#also he described Leo perfectly

[echo16reads]

Tyson and Leo is not a friendship I knew I needed until now.

[aroaceleovaldez]

I refuse to believe Nico is 5.6. He’s like barely five foot, he’s cuddle sized for will’s convenience

I mean, he's not. he's not 5'6". Only like three characters have extremely definitive heights with exact numbers and that's Michael Yew (4'6" [TLO]), Clarisse (5'6" [TLO]), and Tyson ("a little over 6ft tall" [BoO]). Everyone else is comparisons to each other with no exact heights (Jason is one inch taller than Percy, and Nico is 6 inches shorter than Michael Kahale, but we don't know how tall exactly any of them are) or vague approximations (Annabeth used to be taller than Percy but is now shorter, Thalia is approximately the tallest Huntress as of BoO, the Stoll brothers are Generally Tall-ish, Leo can fit into a seven year old's hand-me-downs, etc.)

An important thing to remember with Nico is that he is 14 at absolute maximum in the series. His age range through the series is 10-14. 14 year olds are rarely tall. Average height for a 13 year old boy, aka Nico throughout all of HoO, is ~5'1". In the 1930s, the average height of an adult Italian man was like 5'5"-5'6".

So, with that information, Nico as an adult is unlikely to break 5'6" if even 5'5". He is absolutely not 5'6" at 14, especially since we know he's described as short. Nico probably spent the majority of the first series under 5ft, which would actually explain why Bianca in BoTL noted that Nico had hit a growth spurt, because he was probably newly not 4ft-something anymore. Him being 5'2" in Blood of Olympus would make Michael Kahale 5'8", which is a perfectly reasonable height and does also match with their weight descriptions in the same line.

Anyways please picture the TLO scene of Nico scurrying around after Hades, shouting and waving his arms, with Nico being 5ft even and Hades being like 40ft god mode. Or Nico sassing Kronos but Luke is at least 6ft in comparison. It's really funny.

[nocturnallybee]

the outsiders as demigods

this idea came to me in the form of immense hyperfixation

ponyboy: apollo. sure ponyboy may be the smartest greaser but MY GOD he does not have a strategic bone in his body. apollo's children are naturally gifted in anything involving projectiles and shooting, and ponyboy is the best shot in his family despite never really practicing. apollo's children are also naturally inclined towards a craft or art, in pony's case, literature.

sodapop: Poseidon. i debated between him and aphrodite for a while bc of soda's natural charm and charisma, but the horse thing. THE HORSE THING. the love he has for mickey and ponyboy being named ponyboy makes him need to be in the cabin of the god of horses. poseidon is also the middle child which i think reflects well.

darry: HERMES!!! hermes is the god of travellers and his cabin was the one with the acceptance policy for all unclaimed campers. the curtis house is open to all the boys incase they need a place to crash! hermes children are also natural 'jack of all trades' which fits with darry to me. THEY ARE ALSO NATURALLY GOOD WITH MONEY. darry is literally the head of household right after the curtis's die, and his ability to manage finance is insane. while he doesn't have the natural mischievous personality of a Hermes camper, he simply is one.

johnny: hebe! hebe for one is the goddess of youth, and johnny being so nonviolent kind of reflect this? idk. also it says they take pride in helping others and i think that perfectly describes johnny.

dally: nemesis. he reminds me of ethan nakamura in a way, fucked over by circumstance but trying for balance, for others (johnny). nemesis's children are loyal, and won't stop their pursuit of justice when someone has wronged them. which i feel like describes dally perfectly lol. dally isn't exactly balanced, nor truly doing everything for justice, but he does stick to his personal codes and morals, along with his immense loyalty.

two-bit: hermes! two-bit got sticky fingers and jokes! he's a shoe-in for the hermes cabin.

steve: hephaestus! he's at the DX, and the hephaestus cabin is pretty serious (aside from leo) so!

[eunkitarot]

Jake as a bf a tarot read:

Five of Cups: idk usually i dont link to star signs and would read it solely with the card itself. But 5 of c is closely connected to scorpio. Jake is scorpio rising and scorpio venus. Scorpios tend to be very emotionally sensative and they tend to dwell on losses. They have a hard time to focus on the positives. So as a bf, Jake would be someone that need reassurances and a partner that can cheer him up and tell him that everything will be okay. If he thinks he messed up, he would feel very regretful. ' I could have done better' . Because of this too , it could cause Jake to have difficulties forgiving if you mess up. Because scorpios like to relive past events and go through the hurt all over again. Makes sense why they are one of the most revengeful signs. But I am not saying this about Jake specifically, more as for Scorpios generally.

EDIT YALL: apparently some ppl think he is LEO RISING and some ppl say he is LIBRA rising also scorpio rising. So we are not really sure here cause we dont know the time of birth. But his venus is scorpio so i think this more to his venus then. The way he loves. The inner conflict and emotional turmoil.

The devil: this card touches on desires.as a bf he may be someone that have high sexual drive. I think this is a side that only his partner will know. It can be pretty tiring for his partner because his demands can be a lot. Jake as a bf is someone that can also be seductive towards his partner. So in this aspect, as bf he will fulfill it well.

Ten of Pentacles:as a bf he wants something stable and definitely long term. And to be honest he would want to have a family with you if given the chance. He is a person that believes in settling down eventually. Start a family with someone he loves, have kids sent them to school. He is all about that life. Maybe not now but eventually.

Knight of swords: as a bf , jake would be someone that is action oriented. Can be someone that is head over heart here. In terms of your relationship, he might be quick in making decisions and it can be a bit rash. He is not afraid to take risk though, so if you are going through something , he will just try to solve it as soon as possible for u and if its high risk. He would take it anyways, as long as you are alright. However this focus on intellect and action can sometimes lead to a lack of emotional sensitivity or awareness on his part.

Overall energy, Knight if wands:so similar to knight of swords they are both fast moving. So this can indicate Jake can be impulsive in his actions. But with this card, as a bf he is very passionate and fiery. Very high energy. He can have high vitality in bed and also just overall in your relationship. Jake will be very excited to be with you and would do anything for you. Very spontaneous energy.

This read is the most unclear read among the members to me. I struggle to describe the cards here. Which rarely happens. So to me Jake is not letting me really read into what type of bf he is. There is something secretive and private here compare to other members. Very scorpio of him. He is not letting his cards seen. Anyways a gift for yall and edit that perfectly embodies Jake Sim for u🤭

Credit on ig :@/daemsiel

[totem-but-shark]

After Phil found it, Foolish didn’t put the sunbird down— he kept it in the box. It was safer there. He loves to throw caution to the wind for the sake of aesthetics (Like his armor, or Leo’s bunker, or finding blocks he likes in dangerous dungeons)— he and Leo were very similar that way, though they learned to compromise for Leo’s safety— he always put the bird out, knowing it could disappear, because it was worth it. But then Leo went missing… and she didn’t come back.. so when the Sunbird came back, he wouldn’t risk it. He was willing to compromise for the sake of practicality. It wasn’t worth losing to bird, too. He got defensive and guarded, even before purgatory. Remember how he killed Bad for building in “Leo’s Room”?

at that point in time he really was at what was perhaps his lowest point, he'd lost so much it was so fascinating watching his persona crack and reveal how much losing leo truly effected him. I imagine his anger towards bad wasn't just wanting leo's stuff untouched for when she returned or an overflowing of his bottled up emotions (though these were most definitely part of it) but maybe it could've also been wanting to protect her in any way he could when he was so helpless to reach her in every other sense. Perhaps it could've been the same with the sunbird, they found it together, Leo loved it. He really was just grasping for anything he could to keep himself afloat and stable. Leo's always been one of his only lines that cannot be crossed, all he wanted was his little family and if all that remains is a sunbird and the messy bedroom of a missing daughter then he'd do whatever necessary to defend it whilst he waits.

qfoolish isn't ever really attached to places and items but leo's room became like a shrine in her absence, sacred and holy, never to be desecrated or disturbed by anyone other than his niña perfecta. Himself unworthy of gazing upon it as the father that failed, unable to face her empty bed and unable to face himself.

