#and I’m sure Season 5 will give us at least one or two more crumbs

[tenebrous-academic]

Personally I can’t wait for Stranger Things Season 5 so that the Billy Hargrove fandom can scavenge the inevitable wreckage for any mentions of our precious boy 😌

[castlebyersafterdark]

one of the things that’s so encouraging is this off-season we haven’t received ANY reason to be worried that byler isn’t happening and every reason to believe it is. The only arguably pro-Mlvn content we got is the rooftop scene/3 waterfalls gate, but that scene can mean many different things and pales in comparison to the numerous byler images we’ve scene and the evidence that finn is filming heavily with noah and not with millie. there were also rumored “leaks” like the field makeout session, but pics or it didn’t happen lol.

The showrunners and shawn and the actors have simply not posted any pro-Mlvn content which is a crazy thing for what is allegedly the “main ship of the show.” We’ve gotten lumax and jopper but no mlvn! Which is honestly surprising to me cause I expected them to be playing up this triangle and giving us reason to “doubt,” but I see none!

Now is there time for things to change? sure! we’re still a ways away from season 5. perhaps there will be some mlvn crumbs in the teaser or the trailer. but like… as of right now, the writing is on the wall and I’m sure even the redditors and the hardcore twitter mlvns have to be feeling it

All they can do is hold onto the hope that there’s a lot of top-secret mlvn content being filmed, or mike and el are separated YET AGAIN but will find their way back to each other in the finale, which. okay. heteronormativity aside (and byler obviously being endgame aside), surely the duffers are more creative writers than that lol

It would be one thing if this was a situation where in between filming, all we heard was crickets from production and what inevitably leaked from paparazzi was all we got - but official sources do share things here and there and... yeah. Yeah. It's very suspicious that there hasn't been much that seems to indicate that Mike and El should even be thought of as a pair.

We got one picture with the two of them together, walking in a field, which I'm pretty sure was them walking to the radio station to film the rooftop scene. I side with the people who think production planted or paid paps to leak that video themselves, or at least let it happened, didn't buy back the footage as often happens with paparazzi content. Why was it so clear? Why did they allow it out there? And I think it's because there's nothing to be interpreted from the video as romantic. It looks like a break-up or reconciliation as two people working on repairing a friendship. Body language. Facial expressions. I don't believe most lip readers, but some things seems spot on. Get those who are savvy to online fandom and media hype to get used to the idea of those two parting ways. Yes - we see what we want to see. Mlvns see that clip as cementing them as a couple. Byler fans will insist it's a break-up. Yes, I'm a Byler fan... but come on? If we're all so wrong and it's a romantic scene, well. I'll feel trapped in a twilight zone nightmare world where nothing makes sense because it does not look romantic at all. They're such a boring bland couple if so. That wasn't romantic energy or chemistry.

We've seen soooo many photos or Will and Mike or WillandMike and not much of El at all, let alone with her love interest. What would be the harm in showing some Mlvn stuff if they were continuing onward? They're splitting. Mike is being shown with the real love interest.

I think. After season 4. Noah was excited about the possibility of Byler and was very in tune with the fandom. He encouraged it. I think he maybe had an inkling of where it was going, but it wasn't cemented as fact. He interacted with a lot, right? Still did sporadically even recently. But I don't think he of all people would be so cruel as to placate fans and encourage/indulge stuff if it wasn't gonna happen, because he had to have known once filming was underway where things were going. It really would be so cruel, wouldn't it? They could have snipped it already. And oh, we'd hope they're better storytellers than that, right? Mike and Will are spending most of the season together. Who knows were El is? But in the last season? It should be about Mike and El FINALLY past all the relationship "what is going on with them" at this point to end up fighting this thing together - and nothing indicates that's what's going on. If they, yet again, have them separated and reunite right at the end - boooooring and terrrrrible. I don't think that's what's going on. I trust them. Maybe too much. But it's where I've landed and my feet have sunk into the cement of it all.

[bluevalleybreakingnews]

50 Season 3 Predictions!

I’m bored and the Stargirl fandom seems like it’s in a bit of a lull in the off-season, so I’m cultivating fifty plot point predictions for season three! I’m ranking these roughly in order from things that will almost definitely happen to things that I don’t really think are going to happen but might be fun! I’m going to update these predictions the day before Season 3 premieres, and use it as a sort of Bingo to see just how much of this season that I can predict properly. If you want to, let me know what you think about my list, and make your own if you want!

1. The season premiere opening flashback relates to Todd, or at the very least, some nefarious shenanigans at the Helix Institute

2. Crusher once again takes it upon himself to be Pat’s personal trainer

3. Rick manages to either fix the Hourglass or create Miraclo, but with more features than the original Hourglass, making him the new and improved Hourman

4. This is only after an outing or two where he tag teams with Beth because by himself, without his strength, he has to rely on strategy, and charging into battle without thinking led to some (off-screen?) horrific consequence

5. Cindy and Yolanda continuously try to one-up each other in the first fight/mission the JSA goes on this season

6. There are multiple lunchroom scenes that exist solely for the purpose of setting up drama (a vague prediction but I am expecting some kind of spectacle to go down in the cafeteria at some point, potentially the first episode, since it is tradition)

7. Beth helps Rick look into colleges (and Rick decides to be a Chemistry major, Beth Comp Sci/Pre-Med double major)

8. Jennie is brought back into the fold because she and Courtney just so happen to be investigating the Helix Institute at the same time (since Mister Bones seemed like he had some interest in Blue Valley)

9. Rick and Beth have a scene that gives more than just some Hournite crumbs (most likely, Rick asking Beth to this year’s homecoming dance?)

10. On that note, a Homecoming Episode (registered trademark)

11. Courtney and Cameron are hanging out together, but instead of Courtney having to bail due to JSA business, Cameron leaves for some reason (ISA-adjacent? Just his grandparents? Something I’m not thinking about?)

12. Either that or Yolanda and Rick notice the two of them hanging out and very rudely insert themselves, antagonize him, and make him storm out

13. OR he sees Cindy being buddy-buddy with Courtney and second-guesses his relationship with her (is this really three predictions or just one? Does it matter? Fifty predictions at this point kinda seems like it’s going to be impossible to reach)

14. The Gambler comes back to take over the American Dream, or at least reclaim his position as CFO (I’m like 80% sure I saw him in the premiere table read photo)

15. The Shade helps the JSA practice a theoretical fight that they might have against Obsidian and absolutely wipes the floor with them

16. Starman briefly takes over from Pat as the major role model in Courtney’s life, but does something horrible that leads to Courtney asking him to leave Blue Valley

17. Obsidian serves as a minor antagonist throughout the first 75% of the season and decides to join the side of the JSA during a time where they direly need a change of tide (and an emotional confrontation with his sister)

18. Jakeem and Mike decide to form their own rival teen superhero team that gets called on a lot for petty jobs at first (like the cliche getting cats out of trees, but with STRIPE or the Thunderbolt)

19. Zeek is the unofficial sponsor of whatever this team decides to call themselves, and becomes the Thunderbolt’s best friend (sorry, Jakeem)

20. Solomon Grundy makes a late-season appearance, but does not remember Rick at all, which makes Rick emo

21. Beth’s parents design new costumes (that will not be seen until either the season finale or Season 4)

22. Cindy and Yolanda bond over the trauma they have experienced from their families, but Yolanda is ultimately not able to forgive Cindy

23. Charles McNider is barely in this season physically, but radios in via Beth’s and his goggles regularly

24. Crusher and Paula try to convince Pat and Barbara to tell Courtney to let Artemis into the JSA

25. Cameron appears on the Whitmore-Dugans’ porch with the legitimate interest in seeing Courtney but Mike answers the door and has PTSD from his Eclipso vision

26. Rick is able to become an emancipated minor, leaving his Uncle Matt’s household for some crappy apartment (maybe in that living room area of the Pit Stop)

27. Cosmic Staff lore finally drops (Ted Knight appearance?)

28. There are more Golden Age JSA flashbacks, but Starman is less mean to Pat in them, since these flashbacks are told from Sylvester’s perspective

29. The JSA once again experiences a schism this season, but instead of members being out of commission, the group fractures into two (and they potentially fight each other)

30. Crusher and Paula hunt down the recruiter that told Artemis that she couldn’t be in the Big 10 and beat him until he agrees to give her a second chance

31. Mike has a retrospective heart-to-heart with the Thunderbolt about why their situations might have ended up working out for the better

32. Barbara and Cindy expand upon the little moment they had in Season 2, and Barbara becomes an adopted wholesome mother figure in Cindy’s life

33. There is an official rite-of-passage moment in which Sylvester observes Courtney and the JSA doing something he and the Golden Age JSA could never work out/achieve in their prime, and “Starman” by David Bowie plays

34. There is an Icicle-related flashback that either shows how the Mahkent family line(s) got their ice powers OR

35. Parallels the funerals of Christine and Jordan Mahkent (and maybe a grandparent should one of them not see the season finale?)

36. Pat once again does not get to fly STRIPE this season

37. Somebody’s parent gets kidnapped this season (most likely Beth’s)

38. Artemis gets a training montage with her parents, and gets a codename (I don’t think it’ll be Sportsmaster II or Tigress II, but something different)

39. Jennie exhibits some kind of plant powers, potentially teasing Rose Canton (not in terms of her being a major player in a future season, but just acknowledging that that is her and Todd’s mother)

40. The Shade joins the American Dream because why not (legitimately I don’t know why he’s going to be in this upcoming season, like I don’t have any idea what plotpoint he will be important to besides maybe knowing about Mister Bones)

41. OG Wildcat’s son (Thomas Bronson?) is somehow related to the Helix Institute plotline

42. Mike builds a STRIPE suit of his own (more reminiscent of Blue Beetle, perhaps) and gives back the original suit to his father

43. Should Courtney and Cameron have to fight each other this season, it ends with Courtney kicking Cameron in the balls while he is monologuing (as to be comic-accurate)

44. Alex Montez is slightly relevant again in this season, but in a way that has nothing to do with the comics (since they aren’t going to do Eclipso again)

45. Cyclone is teased towards the end of the season (or perhaps they would wait to include her, if they do end up including her, in the event of a college season?)

46. Mister Bones reforms by the end of the season and sets up Infinity Inc. as a partner team to the JSA, based elsewhere in the country, most likely in Civic City (and maybe sets up a spin-off?)

47. Courtney accidentally loses Doctor Fate’s helmet (did she even take it in the first place??? Or is it still at JSA HQ???) and it winds up with a teacher

48. Courtney ends up creating some kind of memorial for the people that Blue Valley lost over the course of the past three seasons, potentially building it in the JSA HQ

49. The season ends with one of the cliffhangers being Pat and Barbara telling Courtney and Mike that they are going to be having a baby together (Patricia Dugan, future Starwoman should Stargirl ever tackle a time travel/future season)

50. The villain that is teased for next season is Johnny Sorrow, potentially working with Cindy, Cameron, and Artemis (but honestly who knows what the dynamics of the kids are going to look like by the end of next season?)

Let me know if you agree with any of these predictions! Also if you want to talk to me in-depth about any of these, my asks should be open, and I am always in the mood to talk somebody’s ear off about Stargirl!

[black-coffee-and-sugar]

Listen, I actually couldn't finish this episode. Like I lost brain cells, got ingestion and finally KO-ed because I could NOT grasp the plot. Not even seeing Lena again made this enjoyable for me. But here's what I got:

- I wonder how many takes Thomas took to say Nxyly's full name without biting his tongue off

- also I am so sorry Thomas that they had you sing. And yet somehow that wasn't the most cringe thing to happen in this episode

- Nia and Kara desperately assigning blame to themselves instead of just, idk, working together to fix the problem. Who cares who's fault it is??

- Alex jumping in front of kara when mxy brandishes the PZ projector is the only thing I liked

- Kelly's absence felt so odd after 2 back to back episodes of her front and centre

- Nia thinking that Kara would drag her for making a mistake makes me wonder if these characters even know each other

- kara: "I should've told you guys about Nxyly". Yes you idiot you absolutely should have! Like I get that they don't wanna bring it up but like how is ignoring what happened to her any better? Do they not do any Intel sharing?

- the fucking zookeeper is still here?!?!?

- look I wasn't expecting Lena to be talking to kara on the phone, I know better than that, but I had hoped it would at least be Nia considering that Lena and her have been bonding over their moms and it just makes sense??

- andrea's titty window sans kara or Lena to see it. What was it all for?

- I understand Lena using Andrea's resources to help her out and shit and I'm actually surprised the writer's remembered she doesn't have access to the LuthorCorp jet anymore. I honestly wouldn't have batted an eye if she did tho.

- the way we haven't had ANY scenes of dialogue between kara and lena aside from 6x01 and only ONE line from kara to Lena since then. Like are they actually going to brush everything under the goddamn rug? We heard from Alex that they've forgiven each other and it seems that way too but we haven't actually had the chance to judge that as an audience and it's (checks notes) 11 episodes already???

-Kara is back and yet Lena doesn't seem full. Kara is back and yet she hasn't been vulnerable with lena or with anyone really. Or was that all a lie?

- Nxyly is actually kinda hot in this episode. Interesting development there

- the team actually fighting a giant pussy cat and more brain cells have died. If they were hoping it would be amusing like the Legends fighting a giant Beebo, spoiler alert - it was not

- mxy and Nxyly and even the king has some keysmash names but one imp is actually named Jared? Just fucking Jared. Christ

- Lena being bullied by a bunch of Canadians is hilarious and I say this as a Canadian. Like Lena has stood her ground against Lex, Lillian, SG, an interrogation room filled with judgemental pricks, fucking Reign and yet, she looked two seconds from crying when denied her hotel room by some fucking Newfies. Get the fuck outa here.

- not a single Tim Hortons run in this entire episode. Are we sure she even went to Canada???

- at one point, I was rooting for Nxyly to win.

- so not only did they bring back that god awful wig that they actually had the audacity to make footage with it? That thing needs to be snatched and thrown into the sun like the trash monster.

- Katie looked so done in this episode and I don't even blame her. I suffered second hand embarrassment on her behalf. Those lines, her behaviour. It's like what the fuck happened to the Lena from the past 4 seasons?

- the mean bartender says "I've seen you on the news running arm in arm with a bulletproof alien" and the places my mind went is probably why I didn't pay any attention to the rest of the episode.

- so lemme see if I have this right. Lena's mom visits the cave lady in her dreams but never once thought to visit her traumatized little daughter?

- am I supposed to be upset that they killed an abuser? Because I'm not

- so much porn shots of the town car driving up and down some sketch and lonely road

- did Google maps really lead Lena to some random cave?? Bruh

- Lena's scenes felt so disconnected for a minute I thought I was watching a completely different show.

- aluminum foil on the props lord did they just say fuck it and made a Dollarama run for the cheapest 200ft roll they could buy?

- Kara being a mentor to Nia for the first time since that Nia centric episode last season. God I hate it here.

- they do remember J'onn is a shape shifter right? Why do we need an image inducer? I get the little Lena is still with the team crumb but it's stupid.

- still no word on M'gann huh

- yo since the Luthors are technically perceived on Earth-Prime as "good", what trail of bodies is this bar lady talking about? This isn't public knowledge and Lena's mom only killed 1 dude who frankly deserved it.

- sigh. We're really doing this witch Lena thing then.

- kara stop trying to reach the good in people! Just stop. When has this bullshit EVER WORKED? Some people are just too far gone. Accept it.

- stronger together has truly lost meaning on this show

- Alex and Kara being so willing to hold much less use the PZ projector is utter bullshit. Also they just have that thing lying around for any grabby hands to take?

- what the actual fuck is Kara's arc this season? Or Alex? Or poor J'onn. The man has been seriously neglected.

- kara is supposed to be the most powerful being on the planet and yet this show continues to nerf her abilities. God I missed the days of S1 when Kara looked like she could fuck shit up.

- also when is kara going to be the focus of her own show again? Are we ever going to properly address Kara's issues? We got two episodes of James processing his trauma and only 5 mins of flashbacks in 6x08 for Kara and a few fleeting moments sprinkled across the last 5 seasons. Ridiculous. Like it won't diminish her as a character to seek professional help, it won't make her any less of a hero. Think of how impactful that would be and the message that could send about the importance of mental health.

- glad to see a promo for this important episode next week (I honestly can't wait - Kelly in a head wrap is so personal to me y'all) but please I'm begging you, do not make the issue of race come at the expense of kara's intelligence and awareness. She's a journalist, she's seen xenophobia and written about it, she's been friends with James for years. Kara knows about racism. Please show that.

Needless to say I did not enjoy this episode at all. I was happy to see Lena again but all her scenes were just hard to watch. I feel like so much of their very limited time is being wasted and there's still so many things they haven't touched upon yet. When exactly are we gonna get to it? Better question, will we ever get to it? Probably not.

Like I wanted to see the super friends communicating, leaning on each other, character growth, being truly stronger together but no. They're giving us literally anything but that and it's frustrating.

