#actually this has been a Leech conversation - they talked about basically this exact thing IN CANON

[krenenbaker]

I forgot Azul doesn't like healthy food.

This denotes his nutritional value greatly. But not too much depending on what else he eats. Because if he's running on sweets and treats...

YEP!!

we also don't totally know his body composition, but... yeah. chances are he'd be a pretty good meal :)

[suzukiblu]

Day ten of fic NaNoWriMo, obligatory sugar daddy Tim/sugar baby Kon AU.

The waitress comes over with another steaming mug of hot chocolate for Kon and Tim awkwardly orders not-Robin's-coffee-order, which since he's panicking he defaults to Caroline Hill's usual for. She's a med student, she drinks enough caffeine for his tastes. And also she likes extremely sugary drinks, which is definitely to his taste. 

Look, Robin can't drink an iced brown sugar oat milk espresso with six extra pumps of syrup and four extra shots of espresso, especially in front of the exact teammate who would tease him the most mercilessly for having a finicky drink order, but Caroline Hill can drink anything she wants, and Tim Drake is just gonna be channeling her for this conversation, he guesses. Her Twitter account already got him here to begin with, so he might as well.

“That is a concerning amount of caffeine in one drink, dude,” Kon observes with a raised eyebrow instead of teasing him over either the syrup or oat milk, which is not actually what Tim expected to hear. But, well, he's not Robin right now, so maybe Kon isn't feeling the same urge to start shit that he usually seems to. 

Tim's not sure how to feel about that. But Robin is, technically, an “authority” figure and a fellow superhero, and Tim Drake is just some guy, so . . . 

Actually, Tim doesn't really know how Kon gets along with civilian guys. He's seen him flirt up plenty of civilian girls, obviously, but he doesn't really seem to talk to all that many guys. Like . . . ever, actually. 

Weird, he thinks, repressing a frown. 

“How would you know, you're Kryptonian,” he says. 

“Half-Kryptonian,” Kon says, then waves a hand around the café. “And like, you know, also this entire planet is full of people who can just tell me these things. Five thousand milligrams is the minimum lethal dose of caffeine for a healthy adult, which is something like seventy-five shots of espresso, but more than four or five shots in a day is still not gonna be great for you, and you just ordered six.”

“. . . how the hell do you just know that off the top of your head?” Tim asks, blinking at him in absolute bewilderment, and Kon smirks in smug amusement.

“Dude, I was programmed by exhausted grad students pulling six months straight of all-nighters,” he says, pointing at his own temple. “I know every possible thing there is to know about every possible caffeine delivery system. Including the illegal ones and the ones the government hasn't yet realized should be illegal.” 

“Huh,” Tim says, still more than a little bewildered. That does make sense, he guesses, but since Kon's already told the team he has absolutely no useful background in any kind of science or math past the absolute kiddie-level basics when they were all exchanging information about all their personal training and experience, it's still a surprise to hear. Shouldn't Cadmus have prioritized an actual education over things like safe caffeine intake for baseline humans, especially since Kon's safe intake level is probably different from a baseline human's anyway? Which–well, he guesses Kon did get cracked out of his cloning tube early, but still. They at least should've been building up the basics for him. Like–more than the kiddie-level basics, he means. 

Cadmus is definitely not capable enough to be in charge of Kon. Like, at all. Ever. Tim has fewer and fewer regrets about this whole plan every minute, in fact. If anything, he should've started drafting it the day he met Rex Leech, never mind the fact that Kon hadn't technically existed yet at the time. Or after the Poison Ivy incident, maybe. At the least he should've done up an outline or two after he and Kon and Bart had helped Suzie escape recapture and then collectively lied to the government about it.

“You work for those guys, right?” he “asks” as Kon takes a sip of his new hot chocolate, because while the best time to start this whole plan was months ago, the second-best time to start it is now. “Project Cadmus?” 

"Yeah," Kon replies, looking a little surprised by the question. Tim reminds himself to con the team into brushing up on the superhero version of stranger danger, because Kon answered that question way too easily. "Well, just started to. I'm a field agent. How'd you know?” 

"I've done some research on you since we first met," Tim says, which isn't even a lie; just some careful phrasing. "I really appreciated what you did for me. And to be honest, I think we'd get along."

"Oh yeah? Tell me all about it," Kon says as his posture shifts a little and he flashes him the kind of smirk he normally reserves for, well . . . 

Huh, Tim thinks in vague bemusement.

Kon's flirting with him. 

. . . huh. 

Not actually the angle Tim was intending to take here, but . . . well, he's not above taking it. And anyway, Kon's just a flirt in general, so it's not like it means anything. 

Admittedly Tim hasn't actually seen him flirt with a guy before, but presumably Kon's just feeling out an opportunity to experiment or not ready to be out to the team yet. Tim's not, so he'd hardly blame him for that. Tim's not even out to Steph.

And he's definitely, definitely not out to Bruce. 

Well, ideally he'll be a supervillain before that becomes necessary, assuming his life goes to plan. 

Robin was always going to be a temporary gig, after all. 

"I don't know," he says, and lets the corners of his mouth curl up in amusement. "You just seem like my type of guy." 

"Your type of guy?" Kon says, his smirk widening as he leans in towards Tim, who decides to pretend that particular bit of flirtatious implication was actually intentional. Tim is . . . not all that great at flirting, admittedly, but it's not like Kon has particularly high standards past “didn't explicitly tell me to fuck off”, so Tim figures he'll be able to get by for long enough to have this conversation. 

Not much longer, but all the same. He has a plan to pitch, that's all that actually matters here. 

“Yeah,” he says. “And I wanted to thank you for saving me, so . . .” 

“You wanna thank me, Tim Drake?” Kon asks with a slower, wider smirk, leaning in a little more again, and Tim instantly turns bright red as he realizes how that actually sounded. 

Yeah, okay, he is actually the worst at flirting. Fuck. 

“Uh, yes!” he says quickly, very much needing to clarify that statement before his stupid fucking hormones try to talk him into maybe just . . . leaning into that particular miscommunication a little. Not the goal here. Definitely not. “I mean–being a field agent doesn't sound particularly lucrative? And I know being a superhero isn't.” 

“Lucrative?” Kon blinks, expression turning puzzled. “I mean, I guess not. I don't need that much money or anything, though, I just live at Cadmus these days.” 

“You live in a lab?” Tim says, letting himself sound as incredulously horrified as he felt the first time he heard that. “Why?” 

“I dunno, saves me a commute,” Kon replies with a shrug. “Also, like, it's not like I have a credit score to get my own place with. Or a legal identity. Or, you know, money. Landlords tend to want those.” 

“Hm,” Tim says. “Do you want one?” 

“Huh?” Kon wrinkles his nose in confusion. 