I feel this also demonstrates qfoolishs capacity to be calculated, "stupid but not an idiot". He understands the limits of things, he's always pushing and pushing, playing with the rules and morals others take as law. And equally so he knows when to stop, retreat and rest. He loves risk, seeing how far things can go and spiral out of control. He's literally devoted to the chaos entity but again leo is one of his only limits, over chaos even.

also i'm just obsessed with how you worded carelessness for aesthetics anon, it's like a double entendre. Careless behaviour in the sake of physical looks, things being pretty but also the aesthetic of carelessness. The want to appear unconcerned and indifferent. It so perfectly describes qfoolish doesn't it?

[anxious-witch]

Dead boy detectives characters as their big three in Astrology-Edwin

Text from the pictures and additional explanation under the cut

Capricorn-Sun

~ Disciplined & driven, handles their business

~ Rational, wants the facts, prioritizes security

~ Deep instincts, old soul, thoughtful & aware

Virgo-Rising

~ Discerning, self-improving & matter-of-fact

~ Sharp mind, pure heart, practical perspective

~ Observant, watches every detail, critical eye

Leo-Moon

~ Draws attention like a magnet, always a star

~ Entertaining, expressive, proud & passionate

~ Strong-hearted spirit who celebrates life

-all text about signs is take from moonomens.com

*Edwin's is the only one that is canon, everyone else will be just my hcs

I have made a separate post about his main three but none the less, his chart is fascinating. Sun and Rising ruled by very stable, earth signs, who pride themselves on practicality and logic. Capricorn Sun gives him very proud and driven personality, while Virgo Rising gives him attention to detail.

We see him easily follow patterns of those signs. As a Capricorn, bs is very driven by his goals, specifically when solving cases. He wants to know all the importsnt facts before staring a case. Who, what, where, when, how and why and will they get paid? After those requirments are fulfilled, he gets right into solving them. He isn't wasting his time on something that will not hold up to his standards. Yet he is very thoughtful, even if he doesn't always expresses it well. But we see that with how he behaves around Niko perfectly.

As a Virgo Rising, we see how much attention he pays to detail. From perfectly arranged books, to dust poisonous to ghost, to even his outfit. Always perfectly made unless he is in a great distress. He strives to discern right from wrong, and even feels shame when his emotions don't always align with it(ie when he admits part of the reason he solves cases is to plead for leniency). He also always strives to improve his knowledge and we see him change through the season as he gains more insight, both on logical and emotional levels. He finds it difficult to bend and break the rules, but if it is for improvment he does it, while still being very strict with himself.

But then we have Moon in Leo. And text above ofc, describes healthy Leo Moon, aka when one is truly in tune with their feelings, which Edwin is arguably not, at least not at the beginning of the season. Leo Moons want to be seen and draw attention. Except Edwin is terrified of being seen as much as he longs for it, due to his other placements. So he denies that longing, until the plot forces him to face it, through Crystal, the Cat King, and then Monty. We see flashes of his true potential when he starts accepting himself in episode 6. He dresses more flashy, he takes pride in his appearance, he takes more dominant role in communication with Monty and the Cat King and freely expresses his emotions(apologizes to Monty, expresses how much the kiss meant to him, tells the Cat King to shove it, snaps at Monty). And then later of course, during his confession to Charles and in his last scene with the Cat King. Once he leans into his natural need to be seen and dominant fire sign and listens to his emotions, he is gonna be a force to be reconed with(and a menace).

[beebopurr]

Not an ask sorry, but I absolutely adore your portrayal of Leo!!! (both in art style and through your descriptions and ramblings)

You have such an incredible way of taking his character and really putting it into your work and that's something so special to a lot of us who really love that little blue dumbass.

While no hate to anyone, but you see so many creators taking a single aspect of his character and making it his whole personality, or taking a headcanon (whether their own or fannon) and dubbing it as the only way his character can be perceived or its shunned as 'wrong'.

Your take on Leo is one of the closest I've seen to canon that's not ridiculously dumbed down or over exaggerated into a whole new character. He's a complex turtle and has so much to love (and hate, let's be honest he sucks ❤️✨) about him and you really bring out so much about his character in an enjoyable and entertaining way!!!

// also the bi rep in the form of Leonardo the ninja turtle wasn't something I ever thought I'd need but by god do I cherish it with my whole heart. That and the way you draw and describe his and April's relationship??? Literally one of the best ships in this fandom seriously, you're up there as one of my favourite artists both for rise and everything else you create!!! 💕😭

I'm so sorry if this is incoherent at all, I just adore your work and thought I'd finally grow the courage to say it!!!

Thank youuuuuu and yeah you summed up how I feel perfectly lol. I don't care how people present him I just don't like that ppl make their own fanon takes and act like they are gospel 😭

like I was involved in the fandom as I was finishing rise so I thought the Don Suave thing was gonna open my eyes and make me realize why everyone was so certain that he's a gay man but,,,,, Don Suave's power was literally to serve like EVERYONE in the scene thought he was slay.

So a ton of rise fanon stuff confuses me bc I personally didn't take it that way but people act like it's the only way to take it

[mimastuff]

Hey so how do you think the rottmnt would deal with a mutant s/o who hugs their turtle protectively when meat sweats threaten’s to genuinely actually want to eat the turtles and he is getting the supplies ready and s/o hisses/growl/roars at Meat sweats intimidatingly and it actually does spook the pig a bit? If he comes near, he is gonna have deal with this feral s/o to deal with.

Yes ofc i can ! This one is so cool I love it thanks for the request :)

Overprotective much?

TW: ideas of cannibalism, fluff

Pairings : Tmnt bros x mutant! Overprotective reader

——————————————————————————

Raph

- he would be sweating at the thought of him getting ate by meat sweats

- His fear stink could be smelt for miles

- You felt an overpowering protectiveness kick in

- The adrenaline pumped through your body.

- You hissed at the thought of your big turtle boyfriend becoming soup

- The hiss that escaped your lips and the way you stood over the pink pig made raphs heart do all sorts of jumps and flips.

- His heart sang knowing that you wanted to protect him

- The way that you back the mutant pig into the corner ,meat sweats shaking in fear

- His love for you had always seemed huge but in the back of his mind he thought that the relationship was one sided

- He felt like you didn’t deserve him

- Oh how he was wrong.

Leon

- the fear that imbedded Leo’s eyes could send you into a feral, mutant frenzy

- The way meat sweats walked and talked about the same turtle boyfriend

- Perfectly describing him as a starter , main and dessert boiled your blood

- You began to see red

- You let your mutant tendencies take over you

- You let out a loud hiss and stood directly in front of your boyfriend, protecting him.

- He felt a slight jump at your act.

- Meat sweats Peered down at you as if to warn you that the soup could contain a side of Y/N on garlic bread.

- You suddenly let out a low growl

- That made anyone hear it shake in fear of what was to come

- The giant pig lept up in surprise

- The fear on his face would be laughed at for decades.

Mikey

- bless his heart

- Hearing him on a golden piece on toast made his mouth water

- Meat sweats grabbed a pan and started preparing the food

- You began to feel anger rise throughout your whole body

- Your turtle boyfriend so oblivious to the fact that he wanted to EAT him

- You let your mutant ways control your body

- The hiss that escaped your mouth and the way you stood so protective over mikey made his heart flutter

- But he couldn’t see why

- That’s when meat sweats turned around to see your terrifying face

- He jumped out of his skin and almost immediately started putting the kitchen equipment back

- In his attempt he burned his hands which you took an opportunity to grab mikey and run

- The toast still running mikeys mind as he trailed behind you

Dontron

- Donnie felt every inch of him tremble at the thought of himself being eaten

- And by mest sweats himself

- He felt him look around the room in panic as the huge pig described just exactly how he would make a turtle stu with turtle sushi

- Due to his state , he couldn’t move.