[therealvalkyrie]

Through the Mirror: Part 1

my body, my music

Pairing/setting: Detective!Levi Ackerman x Female!Ghost!Reader, modern!AU within the Walls

Summary: When you’re murdered one Tuesday morning, can Levi piece together the true circumstances of your death with your help from beyond the grave?

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: dead body, descriptions of blood, swearing, mentions of violence

AN: Welcome to my new series because I have no self control and can’t finish projects before starting others! Lemme just start off by saying updates may come pretty irregularly because I do have a lot of other WIPs to work on, but! I’m really excited about this idea and have a whole lot planned:) I seriously hope you enjoy. After all, who doesn’t love a good murder mystery? Drop into my DMs/askbox/comments/reblogs to let me know what you think! Be kind to yourselves and others. ~valkyrie

“Ah, shit! Hello!? I’m standing right here!”

The woman completely ignores you, stepping carefully over the puddle of blood and across your tiny living room. You cross your arms and pout. She ignores that, too. 

“‘Scuse me, boys, let the experts take it from here,” she quips, gently pushing past the two detectives and crouching next to your body on the ground. 

It’s ugly, but she’s probably seen worse, you muse from where you’re leaning against the door jamb. It’s only been lying there for a couple of hours, so at least you haven’t bloated to something out of an NCIS episode. Must smell horrid, though, judging by the mask the head detective has pulled over his face.

“So, you said the landlady called at about 7 am?” the ME inquires, cocking her head up to look at the detectives, nylon gloved hands held at the ready.

“7:07 exactly. Said a neighbor made a noise complaint, she came up to check it out, found signs of a forced entry, and called us.” It’s the taller blonde who speaks up, reading from an off-brand pocket notepad in his left hand. The kind you’d find on sale at Staples after Back-to-School season.

Interesting. You lean your head against the wall, eyes trained on the trio. You’d pegged the ill-tempered shorter one as in charge. Maybe he’s just the quiet type. 

“Hmm, alright. Moblit, get off your ass and come take the pictures before we move her,” the woman calls to someone behind you, and you turn just in time to get a face full of Moblit’s chest as he walks towards you. 

You cringe back with a “God, seriously?” to no response.

“Yes, sorry, right away, Hange!” Moblit hurries past- no, through -you, sidestepping the ottoman and the blood. It feels weird, like a strong wind, but not altogether unpleasant to have someone walk through you, you suppose. You look down at your chest to watch your misty body re-settle into itself before looking back at the group in your living room.

Were it not for the gruesome accents of blood flecked up the walls and your body riddled with stab wounds, you’d chuckle at how all four of them struggled to navigate the space. It’s cramped enough when it’s just you, fitting only a couch, a chair, a coffee table, your fern (Boris), and a narrow IKEA bookshelf. With the four of them plus a dead body, it’s like watching a freaking clown car.

“Sorry, excuse me, Captain, oh, was that your toe—?” Moblit’s struggling the most, having to move to capture different angles with his bulky camera. When he steps on the shorter man’s toe, he positively blanches, fumbling over himself to apologize while the ME laughs openly.

“God, alright, just,” the Captain pinches his delicate nose between a thumb and forefinger, then decides it’s better to wait in the kitchen. “C’mon, Gin, let’s chat in there.”

The Captain and the blonde detective both pass through you on the way back to the kitchen, but you only sigh and shake the tingly feeling of being incorporeal out of your fingers before following them.

“So,” the man called Gin takes the initiative, flipping back through his notebook and standing by the fridge. “I got statements from the landlady and two of the neighbors, numbers 303 and 304 down the hall. 301, directly across the hall, didn’t answer, but I got contact info from the landlady.” He pauses to read and scratch at his whiskery beard. “It was 304 who made the noise complaint, said she heard yelling this morning at around 5:45, and that she normally wouldn’t’ve said anything but it was, quote, the fourth goddamn time this week and I work the goddamn night shift, I deserve some fucking rest, unquote.”

You grin. Mrs. Sheffield was never one to mince words, something you appreciated when your ex-boyfriend got too loud and she took it upon herself to give him a piece of her mind. You catch a glimmer of a smile on the ornery Captain’s face above where he’s pulled his mask down before he gestures for Gin to keep going, keeping his thoughtful gaze fixed on the floor and his back against your countertop.

“Then after she called the landlady, she went to bed, only to be woken by us two hours later.”

“You said she called the landlady at 5:45 and that she works the night shift?”

Gin double checks his notes. “That’s right.”

“And she works at the hospital?”

“Yes, as a scrub nurse on the night shift.”

“But the night shift at the hospital ends at 6:30.”

“It was her night off,” you and Gin say at the same time before you catch yourself. They can’t hear you, anyway. This’d be a lot easier if they could.

Gin plows ahead. “But she says she keeps the same sleep schedule so she doesn’t, ah, fuck up her circadian rhythm.”

The Captain practically snorts at this, itching for a second under his silk cravat (can someone say pretentious) before settling back into a listening silence.

“303 says he didn’t hear a thing. College kid, looked exhausted. Said he was asleep the whole night after he got in at,” a page flip, “11 o’clock last night. Wasn’t much help, but looked genuinely upset when we told him about the murder. Wanted to know if there was anything he could do. Oh, but he did, uh, hang on,” more page flips, “He did tell us that he heard her and her boyfriend arguing a lot. Which is consistent with what Mrs. Sheffield told us.”

“Ex-boyfriend,” you correct into thin air. 

“A lover’s spat gone wrong, then,” Mr. Pretentious Captain muses. You huff in annoyance. A lover’s spat. If that’s all that this is written off as you’ll have some serious PD haunting to do. Chris may have been an angry, loud, disruptive manipulator, but he wouldn’t murder you. He didn’t murder you. “Any info on the whereabouts of the boyfriend?”

“Ex-boyf—!”

Blondie cuts you off, “Not currently, but we do have a name: Chris Henderson, works in admin down at the University. Lives across town closer to the Bridge.”

“Send some uniforms to bring him in for questioning. No arrests yet, tell ‘em to keep it friendly.”

“Right, I’ll put Dreyse and Bodt on it.”

“Dreyse, really?” Captain Cravat gives Gin an incredulous look. 

“Hey, she may look like a ditz but she gets the job done. And she might get him to let down his guard,” Gin argues, grinning. 

“Fine. I’ll meet them at the station, you stay here and make sure that mousy-haired dunce doesn’t fuck up my crime scene.”

“Hey, who’re you callin’ mousy-haired, short stack?” Hange actually sticks her whole head through yours this time, to butt into the conversation, and you shriek and jump away to the other side of your tiny kitchen, now sandwiched between Blondie and Shortstack. The latter twitches and swats at the air by his ear, as though to dislodge a fly, narrowly missing yours. You give him a weird look then turn back to listen to the ME. She’s leaning into the kitchen at an alarming angle, one hand on the doorframe and the other on the end of the gurney you assume is carrying your body. You shudder at the thought of being toted around in a dark, musty, humid glorified coat bag. Ugh. 

“—takin’ this baby”-she slaps the gurney twice and you flinch-“back so I can get started on the autopsy, Moblit’s staying to take more pictures and collect forensics. If Eld’s stayin’ here with Mob, does that mean you’re catching a ride with me, Levi?” The question is addressed to Captain Grump on your right, who gives a heavy sigh and pushes off the counter. 

“I guess so. I get to choose music though.”

“Ah, ah, ah,” she’s wagging a finger, grinning. “My body, my music!”

“How about my body, my music?” you suggest, following Levi. “I deserve it after the day I’ve had.”

Again, Levi twitches and swats aggressively by his ear, nearly hitting you full in the face this time. 

“You hear that, Gin? This place got a mosquito problem or something?”

“I do not have a mosquito problem!” and “No, sir, I don’t hear anything.” overlap in the air. 

Captain Levi only grunts, then starts spouting instructions, which Gin notes down. “I want footage from any cameras in the building, and from the shops next door and across the street. I want statements from residents both upstairs and downstairs. I want names, addresses, and numbers of next of kin on my desk by noon, and lastly, I want no one, save for myself, you, shitty glasses, and mousy-hair, in or out of this apartment. Are we clear?”

“Crystal clear, sir.”

“Good. I’m leaving you Braus to help and to show her the ropes of this kind of thing. Even though she’s on the case, she will not set foot in this apartment. I don’t trust her not to leave breadcrumbs in the bloodstains.

“Yes, sir.”

“I expect an in-person report before shift-change this evening. See you then.” Then, he’s sweeping out of the kitchen in pursuit of Hange and the gurney, leaving you to scurry after. As you exit your home, he shoots a young auburn-haired woman in a crisp white blouse and wool slacks a look. “Braus. You’re with Gin. Don’t go in the apartment.”

She straightens up from leaning against the wall with a jolt and brushes croissant crumbs off her front. “Yes, Captain Levi, sir!” It’s slightly muffled by the pastry stuffed into her mouth.

“Tch.”

It’s fascinating watching how Levi and Hange manage to navigate the gurney down the narrow, twisting stairs of your walk-up apartment building. They’re both clearly used to this sort of thing, communicating only in short phrases and grunts when they encounter an obstacle. Occasionally, you offer up a pointer and watch as Levi becomes increasingly irritated. 

“Watch out for Mr. Laslow’s cat, he likes to sneak up on ya!”

“Hange, do you hear— shit!” Levi hops to the side, narrowly avoiding the tabby tail as Tubbins McGee whisks past.

“It’s only a cat, Levi, dunno what’s got you so worked up today,” Hange teases, grin echoing your own as you chortle from the landing above them. 

Eventually, they spill out onto the sidewalk and into the bright mid-day, and Hange groans loudly, stretching with both hands on her back.

“Ugh. Remind me not to die in there, I’d hate to put someone else through that.”

“Boof, tell me about it,” you commiserate. 

“Noted,” Levi snarks. 

Hange removes jingling keys from her pocket and unlocks the ME’s van parked along the sidewalk with a beep, then opens the back doors and steps in. You follow, leaning against the cool metal siding to watch.

When they both load into the front seats and the engine turns over, you lean forward between them to listen in.

“So,” Hange starts, smoothly pulling out into the road behind a silver minivan. “I’ll be able to give you a more solid answer in a couple hours, but my initial estimated time of death would be around 5:45 this morning.”

Levi nods, staring out the passenger window while he answers. “That lines up with the neighbor’s story.”

“Theories so far?”

“Well, there’s the boyfriend,” he muses, lifting a hand to rub his chin.

“Too obvious,” you say dully, not bothering to amend the lack of “ex” yet again. “Next theory.”

He’s quiet for a moment, then mutter, almost too quietly for you to catch: “Too obvious, hmm? Next theory....”

You’re momentarily flabbergasted, hand falling through the faux-leather seat back in your shock. Can he actually hear you? You shake out your hand while it re-materializes, tuning in to the conversation as Hange’s responding. 

“—a little far-fetched, don’t you think? I mean, has there been any of that activity in this area recently?”

“Mm, I’ll have to touch base with Petra. If there has been, I think it’s worth looking into.”

“What is? Wait, go back,” you frantically plead, leaning further into his airspace. But Hange plows on. 

“Oh, it’s Petra, now, hmm? Not Raggedy Anne anymore?” Her tone is teasing, and she glances over to Levi for a reaction. 

He doesn’t give her one, just stares out the window pensively before reaching for the radio dial. The stereo blares up into an Oldies station, and you make a disgusted face along with Levi. 

“You listen to this shit?”

“Hey, my dead body, my music, sweetcheeks. Don’t like it, you can thumb it back to the PD.”

“How about my dead body, my music?” you suggest again, reaching for the dial at the same time as Levi does. Just as his slender fingers touch it, your hand passes through the whole front console and the oldies are replaced with a terrifyingly loud static screeching. 

“Christ, Levi, what’d you do?” Hange shrieks, lunging forward to punch the radio off as you remove your hand. 

“Nothing! It just went berserk!”

They bicker while you stare at your offending palm. “Huh. Didn’t know I could do that.”

If you can actually interact with objects, at least to some degree, and if it turns out Levi can hear you.... This whole thing might be easier than you thought.

[what-a-silver-lining]

Sugar and Spooks (But Mostly Just Sugar)

It's Grimmtober 2021!

Day 1: Candy

“Hey, honey, what’re you...” Henry stops his sentence short, making eye contact with Sabrina, mid-bite of her chocolate bar.

The slightly unhinged look in his eldest daughter’s eyes might have clued him in on the situation because he very quickly reassessed the situation.

“Alright. Great talk, honey, see you soon.”

or, Sabrina Grimm isn't a big fan of Halloween, but that doesn't apply to the sugary treats the holiday is known for.

Note: It’s been quite a while since I’ve written anything for the Sisters Grimm so bear with me, please! It’s also been QUITE a while since I’ve shared any of my work with the public, much less Tumblr, so that’ll be fun.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Sisters Grimm and I'm not MB. Just a fan partaking in a fandom even for Halloween :)

Some notes about this series: All the stories take place in no particular order of timeline. We’ll see about that though. It depends on how long I manage to keep this up. Not exactly canon-compliant since it’s been a hot minute since I’ve read the scripture, y’know?

So yeah, Briar’s alive (and whoever else I need for the purposes of the plot, I guess). Okay, I’ve kept you along for long enough, enjoy the first prompt!

--

Sabrina Grimm was not a big fan of Halloween.

Maybe she was, once upon a time, before losing her parents to a cult led by her long-lost grandmother’s magical mirror.

But the Sabrina who dressed up as the Sugar Plum Princess to go trick-or-treating around Manhattan would be very disappointed indeed at the Sabrina who grimaced at the thought of parading around in a silly costume and begging people for candy.

Which is precisely what Sabrina Grimm was doing as her younger sister begged her to take her trick-or-treating later that week.

“Please Sabrina?” Daphne begged, hands clasped together and face on the verge of breaking out into a pout. “Red and I’ve been working all month to figure out the optimus path for trick-or-treating!”

This, Sabrina knows, is very true. She’s had to chaperone a few late-afternoon adventures as the two girls timed each other on how fast they could run through the block to yield the most candy. But trailing behind her little sister and Red on the way home from school is very different from being forced to go trick-or-treating. Besides, she had plans.

“First of all Daphne, it’s optimal . And second of all, isn’t dressing up in Ferryport Landing pointless when half the people here look like they regularly shop at Spirit Halloween?” Heck, most of the people in the town have about a million variations of their likenesses up for sale in party stores around the country.

“But mom won’t let us out later unless we get someone older. She and Basil Jr. are just going to kill the mood if we have to stop before 5 pm!” Oh boy, here come the puppy eyes…

“Dad?”

“He’s too old and grumpy for Halloween.”

“And I’m not grumpy enough for you? Uh, how about Uncle Jake?”

“Already asked him. He said he’s going to a party with Briar. And something about a Monster Mash.”

“Granny? Canis? Snow? Charming?? ” Sabrina was running out of options at this point.

“Granny’s got some errands to run and Mr. Canis is going with her. If Snow takes us she won’t be there to give out giant chocolate bars, and If we ask Charming, then Snow won’t be able to convince him to give out his giant stash of imported fancy chocolate.” As Daphne counted off the options with her fingers, Sabrina felt her chance at a peaceful evening slip through her fingers.

Well… almost.

“What about Puck?” As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Sabrina felt the soft halo of victory engulf her.

Fairy Boy was (more or less) the perfect candidate for Daphne and Red’s shenanigans— with the added bonus of keeping the trickster king from pulling any pranks on her in the spirit of the season.

With a quick shout of “You lucked out this time, Sabrina!” Daphne shot up the stairs in search of Puck. Presumably to work out a costume for him. There’s no chance that Puck will be able to say no to the opportunity to possibly pull a boatload of pranks on the houses that give out crappy candy.

Sabrina thinks that she’ll probably regret this decision by the end of the night on the 31st, but she’s mostly thinking about how nice it’ll be not to have to deal with Daphne on a sugar high on Halloween night.

--

And that’s exactly what she finds herself doing on the evening of the 31st. Not dealing with a hyperactive little sister or a prankster fairy boy with access to a million pounds of sugar. Sabrina’s confident she could probably handle Red, but she’s also never seen the Everafter girl eat a pixie stick.

None of that matters at this current moment, however, because by some stroke of luck, Sabrina is the only person currently in the Grimm household.

After double-checking that Elvis and her dad were actually out on their walk and that Puck wasn’t hiding behind any doors with an unpleasant surprise waiting for her, Sabrina let out a breath of relief.

Setting up the TV to one of the more classic seasonal reruns, Sabrina makes her way into the kitchen to retrieve her secret stash of candy. On the very bottom section of the higher shelf, out of reach of Daphne, and low enough to escape the direct view of Puck sits an inconspicuous box of generic raisin bran cereal.

Moving the box of cereal to the side reveals a second box of the same generic cereal box— gotta be careful in case her mom or dad suddenly crave a healthy dose of cereal for breakfast, right?

Again, moving that box of cereal to the side, right there . A box of plain, steel-cut oats remains the gateway between Sabrina and her secret candy stash.

