#gertrud leads

[3dsoplya]

insomnia

[ofdreamsanddoodles]

honestly i think it's a little funny that in all the speculation i've seen about gerry & gertrude in tmagp no one has suggested gerry might just be like. lying about not remembering. like we all heard them give the most antagonistic pause when sam mentioned the magnus institute and then went "but surely he has no reason to lie here"

[youmustfixyourheartt]

thinking about gerry keay and gertrude robinson and "she was there sometimes, the one he followed around the world. there was almost sadness in her eyes" and euthanasia by will wood

[thepresidentstolemyfuckingsafe]

I hate when I read my generic romance comics and the super hot male lead shows up with his anime eyes and chiseled fucking abs and then he's like.

my name's bart.

[the-eb]

new "things I noticed in the Walpurgisnacht Rising trailer" post: coherent edition

I'm going with the theory (laid out very well here) that the extra Homuras we keep seeing around are the Clara Dolls, either presenting in a different way or having matured into witches themselves. With that in mind:

These two shots show the same doll, Nekura, judging by both the headband and the wavy tips of the hair that homura doesn't normally have. Her eyes are also red, and she's wearing the black collar with white outlines reminiscent of her Doll form.

This looks to be Ibari, though I'm not 100% sure on that, given the colour of the hair. Probably just the lighting. Her role as Pride also fits with the imagery of her scrutinising the audience here, likely Homura in context.

Could also potentially be Noroma (Blockhead), though I don't think the visual fits quite as well. She is said to "laugh at the witch with her eyes," though, which would match with what she's doing here.

Though this Homura has her original purple eyes and white collar, the unusual headband and especially the engraving on the mirror ("Stupid Venus") make me quite confident that this is Manuke (Stupid-Looking). The band isn't a 100% match, but this also makes sense given that Manuke is representative of Homura during the time between the main series and Rebellion, matching with what's shown in the mirror. The headband is also tied in the same way as Madoka's ribbon was in her hair, which might explain the lack of resemblance to Manuke's headwear.

Not much to say about this shot, other than that the style and colours of those stairs combined with the familiar pattern around them resembling Oktavia's tail make me think this is a shot from within her labyrinth.

Other than the clear Icarus symbolism, the main thing worth noting about this shot is the streak of red in Homura's hair, extending out from underneath Madoka's ribbon (or its replacement). Probably an extension of the ribbon symbolically too, showing how bound she is to Madoka.

Unless these are Magia Record characters I'm unaware of, I think that the unadorned ring and black fingernail marking lend credence to the idea that these are the magical girls who once became witches in the original series. The only one I really have a guess on is this girl, where the fact that she's watching over a kintsugi glass holding the garden where Homura and Kyoko met in rebellion, the roses on her purse, and the glasses lead me to believe that this is Gertrud, the Rose Garden Witch. Her Adelbert familiars are said to have 2.5 vision.

This book appears to contain images of witches and their familiars. I managed to spot familiars belonging to Charlotte, Elly, possibly Patricia, Gertrud, and Oktavia, as well as Izabel and Elsa Maria themselves, though I'm sure there are more.

There's a single frame flash of Oktavia here!

The symbolism of the teacup next to the pool of blood makes me assume that this is Mami (or Candeloro!), though maybe I'm flanderising her. The rim of the cup and saucer do have a pattern faintly reminiscent of a flower, which reinforces this a little.

Please feel free to respond with alternate readings/other things you've spotted in the trailer! I crave knowledge

[vieramars]

Every character in TMA is a tragedy in their own way but I think Gertrude's tragedy is often overlooked. She effectively spent her entire life stopping rituals. She never let anyone get close to her. I don't think she ever even trusted anyone. Every relationship she had was carefully monitored to make sure she didn't reveal too much to the wrong person, because in her position, any mistake could lead to a sudden, unpleasant death, or worse, the end of the world. And as she went on as the archivist, she watched so many of her assistants die that she seemed to be numb to it, though I don't think she truly was. When she had to sacrifice Michael, and then lost Sarah and had to kill Emma not long after, she never took another official assistant after that. She'd never admit it, but the effect that had on her seems pretty clear. The way she's described by the catalogue when Gerry dies, "there was almost sadness in her eyes," just speaks to me of someone so tired of losing people that the pain becomes distant. It has to, otherwise it all comes crashing in at once, every single loss compounding on all that came before it, and there's no time for grief when you're the archivist. And in the end she died alone, and as far as we're aware, no one cared until the mystery of her death became pertinent to stopping the next ritual. Her fate wasn't that different from Gerry or Michael: a dead voice left behind to guide the new archivist on his path.

[dreamerwitches]

Full wnk trailer analysis lets go (p1)

Homura with wavy hair fronts. Matches the one from the poster

I dunno about you, but her face looks kinda younger from the side? Cuter? I dont think we've seen anyone else from the side so maybe its just the artstyle and im being silly

The background is pretty hard to decipher

She has a ring but no visible stone or fingernail marking. It doesnt seem like the end of her main hair is wavy. It looks like she's missing the buttons on her front but this may be an animation error or the angle is hiding them

This bit makes me think she's falling down a spiral staircase? Though it doesnt resemble the one later. The gold bits look like banisters. The background gives me a stained glass window church feel

Madoka's home maybe? This is still wavy hair homura

Madoka has no ring

Not much to say. Text in the bottom right says mramasa but the rest is japanese and some numbers. Looks like maybe the power of the fan?

Ibari, number one. Yes its her, the lighting is just pink/red, you can tell cause her blue skin is more purple. To me, it looks like someone is holding her. The light peach parts on the bottom left and right look like the regular animation style. The flowers on the magnifying glass look a little like mami's

Dumb venus maybe? That compact wouldnt close if it had that pearl sticking out XD

I believe this is a homura we havent seen before. The ribbon doesnt match the poster homu from the right. Its brown, her uniform has a white under shirt. Ive seen people theorise this is Manuke, stupidity. The brown ribbon would match her hair colour. Her eyes are more purple than the pink of the previous homura. The colour also matches phone homu from the first trailer.

Ive seen people mention the fencing vaguely looks like oktavia's scales. I think the multiple parts remind me more of her tail. The windows at the very edges kinda remind me of the first scene.

