#SCPS school board

[zinniajones]

Trigger warning for genocidal and exterminationist rhetoric by anti-LGBT extremists and hate groups in Seminole County, Florida.

In order of appearance:

Michael "Mikey" Sciarrino (Turning Point Action, Gays Against Groomers Florida, former secretary of Turning Point USA at UCF)

Mishelle Minella (Moms for Liberty Seminole County Chapter)

Joy Amy Stricker (Moms for Liberty Seminole County Chapter)

Zinnia Jones (Gender Analysis of Seminole County)

What this video is: This is the June 6, 2023 meeting of the Seminole County school board, with public comment on the ongoing issue of anti-LGBT hate groups in our community.

The extremist group Moms For Liberty recently complained to Seminole County Public Schools about a two-page yearbook spread by the LGBT students of Lyman High School.

The SCPS school board responded by recalling the yearbook, offering refunds, and blanking out the spread with white pages in its place.

That action, and the groups whose complaints led to that action, are now widely criticized by students, teachers, and parents as aggressively intolerant and disruptive to the harmony of our community. This is because the yearbook spread was neutral and inoffensive, containing definitions of words like "gay" and "transgender" that high school students would commonly see when reading any news outlet.

Regardless, a small number of outside extremists appeared at this meeting, and continued to make indefensible and disgusting attacks against students and their parents and teachers. The remarks excerpted in this video are transcribed below.

Transcript

MICHAEL SCIARRINO: Gender ideology is vastly inappropriate for school settings, which does have potential long-term ramifications down the road for a child. And conversation should only be had with their parent.

MISHELLE MINELLA: It's about schools encouraging the sexualization of minors. The number of individuals seeking treatments for gender identity and related issues has increased dramatically in recent years. The rates of identifying as non-binary appear linked to the abundance of local cultural enthusiasm as seen in the data, tremendous spikes in certain regions, far beyond what most social scientists feel is enduring. In other words, some of the identification is merely transitory and temporary.

JOY STRICKER: I hope that parents pull their children out of SCPS and consider school choice or homeschool options, because there are too many groomers and pedophiles working here. In conclusion, they/them is derived from Satan and demons. It originates from "my name is Legion, for we are many". Another fun fact is that Baphomet is a transgender Satanic deity.

ZINNIA JONES: I'm a proud mother of a child at SCPS and a graduate. And I'm a transgender woman. I'm 34 years old, I've been doing this for a decade. You call that a phase? I am the ‘gender ideology’ – here I stand. We are many.

We are many!

Board members, restore the censored pages of your LGBT students to their yearbook. Make this right. Calling us groomers is a historical blood libel that leads to pogroms of minorities. To kids and parents everywhere, I'll show you exactly how to stop this. Extremist groups are lying to you here about trans people being too mentally incompetent to know our own genders, and they were lying about us when they said that being trans is a contagion we're spreading to other people. That's genocidal rhetoric. Who is responsible?

The Christian nationalist legal group Alliance Defending Freedom just ordered those talking points as a legal argument from a hate group in Gainesville called the ‘American College of Pediatricians’. They are a fake group, they are not the American Academy of Pediatrics. They are not mainstream, they are about a hundred people – about 12 core members. The Alliance Defending Freedom ordered those talking points. The talking points came first, the evidence was an afterthought, just like Big Tobacco hiring experts to manufacture doubt that smoking causes cancer. Go read the Southern Poverty Law Center today. Go read FloridaBan.com today, to see their actual documents we uploaded where they planned and workshopped these anti-trans talking points themselves.

This ends now!

I want these queer and trans kids busting open these conspiracies against their lives in the pages of that yearbook. That's journalism. You're only coping with the fallout of this because of a governor who's faced allegations of committing acts of torture against detainees at Guantanamo who were later freed. That is not political, that's the Geneva Convention. Torture is a war crime. [mic is cut] Committing torture would make someone a war criminal. Is he even following the law?

###

(Oh, and this was my first time going to one of these circus sideshows)

[abardnamedreginald]

im a wolf-demon-salamander-grey treefrog-katydid-cricket-luna moth-klingon-trad vampire-cat-romulan-harry potter wizard-gnome-drow-orc-wood elf-high elf-werewolf-twilight vampire-chihuahua-android-bard-druid-sorcerer-d&d wizard-lotr wizard-mind flayer-kraken-owlbear-genetically modified human-andes mint-harry potter merperson-h20 mermaid-great white shark-raven named nevermore-amontillado-sewer clown-animatronic-ink person-reality bender-ringwraith-chicken-fairy-telescreen-multibear-manic pixie dream girl-d class-horcrux-dragon-unicorn-pegasus-among us crewmate-among us imposter-game master-sharpie king size marker-dwarf-dragonborn-toothbrush-rock-paper-scissors-lizard-vulcan-politician-god-phone guy-icebreakers ice cubes pineapple-a doctor not a miracle worker-troll-ent-poodle-rabbit-Bear.-orange zombie-purple zombie-green zombie-professor plum-col. mustard-in the library-with a knife-hoola dancer-fish-villager-pelecan-defense against the dark arts professer-mafia boss-peep rabbit-peep chicken-gymnast-hairbrush-philosopher-music freak-school teacher-kidnapper-police lieutenant-farmer-trash can-dumpster out back-turtle-tribble-my little pony-kratt brother-high diver-pearl diver, dive, dive, deeper-chef-fire-earth-water-wind-wasp-bee-hornet-yellowjacket-mud dabber-grasshopper-rattlesnake-armadillo-cowboy-flashlight-starfleet science officer-harlet-elephant-gater-muppet-emo-goth-preppy-teabag-loser-sucker-mouse-rat-a puppet-a pauper-a pirate-a poet-a pawn-and a king-father albert-the pope-a nun-pastor jeff-gambler-metalhead-death rocker-the grim reaper-angel-lighthouse-paw patrol dog-hobbit-starfish-sponge-crab-squid-shrimp-jellyfish-chipmunk-hammerhead shark-nurse shark-humpback whale-blue whale-orca-sexual harrassment panda-south park character-jakoffasaurus-scrabble board-ouija board-pillow-toilet paper-period pad-tampon-baby diaper-elderly diaper-martian-touch tone telephone-starfleet operations-starfleet command-kirk-spock-bones-sulu-chekov-uhura-scotty-yeoman rand-KHAN!!!-mudd-the uss enterprise-the uss reliant-botany bay-v'ger-valeris-saavik-sybok-surak-sarek-the abbreviation 'idk'-sheldon-leonard-penny-howard-raj-amy-bernadette-mary cooper-george sr-george jr-missy cooper-meemaw-tam-dr sturgis-dr linkletter-dr jack bright-dr clef-dr gears-dr kondraki-dr mann-dr iceberg-dr crow-dr rights-dr sherman-scp 049-scp 3008-scp 4231-scp 166-scp 682-scp 2521-scp 590-O5 6-bill cipher-stanley pines-stanford pines-dipper-mabel-wendy-soos-schmebulok-gideon-mcgucket-dipper goes to taco bell-sheriff blubs-deputy durland-tad strange-andy taylor-william afton-michael afton-elizabeth afton-crying child-henry emily-charlotte emily-dave miller-jack kennedy-dee kennedy-peter kennedy-steven stevenson-aragorn-sam-frodo-merry-pippin-boromir-legolas-gimli-gandalf-faramir-denethor-sauron-elrond-thranduil-harry-hermione-ron-voldemort-pettigrew.-moony-padfoot-prongs-snape-edward-bella-alice!!-carlisle-charlie-cthulhu-greg heffley-pennywise-bendy-sammy-norman-jack-alice (susie)-allison-henry stien-joey drew-bruenor battlehammer-raskolnikov-heather-heather-heather-veronica-jd-kurt-ram-martha-kurt cobain-david bowie-freddie mercury-hozier-mitski-lemon demon-jack stauber-tally hall-hamilton-burr-jefferson-madison-washington-phillip-angelica-eliza-peggy-king george iii-king henry viii-ben franklin-catherine of aragon-anne boleyn-jane seymour-anne of cleves-katherine howard-catherine parr-dracula-𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂-evan hansen-conner murphey-john adams-raymond barron-fred randall-jane doe-ocean-noel-mischa-constance-ricky-karnak-vergil-alternate-thatcher davis-ruth-dave-cesar-mark-adam-sarah-jonah-evelyn-gabriel-trump-biden-sunny-basil-kel-aubrey-hero-mari-vanessa (the mean girl that kinda likes u)-tux the linux penguin-perry the platypus hybrid princess...dont fw me

[snezka-049]

Snezka and Doctor reference and lore (SCP-049) 🐰💚/💉🖤

Disclaimer: events of this story of Doctor (SCP-049) and Snezka, take place in one of the many multiverses of SCP! Lore will be supplemented. Sorry my bad English. This is my first experience.

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• Snezka. Doctor's ssistant and apprentice.

Snezka's story [tw] (its me, myself, Childhood and my ideas, real events)

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From birth, Snezka had to go through traumatic, unpleasant events in the family: her father's frequent violence against her mother, their scandalous breakup, her repeated returns to him, and an identical outcome.

When Snezka was 5 years old, she and her mother moved to live with a very conservative grandmother. Domestic violence continued, in form of a cruel and despotic upbringing of Snezhka. For any childish mistakes, without explaining what she was guilty of, what she did wrong, and how it was worth doing - she was beaten, humiliated, severely punished.

When Snezka was 8 years old, her mother found a new husband, together they moved in with him, but problems got worse. Her stepfather began to drink alcohol often. In a drunken state, he became aggressive and literally tried to kill little Snezka. She had to run away from home to be safe, because her mother, although she tried to protect her, it was unsuccessful.

In future, these events affected her character, making her nervous, anxious, blaming for everything, depressed, and paranoid. This led to trouble in the future.

Problems began in her school years, it was not possible to join the team, all because Snezka's upbringing took place behind closed doors, she had no friends, for reason that she was not allowed to leave the house, she rarely went out for a walk, and then only under a control of her mother. She was not taught social adjustment and interaction, as it was not a priority for her mother herself.

Unjustified bullying and rejection of her peers led Snezka to aggression, in4 future she became detached from the general mass of people and until the very end of school, she experienced bullying.