- But you could

- You made very opportunity to protect him

- A roar escaped from your lips

- Both Donnie and meat sweats seemed impressed at your vocal skills but also extremely terrified

- The way you stood infront of your boyfriend made his knees weak

- You wanted to protect him ?

- He was sure he was dreaming.

- You both made a run for it when the sound of 8 legs made its way through the place.

- Donnie couldn’t stop thinking of why you would want to protect him.

- Sure you’re dating , but maybe you being a mutant as well had its perks

——————————————————————————

Thanks for this one I had fun writing it !

[sirenjose]

Analysis of White Sand Street Asylum - Part 3

Includes Full Character Analyses for: Freddy, Kreacher, Emma, Emily, Leo, Robbie and Dolores, Kurt, Ada and Emil, Alice.

Beginning: Asylum Analysis Part 1

Previous: Asylum Analysis Part 2

Soon after, the evaluations begin.

1 of those being evaluated is Kurt Frank.

Kurt was born in Yorkshire, England to parents who, even when Kurt was young, constantly moved around. They went “from England to Italy, then to France, and then to England again”, with young Kurt always surrounded by “all kinds of adult travelers”. Unfortunately, his parents are described as never paying him much (if any) attention: “Whenever he looked up, he could only see the tight jawline of his parents and their hurried figures that never looked down”. As Kurt is described as “working class”, it is likely his parents were the type who spent all their time and energy on their work, and thus by the end of the day had none to spare for their son. This means they likely didn’t attempt to help Kurt to really understand all the foreign places they took him too. Based on how he was surrounded by “adult travelers”, it is likely much of what he encountered wasn’t a place for kids, and possibly due to his parents’ work.

Everything was huge, confusing, and overwhelming, leaving Kurt feeling “small and powerless and out of place”. This is no surprise considering the constant moving left Kurt with no stability, making him feel unsettled and disconnected, like he had no safe place to call home. He also had no guidance or support from his parents, leaving him feeling neglected amid chaos. And without any form of stability, he likely never stayed around in 1 place long enough to form any long-term relationships. Neither did he have much control over anything, as he was subject to his parents’ decisions.

Kurt’s backstory continues from here by saying “This early feeling of being ignored led Kurt Frank to develop a typical avoidant personality”. Avoidant personality disorder (APD) is characterized by severe and chronic social anxiety. People with this disorder have a long-standing pattern of social avoidance accompanied by hypersensitivity to negative evaluation (aka fear of criticism, rejection, ridicule, etc…) and low self-worth so pervasive that it defines who a person is. They will be easily and extremely hurt by any type of criticism in any situation. They avoid making new friends and trying new activities unless they’re absolutely sure they’ll be liked and accepted without rejection, criticism, or ridicule. They tend to be shy, quiet, “invisible” (aka tend to hide using their clothing or by staying in the background in social situations), and lonely, but they’re different from schizoid people. The avoidant person wants social contact but is afraid of rejection, whereas the schizoid or schizotypal person is completely indifferent to such contact.

Due to being ignored by his parents, Kurt turned to books to escape his reality and his fear of rejection. His backstory says it was also due to him having “trouble concentrating” and a disinterest in going outside. His favorite novel was Gulliver’s Travels, where he “imagined he was a great adventurer and refused to accept the actual situation”. In this world, he was the hero. There was no more feeling of not fitting in. A world where everyone accepted him. He was important. He received all the love and concern he wanted here. It was also a place where he could essentially design it however he wanted, and thus a place he understood perfectly well (compared to everything else).

Even though Kurt couldn’t make real friends, he was able to play with his imaginary ones, and his imaginary world continued to expand as he continued reading.

Eventually Kurt goes to college, but his “bushy mustache” causes him to argue with others often, leading to him being an “outlier”. Unable to get approval from others, this causes issues with his avoidant personality, and he starts avoiding going to school, something that disappoints his father. He attempted to stress the importance of college if Kurt wanted to be successful in the future, like they were, but Kurt didn’t care. He couldn’t handle the ridicule and rejection from his classmates. He couldn’t even talk about his problems to his parents because they didn’t understand nor care. They never had and they never would. His relationship with them had been strained for as long as he could remember, and this on top of his problems at school was overwhelming Kurt, who was left to handle it all on his own.

Without the proper emotional support or help from anyone, he funnels his emotions into horse racing, but Kurt “lacked the vision and brains to invest” and “lost all his living expenses and even owed a loan shark”.

This forces him to completely drop out of college. His parents, left with no choice, send him into the army hoping it would “correct his behavior”.

Initially, Kurt was likely quite unhappy with his situation. He didn’t want to deal with the increased social interactions, new people, new activities, and everything. But as usual, he didn’t have a choice. Fortunately, he had been able to bring his book with him, allowing him to escape from his new reality at least temporarily.

Eventually, Kurt decides to “boast” about his “adventure experience” to his comrades. There weren’t many ways for men at the barracks to amuse themselves with, especially when far from home and family, and Kurt thought this would “cheer everyone up”.

Initially, all goes well. The other men are “captivated” by his experiences, and he earns the attention and praise Kurt has always wanted, the approval he’s never received even from his own parents.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t last. The men eventually discover Kurt had been lying and the stories he shared were only from books he read, rather than experiences he actually lived through. His skills aren’t anywhere as good as he claimed, and the men in general don’t appreciate being tricked or lied to. Soon, Kurt becomes reviled and an outcast similar to how he’d been at college.

 With Kurt’s avoidant personality once again triggered, his mental state deteriorates. He wants to prove them wrong. He wants them to know that he is a real explorer, and he has gone through all these things. He goes a bit off the deep end, and ends up getting into trouble.

Kurt had said he wanted to remain in the army for “as long as his health allowed”, but due to his increasing inability to differentiate between fantasy and reality, he is labeled as mentally ill and sent to White Sand Street Asylum. This is based on the title of deduction 9 being “Road-blocking ‘Dragons’” (dragons, like an enemy or threat), with the line “These giant, fanged...dragons! You can't stop an explorer!” essentially depicting him being taken away.

This is confirmed via the event Kurt’s Wondrous Journeys. In the event, he says White Sand Street is the center of his world. So, on the center of his map, he drew a circle to represent “the origin of my adventure, and surround it with triangles, representing trees” (via drawing a “1” under each triangle”). He later talks about people using “fears to stop you” and how “nothing but monsters and danger await you, should you ever leave”. It’s at this point he says, “If you turn these triangles upside down, they are the shape of a dragon's terrible fangs, a symbol of unknown terror, and the ultimate price—death” (and we know terror and death both happen at the asylum).

In the Asylum, we learn during his reassessment that he is indicated to have “Delusional Schizophrenia”. I’m not sure this is an actual thing, so I tried checking the translations of other versions (as best I as I could). So far, I think the more appropriate terms I saw were “delusions of grandeur” and “schizophrenia”.

Delusion of grandeur is a false belief in one’s power or importance. It may be a symptom of a mental health disorder and can cause confusion between what is real and what is not. The strength of a delusion is based on how much the person believes it. Specifically, a delusion of grandeur is a person’s belief that they are someone other than who they are, or a belief that they have special abilities, possessions, or powers.