I didnt realise at first but this is homura's wing being broken

Devil outfit has changed. She has a red streak in her hair. Her feathers look fluffier but it might just be the art style. Another red addition to her leg. Her right shoe looks like madoka's. Actually her gloves kinda look like madoka's too

With the city(?) below and the unmoving effects, is this happening during a time stop? Im getting the feeling this trailer (or movie?) has a brown/orange-ish glow to it so maybe they artistically changed the colour of time stop?

With the bright bg and chair colour, i think madoka is with mami (seen later) in this scene. Also i think thats her left hand, no fingernail marking

Rebellion cafe real, it even has the steps leading up to it (though its not 100% perfect... but eh, artistic licence...)

Also, the girl's teacup is cracked. I cant remember the name but it looks like that japanese art of repairing something broken but making the repairs beautiful (repaired witch???).

A stretch, but the napkin underneath reminds me of homu's handkerchief

I thought the lack of soul gem in the ring was an animation mistake but maybe not??? And a dark (could just be obscured by the cup) fingernail marking. It looks like the london underground symbol ToT

Ah the walls dont really match with the rebellion cafe... maybe this is just what cafes look like in madoka XD the single table is still a mirror to it though. I think the lotus flowers are telling.

I wonder if the girl's golden eyes (like godoka's) mean something because magical girls colours usually match dont they? But maybe they've stopped doing that, eh. I like how her glasses are the opposite to homura's, rim on the top.

I didnt realise the thing next to her is a purse, its huge ToT it has flowers on it. I saw someone call them roses to try and say this is gertrud... um no XD have you ever seen a rose???

A stretch but the crockery reminds me of Candeloro's

Its the same three colours

Nagisa has brown scrunchies and her hair is in two low bunches with dark red beads. It looks like her dress is different too

She has the mitakihara uniform and a yellow cardigan. You can see her soul gem ring. The yellow of the cardi and the brown hairbands make me hope it is bear girl......

Girl full of slinkies!!!! The dots around the place remind me of homura's corruption from rebellion (ala on the bus). This is bandaged sayaka

These make me think of candeloro's kiss. I think i can see flowers on the spine too

But the hands together on the middle of the spine is from madoka's rebellion transformation

Walpurgis?

Yes im sure this is the same cafe as madoka was in now. Very pretty

Mami has her hair clip from her magical girl form on the top left of her head. Also could be animation error but maybe her ring is missing the gem

ALSO ARE YOU JUST EATING A SUGAR CUBE MAMI????

Is this the same place from the dancing scene? Doesnt one of the nightmares have an attack like this? So is homura doing it because she controlled the nightmares.

Also they explode with white feathers hmmmmmm. I have the horrible feeling homura would do it to scare madoka

Clearly not the previous kyoko. Outfit is different and more like her original one i'd say. The cake looks like its from the cafe

Also hnnngghhh concept movie?????

Damn ive hit image limit... well part 2 incoming

[forgetyoursingalongsandlullabies]

I’m kind of obsessed with the Jonmartin timeline and how Jon slowly fell in love with Martin, mostly off tape over seasons 2 and 3. I wrote a little bit of an essay trying to pinpoint the shifts and moments when we can tell something has changed. I love fanfics but I am just so interested in trying to figure out what happened in canon as close as possible. Of course this does involve speculation of emotions that we have no way of actually knowing because Jon Sims does not talk about his feelings.

Anyway it’s long-ish.

Jon fell in love with Martin over season 2 but didn’t start to realize it until late season 3 just before The Unknowing.

Martin starts the show with a crush on Jon. In MAG 22 when Martin makes his statement about the worms Jon feels guilty over how all of the pressure he’s put Martin under drives him to put himself in danger and he has Martin move into the archives to protect him which may be the first caring gesture he has made towards Martin but it’s a big one. Martin, who had a decent size crush on Jon beforehand, is blown away by this and his crush becomes a real big one.

Jon tries to continue being hard on Martin but he does noticeably soften towards him. His criticisms are half-hearted.

During Jane Prentice’s attack when Martin and Jon are in document storage Martin calls Jon out and properly snaps at him for dismissing the supernatural and Jon actually sees Martin in this moment for the first time. Martin had never talked back to him in such a way and Jon can now see him as not just his assistant who makes a lot of mistakes but as an equal who might know better than him in some aspects. They have their heart to heart and Jon is able to be honest for the first time since taking this job. He admits he’s scared and it’s okay, well it’s not okay because Jane Prentice might be moments away from killing them, but Martin doesn’t think any less of him. And then Jon asks if Martin is a ghost and he’s wrong and it was stupid but Martin makes fun of him in a way that doesn’t hurt and Jon isn’t used to that. And Martin, seeing this open and fragile and slightly dumb part of Jon, starts falling in love.

After Martin finds Gertrude’s body Jon is one track minded and focused on finding out what happened. Martin, giving his statement about the tunnels, is in tears not because he found a body and was scared, but because he accidentally left Jon. Jon was too distracted with finding answers at the moment but he heard it and absorbed it over time.

Season 2 Jon is full of nothing but paranoia and is unwilling to trust anyone but it’s his obsessive observations that lead him to getting to know Martin enough to love him. When Jon tries to come back from leave early Martin forces Jon to go home and rest more. Jon wonders what Martin is hiding but reasons that, no Martin is actually concerned about his health. Jon thinks Martin gave him a fake jar of ashes to calm him down, he doesn’t seem to think this gesture is part of a conspiracy, he genuinely thinks of this gesture as Martin lying to him to make him feel better. Jon notes that Martin has been very attentive to his needs and recovery and that he is interested to hear Jon’s theories about Gertrude. He remarks that he has observed Martin’s competence and cunning. Of course Jon is ridiculously paranoid and interprets this attention as some kind of plot against him to slow down his investigation and sees these positive attributes of Martin as reasons to see him as a threat, but again, Jon is absorbing it all. The lines in Jon’s supplementals about Martin’s attention to him implies that they’re spending a lot of time together off tape, at least more than they ever used to, probably at Martin’s insistence and Jon accepting this time by justifying to himself that he needs to watch Martin.