The events that had happened had led her to Introspection. More and more often she thought about a meaning of existence, society and other philosophical reflections. Later, all of this led her to a breakdown, from which she attempted to take her own life. The attempt turned out to be non-lethal, which in the end brings more trouble and attempts to bring the matter to the end. From the age of 12 to 16, she tried to take her own life. Her family couldn't understand or help her, her problems didn't seem significant, her attitude was worse, no one tried to understand how she felt, no one tried to help or even just talk to her.

Since the time of rethinking, personality formation and age, the girl copes with problems and works on herself. In the family everything is more or less settled, communication and society appeared. In the process of the flow of all the traumas experienced, Snezka understands her mistakes and the mistakes of this world, the problems of society and the relations of people to each other.

Her raison d'être is to become one of those who will change the world for better. She dreams of working in medicine or psychology, but when she went through the psychiatric board, she was not accepted for training because she was diagnosed with schizotypal disorder. The disorder was diagnosed at the age of 15 when she was being treated in a neuropsychiatric hospital. This plunged her into further despair for several years, but eventually she came to decision to find another way to realize her destiny. More specifically, to return to what she'd been practicing before.

She had a theory that there were no bad people in the world, but wounded people who had not been healed. She believed that a person becomes wounded after being treated unfairly or cruelly by others who are similarly wounded. If a person does not work on his wound, it will not heal, because there are many wounded people in the world that will scratch this wound, making it bigger. And this pain and resentment like a virus or rot infects his soul completely, making the person the same as one who once inflicted the wound. Later on, this person carries this pain and resentment further, taking it out on others, making more infected. It is an endless cycle that cannot be eradicated completely, but can be minimized. Some can handle it, and some need help. It is necessary that a person wants help, understands the situation and tries to solve it too, because no one can help you better than you yourself, which is what Snezka had to go through.

Her first steps towards this were moral support and help to similarly lonely or abandoned people. She communicated with a lot of different people on the Internet, looking for people who needed help, as well as compensating for her lack of social life as a child. A lot of people during her communication with her, gained trust, she always said that she was ready to listen and help. People disclosed their emotional wounds to her, and Snezka could help them find a way to cure, gave advice on how to correct the problematic situation, as well as providing moral and psychological support, helping people to understand themselves.

One day everything changed in Snezka's life, a special Doctor appeared in her life....

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• SCP-049, Doctor. A humanoid creature, an anomaly, and a misunderstood genius.

The Doctor's Story (SCP-049)

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Once upon a time, he was probably an ordinary person, but after one incident and getting into "Alagadda", he became what he is to this day. It is not yet known whether it is possible to return it to its previous form, is it worth it?

Doctor believes that the world is sick with the "Pestilence" ー as he himself nicknamed this disease, its nature is not studied. His task is to rid the world of it, for what reason he took on this responsibility is not known, or maybe someone initiated him into it, once in the past (?). It has the ability to stop all biological processes in the human body with one touch, at its own will.

(The Pestilence is not a simple plague!)

Was captured by the SCP Foundation, which studies anomalies and contains them. At first, during his stay in the fund, he was closed in on himself and nurtured a plan for further actions. When he was told where he was, Doctor was very happy to be in the company of fellow researchers and scientists. He was eager to share his achievements and talk about his experience, but unfortunately he faced misunderstanding. His life's work, all his works, were criticized.

He insisted and was given a opportunity to show himself, but his experiments and operations failed, which with each such failure minimized the Foundation's handouts, and then stopped altogether. WhicWhichh extremely angered Doctor, in his opinion, the foundation staff, like many others, are incapable of looking past the minor setbacks to the salvation happening right before their eyes. He genuinely wants to help others, but unfortunately he was unable to provide the foundation with a concrete example of exactly what he is trying to save everyone from.

His long past keeps many secrets that he does not yet tell, probably does not remember everything or for some reason keeps it a secret.

One day, his life changed, he had a faithful and devoted ally who understands him and is ready for anything...

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• Beginning, escape from the foundation

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Snezka learns about the SCP Foundation from an acquaintance, and by invitation she managed to get to work there as a programmer. While working at the foundation, she learned about SCP-049 and became interested in his personality. As she learned more about him, she realized that they had a common goal in life and could help each other achieve it. She felt compassion for him and saw herself in him. She realized that this was an opportunity to change the world.

There was an accident at the Foundation, the security system was shut down, and most of the dangerous objects broke free, causing all the attention of the Foundation's guards to be focused on them. Snezka managed to get into SCP-049's holding cell, talk to him and convince him to trust her. Doctor was eager to return to freedom and continue his work after so many years. After a long time in the foundation, he had nothing to lose, the days were the same, and the possibility of escape became a very interesting proposition. Of course, he had to go through some difficulties, but the escape was successful. Doctor became one of hundreds of missing anomalies, and Snezka was added to the missing/possibly murdered staff.

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• Doctor and Snezka personalities

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Snezka

Born in the south of Russia. Speaks Russian and English, and is learning French. She looks like a fragile girl, slightly infantile, hyperactive, but when responsible moment comes, she becomes serious and collected. Extremely loyal and devoted, idealist, romantic and dreamer. Open and sociable when around Doctor. In public (without him) shy and silent. Optimist, finds bright sides in any situation, although due to frequent attempts to understand herself and digging in the past, there are prolonged depressive periods, and anxiety. (this has been eliminated with the advent of Doctor). Hypochondriac, vulnerable, can cry easily. Very empathic.

Often she feels miserably for dying sick patients, even if she tries to separate feelings from work and understands that this is all for the good. Even realizing cure is not perfect, she still fully trusts and is confident Doctor.

Attitude towards Doctor

She considers Doctor an alternative better version of herself, finds inspiration in him and sees an example to follow, dreams of being like him. Madly in love with him. He surrounds with a lot of care and tactility, shows signs of attention, may not notice how he hits hyper-protection.

Previously, Snezka did not have such love and romantic feelings for anyone, for a long time she believed that she did not need it, her priority was her life goal and work.

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Doctor (SCP-049)

He is able to speak different languages, although he prefers English or French. He is extremely well-mannered, intelligent, well-read and intelligent, a master of his profession, has outstanding knowledge and skills in the field of medicine. Uses complex phrases, metaphors and terms in speech. Very rarely show emotions, but is able to show them.

In general, peaceful, it is difficult to get him out of temper, however, if it comes to work or there is a person with pestilence next to him, he becomes aggressive and seeks to "cure" the patient.

Reacts negatively to criticism, is an idealist and a perfectionist. A little pessimistic, but confident in himself and his abilities (or wants to think so).

Attitude towards Snezka

Doctor sees in Snezka a hope, she motivates and invigorates him. With the appearance of this girl, his existence has brightened. She makes him feel truly needed in the world, which inspires and energizes him to work, he feels supported, cared for and understood. For a long time, Doctor has been alone and self-reliant. He has never experienced romantic feelings in his entire existence, which makes him temporarily unaware of his relationship with Snezka, but he knows that these feelings are positive. Deep down, Doctor is afraid of losing her, so he pays attention to all her complaints about her well-being.

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• Time after the escape

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Doctor began to live with Snezka, he understood that he would be safe with her, he did not want to be lonely again, he became attached to her. He was temporarily deprived of the opportunity to practice treating the pestilence. Doctor is a master of his profession, but because of the peculiarity of his essence, he cannot officially work as a doctor.

(and also does not have a license)

Snezka understood his longing for work, and also wanted to participate in it, she was very sorry for the fate of the Doctor and she was ready to help him with everything.

Sharing her story, Doctor realized that it makes sense for them to be together, and he takes her as a apprentice. The teaching took place theoretically, from his notes and personal narratives, but theory alone is not enough.

After a while, they became underground doctors, setting up their clinic at Snezka's home. Funds for it were spent from Snezka's budget, she earned money on tailoring clothes to order and drawing. This was enough to cover the costs of their accommodation.

For the clinic, Snezka found potential clients ー people in need of medical care. For their work, Doctor and Snezka took a symbolic payment, affordable to patients.

Those who did not have pestilence were cure with standard methods and procedures, whereas cure a patient with pestilence most often resulted in death.

Of course, the cure needs to be improved, but together they will find the best medicine.

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• Development of romantic relationships

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Their relationship was friendly. The initiative to get closer and move to romance began to show Snezka. Doctor noticed the change in her behavior immediately, but he was in no hurry to draw conclusions .

After a while, he began to feel that he too wanted to pay attention to Snezka and try to start a serious relationship, but only after he had achieved his goal of cure the world from the pestilence. But after a few years, he decided that their relationship wouldn't interfere with work, and made the first move, saying: "I've never felt this way before, but I think I love you."

After discovering that their thoughts and feelings were mutual, the couple began to pay even more attention to each other and express their love directly.

Because of Snezka, Doctor found inspiration and motivation to work, became less withdrawn and not shy to show feelings and emotions. And because of Doctor, Snezka was able to cope with her anxiety, become self-confident and let go of her past.

They complement each other, and together they can work on themselves and their common cause, they were able to realize each other's goals and desires.

They are cure for each other.

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• How they spend time together

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Most of their time, they are engaged in Snowball's work, treatment, and training.

In their free time, Snezka and Doctor like to philosophize about life over a cup of tea, walk in nature away from people, both have a weakness for lavender.

Often Snezka tries to introduce Doctor to modern culture, sometimes you need to take a break from work. She introduced him to many films, TV series, cartoons and video games.

Separately, they are withdrawn and deeply immersed in their thoughts, but when together, they become different. Sometimes Snezka becomes a psychologist for Doctor, because he still has mental wounds that he has never told anyone about, and she helps to heal them. They are confident in each other.

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• Situations from their lives

Why not, ahah. Section will be supplemented.

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Snezka often gives Doctor gifts, once the Doctor decided to give her his first gift, it was an embalmed heart in a jar. Snezka still doesn't know who owned the heart.

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One day Snezka decided to introduce Doctor to her family. She asked him not to talk about pestilence and not to cure anyone in her family if someone was sick with the fever, at least on the day of the first meeting, at least not in front of everyone. He promised that everything would go well.

