything else but Summer you're just wrong. Blazing summer heat & just sweaty musty & dusty mf’s.  Themes of fighting for what’s right, the power of friendship & love. Partying in the desert. Obviously a Day time album. 

Na Na Na - Day,  blazing hot in the desert, partying at some underground rave, hanging head out window to shoot the corporation ppl, robbery, Summer

Bulletproof Heart - Sunset, lots of smiling & laughing w/ crush, trying to runaway with crush to somewhere better, one of the lovers dies because of Korse, Summer but it’s very breezy 

SING - Night, “I’m gonna save the world” vibes, sneaking  around,  cool Summer night

Planetary (GO!) - Sunset but it’s just about to be night, partying, lots of colorful lazerbeams and strobe, very sweaty,  Summer 

TOHFMIY - Sunset, fighting for friends & showing them love, taking pictures with friends on a desert cliff, Summer

Party Poison - Day, pompous ass character, fighting for what’s right, protest, Summer

SYIHTB - Day into Night, fighting off the Exterminators, stealing cars & sneaking off, sneaky make out session, helping friends get away from Exterminators, Summer 

Scarecrow - Day almost Sunset, feeling safe, finding a place to rest & collect thoughts, maybe mourn the people you lost, being found &  have to keep moving, Summer but it’s not humid

Summertime - Day into Night, so much love, finally got with crush, telling story of them, sappy,  laying in the desert/on-top of car & staring at the stars, hot Summer day but chilly night

Destroya - Day, horny, so hot you had to get almost naked, fighting against corporation  by holding a concert of sorts to raise awareness, borderline dehydration, blazing Summer heat

The Kids From Yesterday - Sunset, reminiscing hard, missing childhood/younger self, living in the moment, hand holding w/ friends, realizing you’re not actually alone, Summer into Fall

Vampire Money - Day, causing chaos with friends, so many crimes, more crimes,  scary teenagers, selling soul for fame, Summer in Los Angeles 

[theguiltinessisyours]

MAGNUS PROTOCOL EPISODE THOUGHTS

hrgggh JURGEN LEITNER STUPID IDIOT MOTHERFUCKING JURGEN LEITNER-

am I going crazy??? This is Leitner´s voice right???? I lost my shit when I thought I recognized him and thought a bit about why exactly that would be the case and then I grew a bit unsure especially because Paul Sims wasn´t mentioned in the credits. I just compared it with mag 80 and tbh I´m not sure??? His cadence sounds extremely similar but it´s kinda hard to tell. I´ve seen like two posts tho so I´m not the only one who thinks that lmao (uhm. in hindsight this was really dumb to think but oh well it was fun while it lasted)

Mannheim!! Germany mention raaaah (no but fr fr this is the second? time something German has been brought up and I saw a post that it could be a clue? can be coincidence tho I´m just living out my nonexistent patriotism)

I´m probably reading too much into it but Gwen´s insistence on not giving the voices names hmm much to think about

THE ENDING?? HELLO? literally did not recognize either of them before looking it up I´m so bad with new voices lol but WHO is Klaus?

Also the statement itself was pretty cool ofc I thought of Grifters Bone but also I somehow get a more psychological/personal approach from the "statements" in tmagp? I don´t really know how to explain it and also, many statements from tma obviously have obviously explored topics of personal fear but the episodes so far yet have somehow a different vibe that I can´t quite place yet.

[old-skyguy]

Revisiting this blog for the soul purpose of offering my first thoughts on TMAGP because I haven't been on Tumblr for weeks to avoid spoilers and I'm ready to fucking go

(TMA/TMAGP Spoilers)

-Gives us characters with traits from TMA lineup. Obviously not copy for copy but close enough to draw parallels. Gwen (snarky and obsessed with doing the job right, sorta like Jon?? That one's kinda a stretch tbh), Lena (suspicious boss with clear experience and just so Elias coded, it'd be so funny if Gwen pipe murdered her I know it won't happen but wouldn't it be so funny??), Sam (idk tbh, also a stretch but maybe Martin? Because empathetic? Drinks = affection? Will see), and the one I draw most similarities between: Alice (snarky, carefree, sarcastic: Tim to a T PLUS a younger more successful sibling she obviously loves and is very proud of, honestly warms and hurts my heart at the same time). Maybe it's to foreshadow similar fates for us who've listened to TMA (most of us) OR that's just what they WANT us to think and they're trying to throw us for a loop!! Orrrr I'm looking too far into things and they're just silly character tropes which'd also be cool :) we'll seee!!