In MAG 53 Jon mentions that Martin hovers near him when he goes to the canteen and Martin says it’s because he’s concerned (based on Jon’s lie about how he got the cut from Michael). Martin offers to pick up a sandwich from the cafe and bring it back for Jon. He doesn’t ask Jon to come with him and Jon acts like he’s annoyed to be around Martin when he sits with him in the canteen, but Jon decides, No instead of me refusing the gesture for food or saying yes please pick up that sandwich for me, he says “I’ll come with” making another decision to spend time with Martin when he doesn’t have to. Maybe Jon tries to justify this to himself again by saying he’s keeping an eye on Martin but Jon has made no efforts to go spend extra time with Tim, who was an equal suspect, even before Tim was mad at Jon. (And may I add, if Jon tried this tactic with Tim, going out to lunch, watching him by spending time with him etc. maybe Tim wouldn’t have ended up being so angry with Jon.) But Jon is definitely making the effort to spend time with Martin when it frankly has nothing to do with his investigation no matter how he tries to spin it.

In MAG 56 when Jon makes Martin tell him what he’s been hiding and he finds out Martin had lied on his CV he is so relieved that he is giddy. He is smiling, laughing and stuttering. To Jon’s ‘rational’ mind this doesn’t fully clear Martin of suspicion but emotionally this really seems to be a weight off of his shoulders. On a subconscious level he can start to allow the time they’ve spent together to mean something other than just spying.

Meanwhile Martin can see what a hard time Jon is having and he can see him spinning out of control with paranoia and Martin tries really hard to defend him, maybe not the best thing, we know Martin is a bit of an enabler for Jon, but for Jon’s emotional arc of falling in love with Martin it is important that Jon hears Martin defending him to Tim in MAG 58. Martin never stops calling Jon out on his shit like when he tells Jon that he needs to talk to Tim and that Tim isn’t wrong but nowadays it feels like everyone is constantly calling Jon out, not that he doesn’t deserve it, but when Martin calls him out it’s still clear that he cares, whereas anyone else talking to Jon just seems to speak to him with malice.

At the beginning of season 3 Jon is hiding out and staying at Georgie’s place. We know from Season 4 MAG 149 that Jon used to go on about Martin to Georgie “a lot”. Georgie got the full story about The Archives in MAG 93 and Jon decides to move out of Georgie’s place in MAG 99 when he was then kidnapped by The Circus. There’s usually a week of time that passes between episodes unless otherwise implied and 93 and 94 take place over the same conversation on the same day so I’ll assume 5 weeks in which Jon was going on about Martin a lot with full context. He probably talked about him before then too only more cryptically. Importantly though in the Season 4 Q&A Alex asks, Who knew that Jon liked Martin first, Jon or Martin? And Jonny said “Georgie” so even though Jon didn’t know it yet, he was obviously smitten (at least obvious to Georgie who has dated Jon and recognizes signs of affection and romance in him more than anyone else would).

When Jon talks to Martin in MAG 102 there is a very slight almost imperceptible sweetness in Jon’s voice that we’ve never heard before. The way he assures Martin that it’s ok that he didn’t know he was kidnapped. There is a lot of awkwardness and frankly a lot of heavy breathing from both of them for probably just standing there. Their casual talk about the overall institute and Hannah who is having her baby and had that thing with the milk in the break room last year, Jon doesn’t know who she is but Martin knows that Jon knows her probably because they had been around her together since they spent so much time together last year but Jon was too paranoid and she had nothing to do with the plot, it’s just a very normal and domestic moment. Jon tells Martin he knows he’s been reading statements and Martin is just worried Jon will be jealous that he’s taking some of his job but instead Jon is just concerned for him. It’s different and they both know it’s different and they can both feel the conversation is charged with something but they don’t know what. “It’s not too late. Unless the world ends” means a lot in this conversation, yes it does literally mean it’s not too late for them to talk and continue whatever friendship they were stumbling towards in season 2. It’s not too late for them to pick up this weird, oddly charged and tender conversation that may be leading somewhere else. It’s also foreshadowing that it sort of is too late because their world will end when Jon effectively dies stopping the Unknowing.

By MAG 114 Jon says that he has listened to all of the tapes and has therefore heard the gossip about he and Martin. I think something clicked in his brain when he heard that Martin has a crush on him. He probably never considered that idea because things like romance are never on the forefront of his mind especially when he is in active danger, which he has been for the last 2 years, and even more so he wouldn’t expect someone to have feelings for him in general. Being conscious of the notion that Martin has feelings for him lead him to consider all of the strange feelings he’s been having about Martin over the last year and a half in a way that he might not have gotten to on his own until much later. It’s all part of the plan that Jon suggests Martin stay back at the Institute in front of Elias but Jon is genuinely relieved that Martin will be safer there.

In MAG 117 Jon talks about Daisy and Basira’s bond and how he’s been having to do everything by himself. He’s envious of their bond and we can tell he’s been thinking about how things could be if he had someone (Martin) by his side. I don’t think this part of his testament would have played out this way had he not been thinking a lot since he heard the tape. When he addresses the “office gossip” he is flustered. Possibly embarrassed that Georgie, who he trusts, was giving out this personal information to Melanie but I actually think he’s used to that specific type of gossip about him and I think that the nervous stutter and searching for words comes from trying to address the other part of the gossip, which he is still trying to wrap his head around.

It isn’t confirmed but I do think that Jon listened to everyone’s testimony before leaving and he heard Martin’s “I need him to be ok”. Later in MAG 139 Jon says “I need him to be okay. I just do.” I don’t think he’s consciously repeating the same phrase but I think this phrase has lived with him ever since he heard Martin say it and now it’s just organic to Jon too.

I genuinely do believe that at this point, as of MAG 117, all of Jon’s feelings for Martin are already there and internally he has at least accepted romantic feelings even if he wouldn’t have called it love then.

Jon is put in a 6 month coma the next night and is in a full tilt romantic arc the moment he wakes up. Not 20 minutes after waking from his coma he wants to see Martin, he’s surprised that Martin wasn’t there for him the moment he woke up. Maybe if you asked him the next day he’d say it was a silly notion for him to just expect Martin to be there at any given point no matter when he woke up, but a part of him accepted and knew that if Martin could have he would have been there.

Anyway, all this is to say that if he woke up from a coma desperately in love with Martin all of those feelings had to have been present before the coma. I know there was a lot more thought and consideration and emotional work that Jon had to do over season 4 before he could have been ready for his love to literally save Martin but all of the feelings were there by the time he woke up.