At the family meeting, it was tense at first, Snezka's family was embarrassed by her lover's appearance. But after chatting for a few hours, they realized that he might be creepy on the outside, but he was a smart, well-mannered man.

When Snezka and the Doctor arrived home, Doctor sighed heavily and said that he was holding on and keeping his head down, but there were two people at the table with them who were sick with pestilence . They never traveled together to Snowball's family again.

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That's all for now, it will be updated from time to time. In the meantime, you can ask questions, thank you :3

[anonauthorsworkshop]

compiled masterlist: the blog's iceberg

finally got around to making this - will update whenever lmao

to those new to the blog: the Pansophical Pretender section is referring to my SCP fanfic, which is currently published only on Quotev. masterlist mostly consists of my writing, headcanons & some of my favorite asks. i also dug up everything, even all the way back to the start of my blog in 2021. excuse the length of this lmao and keep in mind some of this is dated

hope this also gives some context to some of this blog's inside jokes for newcomers (ex. MC rickrolling Yellow Lord)

Part 2 of masterlist

Requests are open!

SCP:

MHA x SCP AU: Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, bonus

SCP-049 x Injured!Junior Researcher Reader (Gender Neutral)

All-Death headcanons

An anon's 035 headcanon

035 vs Mental Illness & again & again

Pansophical Pretender Related

Ask Blog: @askpansophicalmc

Playlist (unorganized & silly)

2021

Who would attempt to murder MC & why?

What if MC met Brothers Death?

Which SCPs would protect MC?

Explanation of MC's skills

MC's biggest flex

Pangloss & MC headcanons

Reversal AU

More Pangloss & MC headcanons

079 & MC headcanons

049 & MC headcanons

How would MC even play Uno with 079?

049 x MC x 035 poly headcanons

Even more Pangloss & MC headcanons

Small Death & MC headcanons

Things MC is Not Allowed Discouraged To Do At The Foundation

More 079 & MC headcanons

Pining 049 x MC x 035 poly

MC the walking Wikipedia

High school AU

Musician AU

2022

MC's interview with Agent Bibs

Old Gods & MC headcanons

Gremlin MC

682 is an emo whale carcass

A piece about MC

The beginning of the peepaw 106 saga

106 & MC headcanons (platonic)

What if MC had a big book containing SCP tales?

MC & foundation employees headcanons

How would MC interact with D-9134 from SCP:CB?

053 & MC fluff

999 & MC headcanons

How would Bright feel about MC wearing 963?

Angst MC headcanons

MC & their knowledge of Ship in a Bottle & Part 2

O5 headcanons about MC

MC conspiracy board

Peepaw 106 you made a mess

Bright x MC headcanons

MC makes 106 wear a pretty pink princess dress

Eldritch anons prevent MC from getting medicated

MC & 191 headcanons

Why is 079's favorite color green?

Eldritch anons interact with foundation staff

Gears tries to teach eldritch anons English & with MC's child AU

A poor employee discovers the eldritch anons true form

What do the chapter drafts look like?

More about Amingvolvin

"This jumpsuit is not orange"

Ambassador vs MC

Small Death & MC Angst

"Were they hot?"

What if MC met Mekhane?

Congratulations

It's simple, really

And a strong right hook

MC rickrolls Yellow Lord & again

The iconic Kraken post

Mini Death headcanons

MC's SCP-978 photo

Expectations vs Reality

A touch-starved 049

MC forgets how to breathe

Technicalities

Smartass MC

Alagadda-Friendly LGBTQ+ Flags

Drunk MC

Time changes things

MC pranks 035

Will MC become familiar with some MTF members?

Fun fact anon's short story about MC rickrolling Yellow Lord

079 needs MC to complete a captcha

"Hey, remember when you tried to kill me?"

Ambassador's dilemma

MC x White Lord headcanons

Expectations vs Reality yet again

MC & Glass on a first-name basis

Over my dead body

"It must be an anomaly!"

[eobarried]

i think that when we talk about earth 42 miles morales, there’s more important things to consider than just “is he a villain or a hero” and here’s why:

1. disregarding thematic elements, let’s look at things logically first. og miles and 42 miles diverge when the spider bites. that means that BOTH of them were accepted to visions academy (we see this in one of spot’s flashbacks to the spider, where it was about to bite 42 miles). 42 miles wouldn’t have been accepted to visions if his father had died already, bc it’s a boarding school and his mom would have wanted him to stay at home. at this point, they have a similar starting point

2. 42 miles attending visions (likely briefly), is important and thematic. visions academy, as a prestigious charter school focusing on academics, represents being a productive asset (being a good student, good employee, working WITH the system). it is presented by miles’s parents as opposite to uncle aaron, who disregards this traditional approach to success in a capitalist society.  actually, the fact that 42 miles was almost bitten while he was in school (as opposed to og miles, who was bitten while he was with his uncle aaron), thematically aligns 42 miles more with his father than his uncle aaron. this is important, because jefferson believes in the american dream and proving one’s self through merit. if 42 miles believes that, it means he has a different viewpoint than og miles, who believes that everyone is deserving of greatness.

3. stereotypes are important in this movie. let’s talk about miguel now. he specifically calls og miles an anomaly. an anomaly doesn’t mean a “universe breaking threat” - if you’ve read anything scp related, anomalies are just things that are strange. they don’t fit in or make sense within the universe. in this sense, the universe is the “canon” - the fact that miguel uses that word is a clue that what miles doesn’t fit into is not only the “storyline associated with spiderman” but also “the storyline associated with a young black man.”

4. when we look at og miles as a spider-person, the “storyline” he refuses to fit into has to do with loss and struggle. everyone around him says: you are spiderman. spiderman has to experience loss, trauma, and pain in order to become a better hero. so you do too. thematically, this connects to miles as a young black man. people around him (like his school counselor) assume that he has to have experienced hardship and struggled in order to fit a certain mold. it calls back to they stereotypes we have surrounding black stories: that in order for them to do well in front of white audiences, that there has to be pain and suffering and hardship and loss. og miles rejects this stereotype and wants to “do his own thing” - tell an authentic story without reliance on pain and struggle. 

5. how does this connect to e42 miles? well, miguel says that 42 miles was supposed to be spiderman, not miles. that 42′s storyline is more stereotypical and fitting - both as a spiderman, but also as a young black man. this makes sense with what we see of him - he has lost his father, and had to drop out of a prestigious school to be with his mother. he was forced to grow up faster than miles - which is why he physically looks older (perhaps also referring to the fact that white people often overestimate the ages of black boys). even without becoming spiderman, his storyline is what a white audience would expect to see of a young black male protagonist. what miguel calls canon, we as audiences would call “stereotypical” “safe” or “expected.” these are stories we have seen over and over again (like spiderman) and that are familiar to us. they don’t make us question things. they don’t undermine our own beliefs and values. perhaps they present a sob story of a young man who was failed by the system (e42) or perhaps they’re the story of a young man who was able to pull himself up, and through effort and merit became what no one else thought he could be (og miles)

6. but, according to miguel’s logic, both miles have broken canon. og miles wasn’t supposed to have his story told in the first place. 42 miles was - but it hasn’t been. both miles have now broken canon, because neither of their stories are what they were supposed to be. we’ve seen the way in which miles broke canon - despite proving himself to be a competent spiderman, he’s still been rejected, breaking the mold of “young man who pulls himself up by earning himself a place in the american dream.” that can’t be his story, because it isn’t true - he didn’t pull himself up. he had a whole community of people - both spider and not - who helped him along the way. his story isn’t one of personal success, it’s a story about community.

7. and in order to solidify the themes surrounding these movies, that means that 42 miles has to have done something similar. but if 42 miles has similar beliefs to his father, that complicates things. if he believes that that a person’s worth is proven by merit, than he would resent miles for being bitten by his spider, because he knows that if he had that chance, he would have been just as good of a spiderman. and if he had been fated (or canon) to be bitten, then he would resent miles even more for taking that opportunity away from him. this is similar to visions academy - 42 miles won the lottery - he had luck. then he passed the entrance exam - he proved his merit. but circumstances meant he had to leave the school to take care of his mother, and he lost his chance to prove his worth to society. not only did he lose the opportunity to tell his story (he did not become spiderman, the movie isn’t “about” him), but in the world of the film, he’s unable to achieve greatness because not only was he unable to attend a prestigious school, but the community around him is now crime-ridden and crumbling because of his lack of opportunity.

8. miles would likely feel guilty about his opportunity, but also frustrated at the same time. why should their only be one spider between the two of them? why is there only one story that can be told? why is there only one version of the black experience that can be shared to a broader audience? why can’t he do both? 

9. what’s more important than 42 miles being a hero or a villain or whatever... is that he’s a person. he’s a kid, like og miles. he is miles - just like miles, he found someone that shouldn’t exist and immediately tied them to uncle aaron’s punching bag. yes, 42′s rope is stronger and his knots are tighter, but he’s still miles. and i think that hopefully, and i don’t know how everything will play out, but i really hope that through this story, 42 miles finds a way to understand and lift up his community on his own - in his own way. without the luck of a lottery or a spider bite. without a superhero swooping in to save the day. without having to prove himself through merit and claw himself out of a bad situation alone. but, like og miles - asking for help. admitting that he doesn’t know how to do these things, or fix his community. working together with those he loves to better the city that he loves. that - that’s what’s important about e42 miles. because he’s not just miles - he’s us. 