“Your own place,” Tim clarifies. “I really would like to thank you. I could help you get a place.” 

“Uh, thanks? But I still couldn't afford rent, even if somebody cosigned for me or whatever,” Kon says, looking puzzled. “I really don't make that much.”

“No, I mean I'd pay your rent,” Tim explains, which is in fact an insane person thing to offer somebody, admittedly, but it's not like Kon has all that reliable a grasp of normal social mores. “Or just buy you a place outright and pay your property taxes. Whichever you'd prefer.”

Kon blinks. Tilts his head. 

“So like, you're just a very extra dude, huh,” he says after a moment, his eyebrows slowly raising as he pushes his sunglasses up into his hair. “Like you're the guy who blows the budget on the friend group's Secret Santa out of the water every year.”

“Possibly,” Tim says, putting on a sheepish smile. Kon laughs and folds his arms on the table, looking amused. 

“You wanna buy me an apartment?” he asks. “What, just for saving your life?” 

“I really think you're undervaluing that particular achievement,” Tim says. 

“I think you're overvaluing it,” Kon replies with another laugh. “No offense, but I didn't do anything but block one lousy bullet.” 

“One lousy bullet is enough,” Tim says, and doesn't think of any bodies he's seen. Kon tilts his head again, then takes a sip of his hot chocolate. 

“Okay, fair,” he allows. “But I'm bulletproof.” 

“I'm not,” Tim says. 

“You were as long as I was touching the same floor as you,” Kon replies with a shrug, and takes another sip. “It wasn't like I did anything hard.” 

He hasn't actually said “no” to the apartment. Tim's pretty sure that's just because he thinks he's either ridiculous or just not being serious, but he's not above pressing the advantage anyway. 

“You didn't have to do anything at all, though,” he says. "And buying you a place wouldn't be all that hard for me either. Besides, you deserve a little gratitude for your efforts, don't you think?” 

"Sounds like supervillain talk, dude," Kon says, his mouth quirking in amusement around his next sip. Tim resolves to dial back on that at this point in his career. He's laying groundwork, yes, but subtlety is still the wiser course of action. 

"You say that like you've never socialized with a supervillain before," he counters dryly. 

"Well, usually ones who wear a bit less," Kon replies, lowering his mug to grin wickedly at him. Tim figures if a little more flirting might soften him up on this whole idea, well . . . 

It's not the most altruistic thing he's ever done for a plan, admittedly, but if it works, it works. 

"So you're telling me I should invest in a crop top before I try to take over the world and remake it in my own image?" he asks still more dryly as he raises an eyebrow at Kon with a little smirk, and Kon laughs and leans in a little closer again, giving him a not very subtle up-and-down with his eyes. 

"Only if you're trying to recruit me for your evil plans, pretty boy," he says, grin turning sharp. Tim feels vaguely faint, and also wants to lick the bastard's stupid perfect teeth. Jesus. "So I dunno, what are your feelings on Daisy Dukes?" 

"I'm going to be honest, I'm not actually that much of an exhibitionist so at this point we're just describing my ideal costume updates for you," Tim informs him. 

"Oh yeah?" Kon asks with another laugh even as he straightens back up to visibly preen at the suggestion. Tim is all for that, personally. Both the preening and the theoretical updates, in fact. And, a little more weirdly, just the idea of having anything whatsoever to do with what Kon might ever decide to wear. Especially whatever he might decide to wear for his costume. 

Yeah, that's probably a later thought, Tim decides. Like, a private-time kind of later thought. Specifically “behind locked doors in an empty house” private-time, actually.

"You're solar-powered, aren't you?" he says reasonably, because apparently he likes to suffer and also make himself low-key insane. "Showing a bit more skin can't hurt." 

"I wonder if Superman would buy that excuse," Kon says musingly. 

"Power Girl exists," Tim replies still more reasonably. "And Supergirl wears a miniskirt, last I checked." 

"Valid," Kon says, putting on a mock-thoughtful expression and tapping the side of his jaw. "Maybe I'll put in some cutouts and go for a lower neckline, tell the big guy he's making the rest of us look like prudes. What do you think, bikini or high-cut bottoms?"

"I don't know the difference," Tim lies, desperately trying not to overheat and die at that question and every single accompanying mental image that his useless brain has so helpfully decided to supply. "You'll have to provide examples."

"Will I now," Kon says, grinning all over again and pointedly striking a very suggestive pose in his seat. Tim valiantly struggles not to melt. "What, pretty boy, you want a fashion show?" 

"Well I did want to be a photographer when I was a kid," Tim says, although it was definitely never that kind of photography he had in mind. Kon laughs again and shifts in closer again, though, so it's worth it. Tim is mortified, but also undeniably into just . . . all of this, really, just everything about this conversation. Robin can't flirt with Superboy, but, well . . . Tim Drake still isn't Robin, now is he? 

He's probably taking advantage of the situation a little, Tim can admit to himself, but it's still just . . . nice. He's wanted to flirt with Kon for way too long, at this point. Indulging in a little bit of it isn't the worst thing he could do. 

And again, it's Kon, so it's not like it's serious or anything. The guy won't even remember this conversation tomorrow, much less anything about Tim Drake. 

. . . admittedly that'd be counterproductive to Tim's long-term goals here, but still. He's willing to take his time on this. There's a plan. It has steps. Layers. Processes. 

"I like you, man," Kon says with a wider grin, which is in absolutely no way whatsoever in the plan. "You're funny."

Tim stares blankly at him as it occurs to him, almost disbelievingly, that he might've . . . made a good impression on Kon? Somehow? 

Well, that's weird.

"I'll never get a fashion show out of you if I'm not at least funny," he says on autopilot, as someone who's been well-taught both when and how to press an advantage. Kon, yet again, grins at him, and gives him another much brighter laugh than usual. 

Actually, he kind of hasn't stopped grinning at him, has he. 

Huh. 

. . . huh. 

Tim really did not plan for this. This is just . . . not at all what the plan was. 

“Well, you definitely are funny,” Kon says, biting his lip around a warm little smile and ducking his head just enough to look at Tim from under his lashes, and Tim decides he can probably just amend the plan.

He's a Bat, isn't he? They know how to improvise when they have to.

[tsukikoayanosuke]

Letting Out All My Feelings About Leona's Extended Arc (The Rebel of the Wilderness and Break & Gosh)

I think I'm going to think hard and reflect on why Break & Gosh is way harder to write than Jonah Argentum's Declassified Boarding School Survival Guide.

I blame Leona for this.

(I'll be referring the canon plot as Heartslabyul Arc and Savanaclaw Arc while the fanfic adaptation as The Crimson Tyrant and The Rebel of the Wilderness)

Because this is long, I’ll be cutting it here.

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WHY FILLER ARC?