[artsandculture]

Lady Agnew of Lochnaw (1892) 🎨 John Singer Sargent 🏛️ National Galleries Scotland 📍 Edinburgh, Scotland

Sargent’s dazzling and unforgettable image of Lady Agnew is one of the most famous of his many portraits of fashionable London society. For both the artist and his sitter, the painting was an instant success, establishing Sargent’s reputation as the portrait painter of choice for the London elite and immediately transforming the newly elevated Lady Agnew into a society celebrity.

Sargent was born in Florence and spent his childhood travelling across Europe with his wealthy American parents who restlessly followed the changing social seasons. In 1874 he entered the Paris studio of the stylish French portraitist, Carolus-Duran. The young Sargent combined the flamboyant style of his teacher with his study of old masters such as Rembrandt and Velázquez but was also influenced by Monet and Impressionism. His provocative and unconventional Portrait of Madame X caused a scandal at the Paris Salon exhibition in 1884; and, when Sargent settled in London in 1886, he initially found it difficult to find clients as his bravura, continental style of painting attracted suspicion. However, his dashing technical mastery and confident manner were ideally suited for aristocratic patronage and he soon won over his critics with his elegant, flattering portraits. When his portrait of Lady Agnew was shown at the Royal Academy in 1893, one contemporary observed: ‘London is at his feet … he has had a cracking success.’

The sitter was born Gertrude Vernon and married Andrew Noel Agnew in 1889. Her husband, fifteen years her senior, was a barrister and later an MP and deputy-Lieutenant in Wigtownshire; he succeeded his father as 9th Baronet of Lochnaw in 1892, shortly before Sargent embarked on this portrait. The exact circumstances behind the commission are not known, but the Agnews may have met the artist through mutual American friends. According to notes in her husband’s diary, work on the portrait progressed swiftly, and Sargent later recalled that it was painted in just six sittings.

Lady Agnew is shown seated in a Louis XVI chair against the backdrop of a Chinese silk hanging, both of which were standard props in Sargent’s studio. She is reported to have been of frail health; she recovered slowly from a severe bout of influenza in 1890 and was apparently still convalescing and suffering from exhaustion when she sat to Sargent, which may account for her slightly ghostly pallor in the painting. Lady Agnew fixes the spectator with an intelligent, faintly amused gaze but it is her elegant white silk dress and lilac sash that threaten to steal all our attention. There are brilliant passages of painting in the highlights, reflections and coloured shadows that show Sargent at his best as a painter of surfaces and textures, the ideal artist for a gilded, polished yet ultimately superficial society.

Sargent’s image of Lady Agnew helped her to become a leading light in fashionable circles, holding lavish salons in her London home. Ironically, the high costs of this hospitality meant that she was eventually forced to sell some family pictures including this portrait which was purchased by the Scottish National Gallery in 1925.

[ceaselessims]

i do kind of reject the idea that jon and martin never would have gotten together in other universes because the only reason they found each other in tma was their specific shared trauma.

relistening to s1 and it's pretty clear to me that martin already has a bit of a crush on jon before the jane prentiss stuff starts happening. Not to mention he says in a fear domain in s5 that "he's met someone" who "doesn't like" him. Indicating that he had interest in jon maybe even before s1 started.

Jon is an ass to martin at the beginning, but after the initial jane prentiss stuff, he quickly softens on martin a hell of a lot. Giving him a place to stay in the archives and going to Elias to ask for more security.

Listening to s1 and you can already hear these two, once jon stops and actually talks to him, have an incredible chemistry/dynamic. Their connection is not just because of Horror trauma. Sure, that's what gets them together in the end, but as characters, if gertrude hadn't been murdered leading to jon becoming extremely paranoid in s2, or jon not going into a coma at the end of s3, i think they actually would have gotten together sooner.

so much of their slow burn hinges on them not actually being in each other's space for much longer than an episode at a time until s5.

if they met in a completely separate universe where they just have to get over the initial hump of jon being a rude bastard, then i think those other versions would be home free in regards to getting together.

[valtsv]

can you plsplspls elaborate on the tma fanon thing i wasnt around for the theorizing and hcs what were people saying

oh my god where to begin lol... the "Tim is just a dumb flirt" characterizations, the polarization of Gertrude as either a tough mother/granny figure or Mean Old Bitch instead of a flawed, ruthless but incredibly compelling woman, in general the girlbossification of every female character at the expense of their characterization (Sasha Georgie Melanie Annabelle et al. i am so sorry oh my god...), Jon being a wet blanket who just does whatever Martin tells him to (did we forget he sent Martin to investigate Jane Prentiss in S1 and openly admitted on tape that he didn't care if Martin got eaten by worms), Martin cutesy cinammon roll cottagecore woobie characterizations (Martin is a BITCH and i like him so much better that way), "everyone is mean to Jon for no good reason", Gerry being an MCR fan (i love MCR but he's GOTH he canonically listens to heavy metal PLEASE listen to another band), and - and this is my most petty personal complaint - but the way avatars were flattened into aesthetics and consigned to the hell that is the perfect victim/irredeemable abuser dichotomy, instead of acknowledging that they represent the REPEATEDLY STATED IN-TEXT THEME of how our choices have consequences and our refusal to acknowledge our complicity in hurting others or willingness to excuse that suffering under certain conditions can lead us down darker paths.

[birdmenmanga]

@ozthearchivist

WIP time! I'm halfway done with this project, and for now I'm pretty happy with how it looks c: I'm going to take a break from this to focus on my uni stuff for now, but I'm really hyped to continue drawing it!!!

[theofficialpresidentofmars]

my Roman Empire is how in Hamlet, we are presented with four characters who were each at one point the person/people Hamlet held most dear, and one of them watches as Hamlet's actions lead the other three to suffer, lose their minds, and/or die.

Horatio is Hamlet's closest friend over the course of the play, the one he comes to again and again, refers to as being in his 'heart of hearts', and who keeps him stable and alive for at least the most part. We follow these two the most explicitly throughout the text.

Ophelia is Hamlet's lover, and their relationship can be read many ways, ranging from never-really-loved-the-other to they-did-it-numerous-times-and-in-fact-she-was-pregnant-(possibly)-(also)-(aborted) but for the sake of this post I'm going to go the middle ground and say they had a wholesome and happy relationship before Hamlet's dad died and he got all sad. Doubt the stars are fire, but never doubt I love.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Hamlet's childhood friends, and Gertrude remembers them as being so loved by him that 'two men there are not living to whom he more adheres'. It's clear that these three were very close during some stage of his life, likely his childhood and potentially teens. The point is, they meant the most to him at some point in his life.