-I've noticed they're wayy more up front with the more visceral gory statements. Still has the good old Jonny Sims writing style I oh so desperately missed, but at the beginning of tma, they were way more muted and psychological in the beginning, didn't get to one like the ones in TMAGP until well into the first season but they're really coming out swinging with this.

-Look I know everyone is talking about Chester and Norris and how they're Jon and Martin. Idk if Jon and Alex just wanted to keep voicing characters because they like playing that part in their work or if there's genuinely some sorta lore reason but I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT IT.

-My theory is that either 1) the Mag Institute that burned down in RedCanary was a different one than the Mag Institute London WE know and is just a red herring or 2) the actions at the end of EP 200 actually did reverse the eyepocolypse so that no one remembers it and the world went back to normal somehow and the timeline got fucked up so in the eyes of the public, the institute from TMA burned down as a sorta cosmic cover-up. Either way, same universe! Just different timeline/fucked up memories.

-in TMA, the statements happened behind closed doors with Jon, so his paranoia wasn't too "understood" by anyone in the archives. However, in TMAGP, everyone around can hear the "statements" read out so most of the lineup is sorta on the same page except Collin and Lena (honestly just Sam, Alice, and Gwen). This. I don't know if this observation has any meaning but I think it's neat and gives us a cool new dynamic.

-All the fears seem to be here? Idk why they'd try to deviate from them, that wouldn't make any sense considering ALL OF SEASON 5 and the cosmic explanation for all the fears. All I'm saying with this is that they're easy to sort and attribute the individual feel to so they're obviously keeping that. Again. Not a groundbreaking observation but as of when I'm writing this all out, I have gone 27 hours without sleep and counting so eh they can't all be winners for best essay analysis bullshddf lol whatever

Like I said, this is just my opinion and it's not very well thought out, just wanted to get this out there to celebrate the release.

[im-the-queen-of-stardust]

Alright people, just got my early access of the Magnus Protocol Premiere. Been thinking about whether I should do a live blog like I did for Magnus Archives. Still not sure but we're just gonna start it and see where it's going. Tbh I've been so out of the loop with the podcast I didn't even know the premiere episode was coming and I have no idea when further episodes are getting released. I thought it would start next year! Anyway, I'm gonna put all my reactions down below under the read more so I'm not accidentally spoiling anyone.

That intro music is amazing. Love it.

So glad they included a transcript, I would've already been lost with all these voices. That's what I loved about tma, never got confused there because the introduction to the characters was so nice and slow

Oh, here we are then! Jumpscared by Alex already. Did not expect him to turn up so soon. I'm certain there's nothing sinister going on here. Not me already theorizing that it's Martin who got stuck in the system or something after Mag200. But that means Jonny is one of the other voices who occasionally reads out the statements, right? Gotta be. So Chester or Augustus, who do you think he is? Putting my money on Augustus I think. Why? Because why not.

First look at the Fears?? Is it the Stranger? That's got to be the Stranger, right?

The transcript has these little stage directions and I gotta say I'm in love with "Lena's office is pristine, sterile and has nothing that might indicate its occupant would be brash enough to have a personality"

Btw don't know the in universe reason for the recording yet but friends, your microphones are shit. Jon's recordings were never as bad! Your voices do that thing where it gets frizzy. Might I suggest using a tape recorder?

Is that more static in the background I'm hearing when Gwen says "I'm not most people." Oh, I kinda missed overanalysing sound cues.

We have great vegetarian sausages in Germany too, Colin. I already like that poor IT guy

Sam I really don't think this is the job if you're "just trying to get back on your feet" There must be more going on there

Damn, had a 50/50 chance and didn't get it. So you're Chester then, Jonny? Really can't decide if I would love it more if these voices had some connection to tma or if there's just no reason at all.

I actually read a fanfic like that before. Immediatly though about it when I heard Alex's voice. Jon was sorta trapped in the tape recorder. All Martin and co had were his recorded statements on tape and at some point Jon got like powerful enough to be able to communicate through the tape recorder I think. Was a really great read. Would be funny if this turns out to be similar

Oh, Magnus Archives ruins!! What are you gonna find there RedCanary?? This is exciting

Of course you've been having trouble uploading the pictures, RedCanary! And I don't think that's you're normal getting paranoid either. Oh, I love this. It's like my old friend, spooky Magnus Institute is back

An Archive, you say?? And it's empty. Interesting.

Side note, the music during this is fantastic. Like loved it from the beginning but right now? Amazing.