Many types of mental health disorders can lead to delusions, including schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a complex disorder that causes people to interpret reality abnormally. They don’t know what sights, sounds, and experiences are real or what they are imagining. It usually involves delusions (false beliefs), hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that don’t exist), unusual physical behavior, and disorganized thinking and speech. With treatment, most symptoms of schizophrenia can greatly improve and reduce the likelihood of a reoccurrence.

In any case, Duke eventually asks Lorraine to discharge Kurt. Lorraine, who is currently the head of the asylum now that Duke has become a bishop, believes Kurt can’t be discharged due to the persistence of his delusions. Kurt claims “he had flown solo across the English Channel, possesses extraordinary survivalist skills, and is capable of the construction and operation of, including but not limited to, Blimps”. Lorraine adds that his delusions evolve “in a scale of grandiose when exposed to outside influences”. She worries, even though he is not violent now, he could pose a threat later due to his “deteriorating mental health stability and elevating delusions” and “eloquence in persuasion”.

But Kurt has other ideas. He has no desire to remain in the asylum, which he starts thinking of like he’s back at school, and is willing to do anything if it means getting out.

Life at the asylum hasn’t gotten any better.

We see in Kurt’s Wondrous Journeys how he describes the place: a “great gray structure” whose interior is all that many of the patients “have ever known”. The corridors are “long” and “lined with heavy, iron doors”, behind which the patients live, awaiting “inspection” from the “King”.

The “King” card we have during this event shows one side looking like a king, but the other is a nun. The card reads “They try to use love to lock other people down”. It is clear the “King” here is meant to represent Lorraine.

1 of the things still limiting the patients’ freedom is the medicine, which is likely represented by “Tea Time”. They were given that medicine at the “beginning” of each day.

The size of the rooms for the patients behind the “heavy, iron doors” were likely “only 52 inches long”.

As another side note, one of the other cards is of a chair that may symbolize the same one Emma used when she was getting electroshock treatment. I wonder if it could imply he got electroshock treatment while he was there as well?

Either way, we know Kurt does eventually leave the asylum to go to the manor.

What we do have is Kurt’s deduction 11. It talks about a “battle between Don Quixote and the Biscayan up close”, after which Kurt says “Obviously, I managed to get out of there”. Don Quixote being the man obsessed with becoming a knight and reviving chivalry who, in his delusional state, charges at windmills he mistakes for giants. Biscayan, who’s passing by, thinks he’s mad and, misunderstanding the situation, challenges Don Quixote to a duel. Don Quixote, driven by his delusions of grandeur, manages to disarm the Biscayan. Kurt is likely to represent Don Quixote. The Biscayan, symbolizing a skilled opponent, could represent Lorraine, who is the one fighting to keep Kurt at the asylum.

Maybe this means that Lorraine lost her argument or “battle” to keep him there, thus implying Duke forced her to let him go (or maybe Kurt somehow reasoned with her himself, in something like a battle of wits, and via his “eloquence of persuasion” was able to convince her to let him go).

Kurt may have even been the first patient to leave, potentially the same one mentioned in the asylum backstory. This is important as, after this first person, Lorraine, according to the asylum backstory, left her resignation in her office and disappeared. The Church quickly moved the remaining patients from the White Sands Street Asylum and closed it down (as ordered by the government after the locals questioned if the asylum should be allowed after Dolores’ killing spree).

Before the asylum closes, the events of Ada’s and Emil’s stories occur, though I do not know exactly when.

Emil was the youngest son of a poor couple, where he had 3 other siblings. The mother seems to have been suffering from a type of mental illness, and it was difficult for Emil’s father to care for her as well as 4 kids. As a result, he sold his youngest to an underground dog fighting ring. His new owners at first didn’t care for him, but this all changed after Emil snuck into the pit and managed to make it out alive. His owners, seeing the reaction of the audiences, decided to continue to utilize him that way for more money, and Emil was forced to grow accustomed to this life, where he saw himself more as another dog than a person.

He’d never known real love. He’d only ever been seen as an object that others only saw in terms of how to get value for themselves. All Emil knew was if he wanted to survive, he had to fight for it, and so he did. Living conditions were horrid, with him being forced to live in a “kennel” with “shackles locked around his ankles” and barely enough food to sustain himself with, and what he was given was of poor quality. He also wasn’t given proper treatment for his wounds, which he acquired plenty of by the vicious dogs in the ring that would always attempt to tear him apart without restraint, or to ensure he stayed healthy. He was on his own. His owners didn’t care if he lived or died. If he did, they could just get another dog and continue on their merry way.

Emil wasn’t satisfied with being a “plaything of nobles” and always forced to survive the dog fighting ring, so one day he manages to escape. Unfortunately, he ends up with a high fever and forgets everything, and this is when he’s taken “by the asylum who defrauded charity funds”.

The asylum uses a “staggering amount of sedatives on its patients”, including sleeping pills and tranquilizers, to keep their patients under control and from being able to fight back. Emil is so high on these that he feels like he’s “floating away”. They do this as they diagnose Emil with “manic fits” and “severe aggressive tendencies”. This is why they keep his hand “cuffed to the bed” and lock him in “solitary confinements known as the ‘Cages’”, which is only for the “most dangerous patients”.

He suffers greatly due to their painful treatments, but he “always accepted being manipulated obediently”. And then everything starts to change when he meets Ada.

Ada, unlike Emil, was from a “relatively affluent middle-class family” where “every step in her life has been strictly planned” by her doctor father and teacher mother. She didn’t have much of a childhood, as she had “few playmates her own age” and spent most of her time “communicating with adults or reading”.

She is sent to university, where she enters “the school's psychological laboratory for research”. As a medical genius, she is awarded “the position of assistant professor of psychology”.

This is likely because her father had been training her from a young age and had her watching him since she was at least 13.

Ada has been researching hypnotherapy and the “idea of eliminating a patient's pain or negative emotions with subliminal suggestions”. This is likely the 1st time she’s actually chosen something for herself, yet no one, not even her own father, a “leading authority in psychiatry”, “had much faith in me”.

She explains the issues she had with her research: “The patients provided by the academy where I studied couldn't be hypnotized while they were in pain, and after countless failures… I had to devise a new method...”. Unfortunately, her “private experiment was discovered and those people pulled the plug on my research”.

Ada thinks very lowly of other doctors who stop her from this research. Her goal is to help the mentally ill, while most other doctors just follow “the latest academic fads” and use the mentally ill for “turning profits”.

I imagine the reason for Ada’s desire to help people likely started due to her encounter 1st encounter with Emil, who she found starving in the street. She bought him bread, but her father refused to help Emil when she asked. Ada couldn’t understand why. I think from then she likely began to look down on her father’s actions. Her father was probably like the other doctors, someone who followed the latest “fads”, was primarily interested in profit, and utilized treatments that Ada wouldn’t always agree with, just like how she looks down on what the asylum is doing.

Ada says she used to utilize the same methods in the past, but “that was a long time ago”. This could also refer to potentially what she used to do in her desperation for her hypnotherapy experiments at college to work, before the plug was pulled. That would explain why she’d describe “tormenting patients for the sake of my research”.

Not giving up, Ada travels to various hospitals and clinics, looking for some place where she can carry out her experiments and hopefully find a patient who will give her success.

It’s during this period that Ada goes to White Sand Street Asylum for an “eleven-day medical training program here”.

While looking at the list of patients, specifically at those labeled dangerous, she notices “a person without a surname on the list, Emil”. She watched the doctors give him electroshock therapy, and how, unlike other patients, he “didn't seem as terrified”. “When his treatment was over, he even smiled at the doctors... A mindless, yet eerily natural smile...”. She’d never seen someone react like this: “He didn't try to avoid or resist the pain inflicted on him. Even though his consciousness was tenuous at best, he instinctively showed signs of joy”.

