#They're going through it with psychic visions probably

[mushroom-for-art]

@eveeonaartz, here ya go! I like to imagine they're the same character lmao for the evils, but it's up to interpretation! Hope the sketch is okay!

[whereserpentswalk]

Choose a transformation to permanently alter your body and remove your humanity.

1: get infected with lycanthrope (being bitten is the easiest way, but the curse can also be passed on through blood transfusions, or other bodily fluids). You'll be able to turn into a wolf any night when the moon shines, and you'll be compelled to when the moon is full. The other werewolves are likely to accept you into their community under most circumstances.

2: enter a local ufo to be turned into a cyborg. The visitors are dying to find a human who'll let you do this to them, and you might just be the one. Parts of your body will be replaced with strange and unknowable technology, thousands of years more advanced than what your backwater planet has. Who knows what you'll become, but it certainly won't be human.

3: allow a demon to possess you. While this sounds bad at first, most demons aren't actually sentient beings, but just semi sentient balls emotions. When they possess you it'll still be your mind and personality, just enhanced with the demon's emotions and desires, given its abilities. You'll also probably start looking more like what people consider a demon to look like after awhile, weather that be a body with horns and scales like the classic devil look, or something more animalistic, or even something more eldrich.

4: let the faeries play with you. This is a risky one but they're looking to be entertained by a cute little human to do things to. Who knows what they'll do to you, but we can be quite certain it'll be something very very interesting.

5: permanently psychically bond to a wyvern through the dreaming. For generations humans have done this to become wyvern riders, though rider is an odd term as your minds will be linked, you'll be able to know what it's feeling as well as it's sensations, and possibly even be able to control it directly with enough time, as easily as you'd control your own body. Though the wyvern and dreaming may effect you to, you'll likely become more creative and have more vivid dreams, at the cost of your ability to fit in with much of human society. Your body will also likely become more youthful, slender and androgynous, and may even take on wyvern like traits like slit pupils or sharp teeth.

6: permanently hybridize yourself with an animal of your choice. It's useally done with mammals for compatibility reasons, but it might work with anything. This is a slow process, involving weekly injections of Phlebotinum, and you'll get more and more like the animal you choose over the course of many months. There's no actual end limit to how long you can inject the Phlebotinum for, only a few weeks for some animal features, about a year for a 50/50 split, and if you never stop taking it ever you'll end up just becoming an animal of your choice. Be warned, it's a one way trip, so while you can always become less human, you can never reverse the changes.

7: be melted into a slime. Not much more to say about it. It'll probably be the most alien your physical form can become, as you'll have no solid body parts anymore, just an amorphous mass to move around. Natrual born slimes may be suspicious of you.

8: get bitten by a vampire and become a vampire yourself. You'll get most of the powers, from strength, to healing, to not needing sleep or food, along with the requirements to drink blood, and the weakness to silver and sunlight (you still can go out in the sun, but it won't be a pleasant experience). Your body will also change a lot, losing any sex characteristics, gaining red eyes and completely desaturated skin, and becoming extremely emaciated looking. Your mouth will also be able to shift at will between a humanoid shape, and a massive horrifying maw with huge fangs and strange mouth parts for drinking blood. There's likely a vampiric community around who'll accept you.

9: become a digital only being. You won't just be transforming your body, you'll be getting rid of it. Your entire vision will display what you'd usually see on a computer monitor, and you'll be able to type and move the mouse as easily as you can move your body now. You'll be entirely online without anything human to worry about.

10: become a spiritual being. Like a less online version of the last option. You'll become a spirit, without a body to worry about. You can't touch things, but you can move them psychically. You can also choose who can or can't see you, and how you appear to people.

11: have your entire body replaced by the cloth witches. They're always looking for humans to do this to. Every part of you will be replaced with artificial materials, usually you'll get a metal skeleton, stuffing for filling, and either cloth or plastic for your skin, like a doll of some sort but big and alive. You won't have to worry about a lot of the body things like dying or being tired or in pain, but be warned, you'll have to repair yourself with new material if damaged.

(Hey, I had to delete the first version of this poll and reupload it because of something on the old post setting off my silly little trauma. I feel like such an awful person for this, I'm sorry. But yeah, please reblog and interact with this version instead.)

[aeth-eris]

scorpio moons aren’t mysterious because they want to be-it’s a natural defense mechanism. their emotions run so deep and intense that not everyone can handle it, so they keep it under lock and key until they feel truly safe. when they do open up, it’s raw, transformative, and probably a little intimidating... but also a connection you’ll never forget.

scorpio moons have this emotional x-ray vision; they can read people like an open book, no matter how hard anyone tries to keep things hidden. they just know what's beneath the surface, and faking it around them? nearly impossible. oddly enough, they're drawn to chaos or intense situations and people that push them to the edge. they don’t create drama intentionally, but a calm, predictable life often leaves them restless, like something essential is missing. if there’s no depth, they’ll either stir things up or keep it moving.

they have this complicated relationship with vulnerability, craving raw, soul-baring intimacy while fearing exposure. they’ll test you, push you, maybe even try to push you away-just to see if you’re really in it with them. but if you stick around, you’ll earn a place very few ever reach.

when it comes to loyalty, scorpio moons are all-in-but cross them once, and getting close again is unlikely. it’s not about grudges; it’s about survival. they guard their hearts fiercely because letting anyone in feels like handing over a part of their soul. they’re the shadow dancers, finding beauty in life’s darker aspects that others avoid, like pain, loss, and transformation. if you’re going through something heavy, a scorpio moon will be right there, unafraid to sit with you through it all.

scorpio moons can be emotionally intense to the point of being exhausting-for both themselves and others. they live in a world of extremes, where every feeling has depth, but sometimes this leads them to hold onto grudges or past pain way too tightly, almost like they’re feeding off of it. forgiveness isn’t their strong suit; once someone crosses them, it’s like an internal switch flips, and they’ll silently cut that person out for good.

their need for intensity can border on self-sabotage. they crave emotional highs and lows, and if things get too stable or predictable, they might unconsciously stir up drama just to feel that rush again. it’s as if they fear peace because, to them, it might mean a lack of depth. but this pattern can end up hurting people who just want a calm, steady love.

they can also be a bit manipulative in relationships. scorpio moons have a knack for understanding people’s weak spots and, when they’re feeling insecure or hurt, might use this insight to get the upper hand or control the situation. it’s like a defense mechanism-they’ll push buttons just to test loyalty or see how much someone really cares, often without realizing how destructive this can be.

scorpio moons are driven by a deep need to understand life’s complexities and uncover what’s hidden beneath the surface. having the moon in scorpio means that their emotional core is tied to scorpio’s intense, transformative energy, which makes them feel everything in extremes. they aren’t wired for light-hearted emotions; their experiences with feelings are all-or-nothing, which creates that intense, sometimes overwhelming inner world.

part of this comes from scorpio’s association with themes of life, death, and rebirth-it’s a sign that’s constantly in the process of shedding and regenerating. scorpio moons are almost emotionally programmed to seek out these transformative cycles, but it makes them feel like they’re living in a constant state of survival. this can make them fiercely protective of themselves and others but also hyper-aware of betrayal or disloyalty. because they feel everything so profoundly, they end up developing thick emotional armor, only letting people in if they’re sure it’s safe.

they’re also deeply intuitive, almost psychic, when it comes to understanding others’ intentions. this comes from a need to protect themselves from vulnerability. it’s like a sixth sense that lets them read people’s energy and motives without anyone saying a word. they pick up on power dynamics and hidden agendas in ways most people don’t, which makes them wary and, at times, even suspicious. the downside? this hyper-awareness of potential threats can make them closed off, always expecting the worst.

finally, scorpio moons have a complex relationship with control. because they experience emotions so intensely, they fear losing themselves in them. to counter this, they might develop subtle ways to control their environment or relationships, creating situations where they feel powerful rather than vulnerable. it’s like they’re in a constant dance with their own emotions, learning to balance depth with self-protection. it’s what gives them that air of mystery and emotional intensity that’s both magnetic and, sometimes, challenging.

[nobodysdaydreams]

✨My Unhinged Visions for the TMBS Kids’ Villain Arcs: ✨

Based on this poll, and this post by @kaslynspeaks and @sophieswundergarten. They activated the brain bees, and you can blame them for this.

Warning: Insanely long post. I go through each kid individually, discuss a premise for their fall to villainy, and then I give you a hastily written scene which I did not proofread, that probably contains typos and misspellings. Some are longer than others, some end abruptly, some are a lot darker than others, but they all have happy endings so you're welcome for that at least.

I also kept it vague whether I was talking about the book or show characters so while I draw on elements from both, you can imagine most of these with either character.

Please enjoy!

I'll start with Kate Wetherall.

The Premise:

I picture her as a teenager or young adult for this. Her villain arc is pretty brief tbh, but I think that fits Kate. She'd impulsive and emotional and maybe even the most likely to go dark the quickest for those reasons, but she also has strong morals, and I don't think she'd fall very far, and I also think she might be the most likely to turn around.

Here's the scenario. The society has won, and now they've started working together to take down bad guys.

Kate loves it, but she starts getting carried away sometimes. Seeing men that are willing to hurt children the way that she was hurt sets something off in her. Sometimes she takes things too far, or acts impulsively in the heat of the moment. The others protest this, insisting that Kate only needs to use enough force to stop other criminals, not harm them.

Kate feels frustrated, not only because she feels like her friends are criticizing her, but also because this is what she's good at. She's the one who fights. Why should she hold herself back when the others can use their intellect to their full potential?

The others don't realize how much of this is connected to Kate's inner turmoil, her feelings of frustration. They simply remind her that "that's not how they do things."

But maybe it should be, thinks Kate.

Maybe it would send a message. Not just to the criminals but to the children they hurt. To let those children know that someone cared to make sure that the people who hurt them paid for what they did. So that they wouldn't feel abandoned. So that they wouldn't feel how Kate always felt.

So she works in secret. She couldn't bear another condescending lecture from her father or the others. I picture her leading a sort of vigilante circus themed squad. They're all strong and athletic, obviously, but they're also incredibly creative. Whatever a bad guy's fear is, they can use illusions, contortion, and all sorts of creepy imagery to make it come to life. To make them pay for what they did. To break them, to reduce them to nothing.

And Kate as a leader finally feels respected, valuable. For once, she isn't told to hold back her impulsiveness, her emotions, her abilities, her creativity. In fact, she's praised for her lack of restraint. And she tells herself she doesn't need to feel bad either because after all, these are the bad guys. They deserve it.

But eventually the others find out. Kate tells them there's no point in another lecture, but this time, they don't lecture. They don't even know what to say.

Because they're horrified. They're horrified that Kate could ever think that punishing people like this, criminals or not, is a suitable use of her talents. Kate reminds them that they always got to use their intelligence to their full potential whenever it suited them.

And now, the scene (picture this occurring in a circus themed lair. Idk just role with it. Brain tired):

"I was the one who was too much," Kate reminded him.

"You three were the brilliant ones. The psychic, the scholar, the genius. But me? I was just the muscle. The "creative" one. The impulsive one. The liability," she scoffed.

"My talents were only useful when they were directed by my intellectual superiors. What you wanted. What you planned. But here? Here I'm a leader, Reynie. I get results and I get justice my own way. And I'm not interested in hearing another lecture about acting impulsively, or going too far, or about how all of your know so much better than I do. So save it."

"Fine!" snapped Constance. "Then we'll spare you the lecture, if you want to skip straight to the fighting."