"What the hell is that? Are those eyes?" Never thought I'd actually be happy about eyes getting mentioned. But eyes, people!! This statement has everything: Magnus Institute, some poor bugger who's descending into paranoia and madness, weird symbols, an artefact (?), ominous texts ("Canaries should stay above ground", okay obviously a reference to the user name red canary but also do you think that has anything to do with like mining. Weren't birds used to detect gas?), eyes and were those the last few notes of the tma intro in the background music?

Oh, who is listening then? Can't mean me, Colin

The Magnus Protocol is a podcast distributed by Rusty Quill and licensed under a creative commons attribution non commercial sharer like 4.0 international license

[destinyc1020]

I loved your review of Challengers!!!! I watched the movie 3 times now and although I love the vibes the film gave me, I had big issues with the script and overall's Tashi's arc. I felt that the male characters were more interesting as ppl and their story of a close friendship turned rivalry to ending with both of them not speaking for years was quite compelling. I honestly just thought Tashi was a symbol for them tbh. this is where I blame the writer Justin cause the reason he made Tashi black was because he was inspired by Serena and Naomi Osaka however, this film is very apolitical. Outside of the mention of the alleged racist tennis opponent, her race is never mentioned. Her black father isn't even present in the older Tashi scenes. So what was the point of taking such good care of her white boys' line?

The last point is not going to be a point but a link. It discusses how Zendaya is the next leading lady of the generation. I have some thoughts but I hope you can read it so we can discuss. I do think that one critic has some inflammatory comments on Z that I feel are more personal than biased, but as a dark-skinned black woman, I can understand where that frustration comes from. It is tough because it is a lot and I appreciate if you do want to add any more discourse because I do feel Z sometimes is separated apart because she biracial black woman the bigger issue is Hollywood as an entity but using that white boy line kinda justify it for me.

https://www.vulture.com/article/zendaya-challengers-leading-lady-debate.html

Whew!!! Anon....this was a very deep and interesting read! Thank you for your kind words Anon about my review. Like I said, I'm always 100% honest on here about how I feel lol. 😄

I'll just say this, that overall, people are going to have varying opinions on someone's acting or just a film in general. I look at films and an actor's performance as just something that is subjective.... One person may LOVE a film or an actor's performance, and another person may think the film/acting was just "So-so". It's just like a piece of art. We can all have various different tastes, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that necessarily? Sometimes, our life experiences, exposure, and world view can shape how we view certain films or pieces of art. So, I am not even surprised that one of the critics in this article doesn't really care for Z's acting/films, etc... It's her personal opinion I guess.... 🤷🏾‍♀️

I'm a little iffy as well on Justin's writing tbh.... I remember when leaks of the script/screenplay FIRST came out, people were cringing lol. 😅 I'm glad that the film version wasn't as cringe-worthy as some people felt the film would be. I still would have changed some things about the writing.

But hey, sometimes, you don't need a picture-perfect film with picture-perfect characters. Sometimes, life is complicated, PEOPLE are complicated, and you don't need an ending that's tied neatly into a nice little bow with a "happily ever after" attached.

With that said, I'll comment and provide my reaction to some of the points in the article you just linked:

Whew... Welp...She made some interesting points. I know this will probably ruffle a few feathers here, but she's definitely coming in with some hard-hitting thoughts and feelings.

I've been saying this about Hollywood for years... The fact that monoracial, YOUNG, desirable, darker-skinned black women are basically ignored in Hollywood.... I do agree with her statements on this. I am a huge supporter of Z, and I love that she has the type of power that she has in Hollywood, but I do also feel for my darker-hued sisters as well. 😔

With regards to race.... Don't get me wrong, I don't need films where black people (black women especially) have to address RACE in every single role that is given a black person. Is it just me?? But sometimes, it's just REFRESHING to watch a movie, see a black person onscreen, and NOT have to think about race. 👀 We already have to deal with race and think about it just about every single day, 24/7... That can at times be exhausting. Sometimes, when you watch movies, you just want to ESCAPE...Escape your problems, escape reality, escape real life, or just escape what's on your mind atm, etc... You don't need a constant reminder of societal issues, and views of "blackness" in every single film that features a black person. At least, I don't feel that way.

But I do feel like certain elements and ways that woc (black women in particular) are portrayed onscreen DO play a huge role in how we are viewed in society, how we view ourselves, and how certain stereotypes are continuously perpetuated. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Anyway, I still hate that "white boys" line lol. It just seemed cringe to me, and totally out of nowhere lol. 😅 I'm like, do people even talk like that in REAL life? I doubt it lol.

Hmmm....interesting take.... 🤔

.