[sakurachan7734]

The SCPs rule for the SCP fan kids

Florence and dýo

Now they both are strict with Aristotle and lavender but they are kinda loose with the rules they have which are

If you get caught sneaking out or trying to skip school or church you will be grounded for about a week or two no exceptions 

If you are caught with cigarettes or any kind of drugs or alcohol you will be grounded for a month and get a very stern talking to 

Do chores and homework on time unless you are sick

Finish whatever you have on your plate

If Aristotle is caught doing something inappropriate they would get a very long talk 

Lanky and Lawrence

Now Lawrence is more chill with all their kids so is lanky but he is incredibly worried about what could happen to them so the rules they have maybe kind of strange to humans which are

The kids can only eat a human heart only as a treat

 the kids are only allowed outside if asked for permission first ( if you have been on my blog for a while you would know that every door and window in their house are boarded up)

They are not allowed in the basement unless they ask Lawrence first and they aren’t allowed to take anybody in the basement no matter how many times they ask

If max or Jackson are caught with any drugs or alcohol They will be grounded for about a month and get a very long talking to

If Jackson is caught doing some inappropriate it would get the talk

Rex and zero

Now Rex’s and zero and both really chill with Charlie but there are a few lines that Charlie should not cross

Charlie is not allowed to make changes to his body without zero’s permission

Charlie is not allowed to talk about the abandon band town they live in because the foundation could hear them

Charlie isn’t allowed to bring Abby anywhere because of her power

If Charlie is caught doing something inappropriate zero and Rex would have the talk with him

[juujp]

Scp oc

“Professor Anders Bjornsen was placed to study and document the new anomaly that scp foundation capture, learning more about the little creature called Violet”

Author’s note: Hi guys! This is my first time actually writing something in English so please go easy on me. The number I choose for the scp already exist but let's pretend it doesn't 

Warnings: mention of physical abuse, past trauma and language

‘Tape 1 anomaly 2202 Professor Bjornsen”

-Today the foundation found an anomaly in the area of North America. I was designated to study and classify the new creature in order to find other information about her sudden appearance. The professor walked down the hallway looking at the papers on the board. The papers contain some basic questions for the creature and some blank spaces for notes behind him, one guard leading to the room the anomaly is in. 

Finally in front of the metal door. Bjornsen enters the room he could help by being surprised at the atmosphere in there. He knew that the anomaly was considered safe but he didn't expect a little girl playing with a bunny pluhie and coloring. Besides that, he sat down with a safe distance from the girl.

-Hi! I’m professor Anders Bjornsen. What is your name, little lady? Examining the figure ahead of him she looks like a normal girl between 6 and 7 years old. She has dark brown hair with light faded ends put up in two pigtails with some hair loose, red eyes and a light skin tone. However some points show me why she is unusual: an eyepatch covering a red stain on her left eye, deer antler and what look like fluffy ears. (just like the kid from sweet tooth)

-Hey. I’m Violet at least that's what my mommy calls me. You know where she is? She said this new school was really nice to me. Professor knew exactly where her “mom” was, she was the one to contact the foundation to collect Violet. -So Violet, your mother is talking with the principal right now and I was sent here to ask you some questions ok? Bjornsen took the board and a pen ready to write the answer she may give to him.

-First could you tell me what happened to your eye? It hurts? The look in Violet’s face changed to a more sad one. She starts to play with her finger -When mommy and I were walking in my neighborhood she was letting me in my old school. Some boys waited for mommy to go away to go to me and started to make fun of me. After some time they started to get more aggressive saying that I wasn't supposed to go out and that I was a freak. When I became angry this mark grew in my face and I came back to my house, mommy then called someone now i’m here.

Surprised by the history that he was just told on *how could a person submit a anomaly to a normal school* the professor tried to continue neutral to Violet -Ok another question how the antlers feel? He raises his hand slowly coming near the girl’s head but Violet pulls back trying to avoid the hand -I’m sorry could not touch them. Basically they are really light to me like any other member but are tough and not so flexible. One time I hit them at the door and it really hurt.

    -So Violet that's it I will go and come back tomorrow the nice security gonna lead you to your new room ok? Going out of the door Bjornsen nodded to the guards and informed them that Violet was a safe creature so they shouldn't use force with her while taking her to another room. He went directly to his work place to catalog the new information on a tape.

[m13n]

Dreamer

June 25, 2024

Pt. 3 (Change of channel)

I was in a corner with my school mates beside the stairs.

The countdown is over and we were waiting for the zombies.

We heard a chain getting dragged like in resident evil.

But we were surprised that priests and christians came (yeah but they were evil).

Suddenly there was an interview....

We were called on by one, and I was with my phone, copying what's on the blackboard on my phone...

When it was my turned, the assistant skipped me and i was happy because they were giving me weird vibes.

He just gave me a booklet where i will transfer the one i am copying, and he said that i go to [father's name] room.

I just agreed, but didn't listen because some of those who entered never came back and the others became like SCP....

So i went down stairs and i wasn't finished at copying on the board, but the man didn't let me and said that i should go down.

But I think there's a punishment if you didn't finish the booklet so i just trusted my memory.

I didn't enter the room and went directly to the lobby doing the booklet.

SUDDENLY, a classmate came from outside...she turned very weird like an SCP...

AND another one came down, she scared me the most and I remembered the most... Her make up was smudged, and HER MOUTH WAS MOVING WEIRDLY LIKE IN HORROR MOVIES....

So yeah that sht creeped me out

She joked and went closer to me and I was not laughing because I screamed.

She stopped and sat down and talked to the other weird classmate. I had enough.

I want to wake up so i grabbed my phone and used my front cam with flash, and used it on my eyes.... I woke up at 1 am.

End

[dnaamericaapp]

Virginia School Board Votes To Restore Schools’ Confederate Names

A Virginia school board voted early Friday to reinstate the original Confederate names of two public schools.

Why it matters: The Shenandoah County School Board’s 5-1 vote in favor of the move appears to be the first such action since authorities began removing Confederate symbols from U.S. institutions and public spaces in 2020 following racial justice protests that erupted after the murder of George Floyd.

State of play: The vote reverses the board’s decision in 2020 to remove the local elementary and high schools’ association with Civil War-era Confederate leaders Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Turner Ashby.

• Consequently, Mountain View High School will revert to being called Stonewall Jackson High School and Honey Run Elementary School will again be called Ashby-Lee Elementary School.

Driving the news: The Coalition for Better Schools, a local conservative group, pushed for the change, saying in a letter to the school board that the group believes “that revisiting this decision is essential to honor our community’s heritage and respect the wishes of the majority.”

Background: Turner Ashby was a Confederate cavalry commander who owned enslaved people and advocated violence against Northern abolitionists, per Axios’ justice and race reporter Russell Contreras.

Ashby served under Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, a general who was known to have owned six enslaved people.

Ty Seidule’s 2021 book, “Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause,” details how statues to Jackson and other Confederate leaders came in 20th century eras to symbolize racial terror, as white southerners embraced a revisionist history about the Civil War.

• Defenders of Confederates downplay that criticism and say it’s about history, Contreras notes.

What’s next: “The funds required to implement the restoration must be provided by private donations exclusively and not be borne by the school system or government tax funds, though the SCPS [Shenandoah County Public Schools] will oversee disbursements relating to restoration costs,” per the motion that was carried. -(source: axios)

[nullians]

Thanks for the tag, soldier! I will treasure the letters and notes. Now choose your reward loot!

Tagging: @mulletfriend @bansheehill @sebfreak @moondove330 @sipral @wehavecometoanend--maybe @vulpiximisa @scp-10000 @hashtag-anthems @szachrajka

Thank you @anti-homophobia-cheese for the tag! This one is super fun!

Tagging @cha-melodius @zwiazdziarka @orchidscript @firenati0n @read-and-write- @gayrootvegetable @alasse9 @caterpills @xthelastknownsurvivorx @cultofsappho @love-has-a-way-ofgrowingbackward and anyone else that wants to play!

[zinniajones]

Gender Analysis present our remarks at the Seminole County Public Schools board meeting addressing the censorship of LGBTQ+ students in the Lyman High School yearbook.

This is the two-page spread at issue. Several speakers from Moms for Liberty, Turning Point Action, and other extremists called the school staff pedophiles, called trans children demons, said their parents are groomers, and accused the board of advancing the agenda of Satan. Those were their objections to the following two pages, which are now censored and removed:

Our remarks are reproduced below. Also refer to www.floridaban.com for the referenced materials.

HEATHER: Hi, I'm Heather McNamara. I'm a parent of two Seminole County children. One's a graduate, very proud of him. I want to talk about the past for a second, because none of this is new, it's old trash. I really hope the kids here know that -- this is not new.

I grew up as many of us here did in the 80’s and 90’s, and back then, adults did not talk about LGBT stuff with kids. They were so worried about our freaking innocence, okay, and when Ellen DeGeneres came out on network television there was a huge outcry. The homophobic Defense of Marriage Act was passed, I don't even want to talk about that. Parents and children cheered. Adults said ‘God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve’, and ‘you're not gay, everyone gets curious’. Trans people weren't even discussed except on Jerry Springer, which was horrible.

I didn't know many queer kids growing up. At my high school, there was only one openly gay kid and his life was a living hell. We had a gym teacher that we were all pretty sure was a lesbian, but nobody was allowed to talk about that, especially not her. I think she was afraid for her job. Is that what we want to do again?

It was a dark time, so most of us hid ourselves. And you know what, I was exactly what some of you want your kids to be. I was afraid even to think about what I might be. I left high school believing I could live as a straight person – I think most of the rest of us did.

20 years passed, and I was able to reconnect with a lot of kids I went to high school with on social media. Scores of us have come out, because it didn't work. Because whatever you complainants may think, whatever your parental disapproval, just isn't powerful enough. Threats of hell and demons are not scary enough, and an old stupid book, a thousand times translated, and even a government isn't convincing enough to change who somebody is. Don't be your kid's first bullies. Thank you.

BOARD: Order. Order, please. Next speaker.

ZINNIA: Hi, I'm Zinnia Jones, she/her – sorry for the bad handwriting. Heather McNamara is my wife, she's crying right now because of this. I'm a proud mother of a child at SCPS and a graduate. And I'm a transgender woman. I'm 34 years old, I've been doing this for a decade. You call that a phase? I am the ‘gender ideology’ – here I stand. We are many.

We are many!

Board members, restore the censored pages of your LGBT students to their yearbook. Make this right. Calling us groomers is a historical blood libel that leads to pogroms of minorities. To kids and parents everywhere, I'll show you exactly how to stop this. Extremist groups are lying to you here about trans people being too mentally incompetent to know our own genders, and they were lying about us when they said that being trans is a contagion we're spreading to other people. That's genocidal rhetoric.

Who is responsible? The Christian nationalist legal group Alliance Defending Freedom just ordered those talking points as a legal argument from a hate group in Gainesville called the ‘American College of Pediatricians’. They are a fake group, they are not the American Academy of Pediatrics. They are not mainstream, they are about a hundred people – about 12 core members.