But again, by the time the acts of Hamlet come to pass, Hamlet has chosen Horatio to be his sole compatriot. Whether or not this is prior to his actual arrival in Elsinore is largely irrelevant- Hamlet makes sure he spends a lot of the first half of the play flustered in the face of a prince who won't stop finding nice things to say about him. Hamlet butters him up with honeyed words, and tells him the truth about everything, or what he thinks, anyway.

Horatio is touched but one specific line does stick out to him a bit- when Hamlet assured him it was not an attempt at flattery, and went on to clarify that he feels free to love Horatio as Horatio doesn't want anything from him, and doesn't have anything to hide. If what the ghost said about Claudius were true, it makes sense for Hamlet to be paranoid and hold others at a distance, but Horatio can't help but think about the underlying implication that if Hamlet had any reason to be suspicious of Horatio, he'd be just as cold to him as everyone else. Which, again, makes sense, but something about it rubs him a strange way.

Horatio tries to relate his experiences with the others he knows were close to Hamlet. He doesn't know much about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, but Hamlet has mentioned suspicion of them, but despite that, seems to have been cordial enough. As for Ophelia... She seems to have seen the worst of his feigned madness, so he doesn't really know about her. He also heard something about an argument, but he doesn't know to what extent.

After the play, and an odd interaction with R&G, Hamlet heads upstairs to speak to his mother and Horatio thinks about it some more.

He words the question properly to himself: would Hamlet still love me if I were in their position? And he doubts for a moment, but then he remembers what Hamlet told him, the look in his eyes as he proclaimed his sincerity, and even the rare laughter he'd indulged in after the play, in only his presence, and Hamlet has convinced him.

Up until he hears the news of Polonius's murder. And until he hears the recount of Claudius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's intervention with the seemingly mad prince, and he begins to doubt him.

And when he's left to take care of Ophelia, driven mad by the death of her father and the wrath of her lover, and in her delirium she tells him things, tells him everything, and there's a strange sense of familiarity in her words. She shows him her letters, throwing them at him and laughing, tears running from her eyes, and Horatio recognises the poetic style, the sweet wording that always seems to know how to strike your heart closest, and he realises that she had once been where he had, received Hamlet's love in the same way. And it's strange, in a way he's not sure what to do with.

His fear is alleviated slightly when Hamlet sends him a letter, and he seems back to his usual sense of self, the one Horatio knows. Horatio is glad for the normalcy, and it does a part to clear his worry that he had been deceived in any nature, after his time with Ophelia.

Even further when he finally returns to Denmark, and while the two talk, they stumble upon Ophelia's funeral, and Hamlet takes no time to jump into her grave and proclaim his grief loudly. Horatio feels a bit sick at feeling any sort of relief at this, but the proof that Hamlet may have truly loved her and hadn't intended for this to happen does something to quell the fear again.

That is, until Hamlet recounts his journey.

And with a strange sort of expression that looks sort of like... pride, recounts how he sent Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths.

Horatio is a little shocked by this, as he can't recall the two having done anything particularly wrong, and this was clearly not accidental. Hamlet brushes him off by saying the two knew what they were getting into, showing strangely little remorse.

Horatio thinks, about how they were his childhood friends, and then again about Ophelia, and then again about his earlier question.

would Hamlet still love me if I were in their position?

And he realises, in a way that makes him nauseous, that the answer is no. And not only that, but for all Hamlet's laughter and flattering words, it wouldn't have saved him.

But still, he doesn't leave his side. Hamlet loves him now, and he's the lucky one. Nothing can be done anymore, and he feels they draw close to the end.

And he does still love him. And Hamlet loves him back.

Horatio reaches for the poisoned cup as Hamlet dies. It feels right that it should end this way, and he doesn't really want to go on.

But Hamlet wrestles the cup out of his hand with an intensity that catches him off guard, begging him to stay alive, to tell his story

and so he does, cradling the prince as he slips into a deeper dream.

Sometime after, Horatio will again think about it all. The four of them. Three dead by his hand, one alive by it.

He wonders.

Did Hamlet ever think about it too? About how his actions hurt the ones closest to him, and in his final moments, chose to break the pattern and save the only life he could?

Or did Hamlet only save him because he still loved him? Not out of guilt, or reflection on his previous actions necessarily, but because Horatio still hadn't done him wrong?

[l-wandering-etranger]

hc that jon and gerry met several times when gerry was alive but neither realised it was the other

•back in jon's research days where it was late and everyone had gone home except for jon who was working overtime, exited the institute and realised it was raining and as he was about to go in and wait in his office gerry comes from behind and stops to stare at the rain (he stayed late cause gertrude wanted a report done due tomorrow). jon tells him there is no use staying outside and to wait inside and they make some small talk and Gerry asks jon if he has a cigarette and they share a lighter in the rain and after smoking gerry gives up and runs in the rain to the station while jon just goes back in. neither of them remember this happening because it was dark and both of them were beyond exhausted.

•many fics are done on this but gerry going to a pub where the mechs had a show and he accidently says something out loud while they are performing and jon without breaking character responds in a flirty manner but gerry had to leave when the show ended because The Horrors caught up

•gerry used to ask someone in the library to deliver a really obscure book to the archives and the person receiving the ask used to get really stressed when they couldn't find it and jon who happened to pass by and was friends with them helped them find it because he had toured most of the library or had read the book and later it got delived to gerry by the librarian. this happened a couple more times before gerry gave up and went himself.

•they met in a thrift store where gerry was tracking a lead trying to find a very specific vintage lighter mentioned in a statement and jon was just fa-ing when he found a cool vintage lighter and went to the check out counter meanwhile gerry who was frantically looking for it saw jon casually take it and go out through the door, ran after him in an attempt to stop him only to spot a girl holding a lighter that was exactly like the one in the statement and did a full 180

•a vast avatar attempted to make a meal out of jon by first approaching by hitting on him and proceded to got interepted by a panicked gerry who realised what was happening coming in through the crowded station and slapping the avatar accusing him of cheating on him. the very confused avatar watched a very bewildered jon slowly walk away into the crowd and could do nothing as gerry yelled profanities before also walking away.

jon realises all this happened after he fully comes into his powers and regrets not having enough time with gerry to tell him about this.