Kate paused, and the look of betrayal in her eyes was evident.

She thought they might be here to lecture or disapprove of her methods, but had they...had they really come here to...to...

Kate shook her head.

"I don't want to fight you. And even three against one, was all know that would hardly be a fair fight."

Sticky winced and held himself back from the overwhelming urge to nervously polish his spectacles, remembering how many times he'd watched his friend take down men (grown trained men) like it was nothing.

Constance, still bitter from Kate's deception, raised her fists.

"I'd still take those odds."

"Constance-" cautioned Reynie, but it was already too late.

"Very well," said Kate.

Her followers stepped forward to assist her, but Kate motioned for them to step back.

"Trust me," she said to them. "I appreciate the offer, but I can take handle this one on my own."

The others knew that wasn't a lie.

Kate raised her own fists and addressed the trio.

"You always thought your minds made you so much better than me, so let's see how well you can actually do without me. Good luck. You'll need it. Even if I do intend to go easy on you."

"Katie-Cat?"

Kate groaned.

"This is none of your concern."

"I should say that it is," her father replied, stepping out from the shadows to confront his daughter. "Considering I raised you better than this."

"Raised me?"

Milligan immediately realized his mistake.

"Katie-Cat, I-"

"Didn't mean to leave me?" Kate snapped. "I know Dad. I know you didn't mean to. No, you just chose a dangerous job working for a dangerous man and put your own life at risk, when you knew your child had no one else but you."

The hurt in her father's eyes made Kate regret her words, but only for a moment.

After all, it's not as if what she said wasn't true.

"I'm sorry," said Milligan earnestly, realizing perhaps for the first time how much his child was still hurting.

How much she'd been lying every time she said that she was fine. How much she'd been hiding her pain from him, from everyone.

"It wasn't fair to you. I promise, I'll do whatever I can to make it up to you."

"Really?" said Kate. "Well then. I suppose there is something you can do for me."

"Anything Katie-Cat," said Milligan softly, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Stay out of my way," Kate ordered, looking her father directly in the eyes, doing her best to look tall, strong, and intimidating.

Milligan's face hardened slightly. He knew that look. It was a look he'd seen in his daughter's eyes before, her fearsome determination, her resolve not to back down.

It was normally one of the traits that he admired most about her.

"I can't do that Katie-Cat," he replied, seriously but still with a tone of affection in his voice.

"I love you too much to let you waste your talents and potential like this."

Kate laughed.

"Of course you do," she replied, gesturing for her followers to step forward.

"It looks like I might need some help after all. But try to go easy on them," she advised her followers. "Most of them aren't trained fighters and their biggest crime is shortsightedness. Hardly worth our best or most painful efforts."

"Don't fight them," interrupted Milligan. "They don't need to fight this. Just you and me."

Kate eyed him suspiciously.

"You hurt your leg last month," she reminded him. "You're not in peak fighting condition. If this is some kind of trick-"

"It isn't," replied Milligan. "You and me. If you win, we'll let you keep your operation and leave the decision up to you. If I win, you end this."

Kate's face became thoughtful, carefully considering his offer.

"Uh Milligan," interjected Sticky. "I know that you're pretty well trained, but you were just injured, most doctors wouldn't recommend-"

"Deal," said Kate, charging forward without warning, as Milligan side stepped.

It was hard to tell who had the upper hand. Milligan was stronger and had a clear height advantage, but he was still recovering from his injury and Kate was faster, and more flexible.

They held nothing back, but still neither of them succeeded in doing much damage, mostly because the skill with which they dodged the other’s attacks was just as impressive as the fighting techniques they employed.

"Tired old man?" she asked.

"Oh believe me," said Milligan. "I haven't even started yet."

They fought for hours, until at last Kate found something else that gave her the upper hand.

Environmental knowledge.

One of the circus' tricks was a series of platforms that were triggered to fall when you stood on them for a certain amount of time. They sent the performers falling to either be caught by a fellow trapeze artist or (worst case scenario) fall into one of the safety nets.

It was simply a matter of cornering her father onto one of the platforms, and removing the bridge.

"The fall is too far, and we haven't put the net out," Kate reminded him.

"You lost. Surrender."

Milligan looked down for a moment, judging the distance, then he looked back up at his daughter.

"No," he replied.

Kate was confused.

"What do you mean no?" she asked.

"I mean no," Milligan replied. "The fight's not over until it's over. I don't surrender."

"I'm not putting the bridge back," Kate reminded him. "Whatever trick this is, I'm not falling for it. Don't be stupid."

Milligan stood firm.

So did Kate. They were both stubborn. Like father, like daughter.

The seconds ticked by.

"20 seconds," Kate reminded him.

"Milligan we'll find another way!" Sticky yelled. "Just surrender, it's not worth it."

"This is my daughter," Milligan replied. "She'll always be worth it."

Kate scoffed.

"15 seconds," she announced.

Milligan didn't respond.

Kate still waited. Her father was fast. He only needed a few seconds to make it back in time, and would no doubt run out the clock.

10 seconds.

9 seconds.

8 seconds.

Kate groaned. Of course he would play it like this.

She walked over to the bridges control panel and pressed the emergency stop button.

It wasn't working.

Kate felt as if her heart had stopped.

"It's not working," she whispered.

"Kate it's your dad!" yelled Reynie. "You won! You won okay? Just press the button, put the bridge back!"

"It's not working," she yelled, the panic rising in her voice.

4 seconds.

"DAD-" she yelled, turning to her father, the father she'd missed for so long, the father she loved, the father she didn't want to lose again.

2 seconds.

"I love you Katie-Cat."

0 seconds.

The platform dropped.

And so did Milligan.

And so did Kate, diving after her father, clinging to him tightly as if that could somehow save him.

The others surrounded them as soon as they landed.

Kate was mostly undamaged, Milligan had broken her fall.

But he wasn't moving, wasn't responding.

"Dad?" Kate whispered, tears in her eyes.

"Dad I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I-please don't go. Please. I can't lose you again."

Kate reached down and hugged her father.

"You won," she whispered. "You won okay? Just please come back. I love you."

At once, Kate felt her father sit up and wrap his arms around her, wrapping her in an embrace that even she could not escape from.

"Victory," he announced, looking down at his daughter.

"And I love you too Katie-Cat. I'm sorry for the dramatics. I assumed you'd be able to put the bridge back in time, but it's always nice to have a plan B."

"What-" said Kate, who was too relieved to see her father alive and well to be upset that she had been tricked.

"But, but the fall-"

"I've fallen before," Milligan reminded her. "From greater heights than this. You get better at falling the more you practice. Just uh...don't tell Mr. Benedict. Or Number Two. Or Rhonda...perhaps it would also be wise not to mention this to Miss. Perumal."

Kate sighed.

"I'm sorry. I guess I just got tired of your criticisms."

"We didn't mean to sound critical" said Reynie. "I'm sorry you felt that way. But you were never a liability. You're our friend, and we need you."

The others nodded.

Kate sighed again and smiled.

"I need you guys too," she admitted, as her friends joined in hugging her.

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

And now for Constance Contraire.

The Premise:

I picture her being pretty young in this, but not too young, teen years at the most. The story here is that Constance succeeds in destroying the Whisperer and saving the day.

But this time, it leaves her mind damaged, seriously damaged. So damaged that her powers become uncontrollable and scary. Some government researchers offer to help Constance, but Mr. Benedict, suspicious of their intentions, turns them away. Nicholas vows to protect Constance, insists that they will figure out what's wrong, that they will help her, but then one day Constance ends up hurting him on accident, basically incapacitating and nearly killing him. At this point, there isn't much left to do, accepting outside help is the only option. The others promise to visit Constance and make sure she's taken care of and happy until Mr. Benedict recovers.

They never get the chance. Something goes wrong, and the story is that Constance is on the loose and dangerous, causing out of control destruction and physical harm. The police and government agents try to bring her in several times, but all end up hospitalized from the encounter. The society seeks Constance out, and they eventually find her hideout.

The Scene:

"Why are you here?" demanded Constance.

"What do you mean "why are we here?"" asked Kate.

"We're here to bring you home Connie girl."

Constance scoffed.

"Connie Girl."

They always acted like this. Like she was still a tiny defenseless child. Even though she was now older than the others had been when she'd first met them, they still acted as if they were her older siblings.

Or at least, they did with their words. But their body language sent an entirely different message. They stayed on the other side of the room, not daring to approach her, not daring to put their arms around her like they would have done before.

"You're afraid of me," she observed.

"Constance, we care about you!" Reynie protested.

"That doesn't mean you're not afraid."

Reynie didn't answer. There wasn't much he could say.

They'd all seen what she could do. And Reynie had never been a good liar.

"We just want to talk to you."

"We're talking now," observed Constance.

"Not here," said Kate. "Not in some secret lair or hideout where you've hidden yourself away."

"Where then?"

"Home. Your home."

For a moment, they can see it. The longing in Constance's eyes.

Home.

She quickly puts that aside.

"Right," she responds. "Home. Where the government will no doubt be waiting to take me away again."

"What? No!" Sticky exclaimed. "Constance, we would never let that happen! Mr. Benedict would never let that happen!"

Mr. Benedict.

She disregards the name and the emotions that come with it.

"And yet, it's happened before," she replied.

"You even let them take me.”

Her friends hung their heads and looked away at the reminder of their guilt, the unbearable weight that they would forever carry with them.

“They told you what I did to them. But do you have any idea what they did to me?” asked Constance.

“What they put me through? The things they made me do?"

"We thought they could help you Constance," said Reynie. "You were scared and in pain, and they offered help, and we wanted to help you. We didn't know...if we had known-"

"You would have stopped them?" asked Constance. "How? By asking nicely? And would you really have let me stay with you? After knowing what I could do to you?"

"We would have figured it out," Reynie insisted. "We're a family."

Constance laughed.

"Family? Gosh Reynard, you always were so childishly sentimental. It's a terrible weakness of yours"

Sticky and Kate briefly glared at Constance on their friend's behalf, but Reynie could hear the pain behind his little sister's insult.

He took a small step forward.

"Constance please-"

"Get away!" Constance barked, a hint of panic in her voice as she took a step backward.

"You know what will happen. Don't be stupid. Just leave. It's what's best for everyone. I'm a monster now. I'm only going to hurt you. And deep down, you all know it."

"Constance?"

The voice came from behind her. Constance didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

The others were immediately horrified. They'd told him not to come; he'd promised not to come, for his own safety.

But they should have known better. Nicholas would not be kept from his daughter.

"Dad?" Constance whispered weakly, then silently chastised herself for having spoken aloud.

She refused to turn around.

Nicholas still hobbled towards her. Constance could feel his mind. Still split, shattered from what she'd done to him, but slowly healing. And his emotions towards her...pain, lots of emotional pain, but no anger. No, there was something else, something far more powerful.

Love.

The others warned Mr. Benedict back, but he ignored their warnings. He wouldn't be deterred. His daughter needed him.

He limped over and knelt down, as best he could for an injured man so that he could address his child.

"Constance," he whispered. "Look at me please."

Constance turned away and shook her head.

"Please," her father whispered.

"I-I can't," she responded, a tiny tear rolling down her cheek as she squeezed her eyes shut.

Nicholas looked at her sadly, but affectionately, as if she was the most precious thing in the entire world.

And to him, she was.

"Oh...oh my dear Constance-"

"You should go," she ordered, pushing her father away.

"Go now. Or I'll hurt you again. I'll hurt them too," she threatened, but there was no malice behind her words. Only fear, fear that her threats might not be empty promises.