The Alliance Defending Freedom ordered those talking points. The talking points came first, the evidence was an afterthought, just like Big Tobacco hiring experts to manufacture doubt that smoking causes cancer. Go read the Southern Poverty Law Center today. Go read FloridaBan.com today, to see their actual documents we uploaded where they planned and workshopped these anti-trans talking points themselves.

This ends now!

I want these queer and trans kids busting open these conspiracies against their lives in the pages of that yearbook. That's journalism. You're only coping with the fallout of this because of a governor who's faced allegations of committing acts of torture against detainees at Guantanamo who were later freed. That is not political, that's the Geneva Convention. Torture is a war crime. [mic is cut] Committing torture would make someone a war criminal. Is he even following the law?

[hopefullyababe]

cant remember if theres a post like this already but put in the tags what you thought the magnus archives was about before you started listening to it

[eldritchamy]

Okay so for further context, and for anyone who is interested in a rough synopsis (I say, over an hour before I finish writing this post) of the idea, (bearing in mind I have not watched any Carmilla stuff in actual years and I am remembering this stuff basically off the top of my head, so some of the details might be fuzzy).

Basically my thought after seeing the Carmilla movie was "you know what, this entire thing only happened because of Carmilla's unnamed therapist that we know nothing else about, huh."

That therapist was the one who instigated whatever made Carmilla go back to Elle's house and get her mortality fucked with. Carmilla being a vampire again is a direct result of something that happened entirely off screen and was mentioned only vaguely.

What the fuck is up with that?

So I started asking some logical questions like "what kind of therapist would Carmilla be able to go to?" and "hey what's up with all those weird new reports in the credits where Laura has a bunch of misspelled names like Lauren Horlis?" and "what's up with Mattie's ghost showing up asking them to just deal with weird shit? WHY ISN'T CARMILLA MORE SURPRISED TO SEE THE MESSENGER OF ERESHKIGAL JUST APPEARING IN HER HOUSE???" and "how come nobody ever asked any questions or gave any answers about who the Corvae Corporation were?"

The idea that basically formed in my brain was "how do you continue what is very obviously an unfinished story while answering a LOT of the questions raised by what we've seen so far?"

So the premise of Becoming A Cryptid was that it would pick up IMMEDIATELY where the movie leaves off. (Or rather, during the flight home slightly before the final scene, when Carmilla had time to think about what just happened but not say anything yet). The fic would basically start with Carmilla being very quiet on the flight home and Laura being curious about it (of course) but also assuming that she just had a lot to process.

The first question it was going to answer was "what the fuck is up with this mystery therapist?" And my answer was going to be KindaTV's roughly contemporary series Inhuman Condition. You know, the one with the supernatural therapist that ends with that therapist getting removed from her position.

The bigger reveal, though, would have been Corvae's involvement.

To the best of my knowledge, I am the only person who ever really pieced together who the Corvae probably were and what their relationship to The Dean was.

What we know explicitly from canon:

The Corvae Corporation is a "post-occult resource conglomerate"

They had a LONG standing relationship with Silas University and, in particular, The Dean.

They had a significant financial interest in not only the school but in many of the occult artifacts located in, around, and beneath the campus

The plan left in place in case of the Dean's "demise" placed a pretty significant level of trust in them, far exceeding the trust she had in the Silas Board of Governors (who were mostly just expendable bearers for the four Talismans of Inanna's power)

They continued to pull the strings of her agenda, and push her plan along, even after the Board (especially Mattie) started deviating from that plan and going against her wishes. i.e., they had authority, they knew more or less what her plan was, and they faithfully executed that plan even without being able to deal with her directly

What I was able to infer:

Corvae is sort of like a cross between the Watchers' Council from Buffy and the SCP Foundation, except it's a super wealthy corporation instead of a clandestine government agency. They are very old, very wealthy, very knowledgeable, and control a LOT of magical objects and information from the ancient world.

They are the only ones apart from literal gods (Inanna, Enki, Ereshkigal) who seemed to have knowledge of the Gates of Hell, and they are the ones Inanna trusted with her plan above all others

They are probably from as far back in history as those gods

Which means they are most likely a modern derivative of a mercantile group that dates back to Ur and the Dilmun civilization, around 5-6000 years ago. They probably originated as a group of traders out of Ur (the seat of power for the Sumerian god Sin, Inanna's father) and were worshippers of his. They would have been wealthy and influential at the time, and certainly would have had dealings in Uruk, where Inanna's most prominent worship was.

Now. Why should "resources" be limited to ancient artifacts with magical properties? They are a corporation, after all. Why not, say, "Human resources" (remember: they contractually owned like 30% of the students' livers)? Or in this case, Inhuman resources.

I basically came up with the idea that Corvae had moved in after that one therapist gets ousted from her job, and they take over ownership of the practice, putting one of their own people in place there instead. This served two purposes: 1. it allowed there to be a reason for Carmilla's therapist to have some kind of involvement in things that were tied to her past, and 2. anyone she was likely to get a supernatural therapist recommendation from was probably affiliated with or influenced by Corvae anyway.

It basically was my way of explaining how the entire premise of the movie plot even happened. But I also needed to deal with where the movie leaves us story wise.

It ENDS with Carmilla renouncing that divine spark that Inanna used to restart her heart, and she goes back to being a vampire. This creates a problem for Laura and Carmilla as a couple: only one of them is aging (again).

There are ALSO a lot of loose ends in the world with Corvae meddling in the affairs of the supernatural, and maybe other victims of Lophiiformes trapped with their souls in limbo.

And there was that weird scene with Mattie, where Carmilla wasn't surprised to see her, and wasn't surprised to be recruited to go investigate and solve some supernatural problem.

SO.

Laura made a deal with Ereshkigal once. And she made good on that deal, even at the cost of her own life. Ereshkigal was EXTRAORDINARILY generous in allowing Carmilla to bargain for Laura's life at all, much less giving her such an easy riddle. The goddess of death had already taken an interest.

"All the dead are hers," and she does not like to give them back. But she DID give Laura back. WHY?

Because Laura made good on a deal, and she is a VERY good meddler in the supernatural world. Ereshkigal does not like when the dead are KEPT from her. She does not like when someone fucks around in her business. And Corvae fucks around in her business.

The Corvae Corporation would have been a major antagonist group in the fic. Essentially Mattie shows up and offers Laura what amounts to a warlock pact: I give you something to investigate, something to meddle in, and you go fix it for me. Do this, and I return the favor by withholding your death. You get to stay with Carmilla for the duration of her supernatural life. I solve your problem for you, and in return you solve problems for me. Ereshkigal is willing to offer Laura this deal because, again, Laura lived up to her end of the last deal (no pun intended). She knows Laura is a person CAPABLE of fixing her problems, and she knows she can TRUST Laura to do it in exchange for this specific deal.

And Ereshkigal is willing to make THIS SPECIFIC DEAL because Death is the only forever there is. What is a few decades to the god of death? Everything will be hers eventually. Letting one meddlesome mortal stick around longer than usual, in exchange for all the Corvae bullshit she can disrupt? That's a worthy trade. One gets a pass, for now, because she can put a stop to SO many things Corvae might do that she's not particularly happy about.

The old laws of the Underworld are very clear: the number of souls in Ereshkigal's domain CANNOT DECREASE. It IS possible for one soul to leave, if another soul takes its place. This is a key part of Innana's Descent to the Underworld. She was permitted to leave, but her lover at the time was not mourning her adequately and so he was the one she told the demons that accompanied her to take in her place. Laura would be allowed a few extra decades on earth in exchange for all the souls wrongly kept from Ereshkigal returning to her.

Remember all those news clips at the end where Laura's name is wildly misspelled, and some of them are about weird things like a Fountain of Youth? What if all the Luane Horleys are actually ALIASES? What if they're cover identities (bad ones, but she would refuse to use an anagram on principle) that get set up so Laura can go to strange places and investigate strange problems on behalf of Ereshkigal?

And she just becomes this weirdo who pops up all over the place and is always involved in something weird, and her name keeps changing but she doesn't seem to age, and she's always with some vampire girl who's oddly charmed by her, almost like the VAMPIRE is the one enthralled by this mysterious reporter who just keeps being involved in supernatural nonsense.

So Laura Hollis gets to stay with Carmilla for a very long time, do all the investigative journalism she wants, solve all kinds of mysteries on behalf of her patron, and live out her wildest Scoobies From Buffy fantasies, all while hoping no one notices it's the same mysterious girl at the site of all of these Weird Occurrences. The solution to all of her problems is just getting to live her best gay life with Carmilla.

because Becoming A Cryptid Is Gay Culture.

you know, I really DID have a great idea for a Carmilla fanfic back in the day that I never got around to writing

I wonder if anyone would be into it if I had the spoons to write it

the movie left off with some SERIOUS unanswered questions that would be really interesting to explore, and I had some GOOD ideas for how to explore them in a compelling way

and "Becoming A Cryptid Is Gay Culture" would have been a fantastic title for it too

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

hi yes im still alive

DON’T MIND ME, I’M JUST--

HAVING A MOMENT TO PROCESS ALL THE LORE AND STORY CHAPTER 6 JUST DROPPED ON US, I CAN BARELY WRITE

AHHHHHHH, I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS 😭 kjdbbaufbiafafvoaybo LEMME PUT ON MY THINKING CAP AND THROW SOME STUFF OUT ASDYUBUASDLI;AGVUOQIB;VI You’ll understand why I used Leona’s face here even though it’s Idia and Ortho’s chapter after you read my thoughts--

***Chapter 6 (and other main story) spoilers below the cut!***

Okay, just to keep it simple, I’ll try to keep things in chronological order!

First is a bullet point list of my thoughts on chapter 6 so far, then all my questions and theories (mostly a biggish theory on Ace) are at the end of the post.