I guess we can start with why I write filler arc. In the beginning, it served as a bridge between two canon arcs and a way to even my chapter count so it can end at 5 and starts with 6, or end with 0 and start with 1. It actually helps me in editing.

The Crimson Tyrant has 20 episodes (the arc ended in chapter 35), so technically I don't need a filler Arc, but I need to write something to bridge it with The Rebel of the Wilderness, thus 5 episodes of JADBSSG was made.

The Rebel of the Wilderness has 22 episodes (ending in chapter 62), so I have to make 3 or 8 filler chapters to even everything out. That was the original plan. However, B&G ended up having 15 chapters. So, I could either add another 3 chapters or take away 2. Unfortunately, I can't. Which brings us to the next point. 

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THAT ONE OVERBLOT PROBLEM

I've complained many times how I dislike the pacing of The Rebel of the Wilderness and I have issues with Savanaclaw Arc, especially during the ending. I know some people think, especially after Scarabia Arc, that Ruggie should've been the one who overblotted. During the story, it was Ruggie who used magic the most, not Leona. But instead, it was Leona, who only used his magic once a time in the whole arc, who overblotted.

.

Let's look at the other victim overusing their magic before their overblot:

Riddle: We've seen him using [Off With Your Head] a lot across three arcs (prologue, Heartslabyul, and Savanaclaw). We've seen him collared Grim, Ace, Deuce, and nearly all the entire students.

Azul: He made deals with more than 200 students in Octavinelle Arc alone, including MC themselves. And during his breakdown he overused his magic to steal all the student's power without his contract, implying that he extend his power even more.

Jamil: Counting how many times Kalim's mood swings went and how he hypnotized MC, Azul, and Scarabia students. While we don't see this much, but it's safe to say that Jamil overused his power too.

Can I also added that these three characters had been doing this for a long time, way before the canon story start?

As a bonus, let's look at Ruggie:

We were shown how the incidents happened, we knew how many victims, we saw the stampede, we saw Ruggie drank an amplifier to raised his magic. It's safe to say that Ruggie used his magic a lot.

Compare all four with Leona, who only uses his [King’s Roar] once in the whole arc. You can see how disappointed some fans are for the lack of magic usage.

You can argue that his power is a One Turn Kill type, but that would imply that he overused his magic in one turn. Leona, being one of the oldest students in the student roster, can't control his magic in one attack? Sounds unlikely.

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But, I remember I had a conversation with that negative emotion also causes overblot. And I agree with this. However, I added that negative emotion and overusing power go hand-in-hand.

Riddle anger at Ace's speech and protest of not following the rule. What happened after that was Riddle collating every Heartslabyul student.

Azul, who is frustrated when Leona ruined his contract, in a desperate measure, stole every power of the students there.

Jamil and his jealousy with Kalim and how kept holding back his true potential before breaking down and hypnotized everyone into his slave.

Leona had been frustrated with being compared to Farena and his failed plan to eliminate Diasomnia, leading him to unleash his unique magic for the first time.

Even Ruggie. He had the potential to fell into despair. Leona kept raising his hope that this Magishift might be his chance to go to the big league, only for that hope to be crushed when Leona gave up. If the creator wants, they could make Ruggie suddenly unleash his power and attacking everyone for being betrayed.

While, yes, I do feel Leona's negative emotions have stronger reasoning, but Ruggie also had a reason to fall into despair and had high usage of magic than Leona. He was the perfect candidate for overblot.

.

Why am I explaining this thing that all of you probably had known? Because, during The Rebel of the Wilderness, I kept trying to slip in every little chance for Leona to use his unique magic. Which mean, The Rebel of the Wilderness has more battle scene than The Crimson Tyrant.

In the end, I managed to slip in [King's Roar] in four accidents:

The sudden sandstorm during the flight practice (not a battle scene)

Jonah vs Leona one-sided Magishift

The stampede

Pre-Overblot battle

This is still considered little compare to what Ruggie did offscreen, but this is enough for the reader to know at least Leona uses his magic before the big overblot battle.

I'm not done yet!

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EARN YOUR "HAPPY" ENDING

Once we're done with that overblot problem, we have to talk about the whole aftermath. Because this ending is the main reason we have pacing issues.

First, let's look at Heartslabyul Arc. After Riddle's overblot and Ace demanded a Revenge Unbirthday, Riddle was shown to be taken to the infirmary by Trey. A few days later, the Revenge Birthday Party happened.

See this? There's a small few days gap between the overblot incident and the finale for the kids to recover and to think about his action, even have time for Riddle making that salty tart.

Now let's see Savanaclaw Arc. After Leona overblot, Crowley wanted to disqualify Savanaclaw from the match, but the Victim Club requested to keep the team. The Magishift then happened, Yuu got hit with a disk, wine up in the infirmary, and met Cheka.

You see something? The ending of Savanaclaw Arc happened on the same day of the overblot sequence. Which means, these kids didn't get a chance to rest. Leona never had a chance to think about the action. Ruggie didn't get help for his scar from Leona's power. And overall you basically overworked these kids!

You can argue that these kids are tough, but are you also saying that it's okay for Ruggie, who was threatened to turn into sand, to not get help? For Leona to take a break after overbloting?

.

Can I also add that Leona flashback felt so rushed? Let's see the others' overblot flashback:

Riddle's flashback has five scenes in between monologues (1-28):

His birthday

Him studying with his mother

Meeting Trey and Chenya

Little kids’ strawberry tart discussion

His mom got angry.

Azul's flashback has four scenes in between monologues (3-34):

Two bullying scenes

First meeting with Floyd and Jade

Azul revealing his unique magic for the first time.

Jamil has the most with six scenes and probably more if you count every Kalim’s appearance in there (4-36):

Jamil got scolded for denying Kalim's request

Jamil's parent telling him to purposely hold back

Kamil kept "winning" in a few scenes

Kalim being chosen as the Scarabia Prefect and Jamil discussing this with Crowley

Two scenes of Kalim trusting Jamil

As for Leona (2-27):

The servant talking behind his back

Leona and Farena's argument.

Two. Leona has two flashback scenes. Leona flashback has more "tell" than "show"! Not to mention, this flashback only happens half of the episode! The other half was the overblot aftermath when Crowley was about to disqualify Savanaclaw Team. Why are they holding back? Why they only give so little about Leona's childhood?

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THE REBEL OF THE WILDERNESS PACING ISSUE

Because of me trying to add more of Leona using the power and fixing the ending, The Rebel of the Wilderness experienced more changes in its structure. I kept on cutting chapter into two and adding battles in the middle of the plot, and, for those who read my adaptation, the ending of The Rebel of the Wilderness is completely different from Savanaclaw Arc. Compare to Savanaclaw Arc's happy ending, The Rebel of the Wilderness can be considered as a bad ending. Leona wasn't able to join in the Magishift because he was unconscious post-overblot, so he could only watch the match from TV/magic mirror. Ruggie, who was spared from disintegrating, lead the team but still lose. And this is the last time we see Jonah with both of his real hand. Also, instead of Cheka, Farena was the one who talked to Leona, and it ended up with both of them arguing. Overall, it was a downer ending.

