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ollieofthebeholder · 4 days ago

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And If Thou Wilt, Forget: a TMA fanfic

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Chapter 32: While all things wax and nothing wanes

“You know what confuses me?”

“Quantum physics? Non-euclidean geometry? Why the Tory party is still in existence, never mind in power?” Tim put the cap back on the eyeliner and turned to Gerry. “How’d I do? Is it even?”

“Looks good to me. Also, you’re a dick,” Gerry grumbled. “I’m being serious.”

One corner of Tim’s mouth turned up. “Lay it on me. What’s confusing you that’s relevant to our immediate lives?”

“Well, the Tory thing might qualify for that, actually, but…” Gerry propped his hip against the sink. “How the hell did Jane Prentiss get into the tunnels without you noticing?”

Tim’s smile slipped. “I’ve been asking myself that for months.”

“No, that’s—not what I meant. I just meant…” Gerry flapped a hand helplessly. “Not you specifically. Just…general ‘you’. The worms could squeeze through the floorboards but Prentiss herself couldn’t. How did she get into the tunnels without going through the Archives? Did Jon let her in?”

“Not bloody likely. Even if he is a killer, he wouldn’t have wanted to risk the Corruption getting a foothold in the Archives, it was as much a danger to him as to the rest of us.” Tim shrugged. “She probably went in another entrance.”

“There are other entrances?” Gerry asked, surprised.

“Gerry. Millbank Prison covered most of what’s now Chelsea, and the tunnels—some of which look like they were eroded by curls of the Thames—go at least that far if not further. Statistically, the likelihood that there aren’t other entrances is virtually nil.” Tim sighed. “I don’t know how Prentiss found another entrance, let alone how to get to the Archives afterwards, but that’s almost certainly what happened.”

Gerry mulled that over. “You think Jon knows?”

“No. He wouldn’t use the one in the Archives if he did. Too much risk of being detected.” Tim gave Gerry a quick kiss. “Hey, how do you feel about sushi for dinner? I can pick up some on the way home, and then we can talk a little bit more about what we’re doing about those tunnels tonight.”

“Yeah, sounds good,” Gerry said softly.

He didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to him that there were other way into the tunnels, but Tim was right; it didn’t make sense for there not to be. And he had a point about Jon not having found them, too. They hadn’t been able to get all the way to the end of Jon’s arrows, although they’d found one pointing down a flight of steps that didn’t look right that he knew Tim wanted to investigate further, but if there was another way out he’d have marked it…somehow. It stood to reason he hadn’t found one yet. That didn’t mean he was okay with the way Tim had come out with that information. It wasn’t that he thought Gerry was stupid—far from it—and he’d always had a talent for picking up on hints and piecing things together. But sometimes…just sometimes, he said these sorts of things in a way that implied he thought it was incredibly obvious, and Gerry genuinely wasn’t sure at this point if it was because he assumed Gerry had already pieced it together too, because he thought it was common knowledge, or because he was trying to keep Gerry from asking how do you know that so he wouldn’t have to give an answer neither of them would like.

He kept mulling that over as he started downstairs for the shop, as well as the possibility of the other entrances. The last of the books had been packed up and put into storage, and the walls were hung with examples of his artwork. He was currently working on a commission to hang in a drawing room, and by rights he ought to spend the day working on that, or possibly on a new sign for the front of the building to make it clear they no longer sold rare books, but…

But it would make their lives a lot easier if they found another way in. The sooner, the better.

After spending most of the morning halfheartedly painting while debating with himself, he went back upstairs to fetch Rowlf before heading out.

He didn’t exactly blend in around Chelsea ordinarily, but he had a few things of his father’s—at least he assumed they’d been his father’s—that would help with that. It was about thirty years out of date, but at least it fit him, and it looked pretty decent. A bit of extra makeup covered those tattoos not hidden by clothing, and he and Rowlf were on their way. Gerry figured he would start looking relatively close to the Institute—under the assumption that Prentiss wouldn’t have found the Archives so quickly otherwise—and go from there. It had to be admitted that he had no earthly idea what the other entrances would look like. Still, he reckoned he could at least make the effort.

It was close to the lunch hour when he made it to Chelsea, which he deduced from the number of people milling about. Still, that was all to the good, it meant he was more likely to escape notice, dog notwithstanding. He let Rowlf sniff about, getting the canine news bulletins, while he peered at rocks, bushes, and random structures, wondering if one of them might be what he was looking for.

He noticed a figure coming out of the side door to the Institute, the one that led directly to the Archives, and for a moment he wondered if it was Tim. Instead, it was a petite, curvy woman with black curly hair that he guessed to be Sasha James. Rowlf, always on the outlook for a potential new friend, went on the alert, tail waving excitedly, but he knew better than to pull.

As most people did, she stopped to address him. “Oh, what a cutie! Can I pet him?”

“Sure.” Gerry let a little bit of German into his voice, just to be sure he wouldn’t be recognized.

The woman bent down and rubbed both of Rowlf’s ears vigorously. From the way his tail wagged harder, he must have liked that. “Who’s a good boy? You are! You are! Oh, you’re such a soft baby. What’s your name, sweet thing?”

Gerry could have given any part of Rowlf’s name without giving away that it was Tim’s dog, even though Sasha had met him once before and might have known his full name, but what popped out of his mouth was, “Rowsby Woof.”

“What a silly name for such a majestic beast.” The woman gave his ears one last rub, straightened, and smiled. “Thanks for letting me pet him. I love dogs…have a good day.”

“You, too.” Gerry clucked his tongue at Rowlf, who followed obediently as they moved off in opposite directions.

Gerry had just decided to widen his search a little bit when he saw another figure peering around the corner in the direction the presumed Sasha had gone. He’d only seen this figure once before, and that in deep shadow, but it wasn’t hard to suss out who he was. If nothing else, the worm scars, significantly worse than Tim’s, gave it away.

Jonathan Sims, the Archivist of the Magnus Institute, was watching his assistant with open suspicion—probably because he didn’t think he was being observed. His posture—flattened against the wall, chin craning to just hook over the corner, tense twist to his shoulders—spoke of an attempt to be stealthy. That he was bundled into an oversized trench coat, clinging to the wall in a way that immediately drew attention to the fact that he wasn’t meant to be there, and completely exposed on three sides spoke to a lack of practice at it. Gerry shook his head in despair and turned back to Rowlf. He was definitely going to get caught following her if he kept that up.

Two things occurred to Gerry simultaneously. The first was that if Sasha caught Jon following her, she was going to be furious. The second was that Jon was not paying enough attention to his surroundings to know if anyone other than Sasha noticed him. Word had gotten around that Gertrude Robinson’s body had been found—the Archivist is dead, long live the Archivist—and that probably meant that most servitors of the Fourteen knew there’d been an attack on the Archives, and that it sure as hell hadn’t been the new Archivist that had stopped it. He was weak, he was vulnerable, and all it would take was one strike to take him off the playing field, so to speak. Depending on how close the Unknowing was—he and Tim really had to get back into investigating that—the Stranger might try to take down the Archivist as a preventative measure. And while he wasn’t actually much less convinced than Tim that Jon had been the one to take Gertrude out, that didn’t mean he wanted anyone or anything else to take him down. In the first place, Tim, however reluctantly, was still somewhat protective of him, and if anything happened to him on his watch, he’d never get over it. Something—they weren’t sure who—had already tried once, and might very well have succeeded, had it not been for Tim’s timely arrival and intervention.

In the second place, if anyone was going to kill the little bastard, it deserved to be Tim.

Gerry turned around and, sure enough, Jon was heading in the same direction Sasha had gone. He heaved a sigh and looked down at Rowlf. “You up for an adventure, boy?”

Rowlf perked his ears up and wagged his tail ferociously. While Gerry knew he’d have got the exact same reaction if he’d asked if he wanted to have his balls reattached and taken off again—he did that every single time one of his dads talked to him—he decided to take it as assent and set off down the street.

Unlike Jon, Gerry had a lot of practice at being stealthy, and also with not being noticed in general. Creeping about, ducking behind signposts and shrubbery and around corners whenever you thought you’d been spotted, and moving in short, quick bursts were all great ways to get yourself spotted; it made you out of place, unusual, something to draw the eye. This was especially true if you were wearing a trench coat, for God’s sake, and especially if you were doing so on one of the warmest days of the month, when normal people were in their shirtsleeves. The streets they were walking down weren’t very populated, either, which meant he stuck out like a sore thumb. A very, very paranoid sore thumb.

Gerry knew better. Confidence, that was the key. Look like you belonged somewhere and nine times out of ten people would assume you did. His piercings, metal t-shirts, and dyed hair were akin to protective coloration—it warned people not to mess with him, but it did make him obvious. Look at me—now walk away. Having grown up being shoved into the background, he wore that with pride, usually; he wanted to stand out in a crowd, wanted to be noticed, wanted to take up space. But there were times he did want to blend in with the crowd and become a nonentity. Going to church with Tim and his grandfather. Strolling through small towns where their status as “outsider” made it hard enough to get answers and it was more than their lives were worth to even let their fingers touch for the briefest of seconds. Stealth missions.

