#i just wanted to find some systems to follow

[autonomousroboticorganism]

bug trouble (TF Prime)

featuring - Optimus Prime x F!Reader, Bumblebee x F!Reader, Smokescreen x F!Reader, Knock Out x F!Reader, Wheeljack x F!Reader, Soundwave x F!Reader, Shockwave x F!Reader

summary - you have faced some of the worse Decepticons/Autobots with them, so your fear of little organic insects mystifies them

warnings - the Bots and Cons shoot at/step on/crush the spiders, some of them by accident

a/n - i don't condone killing anything but in my opinion this is how they would solve it, as battle-hardened warriors

OPTIMUS PRIME

Optimus and the team had just come back from another dangerous and tiring mission to stop the Decepticons from getting their servos on a relic. The base was suspiciously quiet, and they were sure that you and the other humans hadn't followed them through the ground bridge this time.

So where were you?

Ratchet was at his usual station, chuckling to himself, which earned suspicious looks from Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee.

"Ratchet?" Optimus called. "Where are the children?"

The medic turned to the returned team, "At this point, I don't know. (Name) screamed randomly, and they scattered."

"And you haven't even tried to find them?" Arcee crossed her arms.

"I was just doing that now," Ratchet replied.

"Then why were you giggling like a little girl?" Bulkhead asked.

Optimus walked over to check the screens, spotting you in one of the camera feeds. You were in one of the relic containment units, running around the platform holding the relic, frantically. The Prime immediately turned and walked to that room, leaving the others to bicker. When he opened the unit, you screamed and ran past him, sobbing hysterically.

A little black thing with eight legs was following behind you.

(Name)," the Prime called, "Wait."

He followed you, back to the main area where you circled around Bulkhead and ran back to him, trying to scale his leg. Optimus bent down and lifted you up.

"My love, what is that following you? And why are you afraid?"

"It's a spider!" You wailed, "And it's got eight creepy legs and six creepier eyes!" You shivered. "Stuff of nightmares, really." Tears still streamed down your face.

Optimus looked back down at the arachnid, which was hesitating to follow you up his leg. Arcee shivered as well, the sight of the spider reminding her of her worst enemy.

"I shall get rid of it," the Prime handed you to Arcee before reaching down to pick up the arachnid. It crawled onto his digit, and in his attempt to grab it with his other servo he accidentally crushed it. "Oops."

You shivered when he reached for you again, "Optimus, I love you but if you touch me with the remains of that infernal thing on your servos, I will jump out of your hands and accept my fate."

The Prime was even more confused, but complied and only reached for you when he had cleaned his servos. You happily returned to him, relaxing in his hold.

"You have faced the likes of Starscream and a zombie Skyquake," he looked at you, "Yet you fear a little earth arachnid?"

You pouted, "Did I mention the eight legs and six eyes?"

Optimus was still confused, but comforted you nonetheless. He held you and stroked your back soothingly with one digit, telling you about their mission to distract you. It worked, for the most part.

BUMBLEBEE

All Bumblebee wants to do after a long day of fighting Cons is to sit and have you curl up to him as you watch a movie. The feeling of you against him always calms him, and never fails to destress him after a mission.

Unfortunately, when the team got back there was no sign of you or Jack, Miko and Raf. Only a giggling Ratchet, which set off alarm bells in Bee's processor.

The scout beeped a few times, asking the medic where you were.

"I did not know myself," Ratchet replied, "Until I took a look at our surveillance systems." He stepped aside to show the team.

Bumblebee spotted you immediately, and he immediately grew concerned. You were on his berth in his berthroom, shaking and frantically looking around but otherwisd stuck there for the time being.

The scout beeped worriedly, rushing off to save you from whatever horror was in his berthroom. When he opened the door, he saw something black with multiple legs scuttling around the room, and you were sobbing on his berth.

"Bumblebee!" You cried out when you saw him. "Blasters out, please!"

He beeped, asking why, and when you pointed to the arachnid on the floor he asked, Why do you want me to shoot something so small? It seems harmless. When you burst into even more tears, he quickly corrected himself, I mean, you've gone up against Starscream and Knock Out! Why does this thing scare you?

"Bumblebee please!" You begged, "I'll explain after, please just get rid of it!"

The scout obliged, blasting the arachnid to bits before coming closer, picking you up. You offered him rushed, relieved thank you's, before promptly burying yourself in his neck cables.

"It's got eight creepy legs," you complained to him, still shivering. "And six even creepier eyes. I hate them so much. I won't sleep for the next few nights."

Bumblebee beeped again, I will always protect you.

"I know...but these creepy crawlies..." You shivered again. "I would rather get kidnapped by Knock Out than face one of these again."

Bumblebee whined, Don't say that!

You laughed, kissing his faceplate, "Thank you, my hero."

His chassis puffed out in pride.

KNOCK OUT

Starscream could be very annoying, this much you knew. He often got on Knock Out's nerves, more so than the doctor let on. But there were apparently no limits to heeled Decepticon's cruelty, because somehow he had found out about the human fear arachnophobia.

Because now the eight-legged abomination was scuttling around Knock Out's lab, stranding you on the tool table.

This was how the medic found you, on your hands and knees peering over the edge of the table. You were trembling, something he'd never seen you do. There was a wild, fearful look in your eyes that didn't match your usual behaviour, and Knock Out looked around.

"Am I missing something?"

You screamed and fell backwards, chest heaving, "Knock Out! Don't scare me like that!"

"You were scared long before I got here, sweetheart. What's the problem?"

"You don't see it?"

Your eyes once again landed on the floor, glued to something that was moving. He looked down, his optics narrowing in on the small, furry eight-legged creature.

"What is that?"

"A spider!" You shuffled back on the table. "Please get rid of it!"

The mad doctor looked confused, "You've come with me to battle Autobots, and have stood in the middle of our fights, but you afraid of something so tiny?"

You glared at him, "Count its legs and eyes before you judge!"

He sighed, but got rid of the arachnid by stepping on it. Then he proceeded to complain about getting his pede messed, and you face-palmed. At least you were calm now and no longer shaking, so he decided to ignore that.

"How did a spider even get on the ship?" He asked you, scooping you up and placing you on his shoulder - something he seemed to enjoy.

"Take one guess."

"Screamer?" He already knew the answer without your confirmation.

"Mhm."

Knock Out didn't take kindly to anyone messing with what belonged to him. Especially if it was his precious little human. So the next time Starscream needed repairs, you laughed when you heard his repair had malfunctioned, knowing that the mad doctor had purposely sabotaged it.

SMOKESCREEN

Every time Smokescreen thought he had found out all he needed to know about the human race, he was smacked in the helm with something new. He hadn't even considered that you had fears, since he had seen you face Decepticons and not even flinch.

Yet here you were, screaming murder and running away from a little black thing with eight furry legs. The rest of the team looked up from their positions, Miko's face paling as she took off as well.

"What's that?" Smokescreen looked at Bumblebee, confused.

Bumblebee beeped a few times, explaining that spiders were eight-legged, six-eyed arachnids that freaked you and Miko out like nothing else.

Smokescreen looked at you again, before going over and picking you up. He didn't understand your fear, but he didn't want you to feel scared when he was right there.

"It's okay, I got it!"

He tried stepping on it, but it scuttled away. He set you down on his shoulder and tried to grab it, which made you yelp and attempt to scale down his back.

"No no no!" You kept muttering, shivering and shaking like you were in some kind of horrible trance.

"It's so small!" He grit his dentae, reaching for it again. "This thing isn't as scary as some Decepticons." He meant well. He just sometimes said stupid things.

"I would rather fight Starscream again than be around that thing!" You cried, climbing as far back as possible as he finally got a hold of it. You slipped and fell off his shoulder, but Smokescreen's reflexes were great. He caught you in his other servo.

"Uh, Smokescreen? Not a good idea," Arcee watched as your whole body went rigid when the spider escaped his grip and crawled along his arm.

You screamed so loudly you might have damaged his audials, but he realised his mistake and quickly handed you to the nearest Autobot as he frantically looked all over his body, trying to locate the infernal creature. He managed to get it, but only after he sped out of the base to remove it outside, to prevent you and Miko from passing out.