Another reason why this was hard to adapt was that I kept messing around the scenes to make the plot flow better.

This is the order of event in Savanaclaw Arc:

Cafeteria incident with Ruggie stealing Grim's sandwich

Overblot + Magishift explanation

Prefect Meeting regarding Magishift + first incidents

The Ramshackle Ghost introducing to Grim on how to play Magishift

Crowley asking Grim and MC on investigating the incidents

Heartslabyul + Pomefiore interview

Visiting Trey + teaming up with Heartslbyul squad

Scouting Rook, the Leech twin, and Jack

Magishift mock battle versus Leona

Malleus' first introduction

Interviewing Jamil and Kalim

Ruggie chase

Teamed up with Jack

The stampede

Pre-overblot battle

Overblot battle + Leona's flashback

The Victim Club stopping Crowley from disqualifying Savanaclaw

Magishift battle

Cheka’s appearance in the infirmary

Grim eating more rock

Mickey’s appearance

And these are the exact scenes what happened in The Rebel of the Wilderness (also in JADBSSG and B&G):

Overblot + Magishift explanation (Chapter 36 & 39 of JADBSSG)

Prefect Meeting regarding Magishift + first incidents (the first chapter in The Rebel of the Wilderness)

Cafeteria incident with Ruggie stealing Grim's sandwich

Visiting Trey + teaming up with Heartslbyul squad

Crowley asking Grim and MC on investigating the incidents

Heartslabyul + Pomefiore interview

Scouting Rook, the Leech twin, and Jack

Magishift mock battle vs Leona

Malleus' first introduction

Interviewing Jamil and Kalim

Ruggie chase

Teamed up with Jack

The Victim Club stopping Crowley from disqualifying Savanaclaw

The stampede

Pre-overblot battle

Overblot battle + Leona's flashback

Cheka’s appearance in the infirmary (last chapter in The Rebel of the Wilderness)

Mickey’s appearance (Chapter 64 of B&G)

Grim eating more rock (Chapter 67 of B&G)

The Ramshackle Ghost introducing to Grim on how to play Magishift (CHapter 74 chapter of B&G)

Magishift battle (last chapter in B&G)

This also doesn't count the small changes in them, like how the Magishift mock battle happened or Farena's appearance.

However, with me changing these scene order, plus the built-up relationship in previous chapters, many reasoning that happened in this Arc change from canon:

Crowley's explanation about the overblot came way earlier than canon because I feel like this is a very important thing so he could delay from telling them. We don't know how long between Heartslabyul Arc and Savanaclaw Arc, but I assume it was weeks after the Heartslabyul Finale. What's the delay Crowley

Instead of hearing this from Crowley, Jonah hears about the Magishift from Riddle to further their relationship post-oveblot. Not only that, here Jonah was invited to the Prefect Meeting unlike in the canon.

Speaking of Prefect Meeting, I have two instead of one. The first one to establish Jonah equal position as Prefect with the others and to set up of Azul being the Magishift head committee, while the second went just like canon but with Jonah/MC attending that.

In Savanaclaw Arc, Crowley asked the MC to investigate. MC and Grim interviewed the Heartslabyul and Pomefiore victims first before hearing that Trey got injured and teamed up with the Heartslabyul squad. However, in the fanfic adaptation, Jonah and Grim heard about Trey's fall first then meeting Crowley about the investigation along with Riddle. By switching these, it felt like Riddle was the one having the idea to do the investigation instead if Crowley thrusting the responsibility to MC. I just want to show how Riddle had grown into a more caring good friend since he's taking the matter more personally as Trey's childhood friend first before his prefect responsibilities.

Not technically a change in scene orders, but because Jonah has a closer relationship to the Octavinelle Trio rather than the MC, the way the trio acts here were different from canon. Most notably, was the Azul declined to help Leona, forcing Leona to use his Unique Magic to caused confusion in the parade and letting Ruggie control fewer people without an amplifier.

The appearance of the Victim Club to Crowley happened off-screen but presented in a flashback instead of at the end of the Overblot battle because you know how much changes happen beyond that.

Both the Magishift practice and the actual match happens in the filler Arc instead of in the main arc, mostly because I want this to happen when everything is more stable between Leona and Jonah.

So many reasoning, but all of them are connected to Break & Gosh

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WHEN YOU REALIZED YOUR FILLER ARC IS NOT TECHNICALLY A FILLER

According to TV Trope (my source of knowledge), filler episodes are entries in a generally continuous serial that are unrelated to the main plot, don't significantly alter the relations between the characters, and generally serve only to take up space. This could be considered Padding (the addition of scenes to lengthen a story) applied to a whole franchise by creating a brand new episode.

I call JADBSSG and B&G as 'filler arc' is because it's original from me to fill the time gap between the main arc for a reasonable pace. However, I also realized that nearly all of my filler episodes have some purpose for the plot with important plot points that it's impossible to take them out.

This includes:

Overblot explanation (36)

Magishift explanation (39)

Monstro Lounge's 'Sunday Supreme' program (40)

Jonah's new arm (63-64)

Jonah's inability to drink potions (63)

Jonah's birthday (70)

An explanation for Ruggie's loyalty (65)

Leona's therapy (72-73)

Leona's past (72-73)

Ruggie's past (65, 73)

Magic System explanation (75)

Magishift gameplay (74)

Hints about whatever Crowley had been doing with the overblot news (65, 66, 74)

Ramshackle lore (74)

Disney movies dreams (64, 66)

Not only that, some filler episode Mark's the first time characters ever interact with each other:

Jonah and Epel (38)

The Board Game Club (37, 69, 70)

Ace-Deuce and Silver-Lilia (63)

Lilia with the Golden Trio (63, 67)

Heartslabyul and Octavinelle (75, 76)

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However, this is even harder during B&G rather than JADBSSG and not only because B&G is trice the length of JADBSSG.

In JADBSSG, while it may be just a collection of one-shots, but there are some chapters that are connected with each other, which are 37, 39, and 40. Meanwhile, chapter 36 and 38 can stand on their own. So, I can actually change those two chapters in whatever order I can or even slip it in between the three-chapters, but I can't rearrange those three main.

However, you can't do this with B&G. You can't take away a chapter in B&G without making it awkward in the flow. Each chapter in B&G is connected in that certain order. You can't have Leona's Therapy (72-73) at the beginning of the Arc, because we need to address the Overblot aftermath damage (63-66) The Halloween chapters (67-71) can't happen after the Magishift Rematch (74-77), because we need Jonah and Leona to mend their relationship first in the therapy. You see, what I mean?