I meannnnn....I DO have to agree w/her statement on Timmy and Zendaya in the "Dune" franchise. I sense more platonic/"Friendship" chemistry btwn them, than actual sexual or sensual chemistry tbh. 👀

Whereas, I felt like she and Josh definitely seemed to have tangible sexual chemistry onscreen in "Challengers". Sometimes, you can know someone a little TOO well, that when you act with them in romantic scenes, it's not really believable because you two are like brother and sister vibes irl with each other lol. 🤣 I think that's the case w/Timmy and Zendaya onscreen.

.

While I don't agree with her that black people should ONLY work with mostly other black people onscreen lol, I will say that I agree with her part highlighted above. I've been saying for a while now that I'm really curious to see how Z would fare in a film directed by a black director, surrounded by a primarily black cast. 😊

.

With all of this said, I have to admit, this little part right here made me smile...

I can see it too! The Academy LOOOVES indie films like these. 😊😃

Anyway, great read Anon! 👍🏾 Thanks for sharing! It was good to get dual sides of the coin from their differing opinions.

[alexanderlightweight]

Heyooo first lemme just say that your writting is amazing. Even your darkish prompts are kinda fluffy at the end.

I imagined my prompt in a marriage of inconvenience but it kinda goes on any if yours.

Magnus flies into a rage and destroys either the NYI or alicante itself because Clary attacks Alec because of the secret marriage. Alec ismt hurt or anything but because she dared to do it our favourite high warlock shows the shadowworld that you really shouldnt touch what is his.

Thanks in advance and im looking forward to all your writtings so i can curl up in a corner wispering my precious like Gollum

Ah thank you so much! i really appreciate that and yeah, i'll write something super DDDNE and dark and then write the end and saeth will read it and go 'awww thats cute' but... that's also @saeths. who is @alxndrlightwoods and their opinion of cute things can be a little skewed.

so i'm never really sure until i post where my stuff falls tbh

kay so this is totally random but this is actually going in 'all your cracks i'll paint gold' the deruned alec verse. because it just fit best there and also, it's a bit of a plot twist because clary doesn't care enough about the institute or alicante for her to be bothered or affected in season 1 or 2 by it being destroyed.

i hope you've been enjoying them and enjoy this, thank you for this lovely prompt

<3 lumine

-

Clarissa Fray is the last person Alec expected to meet on one of the rare occasions he ever leaves Magnus’ loft. The only reason he’s even where he is, is because one of Magnus’ friends is healing an acquaintance of Magnus’. Which means that when asked to go with him, Alec of course said yes.

However, he was not expecting the small redhead that charges into the hospital rune and is seething at him.  If not for the wards and magic on this floor of the hospital, Alec imagines that Fray would have caused an incident.

“You, why are you here?” She yells when she sees him and Alec reminds himself that he can’t just rip the stupid little girl’s heart out, even if she is yelling at him like she isn’t the one whose fault is everything that’s happened to him. “You’re supposed to be dead! Everyone is acting like you are. Your mom threatened me! Izzy hates me and Jace is practically a ghost! This is all your fault Alec!”

“My fault?” Alec scoffs because he’s not touching the rest of her statements and is about to argue when he realizes it’s pointless. He can’t argue with someone caught in a delusion and Clary Fray is caught in a delusion of her own grandeur and self-righteousness. “Forget it, Fray. I didn’t come here for you. You’re not even supposed to be here.” 

“Well, I didn’t come here for you either, but that doesn’t matter. You’re going to help me save my mom, Alec. The warlocks won’t listen to me without Magnus, and I heard all about it while Dot was being healed. You ran to Magnus. You’re the reason why he stopped helping me, why no one can solve the potion.”

“Actually, I stopped helping you because you disgust me, and I have better ways to waste my time.” Magnus says and Alec relaxes, watching him come out of the shadows, the gold of his eyes a deadly promise in the dark.  “In fact, watching pond scum form is a far less a waste of time than listening to you.”

—

Magnus binds her easily and throws her through a portal, following leisurely with his arm around Alexander’s waist, his boy pressing kisses to Magnus’ temple. 

“How does she know I’m with you?” Alexander asks him, worry in his voice and Magnus regrets trusting Dot as much as he and Cat have. Apparently, she’s not nearly as trustworthy as he thought, if she thinks sharing information about her High Warlock’s lover is acceptable.

Because Alec is no longer a shadowhunter and he certainly doesn’t have any ties to the clave, not like Clarissa now does. Yet for some reason, Dot shared something that she only ever heard because Magnus lowered his guard enough to share with Cat while he helped heal her.

It’s such a disregard for Magnus’ privacy as well as Cat’s and also, means that Magnus and she can no longer talk around Dot freely. Which is disappointing on many levels.