Eventually, she finds herself alone with Emil, who was “trembling and gasping violently”. Taking a chance, she found that “when I blew my whistle, he would become surprising calm”. Ada figures out his past based on the only possession Emil had been found with, a dog collar, and why he reacts the way he does to the whistle.

Emil is the first person Ada’s encountered who could “respond to hypnotism while under intense pain”, which was part of the reason her experiments had failed in the past. It is at this point she decides to mess with the medications the asylum was giving Emil, so Emil could be more “cognizant” even though it’d bring “greater pain”. The next day, Emil does suffer more from the electroshock therapy, but just like before, he calms down once he hears Ada’s whistle. Ada is ecstatic to finally find the “perfect candidate for my experiments”.

Ada gradually reduces his medication over the next few days. Once he was conscious enough, she tells him she’d taken away his pain medication. Ada is conflicted, and wonders if what she’s doing is alright, and seeks answers for herself based on whether Emil forgives her. When she asks him “Ada or medicine”, he responds with “Ada” despite Emil knowing this meant more pain, which relieves her worries and makes her feel “elated beyond words”.

Despite the fact Ada initially only saw Emil only in terms of him being a perfect candidate for her experiments, she gradually starts to “develop feelings for him”. She knows she is going to have to leave soon, but due to the fact she’d grown quite attached to him, she decides she wants him to leave with her.

Emil is grateful to Ada for her helping to wake him up. He says he’s stopped experiencing the nightmare about his past that’s plagued him “for as long as I can remember”. And so, when he receives a gift of a flower from her one day, not knowing what was a proper way to react in response to getting a gift, fashions a ring for her from his bed wire.

Ada is touched by his return gift, as this was the “first time a patient had shown me understanding and gratitude”. This only hardens her resolve to get him out of the asylum.

As they prepare to make their escape at dawn, Ada mentions the staff will be on high alert until then because a patient, a “young girl” managed to escape from the asylum. This is likely to be Lisa, who we know escapes from the asylum based on the fact she is using a fake name to hide her identity.

Eventually, the 2 do manage to escape from the asylum. Ada takes them to a “new home” that’s “faraway” with “no people around” and requires “getting there in a car”.

They live like this for 3 years, but unfortunately, Emil starts growing worse. “Emil has begun to have frequent headaches again, and his self-awareness is declining...I can't watch him lose himself and go back to the pathetic way he was before. I can't lose him again, my one and only love...”. His other symptoms include “Anxiety disorder, OCD, hallucinations, dementia, and recurring night terrors”.

One potential solution to her current issue comes in the form of Orpheus, who Ada 1st met while at the asylum. Orpheus is offering to try the “latest treatment” on Emil in exchange for Ada giving Orpheus the list of patient files of White Sand Street Asylum. Ada is skeptical at first, and initially directs him to her father’s clinic, who she says may be “the type of doctor who will get along with you”. This I think is a bit of sarcasm to imply she thinks him and her father are both the bad type of people/doctor that she doesn’t like. She did say she didn’t believe in his “method of finding inspiration from patients in the asylum”. However, after some amount of time and Emil’s condition only worsens, she decides to eventually agree to the deal and heads to the manor.

Besides potentially as “inspiration” for his novels, another reason Orpheus is likely interested in the patients of the asylum is because that is where Alice was sent. After the tragedy that killed Alice’s parents in 1887, Alice was sent to the asylum due to her supposedly having gone “insane”.

Orpheus wants to visit her, but is declined because Alice is currently “unstable” and they want to “minimize external stimulation” since he would remind her of “what happened in the past” which “wasn’t a great memory to her”. Instead, they tell him a “kind individual” took notice and “offered a significant amount of financial assistance to the orphanage and put together an excellent treatment package designed exclusively for Alice”.

Orpheus is less than enthused as he writes “LIAR!” at the bottom of the letter. But we also know Orpheus to an extent was right as Alice “experienced both mental and physical torture in the orphanage” (aka the asylum).

This “individual” was Villhelm Lamb, a “medical professor” that “secretly adopted” her for the purpose of using her as an “experimental subject”. It was for this reason that he took her to “Melbourne when she was 14 years old”.

Her backstory states “With prolonged medication and physical therapy, she gradually regained consciousness, however, it is perhaps more cruel to live soberly in hell than to live unaware in human world”. But as we can see from flashes of her past, this wasn’t a very happy time due to all the experiments she was subjected to.

We can see that some of the drugs used on Alice included Mnemosyne and Siren’s Song. Mnemosyne is the drug that makes a person forget, and considering what we heard in Orpheus’ letter from the asylum, it is likely they were trying to make her forget the tragedy (potentially as a way to stabilize her). Siren’s Song is the hallucinogenic. Maybe they were giving her this as another way to somehow help her regain her mental stability (unless this was a mistake, but I’m not sure).

We can also see one of the people shown working on Alice includes someone who looks strikingly like Orpheus, so it’s likely he somehow managed to get himself involved to see Alice again and may be wanting to do this to her as some way to help (though it is clear this isn’t entirely a good thing and Alice wants to get away).

In any case, Alice does eventually manage to escape back to England when she’s 21, where she becomes a “social journalist in anonymity, looking for the truth about the tragedy and the disappearance of her playmates”.

We can see from her deductions though that someone likely wants to eliminate Alice. Considering the similarities, I believe it’s possible whoever this is has hired the crime syndicate that was first mentioned during Luchino’s 1st letter to go after her, with their conclusion being she needs eliminated.

Alice’s deductions 8-10 appear to be written by a different author than the one who wrote 1-7, meaning it is likely no longer the crime syndicate talking, meaning whoever hired the syndicate has hired someone else to go after Alice. This new hired person seems to suspect that Orpheus and Alice are “much closer than expected” based on Alice’s deduction 8. Considering Norton’s 2nd letter, it is possible he is this new person hired to go after Alice. There’s also how this person says they initially believed Alice’s “recklessness and bravery were just a front”, which is very similar to how Norton calls the female he was to target as “arrogant”, before Alice’s deduction 9 continues by saying they realize this was a mistake, “it is neither a front nor bravery”. This is likely because Alice’s “sense of fear” is “significantly weaker than normal” after the experiments Villhelm put her through. The last deduction, where it asks what the subject thinks she saw vs what she actually saw, which can relate to how during Ashes of Memory Alice sees Mary and Fool’s Gold instead of Frederick and Norton.

[aroaceleovaldez]

Another thing re: Nico being autistic-coded, is that we know with his whole “people tend to ostracize me for things beyond my control” thing, only half of that is because he’s a son of Hades.

We know this for sure because of Hazel and other character’s POVs - other characters explicitly describe being inherently uncomfortable around children of Hades/Pluto but being able to ignore that feeling most of the time after hanging around with them awhile. However, most characters don’t describe the same thing with Nico. They’ll get past the spooky part and be perfectly fine with Hazel, or even Nico’s powers, but there’s a second thing about Nico that the other characters - including Hazel herself! - all still register as being unusual.

The interesting thing here is there is another autistic-coded character in the series who describes the exact same phenomenon. Leo. The only difference between Leo and Nico (besides powers) is that Leo is near-constantly masking. He specifically notes that he masks for the sole purpose of making others like him more, because he has difficulties with social situations and feels very strongly that he thinks people wouldn’t like him as much or outright be hostile towards him if he wasn’t masking.

And this lines up with how pre-Nico’s spooky powers other characters tried to avoid him, simply because he was a hyper 10 year old who speaks a completely different social language to them. They’re all ADHD, so it kind of makes sense if someone comes in with a completely different social language it’s gonna throw you off. You can also possibly do some analysis with how Reyna initially felt off-put by Nico until she went on her quest with him and explicitly noted how they have similar body language/habits and went “Oh.” and from then on was totally fine with him.

anyways tl;dr: Nico feeling ostracized isn’t just because he’s a son of Hades but possibly even more because he’s simply autistic and nobody else speaks his social language. Leo experiences the same thing, because he’s also autistic, but to a lesser degree because he’s constantly masking.