When he got back, you shivered but allowed him to pick you up again, and he grinned, "I don't understand it, but if it scares you it's probably bad, right?"

You smiled.

WHEELJACK

Wheeljack is pretty fearless, so you often feel intimidated by him and insecure about your own fears. You never told him about your deathly fear of arachnids, and he never asked. He assumed you were like him, not scared of anything.

That is, until today.

When he got back from a mission with Bulkhead, he immediately sought you out. Even Miko was missing, which the green Autobot found strange.

"Where's (Name) and Miko?" Wheeljack asked Raf and Jack, who were playing a racing videogame.

Jack shrugged, "Haven't seen them since we got here after school."

That was even more odd. Usually you would be here waiting for him to get back from wherever if he wasn't here. Then, moments later, a scream rang out through the base. Wheeljack recognised that as yours and took off towards the sound.

When he found you, he stopped dead.

You were running in circles around his berth, looking over your shoulder. He tried to spot what was apparently chasing you, and only did so when the thing scuttled out from behind his berth, in the direction you were headed. You screamed again and changed directions.

"What is that?" Wheeljack asked, confused on why you were so terrified.

"Spider!" You wailed, running to him and hiding behind his massive leg. "Kill it!"

He raised a big metal eyebrow, "You're scared of that tiny thing? You've faced vehicons and Dreadwing with me and that little creature is what's shaking you?"

You groaned, "I knew you would judge! Where's Bulkhead?"

"Okay, okay, no need for that," he grumbled and picked you up, setting you carefully on his shoulder before kicking the arachnid, sending the dreaded creature flying and hitting the wall. It crumpled, laying on its back and curling inwards.

"Thanks," you sighed in relief, but still looked tense. "Now get rid of it."

"It's dead."

"Dead and no less creepy!" You protested.

"Yeah, yeah." He rolled his eyes, but got rid of the dead spider. When he got back, he watched you carefully. "You good now?"

"Much better," you confirmed, but still looking like you had seen a ghost.

"Come here."

Wheeljack wasn't a cuddler, but he figured the best thing to do as your boyfriend was get in some snuggles to soothe you. And maybe, MAYBE he enjoyed it too, but Primus forbid he ever admit that out loud.

SOUNDWAVE

Like Knock Out, Soundwave didn't understand how an earth creature got on the ship. And since you seemed so horrified, he concluded that you didn't bring it with you.

He was aware the second you're terrified, as predicted, so you didn't have to scream and cry for help. You just hid wherever you could, and waited for the silent Decepticon to find you.

He stopped his work to come check on you, and to deal with the cresture that was inspiring such fear. Once he's in his berthroom, it's not hard for him to locate the arachnid, and he got Laserbeak to carry it out and drop it off the Nemesis.

He then scanned his room for you, finding you in a little crevice under his berth. He coaxed you into coming out, tilting his helm as if asking why you were afraid of such a little thing.

You shivered, your eyes scanning the room before looking at him, "They're scary. Did you see how many eyes and legs it has??" You shivered again.

Soundwave patted the top of your head, comfortingly. Then he tilted his helm again, words appearing on his visor, You have been through far worse, encountering the Autobots and other Decepticons.

"I know but these things are the stuff of nightmares!" You complained. "I would rather fight any Cybertronian than be in a room with one of these again..."

He nodded in understanding, not quite understanding your logic there but there but nonetheless agreeing. Whatever made you less scared was preferred, after all, he didn't like seeing how terrified you had been.

Feeling better? Popped up on his visor.

You nodded, calming down, "Much. Thank you."

He displayed a red heart.

SHOCKWAVE

Shockwave was used to dark, confined spaces with rodents and other creatures scuttling around. He had been stuck on Cybertron for years, after all. So he doesn't think much of it when an earthly creature finds its way aboard the Nemesis.

Until it starts to bother you.

He walked into his lab one day to see you on your hands and knees on his tool table, peering over the side. He instantly noticed the slight tremble of your small form, and approached you cautiously.

"What is the matter?"

You screamed and jumped despite his careful approach, turning to him with wide, frightened eyes before snapping them back to whatever was on the floor.

"There's a spider!"

"I do not understand."

You turned back to him, but your eyes flickered to the ground every so often, "These earth creatures with six eyes and eight freaky legs."

Shockwave nodded in understanding, before tilting his helm, "You are around Decepticons who are much larger than you, and coukd squash you easily, yet that tiny insignificant creature frightens you? That is illogical."

You sighed, "That thing is just creepy okay! I can handle giant Decepticons, I just can't do spiders." You shivered.

Shockwave didn't argue, going over to the bug and studying it for a second before picking it up and making his way out of the lab to get rid of it. You relaxed when it was gone, and when he came back you were lying on your back, trying to overcome your shivers.

"It is gone."

"I know, thank you," you sat up. "It just feels like smaller ones are crawling all over me."

He reached out to let you climb onto his servo, keeping you close to him to comfort you while he continued his work.

[box953]

vinnayyyyyyy idk if anyone has asked you before but what are your post canon visions for all the surviving characters??

HIIII umm let me pull some thoughts out of my beautiful mind.

The only thing i have really ever ruminated on is the idea of Jacobi showing up at Minkowski’s house after disappearing off the face of the earth for several months and forcefully moving in on her couch. Minkowski who is in the process of trying to heal her relationship with her husband who thought she was fucking Dead and who is going through a Lot because that healing process comes with realizing just how much she has to tell him about what she Did up there and then Jacobi, one of the guys who was greatly impacted by the things Minkowski Did, shows up like hey lol. Im here to be your reoccurring sitcom side character.

i think Jacobi shows up to her place because he’s incredibly aimless without si-5 work and without Kepler to follow around like a lost dog. He absolutely guilts her into it because he Knows that she feels bad about Maxwell and i think his lost dog schtick really nails home how much hes lost and she feels responsible for his aimlessness on earth. And also in a weird way his anger towards Minkowski is also a memory of Maxwell and that all funnels together into a weird brain concoction of feelings that make him feel very Attached to Minkowski, even if he doesn’t like her.

Any other characters are a lot more vague in my mind. I have absolutely no clue what they would do with Hera and her supergiant supercomputer brain but through the power of “dont worry about it” maybe they just turn her into a home security system or something. I don’t think she’d like it but they don’t have much for other options.

I think a lot about Eiffel’s memory loss and. While i dont Like it. If i had to play in the space with it, i feel like Eiffel should regain those memories. And, playing into the fact that Doug Eiffel is a coward, i think it would be interesting if him regaining his memories on earth had to be an intentional process that he had to work through in order to gain those memories. Because then there is the possibility of him realizing more and more about who he is and having to wrestle with the idea of just taking the cowards way out and continuing to forget. Forget what happened, forget everything he did, forget why he was ever sent up to orbit wolf 359, and just move on as this new version of himself instead of having to address the person he is. Could be fun. Could be silly. I envision him and Hera wandering around his mindscape (dont ask me how they have the resources to jack her in there) and idk i think it could be interesting to play with the visuals of actively having to go find your memories in your mind.

lovelace…. Lovelace…… i want good things for her. I do not know if they would come to her easy back on earth. I feel she would be very restless. I think she would go hard into no-contact, no way to track her down, disappearing to a beach off the coast of nowhere for a while to decompress after four years of the torture labyrinth. I think that has mixed results and has the capacity to tip over into just pure isolation. After some time maybe she wraps back around to keep in touch with Eiffel to make sure he’s doing okay and then just keeping in touch with the others over time. But i think shes going to need a lot of support once she gets down there.

and this is all without really considering any Goddard related nonsense. I think a post-canon wolf 359 has the capacity to just delve into More Story Happening. I think Lovelace should plan to infiltrate Goddard futuristics to literally blow it up from the inside. That could be a fun spinoff series. But thats its own entire thought process and im just looking at this through a pov of “what if they were returning back to normal lives on earth”

[bloodysword63]

The Neighbor

(Author's Note: I'm not a MAGA member or anything of that nature. These are stories that I enjoy exploring. Others of these type will be written in the future)

As Chris watched as his partner Alex left for work on a beautiful spring day, he saw his next door neighbor standing on the porch and waved. It had been a few days since Michael had moved into the suburban neighborhood that could have been taken out of a magazine.