“A small mistake on my part, darling.” Magnus assures him, “I’ll handle it. She won’t be able to share it around anymore and if it looks like they’ve tracked us, I’ll simply move us again. The clave won’t be able to take you from me, darling. Not even if they begged or bribed me.”

They’re on a roof by a mundane college, an artistic one and while Magnus could feel pity for all the lives he’s about to ruin, it’s hardly his fault that Clarissa Fray doesn’t consider the consequences of her actions.

“I normally try to avoid mundane losses, even just their structural losses. However, even if you should decide not to be a shadowhunter, Clarissa Fray. Remember that because of your greed, this avenue will always be lost to you.”

With a flick of his power the fire alarm goes off and Clarissa is struggling and yelling against the magic keeping her quiet, eyes wide as the last lingering vestiges of the college flee and, as they all watch, Magnus lights it up. 

Several parts of the building suddenly imploded. Little clouds of smoke and bright bursts of flames, mortar and ash and debris raining down as Clarissa screams and cries.  She’s showing more emotions for the idea that the college brings than when her little friend died or when she’d been supposedly grieving the pain, she caused Alexander and Magnus rolls his eyes.

“How tragic. Who could have predicted that a gas explosion would take down the school you hoped so dearly to join.” Magnus tuts and he pulls Alexander closer, and he sighs in contentment when his boy leans back trustingly. “Perhaps, you should learn to watch where you step, little shadowhunter. Not everyone will be so kind as to light the way and the world of shadows is a very dark one.”

Magnus portals away, leaving her to watch the place burn down and without really any interest in staying.  She’ll either manage to free herself or be found by her blond shadow and Magnus doesn’t care either way, not beyond getting Alexander away.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that, Alexander.” Magnus tells him, when they’re back on their roof and Alexander is sitting on the moss, his knees tucked to his chin as he stares at the pond with waterfowl and koi that Magnus keeps.

Magnus very sneakily magics a little dish of tidbits to Alexander, and he’s given a weary but grateful smile before Alexander throws out the pieces. The koi dart over even faster than the birds, greedily gobbling as much as they can from the surface before following the sinking pieces down. The few birds that there are ignore them, coming straight to the edge, spoiled little creatures that they are.

They come right up to Alexander and snack out of his hand, ignoring Magnus with glaring orange eyes and ruffling their bloodred feathers.

“I can’t believe they all like bones so much.” Alexander murmurs, “it’s a good way of disposing of it though.”

Magnus hums in agreement, because that’s exactly why he has these variants on their roof.

"I loathe her." Alexander finally whispers, "I wanted to rip her heart out. She was talking to me just like she did when she first showed up. Ungrateful, demanding, like nothing in the world matters compared to what she wants. I just wanted to kill her. Make sure she can't cause any more damage to my life, Magnus. I can't I lose anymore."

“It's alright darling, I have you and I’ve taken care of it. Clarissa will be unable to speak of where you are or that she’s seen you. Or that you're with me. Dot has also been taken care of, as apparently, she was under the impression that she enjoyed certain privileges that she does not.”

Which simply meant that she was relying on their precious dalliance to smooth things over and hadn’t expected Magnus to actually be serious about his boy.

A misunderstanding of course, but a grave one on her part. Not, however, an unforgivable one.

As long as she keeps her mouth shut from now on.

[earths-roots-grow-up]

SSHAJWB

I am back once again to say that I absolutely love your tags and analysis and comments and everything sjsje

I'm glad that you enjoyed it — I do hope to continue writing (albeit different storylines and some different characters), but I hope you like those too :D

Bruce's statement about Roland was meant to hint at Roland being fired (but obviously Edward wouldn't pick up on that :()

There was also some theme with Edward's last three riddles (the answers all being things that people treasure/want)

I'm glad to hear that! I hoped Bruce meant exactly that, but I also took into account he might have meant some kind of karmic justice, like a more general comment. So yay! :D

Also glad you wrote in, bc I had one more comment that I forgot to add to the tags xD. I enjoyed the small detail of Roland being amused when Eddie put his hat on, but hiding it - Gotham's costumed criminals manage to be scary, but also ridiculous, and it has to be a strange experience for their victims tbh. It's objectively frightening, but you also recognize how absurd this is and how goofy that hat is - and how one is supposed to feel with that or react? it kinda humanized Roland to me a bit.

I appreciate the themes of the riddles and the thought put into it, Eddie sending messages through every detail~.

I have a strong Riddler hyperfixation so trust me, it was my pleasure to read and tag it with gushing! ❤️ Would love to see more stuff from you about the Prince of Puzzles!

Cheers :D