[kaeyx]

BEASTZAI WOULD CUT OFF YOUR LEGS??? HELLO?? ELABORATE LEO?!?! /positive

Hehe gladly. I think he's the one that's desperate enough to do this, and he's super into his darling being mind broken and dependent on him. That way they can't leave him in any timeline! So if you behave too badly he'd keep you tied up somewhere safe, probably a safehouse only he knows about so he's the only person you ever interact with, but it's not enough. If you're not unwilling to leave, he'll make you unable to leave.

Now, there's different options/levels to this. Beastzai probably keeps you collared and chained to somewhere comfy like a bed or chair, with enough slack for you to move around but not enough to reach any doors/windows. He could also tie up/tape up your limbs. If you don't know what that is and I'm aware I haven't described it, it's binding a person's arms and legs to themselves in a bent position, forcing them to crawl on their elbows and knees, typically used in heavier petplay scenes. Well Beastzai would do that, so you can't move around much or run away. Plus you can't push him off if you can't use your hands!

Going more extreme, he'd threaten to cut off your limbs. Maybe break just your legs first, cut your achilles tendon so you can never walk without assistance again and have to depend on him. Maybe the threat is enough to keep you docile for a while. Or maybe you think he won't do it and resist him anyway. And Beastzai can't have that, what if you actually manage to run away? He's not concerned about you going to the authorities, they can't touch him, he's just worried about losing you. He can't help but think this might be the timeline where you get away from him. Even worse if he's seen you with other versions of him in other timelines, he's seen other versions of you kissing and hugging Adazai. He wants that, as much as his world will allow. He's been in love with you for longer than you've known him, he knows so much about you and yet you don't love him back. No matter how gently or harshly he treats you, all the gifts he gives you, all the time he spends with you, you don't want him. And he can't bear it. He's purposefully trying to induce Stockholm syndrome in you but it's taking time, and he's waited long enough.

He takes your legs first, just above the knee. Keeps you drugged for a few weeks before and sends the best doctor in the PM to do it, making sure they know that if anything happens to you they will die. He takes care of you after surgery, keeps you fed and changes your dressings, making sure to keep you drugged and drowsy so you don't freak out. You could tear your stitches and set back your healing, silly thing! He can't have that. Beastzai is there to comfort you when the drugs wear off and you have to learn to operate without your legs, he's so perfectly supportive, as if it wasn't his fault you're like this in the first place. He massages away phantom pains and keeps you entertained, but at the same time can't help how turned on this makes him. You've become so much more dependent on him, so much more malleable. Not to mention how docile the drugs made you. So far you get to keep your arms, you can still move around and take care of yourself.

But he might want to go all the way. Take your arms, make you a true doll. He's not going to give you any prosthetics of course, even if he could get his hands on the most advanced ones in the world. He doesn't want to, not even if you're perfectly behaved. He takes your arms like he's taken your legs, making you truly helpless. You have to relearn everything, all your skills, and there's so much you can never do again. But Beastzai doesn't care, not anymore. The sight of you struggling to sit up in a bed you can't leave, not even wearing your collar anymore because it's not needed, unable to wash or groom yourself without his help, is the best in the world. You need him for everything now, and can't refuse him at all.

Maybe he can take your teeth or tongue next, if you're still resisting. He can stop you biting and talking permanently. Or he can just do what we already discussed and slam your head into something until you're permanently dazed and stupid. He doesn't have to worry about you saying no if you don't even know what that is, right?

[talesofsorrowandofruin]

For the character appearances ask game…could you do the main characters from The Case Files of Seo Yo-han?

Thanks! :D Already done Leo and Phil, so here's everyone else:

Yo-han:

This man, however, was wearing a suit in the very latest fashion — Vi worked in the costume department of the Belfast Opera House and Phil had learnt more than she would ever need to know about men's fashions from her — and the material alone had probably cost a hundred pounds. Based solely on his clothes Phil would have expected him to read James Joyce or some other recently-published pretentious idiot who fashionable people claimed to have read so they looked cultured. He was also Chinese, which wasn't unusual on a ship that had just left Hong Kong but was unusual for a reader of Sir Walter Scott. (The Unfortunate Moth -- Phil is the POV character and at this point still assumes all East Asians are Chinese)

The man turned. He was about thirty, well-dressed, and wearing a very grim expression. (Houses Full of Deceit)

Alec:

His face was very pale, and the skin was stretched over his cheekbones and jaw. Yo-han guessed he was probably in his mid-twenties, but he had a haggard, exhausted air that made him look much older. He had dark circles under his eyes, and a fading bruise on the side of his face. (SG)

Alexander Lennox looks plain, forgettable even, in black and white. In real life? The sun casts golden highlights through his light brown hair. His eyes are deep blue. His face is… David can't find the words to describe him but he's the most handsome man he's ever seen. (SG)

Davit:

The most well-travelled observer would have had trouble telling where David Eames was from. He was lightly tanned, with very large eyes, so dark brown they were almost black, and jet black hair. (Silver Glass)

He was a young man of about twenty, with dark hair and wearing a suit -- though not a fine suit like Lennox's. His eyes were so dark that they seemed to be all pupil, which gave him a startling and almost ghostly appearance. Yo-han couldn't see him clearly in the waning light, especially as he was standing just inside the trees, but he had an idea that some intense emotion was written all over his face. Then the man stepped out of the shadows, and his face was perfectly blank. (SG)

Ji-hun:

He was unusually tall, with longish hair and an untidy fringe that hung over his eyes. His arms and legs seemed too long for his body. There was something very unsettling about his face. It was handsome, almost pretty, but the eyes and mouth gave it a cruel look. He stared right back at Yo-han without blinking. (HFOD)

[freedomaddict]

my own personal opinion on the rottmnt turtles in hogwarts houses:

Miguel: Ravenclaw. Mikey is SUPER creative, it's kind of his thing. Ravenclaws also value wit, and all of Mikey's jokes are well-timed, he's got a mental sharpness and has an inventive way to make a joke. He's also really smart - the episode with the mystic metal? he says to raph "we're not saying you never have good ideas, we're just saying that sometimes we do to!" he's got street smarts and creative smarts, and strategic smarts. (he could really be any house, i think

Ravenclaw would be the best fit tho) he's the ravenclaw who you think doesn't belong there, but once you get to know the house you'd never be able to imagine him anywhere else.

Big Red: Hufflepuff! Raph is like ... the definition of Hufflepuff. Loyalty, patience, trust, strong sense of justice, hard-working. Literally Raph. I think he could be in Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, but Hufflepuff would suit him best (in my opinion.) Plus, he's always trying to better the team by doing team building exercises (at least i think he does that often, seems like something he'd do) and teamwork is a big part of the hufflepuff house. he's the stereotype of the house - looks open and friendly, who's hugs are warm and safe.

Von Ryan: Slytherin. Before anyone yells, I'm both a donnie kinnie and a slytherin. Donnie belongs here lmao. The way he always tries to improve himself and is extremely goal-oriented. Slytherins value resourcefulness, and Donnie has had to learn to be resourceful when living in the sewers. He gets all of his stuff from a junkyard. Plus, dry humor? perfectionist? big on cost/benefit analysis? donnie fr. he seems like the stereotypical slytherin, the one who's quiet and everyone thinks is evil. (he'd also excel at potions.)