"Morning Michael!" Chris called out. "Beautiful morning isn't it?"

Michael waved back and replied, "It sure is. What have you got planned for the day?"

Chris walked over to the fence and leaned on it. Michael's dog, a German Shepherd walked over and sniffed at the fence before finding something else better to sniff.

"Just working from home like every day," Chris replied. "How do you like the neighborhood?"

Michael smiled and Chris immediately thought that something was weird about that smile. It was a good smile but there was a hint of a predator looks in it.

"Love it!" Michael exclaimed. "Better than the urban rats nest I was in before that's for sure."

Chris nodded. "Yeah, we've got good people here," he said. "I was wondering if you were interested in coming for dinner some night. Like a welcome to the neighborhood dinner."

"Yeah, that sounds great," Michael replied after a moment. "I was going to offer you the same thing. By the way, out of curiosity, are the two of you married?"

The question caught Chris off guard before nodded. "We were married last year," he replied. "Small ceremony. His family couldn't accept that he was gay so they didn't show up."

Michael frowned at that. "I can understand that," he said. "My brother came out a few years back and our parents almost had a heart attack."

"Same with his," Chris replied. "Well, I've got to get some work done. Let me know when dinner works for you all right?"

"Sure," Michael said. "If you get done with work early today, come on over and we can talk. I don't start my new job until next week anyway."

"Sounds good!" Chris replied as he saw Michael walk away and back into his house. For a moment, Chris thought that Michael's ass was tight as fuck before he turned and headed back into his own house.

All day, Chris couldn't get Michael out of his head. Something about him felt off but at the same time exciting. It seemed like ever since Chris and Alex had moved into neighborhood six months ago, there was nothing exciting going on. Being part of a development with similar home construction made it feel like cookie cutter living.

Alex had wanted a peaceful place to put down roots and Chris had agreed to it. But somewhere in the back of his mind, Chris was wondering if there was something else that could be done.

Later that afternoon, Chris knocked on Michael's door and after a minute the door opened.

"Neighbor!" Michael said standing there in gym clothes which made Chris want him just a little bit more. His neighbor definitely worked out which made things even more interesting between them.

"Sorry but I got done with work early so I thought I'd take you up on your offer," Chris said. "But if its not a good time..."

"No, perfect time," Michael said as he motioned Chris into his house. "Sorry... just got back from the gym and was about to hop in the shower."

"Oh then I'll come back later!" Chris replied and turned away and was about to head back outside.

"Dude relax!" Michael said. "I'll hop in the shower, clean up and I'll be with you in like fifteen minutes."

Chris nodded and followed Michael into the living room which was not filled with furniture. There was a television, a video game system and a couple of chairs.

"Still waiting for the furniture to catch up to me," Michael said. "The moving companies have made a lot of money over the past few years with me."

"Move around a lot?" Chris said as Michael walked into an adjacent room.

"Yeah," Michael called out. "Job and all that has made me move around quite a bit. I hope that now I can settle down somewhere for a while and actually get to know my neighbors."

Chris nodded to nobody and heard the water starting to run in the shower. For the next few minutes, Chris walked around the living room as Michael was obviously getting hot and steamy in the other room.

Something caught Chris' eye and he frowned slightly. One of the doors off the living room was slightly ajar and Chris walked over to it and was about to close it but instead opened it a bit and what he saw blew his mind.

Chris was looking at a room filled with MAGA flags and books. It was basically a shrine to the MAGA worldview. Quickly looking back to make sure Michael wasn't out of the shower, he closed the door and walked back into the living room, his mind reeling.

A few minutes later, Michael walked out into the living room and Chris smiled slightly. "Feel clean now?" he said but Michael knew something was off.

"What's wrong?" Michael asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Sorry," Chris said after a moment. "I... think I need to go..."

Michael frowned and then realized what must have happened. "Oh shit... you saw didn't you?" he said.

"Yeah," Chris replied. "What the fuck are you trying to pull? Be nice to the gays while behind closed doors hating them?"

"No dude..." Michael said. "Look it. We each have our own views on the world right? I want to be friends with you."

"How the fuck can you be friends with us when you're kissing ass to a right wing wanna be tyrant?" Chris asked.

"They are looking out for our country and can't you agree that it's going to shit over the past few years?" Michael countered with. "Maybe we need somebody like Trump in power to fix things and give this nation a way forward."

"You're fucking insane you know that!" Chris exclaimed as he walked past Michael towards the front door.

"Dude! Stop!" Michael said. "I'm sorry. I should have been up front with my views. Or at least I didn't want you to see it right off the bat."

Chris sighed and turned back. Maybe he was being too hard on the new neighbor. "I'm sorry," he said. "Family issues you might say. And after fighting for our rights for so long, hard to see them possibly being taken away."

"I get it," Michael replied. "And how do you think others feel when they see immigrants coming into this country and taking their jobs. People like me feel like their rights are being taken away you know?"

"But you've been in control for decades," Chris said as he looked at Michael. "And people like you are afraid of losing control."

"You are right," he said. "But think about it. Society was better off before wasn't it?"

"For you and other straight people sure," Chris replied as something weird started to occur in the back of his mind. He hated MAGA and everything it stood for but Michael standing there talking to him made things seem just a little but less horrific.

"Look," Michael said. "Why don't we sit down and talk about it until your partner gets home and then you can do whatever you need to do all right? If you don't want to talk to me again, I will understand."

For a minute, Chris' brain said to get the fuck out of there and head home and forget everything that had happened. But instead, he nodded and said, "Just as long as you don't fucking yell at me and call me a snowflake and whatever else."

"No worries," Michael replied. "You want a drink?"

"Yeah," Chris replied. "I think that would be best."

The rest of the afternoon passed with Michael and Chris talking about how both of them viewed society and politics in general. As Chris listened to Michael, he realized that Michael was not only a proud member of MAGA but also somebody who believed that the white race was superior to all others.

Chris walked back to his house in a daze, totally confused about what had just happened. He should have been repulsed by what Michael represented in every shape and form but there was a part of him that was drawn to the sureity of belief that Michael had. It was... almost intoxicating.

Chris didn't say anything to Alex about what had transpired that afternoon and was distracted by his thoughts in the back of his head.

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The following afternoon, Chris was in front of Michael's door once more and as he was turning away, the door opened and Michael was standing there wearing a 'Make America Great Again' hat.

"Hey Chris," Michael said. "You all right?"

Turning back, Chris nodded. Seeing Michael standing there with the red hat on his head, he realized that no matter what Michael thought, Chris still liked him.

"Yeah," Chris said. "You got a minute?"

"Of course!" Michael said as he motioned Chris inside and the two of them found themselves in the living room again, this time with one of the conservative news networks on the television talking about criminal activities at the border.

Chris couldn't take his eyes off the television as a part of his mind started to change ever so slightly. There was something about what was showing on the television that made him want to watch more, to understand the viewpoint of the other side.

"Dude?" Michael asked. "Are you all right?"

For a moment, Chris' brain was protesting that this was wrong, that he needed to leave. Instead he said, "Yeah I'm fine."

Michael knew what was going on and smiled to himself. If Chris was susceptible to the subconscious message that was being broadcast on the television, it would only be a matter of time.

"Anything you need?" Michael asked after a minute.

Chris shook his head as he continued to watch the television. "No," he said. "I'm good. But... but..."

Chris' mind started to change. Without him realizing it, Chris' worldview was changing. Instead of the leftist mentality that he had lived with for years, he could see that the MAGA viewpoint had its right to exist. That instead of screaming at the right wing nutjobs online, they needed to be listened to.

After a few minutes, Chris looked at Michael and muttered under his breath, "What is this? What am I feeling?"

Michael smiled and he put a MAGA hat on Chris' head. "You're seeing your world changing aren't you?" he asked.

Chris picked the hat off of his head and looked at it for a moment. This was all wrong, this was all wrong. But it was right. For the first time in his life, Chris felt complete.

He put the hat back on his head and said, "Tell me more."

Michael grinned and said, "You got it."

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Chris walked back into his house a changed person. Long gone was the liberal gay man who thought that the far right were insane and deserved to be thrown out of the country. Instead, he knew that they were right.

Alex came home and saw that something was different with Chris. "Hey," Alex said. "How was your day?"