Expectation: Idia cowering in his room, Vil and Rook busting down his door using Epel as a battering ram, dead Ortho theory confirmed

Reality: SWAT TEAM RAID ON NRC, DORM LEADERS (sans Kalim) AND JAMIL GET KIDNAPPED

Admittedly, I’m disappointed to see that the injury Grim inflicted to MC was basically just a cat scratch and nothing more. I thought it would be a lot more impactful if MC had to deal with juggling the realization that Grim has betrayed their friendship and trust while also on the verge of death (or at least while being severely injured)... And given how MC reacted to the attack at the end of chapter 5, I would think whatever struck them was much more substantial than just a cat scratch. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say either the script got scrubbed by Disney, or the intent was that MC was still woozy from VDC / OB Vil, MC felt so betrayed that it shook them emotionally, or that MC was just that weak by default that they can’t defend themselves against cat claws.

Hey, Ramshackle’s finally getting renovated! Proceeds to immediately get destroyed again--

I feel like????????? They tried to retroactively explain why Neige won to try and mitigate the uproar over how VDC ended. There’s some dialogue between the VDC group about how they didn’t perform at their peak because of having just walked out of dealing with OB Vil, and how Neige’s fans were going to vote for him anyway because they resonated with his background. Honestly, I think they should have moved on from that sore spot instead of bringing it up again, even if how chapter 5 ended didn’t personally bother me.

BOOM, HERE COME THE TWST TERMINATORS--

NOT GONNA LIE, THOSE STYX GUYS LOOK HOT SO COOL

AAAAAAND IT’S KIDNAPPING MONTAGE TIME, KIDS

JOABSFHUPAUABDBADB CALM DOWN, RIDDLE??????? YOU’RE GOING TO COMMIT ARSON IN BROAD DAYLIGHT--

Okay, I know this chapter’s focused on Ignihyde and Grim, but the standout part to me (so far) has been the scene where Leona’s being kidnapped. Historically, Leona has not been a character that I like (excluding that one time I had to pretend to like him for a game). I feel like he’s one massive missed opportunity (he didn’t show up much in chapter 2, he’s pretty similar backstory-wise to his Disney counterpart compared to the other Dorm Leaders, he didn’t seem to learn anything or become a better person even a LITTLE after chapter 2, etc.). I’m not a fan of his lazy and arrogant attitude either (even if it is justified by his backstory). But here? THIS IS THE LEONA I ACTUALLY LIKE AND WANT TO SEE MORE OF. 

LIKE????? I CAN’T DESCRIBE TO YOU HOW MUCH I LIKE THIS SCENE???? Yeah, we have Leona fighting STYX at first, but as soon as he realizes who they are, he wises up and surrenders because he knows better than to resist arrest. AND NOT ONLY THAT, but he uses King’s Roar in a smart way--to turn the falling greenhouse glass panes into sand so they don’t hurt anyone nearby (namely him and Ruggie).

And after he turns himself in????? LEONA TELLS RUGGIE TO TAKE CARE OF SAVANACLAW FOR HIM!!! THIS is what a real leader would do. He looks after himself and his people, but he knows when to surrender, AND he leaves his “kingdom” (the dorm) in good hands while he’s away. THIS is the Leona I want to see.

AJBDUASHPFBUABFIABIYFBIPFAAFIAF I ALSO REALLY LIKE HIS SASS WHEN HE JUST THROWS HIS HANDS UP AND ASDBIASBIABAIODDAYOFAIPPADAIDB SAYS “I’ll go with you, but be careful while escorting me, okay? Despite my looks, I'm a precious prince. I’ll get sick/dizzy if you drive recklessly.” SARCASTIC SASSY SMARTASS??????? IF YOU HAD MORE LINES LIKE THIS, I’D LIKE YOU MORE

I love how Azul’s still talking about capitalism/how he can profit from Idia (apparently the Shrouds are like the TWST equivalent of Google??????) as he’s being escorted away by the agents?????? IF I WERE HIM, I’D BE PISSED OFF THAT THEY INTERRUPTED MY BOARD GAME????? At least let the man finish first--

Damn, everyone’s being tasered???????? And apparently all the STYX agents are equipped with anti-magic plates? I guess Bind the Heart can just eat shit then--

Lilia’s ringtone is cute, period.

CROWLEY CALLED STYX TO CAPTURE GRIM???? GRIM IS OFFICIALLY A SCP THAT NEEDS TO BE CONTAINED????

WAIT WHAT CROWLEY’S BEING KIDNAPPED TOO??????? Oh well, the school is probably safer in Trein’s hands anyway--

askhlbfbilhidbabbidasb RIDDLE WAKES UP POST KIDNAPPING AND HE’S USING LEONA AS A LAP PILLOW?????!

How does it feel to be held in a room against your will, Jamil? Yeah, don’t like a taste of your own medicine, do you?

OH HI IDIA, NICE YZMA MAD SCIENTIST GETUP YOU GOT THERE

Wait, what????? THAT’S IT?????? SERIOUSLY???????

MAN.

I have so many questions??????? Specifically about STYX and what they do, and how the Shrouds are tied into all of it.

So they say STYX is a specialized unit called in to quell serious Overblot cases. And if Crowley called them to deal with Grim... well, bad times ahead for Grim. STYX has also been studying Overblot for a long time, which is why (I think?) they captured Riddle, Leona, Azul, Jamil, and Vil. 

There’s been some allusions made between Grim and Stitch in a lot of fan art and fan theories I’ve seen, since their struggles have some parallels: that being them struggling to decide if they are “good” or “bad”. I don’t know if this was intentional on the part of the TWST writing team, but regardless, it’s a really good concept that plays into the themes of TWST itself. There’s no good, there’s no evil, no black and white--most of the characters we see may be BASED on villains, but that doesn’t MAKE them villains. They are good, and bad, in their own ways--and now Grim is dealing with that crisis as he fights to keep his sanity and avoid completely succumbing to Overblot.

Though Idia seems to be involved with STYX’s research, it doesn’t sound like he personally gave the order to retrieve those test subjects (or at the very least, he’s not happy about roughing up the test subjects), it sounds like the orders came from other people in the organization. His parents, perhaps?

They mention briefly that Idia’s parents are asking him to “come home”, so it must be for something urgent. Are they worried about his safety? But Idia’s lines at the end of chapter 5 lead me to think he is estranged from his family, since he straight up rejected a job offer linked to them (Olympus Corp is owned by the Jupiter family, and the Shrouds are a branch family of Jupier), and says something like “I’m not welcome anywhere”. Has Idia done something to disgrace him from the rest of the family? Or is it more of a self imposed/self inflicted statement, given that he always says he’s “cursed” and acts like he’s guilty of something that deserves scorn?

Why is Idia participating in STYX research, even if it means experimenting on his fellow students (and fellow board game enthusiast Azul)? People are speculating that he wants to use blots to fully revive Ortho (if dead Ortho theory is true), or that Idia actually has heroic intentions (he wants to know more about blots to prevent OBing from happening?), but at this point??? Literally anything could happen?!

In future parts, I’m guessing Pomefiore, MC, and Adeuce will team up to break Jamil and the Dorm Leaders (except Malleus, Malleus got left out again www) out? And HOPEFULLY we get to see Rook’s Unique Magic or at least more screen time, since I feel like he got so little in chapter 5... Another thing I’d like to see is Ace and/or Epel getting their Unique Magic, or at least starting to develop it. It’s really mostly Ace I want more details for.

A theory I’ve been holding onto for a long time is that Deuce getting his UM will spur Ace on to become jealous (since he has always seen Deuce as an idiot/”lesser” than him), and that will cause a rift in the friendship, or for Ace to throw himself into a dangerous situation to prove himself (he has done it before with Riddle)... and has his ass rescued again. This would make Ace even angrier, since he feels like everyone is treating him like a little kid or rubbing it in that he isn’t “as good” as they are. I don’t know where it would go from there (I’m sure TWST would get creative), but ultimately it would culminate in Ace making amends with everyone and rushing in to save them from either Grim or Idia OB.

I don’t think Ace would discover his UM in a similar manner as Deuce (Deuce had to embrace his own stubbornness and straightforwardness, but as the term “Unique” Magic implies, the way a magic develops and manifests is “unique” to the user). While Deuce has to learn to accept his own way of thinking, I believe Ace is already sure of his own way of thinking and has totally accepted it. I think what Ace has to deal with instead is coming to terms with his fickleness. We’ve seen him time and time again treating his loved ones kind of callously, from constantly bullying MC, Grim, and Deuce to ghosting his own girlfriend and flaking on people when they are counting on him to do a task.

The issue with Ace isn’t that he isn’t aware, it’s that he is aware and he seems to think this behavior is totally okay. He demonstrates little to no remorse in what he does and says, and he doesn’t seem to care about the consequences either (how many times does he get punished by Riddle, yet he keeps doing the same dumb things over and over?). Ace appears to operate under the mindset of always being in the right, or (if he’s in the wrong), he won’t really acknowledge it, or he will wave it off as “no big deal”--and I think that’s his greatest weakness.

In the scenario I described earlier, I mentioned that Ace’s jealousy will cause a wedge between him and his friends, and I think this will play into him realizing the error of his ways. When he has finally driven away all of the people that supported him, what will he have left? Nothing. Then maybe Ace suddenly finds himself relating to Idia, or to Grim, who have Overblotted and are in a similar emotional state as he is. Confused and lonely... and that energizes him to pitch in again, even if all he has is wind magic up his sleeve. Everyone could be shocked that Ace has returned, and in that moment, he could finally realize his true potential and unlock his Unique Magic!

(Maybe that’s too specific, but that’s a scenario that I’ve had playing in my head for a long time!)

... Buuuuut given that Ace has gotten little to no spotlight so far in chapter 6, I’m not sure if they’ll lean into him developing his UM yet (unless they pull a chapter 5 and really start addressing Ace in the latter half of the chapter like they did with Deuce). Seeing as chapter 6 is dealing with a lot of heavy topics (death, Grim lore, Overblot lore), I’m thinking maybe the TWST team will push off Ace’s UM development to chapter 7???? The only way I can see it happening in chapter 6 is if the chapter is SUPER long, or if the writing is REALLY good or really bad. 

Anyway, I’m keeping my fingers crossed!!! I’m so excited for the rest of chapter 6... I hope that we don’t have to wait too long for it!