Nicholas ignored his daughter’s threats.

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

He could feel her emotions in his mind. His daughter's power, too great and uncontrollable for her tiny body, made so much worse and so much stronger by what she'd been subjected to. Her power radiated from her mind, seeping outward and infecting every mind it came in contact with.

Nicholas let it come. In fact, he embraced it fully. The pain didn't matter. If that was the price he had to pay to keep his child safe and let her know that she was loved and forgiven, then that was a price he would gladly pay.

"Oh Constance," he whispered, as the tiny girl collapsed into a puddle of tears. "There's nothing you could do that would stop me from loving you."

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

Now for Sticky Washington.

This is largely inspired by @sophieswundergarten's amazing fics and posts about Sticky and his anxiety. I can't possibly link all of them, so if you're not following her and reading her fics, that's your own personal problem, and I pity you.

Sadly, I didn't write a reunion scene between him and his aunt or the Washingtons for this, because I wanted it to kind of work for the book or show versions of the character, but please know that in the full version of the fic that exists only in my brain, Sticky does reconcile with his family.

The Premise:

Sticky is older in this, an adult, maybe 20s or 30s. The story is that even after the Whisperer, after Curtain, the nightmares, the anxiety, it still haunts him. He can't get over it, but at the same time, he doesn't want to burden his friends, he can't burden them.

So he distances himself. He doesn't want to, but the voice inside him tells him that this is for the best. He would only burden them; he would only weigh them down. The others aren't sure why he's doing this, but assume it's because he wants his space and they try to respect that.

The anxiety, the fear, the flashbacks, it all gets worse. Finally, Sticky can bear it no more. So he does the unthinkable.

He builds his own version of the Whisperer. Not to control people. Just to calm his anxiety. And maybe, as the show version of Sticky says "[...] put good thoughts into people's heads. Make them feel happy." Nothing intrusive, nothing exploitive, nothing selfish. Just things like advising people to wear a seatbelt when they drive, and use dangerous equipment properly, and basically anything else that's unsafe or would make Sticky nervous. After all, what's the harm in that? He's making the world safer. And it's not like his old friends would care enough to bother with him.

But that's where he's wrong. The society detects the machine's influence, and they know it's not Curtain. They don't want to believe that it's Sticky, even when the evidence points to him. But eventually, they have no choice but to accept the truth and confront him.

The Scene:

Sticky looked up at his visitors from behind his desk. His office was nice, not extravagant or expensive, that wasn't his style, but it was neat, clean, and organized. As for Sticky himself, he was hardly the boy he was when he'd first met his friends. He was older, taller, stronger. Handsome. Confident.

Reynie told himself that he had nothing to fear. Appearances might change, but underneath it all was his friend.

"Sticky-" he began, but Sticky cut him off.

"It's Mr. Washington now," he corrected in a professional tone, trying his best not to reveal how much he'd been hurting. "Though I suppose I could allow you to call me George, for old times sake."

"Okay Mr. George," said Constance. "Having fun playing supervillain?"

Sticky frowned.

"If you came here just to criticize me, then I'll have my secretary show you out. Better her than my security," he added, glancing at Kate, who had her hand on her bucket.

"That's not why we're here," said Reynie quickly.

"Oh?" said Sticky, raising an eyebrow.

"Your family misses you," clarified Reynie, hoping to appeal to his friends' sentimentality.

"Well they have no reason to miss me. I brought them some lovely property, send plenty of checks, and cover all their medical expenses, which is all they ever wanted me for anyway," said Sticky.

"Would you ever go to visit them?" asked Reynie. "I um...I don't want to get involved in your family's personal lives. But I think they might want more than money. I think they...I think they really miss you."

And then he sees it. A sense of longing, and a yearning in Sticky's eyes.

But it vanishes almost instantly.

"I'm a busy man," Sticky reminded his friends. "I have businesses to run."

"Honest businesses?" asked Kate suspiciously.

"Yes," said Sticky, glaring at her. "You might disagree with my personal hobbies, but I assure you, I make my money fairly."

"You call brainwashing the world a hobby? Really Mr. George?" asked Constance.

Sticky sighed.

"I'm fixing the world," he lectured them. "Crime is down, addiction is down, people's rates of anxiety and depression are down-"

"Including your own no doubt," muttered Constance, but Sticky ignored her.

"-and it's all thanks to me," he finished.

Reynie looked horrified. Kate looked disgusted.

"But you're doing it without their consent!" Reynie protested. "And you don't know what the side effects could be."

"And the way you're justifying it," said Kate, "you sound exactly like-"

And then she stopped, realizing that what she was about to say would have gone too far, way too far.

But it was too late. Sticky knew what she'd been implying, and his faced morphed from a look of uncomfortable and false politeness to sudden rage.

"Like who?" Sticky snapped, and his friends jumped at the sound of his voice. It was so much louder and deeper than it had been when he was a child. It was a man's voice now, but it wasn't just the maturity or the confidence of his voice, but the anger it possessed. The harshness that had been so absent from him as a child.

Constance was the first to recover.

"You know who "Mr. George,"" she answered, glaring at her former friend.

The other two glanced at each other. What Constance was saying was cruel, especially after all that man had put Sticky through, but it was also undeniably true.

"How dare you?" whispered Sticky, the anger rising in his voice.

"How dare you compare me to him? AFTER EVERYTHING HE DID TO ME!"

Sticky rose from his desk.

His friends had never seen him look so furious.

"Sticky-" began Reynie nervously.

The others took a step backward.

Sticky's self-consciousness and compassion suddenly returned to him when he saw the fear in their eyes.

That’s the thing about anger. If you are someone who is small, short, nervous, mild mannered, someone who is perceived as “weak”, then your anger, no matter how justified, is often belittled, patronized, or dismissed as "cute", unless you can find a way to be taken seriously, to yell louder, to make yourself more threatening. Of course, the other side of this is that if you are someone who is tall, strong, loud, powerful, and intimidating, then it doesn’t take much anger to make others afraid of you, even if that’s not your intention, unless you learn to moderate your emotions and remember how threatening you look from their perspective.

For most of this life, Sticky had been on one end of this spectrum, always needing to yell louder and be more insistent to make his voice heard. Now he found himself on the other side of the spectrum. But although his height, physical appearance, and position in the world had changed, the emotion felt the same to him as it always had, and he often forgot just how frighting he could seem.

Even to those who had once called him friend.

Sticky sighed and took a deep breath.

"I'm not like him," he insisted.

"I'm not giving myself fame, money, power, or anything like that. That's the difference. When I say I'm doing this to help people, to make them feel happy, I mean it."

He looked at his friends, glancing over their faces, trying one last effort to get them to understand.

"You know me," he reminded them. "You know I wouldn't do that. I'm not doing this for power. I'm doing this for peace."

There was silence for a few moments.

"We know," said Reynie.

"We know you are Sticky. And we know you've been hurting. We should have noticed earlier, and we should have offered to help sooner. I'm sorry. But whatever your intentions are, that doesn't make this right."

Sticky didn't reply. He knew that Reynie was right; he always was.

"What do I do?" he asked, his voice suddenly sounding softer.

"Stop this," said Kate. "Turn yourself in. We'll help you, we'll- we'll get you the help you need. So you don't have to feel this way anymore."

Sticky was surprised.

His anxiety...his fears...he tried to act like it didn't bother him anymore. He didn't want to be a burden. He didn't want to drag his friends down with him.

And yet they were here, right next to him, not as adversaries, but as friends.

They didn't have to come. They didn't have to forgive him.

"You've needed help for a while," said Constance, her voice suddenly gentler and far more compassionate then even her friends were used to hearing from her.

"Haven't you George?"

Sticky didn't answer. He could feel Constance tentatively poking her way into his mind. But he didn't fight it. He sat back down and nodded silently, feeling weak and exposed, the reality of his pain revealed at last.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I thought I could deal with it on my own but I...I can't. I'm not- I'm not strong enough. That's why I needed to do this. I thought I could help not just me, but others, because the truth is I...I'm just not enough. I'm not strong enough."

His friends ran forward to hug him.

"You don't have to be dummy," said Constance.

"None of us are. That's why we have each other."

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

And finally, Reynie Muldoon.

Ngl, I went pretty dark for this one. He's the only one I actually gave a body count to (I know I'm sorry don't blame me blame the bees and I apologize if you think any of these are OOC I'm trying my best here. Also Reynie is older in this and there are darker themes mentioned so consider this your warning). This is based on @kaslynspeaks amazing post here and her awesome comments on my poll where she talks about the whole book conversation where Reynie can "only see snakes" so he lets himself be bitten and becomes a snake himself? Genius. 10/10. Set off the bees for sure, so thank you for that.

The Premise:

This one blends a lot of elements from the others. Like in Kate's situation, the society has won, they're fighting crime, but Reynie becomes disillusioned, though for different reasons. He's older than Kate was in her version, he's late 20s, 30s, maybe even pushing 40. It took a long time for him to get to this point.

You see, at first, Reynie is fighting for what he believes in: bringing bad guys to justice, keeping his friends on the straight and narrow, and doing what's right. But being a leader has a cost. He's always the one emotionally supporting the team, he gives more than he gets back, and that starts to take a toll. As he gets older, he encounters more bad guys, ones that make him sick to his stomach, but what's worse is the lack of people who seem to care. The politicians with empty promises, the corrupt police, the ordinary citizens who look the other way instead of helping. Nothing changes. There's always another crisis, another bad guy, another problem that needs the society, and the society needs him. So Reynie drains himself until at last he can give no more. Finally pushed to the brink by what he's seen and the sense of hopelessness and isolation he feels, he makes the decision.

He starts by cutting himself off from the society, at least professionally. They respect his decision, but are surprised by it. Once he's free of that obligation, Reynie tells his mother he's getting a new job and needs some space right now to figure himself out.

What he actually does is get involved in the criminal underworld. He tells no one of course, they'd never approve. But Reynie has learned that there is one thing that can control a snake: a bigger snake (or as the expression goes "there's always a bigger fish").

And his intelligence, knowledge of others, leadership skills, and experience with criminals quickly leads to Reynie becoming the boss of the criminal underworld (how did he do that so quickly? What is this "criminal underworld" I keep mentioning? Like. Is it a gang? The mafia? The ten men? Some random group of thieves? Idk, don't question it, just use your imagination).

Anyway, now that Reynie has control he determines what crimes happen, when they happen, and how many people get hurt. Which he views as damage control. He keeps his real occupation hidden from his mother, telling her he's involved in important government work, and it's better that she didn't ask questions. Eventually he completely cuts off ties with the rest of the society, knowing it's only a matter of time before they put together what he's done.

They do figure it out, eventually, and they're heartbroken of course. They can't believe it. Especially that Reynie, out of all of them, would ever do something so terrible. They want to confront him, but they can't find him.

Until one day they receive an anonymous coded message, tipping them off to his location.

Reynie's security team laughs when they tell them they're his friends. Their boss doesn't have any friends, and no one shows up to see him without an appointment unless they either have news that can't wait, or some kind of death wish. And he certainly never takes social calls.

Still, they let Reynie know about them. And of course he recognizes their description. Turning them away unharmed shows weakness, which his team would never accept from their leader, but Reynie doesn't want to harm his friends either.

Which gives him only one other option: to confront them. He has his security bring them to his office.

The Scene:

The men roughly shoved them into the room.

"These people came to see you boss. They said they were friends of yours."

Reynie looked up at his friends, who had just been pushed unceremoniously into his office.