Heck, I can even consider B&G is part of The Rebel of the Wilderness because we haven't got that therapy and Magishift match until the end of the filler arc.

But in the end, I can't delete both filler arc because both of them have important plot points that will affect the main arc.

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END OF RAMBLING

Writing Break & Gosh was an experience. It was my first time writing sports scenes, but you can also call this the first time writing a full-fledge Arc. I'm still salty about my update schedule and how I kept changing the arc length, but it was certainly something. And despite all my rambling and nitpicking, I still like Break & Gosh.

The next filler arc is probably more lighthearted than Break & Gosh, probably in the same tone as Jonah Argentum's Declassified Boarding School Survival Guide, since it will be a Christmas special but also mark the point where I fully diverge in canon (related to Scarabia Arc, Happy Beans Day, and Fairy Gala). The Merchant of the Deep Sea will be the last time I'll follow canon in terms of the timeline.

I also want to say thank you to all who still sticking around after that mess of an arc. I tried my best to give Leona the therapy he deserved, but I'm still not sure whether I succeed or not. I'll let you decide whether this is a good arc or not.

Also while you at it, with filler arc you like better? Jonah Argentum's Declassified Boarding School Survival Guide or Break & Gosh? And which episode from the arc you like the best?

[donnerpartyofone]

I know I never sound older than when I complain about the internet, but I cannot deal with the perpetual increase in everything I do being fed back to me as an ad. My gmail account has over 23,000 unread messages in it, because every time I so much as breathe on my phone, my address gets sold to a zillion scammy little lifestyle companies that swarm me every day for the rest of my life. I started a separate account purely for a project I never started, and now that one is full of spam even though I've never used it. I've gone through a few rounds of unsubscribing/blocking/deleting, but it's just not worth it. This is life now, and it cracks me up to think about these legions of parasites who think they're sooo smart for accumulating all these email addresses, because data is the new crude oil, but because they did this, I can't even use the fucking address they stole at all. So good job, suckers, I'll never read any of your emails or sign up for your contests or become aware of your brand or do anything that could affect my engagement or spending habits or whatever, because you guys specifically made it so that I'm totally paralyzed. I imagine like a bunch of cavemen passing the same huge bag of rocks back and forth between themselves forever, with no change or increase in anything, and they think that's "business"...

The most recent Facebook debacle was extra traumatic for me. I had this moment where I was making fun of a Tumblr ad for some shitty mobile game with a few of my friends; I didn't know the name of the game or anything about it really, but I sent some screenshots around and we all had a laugh. Next thing we knew, all of us were seeing ads for it on Instagram. Then I had this thing happen where I was looking up exercises for a strained elbow using this little indie web browser that's not supposed to sell your shit, and suddenly I had ads on every platform I use for athletic compression sleeves. That type of thing had been happening more and more recently, but my personal worst version of it came when I ordered breakfast on Seamless one morning. My food included a chili crisp dressing, which I had never heard of. It was really good, and my husband and I talked about it as we ate. Within a day, I saw an Instagram ad for some extremely off-brand-looking recipe site telling me how to make this chili crisp dressing. So either the contents of my Seamless order, or our actual voices, had been converted into an advertisement immediately. With each new incident, my friends and I racked our brains to remember if we had truly Googled something or clicked on a link to associate ourselves with the ad we're seeing, or if it could only have been leeched out of personal conversations, financial transactions, or something else you normally think of as relatively private. It created this churn of paranoia and unease, it made me really fucking sick and I hope it was all the fault of the new "off-Facebook activity" function that gives that app the right to your entire life, and not a bunch of other things that I have yet to be unpleasantly surprised by.

Whenever I get ambushed by ads, I fly into a rage and rant to myself about how fucking stupid these incredibly invasive marketing techniques are, because their main effect is to make me not want to use the internet AT ALL. I basically abandoned my email address, and the more I see an ad for something the more angry I get about it, so that there is absolutely no chance I will ever Engage with that Brand even if it's something I could have really used. Basically what's happening is not only creepy and awful, but it's having the exact opposite effect of what's supposed to happen. And like, you don't have to be smart or political or whatever to feel like something bad is happening when "private" chats get turned into ads. Do the people behind this stuff really think that the average user will go, "Oh wow, it seems like I was just THINKING about X, and now I see a link to buy it everywhere I go online! This is extremely convenient and it makes me feel catered to, which sure puts me in the mood to spend money. I am grateful for this and I love the future!" I mean is that how it was sold to the companies who adopt this practice or buy information from virtual spies, do people believe that happens? Probably not, it's probably all exactly the same as the douchebag who tells you to hit on every single girl you see no matter what you think could happen, because it's all just a numbers game.

But yeah, this shit makes me want to leave the internet forever. It makes me want to delete all my user profiles, wipe my phone, and only keep it in case I need to dial 911. You'd think that would be counter to the original purpose of all this spying, but I actually have a personal conspiracy theory about it. It involves the post office, and net neutrality too. On the surface, it seems like the deliberate Republican-backed degradation of the USPS is designed to make the government some money, when they completely defund it and sell it off. On the surface, attacks on net neutrality seem like they're designed to make money by further commodifying internet access as it already exists. On the surface, relentless spying seems designed to make more money by constantly feeding your perceived desires back to you as spending options. But let's say the actual effect of all this is you want to be online less because it's such a creepy, intrusive experience, and because it's becoming too expensive, and also you stop sending and receiving as much mail because that's too expensive now that it's privatized. And let's take the Republican "EARN IT" bill, that would mandate that the government scans every single message sent over the internet--on the surface it seems designed to collect more data than ever, but let's say its actual effect is to make people stop communicating as much, out of fear and disgust. Wouldn't it be a huge accomplishment for a fascist state, to establish a scenario where people just don't talk to each other almost at all, because it's so cumbersome and invasive and costs too much money? Wouldn't it be great for such a government if people had less access to information than ever before, and the people who do have information were less willing and able to transfer it to others? I'm not saying I truly think that everything that's going on is NOT just business as usual for capitalism, but that capitalism is the cover for a conspiracy to prevent civilians from being able to communicate with each other. I mean, nobody's ever NOT trying to make more money. I'm just saying, like, I would not be surprised, at all.