Taking the box of oats with her back to the living room with the television, Sabrina spares one last cursory glance around the room to make sure there were no witnesses to her mini escapades.

The first treat of the night: a peanut butter cup.

Sabrina makes it through half the movie (and most of the peanut butter cups) before she switches to the next delicacy: a decent-sized milk chocolate bar.

As she’s about to take a big bite out of the bar, however, she hears the front door open.

Sabrina freezes, eyes wide as she realizes she’s probably been caught, and now Daphne and Puck are going to eat all her candy, and just after she’d saved up all the candy over the past couple of weeks. All that sneaking just for—.

“Hey, honey, what’re you...” Henry stops his sentence short, making eye contact with Sabrina, mid-bite of her chocolate bar.

The slightly unhinged look in his eldest daughter’s eyes might have clued him in on the situation because he very quickly reassessed the situation.

“Honestly, sweetie, I totally get it. I think Elvis and I should take an extended walk today, hm, Elvis?” The great Dane barked his agreement. “Okay, so we’ll be heading out. Maybe we’ll catch your mother and brother on the way and we’ll pick up some dinner from the diner?”

Silence.

“Alright. Great talk, honey, see you soon.”

And with that, Sabrina Grimm was once again alone in the house, free to stuff her face with discounted Halloween chocolate to her heart’s content.

Gummy bears, jelly beans, Twix bars, gumdrops, even a couple of pieces of candy corn met their demise as Sabrina continued on with the movie just as before.

Candy after candy succumbed to Sabrina’s sweet tooth binge until a decent dent had been made into the stash. As the credits rolled on the cheesy horror film, Sabrina gathered up the wrappers and candy boxes and cleaned up any remaining crumbs on the couch to dispose of the evidence.

Replacing the box of oats behind the cereal boxes in the cabinet, Sabrina silently pats herself on the back for her sneakiness. Just in time, too, as she can hear the sounds of the other kids stomping around by the entrance.

“Sabrina! We’re back!” Daphne calls from beyond the kitchen door.

“Yeah, Grimm! And we’re not sharing our candy with you!”

“...I’ll share with you, Sabrina..” Red’s voice rings, softer than the other two.

As Sabrina walks back into the living room, she sees that the three trick-or-treaters have already begun trading their candy from their trek around Ferryport Landing. True to Daphne’s word, there looked to be a couple of full-sized candy bars, probably from Snow.

The older Grimm sister sits on the couch, letting out a sigh of relief that she hadn’t been caught. Her stash was safe— at least for today. She snags a Kit Kat and listens to the three (mostly Daphne) catch her up to speed on everything she missed when the trio had taken off earlier that afternoon.

“So actually, Puck had to do a little convincing for Charming to hand over some of his fancy candy but thankfully...”

So Sabrina Grimm isn’t the biggest fan of Halloween, but she does see the appeal of candy.

--

And that's a wrap for day 1! I know, cutting it super close to the deadline! I can't believe I got Ao3, Tumblr, AND FFN

Speaking of ffn, you can find me at LavenderMoonRose on fanfiction.net and Archive of Our Own

[shimmershae]

My thoughts on Episode 8--For Blood

As always, placed behind a cut for those of you that would rather escape my babbling, lol.  You’re welcome.  

Sadly, I don’t think this is anticipation I feel.  I’m pretty sure it’s dread but okay.  Here we go.  

This episode has to go up from the rock bottom boredom of last week, right?  

Let me preface what I’m about to say with the truth that I in no way hate Maggie.  She’s been with us since Season 2 and I have an emotional attachment to her, mostly due to my love of Glenn and the way he loved her.  She’s not my favorite by any means, but the fact of the matter is, I do like and appreciate her and don’t mind that she is back because it’s nice to have old familiar faces with us to take us into the final season.  That said?  Forcing Maggie front and center after her long absence ultimately, IMHO, has not worked in these first 8 episodes.  I can’t help but feel if ASZ had been the A story with Maggie/Negan and Daryl/Leah/the Reapers the B1 and B2 story?  These episodes would have been better received overall and not feel so much like they’re trying so hard.  Maybe lead me toward the water instead of shoving my head in it next time, Angela?  Hmm?  

Oh goodie.  They’re opening at Meridian.  Should I get my bathroom break out of the way now or give myself an out for later?  Call it Shae’s choice, lol.  

That flicker of a smirk Leah gave to Carver after their mini walk down memory lane had more spark to it than the entirety of her and Daryl’s toxic relationship.  In the future, maybe Angela will lean all in on them instead of Leah and Daryl.  Something tells me Leah knows this “brother” biblically.  

Daryl recognizes Whisperer moves when he sees ‘em.  Somehow, he realizes Maggie and Negan have banded together however reluctantly.  

Pope doing it “Dixon’s” way but not allowing Dixon to do the actual thing shows the level of distrust and paranoia the man still haves for outsiders. 

Look at Daryl chewing his lips with worry for his people.  If he and Leah know each other even a little bit, she has to recognize that as one of his tells.  

Ooohhhh.  Who took the first stab at Wells?  Maggie?  Negan?  Father G?  I swear.  I took my eyes off the “ball” one second and the whole damn play is halfway down the field.  Sorry.  If you cannot tell, I watched football with the fam yesterday, lol.  

The Walking Dead logo didn’t crumble this time.  Interesting.  Parts of it looked like it had been rebuilt.  With brick.  Wood.  Other parts of it looked reclaimed by nature.  Call me crazy, but that almost looks like an eye/part of a face on the first D.  

Okay then.  Babbling nonsense about the logo over, lol.  Tell me.  Please.  Anybody.  How do the events at ASZ line up with the events at Meridian?  Because it’s night and full-blown storming in ASZ and still daylight at Meridian.  But hey.  Thank fuck we’re in ASZ.  

All the babies huddled together giving me feels.  Sorry.  I know some feel they have no place on the show, but I personally enjoy their inclusion from time to time.  It usually plucks hard at my heartstrings.  

Connie tenderly comforting an injured Virgil is sweet, not gonna lie.  

Aww.  Is that Hershel petting a scared RJ’s hair?  Unless it’s a case of me not being able to pick out and place all the little hands, which it most certainly could be, I’m thinking Judith’s got her hand on her knee and that’s Hershel’s hand in RJ’s hair.  Regardless of whose hand is where, it was a sweet little scene.  What can I say?  I’m easy because Baby Glenn and Baby Rick, ya’ll.  

Oh snap.  The windmill’s on fire and pieces of the wall are blowing down main street ASZ like steel tumbleweeds, lol.  

Anybody else having flashbacks to the barn from Season 5?  Good times.  We still had most of Team Family with us then.  They were in a bad place, hurting and lost and just trying to survive--when are they not just trying to survive?--but they were together.  I miss them.  

Carol and Lydia holding each other.  These two, lovelies, have my whole heart.  

Wells is Walker Jerky, Shaw.  Stop wasting your breath.  

“She did.  My enemy.”  I mean, are we supposed to get the impression Maggie’s been a formidable adversary to Pope?  Because she feels more like a roach that simply knows the best rocks to hide under.  Granted, roaches are hard to kill but still.  I’m gonna need them to give us something better than Maggie being Pope’s enemy simply because she didn’t want to give up her home without a fight because this is frankly unbelievable and bordering on stupid.  

Alright.  So they’ve obviously been sowing the seeds of distrust and defiance between Leah and Pope because she doesn’t like losing family but Daryl?  Man?  You and Leah have differing opinions about how family operates.  Trust me on this.  

So.  Three teams, huh?  Aaron fighting the windmill fire, Carol repairing the breach in the wall, Rosita protecting the babies that represent their future.  Choose your fighters, lol.  Seriously, though.  Why do I have the sinking feeling only one group is going to be shown actually doing their thing?  

Listen.  Am I pissed we haven’t gotten the scene we deserve yet between Carol and Connie after all that’s happened and we’re getting crumbs mainly because Angela wrongly feels the Reapers/Maggie & Negan/Daryl & Leah need more focus?  Absolutely.  You bet your sweet asses.  But Melissa fucking McBride just took the crumbs allotted her and made a magnificent, work of art cake out of it trying all on her lonesome to feed us starving Carol fans.  

Bless Connie wanting wanting to go with Carol.  What a show of trust and sister-like solidarity that must have some hate-rotted guts about to turn themselves out.  

I love Kelly and Connie’s sister bond.  No ill will intended, but It takes the good parts of Maggie and Beth and elevates it beyond anything those two ever showed us.  I really feel like that’s a testament to Angel and Lauren’s real life ease with each other.  

Magna choosing to go with Aaron makes me wonder if it’s possible she feels some kind of residual guilt over Connie.  Not guilt for anything she’s actually done, but simply guilt over making it out.  

Virgil volunteering to help.  Okay.  Damn.  I’m honestly starting to like the guy.  

Judith offering to go with her aunt Carol had me all up in my feels.  I mean, granted.  It was a blink and you miss it scene.  We really deserved a longer heart to heart between that little girl and the woman that’s sacrificed so much to keep her safe and loved her for so long, but you know I’ll gobble any and all Judith/Aunt Carol content up.  Seems to me, Little Ass Kicker is just as afraid of letting Aunt Carol out of her sight as Uncle Daryl.  My heart.  

Gracie and Aaron are sweet.  And honestly?  I find them more realistic and true to what normal parents and children would be like in a ZA than Judith and Michonne no matter how much I love that bond.  I mean no disrespect, but I really do.  

“Why am I keeping you around?”  Pope asking the question we’re all wondering.  

Not Apocalypse Popeye comparing Daryl to a stray dog.  Joe from the Claimers already declared Daryl an outside cat that thought he was an indoor cat.  I did have to internally cheer when Daryl was like “I’m ain’t gonna lick it” talking about the helping hand Pope had extended him.  

“Somehow she has turned the dead against the living.  Oh, that’s impressive.”  The thing about Pope respecting Maggie so much as an enemy is I just find it hard to buy, lol.  Like if this had been Carol, yeah.  But Maggie?  Nope.  They’ve mostly shown her (with Gage being the bewildering exception) to be all bark and no bite.  

Has the house in ASZ really become that dilapidated that they can see through its walls?  Because its original owners dodged a bullet if so.  

Look at Grace hero-worshipping Judith.  It’s sweet.  

Virgil telling Judith Michonne would be proud of her is nice but doesn’t feel as earned as if someone like Daryl or Carol that actually knew Michonne well said it.  But maybe that’s the whole point--Judith needs to hear it from someone she knows isn’t going to just say what she wants to hear.  

Call me jaded, it was a touching scene, but also?  It felt designed to allow Judith to move beyond her very normal and realistic feelings of being abandoned by Michonne, even though she gave her the “okay” herself.  Like she’s still a kid.  Wants don’t always line up with feelings.  Anyway.  Cailey continues to be a bright, shining little star and I love how she’s managed to make Judith a true amalgamation of all the people she’s loved who have loved her in return.  Not just Michonne.  I know people like to overlook and cheapen the fact, but it’s taken a village and entire family to raise her from infancy.  

Gracie really should have known better than play in front of the windows during a storm period, but oh well.  Plot point, lol.  

Seriously, though.  I feel like they’ve teased poor Gracie’s demise in a multitude of ways since the beginning of the season.  I hope nothing ultimately comes of it but I fear it will.  All I can say if the worst comes to happen is poor Aaron.  

Where are Negan and Elijah though?  Ouch.  There they are, taking on shrapnel for the cause.  

Ready the what now?  

There’s ASZ’s Baby Sitter Extraordinaire!  Barbara, is it?  That lady’s been putting in the work since Season 5 at least.  

I’ve honestly grown to love Rosita.  More of her and less of Maggie, please and thank you.  

“Let’s stay away from the windows.”  I’m sorry but I had to LMAO at that.  Still a badass moment though.  

Gabe hobbling toward his assigned sentinel.  At least they haven’t forgotten he’s injured like they seemed to forget Daryl was near death last season before the attack on Hilltop, lol.  

“It’s hard to watch something you care about change.”  Listen, Leah.  Chick.  You and Daryl obviously never really knew each other.  It’s always been obvious but I have a feeling “DIxon” is finally going to show you, spoilers or no spoilers.  

WTF are they calling that thing?  Sorry.  I have just as hard a time understanding Pope’s accent as I do Maggie’s sometimes.  

That’s not love that has Daryl telling Leah she can come with him.  That’s care for somebody he used to know.  There is a distinct difference that’s obviously lost on so many.  How can you really and truly love someone you cannot trust?  Especially in Daryl Dixon’s case?

Why does Angela hate us so much?  Giving us all these Reaper scenes and leaving us to simply imagine Carol and Connie and Kelly working side by side to save the wall?  

I think I honestly could have enjoyed this whole Reaper storyline more, at least a little bit anyway, had they not retrofitted a half-assed romance between Daryl and the story’s weakest link and if only they’d made it the B storyline and given earned deference to the goings-on in ASZ instead.  

I wonder if Glenn taught Maggie how to hot write a car?  I miss my baby Glenn.

Apocalypse Popeye is several fries short of a Happy Meal.  What else is new on this show, lol?  

I care for Maggie.  Mostly for nostalgia’s sake and Glenn and Baby Hershel but damn, man.  She’s not actually proven herself got be worth killing your entire “family” for.  But are too far gone, so.  We’ll make allowances.  

I will say at least this episode is not as abysmally biring as last week’s episode.  

Leah finally giving Pope the throat punch he’s been asking for but I’m not fooled she’s on Daryl’s side here.  She’s always been on her own side.  

Look at Father G returning the favor for Maggie saving him in the tower.  Taking Deaver down!  Poor Deaver barely saw the light of day.  

Here comes that woman scorned part.  I can feel it.  

“Pope is dead.  Dixon murdered him.  He’s with the enemy.”  

Please, Angela.  I’m begging you.  Bring Carol into this story and ramp it the fuck up.  You been idling too damn long and the car is fast running outta gas.  

Bitch really has to die to framing Carol’s Pookie.  

Rosita and Lydia and Carol and Connie and Kelly and Magna have literally been holding up this damn show while Angela farts around with the Reapers bullshit.  Honorable mention goes to Aaron but these lovely, badass ladies been putting in the real work and not getting any of the glory.  You just know they’re tired AF.  

Not my babies Lydia and Judith being the cliffhanger!  Oh and Gracie.  Angela?!  A word.  

Listen.  Carol’s already done that fireworks trick.  That Reaper dude owes her royalties.  Granted, it was on a smaller scale but much more impressive for it because she was left to be the sharpshooter.  

Angela has a point.  It is kind of cool how Team Family have learned from their enemies and assimilated their useful points into their own cache of knowledge.  

I truly feel like the Leah/Reaper storyline would have benefitted from a much stronger actress.  Just saying.  

I know Judith annoys some with her precociousness but Cailey just keeps teeing off on what they give her and personally?  I feel she’s so very talented and light years beyond her little acting counterparts so it still works.  

“They’re never gonna choose each other over the people that they’ve loved and fought for because they simply cannot really trust each other.  There’s sort of, like a toxicity at the base of that relationship.”  Straight from Angela’s mouth.  

“At the end of the day, Daryl chose his family.”  Yeah, he did.  That “I belong with you” shit only happened when he felt they were all gone, including the one he loved above all others--Carol.  Fight me.  

Overall impression of the episode?  

On its own, disregarding how much I can’t help resenting how much time I feel has been “wasted” setting this story up, it was much more entertaining than Episode 7 which was only epic in that it was an epic bore.  There was still too much focus on the Reapers when I just just kept wanting to see what was happening at ASZ.  I mean, they cheated us out of Carol and Connie and Kelly working together. Of Aaron and Magna.  Call it personal preference coloring my opinions if you want, but the characters I care about feel like they’ve been shown the backseat for this self-indulgent exploration of Angela’s OC and her version of self-insert FF with Daryl Dixon.  If we can return to Team Family?  The whole Team Family and not just Maggie and Co. against the world?  You’ve got me.  If not?  Well.  You’ll keep losing me by degrees and you don’t want to do that on the final season.  

Anyway.  The ASZ parts were my favorites per usual.  The episode could have used a lot more of those.  

[fandom-sheep]

Fundy 28 APR 21

Delayed Liveblog Vault Hunters Part 1/1

Our favorite fox is damp. And apparently can’t get his hair to sit right.

He’s already having to raise the redemption price. It’s been 5 seconds.

I don’t even quite get Vault Hunters I know Hbomb did it last season and that it.

Charm. Lovely.

Is the bottom right a confetti cannon?

Oh no we have to fight? We can’t be trusted.

We are the sort of people to purposefully lose the fight.

Don’t get me wrong. We love Fundy and will cry on command. But also we are rather mean to him.

Mystic Tomato. I don’t know what it is but I love it.

I was saving up Chanel points for water and ads. But now I gotta save for those and the little fun reward pack things.

Oh no. Did we hit 100 subs already? That’s what it says over his name?

Confetti canon?

5up! Hooray!

HBomb humoring Fundy with the emotes.

Fight fight fight!

So close. We tried out best to fight the giant.

Alright chat. We need another arena. Everyone get him.

Everyone in chat yelling about Phil doing stuff in OSMP. Wrong server y’all. We can deal with that later.

Ooo are we doing VC?

Everything is so chaotic already.

Tubbo and Fundy trying to figure everything out.

You know things are confusing when the original people are like “the what?”

There was a how to play meeting? And somehow these boys are still confused.

Tubbo at least has an excuse to be confused.

I love skill trees in games. They just look so pretty.

“I see a melon!” -Fundy

5up our beloved.

My streamer is being beat up with a boomerang.

Fundy doesn’t know what’s happening, but he’s rich so it works.

Tubbo is just saying every name in hopes he says the right one.

Pizza!

We attack!

WE WIN!

We did it! We’re a good chat!

Is 5ups skin still cog champ themed? Maybe not. Maybe my brain is being goofy.

Is Fundy complaining about his hair? I’m not actually paying attention. What is chat on about.

That’s one thing that can be said about all the chats. They like it when their streamers have fluffy hair.

Chat really is just crying aren’t they. Fundy’s chat has a skill of crying at everything.

Hooray 5up is active! Fundy go say hi for us!

Hooray friends!

Super good item! I don’t get it, but super good item!

ITS THE BEING!

Arena arena. We’re almost to the arena!

Aww. I missed the bets.

ARENA TIME!

Beat em up chat!

Oh no. He’s hitting hard.

WE DIDS IT!

ARENA TIME!

Oh were getting hit hard.

But we did it!

Good Job Wolf! Awesome Millionaire!

No arena box for winning. Rude.

Chat can’t even remember how many fights we’ve won.

Stupid full inventory.

Temporary base on the hill.

Pretty chest!

All the gifted subs. Such a popular streamer.

That looks so cool! I missed what it did but it looks cool!

Ooo all sorts of cool things.

Look at chat go

SHULKER SHELLS!

Look at everyone giving Fundy things.

It’s neato that they use peoples skins. That you can see the people who donated.

Shulker crates! Nice! That’ll be good for transporting things.

We’re so fancy.

Ooo sorting. The most complicated thing.

Chats over here spoiling our streamer.

Wool?

ARENA TIME!

We got this!

Beat em up subs!

WE WON!

Looting 2 noice.

Mods bribing chat to stop barking with Scooby snacks. I love them so much.

Wolf my dear you have done nothing wrong.

Oh cloud9 has a fox skin!

Ooo create mod. We know about that.

A lovely little base.

Cake is being stolen all over the place.

Stab stab the dragon.

Hooray follow goal! Music time!

Oh... that was it. Alrighty we’ll take what we can get.

Time to win an arena subs. We want music.

Our boy is confused.

Fundy just read the chat. They are telling you.

I got to get this time! The subs will destroy everyone!

Happy Halloween?

Gasp! Mega gift!

Pretty skin!

We love the Fundy mods dearly. They are so chill and nice.

The water well has run dry.

The streamer has escaped. It’s just us, the mods, and the chair.

Oh a Schlatt plush! Neato!

Schlushy I agree with that name.

“Not the hat the other one.” LOL.

Chat go Glatt

Went to get water the. Forgot to drink it.

Subs can modify emotes left and right.

Viper good job! Good book!

Fundy doing his game at middle of the night o’clock.

Streamer... please sleep. Please eat meals.

We’re almost at the Arena!

Sleep 8 hours... just at the wrong time.

Chat fully admitting to thinking our streamer is dumb enough to fall in lava.

We have learned to balance our expectations Fundy.

Oh this is going to be a long stream. A really long stream. I’ll probably need to take a break and do some work.

Arena Time! Beat em up subs!

Good job subs!! You did it!

Let’s see what we get for the arena.

So many Wolf!

Diamond!!!

Putting the winners on their boxes. Nice.

I have so much work to do, but I just want to watch the funky Fox.

Villagers? We love villagers.

PIANO!

Oh we’re switching screens it’s serious piano.

So lovely. I love listening to music people do their things.

I love the fact the subs keep shouting FundyJam!

I swear improv music should not sound this lovely

Spooky sounding tune. Sounds like a boss fight in a haunted castle.

Awesome piano!

Poor boy so annoyed by his hair. Bless his heart.

For anyone who doesn’t touch Twitter. The Fundy Updates Twitter is fabulous and amazing. They are just always so upbeat over everything.

Trying to nether portal. You go fox friend.

Wow Just portal to the center do a lava lake. Under soul sand.

You go 5up! You get that bastion.

Rip 5up.

Poor Fundy doing his best.

How’s the VC crew doing?

MENDING GOLD PANTS!!!

The drip is back!

Also I voted no in the will he burn pole. I have faith in my streamers.

We’re calling Fundy emo now. And he’s trying to deny having an emo phase, and failing.

I don’t know what’s happening half the time in this chat.

Fire Fox!

We’re still calling Fundy emo. Chat spoils the streamer and chat bullies the streamer.

Oh are we trending emo Fundy? Nice. I’m conveniently scrolling on Twitter.

Look at us bully our streamer.

The two people in chat. Those saying emo Fundy. Those going “his hair is nice stfu”. The duality of chat.

Sounds of suffering coming from the nether.

Fundy has taken responsibility for enderpearls.

We cursed Fundy? I look away for 10 seconds.

Pixel has turned on Fundy.

Fight that ghast.

Fundy’s going to get all the endermen.

Piglin goes smack.

We’re wearing the drip. Nice.

Everyone gets rich so fast here.

Well. We’ll just leave the corpse there.

Sizzle.

The people who bet on him dying are so rich in channel points now.

*sad fox noises*

Surely not. Fundy we have lost all hope in you.

Pixel doing everything they can to do anti emo Fundy.

Aww. I missed the prediction. I bet he won’t die. I believe in him.

Fundy being scared by his own body. Cant wait to see that clip everywhere on YouTube.

Back to attacking the endermen.

Tubbo is such a villain. He’s so willing to kill HBomb.

Fundy just getting back to work.

I’m sorry corpses become skeletons. That’s horrid.

Off to get the dragon. The dragon the dragon.

Tubbo was smote.

HBomb and Fundy fully ready to be that person that steals the temple.

Hbomb shaped chest. That is great.

Everyone bullying HBomb.

Almost Arena time.

Betting yes on the arena. The subs are strong and they’ve got this.

My twitch app is being stupid. This might be my signal to take a break and do my school work.

8k boosters and the chat goes nuts.

Chat from where I am is just a bunch of booster packs. I think I need to close and reopen the app.

There we go. There is the lovely chat.

Arena time!

Aww. My bet disappeared when I moved the app.

No! He’s cheating! The subs are doing their best!

Good job subs!

I mean it’s a diamond sword. It’s not diamonds but it’ll do.

I heard a du du du du?

I’ve got to go. Time to be productive with my life and time.

Let me know if I miss anything especially stupid or funny.

Alright it’s been 2 and a half hours but I’m back.

Looks like I missed a lot, and the boy has been going 5 hours.

Still on Vault Hunters? How is he not tired of this yet good gracious.

We’re enchantin’

I don’t know what’s happening but I’m watching.

Who stole all the luck from the boy?

Good that he’s drinking plenty of water

Good that he’s taking a break for foods.

What is with the lightening sounds? I don’t like it.

Spare the soup pet.

Sadness. No 3rd cow.

Yes! One more arena!

Lure da cows.

No that’s the Fundy Cow!

Nooooo. That’s worse than killing it!

Did we win our other arenas? I only say the first 5 or so.

Lightening Cow. Lovely.

Noooo the cowwww!

For once Fundy isn’t the one thriving.

He tunneled the cow out. Wow.

Bye 5up! Good luck!

Hi Crumb. The cow was snatched.

Noooo. Quit stealing our cows!

What he jumps like Superman and steals our cows.

Cow bunker.

These cows will get snatched. I just know it.

No. No taking da cows.

Our cows must be protected.

Enchanting is not on our fox’s side

Oh so they did beat the enderdragon. Good for them.

All sorts of neato elytra.

I must go again. I am called to dinner.

Good job getting you diamond sir.

30 minutes later I am back and we are chatting with HBomb.

Sharp boomerang.

Saw a bit of cat maid peaking out there.

5up judging Fundy for just sitting and mining.

Oh the facecam is off. I’m just noticing.

I guess it probably goofed up and froze.

Everyone in chat talking about how much to make the magic packs. I like the people saying 6.9k just for the funnies.

I’m voting 6.9k in the pole just for the funny.

I know it won’t win but I’m doing my part.

Goblins? What the squeak did I miss?

What. We stab the goblins. And they give us emeralds?

This mans has been going for 6 hours and a while. I hope he doesn’t forget to look after himself. He was talking about eating an hour ago.

I love all the product minions. All the donators just chilling on their chests.

Why are all the minions black and white? I missed that one?

Oh they run out. They ran out of stuff and out of color.

Wealth in the chest, since we don’t have a mouth.

Angel or Fairy? Is that even a question? (Chat chose fairy)

Fairy Fox. I want to draw that but have negative amounts of art skills.

We’re killing time until we hit 7 hours.

We’re meeting up with 5up! Nice!

Oh HBomb left and thought Fundy hadn’t done anything in 20 minutes but jump around his castle. LOL.

We hit 7 hours and dipped.

7 hours and almost a thousand subs. Look at us go.

Hello Puffy Raiders! You’re a bit late but hello!

Oh no. He’s panicking and not ending.

Please someone who feels like being annoying remind the mans to eat.

Raffle? Oh donators! They go through a raffle thingy! Nice!

Hooray OSMP but also Fundy please sleep and such.

Not even raffling. Just opening and closing.

Nice spin noises.

WOLF! Wolf earned to win the raffle.

Wait wait wait? Fundy go get some food and go to bed!

Hey look there is our streamer!

This is the max post size lol. 5up raid let’s go! Hello 5up! We are here! But now I’m going to bed. Oh nevermind. I hear the fox. Ah that’s smart 5up. Anyway. I’m gone now.

[shipmistress9]

Sex Toy Advent Calendar: Day 5: Clearly Weird Lube

Fandom: HTTYD

Rating: M

Pairing: Hiccup/Astrid

Words: 2325

Read on AO3

Summary: Day 5 of the Sex Toy Advent Calendar. Today's gift leaves a lot to be desired. Just good that Hiccup is good at improvising.

AN: This one... I don't even know. *scratches head* They did most of it on their own?

. o O o .

With curiosity and anticipation tingling in her belly, Astrid waited for Hiccup to pull out the box of the day from their calendar. It was yet again a black box with the golden number ‘5�� printed on the side. What made this one exciting, though, was the fact that it was the biggest box they’d had so far. And even though she knew that size didn’t matter… much… she was still burning with excitement. Initially, she’d thought little of this calendar, had only seen it as an expensive joke. But after the last few days, her expectations were rather high. She only had to work a few hours in the morning today, and then they were both free to enjoy today’s gift for hours.

“Come on, Hiccup, don’t keep me in suspense here,” she demanded, bouncing impatiently. “What is it?”

“Oh, now I’m not supposed to do that?” He had a teasing glint in his eyes, and Astrid groaned.

“You know exactly what I mean! You can suspend me like that whenever you want. As long as you finally open this box and show me what's inside!”

Chuckling, he complied. “All right, all right, let’s have a look. It’s pretty heavy in comparison. I wonder… Oh.” A slight frown appeared on his forehead.

“Hiccup!”

“Yeah, I know, I know. No suspense.” He let the box’s content roll into his large hand, a plastic bottle with some clear gel inside. “It’s… it looks like… lube?”

“Lube?” Puzzled, Astrid took the bottle and inspected it. “You’re right. It’s really lube. Heh… I wouldn’t have thought lube counts as a sex toy, though. More like… essential equipment for comfortable sex?”

Thoughtfully, Hiccup nodded. “Agreed. Although, this seems to be some special lube. What does it say on the label?”

Astrid took another look at the bottle, and couldn’t hold back a snort. “Oh, yeah. Special lube, all right…” She held the bottle out for him to read the label, too. “Special fragrance, fitting for the season. Backed Apple.”

Hiccup’s nose twitched. “For real? Okay… erm. Weird! But, hey. It’s free lube. What are we going to do with it?”

Throwing him a bemused glance, Astrid opened the bottle and raised it to her nose. “Well, I can always peg you if you feel up to—Ew!” Grimacing, she held the bottle away from her. “Yeah, no, not when you smell like that though. Esh, that’s some penetrative stench.”

With a slight frown, Hiccup took the bottle and sniffed it, too, but only to grimace and firmly close the lid a moment later. “Oh, that’s horrible,” he agreed, shuddering. “Have these people ever smelled baked apples? How… how…” He looked baffled, and honestly, Astrid felt the same.

“Can lube turn bad?”

Hiccup shrugged. “Possible? That would at least be an explanation.” He placed the bottle onto a sideboard and threw it a disdainful look.

“Yeah… Disappointing, though.” Astrid’s shoulders slumped. “Not that we can’t entertain ourselves without these toys, but…”

“I know what you mean. It’s not quite the same.”

After throwing the bottle of awfully smelling lube into the waste bin, they ate breakfast. Sulking, Astrid shovelled porridge into her mouth, and the fact that it was poorly flavoured as apple and cinnamon didn’t exactly help to improve her mood. “It’s ridiculous,” she exclaimed a few minutes later. “Even this porridge is out to annoy me now.”

Cocking his head, Hiccup’s eyes brightened. ”I might have an idea.”

. o O o .

By the time Astrid had finished her work for that day, her mood had calmed down—but not yet improved. It was ridiculous. It shouldn’t matter. She and Hiccup were together for so long now, not knowing what to do with a free afternoon definitely was not a disaster. They could make a video game contest, or maybe there even was some interesting film in the cinema. Or, if it truly was the sex she’d expected, then they had enough toys and options to choose from. They could simply use their usual lube instead and see where it led them.

But that just wasn’t the same… Damn anticipation!

Sighing in annoyance at herself, she let herself into their flat—and paused right there in the doorway. That scent… was that…?

“Ah, perfect timing.” Hiccup greeted her with a warm smile and a peck to the corner of her mouth. “It should be done in a matter of minutes now.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, but didn’t really need an answer. The scent that wafted to her nose the moment she left the entrance room was telling enough and made her mouth water. “Did you seriously make baked apples?”

With a small smile, Hiccup shook his head. “Not quite. I was thinking about it, but since I had enough time today…” He trailed off as they entered the kitchen, just as the oven made a demanding beep.

Astrid’s eyes went wide, her lips splitting into a huge grin. “You made apple pie?”

“My Grandma’s recipe,” he confirmed. “I thought it would be a good way to make up for the disappointment this morning.”

“Mmm, perfect!” She stretched to give him a quick kiss. “And you are, too.”

The cake was indeed perfect, but Astrid had no genuine doubts about that, anyway. Hiccup’s cooking skills were amazing, and he was passionate about his baking as well; which was something Astrid happily and regularly indulged in.

After eating a couple of slices each, they were both too full to even think about eating dinner anytime soon. Or doing anything else, really.

With a satisfied groan, Astrid leaned back in her chair. “That truly was a fantastic compensation for the Baked Apple disaster this morning. Kudos to you for coming up with an equally pleasant alternative.”

Hiccup snorted. “What? Are you trying to say that my cake is just as bad as that lube? Wow… and here I thought, you’d enjoyed the cake.”

“Noooo!” She threw a small piece of leftover cake at him; barely more than a crumb, really, and it didn’t even reach him. “Muttonhead. I meant that I’m too full for sex now. And I don’t even regret it. Much.”

“So, you’re saying that my cake was as good as sex?” He took a moment to exaggeratedly think about her words, bis long finger tipping against his chin almost comically. “Okay, that’s something I can live with.”

Laughing at her dorky, wonderful boyfriend, she stood up to carry their dishes to the kitchen, stealing a kiss from him on her way.

“How about we get comfortable on the couch and watch a movie or two?” she called back to him. “I think that would be a great way to wrap this day up.”

Hiccup agreed, and they moved to settle comfortably on the couch.

“Do you want to take your prosthetic off?” Astrid asked before she sat down.

Hiccup looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded. “Yeah, I think that would be better. Could you get my crutches from the bedroom?”

She did as asked and placed the crutches in their usual spot next to the couch, within easy reach. There was no need for her to offer that she would help him, too, if he needed to get up. Hiccup knew and appreciated that, and regularly relied on her help already if his amputation site acted up on a bad day. But he preferred to be independent if possible, and Astrid respected that.

A little while later, they both sat on their couch, comfortable side by side and wrapped in a soft blanket. They'd put glasses, a bottle of water, and even a bag of chocolate-covered nuts on the low table in front of them—in case they got hungry later. But for the moment, they were both happy to just let the cake settle.

Even though the film, Pirates of the Caribbean, was one of her favourites, it didn’t take long until her full stomach made Astrid sleepy. At first, she only leaned against Hiccup's shoulder and enjoyed the cosy comfort of his arm around her shoulders. Too often, life got so hectic lately, so moments like these were precious to her. However, even sitting became too demanding after a while, and she shifted until her head rested in his lap, humming as he absentmindedly caressed her hair.

She must have fallen asleep like this. The next thing she remembered, the film had jumped to a point much later in the story, and outside, the sky had turned from dull grey to black. Groaning, she shifted into another position, intent on making herself comfortable again, when a familiar hand on her shoulder shook her awake again.

“Astrid? I’m sorry, but I need to get up.”

Accepting the inevitable, she let him move. She cracked one eye open to make sure he could reach his crutches, but then quickly drifted off again, the low noises coming from the TV lulling her in quickly. She barely noticed how Hiccup came back, only heard his quiet chuckling before he crawled onto the couch behind her.

The next time she awoke, it was to Captain Jack Sparrow and Bootstrap Bill talking to each other. Had Hiccup put on the second movie? Had she slept through the first one entirely?

With a sleepy moan, she shifted around until she could look up at Hiccup. He lay behind her, propped up on one arm and the other loosely around her waist. He was watching her now, eyes soft with fatigue.

“Hey, there. Had a good nap?”

She nodded, humming. “Looks like I needed that.”

He accepted her words without comment. In fact, he didn’t react at all and simply watched her, his gaze so intense as if he was looking deep inside her, not just at her eyes but at her soul as well. It made her feel warm, cradled, cherished, as if there was nothing in the entire world that mattered except being here at this moment, together. She acted without thinking, turned her head and stretched a little, breached the small distance between them until their lips met.

It was a slow kiss. Just lips moving together, melting, searching. It was simple but so good, sensual and meaningful. When she reached for him to pull him closer, the stubble on his jaw were rough against her palm, making her shiver. He wa so… so real. Everything about him, his warmth seeping into her body, his hand on her waist drawing her toward him, his breath ghosting across her skin, it was so intense. Irresistible. She wanted for this moment to never end, to keep kissing Hiccup and feeling him so close for the rest of eternity.

And for a while, her wish was granted. Time lost all meaning as they kissed, their bodies moving as one. Shifting, turning, grinding; even sleepy as they were, they always knew what the other wanted and followed their motions. Hiccup's fingers combed through her long golden tresses, his fingernails dragging across her scalp and making her tremble. Her own hands wandered over his back beneath his shirt, exploring his shoulders, the scars from his accident, and every single ridge of his spine down to his rear.

She loved how he ground against her, the motions so strong and natural and reaching so deep despite the clothes that still separated them. It was wonderful, knowing bodies nearly working on their own to bring each other to completion.

Her orgasm was building slowly, and when she came, it surprised even herself. Her muscles seizing deep inside her belly made her spasm beneath him. She mewled, and her fingers dug deep into his flesh as her grip on his backside grew firmer, holding him close. Her still sleepy mind went blissfully empty as pleasure surged through her in one powerful wave, and she barely registered how Hiccup’s arms shook at her side or how he muffled his groan against her neck.

When he rolled off her to lie next to her again, Astrid shifted too until she faced him. “Mmm, I liked that,” she murmured, then chuckled. “But so much for a day without sex.”

Hiccup snorted. He sounded as tired as she felt, his eyes closed and a lazy smile on his face. “Is that a complaint I’m hearing there? About too much sex? From you?”

Now, she laughed for real, low but true. “No, definitely no complaints here.” She burrowed against his chest and deeply inhaled his scent, leather, fire, and sandalwood. Home.

“Aye. I didn’t think so.”

His arms closed around her, holding her, and they both basked in this moment of sleepy closeness, vulnerable but safe. Astrid was close to drifting off into sleep again when Hiccup stirred once more.

“Mh? What’s up, babe?” she asked sleepily.

“I need the bathroom.”

“Again?” She lifted her head, again reflexively looking for his walking aids.

He chuckled. “Yeah, well… I made a bit of a mess of my boxers, and I need to clean that up before I fall asleep.”

Astrid blinked, then giggled. “Ah, right.” She sat up and rubbed at her eyes. “Do you need my help?”

He paused, considering her offer, but then shook his head. “No, I’m good. But we should move over to the bed, it’s more comfortable than spending the entire night here on the couch.”

Grudgingly, she had to admit that Hiccup was right. She waited until she heard him leave the bathroom, then went there herself to use the loo and brush her teeth. After retrieving Hiccup’s prosthetic from the living room for the next morning, she happily crawled into bed next to him. And as she was about to fall asleep for real, she thought that maybe today’s gift from their advent calendar hadn’t been that much of a failure after all. If nothing else, it at least had served as a reminder that they didn’t need extravagant toys or accessories to be happy.

* - . - * - . o O o . - * - . - *

If you want to support me you can buy me a coffee. I love coffee 😊 (Ko-Fi)

[prettygraceful]

magnus & the main characters interaction count: a study

an interaction counts as magnus talking specifically to 1 main and that main character responding, or vice versa. (you know like alec does with jace/ clary/ izzy in 95% of the episodes throughout the whole series and luke/ simon in half of s1 and s3.) an interaction is NOT where magnus addresses the group in general with no one responding to him directly, or him being in the same room with all of them, but they only talk to alec or to each other.

this count starts from 2b. s1/ 2a did NOT have anywhere close to an adequate amount, but at least there wasn’t so little that it was total joke like after that. the sad truth of this is so glaringly obvious when it’s listed.

plz take note this post is about magnus/ MAIN character interaction ONLY

and obviously this count is about the 6 mains other than alec

SEASON 2B

2x11: NONE

altho clary/ jace are in the room, they only talk to alec

2x12: NONE

2x13: NONE

2x14: 1 scene with luke

2x15: NONE

altho jace/ izzy are in the room, they don’t talk to him

2x16: NONE

he was not in the episode. he also was not in some episodes in s1. luke and maia have also not been in some.

clary, jace, alec, izzy, and simon have been in every episode. just saying.

2x17: 2 scenes with luke

2x18: 1 scene with luke

2x19: NONE

altho the shadowhunters/ luke are in the room, they don’t talk to him

side note: making literally everyone be against magnus/ glaring at him/ shading him behind his back after all he’s literally done for every single one of them was… a choice. they all didn’t seem to care that he was hurting.

2x20: 1 scene with izzy

final count:

6 episodes (over half the season) with NONE

2 episodes of only 1 scene interaction

only 1 episode where he interacts throughout, yet still only with 1 other main

only 3 scenes where he gets to talk to another main without alec there

no scene where he talks to another main and alec isn’t mentioned

SEASON 3A

3x01: NONE

3X02: NONE

altho shadowhunters/ luke are in the room, they only talk to alec

3X03: 1 scene with izzy

3x04: NONE

altho clary is in room, she only talks to alec

3x05: NONE

3x06: multiple scenes with clary

3x07: NONE

altho clary/ izzy/ simon are in the room, they only talk to alec

3x08: multiple scenes with izzy

no, owl!jace saying alec would chose jace over him doesn’t count

altho luke/ simon are in the room, they only talk to alec

3x09: 1 scene with izzy

3x10: 1 scene with jace

altho should a scene of him telling the parabatai he gave up his magic for them and them not saying anything count?

final count:

5 episodes (half the season) with NONE

3 episodes of only 1 scene interaction

only 2 episodes where he interacts throughout, yet only with 1 other main

only 1 episode where he gets to talk to another main without alec there

no episodes where he talks to another main and alec isn’t mentioned

SEASON 3B

3x11: 1 scene with izzy

altho jace is in the room, he only to talks alec

3x12: NONE

altho jace/ luke are in the room, they only talk to alec

3x13: 1 scene with izzy

and 1 single line to clary, i guess

3x14: NONE

3x15: NONE

aside from 1 single line to simon, i guess

no, clary/ jace/ izzy unkindly questioning him being there doesn’t count

side note: making magnus be surrounded by a room full of racist-coded shadowhunters in s3 was… a choice. what was the point of that? it showed that apparently only laws have changed but not societal sentiment- outside of the main foursome- since s1 in their mindset towards downworlders. and then they had malec get married amongst these racists a few weeks later?? to show him being treated so disrespectfully (again in s3, so nobody’s mindset progressed outside of the 4) and be made so uncomfortable and then never have them show him any love or treat him as an equal later on (as an individual and not just as half of malec) was… a choice. a bad choice.

3x16: NONE

3x17: NONE

3x18: NONE

altho clary/ jace are in the room, they only talk to alec (and then when he’s sad over something that their 3a choices caused, they leave. in the same episode the writers have maryse say “we’re all here for you”…what a joke.)

3x19: NONE

3x20: NONE

altho izzy/ clary/ jace are in the room, they only talk to alec

3x21: NONE

aside from 1 single line to simon, i guess

no, saying only biscuit doesn’t count

3x22: NONE

altho it’s his wedding day, they don’t let jace/ izzy welcome him into the family but instead irrelevant max.

and altho it’s literally the finale, the ONLY person he gets to talk to is his rival. (side note, but lorenzo and underhill should NOT have been at the wedding after their awful treatment towards him. such two-faced people.)

final count:

10 episodes (the length of a normal half season) with NONE

2 episodes of only 1 scene interaction

0 episodes where he interacts throughout

1 scene where he get to talk to another main without alec there

in his 1 scene in 3x13, he talks to another main and alec isn’t mentioned

i think the point i’m making is obvious: the 3 white showrunners and mostly white writers almost never ever let magnus even talk to any of the other main characters. (he also goes three seasons without a single story arc with another main that lasts more than 1 episode. (no, the writers using luke as a mouthpiece to justify alec’s mistake in 2b does not count.) you know, like how alec had big long arcs with both clary and jace in s1, 2a, and 3a and izzy here and there. even maia, the most neglected character on this show, still got to regularly interact with simon and luke- 2 mains. even luke with his limited screentime, still got to regularly at least talk to literally all of the mains in all his group scenes.

and what about the 3 downworlder mains and alec?

well, altho alec and maia only had 2 scenes together, that’s still twice what magnus/ maia got, seeing as they only had the 1 scene together in 2a.

alec and luke had at least 3 scenes together in s1 that i can remember vs magnus/ luke only having 2 lines in 1x06. both duos had about equal in 2b.

in 3a alec/luke had 5 scenes together. magnus/ luke had none where they actually spoke to each other. in group scenes magnus only talked to alec.

in 3b alec/ luke had 3 scenes. magnus/ luke had none. plus luke told alec that he couldn’t go to his wedding, instead of telling magnus.

in s1 magnus/ simon had maybe 1 line. alec/ simon were interacting constantly throughout, i don’t remember how many scenes it was.

in 2a magnus/ simon had 2 episodes together. in 2b they had 1 scene but i don’t really count it since it was only to have it be literally everyone vs magnus. alec/ simon had 1 scene in 2b and none in 2a.

in 3a alec/ simon had 3 scenes interacting together. magnus/ simon had none where they actually spoke to each other.

in 3b all the fans complaining really paid off! 2 scenes in 3x15. 1 scene each in 3x17, 3x19, 3x20, and 3x21 for a grand total of 6 scenes. plus no talking- yet still in a scene together- in 1 other scene in 3x15, 3x17, 3x18, and 2 others in 3x19, for a grand total of 5, not counting the edom finale scenes. magnus/ simon only said 2 lines to each other in 3b.

not to mention alec stood next to simon in a nice two-shot in 4 separate scenes. it really reminded me of what they do with clary/ alec in group scenes. the writers don’t always give them a lot of dialogue together, but they’re sure to get that dynamic in at least visually. alec always has at least crumbs vs magnus getting nothing. where is that energy from the writers, directors, or fans with magnus and literally any main? really, where is it?

i mean, there was no reason for alec/ simon not to have scenes, but i’m so truly disappointed that this is where the fan effort was spent instead of lobbying for magnus to get to interact with even one main character other than alec, seeing as alec always already get to constantly have many, many, many duo and group scenes and big arcs with the 3 other shadowhunters. and now he gets to be more bonded with all of the main downworlders too instead of magnus with his own people. the writers are so so so wack.

also obviously magnus interacts with alec on a regular basis. the point is that’s it. malec is the main reason why i watch the show, so it matters a great deal, but when every other main is getting vastly more interactions, it’s a problem. also in nearly all of the episodes when alec has scenes with other mains- and magnus is not there- magnus is not mentioned. not so when it’s vice versa.

why not count any supporting characters you may be saying? because that’s not what i hear everyone demanding for alec or the others, is it? because he didn’t interact with raphael, his supposed son, in s1, or at all after 3x01 to the actual finale. because aside from her bringing madzie over in 3x11, catatrina and and him didn’t speak in 3b. she wasn’t even introduced until 3a (so 2 seasons w/o any friends.) they only spoke in 4 scenes total in all of s3. she was his best man, yet that’s not important enough to show on screen. ragnor was literally only 1 episode. who’s left- his jealous, bitter pathetic rival or his father who has obvious gross, creepy incestuous, jealous feelings for him. or alec’s mother, who only had scenes with him for the same reason maia/ jordan had all those scenes- to give them something to do away from the group/ main plotlines. why couldn’t magnus and maia had scenes together also or instead? and being bffs with his bf’s mom but not getting to even TALK to his parabatai, the person alec’s closest to platonically, let alone be friends, is truly beyond words. and also harry and matt are only 5 years apart (kat/ dom have more of an age difference) so i’m tired of the writers/ fans keeping alec in the playpen with his younger co-stars while magnus is separated to only older ones.

and also i just really don’t care about supporting characters. i see them as just taking screentime away from the mains, specifically the downworlder mains, who are already running on limited time. look at 3x13 when they want to do a whole heidi arc, who gets cut- magnus. or in 3x17 when they want to introduce helen and aline, i resented them right off the bat for getting twice as much screentime than magnus, a main character, in that important episode for him. throughout the whole show, whenever supporting characters are getting screentime, it always means magnus, maia, and luke are not. that’s not good.

some final thoughts, nearly every single malec fan spent the entire 9 month hiatus from 3a to 3b relentlessly saying alec needs interactions. as if he didn’t get huge bonding arcs with clary and jace in s1 and 2a and 3a. as if he doesn’t talk to and go places and do things with clary, jace, and izzy nearly every single episode, every single season since the beginning. mighty handy to not count the 3 of them when you want to cry “alec has no friends” every single day, as if he hasn’t had an enemy to friendship arc with clary 3 times in 3 seasons. as if he hasn’t had a dying, can’t live without you arc with jace 3 times in 3 seasons. as if he doesn’t hug jace twice more than magnus per half season. as if he doesn’t have izzy there to lean on and talk to. funny how siblings don’t count as friends when it’s mighty convenient that’s they’re the only mains to have siblings. i would kill, KILL, for magnus to be even talk to jace and izzy let alone be real friends, yet fans are taking their friendships with alec for granted, while simultaneously saying they’re robbed of the parabatai dynamic. that’s rich.

if alec having scenes every other ep, and melodramatic arcs every other half season, wasn’t such a guarantee the fans have learned they could count on, nobody would say that his siblings and clary don’t count. but everyone knew they could say that because we know it wouldn’t be taken away. i mean, look at the stark siblings in game of thrones. they never interacted, and the entire fandom cried about that being the most important friendships to show, but it wasn’t shown. this fandom needs to put things in perspective and stop taking the lightwoods sibs and the shadowhunters squad dyamic for granted and realize that magnus and maia don’t get even a minuscule fraction of that. also want to add that simon got plenty of constant sturdy dynamics too, with clary, jace, luke, maia, and izzy. and fans got their alec/ simon content and yet still so ungrateful. i beg the malecs to compare what magnus gets before complaining.

[tbhwhocaresanymore]

Nancy Drew 2x1

ONE OF YOU apparently ran to @kat--writes, or as my friend and I call her Tumblr Kat, and snitched that I had not yet posted my Nancy Drew premiere review. I promised to get it up by today and yes it is technically after midnight but the sun has not yet risen, so please find my thoughts under the cut.

Before I do anything else let me just say I will never stop appreciating the continuous book Easter eggs the show writers drop. Nancy mentioning how she learned that trick with the mirror in “a bungalow mystery” when she did in fact pull that exact same trick in The Bungalow Mystery? Iconic.

Now that’s out of the way, I’m going to do something I’ve never really done before and start off with the negatives. Guys, I was underwhelmed.

Not by the episode itself, the episode was great. It picked up right where we left off and continued into the mystery of the Aglaeca, the cast was engaging, the horror was chilling, the story kept unfolding. The problem is, it was great as any other regular episode, it was less great as a season premiere. I waited TEN MONTHS for this episode. And granted I understand that ND didn’t get to finish off its first season how they wanted, but they have had, I repeat, ten months to plan this. The season 1 premiere, for all its issues, did exactly what a season premiere is supposed to do. It established relationships, a season-long arc, character trajectories, and even a couple of smaller plots. We saw Nancy and her dad were on the rocks, she and George didn’t get along in high school, Bess is rich but living in a van, Tiffany Hudson was murdered and the crew are suspects, George is sleeping with Ryan, Ace is working for the police, and we found the bloody Lucy Sable dress in Nancy’s attic, to name but a few.