"Thank you," he nodded, waving his hands to dismiss his security team.

Then he sighed.

"How did you find me?"

His friends didn't answer at first.

"That's what you want to know?" said Kate. "You're running the criminal underworld, and that's the first question you have for us? The route we used to get here?"

"Not the route. My location. How did you find me?" asked Reynie.

"Anonymous tip off. A coded message," said Constance. "Seems some of your men aren't as loyal as you thought."

Reynie looked disappointed, but shrugged.

"That's not all that uncommon in this line of work," he clarified. "Whoever it was will be dealt with accordingly. Snakes will be snakes"

"But since when are you one of them?" asked Kate.

Reynie sighed.

"I don't expect any of you to understand."

"You're right Reynie," said Sticky. "We don't understand. You were always the best of us. The one who reminded us who we were, what we stood for. How could you ever think something like this was right?"

"The best of us?" Reynie repeated disbelief.

"I was the average one, the one who wasn't special. I wasn't a genius, or a psychic, or some sort of super athlete. I was just me. I'm not special."

"So that's why you're doing this?" asked Constance. "To feel special?"

"No," said Reynie. "I'm doing this because it's inevitable. The cycle just repeats itself. We fight another bad guy, we almost fall apart, I hold us together, it takes everything out of me, I finally recover, and then we go around again. The only way to end the cycle is to become a part of it."

"Takes everything out of you?" repeated Sticky. "Reynie, we had no idea-"

"It's fine," dismissed Reynie. "Like I said, this is for the best."

"You really believe that?" asked Kate, shocked her friend could ever really think something like this was right. "You...your men...you're criminals! The worst criminals!"

"We are," agreed Reynie. "I won't deny that. But when you make yourself the king of the snakes, you decide how poisonous they are. These men follow me because they know I'm intelligent and powerful enough to let them get away with the crimes they want and have all the money and power they desire. That's a better deal than most other bosses could give them. But they also know that comes at a price, that certain things are off limits. If I hear any rumors of human trafficking or exploiting or harming children, well, then I'm sure to make an example of them. To remind them that I'm in control and that I have my standards."

"Make a example of them?" said Kate, her eyes widening.

"That...that doesn't mean what I think it means...right Reynie?" asked Sticky.

Reynie couldn't help but feel a little ashamed as he watched Constance, who had always looked up to him as her protector, her big brother, take a step away from him when she saw from his face that his words meant exactly what Sticky thought they meant.

But he didn't back down.

"They were human traffickers and people who abused children," Reynie said simply, trying his best to remain logical. "You can't say they didn't deserve it. If I wasn't running the criminal underworld, someone else would, someone who would be just as cruel, maybe worse, and would likely choose less deserving targets. It's no different than carrying out justice."

"And who made you the judge, jury and executioner?" asked Constance, crossing her arms.

"We're going to stop you," said Kate, raising her fists.

"Really?" said Reynie, his expression turning dark at his friend's declaration.

"I think you'll find that harder than you expect. You three might have been the talented ones, but I was the one who kept you together. I know you. I know how to build you up, and I know how to bring you down."

His friends looked horrified by the threat. Even worse, they looked hurt.

"I don't want it to come to that," Reynie clarified. "But it will if you stand against me. I don't want to hurt you, but trust me, I can. Worse than you can imagine. And I will. I know how it sounds, but believe me when I tell you that this is the only way."

The others were shocked by his words. Reynie cared for them; Reynie protected them.

How could he threaten them so easily? How could he have become so misguided?

Sticky thought a bit about what his friend had said, and tried one last time to reach him.

"We understand where you're coming from, really Reynie, we do," said Sticky. "But this isn't the way to do things. You're still hurting people in other ways, and I agree that people need to be brought to justice but this...this isn't the way to do it."

"We didn't know it was so hard for you," added Kate. "You were our leader Reynie. And you're right. You held us together, you kept us strong, and you were always there when we needed you. To remind us who we are. I'm sorry we didn't appreciate that more. But now it's our turn to be there for you. To remind you who you are."

Reynie didn't answer for a moment.

"And who do you think that is?"

"Our friend," said Kate.

"Some who is kind, gentle, intelligent, wonderful, and anything but average," added Sticky.

"Someone who knows deep down that this is wrong," said Constance, poking her way around the edges of Reynie's mind.

"Someone who's better than this."

Reynie couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You...you really think that?" he asked. "After everything I've done... you really think that's who I am?"

"We do," said Sticky.

"We all do," agreed Kate.

"I know it," said Constance, as Reynie felt her enter his mind, unearthing the guilt, shame, exhaustion, and pain that he'd kept buried for so long, as well as the love, compassion, and the values he'd put aside and tried to forget about.

They were still a part of him. An unused and forgotten part, but nevertheless, they were still there.

"Your friends are right Reynie."

Reynie turned to see his mother enter his office.

"Amma?" he asked in a small voice.

"But, but I don't understand- how...how did you-"

"For the leader of the criminal underworld, you have pretty bad security. They're easy enough to knock out with a few blow darts and they are much too unsuspecting of a simple old woman," his mother replied with a sad smile.

Reynie's heart dropped. She knew?

One look in her eyes told him everything. Of course she knew. She knew when he started staying out late and never telling her where he was going, when he came back with scars and a haunted look in his eyes that he couldn't explain, when he begged her for the millionth time to stop asking questions, when he moved her into a bigger fancier private house and had the property constantly surrounded by security guards because of a "promotion" that he refused to explain.

His mother was kind, but she certainly wasn't stupid.

And then Reynie realized.

"The coded message. You brought them here."

Dipika nodded.

"You needed them Reynie. You needed to be reminded of who you are."

Reynie hung his head.

"Amma-" he began, but his voice trailed off.

What could he say? What words could ever make it up to the woman who'd taken him in, who'd given everything to him? There was nothing he could say, not when she knew what he'd done, what he'd become.

"Oh Reynie," said Dipika, walking forward to hug her son, who trembled at the affection he knew he didn't deserve.

"I know," she whispered. "I know you're sorry. And I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I wasn't enough. I'm sorry I couldn't reach you. But it's not too late. I promise Reynie. It's never too late."

At last, Reynie broke down, returning his mother's embrace as the three people who refused to give up on him even when he'd given up on himself stepped forward to hug their friend.

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

I apologize for nothing, or maybe I will if enough people tell me this was disturbing and that they didn't like it, which honestly? Fair enough. Anyway, have a lovely evening! 🥰

[xf-cases-solved]

S1E13: Beyond the Sea

Case: A young couple is kidnapped in North Carolina, and the authorities have five days to find them before they're murdered. Unfortunately, they have no leads, except for the testimony of Luther Lee Boggs—a serial killer Mulder put behind bars years ago—who is claiming to have psychic knowledge that will lead them to the missing children. In some serious turning of the tables, Mulder is skeptical of Boggs' claims, whereas Scully—whose father just died, and who is desperate for just one more message from him to know that they didn't part on bad terms—finds herself believing Boggs, much to her chagrin. After Mulder is shot, Scully is on her own to work with Boggs, leading to some sexy fucking "Silence of the Lambs" -esque scenes that make this episode not just a top tier s1 episode, but a top tier episode of all time. Mulder tears up his New York Knicks shirt (he probably has like seventeen tho, so it's okay), Scully is scared to believe, and Brad Dourif puts his entire goddamn pussy into playing Luther Boggs. A+++, fam.

Does someone die in the cold open: Yes! But it wasn't a crime. Scully gets the dreaded "middle of the night phone call" and learns that her father just died. (Even tho she just saw him sitting in her armchair across the room. Say what???) 

Does Mulder present a slideshow: No. 

Does the evidence survive the investigation: This is another where it depends on what you mean by evidence. Evidence of the actual, literal crime? Yes, that actually worked out like how normal police work is meant to go if you're good at your job. Evidence of Boggs' psychic abilities, however? Unfortunately, proof of those went with him to the gas chamber. 

Whodunit: Lucas Henry, who is either Boggs' accomplice, or somebody Boggs keeps having psychic visions of. It's up to you to decide.

Convictions: Lucas Henry would have been convicted if he hadn't crashed through several floors and fell on his face directly onto some concrete, so we'll give it to 'em.

Did they solve it: While the supernatural element remains a mystery, the crime itself is solved. This one is a resounding yes!

[how do i determine if a case is solved? check the scale here: x]

THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY: Confusing and upsetting your loved ones by appearing to them after your death. Look, we all die—it's a fact of life!—but just because you're dead doesn't mean you have to be dull. When accidents strike, illnesses rage, or the clock has simply run out, keep the fun going by confusing and upsetting your loved ones by appearing to them after your death. By keeping the excitement of living alive by causing trauma to those closest to you as they mourn your loss, you're guaranteeing your time in the afterlife is off to a great start!

*Confusing and upsetting your loved ones by appearing to them after your death is especially recommended for those with loved ones who are particularly skeptical, or who are looking for answers to ambiguities left behind after your departure.

Try it today! Or, well, when you die, we mean. Which might be today!

***

General Total Stats:

(green means stat has changed since last ep; red means new stat added to list)

Total Cases *Definitively* Solved So Far: 6 (holy shit, three in a row?? unprecedented!)

Total Number of "Mulder/Scully, it's me" phone calls: 1

Total Number of Times Scully Has Conveniently Not Seen Something Crucial: 4 (Mulder was actually the one who was out of the room whenever Boggs said something that resonated with Scully)

Total Number of Times Mulder Has Been in Mortal Danger: 5 (pew pew) 

Total Number of Times Scully Has Been in Mortal Danger: 3 ½ (half point bc she should have died, but she had that warning from Boggs, so it was kind of a toss up) 

Total Number of Sexually Charged, Uncomfortably intimate, and/or Flirty Moments Between Friendly Coworkers: 8 (i changed the stat to add in "uncomfortably intimate" bc especially in these first few seasons, a lot of the MSR moments are more like... buddy, i get that you're going through it, but that is your coworker, why are you holding them so gently with so much love in your eyes? anyway, Mulder cupping her face in the beginning, and Mulder putting his hand on her gigantic 90s pant suit shoulder pad at the end are the ones i'm counting)

Total Number of Autopsies Scully Has Performed On Screen: 1

Total Number of Times Scully Plays Doctor: 1

Total Number of Times Mulder Talks to an Informant: 5 

Total Number of Times People Making Out in a Car are Hurt or Killed: 1 (new stat!)

Total Number of Nosebleeds: 4

Total Number of Times Someone Says "Trust No One": 1 

Total Number of Times Someone Says "I Want to Believe": 2 (new stat! first one was actually in that snore fest "Conduit," but i didn't want to go back and add it since i just considered making it a stat now)

Total Number of Cigarettes Cigarette Smoking Man Has Smoked: 2

Total Number of Maggie Scully sightings: 1 (new stat!)

Total Number of Alex Krycek Sightings: 0 :(

Total Number of Times I Had to Look Up What State the Episode Takes Place in Even Though I Literally Just Watched It: 3 ½

Total Number of Times I Had to Look at an Episode's Wikipedia Page to Fill This Out Because It Was Fucking Confusing and/or Too Boring for Me to Pay Attention: 2 (we stan Beyond the mother fucking Sea)

[gauze-valley]

Whumperless Whump Event Days 3 + 8

no shh no it's not the 18th it's both the 3rd and the 8th of july right now (thank you very much to @whumperless-whump-event for allowing out of order entries lol)

today i bring some Psychic Whump !

oh yeah and also a side of vampire whump to go with it i guess! i don't know if this falls under that since the focus isn't on it, but it's still a factor and I WILL be writing more vampire-focused stuff in the future!