[exercise-of-trust]

seemingly cool fiber arts person i followed a little bit ago just put radfem shit on the dash, anyway the blanket statement that the only contributions of men to textile production are capitalist/exploitative and the only contributions of women are household-centric/victimized is patently untrue. while less of a documented presence, women in medieval europe [1] absolutely participated in weaver's guilds and commercial cloth production [2], and men have been participating in household knitting in all parts of europe for as long as knitting has been a thing there [3]. like i'm not trying to say women haven't been deeply excluded from economic opportunities in the textile trade for centuries but you cannot be making sweeping statements like that about everyone in every part of the world through all of history and expect them to be true. do, like, a basic level of research and have a basic understanding of nuance, i beg of you [4]

footnotes/sources/etc under the cut, sources are a bit basic because i just grabbed whatever was nearest to hand but they should suffice to prove my point:

[1] i'm only referring to western europe here because that's the only region i feel comfortable talking about in any detail without embarrassing myself. systems of medieval cloth production in european guilds are not gonna look anything like the systems of hundreds of servants employed to do textile production for a household in china. don't make categorical statements about everyone everywhere all at once, you will end up with egg on your face.

[2] quotes from "when did weaving become a male profession," ingvild øye, danish journal of archaeology, p.45 in particular.

england: "in norwich, a certain elizabeth baret was enrolled as freeman of the city in 1445/6 because she was a worsted weaver, and in 1511, a riot occurred when the weavers here complained that women were taking over their work" + "another ordinance from bristol [in 1461] forbade master weavers to engage wives, daughters, and maids who wove on their own looms as weavers but made an exception for wives already active before this act" germany: "in bremen, several professional male weavers are recorded in the early fourteenth century, but evidently alongside female weavers, who are documented even later, in 1440" -> the whole "even later" thing is because the original article is disputing the idea that men as weavers/clothiers in medieval europe entirely replaced women over time. also: "in 1432-36, a female weaver, mette weuersk, is referred to as a member of the gertrud's guild in flensburg, presently germany" scandanavia: "the guild of weavers that was established in copenhagen in 1500 also accepted female weavers as independent members and the rules were recorded in the guild's statutes"

[3] quotes from folk socks: the history and techniques of handknitted footwear by nancy bush, interweave press, 2011, don't roast me it was literally within arm's reach and i didn't feel like looking up more stuff

uk/yorkshire dales: "...handknitting had been a daily employment for three centuries [leading up to 1900]. practiced by women, children, and men, the craft added much to the economy of the dales people." (p.21) uk/wales: re the knitting night (noson weu/noswaith weu) as a social custom practiced in the 18th/19th c.: "all the ladies would work on their knitting; some of the men would knit garters" (p.22) uk/channel islands: "by the early seventeenth century, so many of the islands' men, women, and children had taken up the trade of knitting that laws were necessary to keep them from knitting during harvest" (p.24) -> this one is deeply funny to me, in addition to proving my point uk/aberdeen: "the knitters, known as shankers, were usually women, but sometimes included old men and boys" (p.26) denmark: "with iron and brass needles, they made stockings called stunthoser, stomper, or stockings without feet, as well as stockings with feet. the men knit the legs and the women and girls made the heels" (p.32) iceland & faroe islands: "people of all ages and both sexes knit at home not only for their own use but for exportation of their goods as well" (p.35)

[4] actually? no. i'm not begging for shit from radfems. fuck all'a'y'all.

[thebubblesareevil]

Jobs are hard…humans are harder

Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5

Danny was bored, there was no other way to describe it. School wouldn’t be starting for another month and he barely knew anything about this world, which unfortunately meant he didn’t know anyone in this world. No one but Diana that is, and the nice old lady next door who sneaks him candy. Unfortunately Diana spends half the day at work and as such Danny was bored. You can only watch the news concerning meta human rights before you go mad. True she would be home soon, they would have dinner and talk about her day, hopefully with no calls for Wonder Woman.

Danny groaned as he flopped over the side of the couch, trying to come up with something to do. Diana found him like that, half hanging off the couch, asleep, with the news playing in the background. With a chuckle she silently creeped over to the side of the couch. With groceries in one hand, she grabbed Danny by the back of his shirt and lifted. He startled awake as she lifted him to eye level.

“You do know I’m not a cat, right?” She smiled

“Really? I couldn’t tell, you play the part so well.” She snarked back setting him back down on the couch. “I’ve got the ingredients for dinner, wanna help?” She asked.

Danny nodded, slowly rising from his place on the couch. “Sure, what’s for dinner?”

“Spaghetti, grab the cutting board and start cutting the onions for the sauce.” Danny grinned

“Aye, aye Captain!” He said with a laugh. He grabbed his tools and got to work. “So how were things at the museum?”

“Things are going steady, with the new exhibit up and running we are getting an influx of visitors. It’s nice seeing the younger generation taking an interest in history.” Danny paused

“By younger generation, do you mean my age or Mrs. Gertrude’s age?” He asked with a raised brow.

“Very funny, back to chopping you. Garlic is next.” Danny laughed but did as he was told. “Speaking of your age, you turned 16 recently right?” Danny nodded. “There’s a position open at the museum, it’s nothing to hard, just leading a few tours. It may not be your ideal way to spend your time, however it would give you a way to get out and make some friends before school starts. As a bonus, you’d be getting paid.” Danny slowed his dicing.

“It’s better than anything I’ve come up with. But… I don’t know, maybe?” Danny shrugged. “I’ll have to think it over. I’ve never had a real job before, mostly just helping out around the lab. What’s the job? ” Diana gave him a sly grin.

“No pressure, they’re looking for someone to help run the space show. Of course, if you aren’t interested…”

“I’d get to run the space show?!?!?” Danny interrupted “Scratch that, I’d be getting PAID to run the space show?!?!” His face was split in a giant grin. Diana laughed.

“You would be getting paid to HELP run the space show. That means assisting guests, answering questions, doing a bit of clean up and anything else Dr.Scott needs help with.” Danny was nearly vibrating with excitement. “The application is in my purse, which you can fill out After we finish making the sauce.” Danny grinned and got back to work. Between the two of them they managed to get the sauce on the stove in record time.