[bbyboybrock--archived]

Serendipity (C.B) | Chapter 2

Summary: Serendipity: (n) the chance occurrence of events in a beneficial way

Popular youtuber Isabella Hart, known as Bella to her audience, bends over backwards to separate her youtube life from her private life. Known for her overall clean content and her bubbly attitude, Isabella has a wild side to her that only those inside the youtube community know about. When Bella meets Colby during one of the trap house parties she finally meets someone she can be her genuine self with. When trouble arises after their meeting, will Bella be able to hand the pressure or will she destroy her relationship with Colby as well as herself in the process. [This starts in 2018]

Written: 2019

Word Count: 2,902

Warnings: swearing

Serendipity Masterlist

The day after the party, Sam and Colby left LA to go shoot a few videos for a week. The whole time they were away, I've been talking to Colby. Whenever one of us had free time we would text the other. Whoever ended the conversation the night before started the conversation the night after. My phone was going off more than ever. Normally I would only get youtube/ work related notifications and the occasional booty call from an annoying "big" youtuber on my Twitter DMs. Now, all my messages are texts from Colby.

I don't know what to label this feeling. I set a different ringtone for Colby so whenever I hear that tone my stomach somersaults. It can't be a crush, despite the fact that we've been talking nonstop I hardly know Colby. We planned on leaving the getting to know you questions for the date. That's not saying that I'm not into him. I definitely am. From the conversations I've had with him, I can tell he's more than just a pretty face. And for someone who's lived in L.A her whole life, I can attest that, that doesn't happen often.

But I still don't know how to label what I'm feeling? The nervousness that I'll somehow find a way to mess this up? Even if this doesn't work out as a romantic relationship with Colby, I hope that I can at least make a friend out of this whole situation. I don't have very many friends. If anything, I have one and everyone else I know is either an acquaintance, an old hookup, or someone that I collaborated with. Making friends in this industry is hard. You never know who's using you for views or to leech off subscribers.

One thing I know that I'm feeling for a fact is nervous for this date. Colby never told me where we were going. He insisted on keeping it a surprise. I did manage to get him to tell me what type of clothes I should wear. All he told me was "Olive Garden casual" but also being beach things just in case. I changed my clothes at least three times. I finally decided to stick with a white and floral romper with some sandals. I put my but length curly hair into a fishtail braid and called it a day. He also insisted on picking me up. So I spent all morning over cleaning my already clean apartment. I finally got myself to calm down enough to sit down and finish editing my video and thumbnail for Saturday.

****

I finish putting the final details on my video when I hear a knock on the front door. I jump so high that I nearly deleted the video upload. I put my laptop on my couch before going to answer the door. I open the door to reveal Colby wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black jeans.

"Hi, come in. I'm just finishing uploading my video for this weekend. It'll only be a second more." I move so that Colby can walk in. I close the door and quickly grab my laptop and move it to the coffee table so Colby can sit

"Wow, nice apartment you got here. It's very homely." Colby says looking around. I finish the upload and close my laptop and see Colby wondering around.

"Thank you. The front area is just for show mostly, you know for the off chance I get guest. I can give you a small tour if you want."

"Sure. It's only fair, you saw basically the entirety of my house."

"Very true. So, over there is the kitchen. There are no guys there that show their id instead of carding you though. I hear that's one of a kind. We're standing in the living room slash tv room where I spend a lot of time when I'm not working or partying." I pick up my laptop and walk with Colby to the back of my apartment.

"I hear they fired the id guy. To be fair, he didn't know what he was doing but he was glad he did it." Colby mentions.

"To be fairer, I hear the girl who ratted herself out as underage felt the exact same." I turn to see Colby smirk. I turn back around and blush before opening the door on my right.

"This is my office and youtube room. I spend a lot of time working here." I place my laptop on my desk and plug it in before walking out with Colby.

"What do you keep in the closet?"

"Equipment for my hobbies that are not youtube related. In between both rooms is the guest bathroom. And the door right here leads to my bedroom. Complete with its own master bathroom and walk-in type of closet." I grab my bag from my bed and watch as Colby looks around.

Eventually, we leave and walk to his car. When we get in, Colby pulls out a blindfold.

"I know you don't know me that well but trust me when I say put this on." He holds the blindfold in front of me.

"Somehow, I knew this happen. Good thing I didn't put on makeup today." I take the blindfold and put it on.

"Wow, you're just going to do it. No questions or anything?"

"You haven't told me a single thing about this date all week. For all I know, you can be taking me somewhere to murder me for all I know."

"Very true. But that's not going to happen. I promise. Anyway, how long have you lived in that apartment?"

Even though I willingly put on the blindfold on, I'm still a little nervous. Colby senses this and slips his hand in mine.

"Uh, I moved in officially moved in on my birthday last year. I started moving my stuff in the month before."

"You're parents let you start moving out at 17?"

"That's a story for a later time. Um... why did you and Sam start in youtube?"

"Back then it was a way to reach out to our fans and get different content out their aside from our vines. Flash forward to now where we break into abandoned places or do overnights. I glad we started youtube though."

"Isn't that kind of dangerous or scary?"

"Yeah, but here's the thing..."

****

For the rest of the car ride, we kept talking about our channels and ourselves. There was a brief moment where we stopped somewhere and Colby left me in the car to grab something. When we finally reached where we are supposed to be, Colby placed my bag on my lap went to get the things out of the trunk before helping me out. We walk a few feet before Colby tells me I can take my blindfold off. It takes my eyes a few seconds to adjust to the light.

"Are we at the Santa Monica beach?" I ask after seeing the infamous ferries wheel on the pier.

"Yeah, I thought we could have a picnic on the beach and try to look at the stars?" I looked at Colby who was blushing a bit.

"Why did you phrase that as a question? Why do I feel like you aren't 100 percent sure about this date? I think it's a great date."

"I was just worried that you would think that it was too cheesy?"

"What part of me makes you think that I'd find this cheesy? Let's go, the sun is setting." I drag Colby closer to the water so we could set up the picnic.

****

Maybe it's because it's the beginning of February or maybe it's because it's Monday but there are hardly any people on the beach. It's vitally empty and it kind of feels like Colby and I are alone. Colby has actual picnic food, complete with chocolate covered strawberries. We spend the whole time talking and eating. Before the sun completely set we took pictures of each other. My favorites are the candids that I took of Colby when he wasn't paying attention. All the conversation and small talk that we avoided for the past week came out today. Colby had a speaker playing soft music in the background. It felt like every romance movie I've ever seen.

"Can I tell you a secret?" I asked while we looked at the sky. We had pretty much finished eating and the sun is completely set.

"Definitely."

"Well, it's not really a secret. I used to live near here before I moved out of my parents' house. Whenever I felt like life was getting to suffocating or the drama was too much I would sneak out here and just look out at the sky and listen to the ocean. I've actually forgotten how calming this was. I miss it." I adjust myself so my head is no longer supporting my head.

"I kind of know what you mean. Moments like this make me miss Kansas. I like nature and being submerged in it in a way." I turn my head and look at Colby who was already looking at me.

"What do you miss most about Kansas?" I adjust my body so I'm completely facing Colby.

"If I'm being honest? I just miss being around my family all the time. I can explore or find my own piece of nature anywhere in the world. I can't always be with them." Colby faces me completely too.

"Wow, you guys sound close."

"We are, in a weird way. What about you? Are you close with your family?"

"Um... to make an incredibly long and depressing story short, I am the black sheep of the family. Completely shunned and unwelcome. I could tell you the whole story but that probably wouldn't be first date appropriate."

"I get it. You can tell me anything though. When you're ready obviously. You probably can't tell but I can tell that we're going to be really important to each other."

"Really? You can tell that from one date and our super long talk at your party that I probably shouldn't have been at?"

"I know it sounds like I'm just trying to get into your pants or something, but I'm being 100 percent serious. There's something about us, we just click. Like we were made for each other."

I examine every part of Colby's face that I can. For once I feel like I actually met someone genuine. He doesn't sound like every guy that I've met who actually want to just hook up. He definitely doesn't sound like someone who would hurt someone or use them. I feel safe with Colby, something I don't think I've ever felt.

"Isabella?" Colby says breaking my concentration.

"Yes, Colby?"

"Do you mind if I kiss you for real this time?"

"Yes— I mean, I don't mind. You can kiss me for real."

We both sit up and I close my eyes and slowly lean in and only stop when my lips meet his. The kiss starts off soft but quickly gets more and more intense. We both pull away before things got too heated.

"Whoa..." we both said in unison. We were both quiet for a few seconds, trying to process what had just happened.

It was a perfect moment. At that moment I realized that I've never kissed anyone like that. Not sober, anyway. It sent a tingle down my spine and caused a wave of calm to wash over me. This kiss was real and I wanted more. Not just to kiss Colby more, but to feel more real things with him.

****

Colby takes me home about an hour after the kiss. We talked a bit more to get to know each other. The more we talked, the more I wanted to know Colby on a deeper level. I wanted Colby to know me more too, something I've never felt with anyone.

When Colby dropped me off I let him know that I would plan our next date, if he wanted there to be. He responded by kissing me again. When he left I lay on the couch and replayed the past few hours in my head. After that, I went into my bedroom and grab one of my empty notebooks. I choose the one with a tree carved into it and open to the second blank page. I write down everything from what happened and how I'm feeling. I even write about the events from the week before. As I write I set my photo printer to print out the photos from tonight. Even if things don't work out with Colby, I want to remember the first time I ever felt like this.

After I finish writing and taping the photos I take a shower and try to calm down. I place the notebook on my bedside table and go to take a shower. I climb into bed and try to decompress so I can sleep and wake up for my lectures tomorrow. I can't let my feelings for Colby make me late for classes. To help me calm down I go on my phone and scroll on my Instagram accounts. I have two, one for my fans and all business that is very public and a private one where I only let a few people follow. Right now, I'm only following Colby's private account. He has three: his public account, his fan appreciation account, and his private account. I check my public one and make a few comments and watch as people post about parties and birthdays. I get a few DMs from people asking where I wasn't at some party. I gave the same excuses of working on videos and switch over to my private account. On my feed a picture of me that I don't remember taking shows up. It's a candid of me from the beach. I'm laughing about something and the fading sun is hitting my face with my messy hair blowing in the wind. I see that Colby posted it and scroll to the caption. It reads: I can already tell my life is going to be better with you in it. Can't wait until next week.

I like the picture and quickly post my own picture of Colby with a cheesy caption. I switch back to my main account and see that I have a message from Brennen Taylor.

BT: Where were u tonite? Hooking up with some other insta-model?

Me: Actually, I was busy working tonight.

BT: Well, if you're not busy anymore do you want to hang out? The party was lame, I was hoping for sum fwb time.

Me: We're not friends and the benefits haven't been a thing for a while. Plus I'm seeing someone right now so the benefits are never going to happen again.

BT: We both know that that's not going to last long. Just come over right now and we can "talk" about it

Me: ...Night Brennen. Stop messaging me before I block you again.

BT: Goodnight sweet cheeks, I'll dream of the time we'll have a face to face convo again.

I close out of Instagram and plug my phone in. I make sure that my phone is charging before staring at the ceiling. At a party a few months ago, before I turned 18, I made the mistake of hooking up with Brennen. Ever since we've had an on again, off again hook up relationship. We were both in the same party scene. We would drunkenly hook up at parties, sometimes after I had just finished with someone else. After our first encounter, he found me on Instagram and would hit me up whenever he wanted to sleep with me, no strings attached. I would go only because he offered alcohol, sometimes weed. I would use him to get drunk or high and he would use me to get a quick lay. I didn't need him as much when I got my fake id but he did, even when he had a girlfriend. When I found out he was dating someone new I terminated our unspoken agreement. I wasn't going to be the reason his relationships failed. Still, he would hit me up every few days. If I'm being honest, he makes me feel uncomfortable and I try to avoid him at all cost. I never block him or expose him out of fear of being exposed myself. So I deal with it and I just tell him I'm busy or I was with someone else. It only works sometimes.

But now I met Colby and I really don't want to screw this up. I'm hoping Brennen won't screw it up for me. That sometimes happens at parties. I know that Colby and Brennen are friends. So I'm betting on the fact that Brennen wouldn't get in the way of his best friend's relationships, in every aspect of the word.

My phone lights up the room and I check to see a notification from Colby. He tells me that he got home safe and how much he enjoyed tonight. He also mentions that he's looking forward to next week. He ends with a good night. I type back a response with a huge grin on my face. I put away my phone and dream about the date over and over again.

[unplacedpodcast]

Chapter Three: Transient (Script)

Chapter three script below! Spoilers ahead: 

(ding of audio recording starting)

NARRATOR: There are a lot of downsides to being invisible, but one upside is that I can creep on as many awkward first dates as I want to and nobody knows. I'm not saying I'm an expert at social interaction by any means, but some of these are just bad.

This one bar I've been people-watching at, I saw the same two people there twice, and both times the guy was wearing this raggedy-ass hoodie that looked like he'd slept in it. Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure he was wearing the exact same outfit both times. I mean, personality counts, but put a little bit of effort in, right? He didn't exactly have it going on in the personality department either...he kept rambling about his ex and went through three well whiskies in an hour.

Anyways. Here's your regular update from the land of invisibility: I'm doing...okay, I guess. That whole experience with my mom…that was rough. It’s been a few weeks, so it stings a little less. We had our differences, but obviously, I loved her, and - I don’t know. She’s not having to deal with the pain of losing a child, I guess, which is good for her, but adds another layer to what I have to deal with. Grieving someone who doesn’t even remember you exist is…rough.

The apartment is officially not mine any more, but I was able to salvage some of the really important things. Basically, what I have is what I can carry on me at any given moment - so I have my computer, my phone, some clothes, a few other things. It’s like that whole minimalist backpacker trend, except I’m not doing it because I’m an annoying white guy with an urge to travel.

I do have a few things, like my wallet, out of sheer habit, but they're pretty much useless. Nobody asks for ID when they can't see you, and my cards stopped working a week or two after all of this started. I did manage to withdraw most of my money before they entirely stopped working, but again: you can't give cash to people who can't see or hear you.

Sometimes, I leave it at stores when I take things, especially the mom and pop stores or indie-type places. Even then, it's always a gamble, because there's no guarantee someone working there is going to see the money before some opportunistic bozo does and pockets it. There’s also not any guarantee that the person who sees it who does work there is actually going to put it back into the business instead of pocketing it.

We never covered this in my philosophy 101 class: If you physically can't pay the person you should be paying, and the best you can do is leave a few bills lying around, do you have an ethical obligation to do so, or is that just a futile attempt to soothe your own conscience?

If cash falls in the woods and nobody's around to pick it up, is it still money?

(sighs) Who would have known that being invisible would present you with a new existential crisis every day? I mean...probably anyone who thought about it, but I hadn't thought about it. Have you?

If you had asked me ahead of time, I would have...honestly, I probably would have said it wouldn't have bothered me that much. Honestly, I never felt like people really saw me, just their own assumption-filtered version of me - in a way, this is like having my metaphorical, emo headcanon made literal.

People make me nervous. Being around people makes me nervous. Before all of this happened, I mostly just wanted to be left alone to do my job, hang out with my friends - the very few people who don't make me get sweaty palms just from a casual conversation. Maybe meet a nice girl, settle down...I didn't want to be completely invisible, but I didn't want to be hypervisible, either. I just wanted to be left alone, to navigate my life with the least amount of confrontation possible.

That moment of confrontation has always been my kryptonite, the thing that makes my heart pound. It's probably silly - as a species, we used to fight mammoths or whatever, that's what those responses are supposed to be for. It always feels silly, anyways. I know it's a real chemical reaction, but when all you have to do is stand up for yourself, or someone else, or just say something, anything, and you can't, because your mouth is dry and your throat keeps closing and your hands are shaking...you feel like a coward.

What I used to do when that happened was sneak off, get a moment alone, and talk to myself, record it, and then delete the recording when I calmed down. Or sometimes, not delete it. Having those audio diaries, from times when I felt like nothing was in my control, and being able to look back through them and realize I came out of every situation okay - it was a surprisingly effective security blanket.

That's all really off topic as far as what it's like living in these united invisible states of America, though. So let's get back to that, since that's what you listeners are here for - juicy supernatural survivalist tips, or whatever. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:

Tip one: If nobody can see you, you can crash wherever you want. Staying at a hotel requires a little sneakiness. I had to creep on the staff to see how they code the keycard for each room and copy that, but once you get the hang of it, you can pretty much hole up wherever. I've been camped out in this swanky five star place, which would probably be better if I could get room service, but it could definitely be a hell of a lot worse.

Tip two: Keep a go bag. The real survivalist nuts out there already know this one. Zombie apocalypse fantasies aside aside, a go bag is crucial for when the hotel room you're staying in gets booked and the (very baffled) maids come in to do the room check, only to find a much dirtier room than there should be. So far, I haven’t lost any of my stuff, but I did have to do a real quick scramble the first time that happened. After going through the Great Apartment Purge of 2017, I don't want to lose the few belongings I do have left.

Tip three: Be careful about where you get your food from - at least, if you have a conscience. After while of living off of premade food or whatever I could cook in hotel kitchenettes, I decided I wanted something fancier, and snuck into a restaurant. I mean, I didn't really sneak in, because that would imply I was concerned about people seeing me, which is pretty much a non-issue. But I digress. I went into the kitchen, creeped around until I saw a plate full of food that looked tasty, and snagged it. What I did not think about was the server getting screamed at by the angry person who didn't get their food. When nobody is interacting with you, it's easy to space out on how your actions are going to impact them.

That's...all the tips I have right now. There aren't all that many actionable takeaways from being an invisible half-ghost person, or whatever.

Actually, that reminds me - I had a theory that I wanted to test, and since I’m already recording, this is the perfect time to do it. Time for a field trip!

(sounds of the phone fumbling, recording ding as it goes off, then the recording dings on again with the sound of new-agey bell-chime music in the background)

When I made that crack about being a half-ghost, it reminded me that I wanted to see what an actual psychic would make of this business. So...here I am, in a medium's waiting room. I looked this lady up on Yelp and she's supposedly pretty legit, as far as psychics go. The last thing I want to do is freak out some poor unsuspecting client of her's, so I've been just hanging out until she's client-free. And...let's give this a go. She's standing over there behind the counter, scrolling through Instagram - I'm walking up to her

(noise of the phone moving, sound of footsteps)

NARRATOR: (to woman, slightly muffled since she's not speaking directly into the phone) HEY. Hey. Can you hear me?

(speaking into the phone again) And...yeah. Nothing. I'm over here talking to her, waving a hand in her face, I'll

(noise of things moving around on a glass countertop, muffled noise of fabric brushing)

(sighs) Yeah. I moved some crystals around on her counter, I poked her in the shoulder - nothing. So much for any extra sensory perception going on around these parts. Maybe I'll try another place, later, and see if they're any better at (makes "spooky" voice) perceiving the invisible.

Whatever.

(ding of door bell as she walks out onto the street, background noise of being on a busy street and then descending underground into a subway station as she talks)

For now, it's back to the hotel. Another fruitless experiment in my “what the ever-loving hell is going on" series. It's just so frustrating, you know?

If I knew what was going on, I think it would be a little easier to cope with. But instead, it’s all one big mystery, which is just...annoying. I'm glad there seem to be consistent rules that I can test and figure out, but I wish I knew if this was like, a magic thing, or a gamma radiation thing, or what.

Gamma radiation, there's a thought. Too bad this doesn't come with superpowers.

(sound of a subway door opening and/or a stop being called in the background)

Oh well. It could be worse. At least I've got a fancy hotel to crash at. And this car is fairly empty, so I don't have to worry about someone trying to walk through me, again.

(sighs) An upgrade in living accommodations might be an upside to this whole scenario, but the public transportation experience leaves a lot to be desired.

(a few seconds of silence w/background noise, then the noise of the subway door opening and people moving)

I guess that's just - wait. What the...this guy just got on and he...there's this thing on him...it's all over his back, it's on his shoulders, it's - I think it’s stuck in his head. Hold on, I’m going to get closer.

(sound of footsteps)

Sir? HELLO? Yeah, of course you can’t hear me, but I thought you might want to know you’ve got a freakin’ brain leech stuck in the back of your head getting a free ride. Maybe if I…

(sound of her touching/shaking him)

Oh shit. The thing - it's...it's moving...oh my god, I think it can see me. Holy f-

(audio recording cuts off suddenly)