#but i don't have that anymore. he's gotta stay accurate

[knifegremliin]

⬆ bald

[unhingedpolycule]

Demon summoner SoapGhostKönig AU

DemonSummoner!Soap who accidentally summons Wraith!Ghost and Lovecraftian!König instead of the two lowly imps he intended? Both are incredibly powerful entities. They immediately plan to devour him and move on with their newfound freedom, but Johnny is like: „Oops, sorry guys, didn’t mean for this to happen. Please wait a second, I will unbind you in a second…“ and starts flicks through his spellbook. Stressed but not particularly scared. „Was just trying to find help with unbinding this one demon from the magic mirror I found it in, poor soul was trapped for literal ages.“ They look at each other and Ghost asks him in his echoing, hollow voice: „You are trying to do what? Why?!“

And Soap, not a care in the world, still not looking at them just explains: “Oh I studied this field out of interest and usually just summon for research, but I bought this mirror and the poor thing keeps screaming at night, they are clearly not happy possessing an inanimate object, but honestly who would be? Broke my leg a few years ago and not being able to move the way I wanted totally sucked. Oh this reminds me, do you wanna sit down while I find the right page, I have some raw meat, originally for the mirror guy but that's not gonna work out today, so you might as well have it before it spoils, so…“ he keeps rambling on and on, just happy to have someone to talk to.

And König leans towards Ghost and is like: “I don’t wanna eat this one anymore…” and Ghost can just nod, giant, hollow mouth agape, hanging open like the gates of hell.

So out of a mix of pity and being generally intrigued, they decide to walk Soap through the modified steps of binding them to himself so they can stay by his side for a bit. They take out the serve and control part, as well as the one that forbids them to breaking that bond by themselves. They both just decide to leave in the lines of ancient latin which prevents them from harming Soap. They dont wanna do this anyways. Johnny acknowledges all of this and is like: „I get it, consent matters, guys.“ like calling two eldritch horrors from the inner circles of hell „guys“ would be even remotely accurate.

They help him unbind the mirror as well, which turns out to be an imp called Roach, who stays with them out of pure curiosity. Soap summons stronger and more wise entities as time goes on, always with his resident Wraith and his lovecraftian Tentaclemonster close behind him, ready to protect. He takes them sightseeing, breaks into crypts and churches, letting them go search for artifacts to unbind and dispose of safely.

In general, they have a good time together and Soap is the first summoner to act respectful and appreciative around them, treating them not as incredibly strong animals but knowledgeable and interesting equals. One night, when Soap is asleep they are lurking on his balcony, looking at the stars. König always making an excited sound when another airplane comes into view, stating what kinds of thoughts and feelings he can detect from the humans on board. At some point, König leans into Ghost's form and just snuggles up to him.

Ghost indulges him, playing with one of his tentacles, deep in thought.

“I think I am really starting to like our humans. I don't want to go back again.” He whispers into the void that is Ghost and Ghost just nods. “Let's stay then.” He echoes back and pulls König closer. “Gotta take care of him though… pretty boy is too nosy for his own good.” This draws a wet laugh from König, who leans up to kiss Ghost's skull mask gingerly before they both continue to watch the night sky in absolute peace.

Inside, under the open window, Johnny just smiles into his pillow. He had hoped that he would grow on them eventually...

----

This was inspired by all the wraith!Ghost and Eldrich!König I keep saying. There will be more.

~Corr

[supeson]

timid trust, still displaced

part one, part two, part three

You quit your job. Or more accurately, you get a better offer for the same job you're currently doing at another place in the city. It's also closer to The Daily Planet, so Clark uses it as an excuse to check on you more often. You start making a real effort to eat real food. You're still working on actually cooking and making fresh meals, but for now the frozen ready made ones you eat are enough. At least you're eating. It takes you a while, but you finally fall into a rhythm.

*

You decide to stop your antidepressants. You spend a whole session speaking to your therapist about it, weighing the pros and cons. Pro: you haven't really felt like they've been doing anything for you lately with how well you've been doing. Con: what if you stop them and everything goes to shit? Pro: you have an actual support system now to help you. Con: you feel bad making people care about you.

"I wouldn't say you're forcing anybody to care about you," your therapist says. "People choose to care."

"Fair, I guess. I just hate making people worry. I can take care of myself; I'm an adult." She looks at you pointedly at that. "Alright I don't have the best track record but I've made it this far in life and that's gotta count for something."

She taps something into her laptop. "Well, if you do decide to, just know that there is a washout period, so don't be surprised if it takes you a while to feel normal."

*

You go out more. You find that while staying at home is nice and definitely what you prefer, going out for small things can help improve your mood. Even if it's just to the corner store for some chips.

Then Clark gets stuck in deep space for three weeks right before your birthday, and you spiral. It starts small, with minor annoyances making you angry. Then, your new friends at work seem to back off (through nobody's fault, really, but you can't help but feel like it's entirely your fault, and that they don't like you anymore). Your days off become days full of nothing but sitting on your couch trying to occupy your time with multiple hobbies, only to abandon them out of boredom or frustration when things don't go like they're supposed to. You want nothing more than to reach out to Clark, but he's indisposed.

You find yourself bottling up emotionally, unable to cry or articulate your frustrations. You feel stupid for feeling like this, for being unable to reach out to anybody for help. The loneliness is eating you alive, and you're content to sit there and let it swallow you whole.

*

You wake up from another nap to the sound of keys in the door. You heart leaps at the sound, but you roll over anyway, pulling the blankets more tightly around your neck. You feel achy and gritty from laying in bed since yesterday, but you can't find it in yourself to care.

Clark notices the groceries first. There are empty boxes of ramen noodles stacked up beside the garbage, and there are half eaten bags of chips stacked on top of your fridge. The inside of the fridge is almost barren, except for a gallon of milk and one shelf in the door full of condiments. He exhales heavily, having expected the sight, but disappointed nonetheless.

He makes his way to your bedroom, slips on your light, and puts down his bag. He knows you're awake, he can hear your heartbeat pick up when he sits down on the bed. Clark puts a hand on the lump he deduces is you, and you shift, rolling towards him and squinting up at him. You uncover your mouth enough to speak to him.

"Hey, babe." You voice is nothing more than a croak, from sleep and disuse.

"Do you want to talk about it now, or later?" Is all he asks in response.

You bristle, ready to go on the offense, then close your eyes and take a deep breath. "Not really."

He nods. "How can I best help you right now?"

You think. You gut response is to get angry, tell him to leave. But he loves you, you remind yourself. It's not fair to take my terrible mood out on him. "I have a headache."

"Okay, when was the last time you ate and drank anything?"

You silence speaks volumes.

Clark peels back the blankets, untangling you for the first time in a while, from what he can tell. "Okay, let's head to the kitchen and see what we can find, okay sweetheart?"

You're embarrassed by the backslide, but Clark is nothing more than helpful, willing to wait until you're ready to sit down and have a discussion with him. It makes your eyes water knowing you have somebody that cares about you in all aspects, and not just what you can do for them. You blink back tears as you clutch him, stumbling down the hallway together.

[sentys]

hotd 2.04 spoilers under the cut:

glad that they've brought back milly ... but it makes me a little suspicious.

MUPPET TULLY SIGHTING!

why is rhaenys being so chill with corlys' bastards existing in close proximity and telling him to elevate them? did she not have a problem with the whole driftmark legitimacy last season?? i feel like we're missing a scene + dialogue.

i have absolutely no want/need to see alicent struggle with a pregnancy scare.

unpopular opinion: i've had enough of the black council scenes. they don't establish anything other than their mistrust of rhaenyra's leadership and after last sunday, i'm skipping through them for the episodes to come.

delighted to hear my boy speak more high valyrian.

not sure why aegon cannot speak it fluently? is it just that he's drunk or never kept up with his lessons? :/

ngl, this predictable and heavy-handed cain & abel shit would've been far more impactful and dramatic had BOTH aegon and aemond fought with each other over jaehaerys' death, but apparently we're just not talking about that anymore!!!

LOVE to see sunfyre. HATE that it's in the same episode where he gets injured!

ffs, if aegon felt utterly useless at the small council then why not give him scenes bonding with sunfyre!

or more scenes MOURNING HIS DEAD SON!

i did not need to see daemon cosplaying aemond. nah, get that silly shit outta here.

now, is there a reason why alys speaks with a noticeably different accent or is it just that they told gayle that she didn't need to change it up for the show? doesn't really bother me, just curious.

daemon ... shouldn't you know better than to take drinks from strangers ... especially ones who're weirdly & accurately reading you for filth? mans is unwell.

i deadass thought that was dolorous edd for a second.

LAENA! MOON OF MY LIFE! COME BACK!

gotta say ... i don't like how EVERYONE seems to be dumping on aegon this season. like, he never wanted the crown to begin with and yet they're expecting him to just be a natural leader.

it's especially crazy coming from alicent because she (and otto) had years to teach him how to be a respectable prince and like, none of that is evident? idk, i just think that aegon's lack of discipline can't be blamed ENTIRELY on him.

jace is getting tired of this subplot and so am i. 🙄

sorry, but i never want to hear about this prophecy bullshit ever again. it's dragging down the show, atp.

why does gwayne not know his own nephew's dragon? i get that he's been in the reach (presumably for most of his life), but for him not to know any description of sunfyre in the years that alicent gave birth to 4 dragon-riding children??

i appreciate that vhagar takes a while to get up in the air. she's big, old, and we love her for it.

s2g, i thought baela was gonna be involved and that would be the only reason why rhaenys and meleys would stay in the fight and get destroyed, but you're telling me they just rejoin the fight when there's a clear path to escape?

another vhagar blindside? i mean, i guess.

all 3 weren't grappling, which means that anyone could've had a clear shot of vhagar roasting both meleys and sunfyre. so, did criston see the attempted fratricide?

rip to the dudes who were STOMPED by granny vhagar.

i love love love the continuity of soldiers turned to ash and bone in their armor!

ok, but what did he think coming up on aemond like that?

criston devasted at the potential loss of his stepson? yes please.

[crabbng]

you gave us permission to ship your characters rookie mistake/jk I actually enjoy Teraat/Kiigari because of how they first appeared together, the "i don't like magic" with wizard lady love/hate homestuck kismesis type shit i get from them is like wood burning in my fire place. I also like Aoife/Bon cause she makes Bon do the things he should that he wants to and he just has easy intimacy with the way she speaks to him almost bossy but kind i like their dynamic but i can also see them staying friends. And Bon/teraat just a tiny bit but i can kinda only see them as friends but i love the good Teraat brings out in Bon almost like Aoife, even though shes still learning herself it's sweet they are sweet and figuring out life together.

another kismesis type shit one is the maighstir/zeynah i agree with the anon who said marek and zeynah are fam energy, they are like his lesbian ex mom's who fight in front of him and for his attention to see which mom is better and the maighstir wants bragging rights but doesn't pay child support while zeynah is working a 9 to 5 jobs for this family to come home to her ex-wife screaming at her about how she's better being a brat and making her wonder why she married and not regretting divorcing her but they can't make different living agreements so they have to live together. im sorry that was a lot, i may have ran my mouth a bit and you probably don't even know what im talking about anymore, idk i just love the hate ship lesbians

you actually nailed one on the head (perhaps you already knew about it) ms myra maighstir and zeynah ARE bitter exes. canonically they dated and broke up. this is entirely accurate.

we gotta get tera and kii back together tho, ur right. LET THEM FIGHT.

tragically (not tragically) aoife and tera are both big ole lesbians, so bon is out of the picture for them 😔 if aoife were into guys tho, you know bon would be down to clown

terabon friendship is SOOOOO REAL AND SO GOOD THO!!!!! i agree, i love them. they are both figuring things out. together <3

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Rpg Anon: So yeah I said I'd like to make some changes to the Hajime's Shiva Persona design thoughts I said. First things first, I based my thoughts on Shiva from actual Hindu depictions, Smite, Record of Ragnarok, and SMTV/Persona. Now for some new ideas plus some changes:

First of all, I changed my mind slightly on the two floating mechanical arms. They'll still be mechanical somewhat, but I want them basically attached to his back now. Kinda like he's got a cybernetic backpack with arms that serve as his upper extra pair. Take a look at this image below (I got it from Smite itself; do i still need to credit it?)

This is Smite Shiva concept art. You see how his two upper arms come from behind him and behind his other arms specifically? That's kinda what I think would be better now. Except again, mechanical appendages. Basically he's truly got the normal two arms human anatomy but he's bringing cybernetic enhancements (doesn't necessarily mean it has to be fused into his skin and body tho). I don't want his upper mech arms to be overly giant tho. I prefer the same size as his real arms.

Now I can get into the smaller but finer details. First, I don't intend on him being full mechanical. I kinda intend a Shiva Persona to still be the classic and traditional design (refer to SMT/Persona design and definitely again to the Smite design; theyre downright correct and accurate to what Shiva looks like). In other words, he'd definitely be more flesh than cybernetic. So yes, he'd still have the basically shirtless muscular warrior look with the tiger pelt/loincloth, the snake around his neck (mod, you can modify this part so it matches up with the Hajime themes and mecha themes if you want, however you want. Just makes sure it's still wrapped around his neck), and etc. That said, I wouldn't mind him wearing awesome metal/cybernetic gauntlets on all four arms.

Side note: Definitely blue skin. This Shiva Persona design for Hajime has to have it no matter what cuz it's goddamn Shiva.

Next, he has Izuru hair. Gotta cram in some Hajime stuff and you can kinda believe Shiva would have such long hair if he untied it.

Next, he has a face mask similar to Izanagi's. Also, he's got the green and red eye color Hajime's got. Straight up fanservice here.

Next, his third eye is going to be one hell of a sci-fi fantasy shit. You ever seen Raiden from Metal Gear Revengeance? You seen how he has that black face mask? Yep, I want this Shiva to have something similar where some mechanical pieces from the side come to together to form the traditional Shiva Third Eye design over his face. And then yes, the design then glows and shoots motherfucking flaming laser beams of death. Look up pictures online of Shiva killing Kama; you'll see what it looks like.

Now for some slight animation changes. For any physical move, I don't want him to still be in his idle/summoned pose of him meditating and levitating when doing it anymore. So now, he starts out the meditating and levitating pose but leaves out of it when doing the lunging stab or slash. The jojo style rapid fire punching is the same with him leaving the pose to do his thing. He only stays in the stance when doing his offensive or support magic spells. The Tandava unique skill is the only exception cuz I need him to start dancing.

(Omfg I just realize I have literally recreated Mecha Shiva. Kill me now.)

I probably forgot some other changes I wanted to say but i think I'm good for now. So yes, these are some details to Hajime's Shiva Persona in my vision. What do you think?

//Cool.

//Like, that's literally all I have to say. That's a cool idea.

//Also, this might be the most obnoxiously long ask anyone has ever sent on this blog, lol.

-Mod

[redrawthecolorlessworld]

More high school AleMantis bullshit

felt like writing them more anyways. fuck you alemantis

———

"So I heard you saw the guidance counselor again."

That is certainly not a great way to start today's tutor session, but Aleph felt like he needed to bring it up, anyways.

He kept hearing from his classmates that exact thing, and they kept joking about how he needed to at least try to "tame" Mantis. It's such a cursed thing to hear from them, really. Aleph got really tired of that bullshit, so that's why he thought of talking to Mantis himself about it.

"I thought we're here so you can teach me random shit or whatever, not bring up...that." Mantis replied, casually taking off his jacket (that he's only wearing over his back as if it's a cape rather than actually wearing it) and putting it on the bed. Aleph feels...a little irritated seeing Mantis putting his stuff on his bed without a care in the world.

It's almost as if Mantis got a bit...too comfortable being here.

"I- well yeah. But my classmates kept annoying me about it. I got curious, so I had to bring it up to you in some way." Aleph explained, before sighing in frustration. "What did you do?" Mantis thought about how to word his answer for a bit, before finally answering, "I skipped class."

Aleph groaned. "Of course you did. Of fucking course you did." He said, almost as if he's pretty much used to Mantis' bullshit at this rate. It had only been three weeks since these tutor sessions started, though, but Aleph felt like he knew Mantis for ages.

"Is that really behaviour you'd expect from me?" Mantis asked, raising an eyebrow at the other boy. Aleph readjusted his glasses, before nodding. "Obviously." That was all that came out of his mouth. Mantis sighed, before resting his back on the backside of Aleph's bed. It sort of pissed Aleph off even more, but he'll try his best to pass it.

"You gotta at least stop doing this shit. What about your grades? You'll never graduate if you keep skipping classes and breaking school rules!"

"You don't tell me what to do, you fucking nerd!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP???!!! You're one to talk! You can't just boss me around like this!"

The two argued for a long time, and it was only when Aleph's caretaker came in that the two shut their mouths and stopped fighting. That day's tutor session went on with a tense atmosphere between them.

———

Days passed.

Suddenly, Mantis had changed.

Aleph's classmates started talking about this sudden change of behaviour. Nowadays, he wouldn't even dare skip class anymore. It's such a sudden change that even Aleph couldn't believe it himself.

That's why; he needed to ask Mantis about this.

"I did what you told me; I stopped with my bullshit."

That was an answer that not even Aleph could believe.

"A-are you joking, or...?" Aleph stammered, filled with disbelief as he gazed at the delinquent with wide eyes. Well, honestly, calling Mantis a delinquent isn't really that accurate anymore. "Why the hell would I be joking, hm?" Mantis asked, and for this one time, Aleph couldn't answer a question for the life of him.

He stayed silent, and Mantis then sighed. "That's what I thought." He then added, "Are you happy now?" Aleph kept quiet for a few more seconds, before finally smiling at the other boy. "...Yeah. Sort of. I'm still a little taken aback by...y'know, you wanting to do what I wanted you to do."

"What...what even prompted you to change, anyways?"

"This is random, but I've always looked up to you."

...???

That answer shocked Aleph even more than the first time.

"Wh- huh- WHAT?!" Aleph yelled out in even more disbelief, and Mantis only chuckled. "You- HOW ARE YOU ONLY BRINGING THIS UP NOW?!" "I felt like finally saying it. You're annoying, you're too stuck up and stubborn, and I hate your smartass, but..."

...

"...I can't lie, you're like a role-model to me."

Aleph could feel his cheeks burning at this rate. He just knows he's as red as a tomato right now. To have someone actually look up to him like this...it fills him with so much overwhelming emotions.

"Also—you're handsome."

And that's the icing on the cake.

"What...the FUCK?!"

[im-always-the-problem-its-me]

i don't know what the fuck just happened

i somehow managed to fuck up SO's birthday and feel awful. ive gotta make a big drive tomorrow night and have to fuck up my sleep schedule on purpose and with how emotionally exhausting this whole day was it's that much more difficult.

i legit started rambling, feeling very 'i'm a piece of shit, what do you want..let's make jokes about how fucked up i am while i detach emotionally when you have a breakdown' like roman fucking roy and then i even said 'i'm roman fucking roy, i don't know what you want from me'.

here's what i think happened: nutshell version because being vague is safer and i'm also tired.

SO has been depressed. i can't do shit about it. i have a bad habit when i'm overwhelmed with my own shit to be like 'let's try to just be super happy and pretend his breakdown isn't happening because i can't handle men crying on the floor because i'm used to men getting angry, yelling or worse...hitting me.' so i avoid. it's a symptom of complex PTSD apparently and also i think ptsd doesn't accurately describe what i have anymore because nothing is 'post'. this shit is happening right now and im constantly triggered because i figured out i'm still being abused and emotionally manipulated by my parents as an adult and i don't know wtf to do about it. i think im going to need therapy again. SO says he thinks he wants to go see one again too.

there's nothing wrong with our relationship. it's individually, we're both fucked up. it doesn't help i have this 'not really, but kind of' a side thing but it's not affecting things here. (im still a piece of shit because if anything its kind of an emotional affair...i dont know...feelings are fine...if i act on them then that's different...this is an old flame too and we're close, always have been...it's just an intense friendship bordering upon dangerous with flirtations but THAT'S NOT THE ISSUE)

'you never shut up' SO said to me out of anger. broke down after he said it even though i agreed even though it stung. i told him don't worry about it. it was true. i need to to not put all my shit on him. that's why i suggested therapy again.

i explained that i don't feel mad or upset by anything that happened tonight..just feel bad because yes he called me out on being emotionally detached and i have been lately because im a fucking mess. i also tend to run from everything so i even told him fuck it, we can move back because it's fine me being a mess but since he's the breadwinner, when he falls apart it's bad for both of us. i'm already on benefits because of epilepsy that's intractible. nothing I can do about that. but he needs to be ok.

he keeps looking at me like i'm nuts but dude, i've been running my whole life. i wanted to settle and stay here forever and i love this place more than any place i have ever lived but look i'm still sick here and i got issues popping up like god hates me.

i'm not even roman roy. i think because i detached instead of wearing it on my face or crying like kendall. maybe i'm a mix of both. i dunno. that show speaks to me on so many levels. i rewatched Hannibal too and i'm just like wtf. then i picked my favorite mommy issues movies to put on.

here's what i know happened: two people who love each other very much aren't doing well mentally but their relationship isn't what's making the other fucked up. it's everything else they have never dealt with making them individually fucked up and tonight it blew up. bad timing. neither of us could help each other. he got rightfully pissed. i am not upset he got pissed and the one thing he said out of anger was a very true fucking statement that put a big mirror in front of my face.

i realized too that i cannot handle a man having a breakdown. he asked why i always just walk away from him when hes like that? well because i don't know what to do with it and also what if it turns into something else and the man is going nuts on me or taking it out on me? i don't know. i'm very fucked up.

i hate victim mentality bullshit. i try not to put stuff on anyone. so i sweep it away like it's not fucking happening and i got called out on that. i don't know how to be there for him. i can't help it i have ingrained weird ideas. i try just not to be a cunt ok? and i don't know maybe i was one tonight? i don't even know. i apologized for getting loud when i did because i had my earplugs in so didn't realize how loud i was and i also hadn't eaten all day and it was making me hangry so my brain couldn't even process anything until after i ate.

a man shaking and crying on the floor because of me? (or what i perceived as being about me?) all i thought was get away from him because you're hurting him and nothing you do is going to make it better...and then it was like i felt like my mom. that's what she did. no comfort for the crying ones...just walk away until it's over. but i'm not his mommy. i'm his SO. he even said 'i don't want you to baby me or anything, just a little comfort would be nice.' he's right. but again, why are you crying in the first place? i'm selfish so i'm thinking 'wtf i'm a mess...now i have to wonder why you're a mess...wtf' and jfc no....i don't know what the fuck happened.

we need to both get some help with our issues somehow or we're not going to make it if repeats like this keep happening. i can't even call it a fight. it was more just a collective breakdown. he went to bed red eyed and mumbling. i'm up exhausted but numb af.

fucking a.

it's good i'll be gone for a day. give us both some time away just to think. well, he'll be able to anyway, ill be cramped in a car with 7 other people for 18 hours. not that i'm complaining. i've gotta do this to help out with bills and plus now i've got an obligation because my mother keeps putting shit on me and didn't even give me a chance to say no and if i don't make this trip a lot of people are out of money so im basically unable to back out even if wanted to. fuck it. i think i'll finally be able to chill next year. i'm going to make myself anyway. get through holidays. have a good time on our concert trip in january. hopefully by them my SO and i are in better places mentally too.

one hour at a time.

[egg-emperor]

tired of the way that having the take of "I prefer to see Eggman written accurately to the way he's portrayed in the games, so I only like when theories, headcanons, fics, portrayals, and characterization deliver that. I also don't like to treat outside official sources or entirely separate official universes as 'canon', especially because a lot of that other media have entirely different versions of Eggman where so many aspects of his personality and actions would clash and make no sense in the game canon" gets people pissed off with me as they say I'm a buzzkill that just hates fun

apparently you're not allowed to simply like the game canon as is and not want to merge the other universes and treat them as 'canon'. you're not allowed to like how things actually make sense when non canon universes stay separate. you're not allowed to acknowledge how different the characters portrayals can be across different pieces of media and be glad that it isn't canon to the games. nope, we gotta mash it all together into a confusing mush until nothing makes sense anymore. as if the actual game universe canon hasn't got enough to fix already, sighhh

I hate the unfunny, impossible, confusing "everything is canon" bullshit because it really doesn't help with this

[queen-boudicca]

Next up in the nuwhorewatch, the unquiet dead! (Guys i just watched the new episode help)

Bechdel test: pass

Made me cry: yes

Ngl I'm pretty sure i only watched this episode once, twice at most, so i don't really remember it. Gonna be fun

*Corpse comes out of coffin, chokes dude* 'oh no' 

'ghoulish moans' lol gotta love the hbo subtitles

I mean, they're not accurate, but at least they're sometimes entertaining

I like how they actually show the tardis traveling through the vortex they don't do that anymore

Yay gwyneth! 

"We've got to do something"

"And we will! As soon as we've got that dead old woman locked up. Now, get the hearse ready, girl, we're going bodysnatching"

"You'll start a riot dressed like that" doesn't change at all

Mortician dude is a douche leave Gwen alone

Hey look it's Charles Dickens. Anyway

Ooh i love her shoes esp combined w her tights

"It's not 1860 it's 1869"

"I don't care"

"And it's not Naples"

"I don't care"

"It's Cardiff"

"... Right" lol get rekt Cardiff

Wow Dickens is talking really slowly

Damn does he have this memorized? That's pretty impressive tbh even if he wrote it

Lol none of the people behind the corpse can see her face

Oh my god Sneed you can't just chloroform people

"Should i remove the gentleman, sir?"

"You're absolutely brilliant, you are!"

"Uh no, he can stay"

You expect me to believe the translation circuit doesn't translate dialetical differences? There's no way it wouldn't translate fan into fanatic or something he understands.

He's a good sport about this tho

Rose sees a ghost zombie thing and the first thing she asks is if it's alright i love her

Lol Charles just walks out after nine tells him to shut up

Oh he's going on a little investigation bc he doesn't believe in ghosts

Rose bonding w Gwen is great i love it

Giggling about boys and stuff

"Don't antagonize her. I love a happy medium" nine I'm going to have you arrested

Wonder if the gelth claimed to be screwed over by the time war bc they knew the doctor would respond to it

Don't remember if that was true or if they had some psychic shit like Gwen so they knew that would work the best

Gwen is so nice and rose cares so much

Plot twist they're evil you can tell bc they turned into fire and got a deeper voice

Yay Charles you're smart

"I hope that this theory will be validated soon... if not immediately" lol he's fun

Oh fuck I'm crying I'm actually crying that's not fair

Fuck now I'm crying again over Charles Dickens

Okay have to go to bed soon so not doing a two parter rn

Next time though, slitheen and Harriet Jones, mp for flydale north!

[senfena]

Cold War: Remedy, Chapter 6

A/N: Woo, we're here! I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for a while c:

January 19, 1984

"Hey Russell,

It's been a couple years since I wrote a letter to you. I've been writing in another journal regularly, but for some reason I want to address this one to you specifically. 

Where to start...my life is completely different. I live with Park in her flat in Fulham, and I work at a record store nearby, which I'm writing to you from right now actually. It's pretty cold and rainy right now, and business is pretty slow, so I figured I'd write to you. My coworkers are mostly pretty cool, aside from my manager, the Tory bastard. But they all call me Bell at least, there's something to be thankful for. 

I'll be honest...I have thought of using Sariya from time to time. But every time I think of doing that, it just feels wrong. It never belonged to me, the real me, in the first place. And why would I even want to use the name of some terrorist asshole who wanted to blow up half of Europe? Whoever Sariya is, she's not still inside me...is she? For both our sakes, I hope you completely eradicated her.

I get the sense that you did, which is actually a part of the brainwashing I don't mind. I...this sounds so weird to write down, but, I miss you, somehow. I miss you slapping my hand away whenever I went to touch the dial on your radio, or whenever you'd bring me fresh coffee late at night when I was burning myself out, working on cracking that floppy disk and the coded messages. Or you offering me one of your cigarettes whenever you went to smoke one, and you'd light it with your fancy ass lighter, and we'd just stand there smoking together. I still have that lighter, by the way. I try not to smoke anymore, so now it's just more of a charm, really. 

I'm still pissed at you though. Seriously, shooting me after I gave you the key to saving Europe, after all we went through together? Dick move. I don't know if I can ever forgive you for that. But mostly...I just try to forget that that happened, focus on everything that was good about us...or, back then. I guess hate isn't the most accurate word. But I really, really, really don't like you. 

I hope I never see you again,

Bell."

You folded up the letter neatly and put it in your back right pocket. Straightening out your body from it's hunched posture and stretching your arms, you looked all around the store. Still no customers. Not that you minded, it was nice having some peace and quiet. You just wished that you weren't the only employee on the clock, aside from Aiden, your manager, so you weren't dying of boredom on your own. 

"Hey, Bell!" Aiden called to you from the back office. "Can you come back here, please?" You wordlessly started making your way over. Normally he'd want some kind of audible response, but you were more of the silent compliant type, whatever was asked of you, you did, but mostly without saying a word. It took some time, but he'd gotten accustomed to it. You poked your head into the office. "Yeah, Aiden?" He looked up from his accounts and spreadsheets scattered all across his desk. "Hey, we're too slow and I gotta cut down on labor, you can go ahead on home." He instructed you, half focused on you and half focused on his work. "I'm almost done with accounts and I can close the store on my own afterwards, won't take long" "Alright, thanks Aiden!" You cheerfully waved bye as you went to clock out. "Yep, stay safe!" "Will do!" You hollered back to each other as you punched out, grabbed your coat, and scurried out the door in the freezing rain. 

___________

You unlocked the front door of the flat, practically sprinting in. Your body shivered as you took off your coat and put it on the rack. "Welcome home, Bell!" Park greeted you from the kitchen, hidden from your sight. "Thanks!" You called back as you pulled off your shoes and placed them near the front door. "Could you come in here, please?" She questioned you. Huh, you wondered what she wanted to talk to you about. "Yeah, sure thing." Curious, you strolled into the kitchen and saw Park sitting at the table, mug in hand. Someone else was at the table too, facing away from you. "Hey, what's going…" You took a closer look at the second person. Bald. White dress shirt with black suit pants. Sunglasses. Wait, was that…?

As if on cue, Hudson turned his head to look at you, holding his cup of tea and raising it to you in greeting. "How've you been, Bell?" He asked you, seemingly looking past the slack jawed expression on your face. Looking him dead in the eye, your mind started to race. He wouldn't be here unless he needed something. Something that you didn't owe him anymore. "Screw that." You shook your head and turned to walk to the front door, but before you got the chance to take two steps; "Bell, please, it's incredibly important that you at least listen to what he has to say." Park stood and insisted you, stopping you in your tracks.

You stood there for a moment, simply staring at the floor and breathing in and out sharply. "Park let you live here for the last 3 years, you can make it through this for her". You declared to yourself in your head. Slowly turning around, you trudged to the table and took the seat opposite from Hudson, as Park sat back down next to you. "I'll keep this brief." Hudson began. "Two months ago, Perseus agents covertly infiltrated the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. They attempted to launch a nuclear warhead being used as part of a training simulation. We were able to abort it, but that was far too close for comfort." 

"Sounds like a big problem. So why are you here, instead of solving it, out there?" You shot at Hudson, hoping that he'd take the hint to leave. He leaned in closer to you. "Bell, you're the reason that we even managed to come close to capturing Perseus, and did manage to stop his plan to destroy Europe." He appealed to you. You looked down at the table, trying to not show him any vulnerability. "I know what our agreement was, and whatever you say here, I'll honor that. But Perseus is back on the grid, and unless we take every measurement to stop him, who knows how many innocent people could die." That got you to raise your head, looking him in the eyes again. He took off his sunglasses, folding and placing them on the table. "We need you back, Bell."

You knew that he was right. Whether or not Adler had implanted that part of your personality in you, you were never gonna stand by and let civilians die while you did nothing. Still, you had to know something. "Just tell me; is he gonna be there?" You asked Hudson, already knowing the answer before he told you. He paused before answering. "Of course." You grimaced. Park put a hand on your shoulder, trying to comfort you.

Sitting there in silence for a minute or two, you stared down at the table, pretending to think. Finally, you took a deep inhale as you turned your head up to stare at the ceiling, exhaling as your head came back down, eyes focusing on Hudson. "You promise that after this, it's over?" You begrudged to ask him. He gave a swift nod. You sat there in thought for a minute longer. "Okay." You conceded. He nodded his head. "Alright, I'll be back tomorrow a little past sunrise, give you a chance to pack up, and get ready otherwise." Hudson stood up and pushed his chair in. Looking back and forth between Park and you, he gave a little half smile. "It's good to have you both back." He turned and strided out, leaving you and Park alone.

"Are you alright, Bell?" She inquired, full attention on you. You were staring off into space. "I've never seen Hudson smile like that." You turned to her. "Have you ever seen him smile?" She gripped both of your shoulders. "Bell, I know it's going to be difficult, but he can't hurt you anymore. I know that you can do this." She gave you a tender smile. You couldn't find the strength to give her one back, you were using it all trying to keep your mind occupied with anything else, as long as you weren't thinking about him. 

You gave a small nod as your only answer before slowly standing up. "We should go pack." You muttered emptily, already heading to the staircase to go to your room. 

___________

You turned over to look over at the clock on your bedside dresser. 2:17 AM. Shit, were you ever going to get any sleep tonight? Probably not, because hard as you may try, you couldn't get your thoughts to shut up. You thought back to your letter you wrote earlier. 

"I never want to see you again…"

"What part of that don't you understand, you asshole?" You sarcastically murmured to yourself. Turning over again, you shut your eyes extra hard to try to get to sleep. 

3 hours of hardly sleeping later, the sun had risen. Why the hell did Hudson have to say sunrise and not sunset instead? You groggily dragged yourself out of bed, got changed into your regular clothes, and limped downstairs, duffel bag in hand. Park was already sitting at the kitchen table, dressed, tea cup in hand. "Good morning, Bell." You gave a half hearted wave in return. As you stumbled into the kitchen and sat down, she took a closer look at you, her face changing to concern.

"Bell, did you get any sleep?" She questioned you. Resting your forehead in your palm, you mumbled back "No, but, can you blame me?" You both sat there for a few more hours, waking up over tea. You began to wonder where Hudson was. He hadn't given you a specific time that he'd pick you up, just "after sunrise." It was almost 8 AM when you heard four sharp knocks at the door. "Finally." You uttered as both of you stood up and grabbed your bags, moving to the front door.

Park opened it, and not a second later Hudson was already bombarding you with information. "We need to move fast. Perseus agents just attacked the safehouse in West Berlin. They're baiting us to a mall in New Jersey. Adler and his team are already en route." Shit, you didn't think you'd be getting back in the action this soon. Park swung the door closed, locked it and put the keys in her pocket. As you all got in the car and started towards the airport, you began to feel a little dread. Was there any part of this you were actually going to enjoy? Maybe finally putting a bullet in Perseus' skull would make it worthwhile.

Yeah, it definitely would.

[animeomegas]

I haven't finished mystic messenger yet. The 14 or whatever day cycle is just too difficult when I'm often at work or working on a project and then I always end up with a bad ending for "ignoring" the route character. (Any advice for finishing so I can Finally get to V's route would be appreciated haha). The only character route I've ever finished is Zen's.

I think it would take a while for him to mature enough to be ready to have a pup. Hes pretty deliberate with all of his actions both because of his personality and because of his career choice. Just like how it is with idols irl I think he'd wait until he's a pretty well established actor before he backs out of the spotlight for a bit and then spends more time mentoring for his company and teaching trainees in the early months of the pregnancy. He'd probably enjoy dabbling in writing scripts as well.

I wonder if it would be sort of a big deal once the public realizes he's an omega? I have no idea if its normal for omegas in that world to be in such prominent positions (since we often map feminist issues to the abo universe for better or worse) (on second thought probably Zen is out as an omega. It would play into the idol sell of sex appeal and also probably be a point of additional contention between him and Jumin anyway distraction)

He'd be a very sweet and gentle Oma. Zen studied a lot so hed probably buy parenting books in like, stages so that he can read ahead on what to expect for his pup's age 😂 which i would appreciate because it doesn't make his alpha feel like they need to know everything.

I imagine him singing too and with the pup like all the time. Gotta keep that vocal tone up and also its good for the development. Alpha just stands in the doorway watching whenever they can. Zen probably know they're there unless he's really really tired so it low key becomes an intimate moment for Zen to just be Hyun, enjoying music and enjoying the moment of making a memory.

Zen was born for the stage so he'd probably go back to training and rehearsals as soon as possible, both to get his name back out there and because his own soul needs it, but omega instincts would be smashing on top of his worry about becoming an absent parent so there's probably already a plan in place for baby to come to work with Apa and stay in sensing range.

He seems like the time to keep his kids away from the media a lot, since he's seen the wildness that can come from bad fans but he'd still make time to go with pup and Apa to the ocean, and make sure that his pup has the good memories he didn't get to make as a kid.

I don't know I'm getting a lot of soft feelings all of a sudden. Imagining Zen in just black pants and a white T-shirt at the beach with a pup, posing for the camera in matching hats. I just feel like he'd be a really kind "cool type" parent in presentation but like hes way more responsible in reality. The only flaw is that he'd probably never get rid of riding a motorcycle. Which like...its hot so as a no kids couple thats scary ish but fine. With a pup, I feel like he'd be more careful and not speed anymore.

Hope you're feeling alright 🥺 thanks for letting us send sweet things to you. If I think of any soft sunny hc I'll send it your way!

(Yeah, I know the way the game works can be pretty tough to fit around a schedule. Unfortunately, I don't have any advice that I think would be helpful, because I completed all the routes while in school/during the pandemic. so I used to do chatrooms during my breaks at school and I had nothing going on during the pandemic so. I also spent quite a lot of money on the game, which I know isn't an option for everyone. Maybe look up guides with the chat times to help schedule it out? Sorry, I can't be of more help!)

I love these headcanons!! I think they're super accurate.

Yes, I think Zen waits for a fair while to have a pup, not only because of his career like you mentioned, but he wants to be married first, and before he gets married, he wants to make amends with his family, so it could take some time.

But once he was ready, he takes a little break for the pregnancy, coaching instead as you said, and he takes almost no maternity after the pup's birth because

a) he's a very quick healer

b) his work defines him and he can't bare to be away from it for too long

He keeps his pup away from the paparazzi as much as he can when they're young just like you said, but he spams the group chat with pics of course. Anyone he trusts is going to be bombarded with pics of Zen's family constantly but the paparazzi will be kept firmly at arms length.

I think your headcanons about Zen singing to his pup is adorable, and I think you're right! He sings to them constantly while he's pregnant, he sings when he puts them to bed or bathes them or calms them down from tantrums or nightmares. It's very, very cute, and it always works to cheer his pup up.

When Zen goes back to work, I think his alpha (who is his manager) works from home for a bit. It would be nice for them to be able to take the pup with them to work, but I don't think it's practical or professional unfortunately, so their pup has a nanny part time and goes to daycare part time.

The little scene by the ocean! Anon, that is beautiful! He would totally make family time a priority. Family is so, so important to Zen! It's a big part of his character.

Thanks for sending this 🥰

[sugar-petals]

Hello ^^ just dropping a quick message to tell you that I love your blog. I have tarot cards and oracle cards myself but I can't read them as good as you. Your really gifted. That erotic serie is amazing, It feels so accurate. I don't know if your request are open or not, but if they are, would you consider doing the erotic card pull for Yuta from NCT127?

thank you. yes, this is perfect for yuta, he’s amazing 😍❤️ i thought about covering him just yesterday, telepathy 😊

sexual style: 6 OF SWORDS

Okay, so. You can tell he’s come a long way. These kinds of things take the backseat: Yuta doesn’t consider sex as something primarily physical, emotional, or visceral. At least, not anymore. To him, it has a predominantly mental component instead. It’s the mindset that counts. Yuta has realized something very important in that regard. The 6 OF SWORDS is a card that always indicates someone’s moving on, they’re on a huge journey. Yuta is certainly somebody who’s had his fair share of experience, he’s seen a lot of shadow sides too, but recently, his erotic style has undergone a huge shift. Literally, a gigantic change. How I interpret it is that he might go from one expression of sexuality or preference to another. E.g. as if a switch becomes a strictly dom person, or a straight individual realizes they’ve been bi/pan all along. That kind of progression. With Yuta I find it hard to pinpoint what exactly it is, though. What the card does say is that he has sorted out his priorities big time, he’s not a fickle lover.

What the imagery of the card shows is certainly a calmer, more subdued spirit. Angsty or sad, even. This is not a bold and battling energy, he’s swapped completely to keeping things more understated in bed. His partner could be less so, but he will stay subtle. Yuta is less fiery and rough than we think, but rather, very concentrated and sobered. The latter especially. This could have happened after being overseas or after another journey; Yuta might have had sexual encounters that weren’t so pleasant at all. Maybe verbally abusive since swords represent fights and communication. So, he is so much more careful, my god. I see the 6 OF SWORDS as the sign of sexual healing. A relief. So, this is Yuta’s current pivotal energy. He is more open to receive guidance and protection. Or, he easily gives it to someone who’s been through trauma. He is humble, sincere, respectful. Non-embellishing, just genuine. That is beautiful. Look at the ferryman on the card: I get a feeling that aftercare is tremendously important to him, he enjoys a partner’s comforting presence for sure, or gives great aftercare himself.

secret kinks

TOUCHY — What we know is that PDA is super important to Yuta already, and this extends to the bedroom going by this card. Sex as just rubbing your genitals together and that’s it: Not on his list. He wants to touch his partner everywhere, and be touched in reverse. With his great long hair, I know the perfect area to caress him.

POLY — It takes two, baby. Or three. Or four. Whoever lands in NCT is familiar with group settings 24/7, and Yuta will carry that idea to his private matters. He’s accustomed to it. Nothing better than a nice gangbang to unwind. And really, Yuta can handle several lovers at once. He’s daredevil enough but stay cool and collected to coordinate.

SWEARING — It’s sort of a contradiction with the tarot card for sexual style above because it said he’s acquainted with verbal abuse of some kind. On the other hand, what I think this means is him being very likely to curse to himself under his breath between moans. So, it’s not about name-calling but giving reactions during sexy time.

DILDOES — He’s gotten softer, but this might be the area of hardcore that he keeps in his repertoire. He’s open to using vibrators, strap-ons, fucking machines, butt plugs. Anal play is very welcome in the house of Nakamoto. If he’s feeling particularly freaky, he’ll get it on with a double-ended dildo. Together with his partner, or going ass to mouth.

BITING — Cue Lady Gaga: “Show me your teeth.” You gotta know that song. That’s the motto we’re going by, Yuta is a big fan of marks and anything oral. There’s a reason he looks like a frickin’ vampire lord, neck stuff is absolutely his thing. Something else that this card indicates is also: Hickeys.

[fitzs-trained-monkey]

Chapter Ten: To Home and Friendship

(Images are not mine)

Rated: PG

~With every small disaster I'll let the waters still Take me away to some place real

'Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone Is where you go when you're alone Is where you go to rest your bones It's not just where you lay your head It's not just where you make your bed As long as we're together, does it matter where we go?~

Home.

That wasn't a word I was used to. Not anymore.

"I stand by what I said earlier, Jack. You make an excellent pillo― Oh holy crap."

I gasped as Jack lead me inside the literal bunker that these guys apparently lived in. I wondered if I would ever get used to it, because their bunker was enormous.

We entered through a non-descript entrance, that nobody would have noticed, onto a platform that was less of a balcony and more of a catwalk which I guessed was the second floor, though I couldn't tell exactly because it was a bunker and it probably had more levels than I could see. The wrought iron railing of the balcony was formed into a design of circles atop rectangles. The catwalk ended with a set of steel stairs that curved with the wall.

My feet clanged on the metal as I descended the stairwell. At the bottom of those stairs on my right was a doorway that led somewhere else and on my left was what I guessed was the entryway. There was a big glowy-table-thing with a map on it in the center of the space, surrounded by several chairs. There was this big, greenish panel thingy attached to one of the tan tiled walls that looked like some sort of old timey computer equipment. Through a big gray archway, I could see into another room that looked like a library with a huge telescope at the end of it. On the far left of the room there was another hallway going off somewhere else. Dean stepped off the staircase and spread his arms out.

"Welcome to the Batcave!" He said, grinning. "I see you're impressed." Only then did I realize my mouth was hanging open. I closed it and shook my head.

"This place is colossal," I said in awe.

"Yeah, it's a little pretentious but you get used to it." Sam shrugged, passing me. Jack just stood over my shoulder, watching my reaction.

"True, but if you want protection, this is about the safest place in the world. It's got warding against every evil thing out there. Vampires, werewolves, demons, ghosts, you name it," Dean boasted. Just then, Isaac appeared on the catwalk, as far from us as he could.

"Ha! Then how did I get in here genius!" He jeered. It took every last drop of will power I had not to facepalm right then and there. It was warm in here and the hunters would certainly notice a sudden temperature drop. Was Isaac trying to get us discovered? (I'd say killed but he's already dead.)

"Yep, nothing gets in here unless we let it. Or, you know, bring it in accidentally." Sam shared a look with Cas and his older brother.

"Scooby-dooby-doo!" Dean laughed, shaking his head. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the story behind that or not. Meanwhile Isaac wore a sheepish expression.

"Oh, guess that’s how I got in then." Words cannot express how much I wanted to kick my brother at that moment. After he was finished laughing, Dean looked to Jack.

"Kid, you take Mcfly here, find her a room, get her all settled, then give her the grand tour. I'm gonna hit the sack." Dean turned on his heel with a wave and whistled his way out of the room. Castiel mumbled something about research and crossed through the arch into the library.

"We're gonna find the monster that took your family away, Marty. But until then, think of us as your new one." I looked up at Sam and was reminded again of how huge the guy was. His head was in a totally different weather system than mine and I wondered if it was harder to breathe all the way up there.

"Thanks Sam." I took three steps higher on the stairs and made grabby hands at him. "Come here."

Sam raised an eyebrow at me but obeyed anyway. I took a tiny jump and wrapped my arms around his neck. He stumbled back a bit in surprise but quickly recovered and wrapped his arms around me with a chuckle.

"Shut up, Gigantor. I gotta hug ya’ somehow!" I rebuked, defending my height... Or rather, the lack thereof. I guess his laughter was justified though. My feet were dangling at least a foot from the floor. I let go of him and dropped back to the ground, it felt like falling off Mount Everest. Sam just shook his brown mane, smiling down at me.

"If there's anything you need, like help reaching the top shelf, just ask." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, whatever Sasquatch. So, what are you gonna do?" I asked. Sam shrugged, running a hand through his hair.

"Put my stuff away. Then I'm gonna go reorganize the pantry, make sure you can reach the cereal," He smirked, and followed Dean's path through the other door-way.

"Way to rub it in, Sam!" I called after him. I heard him chuckle as he rounded the corner out of my sight. Then I rounded on Jack, who had been waiting patiently. "Well, Jack, if you wanna make fun of my height, now's the time to do it. Lead on!" I opened my arms, preparing for insults.

"It is rare that I get to feel tall, but I'm not going to make fun of you," He said, turning on his heel to lead me through the door-way behind us.

"Good. Cause' I might have slapped you if ya had." Jack looked back at me questioningly, but I just shrugged.

I followed him through twisting and turning hallways that I knew I wouldn't be memorizing anytime soon. We kept walking for what seemed like forever. Honestly, I was ninety-eight percent convinced that we might pass a sign that said: 'Now Entering Nebraska.' It didn't help that all the halls looked exactly the same.

"Back at the motel, the night we met, Dean said you had this thing," Jack remarked, turning to face me and walking backward.

"What thing?" I asked.

"I think he called it ‘A Napoleon Complex' or something like that," Jack said, innocently. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.

"And do you know what that is?"

"No. I haven't looked it up yet. Do you know?" I snorted.

"Oh, yeah. I know," I said. Already thinking of a comeback for the next time I saw Dean.

"What is it?" Jack was simply curious. I smirked at him.

"Do you know who Napoleon was?" I asked him, I was pretty sure of the answer.

"No." Just as I thought. The Winchesters needed to teach their half-angel some history. As for now though, I could give him the watered-down version.

"Napoleon was a French dude, not to be confused with the ice-cream. He was five foot six and when people called him short, he blew them up." I told him. Jack nodded seriously.

"I see, so he was insecure about his height and used violence to compensate for it. Then, the complex was named after him." I had to give it to him, the kid was smart.

"Yep. Never mind the fact that he took over almost all of Europe, he will always be famous for being a human chihuahua." I had to at least teach Jack something remotely accurate. Jack frowned and his eyebrows pulled together as if remembering something unpleasant. I guessed he had come into contact with a chihuahua before, it didn't look like he was fond of them.

"So, Dean thinks you're insecure about your height," Said Jack, returning us to the original topic.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Are you?" I shrugged.

"Not really. I'm just obnoxious." Jack laughed, coming to a stop in front of a black door that looked just the same as the rest that lined the hall except for the plaque with the number 22 etched into it.

"This is my room," He said. "And that's Sam's." He pointed to the door on the left of his which had a 21 on it. "You can pick any of these other rooms." His eyes flicked to the door next to his on the right, room 24. I briefly wondered what had happened to 23. When I met his eyes, he looked at his feet, as if his shoes were much more interesting than me.

"Does anyone live in here?" I tapped the door with 24 on it.

"No, it's empty but you don't have to take that one if you don't want to." Jack glued his eyes to the polished cement floor and ran his hand through his hair, a tick I was sure he picked up from Sam.

"Why wouldn't I want to?" I asked, narrowing my eyes and putting my hands on my hips. I watched as a pink tint started to creep up Jack's neck.

"I don't want you to think that you have to stay in that one just because I want you too," He muttered.

"You want me to stay next to you?" I pointed out. Jack's expression went blank, his eyes wide as quarters.

"Um, I-I-I don't- I didn't mean--" Jack stumbled over his words. His gaze drilled straight into the floor, his hands were fidgeting, and his right foot twisted its toe against the concrete. His body language pointed at nervousness. Why was he this nervous? Was it me? He hadn't been this way before, what was different now? I decided to ease his nerves with a little humor. I stuck my hand into his line of sight and waved.

"Yoo, hoo! I'm up here, Jack." He flicked his eyes up to my face but kept his head down. "Well, not up per-say but you know what I mean," I joked. His smile was still pointed at the concrete. I guessed we'd just have to work on that.

"S-sorry." His laugh was a breathy one. I sighed, planting my hands on my hips.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Jack. It's nice to have someone who wants me around, I haven't had that in a long time." I smiled in what I hoped was a friendly way. Jack rocked back and forth on his heels and his mouth did that crooked smile of his. He even flicked his eyes up at me.

"Well, uh, what are friends for?" He sounded like he was reciting something he heard in a movie.

I wondered whether Jack was trying to flirt with me or not. A tiny part of me hoped that he was and another part of me kicked myself for hoping for that. How could I think that way? Jack was two, he was probably too young to understand feelings like that, if he even had them. He probably didn't have them. He was probably just doing his best to make a friend, by going off what he had seen. I mean, the movies are pretty against a boy and a girl simply being friends. Besides if he knew what I was, he wouldn't be standing here talking to me. He'd be trying to kill me. Isaac was right. Any friendship I made here, would never be real. It never could be.

"Right," I said softly. Now I was the one looking down at my feet. But I wasn't doing it out of nerves. I was doing it out of shame. Glancing up at him through my lashes, Jack's smile faltered for only a moment. He grasped the doorknob and turned it and as the door swung inward, Jack flipped a switch and the white florescent lights buzzed to life.

The room was simply decorated, and by that I mean it wasn't decorated at all. The walls, ceiling, and floor were grey and a built-in shelf stuck out from the far wall. In the center of the space sat a full-size bed with a plain white duvet, white sheets, and down pillows. There was a dresser pushed up against one wall, a desk pressed against the other, and a tiny night stand next to the bed, all of which were fashioned out of wood the shade of walnut.

"Um, it's not much, but we can get you some stuff to make it yours," Jack smirked down at me and I ducked past him into the room.

Other than those objects, the room was bare, but I found myself overwhelmed. My chest tightened and my eyes stung, it was so little, but it was more than I'd had in five years. I shrugged my backpack off my shoulders and placed my violin case on the bed. Keeping my back turned, my face hidden from Jack, I blinked rapidly to dispel my tears.

"It's wonderful, Jack. I-I love it." I took a deep breath and pasted a smirk on my face. When I had control of my emotions, I swung back to face him. "Now, how bout' that grand tour?" Jack's brows pushed together.

"Don't you want to put your things away, first?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Nah, I can do that anytime. This place is pretty awesome, I wanna see it all!" I grinned at him, pressing all the excitement I could muster into my voice. Jack grinned back.

"Well, um, what would you like to see first?"

"No idea! What's your favorite room?" Jack's eyes flicked to the side as he thought about his answer for a moment.

"The kitchen," He decided. His seriousness made me chuckle.

"I like the way you think. You lead, I'll follow!" This time, instead of smiling at the concrete, Jack smiled at my shoes! We were making good progress. Now if I could get him to smile at my face, then we would really be getting somewhere.

Jack swung around on his heel and walked about four paces before opening a door on the other side of the hall. This one was labeled with 23. 'So that's where it went.' I thought, as Jack pushed the door open and walked through. Inside was the kitchen. It wasn't the kind you have at home. No, this was one of those industrial sort of kitchens, all polished steel and florescent lighting. (The buzzing of those light bulbs was extremely annoying, but I would just have to get used to it.)

There were pots and pans everywhere. Any sort of cook where you could imagine was in there, hanging on racks, dangling from hooks, sitting on shelves, or habitually left on the stove. What looked like easily one hundred white plates were stacked neatly on the shelves of the giant stainless-steel island that dominated the space. Two ovens, stood side-by-side in a little nook, one of which had a griddle attached to the top. Hovering over the two ovens were large vents of gleaming steel.

To the right of the cooking station was the preparation area and a sink as big as your average tub. I'm not kidding. The thing was gargantuan. Above that monstrosity of a kitchen sink sat an array of porcelain cups, and a tissue box, on a shelf. To the right of that, there sat a large stainless steel shelving unit that was home to various cooking supplies and four white drawers in the middle.

On the far wall, was a brown bulletin board decorated with various notes, covered in scribbles and sketches, tacked to it. Beneath the bulletin was a table crafted from some dark colored wood, that was either oak or mahogany, and was attached to the wall. Affixed to the table were eight stool-like seats constructed from the same dark material as the table itself. Directly to the right side of the door, was a coat rack and six small lockers stacked vertically. The right wall was an archway and set of stairs that lead off into a hallway branching to the right and a different set of stairs to the left.

As I peered around to the left side of the door and past another steel shelf, I laid eyes upon what could only be the freezer/refrigerator combo. It was this enormous floor-to-ceiling white panel with five varying sized doors built into it. The far most door on the right was taller than me so I assumed that was the refrigerator and the other four doors were freezers. Why one would need four freezers, I had no idea, but I found myself liking the concept. Now that I had finished taking in the grossly oversized kitchen, I whirled to Jack and grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look at me. I stared him dead in the eyes.

"This. Place. Is. Awesome." I pointed at the refrigerator. "Five bucks says I could fit in there!" Jack's gaze followed my finger and he nodded.

"I think you could," He said. I took another glance around the space. I couldn't help it. The laugh bubbled up from my stomach, filled my chest, and bloomed in my throat. It had been a long, long, long, time since I had laughed like that.

"I went from having nothing, to living in this place! This is amazing!" I flung my arms around Jack. It was quite the feat on my part to refrain from crushing his ribs. I was so excited I could hardly contain it. I was bouncing up and down on my toes like a little girl! Though I guess, in the eyes of Jack and the others, that’s sort of what I was.

"I'm glad you like it!" Jack said, grinning.

"I don't like it, Jack. I love it!" I exclaimed. My stomach growled like an angry bear, just being in here was making me hungry. "Hey, as long as we're here, got anything good to eat? I'm starving!" That last bit was nothing new, I was always starving these days, always craving. But I was never craving food. Jack's throat suddenly looked extremely tasty. Thankfully, his voice broke me away from that train of thought.

"I like ice-cream," He said, brightly.

"Jack?”

"Hm?"

"We are gonna be awesome friends."

No, home wasn't a word I was used to. Not anymore. But I realized with a start, that for the first time in five years, I had one. A real one.

It looked like I was gonna have to get used to it.

Jack knelt down and opened the door on the bottom left of the freezer/refrigerator combo that I then dubbed 'The Wall of Cold Stuff'. He reached in, grabbed a tub of ice cream, then stood and kicked the door shut.

"The bowls are down there and the spoons are in the top left drawer," He said, pointing to the shelf in the back. I made my way over and grabbed two of each. We both sat at the table, across from each other, and Jack served up the ice cream. I then got the chance to glance at the ice cream's label. It was chocolate-chip-cookie-dough.

"This is my favorite flavor. What's yours?" I asked him, shoveling ice cream into my mouth and moaning as the sugary goodness coated my tongue. Jack must have found that funny because he ducked his head and laughed.

"I don't know. This one is pretty good, but I love the mint and brownie ones as well," He told me. I had noticed that Jack always took great care to think about his answers before he gave them. He took and asked every question seriously. I got the feeling that Jack was the sort of person who's curiosity was never satisfied.

"I can vibe with that," I agreed. Jack's brows furrowed, he placed his spoon down on the table, folded his hands in his lap and leaned forward.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what that means. Could you explain it?" He asked. I liked the way he behaved when he was curious about something, Jack just dropped everything to learn and focused entirely on whatever it was he was trying to understand. Right now, that thing was me. I found that I didn't mind his undivided attention.

"Oh, um, it means that you agree with something somebody said. Its like saying 'you're right' or 'I agree with you' or 'that's cool'," I explained. Jack nodded.

"I think I understand." I gave him a thumbs up and scooped another spoonful of ice-cream into my mouth, closing my eyes and savoring the flavor with a deep sigh.

"You know, it's been five years since I last had ice cream," I said. Jack froze his ice cream eating with his spoon still stuck in his mouth, his expression morphing into one of horror and pity.

"That's awful!" He said, he'd removed the spoon, but his mouth was still full of the dessert, "No one should have to go without ice cream for that long!"

"My friend, you are absolutely right," I replied, pointing my spoon at him. "Here's to ice cream and sugar highs!" I tapped my bowl with the spoon and Jack copied me, albeit somewhat confused as to what I was doing. Speaking of sugar highs, I could already feel one building up already. It had been way too long since I'd had this much sugar.

"Marty?" Jack wanted my attention.

"Hm?"

"I had a dream about you last night," He said, changing the subject. I stared up at him, pulling my spoon out of my mouth.

"Should I be worried?"

"No."

"What was I doing in this dream of yours?" I asked, straining to keep the nervousness that was building in my chest out of my voice. Jack frowned, picking at his ice cream.

"You said-- You told me you were dangerous and I shouldn't trust you, that you're hiding something."

I bit my lip, my eyes widening with shock. I struggled to keep calm and natural, my reactions could give me away. Just as I'd settled my expression, Jack looked up. "I can trust you, right?" I smiled as genuinely as I could, which was difficult to do with his gaze piercing into my soul like it was.

"Of course, you can! I may be clever but I'm not exactly diabolical," I said, giving my best laugh. Jack smiled and nodded, though I got the notion that he was reassuring himself more than anything. If he was going to say something else, he never got the chance because at that moment, Sam strolled into the room.

He stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of us at the table. Our heads snapped up at the same time and we froze. Jack had his spoonful halfway to his mouth and mine was already there. The three of us just stared at each other for a moment but Sam was the first to react.

"Come on guys, really?! It's six A.M.!" He exclaimed. I shrugged, removing the spoon from my mouth and pointing it at him.

"AM, PM. What's the difference? Live a little!" With that comment alone, Sam figured he wouldn't be getting anywhere with me, so he turned to Jack.

"Jack, come on, be an example." Jack glanced at his spoonful of dessert and shoved in in his mouth, quickly.

"Technically," He pointed out, directing his spoon at me, "She's older than me!"

"Hey!" I protested.

"What?"

"This was your idea!"

Jack shrugged. "I know, but you agreed. I was just stating a fact," he said. Sam sighed, shaking his head. The two of us turned our attention back to him.

"Jack, throw it away and put the container back in the freezer. If you want ice cream, you can have it at dinner. Not at six in the morning," He scolded. Jack swallowed his mouthful of ice cream.

"But Sam, look at how happy she is! Marty hasn't had ice cream for five years!" He tried. I nodded vigorously to emphasize the point.

"It's true, Sam. You only live once!" I said, shoving another bite of ice cream in my mouth. Sam's eyes flicked back and forth between us.

"Fine. Just this once," He sighed.

"Thanks Sam!" Jack and I grinned.

"Yeah, whatever." Sam rolled his eyes and left the kitchen, but I could hear the hint of a smile in his voice. When he was gone, Jack sighed with relief.

"I take it you do this a lot," I said to him. He looked at the ice cream with a guilty expression.

"I wouldn't say a lot."

"But often enough for him not to be surprised?"

"Yeah." Jack grinned sheepishly.

"Does he always catch you?" I asked him.

"Every time, yes."

We finished our ice cream and put our dishes in the sink. Then, Jack proceeded to show me the rest of the bunker. Sometimes I would ask about what was in few of the rooms and he would reply with an 'I don't know' or a few times a rather disturbing 'You don't want to know'. To say that his cryptic warning had no effect on me would be a lie. He spoke the words in a light hearted way that just made me more worried. So, I tried to push any speculations as to the contents of those rooms from my mind but kept step slightly closer to Jack from then on.

He showed me a garage full of a bunch of old-timey cars that I found myself figuratively drooling over, a room full of antique electronic equipment he told me not to touch, an impressive gym with an adjacent shower room, an infirmary, a shooting range that looked like a lot of fun, something they called the 'War Room' which was where the glowy table was, the extensive library, and an alcove with an gigantic telescope that Jack claimed nobody could figure out how to use. According to him, the glowy table in the war room could supposedly track monsters, but the Winchesters weren't sure how to use it. Much to my relief.

Jack also showed me a room where I immediately knew I would be spending most of my time. Jack rather confusedly referred to it as 'The Dean Cave'. I later noticed the paper sign tacked on the back of the door that was labeled with said name. Inside there was a flat screen TV, two recliners, a bar that I'd never use, a foosball table which I would definitely use, a record-playing jukebox that I hoped had some decent tunes, and a shelf full of books. The whole room was lit by these cool red and blue lights that looked to be made out of beer kegs. This was a place I could get used to.

"Jack, I think I found my second favorite room," I said, trailing my fingers along the rim of the foosball table.

"You'll have to ask Dean if you can use the T.V. he and Sam are still trying to figure it out." Jack sat cross-legged on one of the ugly plaid recliners.

"Remind me to help em' with that. I'm tech-y," I replied, walking over to observe the jukebox. I didn't know most of the titles displayed on the devices list of records, but my eyes landed on one that I'd know even if it was written in Chinese. "Oh my gosh! Jack, how do I use this thing?!" I squealed, excitedly. Jack hopped up to help me.

"You turn this knob to select which one you want, then you press this button to start it," He explained. I followed his instructions and watched the machine grab the record and put it on that spinning thing before it dropped the needle. I grinned ear to ear as sweet music filled the air.

~Wouldn't it be nice if we were older? Then we wouldn't have to wait so long And wouldn't it be nice to live together In the kind of world where we belong?~

"What's this one called?" Jack asked over the notes.

"Wouldn't it be nice, by The Beach Boys! It's one of my favorites!" I was surprised that it was here considering Dean's bias when it came to music.

~You know it's gonna make it that much better When we can say goodnight and stay together~

"I dare you to sing along, Jack-Jack." I grinned and nudged his shoulder.

"No thank you," He said, shaking his head with a pleasant smile.

~Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up In the morning when the day is new? And after having spent the day together Hold each other close the whole night through~

"Awww! Why not?"

"I don't know the words." He shrugged.

~Happy times together we've been spending I wish that every kiss was never ending Oh, wouldn't it be nice?~

"Fine!" I sighed in over dramatic disappointment, flopping onto one of the recliners. "But that excuse is only gonna work once!"

Jack chuckled, leaning his arms on the back of the recliner to look down at me. "I guess I better come up with more excuses then!"

~Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray It might come true Baby, then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't do Oh, we could be married (oh, we could be married) And then we'd be happy (and then we'd be happy) Oh, wouldn't it be nice?~

"You can't evade me forever," I declared, kicking my feet back and forth to the beat of the song.

"True," Jack agreed, nodding. "But I can try."

"And try you will, young Skywalker," I said.

"I like Star Wars!" Jack noted, suddenly seeming to shift from being older than me to younger by about five years. It was an odd thing to watch.

"Who doesn't?"

~Goodnight, my baby Sleep tight, my baby Goodnight, my baby Sleep tight, my baby~

The music faded away but I maintained eye contact with Jack in a spontaneous staring contest. Why? Because, naturally the first one to break was a weakling and I was not going to take that title on my first day with these people.

"Is this a staring contest?" Jack asked, tilting his head a bit. He didn't blink.

"Indeed. We maintained eye contact for longer than twenty-eight seconds, so it's obligatory," You replied, still refusing to blink.

"I did not know that those were the rules," Jack said, sounding somewhat confused.

"Well, they're not. That's just how my family always played." You were quick to clear your throat and rid your tone of any sadness that slipped past your defenses.

"Oh, I see."

"I take it you two are having fun."

"Agh!" I shot up from my reclined position in shock and whipped to the doorway where I took in the sight of Castiel standing just outside the door frame, the ghost of a smile visible on his otherwise expressionless face. How long had he been watching? Embarrassment warmed my cheeks and I hoped we hadn't looked like idiots.

"Hey Cas! I don't know about Jack, but I'm having the time of my life!" I said. Then I turned to Jack. "Whattdya' say, buddy? Am I torturing you?"

"I've been tortured before, this isn't anything close to what that was like! Don't worry, Marty. You're a lot of fun." He stated, matter-of-factly. My eyes went wide and I tilted my head at him. I mean, what was I even supposed to say to something like that? "Oh, and you I won the staring contest." I found myself nodding slowly.

"Well, good for you. And that's got to be the weirdest complement I think I've ever gotten, but I'll take it." Jack grinned at me in his lopsided way and I turned my attention back to the other angel in the room. "Any particular reason for this visit or were ya just passing?"

"Sam asked me to check up on you two," Cas answered.

"Alright. Well, I was just about to ask Jack to help me find my way back to my room."

Cas simply nodded and walked off.

"So, why do you like that song so much?" Jack inquired as we strode back through the endless identical hallways.

"It was in one of my mom's favorite movies so she was always singing it. I love the tune as well and sometimes, when I'm sad, the words make me feel better," I answered. Jack frowned.

"I don't understand song lyrics. They never make sense to me."

"Would you like me to explain it to you?"

"Yes." Jack nodded and once again gave me all his attention.

"So, that song is about two young people who feel like they're living their lives stuck in place. There's so much they want to do but everybody says they're just to young to do it. They feel like they've outgrown the stage of life that they're in and they just want to move on. By being stuck where they are, they're afraid they'll miss their opportunity for happiness. So they dream about a day when they'll finally be free to do whatever they want, even if they that day may never come around." My thoughtful tone surprised me.

I hadn't meant to put so much of my own emotion into my explanation of the lyrics. If I kept on like this, the hunters would figure me out in no time. But there was just something about Jack, about the way he listened to my every word, that made me want to tell him everything about everything. I was weak around him. He made me let my guard down. I'd have to learn how to keep it up if I wanted to survive.

"Do you feel stuck sometimes?" Jack asked. His tone was sincere but his expression gave me no clues a s to what he was hoping to learn from his question. I nodded.

"I used to feel like I was living a loop, like every day was the same. It sucked." I rolled my eyes and shoved him playfully. "But then four weirdos in an Impala showed up and my life is finally moving again!"

~With every small disaster I'll let the waters still Take me away to someplace real

Cause' they say home is where your heart is set in stone Its where you go when you're alone Its where you go to rest your bones Its not just where you lay your head Its not just where you make your bed As long as we're together does it matter where we go?~

Lyrics from: Home by Jasmine Thompson

[rpmemesbyarat]

RP meme from "Clerks"

Man goes into cage. Cage goes into salsa. Shark's in the salsa. Our shark.

Bunch of savages in this town

There's a million fine looking girls in the world. But they don't all bring you lasagna to work. Most of them just cheat on you.

What do you mean there's no ice? You mean I gotta drink this coffee hot?

Ooh! Navy seals!

Do you have that one with that guy who was in that movie that came out last year?

That's beautiful, man

There's nothing more exhilarating than pointing out the shortcomings of others, is there?

This job would be great if it wasn't for the fucking customers.

Yeah. [NAME], your a rude motherfucker, you know that? But you're cute as hell. I could go down on you, suck you, line up three other guys, make like a circus seal.

That's what life is, a series of down endings.

All 'Jedi' had was a bunch of Muppets.

My mom's been fuckin' a dead guy for 30 years. I call him dad.

They say so much, but they never tell you if it's any good.

I don't watch movies

Well, have you heard anything about either one of them?

I find it's best to stay out of other people's affairs.

I don't appreciate your ruse

Hey! You're not allowed to [THING] here anymore!

My love for you is like a truck, BERZERKER! Would you like some making fuck, BERZERKER!

Are there any balls down there?

I'm gonna fuck this bitch, I'll fuck this bitch, I'll fuck ANYTHING THAT MOVES!

Yo, what the fuck you lookin' at? I'll kick your fuckin' ass! Shit yeah.

Doesn't that mother fucker owe me 10 bucks?

You know, fuckin' tonight, we're gonna rip off this fucker's head, and tear out his fuckin' soul.

I'm gonna shit in the motherfucker's bag

What's up sluts?

Noinch, Noinch, Noinch, Schmokin Weed, Schmokin' Weed, Doin' Coke, Drinkin' Beers...

I had some girlfriends too, but all they wanted from me is weed and shit.

What's a good plate with nothing on it?

I don't care if she's my cousin or not, I'm gonna knock those boots again tonight.

Hey what you want, Grizzly Adams?

Someone jammed gum in the locks.

A woman makes a guy cum, it's standard. A guy makes a woman cum, it's talent.

You'll sleep with anything that says 'yes.'

My girlfriend sucked 37 dicks!

Shocking abuse of authority.

I'm a firm believer in the philosophy of a ruling class. Especially since I rule.

People say crazy shit during sex. One time I called this girl "mom."

She broke your heart and inadvertently drove men to deviant lifestyles.

That's what high school was about. Algebra, bad lunch, and infidelity.

He said he has to find the perfect dozen.

Why doesn't he mix and match?

He said it was important to have standards, and he says nobody has any pride anymore.

It's not like you laid the eggs yourself.

That seems to be the late motif in your life, ever backing down.

You always back down. You assume blame that's not yours. You come in on your day off. You buckle like a belt.

Insubordination rules.

How did you get here so fast?

Do you always talk this weird after you violate a woman?

He just sat there and let me do all the work.

We didn't just have sex in the bathroom?

Well I didn't just fuck myself!

Who the fuck's in our bathroom?

You sucked that guy's dick?

How many?! How many dicks have you sucked?!

Why couldn't you sleep with them like any other decent person?

Don't look at me like I'm the town whore, because you were plenty busy yourself before you met me!

I only had sex with the guys I loved

Try not to suck any dick on the way through the parking lot!

That article's accurate

Something just never sat right with me the second time around.

I'll bet they brought independent contractors in on that thing

They'd hire anybody who could do the job

Casualties of a war they had nothing to do with

Along come these left-wing militants that blast everything with their lasers

I'm a contractor myself

A [PROFESSION]'s personal politics come into play heavily when choosing jobs

I'm alive because I knew the risks involved in that particular client

Could never put my finger on it but something just wasn't right.

You knocked the casket over!

Her fucking body fell out!

He broke his neck trying to suck his own dick

Come on, haven't you ever tried to suck your own dick?

You're as curious as the rest of us

I guess everyone gets curious and tries it sometime

You haven't said anything for like twenty minutes.

My life is in the shitter right about now, so if you don't mind, I'd like to stew a bit.

You should shit or get off the pot.

You'll sit there and blame life for dealing a cruddy

hand, never once accepting the responsibility for the way your situation is.

If you hate this job and the people, and the fact that you

have to come in on your day off, then quit.

There are other jobs, and they pay better money. You're bound to be qualified for at least one of them.

This is a life of convenience for you, and any attempt to change it would shatter the pathetic microcosm you've fashioned for yourself.

I'm satisfied with my situation for now.

Melodrama coming from you seems about as natural as an oral bowel movement.

I can't make changes like that in my life.

I'm not the kind of person that disrupts things in order to

shit comfortably.

Women as lovers are basically the same, they just have to be there

Making a male climax isn't at all challenging. Insert somewhere close, preferably moist. Thrust. Repeat.

What an embarrassing way to die.

Title does not dictate behavior

I think the idea or the conception of us dating is a lot more idyllic then what actually happens when we date.

You want to blame somebody? Blame yourself.

I'm stuck in this pit, working for less than slave wages. Working on my day off, the goddamn steel shutters are closed, I deal with every backward ass fuck on the planet. I smell like shoe polish. My ex-girlfriend is catatonic after fucking a dead guy. And my present girlfriend has sucked 36 dicks.

Oh, hey [NAME], break his heart again this time, and I'll kill ya

Such a sordid state of affairs.

I'm not even supposed to be here today!

[letterstothemidnightsociety]

It's 2007 and somehow, miraculously, Supernatural survives yet another rocky (?) season of mediocre ratings to come back for a third season, or at least, half season, but that season starts out with a real bang! Like, just a real solid trio of an opener for season three. It reminds me of all the things I love about SPN and also it reminds us of all the things that frustrate the hell out of me on SPN. So where did we leave things off?

First up, there’s Dean, who sold his soul to the devil in order to bring Sam back from the dead. Sam, you’ll remember, was part of some overly complicated ponzi scheme to find the perfect vessel to open a door - yep, open a door - and lost to Aldous Hodge who just straight up murders Sam in the season finale. So Dean get’s Sammy back, but in exchange, he’s only got one year left before he permanently moves down south. Oh! And even though they got Sam back and Sam kills Aldous Hodge (RIP pal), they neglected to keep the door from opening. The door to Hell, that is, and now they’ve allowed a shiz ton of demons out to freely roam the earth. Way to go, boys, you lost again! They are two for two on these season finales guys!

OH but they DO kill the Yellow Eyed Demon, so that’s a plus, but not before he plants the most perfect seed of doubt in Dean’s mind - “How do you know what you brought back is all Sammy?” Like, ugh, UGH, ugh!!!! What a way to drive the knife in deeper! What a way to make the heart of this show slowly start to crumble! C’est Magnifique!! *chef's kissy fingers*

So with all that emotional baggage weighing us down, how do we start season 3? How else - with a threesome of course! And also some technicolor grading, it’s wild guys.

Oh boy guys, let’s talk about this opener for a hot sec. I got into it a little bit last season, but as much as I love Dean, you HAVE to admit that that boy is gross. Just like...he’s a little gross. I’m also old enough now to see exactly how many red flags he’s raising through the last 45 episodes. Like, sorry Little Me, but he is not boyfriend material. Not to mention that all this debauchery is 1,000% him distracting himself from the consequences of his own actions, but we’ll get into that later.

Meanwhile, Sam is doing something constructive and trying to figure out how to reverse the curse and save Dean’s soul. And here we have the culmination of two seasons worth of character development - faced with the imminent demise of Dean Samuel Winchester, Sam tries to step up and take care of his brother for once in his life; Dean parties like it’s 1999. There were two things I thought of during this episode - 1) isn’t this not unlike the sort of behavior you see in suicidal people who have finally decided to take their own life? Which is just, like, further held up by the fact that Dean’s big monologue at the end literally has the line “Truth is I’m tired, Sam. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” and like...dude, you are NOT ok! Why isn't??? ANYONE??? ADDRESSING THIS????? And 2) Dean is sharing a lot of similarities with the demons in this episode.

Because MEANwhile, there’s demons! So many demons! Specifically, the Seven Deadly Sins ones, but also, spoiler alert, Ruby, who is gettin’ reeeeealll into that ketchup.

All these baddies just really taking advantage of their time topside cuz Hell is, as they so artfully put it, it’s like Hell, so they’re just livin’ it up while they still can ~almost like foreshadowing or something~?!?!?

Real talk though, it being a real long time since I’ve watched this season, it’s these kinds of details that I’m impressed with this time around. There is so much character work that goes into this show and it’s something I definitely connected with the first time around, but not on conscious level. Now I can look at it through time and experience and articulate what I’m seeing, which makes this re-watch infinitely more enjoyable.

Episode 1 of this season continues what they started in season 2 and just keeps building out that Hunter Community. Like, there really is a whole Community out there that keeps in contact and works together and makes sure everyone’s up to date on the latest hot goss, and it all makes John Winchester come off like a real creepy splinter cell lone gunman type. And that in turn makes the Winchester sons look like total, unprofessional boneheads who managed to open a portal to Hell. “UGH Great Jorb Guys, but can we blame them? They’re John’s kids,” is a conversation between hunters that I am headcannoning, but also 100% support.

Honestly, I love the idea of the Winchesters being just these real, like, b-grade, Walmart Brand Hunters that other Hunters are just SO done with. We kind of see a little bit of that with Isaac and Tamara, but by the end of the episode, the Winchesters prove that they’re...better Hunters? I hope somewhere in the next 12 seasons I get an episode that is told from another Hunter’s POV who is legitimately better/more emotionally balanced than the Winchesters and the whole episode is them just, like, cleaning up a bunch of Winchester messes like, SONuvabitch, these two ASSholes. I think we see a fair amount of episodes from the POV of people who are less qualified than the Winchesters who end up being mentored by them, but I’d be stoked for them to run into just a group of people who hate them for totally legitimate, professional vs amature reasons.

Bobby does not count because Bobby signed up to be their Dad and so he agreed to take care of their messes when he took that job.

And then we get to “The Kids Are Alright” which showcases one of my fav changes for this season - BRIGHTLY! LIT! HIGH! SATURATION!!!! And of course, by fav, I mean, Most Hilarious.

I do walk a fine line on this one truth be told. Like, season 1 was definitely going for A Look. It’s super gritty and high contrasty and stylized. Now, I got what they were going for but I wasn’t always crazy about it, mostly because the quality on the DVD’s was terrible. Quick tip for everyone: in order to get 2+ hours worth of content on a DVD, you have to compress the final edit of the program to a pretty small bitrate. When we drop videos onto DVD’s at my work (it isn’t often, thank goodness), the discs themselves only hold, like, 2GB worth of content and that is NOT A LOT when it comes to video files. The more compressed a video file is, the less detail you’re gonna get in the visuals. Watching episodes on Netflix (where everything’s probably at a higher bitrate and therefore is a better quality visual), it’s not bad, but on my DVDs, the compression is so heavy that we get SUPER hot highlights and SUPER crunchy shadows - what a lot of people would called “crushed blacks” because you’ve lost all the detail in the shadows and you’re left with a grainy, noisy, black hole on the screen. Like I lost so much detail in the pilot episode guys, I could not make out this guy’s face.

A rough approximation of my DVD quality. Still recommend it over Netflix for the Accurate Soundtrack tho.

Season 2 SPN toned that Look down a lot, like, a lot a lot. Enough that you still got the general vibe they were going for but not enough that you couldn’t make out faces anymore. But through this whole process, the CW execs kept pushing for the show to look lighter, more colorful, less film noir more...well, CW. And in season 3 it finally happened!!!

I get what those execs were going for, but also, I feel like the colorists on these first few episodes just REALLY went wild out of spite. Lookit this shot from “Magnificent Seven” right before Envy causes some rando innocent bystander to beat a girl to death for her shoes -

GREEN GREEN GREEN GREEN!!!! I WONDER WHICH SIN THIS GUY IS????

Then in “The Kids Are Alright” the birthday party looks like everything is coated in day-glow neon.

The Winchester Bros look like they just got back from 3 weeks in Aruba - LOOK at the saturation levels in these skin tones! LOOK AT THEM!!

My screencap ability aside, only in SPN can a cemetery at night have brighter lighting than a diner in the middle of the afternoon.

This is definitely a thing I will be tracking the rest of the season because I have a distinct memory of a future episode where the brothers have been magically gifted completely different lives where they were never Hunters, they know nothing of Hunting, and they’re completely normal until the end when everything gets snapped back and the episode literally changes colors. V. Excited to see just how saturated this season stays through the end.

But maybe more importantly in “The Kids Are Alright” we learn that Dean does NOT, in fact, have a son. Not that he would be a good father...well...maybe? I mean, this Dean, this season 3, definitely-suicidal, completely-reckless, can’t-keep-it-together Dean, is not good Dad material. Later seasons Dean? Probably fine? Earlier seasons Dean might ALSO be fine? And if he’d found out that Ben was his legitimate kid, it could have made a WORLD of difference, who knows. I know he ultimately does become father-like to Ben and that gives me a lot of feelings. But this Dean is not in a good place to take care of anyone, including himself and really, someone ought to do something about that.

I gotta say, this is an actual bummer. I can’t remember if, in the later seasons, they do any clarifying on this or not, but I am legitimately bummed that Ben is not Dean’s kid and that as far as we know, Dean has no natural children floating around out there with surly attitudes and soft hearts. Dean’s motivation from Day 1 has always been family and despite what comments he may make in early seasons, Dean’s secret desire is to have the wife and the kids and the dog and the white picket fence. And honestly, we’re only 3 seasons in and I just want Dean to have nice things!!

And then guys, we come to “Bad Day at Black Rock,” and I just...WHAT a masterpiece. I had almost NO memory of ever watching this episode before and I don't understand why. What a glorious masterpiece this episode is. Let’s make a list -

More Hunters™, who should be really annoying but were actually kinda charming in a Marx Brothers kind of way

Gordon’s in jail, where he belongs, but also is masterminding a coup against the Winchesters which is A+ spooky stuff

Slapstick comedy that I didn’t know I was missing from my life

Bela F*cking Talbot

Guys, I think this is my fav episode so far purely because I felt, while watching it, that the last 10 years of my life were not in vain and that I had in fact grown as a human person. I remembered hating Bela Talbot. Like, I DID. NOT. LIKE. HER. To the point that I questioned if her British accent was even real. It is, her mother is from the UK and she lived there for a time, but like, honestly, the audacity of Little Me.

This time around? Oh she’s defs my new fav. Just everything about her is like, A+, Great Job, Why-Did-We-Cancel-Her??? Like, oh yeah, probably because somewhere in here they try to shoehorn a romantic side plot with Dean. I don’t actually mind rioting over shoehorned romance, but also, if they’d let this play out for a season or two and then got the two of them to bone? I’m on board. I’m 100% on board.

Maybe it’s just that she is unapologetically out for herself, maybe it’s the fact that she is definitely a match for the Winchesters in a non-murdery way, probably it is both of those things. She's smart, she’s crooked, she has impeccable taste, she’s honestly a helluva lot of fun and I am so excited to see more of her and so BUMMED that she will not make it past this season.

Despite the fact that I absolutely adore all three of these episodes, they also bring up the problem that I was starting to see in season 2 - WHO is this show about? Isn’t it supposed to be about the Brothers as a whole? But the majority of these first three lean pretty heavily on Dean’s emotional arc. Granted, it makes sense. I mean, of COURSE Dean’s demon deal is gonna be the BIG thing in a season where he is literally staring down the barrel, but knowing that there’s a side plot about Is Sam Evil?? seems like...something we should really explore more? I believe it comes up in season 4, or at least, Sam’s demon-blood powers become a bigger deal in season 4, but I would have enjoyed seeing Sam have a more active stake in this season. I can see planting some weird new ticks being planted for Alive-Again Sam that just get weirder and darker and then a mid-season finale or a run up episode to the end of the season where Dean (finally) decides he needs to stop his demon deal because he needs to stick around so he can keep Sam from going completely off the rails. As much as I love Dean 5ever, I do think the show works best when the emotional weight of the season is distributed equally is all. And to be fair to the writers this season, there could have been a bigger plan for something like that but they ran out of time - their season was cut by about a third due to the Writer’s Strike.

Still, all in all, a solid opening to the third season. I want to say that these episodes feel like Classic SPN, but then I remember that this is season three out of fifteen. These ARE Classic SPN. Mostly self contained with enough emotional drama to remind us of the overarching plot. Maybe a little heavy on the emotional drama, but Dean’s only got a year to live and the show’s only got 16 episodes to resolve that crisis, so it’s fine.