While the sauce cooked, Diana gave him the application and she walked him through his new information. As they were talking they were interrupted by the news announcing a break-in at a bank nearby. Nothing to draw Diana from helping Danny… until they announced that the perpetrator was Cheetah.

“Danny, I’m so sorry. I promise I won’t be gone long.” She apologized. Danny shrugged giving her an understanding look.

“It’s all good, I can’t t lol you how many times I had to tell run out on my friends because a ghost attacked. I’ll be here when you get back and dinner will be ready. Stay safe, okay?” And off she went. Danny finished up the application, excited at the prospect of getting to tell people about SPACE. Once he was done he turned up the news to see how Diana was doing.

He watched as she fought like a true warrior, no hesitation, not a single motion wasted. The way she interacted with Cheetah though…seemed oddly familiar. The back and forth… there was no way.

He pondered on the thought as he got up to start the pasta. There was no way, right? That seems like the kinda thing you tell someone. It was possible of course, but well... only thing to do is ask.

About a half hour after Danny's "epiphany" the spaghetti was done and Diana was walking through the door. Once the food was served, Diana poured herself a lovely cup of wine. Of course she did this not realizing how much of an utter gremlin her newly acquired cousin was. She had fully settled into her seat, taking her first sip of wine when Danny decided to confront her.

"Are you dating Cheetah?" Diana spit out her wine, coughing as she tried to clear her throat.

"I'm sorry, care to repeat that?" she asked

"I asked, are you dating Cheetah? It's fine if you are, no judgement here. I mean, Ancients know I have some crazy exs, and gender has never been an issue..." He stops as he takes in the look of confusion. "What?"

"How... exactly did you come to that... interesting conclusion?" She asked. Danny shrugged.

"Honestly just the way you guys were bantering. Reminded me a lot about how me and my ex fought, sure she didn't know we were fighting, but I did." He said with a straight face. Diana couldn't help it, she burst out laughing.

"No, cousin, I am not dating Cheetah. Though we were once close friends." she said with a smile.

"Oh, okay then." Danny blushed. "Sorry for assuming."

"All is well, I will admit that among the women of Themascyra such things are commonplace. I too am not bothered by gender." she smiled "Now come, eat your food. I will be bringing you to the museum tomorrow so you can turn in your application. I’ll even show you around where I work.”

“Sounds great! Can we stop by the space exhibit? I wanted to check it out even if I don’t get the job.”

Diana smiled “That should be fine, I don’t actually have work tomorrow so barring another alien invasion we should have the day to ourselves.” Danny nodded and started to take a bite of his spaghetti.

The fork was halfway to his mouth when he froze “What do you mean ANOTHER alien invasion?!”

———————

Danny was practically vibrating with excitement, the meeting with Dr. Scott had gone well, and Danny had to be physically dragged out of the space exhibit by Diana once he realized they had a full section with an interview from a real live Martian! Next on the list to do was checking out Diana's section of the museum, then they would get ice cream like civilized human beings.

As they approached her section the woman at the desk looked up with wide eyes.

"Why Diana what a handsome YOUNG man you've got here, what's your name sugar?" she proclaimed with an obvious wink. Danny blushed, while Diana laughed.

"This is my cousin Danny, I told you about him. Danny, this is Doris, the world's best receptionist, I don't know how I'd survive without her." She said with a smile.

"Oh I'm sure you'd soldier on somehow. How're you like'n the museum Danny? I hear your lookin to work with Dr. Scott." Danny grinned.

"It's great! I turned in my application today and we did an impromptu interview, which I think went pretty well. We were just headed over to check out Diana's new exhibit."

"Oh well don't let me hold you up. You enjoy yourself hun." she said with a smile. The two headed further into the exhibit as Diana explained what it was she did at the museum. The more they explored however the more Danny was quite clearly trying to keep the grin off his face. It wasn't until they were walking to the ice cream parlor that he explained the cause of his glee.

"I just can't get over the fact that you are an ancient greek demi-god, telling people about ancient greek mythos as though it was nothing more than a religion, y'know like a liar. You are being paid to lie." Diana raised an eyebrow.

"It's not technically a lie. Many people worshiped the gods and so it was in fact a religion, I simple choose to leave out the fact that they were real." Danny grinned.

"Agree to disagree, now let's get some ice cream." the two walked through the doors of the unsuspecting ice cream parlor and, after much debate, each ordered a whopping ten scoops of ice cream. Which they then proceeded to eat at one of the tables, in less than 15 minutes, with no visible signs of brain freeze.

(The girl behind the counter might having an existential crisis as this was after the teenage boy talked the fully grown woman out of fifteen scoops. They don't even have fifteen flavors!)

All in all it was a good day.

------------

Danny was not having a good day. He was slumped over the table in the break room as Diana patted him on the shoulder.

"Three tours in one morning, with two more after lunch! And every single one had a Jeremy!” Diana quirked an eyebrow.

“A Jeremy?” Danny nodded.

“That one kid who tries to climb on all the exhibits and refuses to stay with the group no matter how many times his chaperone scolds him.” Diana gave him a solemn pat on the back.

“I know of them well, though for me, they will always be Misty. Don’t worry though school will be starting soon and the tours will slow down a bit.”

The timer on Danny’s phone went off and he groaned, taking one last swig of his toxic sludge from his thermos he dragged himself out of his seat. "Yeah, yeah, but then I'll be going to work AND school. I'm so happy I dropped heroing in this world, I don't know how you find the time!" Diana shrugged "I'm gonna swing by the coffee shop in the geology section after work with Travis, you want anything." Diana thought for a minute.

"Call me when you get there, depending on the rest of the day I might get a Frappuccino or solid black coffee with three shots of espresso." Danny nodded.

"Ah yes, the nectar of the gods, you got it!" He said with a grin as he took off. Diana smiled, happy that Danny was finally making friends, before she threw away her trash and headed back to work.

-------------

By the time the end of their shift ended Danny had found a second wind. The last group of the day had been very well behaved with not a single Jeremy in sight, and all enthusiastic about SPACE! Travis was trudging along behind him in shock as he watched the teen who looked like he was going keel over not even an hour ago, seemed like he was about to start floating. He shook his head in disbeief.

"Danny, my man you are not human." He said not noticing Danny stiffen. "I wish I had your energy." Danny gave him a stiff laugh.

"What can I say? I just really love taking about space. I mean, considering the amount of known extraterrestrials currently active on earth! I can't understand how anyone could not be into space." Travis shrugged.

"Eh, it pays the bills at least." The two walked into the coffee shop, looking at the specials.

"Dude, you're 17, what bills do you have." Travis shrugged.

"I pay my phone bill, plus I'm saving up for my car." Danny nodded accepting the answer.

"Fair enough, hey you go ahead and order. I'm gonna call my cousin and see what she wants." Travis smirked.

"The hot cousin who runs the Greek exhibit? For her I will get all the coffee." Danny rolls his eyes as his phone began ringing.

"Calm down lover boy, she's way out of your league." a laugh sounded from the other end of the phone as Diana picked up. There was a slight commotion outside the café.

"And who is out of his league, exactly?" Diana asks, Danny smirks as Travis frantically shakes his head. Things started to get louder.

"Oh just this girl he's got a crush on, we're at the café. Did you decide what kind of day it is." Diana hummed on the other end, but before she could answer a security guard went flying down the hall. "What the hell!" he shouted. Danny ran over to the guard ready to help him up as Diana frantically tries to find out what happened. Before he can say anything though he feels a pressure against the back of his head.

"Look who's tryin to be a hero boys!" comes the shout from behind, Danny is roughly grabbed by his arm with a gun to his head. He started to shake as the attacker laughed. "Now we don't want any trouble y'hear? We're just gonna grab that pretty rock over there and be on our way."

Danny watches as the security guards point their guns at the thieves as the start to break down, a display on Dunite? Danny looks at the thieves confused. What could they possibly want with a fertilizer? Heck the only reason he even knew what is was is because he got bored waiting for his coffee! Danny flinches as the gunman pushes into his head harder.

"Not so brave now, huh kid?" he says with a smug tone. "This is what happens to heroes." he is practically shivering at this point as the gunman laughs. "Look at this! He's shaking in his shoes." Danny on the other hand has begun repeating a mantra in his head, practicing an inordinate amount of restraint.

'Don't break the human, don't break the human, Don't BREAk the HuMan!'

Danny clenches his fist in annoyance as the gunman continues to blather on about something called Kryptonite? and making his boss happy. He wasn't really paying that much attention, repeating his mantra over and over again. His concentration only broken by the gunman suddenly being jerked away. He turns around to find none other than his cousin standing behind him, sans glasses, in her full Wonder Woman armor with a rather angry look on her face.

It didn't take long for her to disarm and capture the criminals, with a quiet remark about a Frappuccino as she passed by Danny. She turned them over to the police before flying off, only to rush over to him minutes later frantic talking loudly about how worried she was. Travis ran to his side, shaking with fear.

"Are you okay man? What were you thinking! You could have been killed!" Danny gave him a sheepish grin.

"Honestly? I wasn't, sorry for scarring you dude." Diana put a hand on his shoulder.

"Danny? They need you to make a statement, you'll have to speak with security as well before we head home okay?" she asked in a soft tone as if he might break at any moment. And Danny might have believed the concern as well, if it weren't for the hidden mirth in her eyes. Danny nodded along saying bye to Travis before heading over to the police.

It was a full hour of telling the same story over and over again, to different groups before they finally let him go. As they walked out of the museum Danny drooped his shoulders. Diana wrapped an arm around him.

"I know you can handle yourself, grandfather told me that much, but are you okay? That was probably a bit upsetting." Danny groaned.

"That was embarrassing! I could take them all down in seconds, without even breaking a sweat if it weren't for one thing." Diana cocked her head to the side as Danny visibly deflated.

"Perhaps the fact that you don't want to be a hero?" Danny huffed,

"Well that and... you have to promise not to laugh." Danny said with pleading eyes, Diana used a finger to cross her heart in agreement. "I've... never actually fought a human before." Diana snorted "Hey! It's not funny! All my enemies were ghosts, none of which held back by the way. The ghost hunters always used ranged weapons or traps, no real need for confrontation!" he whispered harshly as they made their was down the sidewalk. Diana burst out laughing at Danny's expense.

"It's a little funny, you've got to admit it." Diana fought to calm herself. "If you'd like, I have plenty of experience fighting humans, I could give you some tips on not killing them on the first hit." Danny's eyes widened.

"Seriously?!?!?! That would be awesome! When can we start?!” Diana laughed as they approached their apartment.

"While I love your enthusiasm, I have a meeting with the team tonight, and I am responsible for monitor duty tomorrow morning." Danny frowned as they made their way through the lobby to the elevator. Once inside he spoke up.

"Aren't we supposed to be having dinner with gramps tonight? How's that gonna work out." Diana shrugged.

"I'm sure we'll find a way. I don't think he will accept an excuse of 'not enough time.' Speaking of which, you wouldn't happen to know what's on the menu, I may have a strong stomach but I think ectoplasm is a bit much."

Danny shrugged, "No idea, but it's not like he's gonna serve blob ghost stew or something. I'm sure he'll make something you can eat.

--------------

Clockwork looked away from the screen showing his grandchildren with a sigh. Slowly he took the pot filled with stew and set it aside...

Perhaps he should defer to the Lunch Lady's superior knowledge on this particular challenge.

@a-salty-sal@impulsiveasshole@meira-3919@alcorbearson@cute6troll@samgirl98@skulld3mort-1fan@addie-lover-of-stories@amercurio@chronicallyonline-fandomwh0r3 @heirxofxtime @gin2212 @thegatorsgoose@wanderer-of-worlds@terzatheunderscorerima@bright-shade@satanicrutialspecialist@mur-ururu@birdie-24-05@ascetic-orange@cyber-geist@thatrandomsarahchick@dr-syko-pharm-4@observerblock23@addie-lover-of-stories@rainybyday@berseid@pastalavistamf@ae-vixrose@sunflowershine03@theauthorandtheartist@ruelukas22@krzys2000@onlyhereforthechaos@stargirl1331@apointlessbox@mewzaque@distractedducky@cutelittlebeanie@unorthodoxdreamers @universallytacowolfbakery @joseph557@ver-444@icedbluesoul@shark-time@milo-l-l @spookytragedyshark@

I think I got everyone, here's a link to the Ao3 version as well