You guys, that is a lot of plot lines. And the writers explored and solved every single one of them over the course of the season.

Now we have the season 2 premiere. The crew tries to find a mirror to fight the Aglaeca, meets a mouthy dude, and takes a break from the Aglaeca to hide from the Gorham wraith. (Gorham is 100% a play on Gotham fight me.) Like yes there is more if you squint, but aside from that nothing all that major really happened. Mr. Hudson is setting up a defense, but we knew that already. Ryan wants a relationship with Nancy and is pissed at Carson for keeping her a secret, but we knew that already. The new head cop doesn’t trust Nancy or the crew at all, but, again, we knew that already.

But since this was still a good episode even if a lackluster premiere, I will still give you some positives.

The Gorham wraith you guys, oh my god the horror was fantastic. Nancy Drew is really looking every other magic show’s super special effects in the eye as it hits them over the the head with a folding chair made by their costuming and makeup department. The scarecrow coming to life, banging on the back of the bus, crawling in after Nancy? On point. I was on the edge of my seat.

Ryan I know you are an asshole and your character arc is a work in progress but kidnapping? Are you serious right now? “Your suicidal girlfriend begged us to hide and take care of her child right before jumping off a cliff. Also I didn’t even know you were the father.” “Omg how dare you. Time for BLACKMAIL.” It’ll be interesting to see how this whole Ryan v Carson thing plays out. I suspect maybe Carson will become like an example father figure to Ryan, teach him how to be good to Nancy. Something like “if you’re serious about being a father lesson number one is it’s not about you anymore, it’s about her. And you sending me to prison won’t just hurt me it’ll hurt Nancy.” I think that would be a nice parallel, Kate was Lucy’s guidance counselor, and now Carson will be Ryan’s parental counselor/therapist/whatever.

I’m going to be completely honest here, I totally forgot Nick and George had not actually told Nancy they are together. No idea how long this is going to go on for, I suspect not that long, but maybe up until like episode 5 or 6. I do think it would be fun if Nancy found out in like the absolute worst way possible. Like here is my worst/best case scenario. I know Nancy is supposed to have some kind of thing with Gil so let’s say they hook up a couple times and he burns her, as he probably will, and Nancy goes to Nick cause she’s upset and needs to talk, and when he opens the door thinking it’s the pizza guy he is shirtless and George is in the bed behind him. Unlikely, but fun to imagine. But however they do it, all the Nick and George fans will undoubtedly get some fun footage of them sneaking around, so enjoy guys.

All the Nancy and Ace shippers are also getting good material, even if I want to grab Ace by the shoulders and physically shake him.

Nancy: I can’t let you guys help me summon the Aglaeca, there could be really bad consequences.

Crew: Psh, consequences? What consequences? We have the power of FRIENDSHIP.

*Aglaeca sends them all death visions*

Ace: How dare you drag me into this Nancy I can’t believe we’re all going to die because of you.

LIKE BRUH. ACE. MY GUY. If you could maybe use your considerable brain power to pull your head out of your ass for TWO SECONDS I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks. But aside from that, their scene at the end? Poetic cinema. The slow burn is strong with this one. Even if I do have faith she will eventually find her way back to Nick aaaaaaaaah

Not sure how I feel about the twins yet. I know they were in some other ND-verse book series, but tbh I only ever read the Nancy Drew books. I never delved into the Hardy Boys or anything else, I was a Drew girl all the way. I do think the writers could maybe have done a better job introducing us to Gil and making us like him. Like they were definitely going for the Han Solo type I feel, and George being all “wow the Bobsey twins are hardcore” as he ups the price while literally dying. Um, George, no, the Bobsey twins are fucking morons, or at least Mr. Diabetic over here is. It says a lot that Amanda had only two lines of dialogue and I liked her considerably more than Gil. But who knows, maybe they’ll grow on me. And they did mention their family used to work for the Hudsons, I would bet good money they know about more than one skeleton that’s been stuffed in the closet.

This paragraph right here is for me and the like two other Drewson shippers in the fandom. Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the first meeting flashback oh my god. I was dying. I rewatched it ten times. I am in love. The way they both just sort of stared at each other, the way Nancy clearly feels a certain amount of nostalgia for him and what they had. I am deceased. Honest to god I don’t care how many Nick x George and Nancy x Ace moments the writers throw at us, just as long as I continue to get crumbs like that I am good. Have faith guys.

And finally, oh my dear, talented writers. I would like to know when exactly you are planning on pulling my three most favorite women out of whatever floorboard you have stuffed them under. I WOULD LIKE DEAD LUCY, VICTORIA, AND HANNAH GRUEN TO PLEASE STAND UP. Yes I know Hannah Gruen is in the next episode but the wait is excruciating. And if the last time we saw Dead Lucy was going to be in the courtroom scene, her standing in the doorway as Nancy read her suicide note? I am going to mcfreaking lose it.

Well that’s all for today. Sorry this took so long, I guess I just wasn’t all that inspired by this premiere episode. But hopefully I will get the next one finished much quicker. And with that, I leave you until Wednesday the 27th when Nancy Drew 2x2, The Reunion of Lost Souls airs. See ya

[freetobeeyouandme]

I actually kinda only wanna talk about Supernatural via shitposts anymore because I just...don’t really care? I haven’t gone here in years and I don’t really wanna do discourse, but I have seen some people defend and praise the D*stiel canonization and I just....I’m tired. And I’m angry at the creators. It’s a shitshow not deserving of praise, y’all, and I need you to understand how fucked up this entire thing is. Like, even if they make Dean say it back and they get a HEA.....it’s been twelve fucking years.

And like, let’s compare it other shows with a similar getting together storyline that came out in the past decade or so. Specifically She-Ra and LoK, which also made their queer ships canon in the very last episode of the show. LoK ended in 2014, after a runtime of two years, and made their ship canon in the fourth season. They also had to fight tooth and nail to get there, so that literally last second canonization was one of the few options they had. She-Ra also ran two years, ended this year, and made their ship canon in the last episode as well, after five seasons of BFFs-to-enemies-to-allies-and-lovers. There were hints starting in season 1, and the lesbian showrunner said it was her plan all along, but she had to play it subtle to basically trick corporate into going with her plan. Also with the characters overall arcs and the story going where it went there wasn’t really a point before that last episode leading into the HEA that could have seen them get together.

Supernatural, however. Supernatural, HOWEVER, has been running with Castiel in it for 12 years, producing just as many seasons. She-Ra and LoK combined still only make up a fraction of Supernaturals total runtime. And even giving the writers the benefit of the doubt of not knowing about it, let’s say probably they weren’t aware of the possiblitiy of D*stiel until like Season 5, Season 6. Let’s say that. They still had 9 SEASONS to do it. They still had 9 seasons to make it canon, with several scenes of tearful godbyes and realizing how much the other actually means to them to make it canon. And they DIDN’T. And the question is why? And the answer is because they don’t give enough of a shit about the queer audience, and they’re throwing them the most rancid bone right now. Literal crumbs.

And I’m very sure of that answer, because there are no other options. There were opportunities, I know, I’ve watched the show. They were aware, I know, I was in the fandom. The network is becoming more and more open to these kind of ideas, as several important if not main queer characters in other CW shows prove. Arrowverse, specifically Legends of Tomorrow, has had several. So did The 100, Black Lightning, Jane the Virgin, fucking RIVERDALE. And none of them were end of the show HEA, they were midshow, they were part of the shows for several episodes if not seasons, showing queer relationships in action, not as a future promise. So had the team behind Supernatural cared, they could have convinced corporate more easily than any kids show team ever could. And it’s not about the characters themselves being so repressed that literally until this moment they couldn’t, because characters don’t have fucking agency. They are written by someone, and that someone decided “no.” That someone decided that it wasn’t organic to the show and the story and the characters. This someone knew and had the opportunity and the means to secure corporate backing, and they said “no.” No, they weren’t going to show us a healthy, happy queer relationship between two of their main characters. No, they weren’t going to show us a man figuring out his bisexualtiy and what that means for him socially and in his relationships. No, they weren’t going to go into all the wild gender stuff you can get into with angels.

But now that the show ends, after all these years, they decided that yes, fans can have a bit of queerness, as a treat. And then the queer character was immediately thrown not into hell but in an extra special hell, right after his confession of queer love. Because of his confession of queer love. And he might get rescued in the last two episodes. Dean might feel the same about him. They might become a couple in the end. But even if these big ifs turn out to be true, we still don’t get to see the fallout. There will be no payoff. They won’t go in depth. And that’s not acceptable anymore, not in 2020 where I can name at least 20 shows with queer characters, that all came out after Cas first appeared on SPN, off the top of my head. Not in the year that had a kids show premier on Netflix that has not only a casually gay main character but an ongoing queer relationship that’s shown in progress....a kids show! Which usually is the hardest age group to get queer representation for because corporate is always worried about the children, and queer people have been cateogorized as adult since forever. Not after we made so much progress and have had some truly wonderful representation in the years since D*stiel first made the rounds. It’s too late, it’s not enough, and the lack of care shown towards the queer audience that this is catered to is frankly offensive. So please, don’t praise them for it, and especially don’t do their job of making excuses for them. There are none.

[jdrizzle15]

Hiccups

a RWBY fanficiton.

The date that isn’t a date. Nope, totally not.

If you enjoy this story, please feel free to leave comments here or on the following sites: AO3 | FFN

Chapter 1: Ruby’s Routine Readiness

Author Note: This story takes place as if the attack on Beacon never happened.

They usually meet at a small coffee shop in the center of Vale, right across from a little park. On days that Ruby is able to meet up with her metallic friend, it has become a sort of custom for the young girl to arrive early enough to order a warm, sugary drink while she waits. Not coffee, of course. Ruby only drinks that stuff when the need to stay up late and study arises, or - more often than not - to finish forgotten homework assignments at the last moment. If there’s a choice though, her pick would be a large cup of hot cocoa with as many marshmallows she could possibly get to fit. 

Ruby tries to get an extra early start to make the most out of the day she has with Penny, and today is no exception. Wake up at 5:30, be showered and dressed by 5:45, and rushing out the door to make it to the first airship into the city by 6:00, making a short stop by the mess hall for a small breakfast to eat during the flight. By now, this was her routine Saturday. Getting up so early on a weekend does have its perks; the mess hall is never out of her favorite things. 

Early-morning flights are usually empty for the most part, so being on a first-name basis with the pilot Sapphire makes for a nice little chat during the short trip as she eats her cream cheese bagel breakfast. This time, the two talked about the difficulties of maintaining an airship, a conversation lasting until their touch down in Vale. Before disembarking, Ruby cleans up her mess of crumbs and says goodbye to Sapphire before hopping out into morning sun. Waving as the ship continues on its route.

Practically skipping her way down the sidewalk, Ruby checks her reflection in the storefront windows as she passes, making sure everything is in order. The coffee shop is only a few blocks away from the air station, not a long walk, even for someone of Ruby’s stature. Though the urge to use her semblance to shorten that distance in an instant is ever-present, she manages to contain most of her excitement, somehow.

Upon entering the whimsical shop, the man at the counter brightens, “Hey there, Ruby, good morning! I was just thinking it was about time you show up!” He is the shop’s owner, Markus Sorrel. In his early 40’s, perched upon his nose are thick black rimmed glasses with round lenses, he has short brown hair that he keeps nicely combed, and often wears a nice dress shirt with jeans, though he wears a navy blue apron while at work.

”You know I like to be punctual!”

It’s a very inviting and warm shop, something one would imagine seeing in a fairy tale. An old, dark-wood shingle roof with a spiraling copper chimney, built on walls of stone. A large circular window takes up most of the storefront, just to the right of an arched entryway with a very heavy wooden door. An intricately carved wooden sign is hung just above the door displaying the words “Soul of the Seasons: Coffee and Cookies.”

Over the months of coming here, Ruby had become well acquainted with the staff of the small shop. They’ve gotten to know her so well that by the time the girl walks in, they have her regular order waiting at the perfect temperature: two large chocolate chip cookies and a 20oz Hot Chocolate with a large scoop of mini marshmallows, a layer of whipped cream, milk chocolate candies use as sprinkles, then finally a squeeze each of strawberry and dark chocolate syrup on top to finish it off.

“Here’s your regular, kid,” he says, placing the cup and fresh-baked cookies on the counter. “Do you ever get sick of eating all this chocolate?” Markus quizzed.

“Of course not, I would die before giving up chocolate!” Ruby proudly affirms.

“You think maybe it could be stunting your growth a bit?” He says through a smile.

“What are you implying?” Ruby questions, putting her hands on her hips. “I’ll have you know that my height is perfectly suited to my weapon and fighting style.”

“If you eat fewer sweets, maybe a certain icy friend of yours would treat you less like a child, too?” He chuckles. 

“…Touché old man.”

She picks up her treats, finds a seat, and takes a big disgruntled bite out of a cookie.

“You’re meeting that little redhead again today, right?”

“I am! We can only really hang out on Saturdays, so we try to make the most of it.”

“That’s nice to hear; you’ve certainly gotten yourself a really cute girlfriend. I’m kinda jealous…”

Her cheeks began to burn a little, a deep crimson red spreading like a fire across her face and out to the ears, “Gir-girlfriend!” Ruby spluttered, spraying cookie crumbs everywhere. “W-w-where did you get that idea?!”

“Well...” Markus tilts his head, moving a hand to his chin contemplatively. “You’ve been meeting her here for quite a while now. Like clockwork every Saturday, you show up around the same time to wait for her. And you always get a little fidgety when it gets close to the time she usually arrives…”

“Have you been spying on me?” Ruby asked suspiciously, the blush still persisting.

“It’d be weirder if I hadn’t noticed seeing as you always come here to wait for her.” Coming out from behind the counter with a cloth, Markus begins wiping down tables as they spoke. More out of habit than necessity.

“We aren’t dating! This is the only day we get to actually see each other on a regular basis. In school, we aren’t in any classes together, we don’t even have the same lunch period! I love that she was allowed to transfer from Atlas, I just wish we had more time together. There’s a lot we miss out on with each other, being apart all week…” Ruby paused, looking a little disheartened, “I feel lonely without her…”

“What was that last bit?” he said, through a toothy smile.

Ruby flails her arms. “Nothing, it was nothing!” she says, her cheeks returning to their rosier hue. She looks out the window trying to hide her blush as Markus laughs.

“In all seriousness though, I’m sure she feels the same way, wishing to spend more time together I mean. But anyway, to the main point. You do like her right? More than a friend I mean. If you like, I could give you some advice. I’m sure you have family and friends to confide in, but if you don’t mind me, I’ll help if I can.”

Ruby pauses for a moment, thinking to herself. “I can’t exactly ask any of them, I haven’t even told anyone I like girls yet…”

“So I was right!” He chuckled, while Ruby slumped to the table in front of her, burying her face into her arms.

“I know my relationship experiences are different from yours, but I do have some advice you may find useful. First, have you said out loud how you feel? I’ve found that thoughts alone are quite a powerful thing when it comes to love, but expressing that love aloud, even if it’s just to yourself, can help you to understand just how strong your feelings truly are.”

Ruby lifts her head from the table. “N-no, I haven’t actually said it out loud yet…”

“You have time, but I wouldn’t wait too long to actually tell her, a girl that sweet is bound to get others interested in her. They may try and steal her away. Trust me, I know how it feels, that hurt is not something easily gotten over.”

“NO!” Ruby shouts, jumping to her feet. “No, no, I don’t want that,” she said quietly, almost in a whisper, as she slowly takes her seat again.

Noticing her sudden drop in spirit, Markus comes over to her table and takes the seat across from Ruby. “I didn’t intend to put a damper on your mood, but I feel some things shouldn’t be left unsaid.”

“No, you’re right, I know you mean well. The thought of that just… It just struck me really hard…”

“Would you like some more advice?” Markus asks.

“But you have a shop to run, I can’t take up all your ti—“

Markus interrupts, gesturing around the empty store, “Look around you, does it seem like we’re swamped right now? There’s nothing to worry about. You’re basically the only one who shows up this early, but if someone does happen to show up, the others can handle it. Besides, this is much more important.”

“Well if you’re sure, more advice would be great,” Ruby said, trying not to sound hesitant.

“Okay, have you given any thought to how you’ll tell her? Having some kind of a plan can help keep the nerves down, at least a bit.”

“Of course I have, but I’m not really sure if she’ll understand what I’m trying to tell her…”

Markus gives a look of total disbelief. “Are we thinking of the same girl here? You know, redhead, big pink bow, thin, pretty pale, green eyes and lots of freckles?”

“Y-yeah, that’s her…”

“Oh come on, are you kidding me? That girl is head-over-heels for you! She might not be able to explain the feelings she has for you, but when she realizes that you feel the same for her, she’ll understand. Even if she doesn’t entirely, you will be there to help her.”

“How can you tell? You only see us together for a few minutes at a time.”