Having Rowlf did help with following. Not because the dog was a skilled tracker, he absolutely wasn’t by nature and they hadn’t trained him otherwise, but because he stopped periodically to sniff a lamp post or low stone wall, giving Gerry the chance to stop in a perfectly normal and natural way. He did worry about how long this was going to take but, he rationalized, it couldn’t be that far if Sasha (and by extension Jon) were planning to walk it. Those sandals Sasha was wearing looked like the kind that were worse on the feet over long distances than actually going barefoot. And Rowlf’s stamina was pretty good—he was young, and of course he was a spaniel, so he would probably run the length and breadth of England without stopping if Gerry let him—so walking at a reasonable pace wouldn’t be too bad.

Keeping Sasha in sight wasn’t difficult—she obviously hadn’t figured out she was being followed, so she just kept moving in a straightforward manner—but Jon was going to be a problem. His jerky, erratic progress meant that if Gerry stopped every time he did, even he’d be able to figure out he was being stalked. Ordinarily he would have walked past him without looking in his direction, then moved aside and waited for him to pass again before resuming following, but since half the reason he was following was to make sure nothing attacked him, that wasn’t much of an option. He didn’t have eyes in the back of his head; the ones tattooed on his skin were more in the nature of protective charms. There was also the issue that Jon had met Rowlf before, and vice versa, which meant there was a chance of them recognizing each other. He could probably play it off by claiming to be Tim’s dog-walker—or, in a pinch, make up a fake name for himself and make sure Tim had never called him Gerry in front of Jon—but it wasn’t going to be optimal by any means.

Just as he thought it was no use and he’d have to try the ruse, Sasha turned into the entrance of the Tube station, which was…interesting. As far as Gerry knew, this was her lunch break; at the very least, he assumed Jon wouldn’t be following her if she was investigating a case and he knew it. Even though everything around the Institute was on the expensive side, there were plenty of places within easy walking distance that did a quick and inexpensive lunch. Gerry should know, he’d eaten at most of them with Tim over the past three years. If she was taking the Tube somewhere, she must be planning to take an unusually long lunch.

Jon hesitated, then strolled into the station with such obvious nonchalance he might as well have been humming his own theme music while doing it. Gerry rolled his eyes and looked down at Rowlf. “Come on, Brian, let’s go make sure Uncle Gadget doesn’t get taken by the Claw’s men.”

Rowlf lolled his tongue happily at Gerry, and they proceeded together into the station.

The Circle train was just pulling into the station, and somehow Gerry wasn’t surprised to see Sasha rush for it in a flurry of beads and gauzy cotton. Nor was he surprised when Jon turned up the collar of his trench coat, wrapped it more tightly around himself, and darted into the same car. He took his time and selected a car that had a seat by the window where he could watch to see when Jon and Sasha got off. They would be far less likely to notice him if he didn’t insist on sitting with them. It did mean leaving Jon relatively unprotected, but he took comfort in the fact that there was a limit to what anyone or anything could do to him without alerting the rest of the train…or at least those who knew what was what.

He almost missed Sasha getting off, and probably wouldn’t have noticed had he not seen Jon hurrying after her. He clucked to Rowlf and stepped off the train just before the doors closed, then emerged into the sunlight.

They were at Baker Street, an unusual choice for lunch, but Gerry was no longer certain that was what Sasha was up to. Rowlf, of course, was delighted by all the new things to see and smell—they’d not brought him up this way before—and it was more prone to tourists, even in late September, than Chelsea was, which meant far fewer people minding their own business and more wanting to pet the nice doggy. Rowlf ate the attention up, and Gerry answered questions as best as he could while keeping an eye on Sasha and Jon. The crowd wasn’t so thick he lost them, even as short as they were, but he wasn’t sure he could help Jon from this distance. Maybe the crowd of people taking pictures of themselves in front of the Sherlock Holmes Pub would provide a bit of a buffer, but not much. To his interest, Sasha kept going until she got to Marylebone—still crowded with tourists, at least enough that he and Rowlf weren’t conspicuous, except for all the can I pet your dog people.

He finally managed to extricate himself from a little girl whose mother urged her to go have lunch and let the nice doggy finish his walkies and made his way down the sidewalk just as Sasha finally turned into a building. Jon, of course, stopped dead a few feet away, standing by the lamp post at the curb like the main character of some 1940’s noir detective flick who had suddenly and unexpectedly found himself transported into a family musical comedy. Any minute now—yep, there it was, he reached into the trench coat and pulled out what Gerry could tell, even from a distance, was a pack of cigarettes.

Gerry kept walking down the sidewalk without seeming to look in Jon’s direction, not that he would have noticed if he had; as he lit the cigarette with shaking fingers, his eyes were firmly fixed on the building Sasha had gone into. Rowlf, thankfully, stopped to investigate a fire hydrant a couple of feet past it, which gave Gerry the opportunity to look back at what restaurant she’d gone into. He had to look twice, because it didn’t make any goddamned sense, but…no, Jon was still staring at it, too, that was the right one.

Sasha had come all the way out to Marylebone on her lunch hour…to go into Madame Tussauds?

That was…certainly a choice. Gerry was familiar with the museum, of course. He’d been once or twice, although he hadn’t particularly enjoyed the experience. The waxworks were works of art, of course, and remarkably well done; there’d been more than one incident of celebrities whose sculpture was due to go up coming out, to this one or to one of the branches elsewhere in the world, and posing as a waxwork without anyone seeming to realize this one wasn’t fake. Still, something about the glassy stares in the perfectly smooth, perfectly still faces gave him the willies. He’d never been able to last more than about twenty minutes or so before he started having a hard time convincing himself he wasn’t the only actual living person in the entire building. And the self-portrait Marie Tussaud had done of herself reminded him uncomfortably of his mother.

There was a café just across the road that had outdoor seating and advertised itself as pet friendly. Gerry stopped in and bought two sandwiches, a large lemonade, and an apple fritter, then settled outside. Rowlf snapped up his roast beef quickly and lay down at Gerry’s feet; Gerry ate at a slower, more decorous pace and gave the air of people-watching in general while actually keeping his eyes firmly fixed on Jon.

He made a mental note to talk to Tim about going out on Saturday to get him a mobile phone. He’d resisted, largely because as a young man he hadn’t wanted to give his mother an easy way to get hold of him and now he just didn’t want to always be in reach for any Tom, Dick, or Harry who might want his attention, but there were definitely circumstances when it would be useful to be able to contact Tim while they were both away from the flat. Now, for instance. It seemed like something he ought to alert him about, and now he’d have to wait until he got home…or, more likely, until Tim got home. Somehow, Gerry didn’t want to talk to Tim where anyone else might overhear them about this. It was just…bizarre.

Why a wax museum? He really didn’t think it was to do with a statement; quite apart from the fact that Jon wouldn’t have felt the need to stalk Sasha if he knew she was just doing research, if there was a real statement involving waxworks it would almost certainly be to do with the Stranger, and Tim was ruthless about doing the practical research on those. Unless Sasha had sniped it out from under him. If she wasn’t meant to be doing the research, that could explain why Jon was following her. On the other hand, her movements had seemed…purposeful. Deliberate. She hadn’t had to think about anything, she’d just done it, which spoke to this being a well-established route. Tim had mentioned Sasha was taking extra long lunches a couple times a week without saying so in advance.

Frith in a fog, Gerry thought, which was proof he’d been spending too much time with Tim lately.

Half an hour later, Gerry caught the shift in Jon’s posture and guessed what was happening a moment before Sasha emerged from the front of the museum, smiling faintly but otherwise showing no signs of what she’d been doing in there. Gerry tossed off the last of his lemonade, placed his dishes in the receptacle designated for that purpose, and clucked to Rowlf, who got to his feet eagerly.

There were no surprises this time; Jon and Sasha both went straight back to the Institute. Gerry tailed them both until they were safely inside, then stood for a moment in indecision. He had come out here for a purpose…but Rowlf was probably getting tired, or at least restless. He ought to take him for a run in the park and then go home.

The mutt in question suddenly pricked his ears up and started wagging his tail hard enough his back half nearly lifted off the ground. Gerry didn’t need to think too hard about why, and sure enough, a moment later, Tim emerged from the side door, looking tired. Gerry rested a hand on Rowlf’s head and gave a low whistle.

Tim’s head jerked up, and he came over, smiling but also uncertain. “Ger? Everything okay? What are you two doing out here? Hey, boy,” he added to Rowlf, who immediately tried to put his paws on Tim’s shoulders and clean out his nostrils despite being too short for either. Tim kindly knelt and scratched his neck.

“We’re about to pack it in, but if you want company we’ll walk you wherever you’re going,” Gerry offered.

“Thanks. I’m just grabbing lunch. Sasha and Jon were both gone forever today, and I made Martin take his whole lunch break, so I’m starving,” Tim grumbled. “I just hope whatever they were doing was worth it.”

Gerry waited until they’d gone a few steps away from the Institute before he said quietly, “Madame Tussauds.”

Tim blinked at him. “What?”

“Sasha went to Madame Tussauds. Jon followed her.” Gerry shrugged at Tim’s incredulous look. “I actually came out here to see if I could find one of the other entrances to the tunnels, and Sasha was just coming out when I did. Jon came out a few minutes later and did the world’s worst job of sneaking after her, so I followed to make sure Jon didn’t get killed.”

“Thank you. I think.” Tim rubbed a hand over his face. “And they went to Madame Tussauds? Why?”

“Dunno. I couldn’t follow her in with Rowlf, and Jon didn’t go in either, so I stayed outside to watch. She was in there for about half an hour, then came out and came back to the Institute with Jon following.”

“And Jon?”

“Stood outside smoking a cigarette.”

“Damn him, he said he didn’t smoke,” Tim muttered. “And that means he didn’t actually eat. I’ll have to try to get a sandwich in him or something. Martin might have better luck, I don’t think he trusts me enough to accept any food I give him in case I’m trying to poison him.”

Gerry suppressed a smile. “Aww, it almost sounds like you care.”

“I have to keep him safe.” Tim’s eyes took on a distant look. “That’s my job. To keep him safe and whole.” He stopped and shook his head, then said in a more normal tone, “Anyway, even if he did…you know…that doesn’t mean I’m going to let him destroy himself. That’s also my job. I’m not going to let him take my revenge from me because he’s too stupid and obsessed to look after himself properly.”

“That’s my Tim.” Gerry kissed Tim’s cheek. “Go get lunch and go look after your Archivist. I’m going to take the nice doggy home and try to get the underpainting finished before you get home with the sushi. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” Tim stopped him, pulled him around, and kissed him properly. That he was doing so in public, and so close to the Institute, spoke to how worried he was about what he’d just learned. Then he bent down, gave Rowlf one last pat, and disappeared into the café they were stood in front of.

Gerry watched him go. Then he sighed and, with one last glance over his shoulder in the direction of the Institute, he headed back to the Tube station he’d already seen one too many times today.

Next time he came looking for tunnel entrances, he thought, he was leaving the damned dog at home.

#ollie writes fanfic #tma fanfic #the magnus archives #and if thou wilt forget #gerard keay #tim stoker #not!sasha #jonathan sims #paranoia #anger #canon-typical Beholding content (especially early canon)#unreality #deception #stalking #implied/referenced homophobia

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toastytrusty · 1 year ago

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if u have any more romelukas headcanons to share I would love to hear them 👀 this ship is so underrated

oooooo okokok omg

to #me they started getting close before the gojo deal, with rome kinda seeking lukas out now and then when he needed to get away from Family Drama (tm), and lukas always let him because at least with roman around things are a little less boring. personality wise they keep each other in check really well, roman having a kind of delusional manic optimism towards the world and lukas having a much more nihilistic realistic worldview. they balance each other out yk. i think lukas probably had a thing for rome pretty early on but rome is so oblivious to both lukas' feelings and his own and also is on the aroace spectrum (ace panaroflux) and just. does Not pick up on Anyyything so they suffer the necessary queer situationship for like a year. rome is also probably very flippant and dismissive of lukas trying to connect, because he is just. so scared of attatchment and being genuine. but they'd do mundane shit like watch movies and play video games and go boating on that bigass lake. lukas would try to get rome to open up to him but he never would, not yet at least.

i think romes explosion on the mountain started a kind of a temporary fall out period; lukas realized rome was not like. in a good enough mental place or situation with his family to persue any real relationship so they both kinda back off but but it also makes lukas want the company even more bc he realizes how badly rome needs out of it.

after the gojo deal i think rome takes a lot of time away from the company and his family and everyone he knows in general, maybe for about a year, just kinda traveling the world and learning how to be a person without anyone else's influence, because he needs that. get a dog, eat some steak, yk. not talking to anyone, just off on his own. i think what would eventually draw him back is shiv's baby; it would probably take him a few months to actually see them, but once he did he would realize how badly he missed having people around him, and even though he didn’t regret his journey of self discovery, he knew he was done with it. after spending a few weeks with shiv and baby, he would find himself reaching back out to lukas, and eventually make his way to wherever tf lukas lives in sweden, and kinda just. never leaves.

i imagine roman would move in without ever really making it a thing? he would just show up one day and follow lukas around, and lukas would never really comment on it or ask where he was or why he suddenly wanted to stay. maybe he had a guest house or guest room waiting, hoping that rome would come back eventually. rome never reapplies for waystar or any of lukas' various assets, he is chronically unemployed and just. hangs out. they give each other something to do; hiking and late night campfires and general company through all things. it's like a petty unspoken challenge to see how long they can go without either of them acknowledging that there is anything past Pals going on. like gay chicken except they are actually gay. i see them as endgame in the way that they never really. Acknowledge? anything between them? they just kiss and hold hands and sleep in the same bed every night. but like, in a bro way. totally. don't think too hard about it. over time they come to understand each other better than anyone else and spend like all their time together.

i can totally see roman spontaneously proposing out of the blue one day, in the way he did with both tabitha and gerri, a kind of insecure need to be reassured that he isn't going to be abandoned, as well as having this kind of transactional perspective on relationships and being deserving of love. i feel like they could adopt a kid at some point, and compete to see who could be the better parent. roman would try sooooo hard to be a better dad than logan was and end up being really indulgent, and lukas would have to be the voice of reason. while roman would go for overcorrection to try and make up for his shitty childhood, i feel like lukas would be a lot more timid to be super involved, but would ease into it and do a really good job.

#rome turns to lukas one day and says “i think you're my best friend”#lukas says “oh we're friends are we? i thought you didn't have any friends”#rome tells him to fuck off #theyre my favorite boybestie boyfriend husbands #this isn't quite relevant but i love the idea that lukas owns a shit ton of land in the middle of the mountains in sweden #and he's a nerdy tech guru who goes on long hikes and is really in touch with nature #anyways #romkas camping trip when #succession #lukas matsson #roman roy #succession hbo #hbo succession #romelukas

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measuringbliss · 1 year ago

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Spider-Man Read-Through 022: The Master Plan of the Molten Man... and Dracula is also there (ASM 132-133, GSSM 1)

MASTERPOST

In this duo, we see an old friend... or two. And then, we meet a vampire. OoOoOh~!

I really enjoy the Molten Man's new design! Gorgeous cover.

It may be January in the Marvel-verse, but we're in May 74, publication-wise!

Liz is back! Hasn't been seen since issue 30, which explains why I keep mistaking Betty and her.

I don't know why, but I remembered this specific (and very ugly) maid. Poor lady.

Anyway, Raxton is hot, there I said it, we can get on.

When I first saw those panels, I thought it was exactly like how Romita would draw Liz... then I checked the credits again... and it's him! His soapy style is gorgeous as ever. Peter says she never got on with MJ, but given that MJ appeared for the first real time in #42... I don't know what he's on. The art of the retcon!

Ned, who's investigating the maid's intel on Raxton, almost dies as Raxton (actually the Molten Man) makes his room explode. I like that Ned (and the rest of the cast) are more involved! I miss them.

The Molten Man has apparently not been seen since #35, which checks out. It's the occasion for the artists to put gold, which is a shade we don't see so much.

Look, is this a safe space? Can I say what's on my mind?

The feet are really nice. I'm not particularly into feet (I know, TMI) but I'm really impressed by how it looks good. And the rest of Raxton's body is obviously quite well-done too. I'm not saying that Spider-Man comics made me gay, but they sure aren't beating the allegations.

Ned is very badly aged, but I like the damsel in distress look.

Raxton's radiation has a bad influence on Peter's metabolism, and he might very well die by the next issue...

Oh, who are we kidding?

In the readers' letters, it seems like Gwen's death has now mostly been forgiven, and someone is praising MJ--and she deserves it!

Even men want to see more of Peter! I'm afraid the situation isn't exactly adapted, however.

As a matter of fact, Spidey has already planned to party in a sauna with another man. Better luck next time!

(I love those smoke effects.)

Liz reveals that Raxton is her brother, which I completely forgot about.

We rarely see that kind of comedy, hahaha.

So. Um. It's a classic story of Spidey kind of being a jerk. Um. So Liz's brother is dead. For now. Maybe. Oof.

In the comments, there's also people talking about Russia's attack on Ukraine. Gerry Conway's run is really provocative, huh! I'm kind of loving it. His shaking of the status quo, not the attack.

I wonder if we'll get to see Liz's reaction :(

I'll do Giant-Size 1 later, it's currently more than 3 am. Hey, do you know what we'll get next time? A big batch... and Harry's big moment as, you know, the, the...!

Oh, you'll just have to wait!

______________________________________________________________

And here's the late addendum of Giant-Size Spider-Man #1!

I'm into that, actually!

So May's dying again (isn't she always?) and Peter needs to get her a vaccine. Ross Andru thus entertains us with a brilliant perspective shot.

Their homoeroticism never fails. Reading the summary of Marvel Team-Up 23 actually was a treat, because I finally got the answer to a years-old question of mine: did Iceman really rob a bank in the first few pages of this issue?

No, he didn't, folks!

Yes, you're getting a ton of screenshots for this part, since I know there's no more issue in this batch after this one.

Anyway, Dracula... Could you please breed me?

To me, Peter and Dracula crossing paths was like, an interplanetary event. It gave me chills. In fact, it still does and I think I should write Peter/Dracula smut now so thank you to the whole team, you've made a mess out of my brain, ARE YOU HAPPY?!? (It is 3 am.)

At least three factions are out there to find Maxfield, either to kill him (Dracula), use him for bartering (the Whisperer and Simian), and naturally Peter just wants to heal his aunt.

I remember that exact cosplay!!!! Funny what the brain remembers and doesn't. Sir, if you thirst so much, maybe I could come to your aide. You just need to ask. Okay, that's actually optional.

The Whisperer's men have a run in with Dracula and think he's Maxfield, which totally offends Dracula. As revenge, he decides to homosexualize his assailants.

Muahahaha.

The writing team then attempts to gaslight me into thinking Dracula isn't hot as fuck.

They're not doing a good job, I can tell you.

A woman is attacked by Dracula, Peter hears her, alerts the captain, who makes Dr. Maxfield come... and Simian follows them.

The fake Hawkgirl attacks one of them and is knocked unconscious. They escape with the man, Peter escapes too...

I'm all giddy!!!!!! Don't know why, but I love that "oh it's not the end yet... or rather, at all! I'm loving this romp. It's a complete joy.

In a great feat of misdirection, Simian and his men find Spider-Man... but actually, he's just a rando in a costume! That's funny and foreshadowed (given that everyone's in a costume anyway). And if I remember, this isn't the only misdirection...

The guy on the right is a fun one.

Meanwhile, Dracula is just as uncomfortable watching Babylon's first 10 minutes as I was. (It's a great movie, go watch it.)

Great mise-en-scène! The Whisperer has trapped the guy, but a bat follows... and hits Simian with its gay ray. Hurray!

Gosh, Dracula is such a girlboss. "I have been harassed--attacked--INSULTED..." Iconic.

Dracula eventually escapes, convinced that he just threw Maxfield overboard... but Spidey caught fake Robin Hood!

And thus, the biggest twist arises!

What a girlboss too.

And that's how it ends. A stellar issue! Loved it.

#spider-man #comic books #comics #the molten man #spideytorch #dracula #dracula/peter

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eclipsecrowned · 2 years ago

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1, 9 //@hearsthephone

1. what is a deal-breaking trait in another muse for romantic consideration? this can be as detailed or as not as you like (to extend: if your muse doesn’t necessarily have one, why?)

One thing Zorya is fully, unshakably aware of in terms of romantic deal-breakers is this: She wants someone who stays. She wants someone to communicate with her. That tragic romantic ideal of 'leaving to find myself' or 'it's not you, it's my enemies' would just infuriate her. The rogue that steals away in the night to 'spare her' some facet of their lifestyle will be permanently blacklisted rather than welcomed back upon a return visit. If you aren't going to be open and hang around for a bit, she's not going to bite.

She's got enough ephemeral bullshit in her job to be able to tolerate it from her love life. Her work typically deals with having to wheedle the truth out of situations, so she's not going to come home and do the same with her partner. Really, what she wants is just... The barest bones of respect before opening herself up to romantic potential.

9. name three other canon characters from any sort of media that you could compare/draw inspiration to your muse & explain why (to extend: can you detail a specific moment or trait that makes you draw this comparison?).

Lestat de Lioncourt: Yeah... Yeah. A musical prodigy who is easily led astray by their emotions, mainly their desire to be the center of attention at all times. Unlucky in love and has a special talent for just pissing people off as first impression. Has deep wells of charm and a capacity for danger besides. Sort of a weak baby gay when it comes to any sort of open conflict. I've alluded to Zorya being a fan of the in-universe novels, but specifically she's the kind of red flag who read TVL and went 'omg he is just like me...' I as her mun cannot wholly disagree.

Karou: Mystical oddity of a girl brought up too proud and too self-assured, before getting pulled into greater perils and maturing significantly. A diligent practitioner of specific magic lineage/practice handed down to her by her father. Small but fierce, with a habit of going for the peaceful resolution over open violence while taking no shit. And in the less idealistic, I think about how Karou is described as so otherworldly and graceful. Given her parents, I think 'otherworldly' was always going to be in the cards for Zo. As for grace, well, she's petite and is well-acquainted with the stage. She probably has to consciously make an effort to walk like a big bad with some hands instead of just gliding across life.

Gerard Keay: Much as her brother wants to be this, Zorya IS the Gerry equivalent. Born with an immunity to the horrors, or a least a much higher tolerance for them due to her ancestry, she is now largely dedicated to helping protect humanity and have a laugh at the expense of the abyss she forces to blink first. They're counterculture, they're socially awkward, and they both love stupid jokes! That, and both have that hidden heart of gold beneath their reputations/mystique.

#zoryatbt #hearsthephone #:3c did one for matthew n finney's tarot buddy--

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nerdypixel · 10 months ago

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Okay I think you have a point. The women in tma don't get enough attention.

And this might be due to sexism, but I think there are more factors at play, especially if you consider that (from what I've seen so far at least) the women in the Magnus protocol get much more love and attention than the men.

I think it is a difference in who is at the center of the story.

Jon and Martin are the main characters. Elias/Jonah is the main antagonist. It makes sense that most stories include these three.

I also think that it is logical that most mlm fanfiction is about Jon and Martin, especially since the fandom is exploring a lot of different relationship things with these two characters specifically.

Jon's in cannon asexuality is explored and discussed in all the different forms it can take and this is a huge and important part of the fandom, as good ace representation is still rare to come by. Martin is a great exploration of depression and parental dynamics and insecurities in relationships. They are undeniably the main characters, so much of the fandom is latching onto them and dissecting them from many different angles.

The relationship between Georgie and Melanie just doesn't get as much screen time. It is established in a somewhat awkward, short scene in between major plot points, so it doesn't get focused on as nearly as much as Jon and Martins relationship.

Furthermore, it seems to be an overall healthy relationship, so there is no easy drama to write. (if you compare them to the other in cannon established relationships) So I think more inexperienced writers shy away from them a bit, because they have to do a lot more ground work to get a good story. Also I didn't know that their relationship tag was this, as someone who joined the fandom just last year. I agree they do need more love, as I think they ARE overall interesting characters, but I also struggle to include them in the fanfic I'm currently writing, because they get to live in the end. (I will include them in different AUs though)

Regarding ground work in setting a story... With Jon and Martin it is enough to say "this is set at point x in plot" and then just write a one shot set in the Archives. You don't have to set up anything.

Another thing to consider is that there are a lot of one shots out there. A general rule in writing is: The more characters you include, the longer the story will be!

This is because you need words to describe what each character is doing. So a lot of one shots only feature two characters at most. In case of this fandom, the two characters in question are most likely Jon and Martin, as they are the main characters and the main relationship, explaining part of why there are so much more mlm fanfiction.

Also... Peter and Elias do have this weird relationship with each other and that gets featured a lot, as well as the weird dynamic between Jon and Elias. Hot, somewhat creepy villains are just fun to explore.

Now regarding specific characters.

I think that Sasha gets less attention then Tim for example, is because she died so early. Don't get me wrong, I love her a lot, but she is not nearly as fleshed out as Tim and her dynamic with the others is not as well developed. Wich means there is a lot more potential there, but it also means, that as a writer, I'm scratching my head a lot, trying to get her characterization right.

As an artist I have a different problem. That is finding a good design for her. Somehow she always looks wrong, when I try to draw or picture her, wich is kind of in cannon, but it also means, it's a lot of frustration. Frustration I don't necessarily have with drawing Jon or Martin or even Gerry for that matter.

When you compare Gerry and Georgie, then you are right that Georgie gets more of a speaking role and I do think she is crucial to the plot, because she took Jon in and his relationship dynamic with her is important characterization for him. She is also super important for the whole later part of the story.

However, it would be unfair to reduce Gerry to only his speaking role (wich was phenomenal). First you have to acknowledge that his speaking role was plot deciding. He was the one to really explain things and make sense of things and helped Jon a lot with his statement, moving the plot forward big time.

He is also a really tragic character. And gets a lot more characterization (and a cannon design) through the statements. He is in a lot of them, doing badass, mysterious stuff. His first introduction is as early as episode 4. We don't get to hear Martin until Episode 22. Gerry sets a lot of things in motion. His relationships to Gertrude and Mary are interesting to speculate and talk about. You can analyze a lot of stuff there.

Also Jon pronouncing his name as Jared and the confusion that lead to is at least part of the tags.

The difference between Helen and Michael might be because Helen gets more depth.

Michael is mostly fun and his laugh is iconic. His relationship to Gertrude is an interesting factor the parts of the fandom I've seen want to explore more. Personally I find Michael more fun to draw, because he is described in a way, that burned itself into my head. I'm also friends with some people who go absolutely feral about Doorkeay (Gerry x Michael) so that's part what influences me as well.

Helen is more fleshed out and definitely interesting and I will draw her more soon, but I also don't like her as much. She is a really good character, but not as likable, because we see more of how she affects people. With her the manipulation and lies are much more clear and while Jon regarded Michael with neutral suspicion and caution, his relationship with Helen is more complicated, leading to him killing her in the end. Because we see the story mostly through Jons eyes, our feelings towards the matter get influenced by his, if that makes sense. So, I don't think she gets hated, but she is just not as likable.

That's another problem I see with Georgie as well. She gets hated, because we see how Jon gets hurt by her not helping him, when he would need her the most. She is making a completely rational decision, setting a boundarie and enforcing it at that point in the story, but because we are seeing it through Jons eyes, we only get the hurt and little to none of the rationality and many fans can't separate this.

Now I think there is the same problem with the Archival Assistants overall in the later part of tma. They are largely antagonistic towards Jon throughout season 4, wich is good writing and completely understandable and human of them, considering the circumstances, but that paints them in kind of a negative light when you are rooting for the wet cat Archivist.

I think overall the women in tma are just too capable, competent and badass to make fun off or put in silly situations, so they get featured in more serious stories. When I see them included in stuff, it is usually the more time intensive and well thought out variety.

And another point I haven't mentioned... Most of the women are not in the podcast from the beginning. That's a main difference I see with the Magnus protocol for example. In tma we get Jon for the most part of season one, a little bit of Sasha, then Tim, Martin and Elias. Melanie, Georgie, Basira and Daisy are established later, so they appear more as side characters, regardless of how important they are to the story.

Most stories that are set in season 1 will naturally feature more men, based of how tma is structured. With the Magnus protocol, we have a lot of badass (and wet cat) women from the start, so that might explain the difference there.

The focus is also different. There are many more dynamics established at the same time and even though Sam is one important main character, we also get to follow Gwen and Alice and Celia. There is not one or two main characters, but 4, three of wich are women.

Lena is also a really important part, similar to Elias.

So to conclude, this might not be a sexism issue, but an issue about who is at the center of the story. How is the plot framed. And wich characters are we supposed to be rooting for. I will not deny that sexism might play a role as well. I will not deny that the women in tma absolutely need more love and attention, but I will not put the sexism stamp on the entire fandom, when there are much more factors to consider.

It is more complex than just sexism.

Most fans are lovely people, who are obsessing over a handful characters out of a HUGE pool of them and yes some things come down to preference.

Tma has so many niches and so many characters to choose from. It is impossible to put the same attention and care to all of them.

Ok putting serious thought into this

SEXISM IN THE TMA FANDOM

[pt: sexism in the tma fandom]

There are a lot of female characters in tma, all very complex. Yet they dont get a lot of attention in the fandom, which I am going over

Ao3 is a good for this actually. This is the tma tag without any filter

The top character tag consists of 6 male characters and 4 female characters, with sasha barely being in the top 5. Hell GERARD KEAY a character who had a speaking role in ONE EPISODE has more fics than daisy, a character whos been in a large large amount of episodes. Georgie, someone who was in the majority of season 3 and parts of season 4 and 5, isnt even in the top 10

Along with that the top 10 male characters that have been tagged on fics a total of 51041 times, with top 10 female characters at only a mere 12199 times. The difference between those is 38842

The top ships tags has mlm at 15588 fics tagged as such with wlm ships being at 1830. That is a difference of 13728 fics.

And lets check tumblr

Here are 4 female characters in tma and their follower tags on tumblr

See thats all good now lets look at them men!

oh. well then

Shipping is not much better:

Jonmartin is so much more popular than wtgfs. And before someone says 'Well wtgfs dont get much in canon' there should be some people who actually acknowledge them

A more clear example is pitting Helen and Michael against eachother. Helen undeniably has more screentime, while Michael has around 4 episodes total? So lets see the results

And as expected it is again, much higher in the male category regardless of how much screentime he actually gets

Lets do another one, a male character that is barely in the series vs a female character that is in the series a lot

And theres so so much more, such as how all the women get demonized while the men get praised, Im just pointing out the clear unavoidable facts

So all in all even if the women DO get attention they still are horrifically overshadowed by the men. Hope you all had fun, please fix this the girls dont deserve it

Also I swear if one person goes 'The men are just more interesting' or 'I just have a preference theres nothing wrong with that' you are entirely missing the point. Having a preference towards men is sexism plain and simple, look at yourself and fix it

#tma #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #georgie barker #gerry keay #michael distortion #helen distortion #wtgfs #jonmartin #daisy tonner #sasha james #melanie king #basira hussain #timothy stoker #elias bouchard

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frankensteindotpdf · 4 years ago

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theres less than a week till halloween and im still considering changing my costume

#i speak #ive got the stuff for robbie gravityfalls just gotta put it together #but hhhh what if i did a magnus archives costume last minute #like. siiigh idk #see if i dress as a gravity falls character at least my friends will know who im dressed as #then i wont get..made fun of..which would be nice on my favourite holiday #but on the other hand there are s o many tma characters i could dress up as!!#and it would give me an excuse to draw on gerrys eye tats if i went with he #martin would also be *chefs kiss* but i dress like him every day now anyway so #not much dressing up to do there #idk ill probably stick with robbie considering i dont have a long black coat #(unless....gerry on vacation....i do have a black aloha shirt.... which im 90% sure he canonically wore too....)#idk idk #ill think about it #siiigh #well see i guess it also depends who im with on halloween?#ill eitehr be with just my roommate or 1 or 2 friends might come over #even then its like.#on one hand more friends means less roasting so i can dress as whatever i want #buuuut the friend whos most likely to show is gonna be wendy soooo being robbie would be dope #oh decisions. how i hate you.#if youre being vagued about in this post then uhm. hi

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linktoo · 3 years ago

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MAG S5

You have to understand I really really wanted to like this season. I knew it was a different structure from seasons 1-4 and I LIKED THAT IT WAS, OK???

God. I know people said they didn’t like all of S5 but the beginning was set up so well. As someone who genuinely is not a fan of apocalypses in fiction, they did such a good job with act 1. Jon’s weariness as he learns to figure out his newfound powers but different from S4, as it is much more powerful, and that he has to navigate literal nightmare logic. The tapes he listens to over and over is so poignant. Hearing people in the past and trying to recontextualize it all after everything they’ve been through. The Birthday Tape. The Tim and Sasha comments about Jon being appointed as the archivist being seen as sexist is SO PERFECT it’s so powerful it’s such a natural convo. I’m obsessed. Of course it was taken that way and it turned out it’s just because Jon was chosen by an eldritch being. Dramatic irony at its peak.

And don’t get me started on Gerry and Gertrude. Their back and forth comments are so sly, the fact they hide a lot from each other but engage with each other on the same level. You can see the difference between that and Gertrude and Michael, where there was much more of an unequal power dynamic. Gertrude is not afraid to be herself with Gerry, and it is wonderful.

And FUCK god I was so into the abstract statements. I know people said they didn’t like them compared to the statements from S1-S4 but hoooly fuck I loved them. They were more retrospective and honed on fears more. The fact they had different Writing Structures was so clever, Jonny really focused on the creativity of the statements (at least for the first half of S5). I am seriously not usually one for poetry but it fucked so hard.

My favourites I remember in particular:

1) The stranger (Revolutions/The Merry-Go-Round statement)

wow. the stranger statement is.. wow. it's really good. I'm . I'm really not someone who's good at analyzing poetry on a technical level but the rhythm jonny uses in this.... is really impressive. powerful. draws from that spiralling, ebbing, flowing nature of that fear. I love your slam poetry Jon.

the fear of rapid change. constant. you're forced on the highest highs but lowest lows. you lose sight of who you are you want to stop but you can't and at the end of the day what were you chasing in the first place?

This specifically for the stranger really hones in on the idea of identity and losing parts of yourself and being unable to relate to our own concepts anymore

2) Martin’s Lonely statements (both of them)

A great retrospective on how Martin sees himself

and him desperately but slowly learning little aspects about himself and promptly forgetting and losing himself and over and over. Just very cool.

Martin coming to terms with being glad his mom died is something… very personal. Very specific that I love very much. I wish we got to explore it a bit more outside of his domain.

3) The Web (Strung Out)

"pause for laughter" gets me every time holy fucking shit it's so measured and cold. Neutral

The limbs being hooked in each limb representing every person in their life forcing them to act. Forcing them to be someone they're not. Blood is trickling everywhere. The bottle at the end really bringing back the "addiction is one of the strongest vectors of control there is" in S4.

I think this is the best exploration of the web in S5.

My heart also really ached for Jon’s moments of humanity. His excitement when he realized there was a blind spot to his powers and that he just Doesn’t Know. The fact that he wasn’t allowed to remember the time with Martin in their little oasis break. His little moments of banter with Martin were so sweet.

Now time to get into the issues of S5. It's definitely missing having other characters to bounce off of since there's not A plot + B plot. It's all A plot because it's just Jon and Martin the whole time, and while it's good, it's also difficult to take a break from it all. Martin/Martin in the Lonely and Jon/Helen was a good solution for a bit and the tapes in the very beginning, too. I think it could have been pushed way morem but the structure of S5 makes it inherently very hard to do that.

Martin and Jon were Very Cute in the beginning and middle. Somewhere along the way, I do understand the touches of maintaining a healthy relationship in a high stress situation but something about the last act felt off. I saw people complaining that Jon and Martin bickered way too much and were “incompatible” and I kind of understand what they were getting at? It was all just “I love you” and focus on sacrificing themselves for the other without getting into more nuance, I think. I think especially with ‘new romance’ you have to establish and verify what exactly they are fond of for each other and that’s why it feels so strained later on. It’s why I know some people described S5 as very “pandery” for JonMartin content. It makes me sad because I genuinely think they would work, but the writing does miss it a tiny bit. I’d say OFMD is a good show that properly explores why Ed and Stede work together so well in comparison; honouring the good traits they see in each other that make them so admirable.

I also think it's weird they reset Melanie's whole attitude to Jon back to "I hate him" because the last time he saw her she said she was there for him, that she is a friend. The cult was lackluster too, they were introduced too late into the season then get taken away to raise the stakes

The ending was rough. It was really, really rough, I’d say… episodes 190-200 I think. I can’t quite pinpoint where the concerns in the back of my mind started coming in slowly, but I do know that ep 200 really did it for me. I was seriously forced to realize how little payoff everything had compared to the earlier seasons. It is agonizing to know that all the plot beats were setup, but the execution was… not good.

I think they heavily missed the mark and the catharsis wasn’t there. Anabelle was not as clever as she was set up to be. The idea of the web being the one to set up the tapes takes away from it being Jon’s thing in the end. “Mr. Spider wants more” never really felt earned, it just ended up being kinda spooky and they were never intending to kill Martin anyway. The cult just got taken away off-screen to raise the stakes just as they were introduced to explore prophet “worship”.

Jonah/Elias was no threat at the end, Jon just kills him and that’s that. No fun showdown between Elias and Jon. You don’t even get to the buildup of Jon deciding to take his selfish choice at the end. I liked the statement that comes from how the fears are born, but I just really wanted some more back and forth, more push and pull between Jon and him as the final showdown.

But Elias is just seen as this weak little puppet that Eye uses and Jon is still himself when he takes over as the pupil and Martin just kills him. They don’t even talk about the poetic reason Martin having to kill Jon, the one he loves at the end after being marked with so many fears or anything! It’s just “kill me and we’ll be okay. I hope”. I knew what would happen at the end, I knew it would be open, I knew Martin would kill Jon!!! And yet… it felt so robotic.

There’s no buildup at all to Jon’s decision to betray the rest of the group, it’s just… it’s just so all of a sudden. And it’s hard. It’s hard how abruptly they end and it’s hard how abruptly open it is, especially compared to the catharsis and reveal of S4. Because at the end of the day, TMA is a horror AND mystery podcast and there was basically… just supernatural spooky powers at the end of it, and that’s it. It felt rushed, it felt like the themes explored just didn’t quite hit its mark, and it’s devastating to finish S5 and feel like I’ve just kinda hit a dead end. It didn’t explore the final characters and their humanity and felt like a big rushed fight. I’m seriously still trying to understand my feelings after finishing tma. They said they had planned 200 episodes, starting from the end and yet the end was BY FAR the weakest part of the entire podcast!!! I was reeling for like 5 hours just completely unsure how I even got here!!

It was disappointing, but at the end of the day I will heavily pack up my feelings for tma and still conclude.. It was a good podcast. I don't want to forget what made it loveable and brilliant in the first place.

I just wish I didn’t feel like the ending was as shallow as it felt.

[Masterlist] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

(thank you for everyone's nice comments and thoughts, it makes me smile)

#tma #the magnus archives #linktoo rambles #this is a bit messy but this is fresh off the heels of someone who just listened to it for the very first time #I hope I don't sound too harsh

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ollieofthebeholder · 2 years ago

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to find promise of peace (and the solace of rest): a TMA fanfic

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] || Also on AO3.

Chapter 10: March 2011

“Found one!” The kitchen door slams into the wall behind it as Melanie bursts in, holding a book aloft over her head and smirking.

Martin drops the knife he’s holding; it skitters across the counter from him. Gerard almost reaches out to catch it, then stops himself—he’s still got a scar from the last time he tried that. Instead, he turns to Melanie. “What’ve you got there, Neens?”

Melanie pushes the door shut and throws the bolt, then drops the book triumphantly onto the table. “Haunted bookstore. The ghost threw every book in the section onto the floor except this one, so I took a look at it while the others weren’t paying attention.”

Now that it’s stopped moving, Gerard takes the knife by the handle and prods the book lightly with the tip. Thankfully, it neither starts bleeding nor attacks him back. “Does it have a label?”

“No, so I don’t think it was one of his, but the ghost wouldn’t touch it. And when I asked the owners, they’d never seen it before.”

“Yeah, all right, that tracks.” Gerard picks up the book and turns it over. It’s pretty typical of the sorts of books they deal with all the time—well-worn but not battered, slight foxing at the bottom right corners of both covers, a few loose threads dangling from the spine. The edges of the pages are tinted; probably at one time they were a vivid red, but it’s faded over the years to a sort of maroonish-rose. He definitely can feel the power emanating from it, but he can’t tell what power. Carefully, he opens the cover—they all know not to read past the title page if they can help it—but the title doesn’t mean anything to him. “The Transvaal From Within?”

“That’ll be a Slaughter one, then,” Martin murmurs. He hasn’t looked in the book’s direction, focusing instead on packing up the beginnings of the meal he was working on before Melanie’s unexpected entrance.

Melanie hitches herself up to sit next to him. “How do you know?”

“Get your ass off the counter,” Martin says automatically. Melanie, in the true manner of baby sisters since time immemorial despite their age gap only being a matter of weeks, crosses her arms over her chest and sticks her tongue out at him. “Uh, that one’s about the Boer War, I think. War’s usually the Slaughter.”

Gerard closes the book and runs a finger over the cover, instantly regretting it. “Oh, ugh. It’s bound in human skin.”

Melanie makes a face. “Great. Just great. I hope it’s not the ghost’s skin. Oh, maybe that’s why it couldn’t touch it—or wouldn’t. Because it didn’t want to damage its own body?”

“Melanie, if you were dealing with a ghost that’s bound to something like this—” Gerard waves the book in Melanie’s direction, scowling to try and hide the unease and genuine fear twisting in his gut.

“I’m kidding, Gerry. Jeez. Anyway, I got some good footage from this thing, so…doubt it.” Melanie snatches the book from Gerard’s gesticulating hand and holds it out to Martin. “Here, is it the Slaughter?”

Martin sighs heavily and slides his glasses off his face. His eyes go unfocused, and Gerard feels every single one of his joints ache—a neat little side effect of the protective charms etched onto his skin that he’s conveniently failed to mention to the others—as he draws on the Eye’s power. It fades quickly enough, though, and Martin swears in Polish as he puts his glasses back on. At least, Gerard assumes he’s swearing. It sounds profane, but since he’s never picked up any phrases in Polish beyond how much is that book and don’t mind my brother, he’s just lonely, Martin could be saying anything.

“What is it?” he asks, reaching for the book again.

“Slaughter.” Martin pulls it out of Gerard’s reach and tosses it onto the table. “And the Flesh.”

Gerard blinks. “Fuck.”

“It’s a twofer?” Melanie whistles and actually slides off the counter. “Shit. Lucky thing I didn’t read it. Guess that explains how I could feel it, though.”

“You underestimate yourself.” Martin nudges her gently, then reaches into the cupboard over the stove and pulls out what’s ostensibly a stockpot, which he sets on the table next to the book. “Anyway. We should be able to handle it the usual way.”

Gerard reaches for his coat, which he’s casually tossed over the back of one of the kitchen chairs, and fishes out the brass lighter with the eye design Melanie gave him for his birthday a few years back. Presenting it to her, he says, “I believe the honor of starting goes to you, Ms. King.”

“Hmm.” Melanie takes the lighter and flicks it a couple times, making sure it’s filled, Gerard guesses. She looks at the book, then back and forth from Martin to Gerard. Finally, she starts singing “The Golden Vanity”—not one of their usual, but it’ll work. Gerard and Martin join in when she reaches the chorus, and Melanie smoothly hands the lighter off to Martin.

Martin sings the second verse, then passes the lighter to Gerard for the third. As they all sing the last line of the third verse, he gives the lighter back to Melanie, who’s ready with The Transvaal From Within; she flicks the lighter on again and touches it to the corner. The book catches easily, and Melanie holds it over the pot as she continues singing.

It’s an odd ritual, but it works, so none of them question it; the only times Gerard has ever been hurt burning a Leitner has been when he does it on his own and doesn’t give himself the time to at least do part of it properly. It’s best when it’s all of them, of course, but he can do it on his own in a pinch. They each take turns singing a verse of a shanty or some other song of the sea—it works best when it’s something with a chorus they can all sing at the end, but as long as they all join with the last line of each verse it’s usually all right—and set the book on fire after the last one of them has sung. Strangely, no matter how long or short the shanty is, the books always seem to burn exactly as long it lasts, then finally crumble to ash when they hit the last note (they experimented once with a book, little more than a chapbook really, that belonged to the Lonely, and a rousing rendition of “Drunken Sailor”; despite the fact that they got progressively sillier with potential fates for the eponymous sailor, they managed to keep it going for half an hour and the book burnt the entire time).

Gerard doesn’t understand how it works, or why, but it’s kept them safe this long.

They hit the final note, and Melanie opens her fingers to allow the last corner of the book to drop towards the stockpot. It crumbles into ash as it falls, and then there’s nothing but silence.

Gerard peers into the pot at the fine layer of powder at the bottom. “Have you ever considered straining that and making soap out of it?”

“Looked into it. It’s got to be hardwood ash.” Martin gives him an exasperated look. “And do you want to scrub the dishes with the remains of the Flesh?”

“Well, when you put it that way.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Melanie says flippantly. “Gerry’s never washed a dish in his life.”

“I’ll get you for that,” Gerard promises.

Martin rolls his eyes and puts the stockpot in the sink, then sets the water running. Over his shoulder, he says, “Go wash your hands. I’ll have food ready in a bit.”

Melanie and Gerard both know what that really means, but Melanie waits until they’re in the bathroom to say quietly, “Is it just me, or is he getting bad again?”

“It’s not just you,” Gerard replies in an undertone. “Think you can spend the night?”

“Was already planning to figure out how to convince him it’s his idea for me to stick around so I don’t do something stupid like go back and see if there are more books of power in other sections of the bookstore. Not that I would, but if I can make him believe I might and he thinks it’s too dangerous for me to be alone, maybe I can at least con him into a manicure. You?”

“Like I have so many other options.” Gerard cuts off the water and reaches for the towel. “Come on. Let’s go take care of our brother.”

#ollie writes fanfic #to find promise of peace (and the solace of rest)#tma fanfic #melanie king #gerard keay #martin blackwood #fire #implied self harm

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tavolgisvist · 4 months ago

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Oh, the Brian Griffiths' part seems like well-known old good 'open-hearted rebel Lennon vs callous calculating McCartney.' But you know what? Even George Harrison wouldn't agree with Brian Griffiths:

Q: Paul McCartney told me that playing for those drunken German sailors, trying to lure them in to buy a couple of beers so you could keep your gig, was what galvanized the band into a musical form. A: That's true, because we were forced to learn to play everything. At first, we played music of all our heroes-Little Richard, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers, Ray Charles, Carl Perkins-anything we'd ever liked. But we still needed more to fill those eight-hour sets. Eventually we had to stretch and play a lot of stuff that we didn't know particulary well. Suddenly, we were even playing movie themes, like "A Taste of Honey" or "Moonglow," learning new chords, jazz voicings, the whole bit. Eventually, it all combined together to make something new, and we found our own voice as a band. Q: I can see how all this musical stretching gave you the tools to eventually create your own unique sound. But it's hard to believe drunken sailors would want to hear movie ballads. A: No, we played those things because we got drunk! If you're coming in at three or four in the afternoon with a massive hangover from playing all night on beer and uppers, and there's hardly anybody in the club, you're not going to feel like jumping up and down and playing "Roll Over Beethoven." You're going to sit down and playing something like "Moonglow." And we learned a lot from doing that.

(George Harrison, 1992, interview with Vic Garbarini for Guitar World)

Also it's highly good to take a closer look at the Brian Griffiths and his ideals.

In the late 1950s, Griffiths was in a band called Derry and the Seniors. At the time, he thought they had more going for them as a band than the Beatles did. "We had a black singer and a saxophone player, so we had the credentials to be a real American rock-and-roll band," he said. "Whereas the Beatles just had two guitars, bass and a drummer who never turned up." The Beatles later followed Griffiths's band The Big Three to the Hamburg clubs, arriving just two weeks after Griffiths and his bandmates started performing there. <…> Reflecting on the runaway success of the Beatles, Griffiths now thinks their signature sound was born from musical necessity. <…> In those days, The Big Three had at least an equal shot at popular success as the Fab Four, Griffiths says, but they argued over whether to compromise their sound to become more popular, as their then-manager urged them to do. They also got into fights sometimes, and their bad boy reputation followed them. "We were with [Beatles manager] Brian Epstein. It was the Beatles, it was Gerry and the Pacemakers and it was us. But [Epstein] couldn't control us. We couldn't control ourselves."

(Brian Griffiths, 2015, CBC News)

And, of course, we always can listening to John's favorite songs - like Angel Baby, for example, and to draw our own conclusions, right?

December 12th, 1968 (Broadcasting House, London): On his radio programme Night Ride John Peel asks John and Yoko to fill time between songs.

It has been, as the world will learn to say in the not too distant future, a hard day’s night. After another long shift spent entertaining lively crowds in Hamburg bars, it is around 9 o’clock on an autumn morning, and after a couple of breakfast beers, Brian “Griff” Griffiths, guitarist in a Liverpool band called The Seniors, and his drinking partner, a 20-year-old Liverpudlian musician called John Lennon, are walking back to the Indra, the Hamburg club where Lennon’s band, The Beatles, are in residence.

As they near the club, they start to discern the sounds of a band rehearsing a poppy, recently released Elvis number called “It’s Now Or Never”, refitted that summer from the melody of “O Sole Mio”. As the pair near the door of the bar, Lennon realises it is his band, and that the voice singing is that of his fellow Beatle, Paul McCartney. Lennon, to put it mildly, is unimpressed by this proposed extension of the group’s repertoire.

“He said, ‘What the fucking hell is he doing now?’” remembers Griff, today. “Lennon was a rocker. He stormed in the club and said, ‘What are you doing?’ Paul said: ‘This is a popular song—they’ll love this.’ And of course the audiences did.”

— Brian Griffiths, interview w/ John Robinson for Uncut: ‘A roaring rock’n’roll band in leathers and cowboy boots… but they changed.’ (March, 2012)

#thank you op <3 #and sorry I got a bit carried away #the beatles #george harrison #paul mccartney #john lennon #angel baby #a taste of honey #moonglow #vic garbarini #brian griffiths #it’s now or never #john and paul #hamburg #interview: george #the songs we were singing

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safflowerseason · 3 years ago

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succession 3.08

this episode featured many of my favorite things. the Roys in Europe! the Roys in their vacation clothes! non-corporate landscapes! wedding shenanigans! devastating conversations! exquisite insults!

- this season began with some intriguing power reversals...Logan at his weakest yet, Gerri as CEO, Tom seemed to be on more equal standing with Shiv...but now we’re back to usual status quo. Logan seems more powerful than ever (at least when it comes to Kendall), Gerri’s position as CEO is nothing but a formality and her position has been even further weakened by Roman, and the “love portfolio” between Shiv and Tom seems more imbalanced than ever.

- Harriet Walter has done *so much* with a relatively small part, it’s almost impossible to believe she’s not in every episode...her influence on her children has been as damaging as Logan’s, if slightly less outsized.

- Oh Shiv. Oh honey. You are the dog.

- I honestly don’t have much more to say about Shiv and Tom’s marriage after a season of watching them sink even further and further into total marital misery. obviously this is a show that thrives on exploring the nooks and crannies of an emotional status-quo, but at this point I feel like something has to break between the two of them...a baby or a divorce? Although I suspect the show will go with something less traditional than either of those choices.

- the siblings/Tom tend to get the bulk of the acting praise on this show, but every once in a while I think it’s important to remind ourselves that Succession would literally fall apart without Brian Cox at its center. His conversation with Kendall...his reaction to the reveal about Roman and Gerri...GOD. the way he’s able to convey volumes of emotion with the flicker of an eyelid.

- “what if I want to keep you close?” *screams* the crux of the whole show, right there. Logan’s a horrible abuser and of course will never let Kendall be free of him, but at the same time he has always been very worried that Ken will die too young and that is part of what drives his desire to control Kendall. Logan quite literally kept Ken alive in S2, and we’ve seen in S3 how deeply Kendall ha sunk without his (evil) father’s protection. Ugh. That relationship is soooooooo twisted on so many levels.

- cannot believe this show forced a photo of Roman’s dick in front of my eyeballs. (Kieran Culkin, though...the way he literally contorted himself into a knot when he realized where the text had gone).

- more seriously I liked this twist in the Roman/Gerri relationship, which has been very compelling and even humanizing for Roman but hardly free from the usual toxic power dynamics that shape all Succession relationships. In many of their interactions it has seemed like Gerri held the power--Roman *needs* her, sexually, emotionally, professionally in ways she doesn’t necessarily need him--except for the fact that Roman is a) a Roy and b) a man. Gerri becoming the CEO caused cracks in their alliance, and it’s not a coincidence that Roman has become progressively more of a toxic suitor as Gerri’s attempted to draw boundaries within their relationship--for all Roman’s childishness, he’s still a grown-ass man with a lot of power over her. And now, the relationship has blown up in their faces in a way that can hurt Gerri much more than it will hurt Roman, because she’s not a Roy. Gerri’s whole thing is avoiding mess, and this is messy. She can’t/won’t tell the whole truth, and Shiv (and Logan) now have a tool to use against her.

- the conversation between Shiv and Gerri...*screams internally*. Shiv and Gerri have spent this season quietly opposed to each other’s rise within Waystar, but the gloves come off (still quietly) in this episode. That scene between them was the perfect encapsulation of how different Shiv and Gerri when it comes to their own approaches to power, as well as a miniature master-class on the generational differences within feminism. Like, do we really think this is first time some corporate prick has sexually harassed Gerri? No way. Gerri came up in the corporate world when women only made it if they acted like men, when men like Uncle Mo could harass and abuse women with impunity. In my opinion, Gerri’s stonewalling of Shiv prying for more information was also a kind of rejection of Shiv’s twenty-first century corporate girlboss tactics. (Not that Shiv is particularly interested in Gerri’s actual wellbeing at this point...she’s just eager for anything to take down Roman’s ally). Both actresses played the scene so well. J. Smith Cameron in particular did a great job playing all the many shades of emotion Gerri must be feeling in that moment: she resents Shiv for condescending to her, she can’t fucking believe she’s in this situation in the first place, and she refuses to give Shiv any more power over the situation by revealing additional information.

- related, a sub-sub thread of Succession has been the generational differences between Logan, his old guard (Gerri, Frank, Karl), and his younger children, and how they manifest within the corporate world. It’s notable how Logan, who is (probably) having an affair with his much younger assistant, and who probably wouldn’t bat an eye if Frank or Karl were doing the same as long as the girl in question weren’t related to someone he knows, views Roman’s indiscretion as just totally unacceptable and reprehensible. He can’t conceive of Gerri as a sexual being because she’s older and doesn’t look like Shiv or Kerry; he doesn’t understand that dick pics are a comparatively common form of sexual communication among “the youths” (to Logan, anyone under the age of fifty and proficient with an iPhone). Similarly, Gerri’s total rejection of Shiv’s discussion of Roman’s harassment of her (and it IS harassment, let’s be clear).

- Connor thinks the way to get the press to potentially back off Willa is by marrying her?? *face palm* this idiot.

- I’m assuming they filmed more scenes with Marcia and cut them for time. THIS CANNOT STAND. If I don’t get more Marcia in the season finale I will throw my computer through a window.

#succession #succession season three #succession analysis #succession spoilers #logan roy #kendall roy #roman roy #shiv roy #connor roy #tom wambsgans #greg hirsch #gerri kellman #MORE MARCIA #chiantishire

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lizwontcry · 3 years ago

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i need to hear (read) your thoughts on "our disgusting mess" pleeeeeaaaaaaseee. you can't just tag something like that and move on

Oh goodness, thank you for asking, you are my favorite person today.

Mostly the fact that Roman still considers what's happening between them to be *anything* other than a business partnership at this point reallllly bums me out. Let's start there.

IDK if this was the intention but obvs Gerri even said she "avoids mess" eight episodes before this and the fact that he's describing it that way is a bunch of sad faces on top of each other.

Gerri: is the interim CEO, has not indulged him in his flirtations since becoming the interim CEO, is seeing somebody else whom she even brought to Italy with her, and reminded him *nicely* that she doesn't want to receive his inappropriate pictures. And yet Roman (like the rest of us, I suppose) is still clinging to that season 2 fantasy of Gerri playing along with his proclivities even though she clearly has moved on, or at the very least is trying to sever that part of their relationship while she's in such a visible and important role in the company. He's going to (and obviously did) get both of them in trouble if he keeps thinking this is something it's not.

I personally believe that Gerri does care about Roman, much more than she anticipated or wanted to or knows what to do with. I think she's even attracted to him when he's being a human and not a garbage gremlin. But what can she do? She knows she has to draw a line because he would obviously never be able to keep it himself if they ever took it further than they have.

I also personally believe that Gerri owed Roman a conversation about all these things. Just tell the sad little trash boy, "Look, I know you have these feelings and I respect it, but please stop thinking that anything can happen because my status has changed and my personal life is being viewed under a microscope." Or something like that, for fuck's sake. Just be honest with him, put it all out there, have an understanding. Because even when Roman does describe it as "our disgusting mess" and Gerri KNOWS there is no "our" ANYTHING to speak of, she doesn't correct him or anything. She just tells him not to try to fuck Laurie, which only encourages him more because she's the only person on Earth who accepts his sexuality as it is and doesn't judge him for it.

I know it all had to happen that way so she could utterly destroy him in the finale, but it feels like it all could have been avoided with an honest conversation. Although I imagine Gerri thinks that she could talk until she's blue in the face and Roman would still look at her like she's the answer to every question he's ever had. And/or like the sun rises out of her asshole.

I have thought way too much about this and I will stop talking now but thank you so much for asking!!

#roman x gerri #succession #I have thoughts but continue

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ace-fandom-dumbass · 1 year ago

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Whoops forgot to do this one after I lost my original draft! thank you so much for the tag!

Name(s): Hestia, steph (in one (1) discord server), and then my irl name (not putting it on here though)

Pronouns: she/her

Star sign: Capricorn! I'm actually finishing this the day before my birthday! (Don't really care about astrology that much but learning myths behind the constellations for each star sign is fun so)

Siblings: one, younger brother, he's annoying but I'm excited to work with him on shows again next year (he's going to the same school as me and going for acting, I'm tdt)

Pets: one very loud cat, Powder. She's sweet but she will Yell

Fandoms: definitely not listing all of them, but the ones currently/recently in my attention spotlight are Doctor Who, Percy Jackson, Starkid/Hatchetfield, Cosmere, and most recently, Pride and Prejudice (both book and any adaptations, but especially 1995 miniseries). These are far from the only ones though, and they all just kinda cycle through being my focus/current hyperfixation with a new one occasionally being thrown in

Favorite Author: oooh, Brandon Sanderson, loved every one of the books I've read so far, still waiting for my dad to finish reading oathbringer so I can read it

Favorite color: pretty much any purple or blue, they're almost all really nice colors

Favorite song: oooh definitely a difficult choice, but at the moment? Deep in the Darkest Night from Dracula the musical. (Still mad that the musical pulled dracmina rubbish)

Hobbies: drawing/painting a little bit, sewing, baking, video games, ttrpgs, reading

Favorite Holiday: Uh, I'm not really sure. Most have at least one aspect I'm not particularly hyped about (and about 80% of the time that aspect is "dealing with extended family, parents friends, or similar at loud and/or crowded party I don't really want to be at). Oh, I'll go with Ides of March, because its pretty much only a big deal online, the memes are fun.

Partners: none, the idea seems nice sometimes but I've never cared enough to actually try and find one, plus I'm only one semester into college and so have not ditched being the weird kid, nor do I think I'm likely to.

Fun Facts

- one time when my teacher put on Brain Games in class, I "beat" (for lack of a better phrasing) the opening game because I knew Djibouti starts with D and so ended up with a completely different result thank the expected one

- I got into the Geography Bee both years in middle school, I don't remember how far I got in 7th grade but I was in like, the last five in 8th grade and was one of the top scorers both years on the test they gave us to see who got in

- I was part of a program called the Mackinac Island Governors Honor Guard (now renamed to the Mackinac Island Scout Service Camp) for four years, 7th grade through 12th grade! (unfortunately I lost the two years in in middle of that to I covid) One notable person who had been part of the program in the past is former US president Gerald Ford, and there's actually a picture of him in the Scout Barracks that we called Scary Gerry.

@sweet-sage-tea @bearinabandana @harmony-discord-pipeline and any other mutuals who want to!

I got bored so here's a little get-to-know-you tag game I think could be fun :3

Name(s)

Pronouns

Star sign

# of siblings & fun facts about them (if you have any)

# of pets & their names

Fandoms

Favorite color

Favorite song

Favorite author (of anything readable-- books, fanfics, zines, webtoons, whatever!)

Hobbies

Favorite fic type

Favorite holiday

Do you have any partner(s)? (romantic, qpp, anything!)

Fun facts about you / anything extra you wanna share!

────────

Name(s): Loki (highly preferred), Elye

Pronouns : they/them mostly, he/she okay too

Star sign: Pisces

# of siblings: I've got 2! An older sister and a younger sibling. The fun fact about them is that they're also both queer; in fact, my mom is too. The only non-queer person in my immediate family is my dad.

# of pets: 4 cats! Phoebe & Frankie are our girls, Lenny and Murray are our boys :3

Fandoms: MCU (kind of), BSD, OFMD, Ranboo (does his fanbase count as a fandom?)

Fav. color: Don't have one

Fav. song: Aurora Borealis by Lemon Demon

Fav. author: Alice Oseman

Hobbies: singing, acting, drawing, writing, procrastinating

Fav. fic type: Fluff, definitely. I am a sucker for well written coffee-shop and flower-shop aus, too. Smut's fine, but only if it's romantic. I can't do angst if there's no comfort.

Fav. Holiday: Hanukkah or Halloween! I love autumn and winter

Partners?: Yes! I have a girlfriend (queerplatonic) who I love very much, and a boyfriend (romantic) who I love very much :]

Fun facts:

- Even though I'm a cat person, I really, really want a dog.

- I actually used to play sports. Because I don't do gendered leagues anymore, I don't play, but I've been looking for mixed/gender-neutral/queer sports teams. Baseball and basketball specifically!

- I started questioning my identity in 2019; I'm no closer to finding a label now than I was then. The difference is, now I don't want a label. I just am. :]

tags: @neonganymede @cha0ticlesbian @x-chiara @exceleo @brinnybee @autistic-katara @gandalfthemorallygrey @ohboyanotherlokiblog @roachandrenfri @ourflagmeanslokius @exceleo @edettethegreat @swiftlyspidey

#tag games #tag game #hestia rambles #because lets be honest i rambled a good deal too much in that

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