Leon: Tbh, he's pretty hard. I think he could either be gryffindor or slytherin, but also ravenclaw and fit almost perfectly in those houses, but I think he belongs in slytherin. im also a leo kinnie (heh) and honestly? Sarcastic humor, confident (or pretends to be,) competitive and charismatic? literally both signs of gryffindor and slytherin? it's so hard but he has a practical eye and the ability to quickly adapt when needed. he also has a lot of common sense, instead of taking on things he knows he can't do he results in something achievable (paper theives) and he's incredibly persuasive, a trait valued by slytherins. he seems like the slytherin who thinks they're better than everyone else, and once you get to know them you realize they actually are.

April: Hard one! She's so spunky and full pf personality (i love her so much) but i think she belongs in gryffindor. The first episode alone shows me that. Gryffindor traits are bravery, honor, loyalty, boldness and have strong moral centers. I think this is mostly shown in her interactions with the boys. (which is like the only interactions she has ok i know) She's willing to dive head-first into a conflict if it meant she could help her family somehow. There's no doubt that she would go to the ends of the earth for them, and if you think she'd turn her back her boys, you're crazy.

Cassandra: Gryffindor. Don't argue. When reading her wiki (it describes the characters way more in depth than i could) it talks about how much she values being loyal to the foot clan and how energetic/enthusiastic she is. She's courageous and stands up for what she believes is right, just like a gryffindor. She's always wanting to better herself and is quite stubborn.

Casey Jr: I know what house he's in, but i almost didn't want to sort him because it meant someone would be alone...he's a hufflepuff, through and through (i feel bad for leaving mikey alone, but he'll make friends soon enough.) Casey is hard-working and loyal, as we can see in the movie - taking on the mission leo told him to, and not once complaining, just worried about how he could complete it. He has honest the whole way through, not sugar coating anything to beating around the bush. and unafraid of being direct. He's also very polite and kind (i love him guys) and listens to other's input and ideas.

[disfrutalakia]

PJOxQSMP egg ideas!

Chayanne definitely more Athena than Ares. He’s strategic and more composed as a fighter whereas Ares is bloodthirsty and often described as a bully.

Talullah for sure Apollo.

Ramon for sure Hephaestus.

Richarlyson gives Hermes vibes. Good at a wide variety of things, definitely a prankster.

Dapper has Hecate vibes, the goddess of magic and ghosts fits with the grim reaper in training and his love of spooky objects.

Pomme is absolutely Persephone! Flower goddess and Queen of the Underworld, it perfectly fits both sides of her.

Leonarda has Dionysus vibes honestly. Loves animals, wine, and is always over dramatic!

OH!!! THOSE ARE SO GOOD

Pomme as persephone just fits her so well?? And Leo with Dionysus is also a good one, I thought about it for a moment when writing it but wasn't too sure since I know she isn't a fan of noise and Dionysus is tied to parties a lot, but gosh makes so much sense (she would wear a little leopard shirt, like the one Mr. D wears in the books)

The only reason I didn't put Dapper as Hecate was cause I couldn't remember if she had any kids in the books honestly lmao but was definitely one of my picks for him.

And Richas being a Hermes son, good so many thoughts about it, just a little kid lost in a big family who sometimes can feels ignored or left out by his parents (I'm talking about Richas and Forever's communication problems here? Absolutely)

[o-uncle-newt]

A lord, a Belgian and a priest walk into a manor house

I mentioned in my previous post about the book Enter Sir John that next I might write about Leo Bruce's classic murder mystery pastiche Case for Three Detectives next- et voila, as Amer Picon Hercule Poirot might say, I am doing it! In this book, after a gruesome locked room murder in a manor house, three detectives who are SUSPICIOUSLY SIMILAR TO Lord Peter Wimsey, Hercule Poirot, and Father Brown arrive on the scene freakishly quickly to each attempt to solve the case (and one up each other just a bit while doing so), all the while talking over Sgt Beef, the very straightforward cop just doing straightforward police investigation who keeps trying to tell them that he's solved it.

VERY GENERAL SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK BELOW- as in, no names or specifics but describing some broad plot points

***

Spoiler-not-spoiler- Beef solves it. I promise it's not a spoiler, it's the point of the whole book! That said, I'm not going to focus so much on the actual mystery, its IRL solution, and its mechanics because they don't end up being really relevant (to say further would be a spoiler)- all I'll say is that the solution is fascinating. I'm also not going to talk much about Sgt Beef, who, because he is there to be routine and boring with his investigation, doesn't make much of an impact IMO except to be somewhat sarcastic and speaking in some very phonetic Cockney (or whatever "'e got 'im by the froat" et al is meant to sound like). He also has one MASSIVE and consequential fuckup that I won't spoil and that annoys me a lot from a plot perspective.

What I really want to talk about are the detectives, because they are the fun part. First I'll say that the book is narrated by the natural sidekick- a man named Townsend (if his first name is mentioned it passed me by) who is, essentially, a wannabe Watson/Hastings. He finds himself at the scene of the crime, is thrilled to discover that he gets to hang with these amazing detectives, and gets annoyed by the presence of the wet-blanket Sgt Beef and his attempts to spoil the fun. He shadows all the detectives, becoming first awed and then disenchanted and then awed again as he moves from detective to detective, seeing their amazing deductions and then seeing their fellow detectives shooting them down in turn. Seeing his journey as the eager sidekick who gets slowly disillusioned as he realizes that maybe the amateur sleuths aren't all they're cracked up to be is very fun.

Who are the sleuths? We have Lord Simon Plimsoll, Amer Picon, and Monsignor Smith, and if you couldn't figure out who they're parodying just from the names then basically everything else about them will fill you in. They're all very good pastiches, though my favorite was Monsignor Smith just because Bruce got exactly how to write a Father Brown parody. I've seen people say it's a bit too nasty, but as someone who's enjoyed Father Brown stories for nearly two decades I thought that he captured his speaking style and mannerisms perfectly- with lots of vague allusions and parallelisms and odd mystical statements. One of my favorites:

"If there was only one [rope], it would be better. It would be much better. But I'm afraid there are two. And yet- who can say? One rope makes a noose."

It kinda sorta means something, but doesn't actually, or if it does we're not being told what, and it sounds ominous and wise. That's basically Father Brown in a nutshell.

Amer Picon as Hercule Poirot is fun- there isn't a lot of meat to the parody besides him basically just talking exactly like Poirot (and like Poirot, who had his Hastings, Poirot seems to be the most oka with having Townsend following him around), but Bruce is so good at it that it doesn't matter, as the mannerisms and speech patterns really make you think you're reading Poirot. And the fact that the narrator is SO incredibly Hastings-like makes Picon even more Poirot-esque, which is great.

Lord Simon Plimsoll... well, as a fan, I'm of two minds. He has a very entertaining entrance, where he rolls up in style-

"He stepped out of the first of the three Rolls Royces, the second of which contained his man-servant, whose name I later learned was Butterfield, and the third, a quantity of photographic apparatus."

Clearly this isn't Wimsey, who would never show up anywhere without some iteration of his Daimler, Mrs Merdle, but it's what you'd write about a PARODY of the kind of character Wimsey is. After that he's mostly just cheerful, droppin' gs, and using whatever random slang he has the opportunity for. On the one hand, it's pretty much what someone observing Wimsey from the outside would see (though there could have been more arcane French quotations), and so it can't be faulted for that- one difference between the Wimsey books and the Father Brown/Poirot books is that in the Wimsey books we frequently get in Wimsey's own head and see him behind closed doors, which gives him more depth; it's fair enough in that case that in a book narrated by a looker-on he would only see the outer quippy shell. On the other hand, for a fan, that made the parody seem more one-dimensional and less apt. It doesn't help that Bunter Butterfield isn't really around much in the book; that might have helped a bit.

(I would note- if Bruce wanted, given the tone of the parody particularly of Father Brown, I bet he could have done some really blistering parody of Wimsey being all overwhelmed by his nerves and his conscience, and I'm not sure if I'm glad he didn't because I would have resented it or if I'd have loved it as it would have made the whole thing feel more Wimseyish.)