Chris smiled and looked at Alex. "It was great," he said. "Michael invited us over to dinner tonight. You want to go?"

Alex smiled and nodded. "Sure," he said. "It's always good to get to know the neighbors."

"You have no idea," Chris replied.

Michael, Chris and Alex had a wonderful dinner. After dinner was over, the three of them were in the living room where Michael was drinking a beer and Chris and Alex had water.

"Good dinner Michael," Alex said. "Best steak I've had in a while."

"Same here," Chris agreed. "It's was really good."

"You both are welcome," Michael said. "Oh, Chris... sorry but I've got something for you two if you don't mind."

"No of course not!" Chris said as he watched Michael go into the MAGA room and came out a moment later with a large box.

"Here it is!" Michael said as he put the box on a table.

"What's in it?" Alex asked as he looked at Michael.

"Hmm? Just something that Chris and I were talking about this afternoon," Michael said as he took a sip of his beer.

"I love surprises!" Alex said as he kissed Chris on the cheek. Of course, Chris knew what it was. Once home, Chris would help embrace the MAGA lifestyle and worldview.

"This will be worth it," Michael said as he looked at Chris. "Trust me."

The three of them talked for the rest of the evening until Alex yawned and got up to leave. "Sorry," he said. "Long day at work and I've got a long day tomorrow."

"I get it," Michael said as he got up from the chair he was sitting in. "Oh... don't forget the box."

Chris grabbed the box and nodded. "Thanks again for a wonderful evening!" he said.

Once he and Alex were back in their house, Chris opened the box and saw the MAGA flag and MAGA hat inside. Unknown to Alex, there was also a whiff of something else, something intoxicating. When he smelled it, Alex walked over to Chris to see what was inside the box.

"Dude... what the..." Alex said as he picked up the MAGA hat. "Is this what the two of you were talking about the last few days while I was at work?"

Chris nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Michael's an interesting person." He pulled out the flag and looked around their living room. "Should we hang it up here or in the bedroom?"

"Wait... what... are you talking about?" Alex asked. "No... no..."

Chris smiled and walked over to where Alex was standing there slack jawed. "Don't worry," he said. "Things are going to be much better now" as he put the MAGA hat on Alex and watched as things started to change in Alex's mind too.

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The following morning, Chris and Alex both found themselves over at Michael's place, watching the conservative news outlet on the television saying exactly what they wanted to hear.

"Here," Michael said as he handed Chris and Alex a package of MAGA clothing. "You both would look good in this. You can change in the bathroom if you want."

It took a few minutes, but Chris and Alex both changed their clothes to represent their new allegiance. They were wearing both wearing MAGA shirts and black pants. Both of them were wearing MAGA armbands as well.

Michael grinned as he saw the two of them standing there. "You look good gentlemen!" he said. "Now... how do you feel?"

Chris looked at Alex and grinned. "We feel... great..." he said.

"What do you say now?" Michael said.

"Hail Trump! Hail Victory!"

[raingems-blog]

Cherry

Warnings: mention of smut, pining, reader being a love sick mess, mentions of alcohol, alcohol consumption.

Summary: How Victoria and the reader met during the early 2000's

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Contrary to her very put-together political persona later in life, Victoria, as a college student, was quite the opposite. While she wasn't career and future-ruining wild, she wasn't saint Victoria either. Victoria ran through the college campus like a tomb raider. There were so many people to meet, to get to know, to sleep with, and so many experiences yet to come and parties to go to. The political science major had become rather popular, known for being sociable and fun to be around, not to mention a good dancer in her dance troop. Her walk like an Egyptian dance had gone viral, her MySpace that you definitely hadn't been stalking was popping, her grades were higher than she was, and life was great.

Now, at a party, you stood watching her like an idiot. You looked like a love-sick fool. Only half listening to your friend as they talked about something or the other while you stared at the doe eyed girl in a tank top and shorts dancing with her friends. The bass of the music wasn't the only thing that had you throbbing, apparently. You had been knocking back this godawful concoction of fruit juice and various kinds of alcohol that burned with every gulp you took. It truly was terrible, but the buzz you got made up for the taste of the fruit flavored rubbing alcohol that they called 'Jungle juice.'

"Hello, are you even listening to me?" Their voice cut through your fantasy, the smell of alcohol and the loud booming of the music flooding your senses once again.

"Huh?" You asked, blinking yourself out of your dream struck state. You turned to stare at them, still looking dazed. To anyone, you probably looked drunk out of your mind, but your friend knew that your zoned out state wasn't from the cup in your hand, but the intoxicating sight of Victoria Neuman tearing up the fucking dance floor.

"You're really hopeless, you know that?" Your friend looked at you with a half annoyed, half amused look.

"Look at her. She's perfect." Came your response. Just seeing her had you weak, butterflies fluttered in your stomach every time you saw her.

Victoria looked your way briefly, but for you, it felt like a lifetime as you looked into those beautiful brown eyes that you so desperately craved to get lost in.

It took a bit of encouragement and the alcohol in your system to get you to talk to her, but your friend grew tired of your fawning and made you actually talk to her.

Your awkward approach and straightforward invite for a dance had Victoria reeling to say yes. Something about an awkward nerdy type was always attractive to her.

Her fingers looped through the loop of your jeans, and she pulled you closer as she noticed your slight distance from her. "I don't bite unless you want me to." Followed by a wink and her encircling her arms around your shoulders, her noses barely touching.

This caused you to short circuit, and immediately, and for some godforsaken reason the response that left your lips was: "Well, human bites are actually some of the most dangerous, as the saliva in our mouths contain a variety of bacteria that can lead to infection and death." You expected her to look at you like you had just lost your mind. You felt like you had just lost your mind. Instead of banter, a nervous ramble of a biology lesson had clawed its way up your throat and past your mouth.

Victoria, however, didn't seem to mind. In fact, she seemed to find it funny and strangely endearing. She pulled away slightly to laugh before holding your face in her palms and calling you cute.

Who would have thought that your unconventional response and slight awkward demeanor would would lead to her standing in your dorm while you sat nervously on the edge of your bed, picking absentmindedly at a loose thread on the bedsheet.

Her fingers tucked under her shirt and lifted it over her head, leaving you to come face to face with her chest. Victoria was fucking ripped. Not exactly to the extent of a body builder, but it was obvious that she was toned to a degree. She clearly worked out regularly, and it showed in the definition of her biceps and the slight chisel of her abs, and you were all but drooling over it.

When she got closer to you, you almost died, and when she let you touch her, you're pretty sure you almost went to heaven. No, this felt like it. You never knew that she could make those sounds from your lips or that your voice had the ability to reach the decibels tgat you did. But her lips were like a soothing balm to the heat of your skin that burned with desire for her. Not once did you think that you'd be in this position or any of the positions that she put you in, screaming her name and repeating it like a hymn as her skilled hands and lips took you to heights that's your previous partners couldn't even dream of coming close to.

In the morning, you woke up alone. You should've expected as much, but it didn't leave you feeling any less disappointed that you hadn't woken up in her arms. The only evidence that she had been here was the smell of her on your sheets and the marks left behind by her on your skin that you'd no doubt have to work to cover up soon.

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[docochocart]

DOCORONPA R

CHAPTER SIX

[ daily ]

Drummer had to be dragged out of the courtroom following the unexplained dismissal of the fifth trial. She kicked and screamed the whole way back to camp.

Once again, a firm slap from PT would stun her enough for her only remaining cabin-mate to get through:

"Go the fuck to sleep. You're acting bananas bro. For real."

Drummer wanted to return the slap so badly for a moment, PT's dismissal of her grief boiling in her racing mind. Instead she decided to lay back and hold her tongue. Even she knew PT was right, she was acting bananas.

She lay facing the wall completely still as Ice Skater entered the cabin and settled into her bunk. This wasn't the time for confrontation.

Drummer tried her best to settle down after the sharp intervention from PT. While her body lay still, her mind raced on manically.

Things would be different tomorrow.

...

Drummer's eyes cracked open, reacting to the sound of PT's morning stretches. Surprisingly, she'd managed to get a decent amount of sleep that night.

It took Drummer sitting up for PT to notice she'd awoken the girl, profusely apologizing for doing so.

By the time PT had finished stammering out her desperate apology, Drummer had fully gained consciousness. She ignored her friend's pleas, simply asking:

"Where is Ice Skater?"

...

Personal Trainer anxiously followed in the wake of Drummer's determined march to the Craft Hall. She could barely get out her "no wait-" before Drummer had violently kicked in the entry door.

Drummer stood wide legged in the doorway, blocking PT out on the other side. The towering girl anxiously waited behind her, not wanting to poke the bear.

As she'd hoped, everybody else had already gathered for breakfast. It seemed like nobody wanted to risk being alone after last week's events.

Drummer spoke diligently and sharply, cutting to the point without hesitation:

"Unless we all want to die here we have to work as a team. If anybody here doesn't understand that, they don't deserve our community."

Rebel crooked an eyebrow at her pointed remark, but was kept at bay by a gesture from Ice Skater. Given the silence, Drummer continued:

"Working as a team means complete and total honesty. No more secrets without consequences."

Ice Skater finally chimed in, shocking even Rebel with her response:

"I agree."

Drummer didn't waste a second pouncing on this opportunity, egging her on:

"Then tell us what you know."

Without a beat, Ice Skater did just that:

"There's been a traitor in our midst."

This didn't come as much of a shock to anybody but Sailor, who'd seemed to not understand any of the previous night's events.

Ice Skater continued on, explaining that her and Rebel had begun colluding information relatively early into the game.

Their main findings were the many entrances to the system of tunnels scattered throughout the camp, each of which they had marked for further investigation.

Rebel explained that the first time he'd found one open was following the first trial. Upon entering, he'd followed it through to an exit on the other side of camp. This was his first suspicion of foul play amongst the campers.

The second time he'd found one open was following the second trial. He once again took the opportunity to potentially escape outside of camp, this time succeeding and winding up on the farm.

Ice Skater retook the floor, divulging her theory that the traitor had left these tunnels open on purpose. She hypothesized that it would be an easy way to guide the group and drive suspicion onto Rebel.

Rebel angrily dismissed that idea, claiming that it was probably just a bug in the system.

Ignoring his retort, Ice Skater moved on to their second major finding:

"Everybody here has an implant just behind their ear."

Once again, this was sort of old news at this point. The group still waited on baited breath for some clarity on this horrific notion.

Ice Skater explained that one morning while Marine Biologist was styling her hair, she asked how she'd gotten her scar. Ice Skater had swallowed the shock in that moment and lied that she had taken a nasty fall on the ice.

Of course, she was lying. She'd never had a scar there and immediately sensed something was very wrong.

Knowing better than to share this fear with Marine Biologist, she took the concerning scar to Rebel. They would quickly discover the same scar behind his ear, leading them to begin rattling off ideas.

After the events on the farm, it was nearly cemented in their minds that they had been chipped with something. It would explain the strange effects the frequencies played over the loudspeakers had on them.

According to Ice Skater, Marine Biologist had discovered her scar on her own following the fourth trial. Drummer wasn't quick to buy this explanation, but let her continue:

"Our theory is that the traitor is not in the remaining body of campers. We believe they reside below in the tunnels."

She continued, positing that their "implants" were used to affect their mental states. She coldly gestured to a still shaken Drummer as an example.

She finished her dissertation with the statement that "their goal is to keep us divided." Referring to the fifth trials clear attempt at framing the least popular among them as an example.

After making her very compelling evaluation on the inner workings of this game, it was Drummers turn to formulate a plan:

"We're going to burn this camp to the fucking ground."

For a moment everyone seemed to assume this to be hyperbole, pausing to react. Once understanding how serious she was, the least determined amongst them began their predictable protest.

Sailor and Welder both harshly rejected the idea, questioning where they would sleep and eat. Drummer sharply spoke over their whining:

"It sounds like you want to die here. Is your comfort more important than your life?"

Before the two buffoons could get another word in, Ice Skater once again shocked the room with her interjection:

"She's right."

Sailor and Welder shuddered at this response, understanding that the two biggest powers in the room were in full agreement. Resistance was likely futile.

Even with the sudden lack of push back from the gruesome twosome, Drummer justified the idea to the room:

"We're here for a reason. They need us here. They've built an entire system around keeping us alive, controlled and sustained here. We can't take any part in it. Not until we have some answers."

Sailor let out a deep sigh before angrily grunting:

"Fine, fine. We'll burn down the fucking camp."

...

Drummer's merciless leadership was in full swing. She had full control over this operation, dictating everybody's jobs and how they were to be done. The list went as followed:

Welder would spend their time gathering any dead leaves or pine needles they could find, raking them into large piles.

Sailor and Personal Trainer would then carry those piles back to the camp in loads, each competing for who could lift more.

Rebel and Ice Skater would then strategically spread the dead brush throughout the camp to guide the flame. Without the aid of gasoline this was their best shot for maximum destruction.

Drummer guided the expedition with a fiery passion.

MonoMaton half-heartedly pleaded with the class to not go through with this while they worked, imploring them to "find a more productive use of their time."

This of course did nothing to stop the campers from following through with their plans, however the sheep persisted:

"No food, no water, no bed to lay your little heads on. Is that what you really want?"

Only Sailor seemed swayed by these deceptions, but he was kept sharp by the barking commands coming from Drummer.

After a few hours of work, the scene was set for their class act of rebellion. There couldn't be a game with nowhere to film it, after all.

Everybody gathered in the center of base camp, where the thickly stacked trails of dead flora met for their approaching ignition.

MonoMaton stood a few meters away, hopelessly bartering for the campers to just stop:

"Is this what you reallllllly want?"

The cast continued ignoring the plush, all gathering around to finally start the flame. When it was completely certain that the camp would go up in flames, MonoMaton finally gave in:

"Fine! Guess we'll do this the hard way."

A new tone blared through the camp, immediately rendering the cast to their knees.

The pain was so great and the tone so loud that Drummer couldn't even make out the screams of her peers. All she could do was suffer.

The following lack of consciousness would come as a relief.

To Be Continued...

[is-on-its-way]

My very definitely insane but perhaps accurate theory on Samuel (né William) Mulder's paternity.

(sorry but william scully doesnt have the same ring to it lalala)

okay so we know from the first ep in s6 that humanity has some latent alien DNA, and some people have that DNA activated? turned on? idk ykwim. Think gibson and that stigmata boy from air bud. My theory on mulder and scully is as follows:

Mulder has latent alien dna stronger than most people.

Scully (and her family possibly just the female members) has latent alien dna stronger than most people and also mulder.

Mulder's symptoms: he has a BA in psych from Oxford but his intuition on the causes of cases and perp motivations and [] are almost certainly due to the fact he has a connection with them, in some way mind reading adjacent. Like he gets a feeling in his stomach about what the situation is and goes with what he and scully would call intuition. there are plenty of funny as hell memes on this site about this. So it follows easily that when his DNA gets activated he is overwhelmed by everyones thoughts, Buffy Summers in Earshot style.

Scully's symptoms: she sees dead people... lol but honestly she sees her dad in season 1, she sees the dead multiple times in Elegy and it's not an omen of death bc she lived. She sees her daughter multiple times. She also sees a legit angel, and a demon or devil however you want to look at it, and I would argue an alien spirit? (old dude in amor fati) who maybe has been on earth waiting for the "chosen one" since his space ship landed in the garden of eden... (lol thats my most favorite of all my unhinged head canons)

Im gonna add the other scully's too

Maggie: she has prophetic dreams or feelings about things that are going wrong

Missy: girl is straight up tied into other realities and knows it and embraces it. I find it such good characterisation how her family treats this, that scully is shown to be scared of this and completely ignores the fact she is also tied into this ability.

----

onto the paternity...

My unorthodox theory is that CSM had nothing to do with healing scully. Or magically giving her ovum out of nothing. En ami could technically be lifted right out, bc ew assault, or just disregard or believe csm was lying about the extra stuff cc retconned in the revival.

Enter the alien spaceship in cote d'ivore from the amor fati trilogy...

so Mulder touched an etching of a part of the ship and had his shit rocked (alien DNA activated) which begs the question, what would happen to Scully being that she actually touched the actual ship?

my theory? The ship has some sort of mystical power. If I was super spiritual or Melissa Scully id argue the ship gives what you deserve. In amor fati we see it bring back to life a bag of shrimps, zombify a dead man, and boil people like ocean soup.

Why then would we not assume scully touching the ship didn’t activate her very obvious not really latent, alien DNA? And what did she deserve? oh the world, but also to be healed. of cancer, and whatever those men did to her reproductive system.

Now you might say well mulder got superpowers but scully didnt? you said she was more powerful than mulder... and to that dear reader, I submit she did get an extra alien ability. We see the alien bounty hunter have all kinds of abilities, including healing mulders mother on her deathbed. I think Scully got that ability in addition to her old seeing ghosts thing.

The evidence? So, mulder on his deathbed, metal halo of faux thorns is dying of overactive alien abilities, his brain juices or something were transferred into that weird old man, but even I, a layman has trouble understanding how this would cure him of his overactive alien abilities. unless every bit of his Cerebrospinal fluid had been drained, which he'd actually probably just die, there is no way that surgery cured him of anything.

Enter Scully and the literal fairytale-esque tear on his face that wakes him from his sleeping-beauty slumber, and seemingly cures him all in one go. I posit Scully is now a healer on top of her ghostly abilities. but being terrified of the paranormal within her and possibly not knowing how to work them mulder is her only one, thus far.

So yeah, the ship cured her infertility and activated more latent alien abilities in her DNA, and she's so highly evolved she doesn't have the poor reaction to it that mulder does. Samuel Mulder or whatever you want to call him was their biological child with alien superpowers because both of them had activated alien abilities when they conceived him.

Anyway CSM has never been anything but pathetically inconsequential to me. So much so I think hes the one who is infertile. I could probably rant about it, but will spare you that for now... all I'll say is senator matheson is who mulders dad will always be to me. They look SO similar, the jawlines? Hello?

And so i rest my case.

[mylastmoleculeofserotonin]

The Tragic Fall and Potential Redemption of Caitlyn and Jinx

Disclaimers

I really like both of these characters. I think they are both very nuanced and really well written: neither one is completely good or evil, This is not an attack on either of them or those of us who like either/both of them, I’m just discussing their character flaws and their actions at some of the lowest points in their lives.

As an older sister, I probably hold undue sympathy for Jinx, so please keep that in mind when you read this and if you find anything that I overlooked or unfairly glossed over, please let me know!!

I almost exclusively watch animated fantasy kids shows, so my views on fictional characters’ morality has been shaped by that genre.

Now with that out of the way, onto the actual content:

Jinx and Caitlyn’s arcs are quite similar, sharing many of the same major beats: after tragically and traumatically losing a parental figure, they fall into the hands of a powerful and manipulative mentor/parental figure and go on to do horrible things, with Jinx spreading Silco’s shimmer to the citizens of the Undercity and Caitlyn adopting Ambessa’s ruthless tactics in the name of protecting Piltover. However, despite their nearly identical arcs, I have vastly different opinions on what their potential redemption arcs should look like due to a few key differences in their stories and characters.

For starters, Jinx was very young when she lost Vander and fell into Silco’s hands. She was never able to establish a stable identity for herself in her formative preteen and teenage years (until Season 2, which I’ll get to later), as shown by her two different names, how she can’t let Powder drown, and how her hallucinations get worse and more overwhelming every time she’s reminded of her past self. She also wasn’t as invested in Silco’s plans as she was in receiving his praise and affection, which we can see by how she constantly seeks physical affection and words of encouragement from Silco but is also completely willing to disobey him, diverge from his plans, jeopardize his missions and jump ship the moment she finds out that Vi’s alive. This shows how much Silco has corrupted her core motivation of wanting to help people, which we know from the sheer number of times she says some variation of “I want to help” in Act 1 of Season 1, and how everyone always comments on how selfless and helpful she is in the alternate universe.

Meanwhile, Caitlyn was in her early-mid twenties when she fell into Ambessa’s web, and had already formed a stable, if not fully formed, sense of self and purpose. She wants to actively do good and improve the world around her, as evidenced by her decision to break away from politics which and join the enforcers and her subsequent exhaustive efforts to find and dismantle an crime organization, which was then corrupted by Ambessa who got her to seize power and ruthlessly crack down on the Jinxers and crime in the Zaun.

So, what does this mean for their possible redemption arcs?

Because Jinx was very much not her own person until Season 2 and a child for most of her time working for Silco, I believe that all Jinx needs to live a happy, peaceful life is to have some healthy support systems/coping mechanisms and her own sense of self as she does in the alternate universe. And we see in Season 2 how much of a better person she can be with simply the absence of a toxic familial environment: she cares for Isha, rescues many Zaunites from inhumane treatment following their dubiously justified arrests, takes the lead in healing her relationship with Sevika and Vi and then leading the Firelights and other Zaunites to fight for Piltover against Noxus, and I believe she can do so much more good and 100% deserves a chance at a new life with a fresh start.

That’s not to say that Jinx didn’t do bad things and didn’t seriously hurt people. She has been implied to have killed many people and helped get Zaun addicted to shimmer. However, she was a child and dependent on Silco for survival and whatever scraps of sanity she could find. She also knew she was more or less replaceable, which we can see when she was afraid of appearing weak and then stole the hex tech crystal to prove her worth to Silco, and if she left, Silco and a bunch of other Zaunites would have tried to hunt her down. Simply put, she had relatively no power to not go along with Silco and even if she did, Silco would have achieved very similar results regardless. And I do believe that in most cases, children, especially those with mental illnesses, and/or toxic/abusive parental figures, deserve a fresh start and a clean slate when they are able to develop their own identity, ideals and world view, so I really can’t fully blame Jinx for what she did prior to the Season 1 finale. And then, after the dinner scene, I don’t believe she does anything bad enough to disqualify her from redemption: if I remember correctly all she did was try to kill Vi and the task force who were hunting her, kill the three goons who were after Isha who were implied to have enslaved her to work in the mines, and then fire her rocket at the council to start a revolution for independence, which I think is completely justifiable since the under-city had largely been supportive of a revolution since she was a child and a decapitating strike is the quickest and least bloody way to end a war and she only really ended up killing three people who were oppressing them. That just leaves the kidnapping of Vi and Caitlyn and the murder of Silco that she should make amends for, but since Vi never really held it against her and killing Silco was arguably a net positive for both Zaun and Piltover, the only thing that she owes is an apology for Caitlyn, but I don’t think that that’s enough to make her irredeemable.

Caitlyn’s redemption would be a bit more involved since she had a lot of power, and with it, the responsibility to not abuse it. However, she personally used chemical weapons against anyone suspected to have ties to Silco or Jinx, didn’t honor the plea bargains she offered, allowed Noxian troops to arrest and torture anyone with blue hair on the grounds they were affiliated with Jinx, and threatened prisoners with the most inhumane conditions in Stillwater should they not cooperate. Under normal circumstances, that would be an unforgivable breach of power, however, Caitlyn’s circumstances were anything but normal. She had just lost her mother in an unexpected attack on Piltover’s Council which did warrant some sort of response, she was being manipulated by a Noxian mastermind on top of being relatively young and new to politics. All things considered, it could have gone a lot worse which is why I think that Caitlyn deserves the opportunity to make things right.

What I think redemption could look like for Caitlyn is: reforming the justice system and Stillwater, compensating the Jinxers she arrested and the Zaunites who fought with her against Noxus, leading the reconstruction of Zaun and putting it on as equal footing with Piltover as possible (which we do see start to happen), install adequate air and water filtration in Zaun, create government programs and fund community organizations to help people quit Shimmer, research ways to help people heal from the long term affects of shimmer and resign from her role as Commander. I think these actions would help heal the damage she inflicted on Zaun in her time as Commander while also working to make things better for them in the future to reduce the chance of civil war and another ruthless crackdown on Zaun.

My congratulations for making it all the way through my many many thoughts. I find morality and redemption really interesting concepts especially in fiction, and Arcane has so many good characters to discuss those topics with! So please, lmk what you think!!

[its-aftg]

book narrative leads us to think that yes, she knew and accepted it was Riko. Hang with me here, there's a lot to unpack in not a lot of words. Speculation of the text is mine, take my interpretation or don't :) I maybe, defintely, ran away with this because in the end it has to do with two of my favs <3

Let's go in chronological order!

(side note: there is a lot of pharmacology talk in here lol i'm so sorry. i maybe work somewhere in this area lol)

TFC pg 262-

Andrew tapping his phone against his thigh feels just so telling to me. He knows this isn't what it seems like and that thought process coming out in this motion. I just like this :)

I really need mythology Tumblr on this one, I feel like the club/bar being named Bacchus is really important here but this is not my Roman Empire. Breifly - God of wine fertility estacy and banquet, (Dionysus in Greece), created madness, ...he symbolizes the cycle of life - can i argue that Seth is Bacchus and that his death is exactly what he represents? Him dying means the Foxes come together, the Foxes will be 'reborn' into something that they weren't before all because Seth is no longer there and they will continue the cycle. (he had a lot of followers which we can see when there's talk of other friends/notes/teachers when they get back to the court after his death, Seth may have been unlikable to half the Foxes but he was liked by others in his life).

Andrew warned Seth that he was going to off himself via OD - I find the phrasing here interesting because i get the impression that he wasn't doing it to throw in his face but more a srtraightforward observation. How many other things did Andrew try to tell Seth? ("not that he ever listened to me")

If most has been out of his system for years does that mean he hadn't OD'd in the time that the Monsters were on the team? This is only their second year there... if he's only on antidepressants now I really want to know what class lol Alcohol can mess with them (SSRI, SNRI, or MAOI - MAOI has the most risk associated) but other than MAOI would usually just make depression/anxiety worse. MAOI are super 'dangerous' in general and not first or second line treatment, usually only prescribed when other treatment fails and the benefit outweighs the risk, i would argue that no competant MD would prescribe a MAOI to him due to history of drug and alochol use - and potential suicidal thoughts pre-Allison. You don't want to drink on a MAOI, period. If you do you can skyrocket your BP (you also shouldn't eat aged cheese, soy sauce, smoked meats, smoked fish, pickled stuff, etc etc etc, the list is long lol) and not for just the same day you take a MAOI but for like 2 weeks you're not supposed to do these things! High bloodpressure = chest pain, headaches, vomiting, confusion, heart attack, stroke, etc. So this to me means he's on a MAOI (not likely imo) or he took something else. (willingly or not)

(side thought is i don't know how much nora knows about pharmacology and if any of this is actually based in real life or if this is just kinda made up for the story, see some points later to why this is confusing.)

TFC pg 264-

Andrew is like 1000% confident Seth wasn't suicidal. From what we know of Andrew this wouldn't be some half-thought. Did Seth never need to go to Eden's with them because he wasn't actually addicted and it wasn't actually a problem (like Matt or Aaron)? The only problem was the posibility of accidentally dying while using and drinking. Did Andrew equate his using similar to their usage of cracker dust? (the reason, not the potential outcome)

Seth is "Andrew's least favorite fox" (TRK pg 3) and yet he is SO sure of this.

His reg meds plus alochol are probably not giving him this no thinking or feeling, I think these days we all think opiates instead, but maybe some benzodiazapines (maybe at the time a barbituate but i think by this point xanax had become pretty commonly prescribed?) Benzos plus alcohol have an extremely high risk of fatality and honestly where i would put my HC behind... (optiates were around then but honestly not near as popular as they are now for abuse and i think it's less likely that he would have been prescribed an opiate if the main reason he's on meds is depression. see below why i say he was prescribed...)

TFC pg 264 -

They weren't on the outs, Seth ONLY takes 'his pills' when they are.

The phrasing is weird and why I keep coming back to these thoughts. 'His pills' to me means his prescribed meds. I would rule out MAOI since you're taking those as maintenance meds, which makes me think he's on something for breakthrough in addition to his regular non-MAOI anti-depression med. Which as I said above really makes me go to something like xanax. now obviously it could be anything, any CNS depressant with alcohol (another CNS depressant) can have not good outcomes....or a made up drug for this fictional book series lol

I've been around a lot of people who used rx meds (not their own) and party drugs (and the really hard stuff too) for several decades, i don't think a single person has referred to them as 'their pills'. which is maybe why this stands out to me so much.

bby Neil is so in denial after watching Allison check Seth with several witnesses, still just assuming he had taken his. (like did you think he was ooping them? is ooping still the term these days?)

Andrews points are of course super solid here. Riko had to be stragtegic in who he took out, 3 strikers, 2 goalies, 3 backliners, 2 dealers. He had to take out a striker or a backliner and only a striker and a dealer were out that night. Seth was also one with a known drug issue which would make him the easier target over Allison.

TRK pg 23 -

I've said it 1000 times on my blog, but seth dying is what it took for the foxes to win. Him being gone means the monsters and the upper classmen don't have to pick sides anymore, they get to try to merge together at least a little bit.

and with Neil being on both sides.... HE turns into the uniting force because of Seth. Because if Seth had stayed they may never unite, because even though he wanted them to do well so bad he was too unagreeble.

TRK pg 54 -

Just a scene that is refrenced in a later screenshot :)

I like to think he said something like "Don't let him have died for nothing." or "Fuck them up." :D

TKM pg 110 --

(he's got the perfect court number at this point, and just told Riko off in an interview post-game. this is where the cars are destroyed.)

I love that Allison knows he's not sorry and she also doesn't want him to be. Allison needs him to fight against Riko/Ravens bullshittery, because that IS Neil. And he doesn't fight then Seth's death was worthless.

Neil not wanting the fight to come back on them is the funniest shit lol Like the fight hasn't been coming back to the team since day one.

Nothing else they can do will break Allison because she's already lost the most important things - the Reynolds Empire and now Seth. She knows they can't take another teammate cus then they can't play and Riko needs them to be able to play. She's already been the most hurt she can be.

TKM pg 112 -

It really is so right of Aaron to call Neil out here. Becasuse while he may have initially thought that no one would get caught up in his bullshit we've had two whole books to see that's not how this works. Was it a mean way to say it, yes lol

Neil wanting to defend himself but knowing he can't because it is true really makes me think about how we see the AFTG world. Neil says he's sorry, but he's not because he would do it again and again, he thinks what he did is right (i mean me too lol) but he also doesn't just know how to say like shit's gonna happen and it sucks yall will suffer for it but i think it's the right thing to do....

I'm just here for Allison slapping Aaron. Like yes, Neil's mouth caused Seth's death, but Allison is having none of this shit (next part has them actually talking about this). She already KNOWS how Seth's death came about but still needs Neil to be Neil - and Aaron isn't gonna go around putting her mans name in his mouth when it's convienent.

TKM pg 124 --

She in no way has thought that Seth did it to himself since like within 4 days after it happens (we don't know the day of the funeral because Neil never tells us lol thanks. They all split up Sunday when Matt and Andrew got in a fight and don't see each other again until that Wednesday) Maybe initially? But even then I think she knew in her heart that he was clean and he wasn't going to do anything. Better murdered than taken out by himself....

Andrew intentionally having stopped by to ask questions and then share his theory? A class shit. Love this for us. I know he's just trying to make sure the team can play so he can keep all these promises he's made and make sure Neil is still around because at the time he was just interesting but maybe not heart eyes yet...and he knows they need Allison. She also doesn't have a reason to NOT believe Andrew.

I don't know if i think Allison blames Neil, maybe a little bit. Maybe it was hard to look at him and know that he was the catalyst to Seth dying. From Neil's perspective it's hard for me to know.

He acknowledges that she forgave him at some point but neither of them ever talked about it. Even thought Neil here says that he should have said something sooner, Allison also didn't bring it up. It seems that internally she forgave him and then just kept on living life, expecting Neil to be the mouthy asshole he is, and that the foxes would continue to have his back.

The we noticed is so funny, like this bro snuck off to Evermore for weeks, got tortured, came back with a perfect court tat, ripped Riko another asshole in an interview, and yet literally cannot talk to the people he's closest with about important things. like yes, no big deal....

TLDR - Allison knew within a few days that Riko was the cause of Seth's death because of Andrew and accepted this as truth.

(can i tell you how much i don't like not knowing WHAT Seth OD'd on specifically. drives me crazy!!!)

I'm sure this has been said before but do y'all ever wonder if Allison knows? I mean, Seth was clean and had been for a while, and she checked that he didn't have drugs on him, but it wouldn't have been hard for him to slip something by her. do you think she wonders if it really was riko after all? Did she miss the signs? Were there signs to miss? Do you think she lies awake at night flipping that coin in her head.....

[crownedwille]

Are there still Crown Prince!Wilhelm stans out there despite S3 turning it into the number one problem? Please report, we need to unite and no, that doesn't mean that I don't support Wille's mental health and happiness and that I love the monarchy, some people out there must get it

[icewindandboringhorror]

examining a seemingly normal image only to slowly realize the clear signs of AI generated art.... i know what you are... you cannot hide your true nature from me... go back where you came from... out of my sight with haste, wretched and vile husk

[necrotic-nephilim]

i love your fics and the ideas you describe for the ask games. i'm especially fond of your takes on the rarer pairings and i always smile when i see your posts in the ship tags <3

and don't stress too much about not posting anything, real life is important and participating in fandom should be fun, not something you have to force yourself to do. god knows fandom burnout is real, especially if you feel like people are expecting something from you. just keep doing what makes you happy :)

ghgfhgjhkjhjhg this was so sweet, thank you so much! i *love* talking about rarer rarepairs, especially if it gets other people to ship them too. the popular ships are fun and all, but i truly love spreading rarepair propaganda.

that's very reassuring, thank you <3 i've loved everything i posted here so far and have not felt pushed to post anything i haven't enjoyed, but sometimes i forget i can like. use this blog for whatever i want and not *just* headcanons/fics/mets/etc lol. and i also forget i don't have to rush myself. it's annoying to want to write and either not have time or not have the words work. i used to run a fandom blog in my teens that got very large and felt like a chore and i was so stressed about the need to perform and the numbers and all of that. like if a fic didn't do well i saw it as a personal failing and forced myself to write popular headcanons just for the numbers game. was not fun or sustainable in the long run and i think it contributed to me no longer having any taste for the ship i primarily wrote for. so for too long i treated existing in fandom like a job lol. i've mostly gotten it through to myself that this is a space for me, but i occasionally forget when i'm so caught up in all the things i want to get to for this blog. my to-write list is a mile long and i need to be bonked with a paper towel roll, i think. so it's very kind of you to say this bc the reminder is nice <3

[fiendishartist2]

guys what if i want to make my own apollo justice game.

[fragmentedblade]

.

[ncthandrake]

just when i think i don't have if i loved you stuck in my head anymore, matt posts this and i'm singing it for nearly the seven hours i was playing jedi: survivor 😑😅.....he does sound great though 💕

[chisungie]

.

[8pxl]

BEGINNERS GUIDE TO BLUESKY

Hiya! Curious about joining bluesky but intimidated by all the features? Already on bluesky but want to learn more? Then welcome to my quick guide on getting started and navigating bluesky!~

What is Bluesky?

it’s a social media site that’s owned by no single person or company. it's aim is to bring back the early days of twitter before bots, elon musk or algorithms took over. Personally I find the site really cozy, wholesome, and engaging. my Bluesky account for example

What’s unique about Bluesky?

→ CUSTOMIZATION: ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎your timeline is very easy to control. There’s tons of options, so be sure to go through each tab in your settings. some options include: turning off autoplay, changing the order in which threaded replies show, changing DM settings, content preferences and lots of visual app settings.

→ MODERATION LISTS: human made, mass blocklists. These are public lists of accounts that when you subscribe to you automatically block or mute everyone in that specific blocklist. A great way to avoid unwanted content, and interactions. ✦ Moderation lists I recommend will be below the cut

→ STARTER PACKS: recommendation lists on who to follow, made by users. You can even curate your own starter pack of recommendations! ✦ Starter pack recommendations will be below the cut

→ FEEDS: public timelines, basically. There are a lot of feeds you can join, or you can even create your own. I made a feed featuring just my pixel art so it doesn’t get cluttered with text posts or other photos in my media tab. ✦ I’ll post feeds I recommend below and link you to a tutorial on how to create your own feed

→ BLOCKING/MUTING: bluesky has a great blocking system. When you block someone they can no longer see, or interact with you. They also have a feature to make your blog inaccessible unless logged in. you can also mute specific people, delete post replies, and even detach your post from a reblog. You can also mute specific words, phrases, tags etc.

→ NSFW: bluesky allows NSFW content, including artwork, porn, lewds etc. They also have a great moderation page to avoid the content completely, censor the content, or show it if you’d wish. ✦ just go to settings > moderation > toggle on NSFW settings and it’ll let you heavily moderate.

→ LABELS: this is a really cool feature on the site, you can subscribe to certain pages that enable a lot of fun/useful labels that help you in different ways! (like pronoun tags, artist tags etc) ✦ Labels to browse will be posted below

→ COMMUNITIES: the vastly diverse communities really feel like the best parts of tumblr. since you can so heavily curate your experience, it can really feel like a calming oasis. Mine is mostly artists, and other creatives.

there’s also a large community of professional artists, art directors, authors, celebrities, and even the best shitposters from twitter. the app really is what you make of it but it’s thriving right now.

RECOMMENDATIONS & LINKS BELOW ⬎

→ MODERATION LISTS:

HATE SPEECH: NAZIS | MAGA | MAGAv2 | MAGAv3 | TRANSPHOBES & HOMOPHOBES | FAR RIGHT | FAR RIGHTv2 | FAR RIGHTv3 | ELON MUSK FANBOYS | ANTI-BLACK | ANTI-VAX

NFT/AI/CRYPTO: MASTERLIST | AI/NFT | AI/NFTv2 | AI FANBOYS | CRYPTO | NFTs

SPAM/SCAMMERS: SPAMBOTS | BOTS | CONTENT SCRAPERS | CONTENT FARMING

✦ to block or mute everyone in the blocklist at once, click subscribe in the top right corner:

→ STARTER PACKS:

ART: PIXEL ART | PIXEL ARTv2 | WOMEN OF PIXEL ART | BADASS DIGITAL ARTISTS | MAGIC THE GATHERING ARTIST | PAINTERS OF BLUESKY | INDIE COMIC CREATORS | LGBTQIA+ COMIC CREATORS | WEBCOMICS ULTIMATE COLLECTION

GENERAL: WOMEN OF BSKY | AUTHORS | LGBTQ NEWS

SHITPOSTERS: JUNIPER | JUNIPERv2 | MASTERLIST | SCIENCE SHITPOSTERS

✦ for more niche starter packs, use the search function. search your specific interest and ‘starter pack’ and you’ll find some!

→ FEEDS:

DISCOVER | WHATS TRENDING | MENTIONS | ART | TRENDING ART

THE GRAM: a timeline for exclusively image posts from those you follow. no textposts etc. ONLYPOST: similar to the gram, it shows a timeline of only those you follow. no reposts, just original posts. 📌: a way to bookmark posts. just reply with the pin emoji.

✦ there’s tons of others feeds as well! just use the feed tab and you can browse feeds or search for specific ones.

✦ TUTORIAL ON HOW TO CREATE A CUSTOM FEED FOR YOUR ART/POSTS

→ LABELS:

SKYWATCH: most popular label. Lots of useful labels!

AI Labels: identifies AI users, can also enable hiding the posters.

Pronouns: self explanatory but useful. can add a badge with your pronouns!

✦ you can search for additional label bots on bluesky!

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS:

✦ EXPIRIENCE ENHANCING TOOLS RECS ✦ CLEARSKY: TRACK BLOCKS AND BLOCKLISTS ✦ SKYFEED: CREATE CUSTOM FEEDS EASILY ✦ use the block function often. do not entertain trolls or hate speech. ✦ as well as starter packs, there’s also lists! lists can be used in the same way to create curated lists of accounts. it’s a good way to keep track of specific genres of posters you’re interested in, and finding new ones! ✦ hashtags: use them! they’re beneficial in boosting your post. you can even link hashtags in your bio making you easier to find. another method of making you more visible is if you post an ‘interest’ post! basically just type things you’re interested in and it’ll help people find you / vice versa ! ✦ update your profile first thing, like bio avi etc. make a small post so people know you're real. interact and engage! the communities there are so welcoming!

I think that covers abt everything i wanted to cover! Hope this was helpful and thanks for reading lol