[shining-dawn]

Chikorita Chuesday

As mush as I have been trying to focus on finals, ADHD brain says the only thing that exists is Gunnerkrigg Court. It's a Webcomic written and illustrated by Tom Siddell about a girl named Antimony Carver and her time at a place that is initially introduced as a Boarding School but is actually like some kind of SCP-esque research institution, and the comic is told in a chapter by chapter forma but it's actually full of long overarching mysteries and plot threads. It's been going on for about 15 years now, and it's become fascinatingly clear that there was so much story planned out in advance.

But beyond the intricate plot, I am utterly entranced by the characters, each one has a very unique personality that really can't be simplified into any prototypical archetype, and they develop as characters in ways that make them feel super realistic to me in a way almost no other fictional characters ever have. The two main characters have arcs, but they also have flaws and thoughts like real people that aren't just about the overall character arc but are just problems real people have, and over the course of the comic you can seriously feel like they are growing up and dealing with life.

I also really enjoy the art style and how you can see Tom Siddell's growth over time. There's a simple stylization to the characters, but an Incredible attention to detail. Depending on the specific location, background can sometimes be simple but can also have amazing complexity, and a brilliant combination of perspective and texture. And there is so much sneakily hidden symbolism, both in terms of alchemical imagery and there being lots of character details can have hidden significance.

I honestly cannot recommend this comic highly enough, there are some choices in story structure that aren't always perfect due to the nature of it being an ongoing project, but I adore it.

[pinkhairedlily]

Chapter 8 - Student Council President Sakura

SCPS AO3 | PREVIOUS CHAPTER

“Oh, hello there Sakura.”

She almost lost her balance when she saw her next customers. Standing beside Kakashi with her arm entangled in his was a brunette, a spitting image of Dr. Aki Nohara, a giveaway that this was her sister. Sakura’s surroundings dimmed out of focus, and her hearing became muffled as if she was submerged underwater.

“Couldn’t mistake that green eyes for anyone,” Kakashi continued. “I’ll have a caramel butterscotch with extra whipped cream – make it super heavy – and Rin –“

“That’s supposed to be my order, you dummy,” the woman replied beside him. He chuckled in fascination and tightened his hold on her arm. “Besides, you don’t like sweets.”

“You’re still on a specialized diet so allow me to eat and drink whatever you want while you stick with – “ Kakashi glanced at Sakura, and she immediately mustered a tight-lipped smile. “One iced americano in your smallest size please. Thanks, Sakura.”

She took in a deep breath, suddenly aware that she wasn’t able to acknowledge her teacher and his companion, but so many things have been running through her head – like how did he know it was her? Why was he with Rin? Did he propose already? She hasn’t even confessed yet.

Somehow, in the dragging silence in her ears, she heard Sasuke cleared his throat. That was enough to break her from the spell, and she put on her bravest mask. “Hi Kakashi-sensei. Nice of you to drop by! I’ll have your order ready in a jiffy.”

Kakashi turned around and waved lazily at Sasuke. “One of my students is here too. Are you on a red eye advance study?”

“Can’t sleep so might as well have caffeine.”

“You’re too young to have this energy.”

Rin jokingly slapped Kakashi on the arm. “You talk as if you’re old already.”

“But aren’t I?” The pair slowly drifted away to find a table, but Sakura noticed the flash of recognition when Rin took a long good look at Sasuke, but her friend stared at them like he was throwing sharp draggers.

“He looks happy,” Sakura noted as she fixed their drinks.

“I want your favorite coffee,” Sasuke quipped out of nowhere.

“There’s a thing called palpitations. It’s caramel macchiato.”

“Might do me some good while I wait for you to finish your shift.”

Sakura sighed, feeling the tiredness come upon her all of a sudden so she relented. “Just take it to-go. I want to get out of here.”

She quickly asked permission from the manager, saying she felt sick and fatigued, and with her clocking overtime in the past few weeks, her request was immediately approved without deductions. The mixed winter and spring air hit her lungs as soon as she stepped outside. Sasuke waited for her across the street, a gesture that implied she could go to him or separate ways right now. As she vied for time to decide, she took one last look through the window.

It was a foreign sight. She has never seen Kakashi’s attention torn apart from his books. Even if he was talking, there would be an open page on his side, stealing glances on passages when the conversations got boring, yet there he was, fully attuned to whatever Rin was saying with no book around him…like she was his favorite book and he enjoyed reading every letter of her.

And Sakura realized she could never be the story he would even want to pick up.

She felt the tears coming so she started her pace on the same road. Across from her, Sasuke got the signal and went the other way.

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

The last term of their second year came like a bazooka. Sakura threw herself on her pet project as a sort of coping mechanism. The announcement was done during the general assembly which did not generate the intended buzz or reaction. After all, it was a tricky topic to handle and many facets of which were still stigmatized when talked openly in public. Naruto, ever the people magnet, broke the agitated atmosphere in the auditorium with a slow clap and was soon joined by many others.

The council created a Google form which allowed students to anonymously register, and they get assigned a schedule on the day their contracted psychiatrist comes to visit. All they had to do was provide their designated client number. The council further complemented this with short programs that serve as mental health breaks for the student body. Sometimes, this would be as light as a block screening of a coming-of-age film or heavy like a conference with faculty and teachers and questions and concerns are remotely flashed.

Then came Valentines’ Day, and the council organized this some kind of literary showcase that presented the opportunity to mingle woes of personal sadness and griefs with confessions that would have been left unsaid. Naruto and Sasuke both helped in constructing the makeshift stage in the middle of the soccer field that would be used later that afternoon.

“Cookie points for my crush,” Naruto grinned as he hammered away. “Thanks for picking the poem I will be reciting tonight, grumpy. Didn’t know you were into literature.” He jokingly elbowed the raven-haired beside him, and he got a death glare in return.

“Do it properly. Look at that nail sticking out like your porcupine hair,” Sasuke grumbled. “And yes, I’m not as uncultured as you are.”

“But I still don’t understand it though.”

“Ugh, just use the internet to search its meaning, idiot.”

“Meanie!”

A fellow runner peeked into their work area and knocked on wood. “Hey Uchiha. Some girl is looking for you.” Her face expressed grimace, having done this for more than five times already within the span of an hour. If it wasn’t Sasuke, it was one of Naruto’s fan girls or boys.

Sasuke went to her and fumbled around for cash in his pocket. “Next time someone looks for us, tell them we went home for the day. Here’s money for your date later. If you have anyway.”

“Whatever grumpy.” The runner replied, still half-angry, half-frustrated, but she took the money all the same and told the girls that ‘They told me to tell you they went home for the day so shoo shoo.’

Naruto laughed at Sasuke’s successful attempt at bribery. “Look at that rich money. I wonder whether Sakura will give us chocolates.”

“Have you seen their office?” Sasuke flipped open the curtains that will be hang as backdrop. “Their desk is filled with chocolates from her admirers – platonically, romantically, whatever. Some people from other schools dropped by too. You got serious competition.”

Naruto chuckled nervously. “As if I do not know that already. Haven’t you told me before- she likes everyone and everyone likes her.”

Not really true at all now, Sasuke thought to himself. But ignorance is bliss, Naruto.

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

The three sat on the grass beside the stage, having full view of the student body listening to the reciters. Throughout the program, Sakura went through each package given to her, visibly stressed with evident signs of sleepless nights under her eyes.

“Before I forget, happy Valentine’s day you two. My council-mates told me you didn’t get any chocolates,” Sakura gave each of them a pouch of small chocolate bars. Sasuke didn’t have to guess if it was store-bought or homemade based on the cuts on her fingers.

“Sakura, stop eating. I almost gagged at the seventh chocolate,” Naruto complained. He tried to get the basket of sweets from her, but she just moved it away from his reach.

“Everything tastes bitter,” she muttered under her breath. “I need sugar. My energy can’t keep up with the countless interviews. I understand that the school board liked the exposure, but the burden falls on me. At least have a teacher back me up?”

“Heard Kakashi-sensei volunteered to accompany you in interviews?” Sasuke was too late in shutting Naruto up, but the most that question got out of Sakura was an eyebrow raise.

“I need more sweets.” She proceeded to jam the rest of the Hershey’s kisses in her mouth.

“Okay, we have a submission from Uzumaki Naruto,” the announcer said. “Shout out to our rookie MVP!” A round of applause. “And who might be the recipient of this poem? We heard through the grapevine that he hid from his admirers all day. I know several people are waiting to confess to him!”

Sasuke instructed him earlier to send the poem anonymously and address it to Sakura, but the dumbass blonde mistakenly exchanged it. He rubbed his forehead in annoyance, but he can’t bring it up right now.

“Just read the poem!” Naruto shouted on the side, clearly embarrassed now. Sakura looked up at him, genuinely curious now, and her sticky chocolate-filled mouth was on the edge of firing him questions.

“Sasuke and I sent in poems! Just to support your program, nothing really too deep into it ehe.” Naruto glanced at Sasuke with slightly widened eyes. “Right, Sasuke?”

“Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare,” the person started.

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day

Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimmed;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,

Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,

When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st.

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”

Sakura slapped Naruto on the arm. “Didn’t know you read Shakespeare! What a romantic!”

“Isn’t it a tragedy?” Sasuke remarked, a look of disgust in his face when Sakura mindlessly offered him a toblerone. “No sweets for me.”

Sakura guffawed at Sasuke’s remark, and her laughing was a rare sight recently. She was in too deep in her student council functions that they barely see her. And when they did, she’d be a little bit closer to fatigue.

“What’s funny? Who’s Shakespeare? Let me in on the joke!”

“Let’s call on Kakashi-sensei, our very own student council advisor and youngest teacher in the university. He’ll be reciting a poem by Pablo Neruda. A man of culture, we see,” the emcee announced.

Sakura stopped laughing as soon as she heard his name. If Sasuke could glean into her thoughts, she’s probably making up excuses to escape right now.

Kakashi stood in the middle of the stage, holding an open book. “Let me just ramble on here for a bit. Neruda is a Chilean poet and a politician, but just as much as he is a revolutionary, he is a romantic and a worshipper of ideals and ordinary things. He often compared his muses to earth and nature – basic providers of our existence. It’s interesting to see. Now, this poem is what I would have wanted to say to someone who is fundamentally part of my existence, but she won’t listen to me.” Kakashi smiled even more at the onset of outburst of giggles from the students. “So you’re gonna be the audience whether you want it or not.”

I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair.

Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets.

Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day

I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps.

I hunger for your sleek laugh,

your hands the color of a savage harvest,

hunger for the pale stones of your fingernails,

I want to eat your skin like a whole almond.

I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body,

the sovereign nose of your arrogant face,

I want to eat the fleeting shade of your lashes,

and I pace around hungry, sniffing the twilight,

hunting for you, for your hot heart,

like a puma in the barrens of Quitratue.

A thundering applause followed Kakashi’s poem and random shouts of, “Drop her name sensei!” “Good luck to your love life!” “Happy for you, sensei!”

As the lights went out on the stage, Sakura fished another pouch from her vest pocket, and Sasuke knew at once that it was Kakashi’s. She popped a bar into her mouth, staring blankly ahead.

“God, it’s so bitter.” Her lips started to quiver, and she started to cry.

Naruto threw a worried glance at Sasuke, but his expression must have given something away because the blonde didn’t prod, and he looked as if all the puzzles fell into place.

Sasuke just didn’t expect to be confronted about it as soon as the program finished. He was carrying blocks of wood to the shed when Naruto dropped the question – a question he already knew the answer to.

“You like Sakura.”

Sasuke inhaled sharply and halted his steps. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He stacked the wood against each other and turned to face the blonde. “Besides, shouldn’t you be worrying about exams?”

“What exams? We’re exempted from it,” Naruto bristled.

Sasuke smirked. “No, you’re not. You didn’t qualify for finals.”

“Oh shit.”

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

“What do we get in return?” Sakura asked as she munched on her bento box. Shouts of the practicing dragonboat team filtered through their space.

“But last time you volunteered!” Naruto said.

“We’re friends so my services don’t come free anymore,” she chided back.

Naruto glared at Sasuke. “If she’s not gonna do it, you’re gonna do it.”

Sasuke nonchalantly shook his head as he skimmed through Naruto’s notes. “What she said.” They weren’t notes per se, but doodles of Sasuke and Sakura and interestingly, projections of different batting stances. “I’m also not gonna forgive you with the duck butt hair.”

“But you have a duck butt hair!” Naruto crossed his arms and huffed menacingly. “Ramen?”

“Same old, same old.” Sakura finished her lunch and started to sip her cranberry juice. “Give us something new.”

“Ramen and…..karaoke?”

Sakura brightened up at the prospect. “Deal.”

“At least add snacks to your place,” Sasuke interjected. “And not just ramen. Put some nuts or fruits in your fridge.”

Naruto grumbled but raised two thumbs up in defeat. “Deal.”

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

Sasuke has thin patience when it came to teaching Naruto, Sakura observed. She didn’t know how these two managed to do the supplementary math lessons when she wasn’t a part of their group yet. She didn’t mind teaching, but Naruto’s short attention span was a devil of its own. He would be attentive to her for 15 minutes and then drowse off so Sasuke and her agreed on non-negotiables.

“No ramen break for you if you don’t finish this set of problems,” Sakura told him.

“You’re demon spawns,” Naruto cried out in defiance.

“If you don’t get a passing score on this sample test, no kani toppings for you.” Sasuke raised the stakes.

“Demon spawns,” Naruto repeated.

“You won’t call us demon spawns if you see your name on the list of passers.” Sakura started the stopwatch on her phone. “Now go.”

This took her mind off things, from Kakashi’s public confession to the blank career form hidden within the pages of her history textbook. It was a good distraction until the penultimate exams day. Naruto came in with a bandana on his forehead with FIGHTING written in the middle of it. Sasuke, as usual, breezed through it, already finished by the thirty-minute mark.

And she? Well, she liked exams. The time limit and the pressure allowed her the reprieve to shut the rest of the world out so she relished answering each number until the bell rang. It was a moment where she can focus fully on the paper in front of her, the sound of her pen scribbling, and her mind working full force to cull out the answers in her memory. Her utmost concentration on questions suspended her own questions on her feelings for a teacher, on her parents’ divorce, on her future.

When the school plastered the results on the bulletin board, she couldn’t help but release a satisfied chuckle. She turned to Sasuke who was surprisingly stoic about the results. “First place! The bonus point really helped.”

“Why should I bother with a teacher’s middle name for the bonus question?” Sasuke grumbled back. “Congrats. Stop rubbing it in my face already.”

Naruto was too busy pointing his name on the board and bragging about it to the student body, most especially the freshies. When he found them on the back of the crowd, he rushed to them and placed his arms around their shoulders “Drinks on me!!!!!”

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

“He really shouted drinks on me in the middle of the school, sauntered in here like he’s loaded, and ordered two pitchers of iced tea.” Sakura kept bringing this up since they entered the karaoke room ten minutes ago.

Naruto was preoccupied with inputting song numbers on the machine to respond to Sakura’s banters. “Technically, they’re still drinks!”

Sasuke was on the phone with the kitchen, and from what she could hear, he was ordering almost everything on the menu. When he sat down on the adjacent couch, Sakura leaned forward to him. “Are you gonna finish all of that?”

He jutted his index finger to Naruto. “No, but he will.”

The first notes of Michael Jackson’s Thriller wafted through the room, and the blonde made a quick impression of the artist’s famed moonwalk.

“Why are you opening with that?” Sakura cried out in amusement. “It’s not even Halloween!” Sasuke watched Naruto try to dance with a straight face, but she thought he was itching to face palm the whole time.

Naruto kept beckoning Sakura to join him in the middle of the room, but she was busy laughing at him and taking videos. “I’ll send these to Haru as a pick-me-up. I think this is the best remedy.”

Next was Sakura’s pick – Heaven is a Place on Earth by Belinda Carlisle. She couldn’t contain her laughter in between verses when the two boys finally heard that she was tone deaf. Naruto joined her with the other mic, trying to drown out the off-key notes. By the bridge, Sasuke stood up with them, a glass of juice in his hand, and mouthed the words.

“You know this song!” Sakura said excitedly.

“I don’t live under a rock!” He yelled back amid the loud music.

“OOOH BABY DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT’S WORTH OOH HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH. THEY SAY IN HEAVEN, LOVE COMES FIRST. OOH HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH!”

“Okay who’s next?” she asked when the next number flashed on the screen. Sasuke silently took the mic from her and faced the monitor with a hand in his pants’ pocket.

Naruto gripped the mic harder when the song started. “I’ll be your second voice, grumpy!”

She immediately went to the front and started recording. “One for the road.”

“No videos, Haruno,” Sasuke warned.

“Come on, it’s my remembrance,” she whined. He wasn’t able to clap back when the lines started to move.

“Turn around…” Naruto sang.

“Every now and then, I get a little bit lonely and you’re never coming ‘round,” Sasuke’s baritone voice filled the room like an empty coliseum.

“The fuck. You can sing?” Sakura gasped out loud. “How can you have that voice and not sing - like you know, every day?!”’

Sasuke gestured her to stop as he belted, stoic-faced, through the chorus with Naruto singing like a slaughtered pig in the background. Sakura stopped recording and joined them for the rest of the song.

Two hours and three pitchers of orange juice later, they finally settled on the couch and munched on Naruto’s leftovers of fries, buttered chicken, nachos, and calamari. On the karaoke monitor was David Bowie singing Heroes.

“Can’t believe we’re already seniors two months from now.” He stared at the ceiling, his eyes following the tag game of disco lights. “Elections of officers will be tomorrow which means Captain Haru will be formerly stepping down.”

Sasuke reached out and shook his hand. “Good luck next captain.”

Naruto immediately pulled out from his grasp. “What do you mean next captain?”

Sakura chuckled and patted his back as assurance. “Everyone knows it’ll be you. Have you seen how your teammates look at you when you’re discussing strategies?”

In the dimness of the room, she saw the flush on Naruto’s cheeks, and she found it amusing how he cannot take compliments.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. “Well, everything is possible, right? That said, I still haven’t filled out my college form, but I’m really set on getting an athletic scholarship and eventually be part of the national team! How about you grumpy? Changed your mind yet?”

“About what?” Sakura glanced at the silent raven-haired guy beside her. To be able to see this much of him was a nice privilege.

“I’m moving away after high school.” Sasuke fiddled with his half-empty glass, his eyes trained on the slushing juice. “I already sent applications to some universities in Europe.”

“We also have good medicine programs here. I don’t get why you have to move away so far. I’m so bad with converting time zones.”

Sasuke scrunched his nose in annoyance. “Are you dumb? The schools you listed are also out of this district.”

She seemed to be moving farther and farther from their exchange. Like an outsider peeking in, she understood the frailty of the moments in front of her, and by the time the next two months set in, the stopwatch would have started running its last lap. The bonds she has made so serendipitously were in danger of being cut off by dreams. She breathed in, engulfing the noise and scent of this room, panning every color and shape assembled like supercut in her head, praying that someday if she would lose herself, she’d come back here right at this frozen memory and relive the wonderful indecisiveness of adolescence and the chance to say I don’t know without repercussions.

“Sakura to earth?” Naruto’s voice.

“Idiot. It’s earth to Sakura.” Sasuke’s voice.

She blinked fast, returning to the moment that wasn’t finished playing out yet. She quickly brushed her hands on her eyes as if something got into her eyes, hoping they don’t see the small droplets of tears that have formed. “Oh uh, I have a list of prospects, but I’m not quite sure what to take.” The form was still blank actually.

“That’s a usual problem of anyone who’s too good at everything,” Sasuke replied.

“Are you complimenting me?” I wish I was.

“Should I take it back?” He proceeded to gulp down the remnants of his glass.

The monitor suddenly turned off, indicating their time has run out. “Hey guys, for our last term, let’s make the most out of it, all right?” Naruto asked. “I’m so happy we became friends.”

“No hugging please,” Sasuke said, but it was too late. Naruto’s arms were too strong to pull away from so the two allowed him a few seconds of skinship.

Naruto’s words struck a chord in Sakura; it was a resolve she tried to form and disfigure for several months now. Before they could stand up to fix their things, Sakura blurted it out loud before her courage took the best of her.

“For our last term.” She flexed her fingers and curled them up against her palm, placing weight on her lap as she ground her fists onto it. “For our last term, I’m gonna confess to Kakashi.”

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