_________________________________________________

Prompt: Day 3 - Vertigo, Struggling to Stand | Day 8 - Migraine

CW (doesn't apply to preview): Pain imagery, collapsing due to vertigo, emetophobia warning for mentions but no actual events

Preview:

"I, uh, I don't think I can walk." A twinge of panic shakes his voice. This will always be nerve-wracking no matter how many times it happens, but it's worse now, here, with whatever's trying to reach him. He can still feel that presence crawling all over his skull, skittering down his neck, like it's looking for a way back in.

More under the cut!

__________________________________________________

"I know boiler rooms are creepy, but honestly, my money's on that men's bathroom near the second entrance. Four of the reported sightings are-" Nick falls quiet as Tiegan holds up a hand and turns to him.

"There's something here. I need to focus," he explains. At first, it was just an itch in the back of his skull, but as the two continue to survey the decrepit room in total silence, that itch turns to a- it's almost like a tapping, something pleading to be let in, growing in force the longer he ignores it. So he does, before he no longer has a choice, closing his eyes and willing his mind open.

The things that enter do so in a cacophonous rush. Images flicker through his mind like a slideshow on fast-forward, projecting countless faces, and a repeated flash of something that doesn't have one. Each picture is a different scream, a plea, a choking last breath, over and over and over and-

Tiegan takes a deep breath, willing it to stop, almost begging silently. A minute or so passes with all of his concentrated effort and it seems to quiet. Something's still not right in his head, though. The glow of his flashlight burns in his retinas, and then it starts to move. His vision turns and whirls like the floor is tilting underneath him.

"Shit-" Nick catches him under the arms just in time to lower him to the floor before he hits his head. He squeezes his eyes shut on instinct, but he can't hold them still and he can feel the room continue to spin.

"Oh God," he mumbles, a sense of dread stinging his chest as he notices a tight throbbing in his temples, especially the left one. The eye on that side is starting to water.

"You're okay. Don't try to get up," Nick says, and then pulls back and presses on his mic, speaking into the radio. "Victor, can you come down into the boiler room?"

The radio crackles. "Yeah, be right there."

Tiegan winces as light pierces his eyelids a few moments later, the colors all swirling together in the dark. Victor turns off his flashlight before rushing to his side.

"What happened? Migraine?" He asks, though his question is directed to Nick, who nods. "Probably."

"Definitely," Tiegan corrects. The thrumming tension has spread to his forehead, and it's slowly building into an ache. He opens his eyes and immediately regrets it as everything in his field of view divides into doubles on top of that godawful spinning.

"I, uh, I don't think I can walk." A twinge of panic shakes his voice. This will always be nerve-wracking no matter how many times it happens, but it's worse now, here, with whatever's trying to reach him. He can still feel that presence crawling all over his skull, skittering down his neck, like it's looking for a way back in.

"There's so many of them, oh God. It's- there's- they're trying to-" He can't speak. His own voice is starting to rattle his bones and surge in his aching temple. It hurts more by the second, and for a brief but agonizing moment, it builds into a stabbing crescendo, like someone drove a knife through the side of his head. Tears are streaming from both eyes now.

"Shh. It's okay. You don't have to talk if it hurts," Victor assures him, trying to keep his voice as soft as he can. As much as what he's trying to say could be important, keeping him comfortable and getting him out of here is the first priority.

He looks over as Nick. "Should we see if we can get that strong guy from group B to carry him?"

"Too risky," Nick shakes his head. "We'll have to explain the blood if he throws up." The only explanation they could possibly give besides the truth would be "internal bleeding", and outing him as a vampire isn't ideal either.

But it's not safe here. Even if they could say with confidence that this haunting wasn't malevolent, there are still things trying to communicate.

Victor looks back down at Tiegan. His eyes are screwed shut again, though it doesn't exactly help, and he's trembling despite the unnatural flood of heat suffocating his skin. "T? Do you think you can walk a little if we both support you? We'll go slow."

All he can manage in response is a noise of confirmation. At this point, he can't really tell whether the intermittent sensation of something trying to crack a hole in his head and pry it open is the ghosts or the migraine.

[reborrowing]

I've seen other folks make a reference post to how borrowers work in their fiction so here's some random worldbuilding I've done with mine

There's not one universal culture, this varies by community, which can be as small as an individual family or be spread throughout a neighborhood. Communities tend to ally through loose trade networks that at least share a language, if not cultural norms.

The distinction between borrowing and theft is rooted in the idea of taking from surplus/excess. Finer nuances vary by community, but the concept is true whether taking from humans or from each other. There's usually an implication of reciprocity, that you would surrender your excess if someone else has use for it.

I'm a little wishy-washy for the actual size range, but my named ocs range from 3.5" (Kiwi) to 4.3" (Ben).

Senses differ from their human counterparts. They have a wider range of hearing, more sensitive sense of smell, weaker distance vision (but stronger night vision), and lack the degree of tactile sensitivity found in human fingers (which is why they don't have fingerprints, definitely not just because I wanted another reason for Hand Awe)

Most borrowers are colorblind. It's not unheard of to have the red-green distinction, but it's unusual enough that a lot of communities have superstitions around those who do, ranging from "psychic in a blessed way" to "probably gives good advice sometimes" to "probably can see ghosts" to "psychic in a cursed way"

An almost forgotten biological feat by modern indoor borrowers, they go into torpor when the temperature drops too low. Outdoor dwellers are well aware of this fact and factor it into their survival strategies—a frigid but hidden shelter is more appealing than somewhere warm but with a high risk of exposure, even if the latter is more comfortable. (Though of course, hidden and warm is ideal)

Borrowers have long, relatively dexterous toes that can aid in climbing, especially when un-shoed. It tends to be an individual choice to prefer the warmth and protection of full shoes or the dexterity of bare feet/foot wraps. (Everyone is clumsy and uncomfortable when forced to change their footwear habits)

Prolonged eye contact is an intimate gesture, something only to engage in with close friends, family, or lovers and often only when expressing or listening to someone express deep emotion. Lingering eye contact outside that context of closeness is seen as invasive or aggressive and definitely rude

Nipping is a common gesture of affection and excitement, lingering from childhood play instincts and almost never translates quite right across species

Coincidentally, baby teeth canines are significantly duller than the adult fangs that replace them.

Adult fur pattern varies, but typically covers at least the lower half of each limb. Fur along the back and outer sides of the upper limbs is very common. Chest and facial hair is less common, but evenly likely across the two sexes.

Young children, however, are fuzzy all over.

Borrowers require more sleep than humans do, with a healthy individual hitting at least 8-10 hours in a 24 hour period, but not all at once. Most keep biphasic or polyphasic schedules. Winter torpor is the only time long sleep periods are "normal"

There's no strong biological preference for being nocturnal or diurnal, instead people tend to follow whatever schedule they were raised on.

Yelling and screaming are considered inappropriate, animalistic behaviors. It would be like literally growling at someone. Strong anger is expressed through hissing, pain and fear are expressed through squeals and chittering. (And body language, naturally)

Tails are semi-prehensile and used for balance and body language communication. They're technically dexterous enough to wrap around and grab things, but the limb is pretty weak and injures easily when made to pull any weight. Like with rodents, tails are prone to degloving if pulled. Long tails are seen as an attractive feature because they're easy to deform or lose, so keeping a long one intact suggests someone is capable of avoiding danger altogether.

Purr purr purr, like cats, borrowers purr to express joy or as an attempt to self-soothe. In most communities, it's seen as kind of childish in public but still encouraged and enjoyed during positive physical interactions. Someone who purrs in their sleep is often seen as blessed by [insert community's higher power here]

[picaroroboto]

random rambly crossover thoughts under the cut

I talk a lot about the thematic overlap and coincidental lore similarities between FGO and FFXIV, but what I really really like to think about, and need to write sometime, is interactions between Guda and the WoL, because they are so similar: Guda has this strong yet simple kindness, they're a traveler, they've got a reputation for chaos and wierdness but everyone loves them so much that their defining skill is summoning a bunch of guys, they would be another Shard of Azem's soul except for the fact that they're from a completely different universe. Guda and the WoL have a lot of the same problems on the deeper level - the pressure of being the only one who can save the world in this way, the burden of being loved and idolized and put on a pedestal while also being reduced to just your title and your role. And of course the myriad traumas of a life of high-stakes battle and the struggle to put on a brave face for other despite all of this, because so many people are counting on you and a smile better suits a hero.

Oh, and they're both sort-of psychic, with the WoL's Echo visions and Guda's shared Servant dreams so probably not long after meeting they'd be thrown headlong into each other's worst memories: the WoL watching Guda's toughest battles in Camelot and Babylonia and the Temple of Time, the destruction of Chaldea at the start of Part 2, maybe flashes of Aphrodite's song and the Garden of Lost Will; while Guda picks up on scenes like the Bloody Banquet, Haurchefant's sacrifice, the battle with Ardbert in Soul Surrender - "One life for one world - you of all people should understand!"

(the WoL doesn't tell much of their past because they're enjoying the feeling of being somewhere where nobody knows their name, while Guda doesn't give much specifics of the Lostbelts because it would be hard to reveal to a hero from another world that saving your world involves destroying others)

So the WoL, summoned to Chaldea or some Singularity, does understand what Guda is going through and wants to help, but - Guda's not so different from an Ascian. The WoL knows what it's like to fight to protect your broken world, they've fought against and killed those who would return their world to it's proper course. Maybe they'd be allies for a while, good friends as well, but still oppose Guda at some point - not really a betrayal, maybe more of a trial, or just a sort of inevitability, because just like they can't not help Guda they also can't ignore the fact that Guda has defeated many heroes just like them, just like Ardbert and his party, like any Warriors of Light of the rejoined Reflections.

Leading to super sugoi summoning versus summoning battle, overlapping chants of "My will creates your body, your sword creates my destiny..." "Let expanse contract, eon become instant..."

[ultrone]

Can you pls give your thoughts on what it would be like to be Lottie’s younger sister and seeing the progression she goes / influence she (unwillingly) gains and being the only one knowing she’s probably going through an unmedicated schizophrenic episode & maybe tension that would make between lottie and reader bc the last thing a manic person wants to hear is that they’re manic 😭

i feel that if someone other than lottie knew that the primary cause of her hallucinations—which might actually be repressed psychic abilities, who knows?—is that she's actually schizophrenic, and not because she's actually having visions, it would play a significant role in the story.

what would everyone think if they found out that the person they've been worshipping has been lying to them the entire time? 😭 i know lottie didn't do it on purpose, and that everyone just started to rely on her and she didn't know what to do except to follow along, but still, like imagine the betrayal LMAO 😭

it would depend on how close lottie and her sister are, and how well-developed her sister's morals are, to determine whether she'd rat her out or not. i feel like at first, she wouldn't; she'd keep it lowkey and support lottie through it. maybe she'd even find it funny how everyone sees her as a messiah or something, but she'd keep her mouth shut because it's making everyone feel safer and sort of protected, you know? so, why ruin it?

but then, weird shit starts to happen. like shauna almost killing travis—with lottie's permission—and everyone eating jackie. all sorts of things start going down, and the main excuse is the "wilderness." obviously, since lottie's sister knows that lottie is schizophrenic, she wouldn't fall for that shit at all, whether it's true or not. so, i'm guessing that the sister would talk to lottie about it, telling her how she can't keep lying to everyone because it's escalated to the point where they're hunting each other down. will lottie listen? and if she doesn't, would her sister do what's morally right and expose her? or would she cover for lottie out of loyalty?

the only thing i know for sure is that lottie wouldn't get to the point of starting to believe that everything she's seeing is true, because her sister would be there to remind her that it's all in her head and that she's unmedicated 😭 like my girl would be humbling lottie 24/7 LMFAO so who knows, maybe the cannibalism wouldn't even happen in the first place 😯🤔

[davros42]

Rewatching Classic Doctor Who, some episodes I haven't seen in years, some of the animated reconstructions I haven't seen at all.

The Sensorites AKA Mind Control AKA Serial G

I enjoy this one a lot. It is kind of weird and occasionally cheap (which makes it prototypical Doctor Who, let's be honest) but the script from Peter R. Newman (his only contribution to the canon) puts in a lot of work, trying to build out the Sensorite psychology/sociology.. or at least as much as you can in about two and a half hours.

It makes for a surprisingly dense story, crammed with world building, including the first description of what would eventually be identified as Gallifrey.

The TARDIS lands on a ship crewed by dead people. Ok, not dead, just sleeping but also in cardiac arrest. But warm. But dead. Until they aren't. Look, it's a hook, ok? Just don't overthink it. It is revealed this is Earth's future (the first story to explicitly take place in the future, relative to 1964 at least) so the Doctor tries to leave before Ian and Barbara hear some spoilers. But the TARDIS has been sabotaged to prevent them from making this a one episode long storyline.

The Sensorites have been psychically knocking out the ship's crew to keep them from escaping and telling Earth about the Sense-Sphere's rich molybdenum deposits. Molybdenum (atomic number 42) is used to alloy steel, as a fertilizer, as a catalyst, as a lubricant, and to make orange pigment. So, of course, Earth wants to do a colonialism. Or at least, that is Earth's reputation to the Sensorites.

Sorry, the Earthlings are the bad guys in this one.

Barbara and Susan meet a crazy man. Instead of just going to sleep, the Sensorites' psychic attacks have made him crazy. They get locked in a room, hijinks ensue. A Sensorite plays peeping tom (above). Everyone except Barbara goes down to the Sense-Sphere because Jacqueline Hill needs a break after carrying the show for this long. The Sensorites are having a plague and enlist the Doctor to help. Just in time as Ian catches the plague. Which turns out to be Earth survivors poisoning the water supply to kill the Sensorites who they believe they are at war with. The Doctor actually chooses to remain and help for once: some character growth! This growth is immediately reverted at the end of the episode when after some mild criticism about his piloting ability, The Doctor declares he's dumping Ian and Barbara wherever they land next. A man who never would... get his companions home safely.

There's also a strong theme of prejudice. The Sensorites seem extremely aggressive when we first meet them, through descriptions from the Earth ship's crew but in reality are as varied in attitude as humans. The City Administrator hates humans (which.. they're poisoning the Sensorites and are probably going to do a colonialism, so.. fair) and exploits the old "they all look alike to me" to kill the Second Elder, steal his clothes, and impersonate him to the TARDIS crew. The Sensorites have terrible vision so they can only tell each other apart by their clothes at range. The Sensorites mistake Susan for a "human" because, again, they all look alike to them, so she has to set them straight: she's not from Earth. Both sides of the story spend a fair amount of time misunderstanding and miscommunicating before trust can be secured. The real antagonist of the story is prejudice. Series 1 and we're woke as Hell, baby. Get used to it.

Like I said, there's a lot going on here. It's a lot of fun: political machinations, back and forths, traumatized survivors, attempted colonial genocide. The Sensorites are the best fleshed out alien race we've seen so far. It's a shame that Peter R. Newman suffered from crippling writer's block after this, his last work, he has a real talent for world building. "It all started out as a mild curiosity in the junkyard and now it's turned out to be quite a great spirit of adventure." is one of the all time great Doctor Who lines. And of course his brief description of Susan's "home planet" echoes down through the ages as the first mention of Gallifrey, put some respect on the gentleman's name. Daphne Dare and Jill Summers go to town on the Sensorites' costuming, but sadly it ends up looking kind of cheap. Digital restoration giving the story a visual clarity that would have been hard to attain on original broadcast probably not helping here. I think the masks have a certain charm though, full marks for effort at least. The set design is quite good too, even if it starts to become clear that there really is just one, tiny, aqueduct set.

Next up: Reign of Terror, the end of Series 1. Will the Doctor make good on his promise to dump Ian and Barbara? (no, he won't *insert "London 1965!" meme here*)

[recurring-polynya]

6 & 30 the writer’s asks

For 30 - who are your biggest writing influences?

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

My current one that I re-read the most is Chicken, by @bleachbleachbleach because I'm obsessed with it. It's a story about what it means to share your life with a person you love, good, bad, and smelling like a chicken coop, and it is very, very beautiful and I love it. (I re-read a lot of B3's other stories, too, but in a broader rotation)

I read all of @gizkasparadise 's Renruki stories habitually, but probably that which cannot be seen (Renji dies and Ichika looks for him) and Proposals and Paperwork (Renji wants to propose to Rukia but has to deal with Byakuya first) are my favorites.

I will also go diving thru @zabiume 's Works List whenever I want something nice to read, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I end up on she's not afraid more often than not (Renruki go on a date)

It's kind of an undertaking, but I have re-read the Roots of Heaven by paperiuni (rated M), um, a lot of times. Rukia gets lost in another dimension after the war and Renji and Ichigo track her down. It is a masterpiece, maybe one of the finest pieces of fanfic I have ever read.

It's even more of an undertaking, but A Thin Red Line, the biggest and best Hisana Lived! AU by @afinepiece is also worth an annual re-read.

Once We Closed that Distance by todaslasmadrugadas is a great story where Renji tries to step back and just be a good friend to Rukia because he thinks she's in love with Ichigo (he's an idiot). The writing style is fantastic, and it is at turns sweet and funny and emotionally devastating.

Let the Rain Kiss You by Jetamors. Kira invites everyone to his beach house (I think Kira should have a beach house) and kinda regrets it but also kinda doesn't.

Stay by eosdawnaurora. (rated M) It's just the platonic ideal of a certain kind of Renruki fic-- they're at a Kuchiki party and they have some tension and then they have sex, and it all wraps up in 7k words, what else could you want?

The Curse of the Zanpakutou by c2t2. (rated E) This is THE Bad Rukongai story and while I am not raw enough to write stuff like this, it lurks at the back of my consciousness whenever I am writing Inuzuri stuff.

13 by @mothmckrakken is a Renruki try to figure stuff out after the war fic that is just cute and fun and nice and I haven't re-read it in a while which probably means it's time again.

I think that's...enough? (I also have my favorite smuts, but that's embarassing)

For 30 - who are your biggest writing influences?

I think my single most obvious writing influence is Terry Pratchett, but here is a list of formative influences on my writing, which I decided to consider from all media categories. These are not necessarily endorsements, just things that rotted my brain into its current state, in rough order of appearance:

Sideways Stories from Wayside School, by Louis Sacher

E. B. White (I wouldn't have thought this until I re-read Trumpet of the Swan and Charlotte's Web to my kids and it was like...hmmmm)

The Prydain Chronicles, by Lloyd Alexander

Mercedes Lackey, particularly the Valdemar books (sorry to everyone who has to find this out, but my shinigami-zanpakutou relationship comes directly from the magical psychic horses. I hate this as much as you do)

Sierra On-Line point and click adventure games, incl. the Quest for Glory series and the Gabriel Knight games

The X-Man fanfiction community of the late 1990s

Grendel by John Gardner

Takahashi Rumiko's Ranma 1/2

Vision of Escaflowne

The melange of Neil Gaiman/Flash Girls/Emma Bull/Boiled in Lead/Tori Amos/Ellen Datlow Fantasy anthology all us 90s urban fantasy girlies were incredibly sauced on

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard

Princess Mononoke

The honors English 101 class I took on romantic novels

Angela Carter, whom I discovered through the above

Books of Magic, by John Ney Rieber

Ursula K. LeGuin, primarily the Earthsea books

Kishiro Yukito's Gunnm/Battle Angel Alita

The Japanese film course I took in college

Garth Nix's Old Kingdom novels

Naomi Novik

Bleach, obvs

Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace (don't at me I got real mixed feelings about him but I read it twice and it rearranged my brain)

the-toast.net

The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

N.K. Jemison, primarily the Broken Earth trilogy and the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms which I'm still not sure I liked, but I sure do think about a lot

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (book only, and only the 1st one)

Jane Austen (spent 40 years trying not to be a P&P girlie but turns out maybe I am a P&P girlie)

I'm sure there are others, but I think that list is long and embarrassing enough.

[little-miss-understood]

Dame Violette, Prologue

-

Welcome to the mother of all fix-it fics, something I've had planned for a long while but the disaster that is Season 5 of Miraculous Ladybug has proven to me is needed. This will probably be my definitive work and after it's completed I'm more than likely not going to write anything else for ML. But, this story is in me to be told and I want it out lol.

Anyways, enjoy!

-

They had lost.

There was no question about it, as Marinette stared up at the figure of Gabriel Agreste in front of her. He had successfully merged the Cat and Ladybug Miraculous, and now as a deranged god he was going to get his reality bending wish. It was the one thing he wanted out of this whole mess, after three years of terrorizing Paris, and she felt utterly despondent and sad in her failure.

His son and her partner, the love of her life, Adrien Agreste stood behind his father. The emotions crossing over his face at this turn of events seemed to be of relief that this was all over. That somehow, his father would come to his senses and that if Marinette could just be understanding, then this whole situation could resolve itself and-

“I wish to go back to when my wife was alive, for us all to be together again as a family!”

Marinette had no time to react. The world went white.

Hi, my name is Marinette! I'm just a normal girl who lives with her two baker parents in Paris. Nothing special about me, nope, nosiree.

Unless you count the weird psychic visions I get. I mean that has to be normal, right?

They're like “mental shocks”. To be honest I'm not really sure why they happen or how they come to me, or even if I'm the only one who gets them. They seem to be steering me in life. Hopefully away from bad things though I never know for sure. Like a shock I got when considering fashion as a career choice, which led to some weird visions of a blonde-haired woman yelling about how something wasn't exceptional and about a man who looked old and stern, how the world of fashion seemed very competitive and not easy to get to the top of, at least not without losing parts of yourself along the way. Because of that I figured maybe engineering would be a better bet, I seem to have a good knack for designing neat things, like diaries with unique locks. I still make clothes occasionally! But they're more for myself or my close friends.

Another shock came when the first class representative elections came up. I thought about running, but memories of a girl who seemed to be overrun with responsibilities for her classmates filled my mind, along with a figure who took advantage who looked very, very similar to Madame Bustier, my homeroom teacher. Because of that it led me to always sit at the back of the class rather than anywhere near the front, not wanting to be noticed. Someone else can take the burden of being leader. There are only two other people who knows about me having such thoughts...having met them both through shocks, I figured they'd understand it if I explained the whole thing outright. Considering how well read one of them is I had hoped maybe she could have had a rational explanation but she just laughed and said it was probably some kind of “gut magic”. The other simply said it was “Awesome”. I might have been offended but they also both wholeheartedly believed me. I don't know why a person believing in me feels so...important, but it does. Like I know my parents do but having someone else besides them is great. I have a small group of two best friends, and that's more than enough for me. Having too many would be spreading myself thin and my downtime is important; I hate being run off my feet. Plus quality is better over quantity, and both of these girls are quality without a doubt. We might as well be sisters now for how entangled our lives have become.

- In a schoolyard, a five-year old Marinette looks around anxiously. It's a brand-new school to her, what with the move her mama and papa had done to a new and larger bakery, and she had to leave behind the friends she made in the previous year. Her papa however had done what he always did, and set her up with a box of macarons for her first day. “Just be yourself, offer one to a classmate. You're going to be fine, my sweet.” But there was a sinking feeling in her stomach. Marinette was expecting something to come her way, something horrible. Something brash. But little did she know, that on the other side of Paris, a decision was made to send a blonde girl of similar age to a private school, along with a boy of a prominent fashion mogul. It was over the objections of her father, a councilman who was hoping to rise to the position of mayor. “It's out of the question, Andre!”, shouted the mother. “She needs to learn what it takes with the right kind of teachers! Besides, this might seal the deal between ourselves and the Agrestes for marriage!” So, one fate was avoided. It was at this point Marinette felt the mental shock. A view into another universe, one were the blonde terror came to the school and immediately started to berate her as low-class, that her macarons were tasteless, and screaming for a young bespectacled red-haired girl to follow her during recess. It was said girl that Marinette saw near the entrance of the school, looking just as lost. The vision of the other universe fresh in her head, she walked over and opened up the box her father had provided. “Hi, my name is Marinette! Would you like a macaron?” The girl seemed to hesitate for a moment, almost as if she was questioning Marinette's motives and if this was, in fact, real. But then she looked down into the box, back towards her, and smiled. “I'm...Sabrina. It's nice to meet you! Um, do you have any strawberry ones?”

- We were inseparable from that day forward, best friends forevermore. Where would I be without Sabrina? Probably some stuttering mess. We each seemed to calm different parts of ourselves; her stopping my anxious “spirals” before they even start, and me encouraging her to stand up for herself. There's a strong mutual respect and understanding between us both; she's smart in the areas I'm not, and in turn I make up where she may falter. While I'm thankful for a lot of the “shocks” and their guidance, that one in particular has a special place in my heart as it gave two souls support and friendship. And two we were, until five years later a shock gave us our “missing” sister.

-

Friendship Day. An annual scavenger hunt across all of Paris. Usually Sabrina and I don't participate, but a shock a few days ago convinced me to have us both take part this year. The celebrity we were supposed to try and find was Jagged Stone, and that's kind of cool, but at the same time we couldn't work together to try and do it. The rules of the day meant that a new “friend” would be assigned to us at random.

Which is a shame, because Sabrina and I probably could have made short work this whole thing.

My phone buzzed with the first clue, “With one turn of a handle, I can raise the level.” That was easy enough, the Canal Saint-Martin. That wasn't even very far away, maybe a few blocks. I thought back to what was shown to me in the shock while walking towards the canal lock. It was of a girl with black and purple hair and a boy with teal hair. Both of them had their backs turned, so I had no idea what they looked like, but...

...it seemed I was going to meet one of them today. The girl on the bridge looked almost the same as the one in my vision, though shorter somehow? But the hair was a dead giveaway, along with the fact that her clothing also seemed similar.

And that she had her back to me. I guess the best approach would be direct?

“Um, hello!”

That seemed to startle her more than anything, though she slowly turned around. Her face was covered by her hair, and her expression was one of fear. But we briefly locked eyes, and something in her seemed to calm right away. Enough for her to haltingly mumble something out. I barely caught it.

“Hello. I'm Juleka.”

-

In the end, it turned out she was more scared about searching for Jagged Stone than meeting me; apparently her mother had something against him and she didn't really want Juleka to take part, but was free to do so anyways. Though we kept following the clues, we both eventually gave up the hunt and started to talk more about our lives. It turned out we had a few similar interests, and by the end of the day when we met up with Sabrina I had grown used to Juleka's unique way of speaking French.

It took Sabrina more time to get there, though.

-

“I couldn't believe it Nettie, all she kept going on about was how “utterly ridiculous” I was! Everything from what I was wearing to if I couldn't get one of the clues right on the first try! I guess I drew the short straw on this whole thing.”

“It's alright Brina, you don't ever have to see her again at least.” I said, putting a supportive arm around her at the same time.

“I hope not. You know how I feel about bullies. But...” She turned her attention to the raven-haired girl sitting on the other side of me. “At least it looks like things were brighter on your end?”

“They were for sure! Juleka, this is Sabrina!”

Juleka's eyes darted up and down Sabrina, as if looking for some kind of hidden intention. After a moment, she breathed a small sigh of relief before letting out a mumble that was similar to what I had heard earlier in the day. Judging from the look on Sabrina's face, she hadn't quite caught what the other girl had said, so I served as a translator.

“She said it's nice to meet you.”

-

From then on, we were a trio. Three Musketeers, all for one and one for all. I wasn't sure how Juleka would influence us at first, it was only later I realized that her tastes ended up seeping into Sabrina and I unnoticed, enough that all of us were wearing darker clothing by the time we hit our teens, not to mention a nose piercing (for Sabrina) and hair dye (for myself, which more than surprised my parents the day I showed up at home from a sleepover with pink highlights in my black hair). But none of that was a bad thing, if anything we embraced it all. We understood Juleka when very few would bother trying; her accented French could come out sounding low or in mumbles to others, but we knew what she saying. Juleka could be as chaotic as her mother around the right people, and it seemed as though we were her people.

The three of us were together enough that a language was taking form among ourselves; an unholy mix of French, Scottish Gaelic, English, and some Mandarin. Every weekend a sleepover, either at my place, Juleka's houseboat or Sabrina's apartment. Sabrina had in fact been over more times than I could count, largely because her father, Roger, trusted my parents and knew she was in good hands. He worked long hours as a police officer but took a step back from front-line duties as Sabrina got older, not wanting to be in danger and leave Sabrina without a parent. It took Roger...longer to get used to both Juleka and Anarka, her mother, but in the end was won over by a weird shared taste in rock music. Sabrina had told me when he was younger that Roger upheld the law to the letter but had significantly mellowed out over the years, which was good as Anarka didn't exactly park her boat in entirely legal areas. Our first combined sleepover on the Liberty also caused him concern as the boat had ended up in another place entirely overnight, but seeing his daughter happy must have helped warm things over.

Not to mention my own parents helping in that respect, too. I dearly love my papa and my maman; both of them work so hard to keep the bakery running, which means long days and nights, but they always also find ways to make time for me. Occasionally I pitch in, there have even been periods when Sabrina has as well, and they get along with Roger and Anarka. They've even taken on Juleka's brother as a delivery driver!

Oh yes...Luka.

-

Houseboats aren't exactly meant to be stable. The swaying of the tides prevents that, same as if another boat comes along and tries to pull a smaller one into its wake.

Marinette gingerly took her steps onto the Liberty, the houseboat that belonged to the Couffaine family. It was her first time coming...aboard? She pondered what exactly to call it, as Juleka walked ahead of her. After coming over to her house a few times, the other girl decided that it was time to return the favour.

“And the Captain, my mathair, really wants to meet my new friends.”

This is how Marinette found herself aboard a boat for the first time. Feeling it bob up and down in the water wasn't helping things much, and the sudden sway in the river caused her footing to give way as she felt herself tumble backwards.

But someone caught her. She hadn't even realized someone was behind her, let alone able to catch her fall. But as she stared up into teal blue eyes, Marinette thought back to the boy in her vision from some time back. The boy who had teal hair and his back turned to her.

“Ah, thank you for catching me.”

“It's no trouble, living on a boat has its downsides. I've gotten used to the waves, they're as constant to me now as musical notes.”

That sounded familiar. It was if she had known him, but that couldn't have been possible, they had just met for the first time.

“So, what is your name? Mine is Luka.”

It had slightly caught her off guard, though Marinette should have known that question was coming. “Uh, my name is Mamamarinette!”

As Marinette dug her face into her sleeping bag to hide her shame, she just heard Luka give out a light chuckle.

“Hello, Ma-ma-marinette.”

-

I can admit to having a small crush on Luka. Love interests tend not to catch my attention until I've been friends with them for a while, something I've found out is being called demisexual. I'm content to let things build further and see where they go, and I think Luka has the same vibe. We haven't really done much aside from ice cream dates here and there. Besides, I only just turned fourteen. There's no need to rush anything, it's not like he's leaving any time soon. Anarka had come back to Paris so that Luka could attend a prestigious music school. Juleka was offered the same but she wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do yet, so of course Sabrina and I jumped at the chance to have her in our class, though it did mean she had to go down a grade because of odd timing.

We were now getting ready to enter our third year of school together. It seemed as though we wouldn't be switching classes, even with the addition of some new people into the school; I didn't pay attention to any of that but Sabrina had found out that not only was the daughter of the Mayor going to be in our school this year, but also the son of some famous fashion designer. Ag...something. Agreste maybe? That name had sounded familiar.

It didn't matter; nothing would change my year too much. Nothing exciting would happen, nothing out of the ordinary. I'm happy being normal, I'm happy in my life, with my friends.

But as I travelled to school, before meeting up with Sabrina and Juleka, little did I know my life would change in a big way. All because I picked up a small butterfly brooch that was lying in a puddle of water. I didn't even notice it at first but a purple jewel caught my sight. Bending down to pick it up, a terrible shock came to me, one of the worst I've ever experienced.

A vision of a girl in a ladybug outfit, a boy in leather made to look like a cat. Some figure calling himself “Hawkmoth”. A box that seemed to be filled with random jewellery. A bunch of mysterious figures that were guarding over said box, but it was stolen from a Temple-

“Nettie!”

I looked down the street and saw Sabrina calling out to me, with Juleka standing next to her. I couldn't just leave the broach, it seemed far too precious for that. Besides, if it gave off such a strong mental vision, maybe that meant that I was supposed to have it? I could always give it up later, and maybe someone was out looking for a piece of lost jewellery. Stuffing it into my pocket, I ran down to meet my friends. After school was over, maybe then I could figure out what to do with it.

For now, my last year at Collège Françoise Dupont was about to begin.

[mlobsters]

supernatural s12e4 american nightmare (w. davy perez)

was that pointed, longing look at the mom and her son just him being upset over mary or something more plot relevant

oh, dean, honey.

DEAN Cass is chumming it up with Crowley. SAM Hmm. DEAN They're hunting Lucifer together. That's right – one's an angel, one's a demon, and apparently, they solve crimes.

very cute

sam is looking extra beautiful today, i think part of it is the messier hair (and length). good lighting and coloring. lovely. oh oh, lame excuse for his more questionable haircuts. i too know the hazards of the random supercuts haircut that he must get on the road. let's blame it on that. maybe they advised him on the sideburns too

(oh god that reminds me. i think the worst haircut i ever got was before my mom's funeral. it was long at the time and i just wanted a trim because it was kind of scraggly, so i was moderately presentable for the funeral. i was in phoenix from out of town so i went somewhere random. and i got a very bad version of a Rachel haircut! in 2012! talk about insult to injury.)

SAM You sure? 'Cause ever since Mom left, you've been a little, uh... cranky. DEAN Cranky, huh? SAM Yeah. I mean, to the priest, to Carl. Heck, on the way here, you wouldn't even make a pit stop. DEAN So now your tiny bladder is my problem?

tell him, sam. stop taking it out on everyone else, dean-o

BETH You don't make a lot of friends when sometimes what's best for a family is to split them up.

little on the nose there, show :p also that is one fancy cps office

DEAN What about her? What, she took some cash, she took a cellphone she doesn't answer, and she bailed on us. SAM I mean, think about what she's going through. After everything, she probably just needs some space. We've been there. We've both had times where we needed time apart. DEAN And we both came back. SAM You don't think she's going to? DEAN I don't know. She hates the way that we were raised. She hates the fact that we're hunters. Maybe she starts walking and she doesn't stop. You know, she obviously has zero interest in keeping this family together. SAM Well, you know, sometimes families do better after a little time apart.

dean upset and jumping to conclusions, sam being calm and the voice of reason. wondering if instead of brother angst, we get mom angst? because if i had to choose between the two, i vote mom angst a million times over (sorry mary but i've had enough sam and dean angst to last a lifetime) also that red sweater on sam looks great. grandpa cardigan on dean is leaning in to costume maybe a little too much :p

ABRAHAM The things you do for family.

i snorted. one of those episodes where they're gonna repeatedly bonk us over the head with a parallel

SAM So what happened to your daughter, was that God's plan? GAIL Yes. SAM She didn't have to die. She was sick. If you had taken her to a doctor – GAIL God does – SAM God doesn't care what kind of life you live. Trust me. And God didn't kill your daughter. You did.

you're not wrong, sam, but i think that's better kept to yourself in this situation :p

were they selling supernatural candles?

man, she's gorgeous. and dean was being legit creepy. glad we got things cleared up without any shooting. was half expecting him to slide into flirting with her

this scene with magda in the basement with sam is heartbreaking. also the irony of knowing exactly where the devil is and 100% not in the poor abused girl

SAM Magda... You're not the Devil. You're just psychic. There are others out there like you, like – like me. I have powers, too. I'd get these visions sometimes and – and I could move things with my mind. MAGDA You can do that? SAM Well, no, not anymore, I don't think. But that didn't make me the Devil. It – it – it just made me who I am. MAGDA Then you are evil. Mother says I'm evil, 'cause I hurt people.

not that we've really touched on it in a long ass time but it's also nice to see sam confident in being one of the psychic kids does not make you evil or a freak. back in simpler times that was definitely a struggle

ok mom i don't think you're going to heaven what with the killing your husband thing, not to mention the violent abuse against your daughter. this whole, tying him up at the dinner table and mom going all murder rage, kind of like a less grotesque more jesusy benders situation

oh, my heart

<3

DEAN Yeah, you were right. This whole mom thing, it's... I mean, we get her back, and then she leaves. I hate it, but I get it. I do. I guess I just...still working through some of that crap. I'll try to be less of a dick about it. SAM Deal.

look at us being adults and dealing with (some) feelings. good job, boys. and dean gets his reward directly after with a reply from mom

okay, little pissed that in order to establish how cartoonishly evil the british men of letters people are, they had to kill magda. i think the horrific torture was enough to establish that, thanks. she didn't survive years of torture to get that cheap and pointless of a death.

good moments and lovely production value this episode. little shaky on the story but i'll take it

[spookyserenades]

didn't have time to do anything for a couple of days, was busy with life and reading the new chapter is the first thing I did once I was free and lemme jst thank you for the breath of fresh air omg omg as a Yoongi stan myself lemme thank you again for this wonderful update you gave us I can now happily conclude the year If anyone's to ask me what I'm looking forward to most in the new year the 7th of Jan definitelyyyyyyyy <3 the chapter was a rollercoaster and thank god we are finally over the 'talking things out' phase their love is something I rooted for since the beginning but I have some questions if you don't mind😅 why did yoongi not say anything after her confession? like I get needing some time but avoiding her for a like full week!!! what held him back? and the others do seem to be on to something too🧐and why is she okay with the fact that she randomly had a vision? is she used to it too? i thought only her mom was well versed in having visions

OMG YAY a Yoongi stan!! 😍These last couple of chapters were definitely for you!! Ah you're making me tear up I'm so happy you enjoyed the latest update and are looking forward to the first one of the new year!! It's been a wild ride so far and things only pick up from here, so I'm excited to keep you on your toes!

I, too, am so glad we're out of the talking things out stage. Definitely a challenge to write, considering I'm usually one who avoids confrontation like the plague and would rather yearn until the other person gets the hint LMAO. 💀 But ugh yeah I've just been obsessed with MC/Yoongi's journey to falling in love ever since he was introduced in the second chapter. 😭

I don't mind questions at all!! So I think Yoongi is a little emotionally constipated. We know that his mother passed away, and that he worked at a bar where he'd meet people and they'd immediately forget who they are. I think that between those two things, accepting that there is a person willing to love you and not let go, and BELIEVING that is difficult for him to do. So instead of responding with his own feelings verbally (perhaps out of fear of abandonment, even though his feelings are reciprocated), he expressed himself through music. And you're right about the space-- he really kept her in the lurch for no reason, and that's something I think they're going to have to address at some point.

As for the visions, MC is probably used to her mother having similar ones growing up, so it wasn't an entire shock to her. It makes sense that a gift like that was handed down, and since MC has been getting back into her spirituality, perhaps the ability has strengthened/awakened. I plan on having her explore these visions and this sort of psychic ability in the upcoming chapters, which is very exciting!

Thank you for reading and sending me love, I hope to continue writing a Yoongi you love! 💜💜

[bakawitch]

Hello! For the ship game: visionshipping

YES YES YES

I SHIP IT

1. What made you ship it?

It was a thiefshipping fic that started my descent I think? The vision ladies weren't exactly the focus but they were included as a background ship. When I first read that Mai and Isis were dating, I had to do a double-take, because it was so unexpected. Mostly because I just didn't realise that was an option lol. But this wasn't exactly a ship that immediately took off for me it was more of a progressive thing. That fic planted the idea and then I started seeing it more often on tumblr like headcanons and fanart. And then I just started shipping it unconsciously at some point without realising it XD

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

Their dynamic for sure! They're simultaneously both a power couple and the perfect comedic duo! Isis and Mai were the ones that made me realise that psychic x fake psychic is actually a really good idea for a pairing. It's such a shame that they're mostly just included as background ships in most fan content. However, there are some really good primarily visionshipping fics! For example, there are sitabethel's visionshipping fics that are a real treat to read. And the plots you could put these women into! Like on one hand you have a shady college dropout who worked on a cruise ship casino, and probably had multiple run-ins with the law and on the other hand, you have a studious archaeologist who probably has her bachelor's and works for the government. You can do so many mystery and crime stories with these two, you don't even have to go that far from canon!

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Not really? I think the ship is really cute and they're pretty consistent in the fics I read and I'm already used to that fanon. I don't know if this counts as an unpopular opinion but I think Mai is probably Isis' first romantic partner. And I love those fics where they meet through a dating app or they just accidentally hook up at first XD

[measuringbliss]

Spider-Man Read-Through 024: Shang...ri-La (GSSM 2, ASM 138-140)

MASTERPOST

Today's post features Fu-Manchu, a bromance, purple, a bear (<3) and psychic powers, woohoo!

In our first issue, Spider-Man faces (and then fights with) Shang-Chi, who you may now know from the MCU. Back when I was a kid, I heard of him through Giant-Size Spider-Man #2.

The story begins with Spidey interrupting thievery by men who soon die unexpectedly, just as they start telling our hero about their master (Shang-Chi... or is he?). I feel like that idea of criminals dying as soon as they're about to tell all secrets has already been used recently on the comics but I'm too lazy to look that up. Shang-Chi's the son of Fu Manchu, the actual baddie and a cliché of the West's vision of Asia.

[Sorry, I used Ctrl Z again on Tumblr and it removed like half my text ugh]

The issue's nice, it's an obvious imitation of typical kung-fu movies and it works much better than other SM 100% fighting issues.

Now, onto the main plot...

Here's how ASM 138 opens:

I'm putting those panels for two reasons:

to show Peter is still a handsome motherfucker (affectionate)

to appreciate the continuity! Last ish, Harry did blow up their condo, and there's consequences for that! It's great to see.

Peter calls each one of his acquaintances, but none can house him (not surprising considering how much of an ass he was after Gwen's death), except one... as Peter's last call is for his old frenemy Flash.

AND THUS BEGINS THE FLASH/PETER SHIP'S GOLDEN HOUR. Look at Peter in the third panel, acting like a school girl who just asked her crush out. You go, Pete! Go get him!

Gerry Conway and Ross Andru seemed quite attached to realism. Why not! I do appreciate the purple.

There's an ugly villain with mystical powers just waiting to feed on Peter's aura, but we've got more pressing matters, such as:

Boyfriends!!!

"Slugging", huh...

I'm probably putting too much panels, but this issue is plain gorgeous.

The villain's story is absolutely horrifying, just like the premise of his powers.

I'm sorry, I don't have many observation to give, it's just an interesting issue to me and visually quite gorgeous (purple pants!!!).

Charles S. LeCates thinks that the Jackal is actually Richard, the Kingpin's son. He's apparently the only one who had that thought! That's not a bad theory... but it's incorrect. Oh well! Other theories are: the Jackal isn't a costume and the Jackal is the thief who murdered Uncle Ben. Hmm! Still wrong.

In the opening pages of #139, Peter says it's been "a few months" since Gwen died and "three weeks" since he became Flash's roommate. His life has been pretty hectic!

Unfortunately for me, he's already found a new appartment thanks to Liz when I was fully ready to see some Peter/Flash shenanigans. They were too gay to be featured as roommates for more than a single issue!

The Grizzly suddenly attacks the Daily Bugle, but Jameson's not interested.

(He's still attacked anyway.)

Jameson is saved by Spidey, who ends up following the Grizzly as Peter...

Can I just say how much I love this ending? It's a great moment. A bit silly on Peter's part, but very gloomy. Frightening, actually. My child self was scared of the Jackal's hand jumpscare hahaha. It's very effective! The penultimate page is actually quite liminal.

This is also the end I was left with for at least a decade.

...Well, not exactly. See, I also read those little jewels:

The first one compiles issues 144-151, that is to say, most of our next batch (the OG Clone Saga), so I haven't read issues 140-143, but I still know what happens after that.

The second one, while I'm at it, covers issues 30-35 of ASM Vol. 2 (2001) and thus ends just after Peter reveals his secret identity to a certain somebody... and I still don't know how they react!!!!! Can't wait to get there in, like, ten years.

So we have a final issue in this batch, one that I've never read. What are we waiting for?

You know me, I'm always here to see Peter get manhandled.

Gorgeous gorgeous GORGEOUS colors. Ned's wearing a pink jacket! I love it. I love it so much. Hell yeah!

You can't see it, but I'm slurping deliciously because between the arm & hand p0rn, the whump, and the colors, I really love those panels.

Later, Flash helps Peter move in.

I think I remember her so I'm pretty sure she features in later issues. Hmm, a model... Is Marvel trying to introduce a rival to MJ?

Flash is very interested in her, but she's obviously much more into Peter.

So here's some more arms and colors, because we all deserve it.

Hoping the Jackal was bluffing, Peter tries removing his bracelet... and succeeds with the power of blue flames! I wish he hadn't been able to discard it so quickly, especially considering the Jackal should know Peter's quite smart...

...and also a joker.

Jameson isn't so bad himself. He ruined the Grizzly's wrestling career!

Following those revelations and a few gags, Spidey tracks down the Grizzly and proceeds to strip him.

With the Grizzly neutralized, Spidey assures him that someday, he'll get the Jackal.

OH MY GOD??????? I'M SO HYPED! WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!

Okay, before I close this post, please remember this panel for the next batch:

The Jackal sure looks agile... Who could it be?