“The moment she walks in here and sees you, her already happy face brightens even more. She practically radiates happiness. Not to mention the fact that she always, always hooks your arms together and squeezes as close to you as physically possible while you cross to the park over there.” Markus points out the front window.

“That’s just her being friendly! ...Isn’t it?”

“Also, when you go sit on a bench over there to finish your chocolate stuff and chat, she lays her head on your shoulder, every time! I could name more, but those examples alone should be enough for you to realize she’s in love with you! I don’t know why you’ve convinced yourself otherwise, but I’m sure deep inside you know this.”

Ruby’s eyes widen in realization, “I... don’t know… I must have blocked it out subconsciously. I was afraid of taking advantage of Penny’s innocent nature and affection. As cliché as it sounds, I didn’t want to mess up what we already have…”

“Being in love and wanting to start a romantic relationship with someone, it takes risking the current relationship you share to an extent. Worst case scenario it could destroy your friendship,” Markus warns, and Ruby’s heart drops. “But from what I’ve seen, you have very little to worry about in regards to that. And since she hasn’t told you anything yet, I’m sure she’s feeling these same doubts. I think when you tell her, be sure to also tell her what you just told me, I’m sure her doubts will all but disappear hearing that.” He said, with a soft smile.

“I definitely will. I don’t know if I can do it today, but if I feel the mood is right, I’ll try my best!” she says, determination filling her voice.

“Good, that’s the spirit! It’s somehow very unnatural to see you so down… Now, since we still have a little time until she gets here, why don’t you tell me some things you like about her?”

“Is this to help with my confession?”

“There is that, but I’m also really curious! As you said, I don’t really see you two together that much, and I see even less of Miss Polendina. I want to know some of the reasons you fell in love with her.”

Ruby flinches slightly at the word “love,” again reminded that she hasn’t let her feelings out into the world. “That’s a little embarrassing. But you are trying to help me out, so I don’t mind telling you some things.”

“If you’re worried about it, this conversation never happened! My lips are sealed.” Markus mimes the motion of pulling a zipper across his mouth.

She shrugs. “I’m not really worried. I am gonna tell everyone eventually, so you don’t need to keep it a secret or anything.”

“I see. Well, even so, I’ll keep it to myself. Anyway, you were about to tell me some things about Penny? I won’t interrupt this time.” Markus weaves his hands together and places them in his lap, leaning in to show interest.

“When we first met, I thought she was a real weirdo. Yet, the more time we spent together, the less I thought of her as odd. She was so endearing and kind, I couldn’t help but want to be friends with her, despite my team’s objections. Looking back, she was adorable, when she got in my face after I called her a friend,” Ruby explained, her eyes sparkling as she recalls happy memories. “When we were looking for my teammate, Blake, I bumped into her again. Yang and Weiss bailed on me as soon as there was a chance. I didn’t know what to do, so I reluctantly spent some more time with her,” Ruby continued.

“Did you do that out of charity?” Markus inquired.

“I guess you could say that, I just didn’t want her feelings to be hurt. After a while it just began to feel right, you know? The two of us just chatting about nothing in particular. Spending time with a new friend also helped ease my worry about Weiss and Blake’s argument. It was thanks to Penny that we got Blake out of the docks in one piece, she kicked White Fang butt that night! She was so awesome, mowing them down with her swords! She split two Bullheads in half and actually pulled a third one out of the air!!” Ruby shouted, pumping her fist excitedly while recounting that nights events, “I was baffled at how she was doing those incredible things, but I was in complete awe.”

Markus looks shocked, “Penny was the one who did that? That’s astounding! I remember reading about that incident in the paper. To think someone as dainty looking as Penny could do so much damage. She going to make one heck of a huntress,” Markus remarks.

“She’ll be a top class huntress for sure, I have no doubt about that!” chirped Ruby. “Well anyway, after the police arrived and everything was settled that evening, Penny had basically vanished without a trace. She didn’t say anything and none of us even saw her get up to leave.”

“Were you worried about her?” Markus questions.

“Of course I was!” Ruby affirms. “I thought she was kidnapped or something! In hindsight, thinking she was kidnapped was ridiculous after seeing how she handled the White Fang. It would be a few weeks or so until we would meet next. My mind was swirling that whole time, my worry about her made focusing in class difficult and sleeping nearly impossible!”

But then Weiss and I went to do some research at the CCT, there she was! Turns out she was asked not to talk to me or anyone; Something to do with the worry of an overprotective parent. Being a part of the Atlas military, her father asked for a few soldiers to keep an eye on her. We were spotted together so Penny ran, not wanting me to get in trouble. Two soldiers started towards us, so I followed after her. I was nearly hit by a truck catching up with her, but Penny saved me! She stopped a cargo truck bare handed!”

“A good use of her incredible strength,” Markus comments.

“When we put enough distance between us and them, we stopped to rest a little. I think that moment, there in that alley, was when my feelings for her really started to bloom into what they are now.” Ruby said bashfully.

“What happened?”

“Penny told me about her insecurities, the things she worries most about. She bared her heart to me, really made herself vulnerable. I reassured her the best I could, which seemed to make her feel a lot better. We’ve been very close ever since.”

“You two went through a lot when you first met huh? But that’s not exactly the info I was hoping for. I want to know some of the things you love about her! The things that made you fall for her!” Markus exclaims. 

“Yeah… I know... I’m stalling okay! It’s gonna be embarrassing for me, so if my face starts going red you gotta promise you won’t acknowledge it, deal?” Ruby says, extending her hand for a handshake.

He grabs her hand, giving a firm shake, “Deal.”

“Okay, well, first of all she is the nicest person you could ever hope to meet. Her sincerity is incredible, she’s loyal to a fault, and her personality is so bright that even on your darkest days just seeing her could cheer you up. She’s really strong in a fight and will not stand for her friends being hurt. She’s got her quarks but one of my favorites is when she lies or tries to hide something, she hiccups! It is by far the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! I don’t know if she’s realized that trigger yet, but it kinda makes me want to test it out…”

As Markus listened, he noticed a redheaded girl with a crooked pink bow exiting a big black car on the other side of the street. Immediately recognizing who it is, he decided to let her get within earshot before letting Ruby know. His smile turning mischievous.

“She’s also beautiful,” Ruby continues, “Her freckles are super cute, and I love that curly hair of hers! There’s just so much of her to fall for.”

“Alright! Sorry to interrupt your gushing, but I think we’re out of time today.” Markus said as he gets up from his seat. “Someone’s waiting for you!”

“What are you talking abou-OH! She’s here isn’t she!” Ruby spun around in her seat to find a cute freckled face peeking through the shop’s front window. “Pennyyyy!”

More notes: This is the first story I decided to publish, so criticism is welcomed. I hope you enjoyed it! Look forward to the next part~ I wasn't very happy with the original version of this chapter, so I extended it and changed a few things. Thanks for reading, hopefully I'll get the next chapter out soon-ish!

[ship-obsessions]

The 100 Season 6 Speculations

Okay, so first of all I want to say I’m loving season 6 so far. Give me all of the delinquent interactions. I’m also obsessed with the Bellarke crumbs they are ALREADY GIVING US and how their repressed feelings for each other were shown (although not directly) in 6x02. A while ago I saw on Twitter that a reviewer compared The 100′s 6x02 episode to Motel California in Teen Wolf and now I totally see it. The way the plant toxin affects the delinquents parallels the werewolves being affected by the wolf’s bane... and the focus on the main group of delinquents (specifically Clarke, Bellamy, and Murphy) parallels the focus on the original core 4 in TW (Scott, Stiles, Allison, Lydia). I absolutely LOVED the core 4 dynamic in TW and I’m already loving this trio dynamic between Clarke, Bellamy, and Murphy. Give me more episodes like this! (and maybe add Raven after her and Clarke make up).

That said, I watched the first two episodes when they were leaked, so I’ve been DYING for the next episode 6x03. (Note: I’ve also been streaming them again since they’ve officially aired, so I’ve watched each one like 4 times). Since new content is finally coming next week, I wanted to get out some of my random speculations for what’s coming up later this season even though we literally know so little about this new planet, these new people, the creepy children, etc.. Of course, being curious (like a psychopath), I went through all of the season 6 episodes on IMDb to see what (if anything) it could tell me. I’m sure someone else has probably already done this, but I found some interesting things I needed to put out there...

6x03 

We already have a name “The Children of Gabriel” as well as a description (Clarke tries to win over the leaders of Sanctum in order to let her people stay. Meanwhile, Bellamy, Octavia, and Echo discover a new threat while on a mission to retrieve the transport ship.), so we have somewhat of a gist of what is coming next week. I don’t think they will fully go into the backstory of these “children of Gabriel” but we obviously know the geneticist from the flashback was named Gabriel and the actor, Ian Pala, is only listed for 2 episodes on his personal page and one of those is Sanctum (uncredited). So I’d assume this means we won’t get another flashback of him specifically or the origins of his “children”. But I do think when Clarke meets Russell and the other people somehow this backstory/history (at least a shortened version) will be explained. We know that the episode titles are all explicitly mentioned or referred to in the episodes themselves somewhere, so that’s my reasoning there.

However, I noticed one other small thing in the cast list that stuck out as strange/interesting. Sarah-Jane Redmond’s character (aka the Sanctum hostage that tried to hijack the mothership) is named Taylee in 6x02 but Tilly in 6x03. At first I thought it could have been some kind of error (idk) but it’s listed the same way on her personal IMDb actor page. Is she playing twins?? Is there validity to this clone theory I saw floating around and read about in the Hypable review?? Either way, I’m definitely interested in whatever that’s about. 

Also, I’m excited to meet JR Bourne’s character this episode! We obviously know he is Russell Lightbourne but after all my research (lol I’m taking this WAY more serious than I ever took school), I’m wondering if he’s not just a descendant of the Lightbourne’s but is actually a clone or somehow has the same consciousness from Mr. Lightbourne (Josephine’s dad) in 6x02 (again saw this in the Hypable article around a similar flame storyline theory since Becca created Eligius tech as well). It’s worth noting that we don’t actually know the character’s real name and Sean Maguire is just credited as Mr. Lightbourne -- no first name. Hmmmmm

6x04

Again we have a name “The Face Behind the Glass” and a short description (Clarke embraces the traditions of Sanctum and tries to make amends for her past actions.), but not much else... (or do we??) This episode is probably where we will see Clarke dancing in the room painting and maybe even the lanterns floating in the sky (ie. Sanctum tradition?) -- I’m thinking several “happy” moments with her. I also have a theory -- going out on a limb here -- that it is where we could see the whole “flashback” scene of Clarke in Mount Weather from the trailer. It’s probably not an actual flashback but some kind of hallucination or psychosis thing again, (or maybe even a dream?) but maybe that is where the title comes from -- she’s literally looking at herself from behind the broken glass in MW’s contamination rooms. OR we’re not quite there yet and it’s referring to the stained glass-looking red window/door thing that Emori was trying to open before going crazy in 6x01. 

The kicker for me in this episode’s listing was Jordan Bolger’s credit as Shaw, who we all saw die in 6x01. In what capacity is he coming back? Maybe it’s Raven’s hallucination or even a dream? I could see them showing us her full reaction once she knows what really happened to him, but I’m not sure how or in what way he would come back at some point in the episode (I say “come back” because the actor will actually appear). It will be super interesting how the sci-fi elements work on this new planet. We’ve already seen the eclipse-induced psychosis but what other strange things will occur or happen to our characters? If they are all facing their demons (ie. Clarke with Mount Weather and Octavia with Blodreina) I wonder how those scenes will be played out.

6x05

Again Jordan Bolger is credited... is Miles Ezekiel Shaw back again??? What is going on? 

6x06 - 6x07

I didn’t really notice anything super strange in episode 6, but GUESS WHO IS CREDITED FOR EPISODE 7: none other than Chris Browning as Jake fucking Griffin. Maybe this is another flashback or memory or hallucination -- assuming by Clarke.

Note: Madi is not credited to appear in 6x06 or 6x08 so I’m thinking her “kidnapping” or whatever happens with the creepy person who is holding her captive in the woods happens in 6x07. Or maybe it’s even earlier in 6x05?

6x08

In episode 8, the cast list introduces 2 notable new characters: Josephine VII and Hope. Okay, so with Josephine VII it could be some descendant of the original Josephine Lightbourne in the 6x02 flashback, but it could ALSO be another hint at this clone and/or flame consciousness theory. But Hope... where have we heard that name before? Oh yeah, Diyoza’s unborn child. But Diyoza hasn’t even had her baby yet and in the promo trailers it looked like she was shot (and possibly killed?). Also, this actress who plays Hope is like 6 years old, not a newborn baby. It’s still weird to me though because what are the chances there is another character -- another child, no less -- with that same name Diyoza mentioned she was planning to give her baby. Just seems a little too coincidental to me.

6x09

Okay, I’m going out on a limb here, but THIS MIGHT BE THE ICONIC RAVE SCENE FROM THE TRAILER. Stay with me... I was originally thinking this would happen earlier in the series when I saw this in the trailer, probably like everyone else, but in the IMDb cast list there are 5 “dancers” credited. I mean it is more logical for a rave scene to happen early in the season (because usually all the good things or happy stuff comes in the first half of the season and NEVER this late), but what else would “dancers” be credited for??? The 100 doesn’t do dance numbers LOL. Anyway this idea has me shook because if it is this late in the season, there is a better chance that Bellamy and Echo have ended things by this point and that super short blurry speck in the bottom right corner of the rave dance scene could be Bellamy (you know what I’m talking about). Will they actually make my LIFE and have Bellamy and Clarke dancing at that rave together? Seems way too good to be true, but I had to throw the possibility out there. I mean who knows, my Bellarke-owned ass can always hope for the best. 

After the slim possibility of that amazing possibility, here’s a scary thought to consider (sounds kind of like the show itself), this is the last episode of the season that credits Lola Flanery as Madi... WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO HER. Does whatever experiment being done on her in the promo trailer kill her? Pls don’t hurt Clarke’s smol child.

6x10

So here is where I started low key freaking out because the cast list dwindles DRAMATICALLY for credits this episode. We only have Eliza as Clarke, Shannon as Jordan, and Luisa as Emori out of ALL of the main characters we know and love. Something major has to happen for everyone else to suddenly become absent from this episode. And I’m a little scared to know what that is.

6x11

Okay thank god, the main characters are all back on the credits list for this episode. ALSO there is a new actor credited as young Echo. OMG an Echo flashback?! Will we finally understand who she was and why she is the way she is? Will I even care to get invested in her this late in the game?

Also, IMDb lists that this is the episode Bob Morley directs!

6x12 - 6x13

Our other mains are gone AGAIN from the cast list. It’s back to only listing Clarke and Jordan among the characters we already know. WTF is going on. I need answers NOW. To reiterate, I’m saying that IMDb doesn’t list Abby, Bellamy, Octavia, Raven, Murphy, Echo, Kane, Madi, Miller, or Jackson in episode 10, 12, or 13 (+ Emori in 12 or 13).

I’m honest to god just hoping that IMDb isn’t fully updated with the entire cast list in these last episodes yet -- is that a thing? pls tell me it is -- because if we don’t have a finale that includes Murphy, Raven, or most of all, BELLAMY... I swear to God I will riot. Of course, I’m hoping no one dies (obvi), but now that we know there is a season 7, could J Roth be trying to kill us with some dramatic cliffhanger where Clarke and Jordan are separated from the rest of the group? (PSA: STOP SEPARATING CLARKE FROM EVERYONE). But if so, why would this absence of all of those other characters be TWO WHOLE EPISODES? And during the two part finale of all things. UGHHH my mind is spiraling, someone pls calm me down.

On the plus side, 6x12 lists Antonio Negret as the director for the episode and we all know he brought us the brilliant (yet angsty AF) episode 5x08 last season where Bellamy poisoned Octavia to save Clarke. But if Bellamy isn’t even in this episode WHY SHOULD I EVEN BOTHER CARING.

What’s left that I missed? Probably a lot LOL. I tried going back to watch what I might have missed from the extended trailer but I couldn’t find the video ANYWHERE. It’s like disappeared from YouTube (says it is “unavailable”). What is that about?

Anyways, the scene with everyone together in the house (standing at the bar, shot looking at us) has to be in one of the episodes where all main cast members are credited -- I don’t think it will be the next one so maybe 6x04 or 6x05? Same thought for the Madi/Clarke reunion, I feel like that is in the same episode. I also have no idea when in the season Bellamy is going to strangle Russell with Clarke and Murphy in the room (again my favorite new trio!). And that being said I’m confused on JR Bourne because he was all hyped up as a new character this season but he’s only credited in the next episode 6x03. Does the strangling take place next week? It can’t right? Because Bellamy is off with Echo and Octavia on the other mission and Clarke is the only one in the castle. Also if 6x04 is Clarke trying to embrace the traditions of Sanctum and make amends, there is no way she could do that the episode after Russell (the leader of Sanctum) is killed. 

Sorry for the crazy rambling and this long AF post, but I have so much on my mind after this speculation deep dive. I need to just go to bed.

[the-lina-project]

Lina’s Legacy

grandma lina’s chestnut stuffing

Written by Hilary, November 21, 2011

Reposted from Manchego’s Kitchen on Flickr

to me, thanksgiving = stuffing. and not just any stuffing.  porky, sagey, crumbly, chewy, chestnut stuffing.  stuffing made from a recipe passed down from my great grandmother lina, who brought some serious cooking skills with her when she emigrated from the french basque country.

every year – and i mean every year – thanksgiving is kicked off in my family with a semi-frantic text or call to my mom for the stuffing recipe.  which starts her semi-frantic search for the recipe, recorded neatly in grandma renee's spidery handwriting

it's totally freudian.  because it's totally not fair that grandma renee isn't still able to make the stuffing. that said, while her stuffing was better than mine, she never made enough.  the original recipe calls for two measly cups of bread cubes. two cups.  we always had at least 20 people around the table. this weekend, i made stuffing just for me and the somm . . . and basically tripled the recipe.  and we took most of that bad boy down in 24 hours.  none of that depression-era self-control around our house, no siree.

grandma might have called this chestnut stuffing, but the critical ingredient is the sage. one of the first years my mom and i were on stuffing duty, we couldn't find the recipe.  forgot the sage.  nearly ruined thanksgiving. don't be stingy with the sage.

i used all fresh, but i'd encourage you to go ahead and throw in some powdered sage.  it's old school, and this is definitely an old school recipe.

here's another piece of advice: don't get a manicure before roasting and peeling your chestnuts.  this is messy work.

there are a couple of ways to roast chestnuts, but all of them start with scoring an x on top.  make sure you actually get through the shell.  don't worry about cutting into the meat of the nut.  you're going to chop it up anyway.  i went stove top roasting, but 15 minutes in a 500 degree oven works well too. the absence of an actual turkey meant the absence of giblets in my stuffing this weekend, which totally wouldn't fly for my sweetbread loving momma, but was not a problem for me.  i just bumped the flavor up with sausage.

sage sausage.  that's right. there's no going back to boring ground pork from here. this year, we're heading north instead of west for turkey day, and my mother-in-law sets out a pretty mean spread . . . including the BEST pumpkin pie i've ever had.  but i'm still going to miss my family, who will be gathered around my mother's beautiful table. luckily, i'm not also going to have to have missed the stuffing.

Grandma Lina's Chestnut Stuffing Back in the day, recipes had very little information . . . they just assumed you knew what to do.  Here's the recipe verbatim, and my updated version is below. A note about bread crumbs.  Grandma always used the stuff out of the bag from the grocery store.  This year, I followed the Serious Eats Food Lab's advice and made my own from high quality white sandwich bread.  Next year, I'm going to go back to homemade bread crumbs made from bread with a good chewy crust, because that's how I like it.

For an 8 lb bird.  1/2 lb chestnuts  1 tbsp oil  1/2 lb pork meat ground  1/4 cup chopped onion  giblets  celery  2 cups toasted bread crumbs  1 tbsp sherry wine  2 tbsp parsley  1 1/2 cup hot water  1 tbsp powdered sage  1 1/2 tsp salt  1/8 tsp pepper Wash chestnuts and make long slits on both sides. Bake 500 degree oven, 15 min, remove and take off shells. Boil 20 min.]

Saute meat, onions and butter, 10 min.

Updated Variation:  1 lb chestnuts  1 tbsp oil  1/4 cup water  1 lb pork sage sausage, not in casings  1 large chopped onion  giblets  1/2 cup chopped celery  1/4 cup chopped parsley  1/4 cupish chopped sage  2 tbsp powdered sage  1 tbsp salt  1/4 tsp pepper  4-6 cups toasted bread crumbs  1 egg  2 tbsp sherry wine  1 1/2 cup chicken broth Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash your chestnuts (Grandma knows best).  Score an x through each chestnut, making sure to get through the skin.  Toss with the oil.  Heat a large skillet (that you have a lid for) on the stove, add the chestnuts and roast, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then add 1/4 cup of water and cover and roast until water is gone, about 5 minutes. Let your chestnuts cool, then good luck shelling those bad boys.  Then give them a nice rough chop. Wash your skillet, return to the stove.  Add the onions and sausage (and giblets if you've got them), and saute until the sausage looses most of the pink.  Add the celery and continue to saute until soft.  Add your herbs and salt and pepper.  Don't be shy with the salt – there's a lot of bread to season! Whisk your egg in a medium bowl, then stir in 1 cup broth and sherry.  If you're my uncle Maurice, you probably would have also added a little milk. Combine your chopped chestnuts, bread crumbs and meat mixture in a very very large bowl.  Toss.  Transfer into a large casserole dish – you'll need at least a 9×13 dish. Pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture and press the bread down.  If you like a more custardy stuffing, add more liquid.  If you like a chewier, crumblier stuffing add less and think about omitting the egg. Bake for 30 minutes, covered with foil.  Remove foil and bake for another 15-30 minutes until set and golden brown on top. Try not to eat it all before you make it to your aunt's house.  Or be thankful that even if you aren't with your family, you have the whole thing to yourself, to eat with a fork, standing at the counter, straight out of the casserole dish. Happy Thanksgiving!

https://manchegoskitchen.com/2011/11/21/grandma-lenas-chestnut-stuffing/

[ausp-ice]

Apparitions, Scene 2: Revelations Characters: Wren/Incisura (mine), Wenzel/Raffle ( @the-valiant-valkyrie​ ) Words: 2400 Archive | 1 2 3 4 5 6

Here’s the second installment of my RP with Sav

It was some time before they crossed paths again. Incisura had awoken alone a few hours later, only slightly cold despite napping on the cold roof. They had returned home, taking the following few days off to recover, only to discover that they felt fine after just one day.

Curious.

A week later, they once again stood upon the roof of a building. No big fights tonight as of yet, but they made it a habit to wander the city every now and then.

It was an absolute miracle Wenzel wasn’t caught after the slip up... He wasn’t quite sure how he managed it- especially when giving his luck away. If he was caught, he probably wouldn’t have been able to get out of the house; nor would he have been able to waltz himself down to the corner store and pick up the sandwich he currently held. He meandered without much of a care, eating, tapping idly on his phone... Couldn’t quite sense anything as of yet.

Looking down at the street, Incisura spotted someone remarkably familiar. "...hm. I did say that his costume didn't do much to conceal his identity." They muttered. "Then again, I can't exactly wander the streets like this..." Luckily (hmm), the building they were on was stocked with various coats, scarves, and hats. They were out of season... They'll put it back later........... A few minutes later found them on the street, mask and cloak stashed somewhere for a coat and hat instead.

Wenzel didn’t quite notice them at first, what with his tip-typing on the phone, and his jaw going back for more of that sandwich (turkey swiss on rye, lightly toasted, added salt and bacon crumbs, for the crunch, of course), but eventually he blinked, tilting his head up. Curiosity overtook his expression, and he looked around a moment, as if someone had called his name.

"Greetings." A voice popped up right behind him, remarkably familiar.

He jumped, again, clutching tightly to his sandwich as he wheeled around. His head tilted in confusion at the stranger,

“Uh... Hey, there...”

They smiled lightly. Most of their face was cast in shadow, and the collar of their coat was pulled up high, but their icy eyes were still quite visible. "It's been a week, but it is good to see you again... Raffle." The last word was uttered quietly enough that no bystanders would hear.

His eyes first flickered with fear, before realization slowly melted in its replacement. He looked left and right for a moment, as if to ensure no one had heard the cryptic greeting, before falling pack into pace again,

“Good to see you’re doing well after last time...”

They laughed lightly, as they continued walking with Raffle on the path he was on before. "Remarkably so. The fortunes seemed ever in my favor this week. Usually I'm lethargic for a few days, but I was fine after one! Among other happenings. It was very curious. But how have you been doing? I've wanted to check in on my pati- on how your injury has healed. Has it bothered you at all?" Ah, calling them patients was such a force of habit.

“Oh, yes, It’s healed quite well, in fact...” He wiggled his shoulder just as proof, “You could barely tell I ever wrecked it in the first place. Sometimes it stings a little, but considering the circumstance, it’s pretty cool. I guess we’ve both been pretty lucky as of late, then, huh?”

"Ah, excellent! I'm glad." They glanced at Raffle. "Did you... hm." They lowered their voice. "Did you have anything to do with that? The... luck."

He chucked, giving a light nod as he took another large bite of his lunch, chewing for a while before granting a response,

“Uh huh. Pretty neat, huh?”

"It is indeed fascinating!" They put a hand on their chin. "Does it have limits? Can you give endlessly? Is it only good luck or also bad luck? Does it tire you out or-"

“Well-“ Yet another bite of his sandwich, “It’s weird...” He let his voice fade to a gentle whisper, “I can exchange it... Good luck for one person, bad luck for another. Can’t have one without the other. Depending on how intense the luck is affects how much it tuckers me out... Comes in handy in a scrape, or something.”

Incisura nods. "Mmmmm yes, yes, I see- wait." They squint at him. "Did you give me your luck?"

“For a little while, yes.”

"It did not affect you too badly, did it?" They were disturbed by the thought of inconveniencing another.

“Oh, no. I didn’t take enough for anything bad to happen to me. And besides, you pulled ice from my shoulder- it was the least I could do.”

"Ah... Thank you, then." They bowed their head.

“It’s no problem at all.” He gave a faint smile, glancing to his phone for a moment as it buzzed gently, but seemingly whatever he was told wasn’t too important.

"Ah. I'm not keeping you, am I?" Their steps slowed at the end of a building, streetlights casting the nearby alley in darkness.

“Oh, no, it’s just my...” He mulled over the right word for a moment, “It’s nothing, just an update from family. I’ve all the time in the world, granted that time lasts until...” He checked his phone again a moment,

“Two.”

Incisura opened their mouth to respond, but at that moment, a scream echoed from the alley. They jerked, head snapping towards the shadows.

Wenzel had flinched a second before the sound anyways, but the noise in itself forced a wince from the boy. His head turned immediately to the source, fingers twitching in indecisiveness.

They looked back at Raffle, noticing his wince. "I will investigate. Stay here, if you wish. Follow, if you wish for that instead." They stepped towards the alley.

There was no hesitation as Raffle tailed along behind. There was no way he could possibly... Leave the trace of danger there when he could do something about it. Especially if he had company, which could also do something about it- meaning in total they could do about twice as much thing about it.

A thud echoed from further in. Incisura exchanged a look with Raffle and ran towards the sound - until they came across someone standing over a body, bloodstained knife in hand.

"Oh crap-!" It was barely a whisper under his breath. Raffle was far more used to supersized predicaments. This person was... Stabbed! Just clean through assaulted! Were they even still alive?!

The person with the knife seemed to panic, holding the knife towards them. "S-stay back! I'm, I'm not afraid to use this!" Incisura tilted their head to the side slightly. What to do... They supposed they should help the one bleeding out on the ground, but they didn't particularly want to use their powers in front of some petty criminal, and while all they were wearing was a hat to conceal their face...

Wenzel didn't quite seem to think that through too much. In an instant, the poor soul on the ground was glowing a faint pale hue, and the sod with the knife a red one. Another red glow came from underneath the bangs of his hair, though he carefully pulled up his hood as to not so easily reveal this,

"Just drop the knife. Drop it."

He tried to make his voice a little deeper than it was.

"W-what's happening? What are you doing?" He frantically glanced at himself and the poor sod. He gripped the knife tightly. If he could knife both of them and run, maybe he could get away...

"I said put it down!" He pulled his phone from his pocket, waving it as if it were a detonator to a bomb, "I can call the police!"

"Th-th-then I'll just be gone by then!" He ran towards them - making the mistake of aiming at Incisura, who caught the knife in their bare hands. "Hmm..." They frowned, watching their blood drip. The man's eyes widened, but he couldn't seem to pull it out of their grip.

Feverishly, Raffle had opened his phone, scrambling to type the numbers in. He only paused when his screen went black, eyeing his friend sheepishly,

"My, uh... My p... My phone's dead-"

Incisura sent him a Look. They sighed. "You have to remember to charge your phone every day. You know, so you can call someone when people are getting knifed in back alleys? Well," they gave a half shrug, reaching into their pocket. "Use mine. You can call the police without unlocking it, while I'm dealing with... this." They tossed it towards Raffle.

He grabbed it, hastily dialing, cupping his mouth to the phone so one couldn't hear exactly what it was he was saying. Even though the criminal was apprehended, his hands still shook like a leaf. Just so long as he kept all his luck focused on that one guy.

In meantime, Incisura had jabbed the guy in the eyes and knocked him out while he was screeching. They looked at the person bleeding out on the ground, then at the bloody knife, and stuck the knife in their mouth.

Raffle eventually turned around after a while, looking first at the man at the ground, and then at the knife, half stuck in Incisura's mouth,

"That's... Thats weird, but you just... You do what you have to-"

They popped the knife out of their mouth, shrugging. "Hey, I can only help them if I've ingested their blood." They looked towards the person. "I've stopped the bleeding, and removed the contaminants from their blood. Once help arrives, they'll be fine." They looked back at the knife. "... Maybe I should hold on to this. Now that it... kinda... has my spit all over it........"

"You probably should..." He replied, inhaling deeply and stopping the glow, letting the alleyway fade into darkness yet again,

"Gosh, I hope they'll be alright... A stabbing's never good..."

"Worry not! It's only a light stabbing." Before long, an ambulance and police car pulled up to the scene. Incisura jerked, cursing under their breath. "Fudge nickels. I did not think this through." One of the paramedics ran up to them. "Wren? What are you doing here?"

Raffle castes a glance between the paramedic and his ally, blinking in confusion,

"Wren?"

Wren tsked. Well, it's probably fine. They took off their hat, revealing their face. "Yes, I'm here, someone got knifed, the criminal is there, the knife is gone forever, that person's stabbed and you might want to help them."

Raffle nodded a couple of times, stepping back and gesturing to the previously knifed man on the ground,

"Please help them- it looked pretty bad..."

The paramedic nodded, and approached the prone man. Wren sighed a little, gradually releasing their hold on his blood. It wouldn't do for that to be revealed as well. "Who's he-" The paramedic asked, as he tended to the victim. "Just a friend." Wren said curtly.

"Hello..." He waved, sheepishly, "I... I was the one who called..."

"Well, it's good you did. It's a deep wound." The paramedic's hands glowed golden for a moment. "That should be enough to stabilize him. Unfortunately, I can't do much." The paramedic called others over to help put the victim on a stretcher, carrying him to the ambulance as the police detained the assailant. "I'm surprised, though. You never talk about having any friends while at the hospital." Wren sighed. "Go do your thing. Can we leave now?" The officer seemed to protest for a moment, but they cut him off. "We're going, contact me if you must. You have my number. But, places to go, things to do." With that, they grabbed Raffle by the shoulder and waltzed out of the alley.

He winced slightly at the contact to where such a serious wound would have been, even despite the fact that it had more or less healed, but Raffle took the hint, waking at their side as they exited the alley way,

"... Who was that...?" He questioned after a while, glancing behind him

Wren hmm'd. "She's Aria, someone from work. At my... day job. She has the power to slow the progression of wounds for a bit."

"Oh, that sounds quite helpful..." He noted, casually, before trailing off for a little while,

"Wren's your name?"

Wren paused for a moment, contemplative. "I suppose it's time I properly introduced myself." He seemed like someone they could trust with the info, somehow. They lifted their hand to their chest, bowing slightly. "Wren Curtis, surgeon of the Aeon Hospital - at your service." Raffle almost automatically jolted back, as if Wren were as hot as white coals,

"Surgeon? Like.... Doctor, snippy snippy, surgery surgeon?"

Wren raised an eyebrow. That was quite the reaction.

"Yes... They call me in to operate on those deemed to be lost causes. Not that they'd know, but I occasionally... use my abilities to my advantage."

"I... Mmn..." He hummed, quietly, rocking back and forth on his heels, before finally granting them a sheepish nod,

"That... That's pretty neat, I guess... I'm, uh... Wenzel... Just Wenzel."

"Nice to truly meet you, Wenzel." They gave a light smile.

A long moment passed, before they spoke up again. "Do... do doctors make you uncomfortable?"

"Well... Maybe a little... But that's a long story..." He shrugged, a stray hand scratching the side of his head

"Ah. My apologies. I do not mean to pry..." Wren brought a hand to their chin, before pulling out a business card from who-knows-where. "My number. I thought that perhaps I should get out of your hair for tonight. The hour is late."

The boy blinked, surprise and intrigue lining his features at the little trick, carefully accepting the card. He scrutinized it for a second or two, before tucking it in his pocket,

"Oh, thanks... If you'd best be off, I better not hold you."

"Indeed. May we meet again. Now, I've got a coat and hat to return!"

He took a glance at the clothing, but figured he better not comment on it anymore than they already had, taking back off into the security of the streets.

Wren promptly returned the coat and hat back to precisely where they found it, donning their mask and cloak once more before returning to their lair home.