All that is good, but what's REALLY great in this book is that Leo Bruce gets not specifically the detectives themselves, but the way that the detective stories they star in function. This is, again, something that I think is less the case with Wimsey than the other two, but the following quote is reasonably illustrative:

"Lord Simon, gently sipping his brandy, so obviously considered it all to be a most absorbing game of chess, 'something to occupy a chap,' that for a moment I lost all patience with him. And the brilliant little Picon, whose humanity was more evident, he too could not help enjoying his own efforts- and that disturbed me. Certainly I had never known Mgr Smith actually hand a man over to the Law, but even that was partly because the criminals he discovered had a way of committing suicide before he revealed their identity."

This has the same issue as the rest of the Wimsey parody- Wimsey from the outside is not especially interesting, and Wimsey from the inside is generally imperceptible by narrators who don't know him, so while a Wimsey fan will read this and say "not true!" it's pretty reasonable for an outside observer seeing him try to solve a crime. The Picon description rings pretty true- he shakes his head at things that bother him, but he still gets a lot of pleasure from the chase. And the nature of Father Brown's investigations is well summed up here- as is another section where the narrator observes that Mgr Smith was probably losing interest because there were no supernatural things that would turn out to be even more horrible because they were natural, and no demons or symbols of human evil.

...or were there?

Because my actual favorite thing here is the ending, and this is where the semi-spoilers come in because I will be mentioning some very general plot points from the book. The genius thing here, essentially, is that each of the solutions posited by the three parodic detectives is exactly the kind of solution that would occur in a book by their counterparts.

Plimsoll's solution is first, and it's classic Sayers- it's about a woman's inheritance and the complex web of relationships and personal circumstances that compel a person to kill that woman in order to get her money. Sayers returns to the inheritance plot frequently (including in three books in a row, crazily enough) and it's nearly always a woman who has a rapacious relative who will scheme for her possessions.

Picon's solution comes next, and it's, if anything, even more classic Christie- a love triangle and collusion between lovers. Whether because of her own life experiences or not, love triangles are very, very common across Christie's work, and this is a classic example of the kind that she wrote.

Mgr Smith's solution is just as classic Chesterton- it involves the weakness and evil in the heart of a clergyman, who Smith says is possessed by devils and/or insane. That clergyman is, of course, Protestant. I rest my case.

Writing this book was clearly a feat- Bruce had to not just figure out the essence of each of these detectives' stories, but also to construct a mystery and setting which could provide the clues that could be used to construct a murder along the detectives' usual lines. And not only does it indicate a lot of skill, it also is entertaining to read, and those things don't always manage to go together.

Anyway, while I do have some quibbles overall, if you're a fan of any of these detectives, I highly recommend this one!

[vicbutnotactually]

Listen. If you have anymore info to drop about that caseynardo au. I’m begging bc I’m kind of obsessed already

Sure thing >:]

@toothlesshat

When they are found by the others, they actually hide their real identities. It’s not too hard considering they both wear masks and Leo wears a cloak when out and about. The boys and April have no idea how long it’s been for them, and are looking for two 16 year olds instead of the guys in their mid-40s. The Elder Gays™️ hide their identities because they think that some other versions of them got stuck there recently, and that’s who the others are looking for. They think that this version of their family is not their version if I’m making any sense.

The Elder Gays ™️ would volunteer to help the boys and April find what they think is their Leo and Casey, since they think some other versions of them got trapped there too. As they’re guiding them around looking for two people who aren’t there, they start seeing connection between what Donnie describes as the events before the portal mishaps, and their own experiences. Like, the events line up perfectly for all of them, and Leo and Casey eventually realize what happened.

Eventually someone figures it out and they all collectively realize that they’ve just lost 30 years together. Cue angsty stuff but that’s not what we’re here for >:]

@lucatea ‘s idea of how the boys and April would figure out who they are is that Leo would run off to do something dumb and dangerous and Casey would panic and say Leo’s name, since they very much get anxious when someone runs off on their own in this dangerous world they’re in.

The masks:

Bonus:

Random Tidbits:

- After a few years, Leo did lose the leg that was damaged in his fight with Shredder. He has a prosthetic made of salvaged tech.

- They had a shotgun wedding, in the middle of a fight, Pirates of the Caribbean style >:]

- They worry relentlessly about each other

- They first started falling for each other after about a month or two

- Eventually they became leaders of their own mini tribe of scavengers

- Casey confessed first

- They don’t specifically mention a that they’re married. Mikey is the first to realize it, then April and Donnie, and finally Raph, who is dumbfounded for the longest time, bc I find it funny

- It took them a really long time how to work with the salvaged tech, mostly relying on another scavenger and a scientist they know to make their gear, but later in their lives they could do some stuff with what they find.

- They live in an alien-like jungle biome, but I’m not sure what their house looks tho (so if you have ideas lmk :] )

- Part of their house has been turned into a greenhouse courtesy of Leo

- Casey missed playing Hockey so Leo learned to play to make him feel better

- Puppy Dog Eyes are an efficient way for Casey to get whatever he wants

- Leo has gotten sick several times and Casey REFUSES to leave his side every time

- Neither of them could really cook when they got there, but Casey eventually got really good at it. After 30 years, Leo is still banned from the kitchen.

- They built their house by hand

- They were there for 30 years, married for 19, and together for a total of 25, resulting in the most loving shit-talking

Some worldbuilding for the world they’re in:

It’s a sort of post apocalyptic world with many cities acting as safe havens, either protected by walls or forcefield domes. Inside of these cities, resources are scarce because of the sheer population and limited space. People can live outside of these protected cities but very few do because of the sheer amount of hyper-predatory animals that live there. Naturally, when the boys get dropped into this world, they end up far from any cities. They survive but just barely, hiding up in trees or small caves most of the time. Eventually, they would adapt, and get together with a small clan of people who are also outside the city. This planet has a lot of very different intelligent species, so mutant turtle isn’t weird, but there are very few humans, so Casey is considered strange or new.

The people outside the safe zones, scavenge, hunt, and gather for their food, as well as salvaging ancient tech that can be found all over the place. Most of this tech is used to make weapons or protection systems for their homes to keep the scary stuff away.

The scavengers take the surplus of what the find and take into the cities to trade and sell, but it’s very illegal to do that. Most of the trading happens in a black market but there’s always the risk of getting captured by law enforcement. Leo and Casey often go into the underground of these cities, getting chased by law enforcement and occasionally getting arrested.

The did try living inside of several different cities but found that they were better off on the outside instead, since the competition for resources in them was ferocious, and they had the skills to live in the more dangerous areas. They mainly stick to sneaking in outside resources, and the occasional shopping or date night at a restaurant.

Quotes I bombarded @lucatea with when I discovered the incorrect quote generator:

C: Am I in trouble?

L: Take a guess.

C: No?

L: Take another guess.

-

C: You love me, right, Lee?

L: Normally, I’d say yes without hesitation, but I feel like this is going somewhere and I don’t like it.

-

L(smuggling outside resources into a city): Are we going too far?

C: No, no, no. We went too far about seven hours ago. Now we're going to prison.

-

L: So that’s my plan.

C: Are you alright with constructive criticism? I don’t want to sound mean.

L: No, go ahead, I want to hear it.

C: It fucking sucks.

L: That’s not constructive criticism.

-

C: So what’s for dinner?

L, staring at the food he just burnt: Regret.

-

L, tending to Casey's wounds: How would you rate your pain?

C: Zero stars. Would NOT recommend.

-

C: Okay. I get it. You've had a really hard time lately, you're stressed out, seven people died-

L: Twelve, actually.

C: Not the point. Look, they're dead now and really whose fault is that?

L: Yours!

C: That's right, no one's.

-

The vibe: