#i think the thing will be something weirder than i can possibly imagine

[leashybebes]

i was yapping at @sazzynatural about my hurdle headcanon and then my hand slipped and now here we are, i guess!

tweaked a little and posted on ao3 [here]. thanks, y'all!

"Hey, Evan?"

"Yeah?" Buck calls, from where he's checking through his cupboards, making a shopping list. Tommy doesn't respond immediately and he turns back from where he's surveying the spice rack to look at him. "What's up?"

Tommy has that fond look on his face that, as far as Buck is concerned, might as well just be what his face looks like. The way that Tommy looks at him lights him up inside. He doesn't think anyone has ever looked at him that way, the way that he catches Tommy looking, so soft and endeared, like just looking at Buck makes him happy. It's - 

"I love you."

Buck's heartbeat roars in his ears.��

"Y-you - um. What? No, wait, I mean. I heard you. Tommy, that's - "

"Evan." He still looks fond, and that should be impossible, because Buck is screwing up, he has ring-side seats to this, is actively watching himself screw up, and Tommy's still looking at him like - like that. "Stop spiraling. You don't need to say it back, I just wanted you to - "

"No, no, it's not - uh - I, uh. I said I'd meet Maddie for coffee during her shift and if I don't leave now I'm gonna be late, so I, um. C-can we talk about this later? O-over dinner, maybe?"

Tommy's shoulders slump a little at that. "Uh. Sure. If you like."

"Uh-huh, yeah, that'd be great, I'll be back, don't uh - don't go anywhere, I won't be long, I just really - really need to get that coffee with Maddie, I can't be late but uh - that's - that's great, Tommy."

He sees Tommy's eyebrows go up, sees him mouth great, and then he's out the door.

Oh, shit.

***

The drive to dispatch goes in a blur, and he must look pretty freaked out because as soon as Maddie sees him, she quickly finishes her call and drags him into the breakroom.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"I - I thought we could get coffee," Buck says lamely, and she gives him the big sister eyebrows. "Really," Buck says a bit frantically. "Can - can we have coffee?"

Maddie rolls her eyes, but she pours them both a coffee and hands him his, putting the table between them and leaning against it.

"I have fifteen minutes. Talk."

"Tommy said he loves me," Buck blurts.

"Buck, wow. That's amazing." Maddie's eyes widen at him over her coffee cup. "Wait. Not amazing?"

"I didn't - uh. I didn't say it back?" Buck says, and feels his heart sink. 

"Wait, you didn't?" Maddie tilts her head, looks honestly baffled. Which - fair. Buck is a little obsessed. "Do you - not?"

Of course I do, Buck thinks. How could I not?

"I - I'm being intentional," Buck says, and it sounds hollow already. "I don't wanna rush it and I had like - a timeline."

"Did - did you tell him about the timeline?"

"N-not in so many words," Buck admits.

"Evan! Please tell me you didn't just run out on the poor guy," Maddie pleads, over the sound of the breakroom door opening again. Buck doesn't even care about a potential audience, he's so suddenly miserable at the way he left Tommy at the loft.

"I - I didn't run," he says although - it was probably a close thing. "I…I told him I had to get coffee with you and we'd talk about it later," he admits, his voice getting smaller with every word.

Maddie's face does the thing - the scrunched up pout like she's holding back on telling him that he's a damn moron. Buck scrubs his hands over his face.

"Is this Buck's hot pilot?" Josh asks from where he's pouring coffee.

Buck hears Maddie's mm-hm. 

"He said he loves me," he says, still hiding behind his hands.

"Con…gratulations?" Josh says dubiously. "Or, how awful for you? I'm really not clear on the desired response here."

"He thinks it's too soon," Maddie says. "He had a timeline. Which he did not share."

"We were taking it slow!" 

"I hate to break it to you, but the way that man looks at you is not slow," Josh says.

"He's not wrong," Maddie says, and Buck hangs his head. Because they're right. They're both right.

"Look, you know me. I stumble into things, I end up too serious too fast and it blows up in my face. I - I really didn't want it to blow up in my face. And then he just goes and - and looks at me like that, and says that, and I don't - guys, I think I really screwed up."

Maddie gives him a sympathetic look. 

Josh gives him a deeply, deeply unsympathetic one. "Oh, I have totally dated a Tommy."

"I'm sorry, what?" Buck glares at Josh who looks supremely unimpressed.

"Calm down, ankles," he tuts, and Buck is absolutely going to kill Eddie. Or Chim. He's going to kill someone. How does everyone know about that? "I said I dated a Tommy, your man's virtue is safe."

"What does that mean, you dated a Tommy?"

"Look, not everyone knows when they're five like me, and not everyone goes from adorably clueless to out and proud as fast as you. Sometimes, and I know this might be a little revolutionary for you, Buck, but sometimes the queer experience? Fucking miserable for a really long time. So sometimes you just want to grab happiness where you can find it, as soon as you find it."

Buck thinks about the things he's learned about Tommy over the months they've been seeing each other, each one a little treasure to be hoarded, a part of the puzzle that makes up the man that he already can't imagine life without - the asshole father, the dead mom, the army, the closet, the loneliness - and he wants to slap himself. 

His phone buzzes in his pocket and he pulls it out, his heart sinking further at the message Tommy's sent.

Do you want me to cancel the reservation?

Buck turns his phone to show Maddie and Josh the message.

"What reservation?" Maddie asks

"Dinner," Buck says miserably. "Date night."

"Okay," Josh says. "Some of us are supposed to be working and don't have time for your little baby bi crisis. Evan Buckley, are you actually going to fumble that man? Before you answer, be aware that two thirds of the population of WeHo will get a hard-on the moment he's back on the market even if they won't know why."

"He's not going back on the market," Buck snaps. "I just - I just need to talk to him."

"There we go," Josh says, rolling his eyes and disappearing with his mug of coffee, and an idiot called back over his shoulder.

Maddie's a little kinder, hugging him quickly. "Tell him how you feel, Buck. Talk it out."

***

By the time Buck gets back to the loft, he has another message from Tommy.

Hey, I headed back to my place. Let me know if you want to talk, or if you want dinner. I'm sorry if that was too much. It doesn't have to change anything.

"Goddamnit," Buck grumbles, throwing the Jeep back into gear. The drive to Tommy's has never felt so long, and he sits outside for long enough that the neighbor across the street is just openly staring through the blinds. It's enough to propel him out of the car and up to the door.

It takes Tommy a minute to answer when Buck knocks and he looks - surprised to see him, honestly. Buck feels a horrible twist of guilt.

"Can I come in?"

"Evan. Of course. You want a coffee or something?"

"No," Buck says, trailing Tommy into the kitchen. "I - I did have one with Maddie, I'm kinda…vibrating out of my skin enough as it is."

"I'm sorry. That's not what I was aiming for."

"Y-you don't need to be - Tommy, I - "

"Hey, look, it's fine," Tommy says, and it looks like he really believes it. Like it really is completely fine that he told Buck he loves him and Buck's response was to buffer internally for a minute and then run out of his own damn apartment like his ass was on fire. Tommy taps his knuckles on the table between them in what Buck recognises as a nervous gesture. "I know that I'm not - I'm not the forever guy, and that's okay. I didn't say it to make you say it back. I said it because it's true and I wanted you to know."

"What are you talking about?"

"That I - " Tommy honestly looks a little puzzled. "What I said, this morning. It wasn't - there weren't any strings attached."

"You're not the forever guy? What the hell does that mean?"

"Just that - that I know I'm not exactly a…long-term prospect, and that's okay."

Okay? It's so far from okay. It's the worst thing Buck has ever heard.

"How are you not a long-term prospect? That's - that's the dumbest thing I ever heard, take that back."

"Evan. I used the L word and you couldn't get out of there fast enough. It's okay. You don't have to try to make me feel better. It's fine."

"It's not fine," Buck snaps, rounding the table to get closer to Tommy, catching hold of his wrist. "I'm not - look, I had a timeline, which, Maddie pointed out I didn't actually tell you about that, so that's my bad. But it was a timeline for me, to stop me going too fast and falling too hard and - and going full Buck. I didn't expect that you would - "

"Stomp all over this mysterious timeline?" Tommy asks, his eyebrows going up.

"And I'm now realizing how stupid that was. Did - did you mean it?"

"Evan. Of course I meant it." He glances down at where Buck is still squeezing his wrist, not quite holding his hand "I - honestly, I didn't think it would come as a surprise, I'm not exactly - "

"I love you."

Tommy blinks. "Evan - "

"Please believe me. Tommy. God, I screwed this up so bad, but - I do. I do love you. You are the forever guy. You're my forever guy. I promise. I just - I was just scared. But about me, not about you. Never about you. Tommy, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I - "

"Evan. Say it again."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Buck lets himself sway forward, lets his forehead meet Tommy's shoulder. "Not the forever guy. You're a goddamn idiot is what you are."

"I'm your idiot," Tommy promises, and Buck laughs shakily.

They love each other. They love each other.

[undreaming-fanfiction]

Ghosts

Written for @steddieangstyaugust, inspired by Dead Boy Detectives if you couldn't tell.

Steve should have seen it coming, really. Despite dating, driving the gang around, and being silly with Robin, he'd known for a long time he wouldn't live long enough to amount to anything. Everyone had plans, had a future. But Steve? He'd be lucky if he could give his imminent death a meaning.

Turns out, he couldn't. Or at least, not in the way he wanted.

It didn't matter if it was the guilt he'd been feeling ever since Eddie died and Max ended up brain dead, poor judgment, or simply wanting for the wait to already be over. Whatever the reason, he pulled "an Eddie" in August 1986. He didn't even ask, he just ran out as a distraction while the rest of his friends were trying to evacuate Max from the overran hospital. He got a few swings in, they got a few chomps. Then more than a few. In the end, he way lying on the ground, bleeding out, but his efforts didn't seem to matter. As soon as he took his last breath, the monsters just turned around and went back to Max's room. Steve didn't even have enough time to pray he'd bought them enough time.

"Oh shit. Stupid. So stupid."

Steve froze, or at least got startled. Which was something, you know, for a dead guy. If this was the voice of an angel welcoming him to the afterlife, it sure sounded like-

"Did I look this dumb when I died? I hope not. Why the fuck would you do that, Harrington, huh? Thought they no longer needed you? Can you imagine what it's going to do to Dustin when he finds out?"

Munson.

Steve opened his eyes and sat up. Nothing hurt. Weird.

What was even weirder? He came face to face with Edward Munson, recently deceased.

Eddie shrieked and fell back on his ass. He'd probably been crouching over Steve, but now he was splayed on the hospital floor, gaping at Steve as if he'd seen a-

Oh. Okay.

Steve turned around and grimaced. He was sitting in his own mangled corpse, which he wasn't too thrilled about. He sprung to his feet and, after giving his bloodied face one last look - they didn't get the hair, phew! - turned to Munson. "Fancy meeting you here. Are you, like, my afterlife welcoming comittee?"

Eddie made a vain effort to close his mouth. "Uh, no. Not really. I mean, there probably is someone coming to get you, but if you don't mind, I won't stick around for that. I don't think Death likes me very much, after I bolted on her."

Steve blinked in confusion. "Death…is a woman?"

"Oh yep. Very nice. Didn't even chase me when I freaked out and ran. Um. But you might want to wait for her. I will stick around for a bit longer." Even in death, Eddie hadn't changed. He pulled a strand of his hair in front of his face, and Steve wondered if he could chew on it, now that he was a ghost.

"But why? What is there to do?" Steve paused, thinking. "Wait. Is there something we can actually do? To help?"

That made Eddie laugh, although it was weak and incredulous. "Uh. Harrington. You've just died in like, a pretty painful and sadly heroic way, and your first thought is that you haven't done enough?"

"Doesn't feel like I have. Look," he said, offering Eddie a hand to pull him up, "if Death is coming, I'd rather not be here. Can we go and check on the others?" He wiggled his fingers at Eddie when he didn't respond.

The wiggle must have jolted Eddie's brain awake because he took Steve's hand. It was weird - he could feel the pressure where Eddie's hand met his, but there was no warmth, no texture. Possibly no pain, he thought. Useful.

"Right," Eddie cleared his throat. "Let's go. Just a bit of a warning - I think Will can see us. At least he looked very suspicious when I tried to sneak into your house when you all were staying there, and when I told him to just pretend he didn't notice anything, he nodded. So, uh. I guess he's special or something?"

They would learn quite a few things in their new existence. First of all, Will wasn't special. He just fit the criteria of "nearly died in the Upside Down or the newly merged realities", not just by being in danger, but being so close to death he almost didn't make it. Turns out, Hopper could see them too after his near death experience under the mall, and Hopper couldn't just be shushed.

Half-corporeal hugs were exchanged. Tears were shed, especially by Dustin and Robin. But they were all still together, for now. The danger was near and their grief had to wait.

By not quite so safe experimentation, Steve and Eddie found out that only two things could hurt them - other ghosts and iron. Luckily enough, none of the Upside Down creatures qualified as either. And so the party gained an invisible and indestructible vanguard - Eddie and Steve, both wielding their weapons of choice (Steve was overjoyed that he could just pick up his nail bat, and maybe that was a bit of a giveaway, seeing the bat floating towards the party with no body to hold it). They scouted ahead and reported back, either to Will and Hopper, or just by angrily scribbling in a notebook provided by Nancy. They couldn't sleep, so they would watch over the party in the night, allowing them the so much needed rest.

The months dragged on. Eleven kept her promise and saved Max, and when the pale redhead saw Eddie and Steve even with her damaged eyesight, no one was surprised. And as Upside Down crept further into their world, there were more injuries, more near death experiences, more tearful reunions. After being bitten by a demodog and almost bleeding out, Robin flung herself at Steve the second she could move and babbled about him being the absolute biggest idiot there ever was. He didn't dispute it, but hugged her tighter.

They were making progress. Still not enough to fix things, but they were getting there. And Steve's brain started another countdown to his and Eddie's potential second demise.

"Do you think we'll still be around, when the portal is closed?" he asked Eddie during one of their night vigils. "What if it's just the Upside Down that's keeping us here?"

Eddie, scribbling in a notebook, shrugged. "I don't know, and for the first time in my life - well, death - I don't have enough information to panic about that." He chewed on the pencil, meeting Steve's eyes with caution. "Might be nice though," he said slowly, "to stay. Do some more good, make sure everyone's safe. If you're in."

Steve laughed. "Wait. Are you, Eddie Munson, the mortal enemy of jocks, asking me to join you? Even when we're not neck deep in shit?"

"Mortal enemy…I mean, I lost the mortal part, and it felt so mundane to just keep the enemy. So yes, one position if Eddie Munson's afterlife has just opened up. Will Steven Harrington join me in it?"

Steve thought about it, and maybe he should have thought longer. Maybe he should have considered that eternity is a pretty long time, but his infrequent visits to the church taught him that heaven would mean being with his loved ones. He'd still be around if the party needed him. He'd see Robin off to college. And then, when everyone left…it would be just him and Eddie.

Him and Eddie. What a thought.

He winked at Eddie who, for a ghost, looked like he was sweating bullets. "Take me to the movies first, Munson, and I'm all yours." And then, even if he know neither of them would feel it, he covered Eddie's hand with his. He might have been imagining the gentle spark of warmth, but he decided it was real. He knew it was real.

Eddie smiled at him and interlaced his fingers with Steve's. "I can work with that, big boy."

And for the first time in so many years, the countdown in Steve's head stopped.

[thepenultimateword]

Skin Crawl Part Two

Part One

CW: bugs, shedding skin (the description has the possibility of grossing people out)

Hero pinched themselves hard in the thigh, managing to snap our of their gawking stupor.

Ok. This was real. Villain--their Villain--was here and a criminal and apparently in a relationship. Not that that mattered, it wasn't like they'd ever been anything anyway. It'd been 8 years, and Hero had gone on plenty of dates in that time too; it would be weirder if Villain hadn't, so smooth and beautiful and interesting as they were. And Hero was the one who cut contact, so they didn’t really care what Villain did or who with, though maybe they should be focusing more on the criminal part of things, namely the imminent danger they would be in if they were found out, not just as a member of the agency but as Hero.

"Y-you don't want to make an appearance?" Hero said, attempting composure. It was not their best work.

"And ruin all your hard work?" Villain said with a tsk. "Despite what you think, I'm not that ostentatious. Come."

Hero sauntered closer, uncomfortably aware of their longer gait. Shedding one's skin could do many things, but it could not alter height. Bones were stubborn, painful things to change. Most people didn't notice a few-inch difference, and slouching, heels, or any manner of things could hide it. A familiar face blinded even the closest of friends and family. After all, shapeshifting wasn’t exactly a go-to suspicion. But Villain knew. Eight years ago they'd gotten good at picking Hero out of a crowd. If anyone was to notice that Remy was too tall, it would be them.

They consciously shortened their steps.

Villain dropped into a seat behind their desk, tossing the moth wings to either side of them. Hero carefully stepped over the curling tails and hesitated behind the criminal's shoulder. They were even more breathtaking up close. Hero had to fight the urge to run their hand down the velvet stretch of one wing. When had they learned to extend their power this way? At least, Hero had to assume the new appendages were due to their power. Abilities tended to have more angles than expected when properly trained. Did that mean Villain had found a trainer? Hero couldn’t imagine it. Their old friend had been so sensitive about using their gifts in front of others, and they’d had no relevant career plans to motivate further development. Though obviously neither of those things were the case now with Villain a criminal and flaunting their buggy affiliation to the world. People could change a lot in 8 years. Maybe Hero just didn’t know them anymore.

Had they been standing here too long?

Lover, Hero! they snapped internally. You're their lover! Do something lovers would do!

Their insides twisted.

They had played lovers dozens of times in their career and all that role entailed. Stepping into another's skin was like stepping into another reality, completely separate from their own. It didn't matter what they did or said, it wasn't them. But suddenly the idea of touching Villain hitched their breath in their throat, and they knew that reaction didn’t come from being Remy.

They would not slip through the cracks in this mask.

Hero gently draped themselves across Villain's back, wrapping their arms tenderly around their neck and tucking their chin against their lean shoulder. Hopefully, Vilain couldn't feel their heart pounding violently into their leather duster.

The centipede on Villain's shoulder took the opportunity of a new nearby surface and skittered up Hero's cheek, tangling its long body between the strands of their hair.

"You can quit the act," Villain said, shrugging Hero off. "No one else is around."

Quit...

Hero's stomach dropped. Did Villain know? How long? When they touched them? Since they entered the room?

"I--"

"And yes, I've checked for cameras. I don't accept building rentals from your family without thoroughly looking it over first."

Hero blinked.

Wait.

No.

They weren't referring to Hero's act. They meant Remy's. Remy's act of affection. Because... Oh. Oh! The relationship was fake!

The relief was intense, unexpected, and quickly smothered. They had a job, and if Villain was a part of it, that was too bad, but it didn't change anything.

Hero hastily grasped for the little they knew of their cover's personality. They'd hosted this party, their family rented this building, and they looked great in a silver ribbon tie.

"Well,” they said sitting on the edge of the desk and crossing one leg cavalierly over the other. “You can never be too careful. Also bug." They tipped their head toward Villain. "Bug."

Villain sighed and parted Hero's hair with careful fingers, manicured nails just scraping their scalp, and plucked up the centipede by its squirming middle. Then, tipping their head way back, they swallowed the entire massive creature in one gulp.

“John Macias is here.” They held up a rose gold tablet to Hero’s face. The screen displayed several panels of camera footage taking place in and directly outside the building. “And Lottie Blake.”

Hero knew both those names. The first was a generous donor to the agency. His funds had bought them a new combat training gym and updated the medical wing. He'd hinted at making the donations more regular, so now he was invited to every banquet, award ceremony, and exclusive event the agency held; he had even been given an extensive inside tour of the facilities. The press and the higher-ups liked to make a big fuss over him, but somehow Hero had the impression he wasn't giving money out of the goodness of his heart. As for Lottie, she was an ex-hero turned celebrity. Hero had been a rookie when she stepped down from the role of team leader and agency posterchild and turned to modeling and influencing, so they'd never met personally. However, they had enough associates in common for Hero to know she had been well-loved.

"Ok, so what's next?” Hero said. The faster they figured out Villain's plan, the faster they could get out of this situation.

“Your favorite part," Villain said. "Shopping.”

***

Hero had been prepared for many things tonight, but they had not prepared to be kneeling on the floor of Lottie Blake’s walk-in closet, rapidly stuffing designer heels and dresses into a garbage sack.

"You take the upstairs, I’ll take the downstairs,” Villain had said once inside--a disconcertingly easy task since Miss Blake's security was with her at the gala. A few guards were posted at the door and around the perimeter of the glamorous building but none had thought it very important to look up.

Villain's wings were even more gorgeous unfurled, pitch black against the night except for a faint silver lining that caught the moonlight, creating a glimmering outline from underneath. If that wasn't enough, the things were enormous, even larger than Villain's armspan. Hero supposed they would have to be to get them into the air, especially holding Hero under the arms. Once again, Hero had feared exposure by the difference in weight, but Villain hadn't said anything.

Inside there had been cameras, but a swarm of ants could look an awful lot like static when they crawled right against the lenses.

Hero shoved one more pair of glittery heels into the sack and then crawled to the closet door, peeking out into the bedroom to ensure they were alone. Finding the room empty, they fished their earpiece out of their pocket and pressed the call button.

"Hero?" came Other Hero's voice.

"So I figured out the heist," Hero said. "It's a robbery. The gala is just a distraction for both Lottie Blake and John Macias while Villain breaks into their houses."

"Seems like a lot of work for something as simple as a robbery."

Hero shrugged but then realized that Other Hero couldn't see them. "Maybe. I'll keep you updated when I find out what Villain is stealing. They're downstairs." A sudden image of the other agency members bursting in flashed across Hero's mind. Shoving Villain down. Crumpling those long moth wings like tissue paper. Revealing themselves as Hero. They suddenly felt nauseous. "I should probably stay undercover for as long as I can. That way I can gather more info."

Other Hero paused. "If you're up to it, I won't complain. But we can't just let criminals rob prominent agency affiliates."

Not if they wanted to continue getting donations.

"I think we should allow at least one hit, so Villain doesn't get suspicious," Hero said. "But we're going to have to come up with a plausible reason to alert Macia's security. One that doesn't involved Villain getting arrested."

"Leave that to me," Other Hero said. "You work on keeping your cover."

The call cut off, leaving Hero in anxious silence on the closet floor.

"Remy."

Hero's stomach leaped and they peeked out of the closet a second time. Villain stood in the bedroom door, carrying nothing but an apple.

They took a large bite and jerked their head behind them. "Ready?"

Hero pushed themselves to their feet and swung the garbage sack over their shoulder."Yeah. Let's go."

Villain peered at the sack as they headed out onto the bedroom balcony. "Quite the haul this time."

"You said to take the upstairs, so I took the upstairs." Hero gave them another quick once over. "Did you get everything you wanted?"

Villain fished a sleek black thumbdrive out of their pocket, rolling it over their fingers with a smile. "You could say I'm satisfied."

Not just any robbery then. But what info could Lottie Blake have that a criminal wanted. She wasn't exactly secretive. In fact, she seemed to enjoy flaunting every little detail of her life. Perhaps it was bank account information? Or past hero records?

No, they shouldn't overthink, all in good time.

"Good," they said.

Villain shoved the drive back into their pocket and stepped up behind Hero, casually wrapping their arms around their middle. Hero held their breath.

Calm down, calm down. You are Remy. Remy is not in love with Villain. Are they?

Villain's chest pressed sturdy and warm against Hero's back as they unfurled their wings, and that second pair of arms, or legs, grabbed their hips, securing them completely as they took flight. Hero had been too focused on their weight the first time to notice just how much care Villain put into transporting them comfortably, no dangling lower-half or painful pressure on one point of their body. Villain had always been thoughtful that way, not that anyone back at school recognized it.

What would it have been like to do this back then? To be held as themself. Before the secrets. Before the fallout.

"Do you ever get tired of it?"

"What?" Villain said.

"Being able to fly. Is it just normal for you? Or is it always amazing?"

"I thought it made you sick?" Villain said.

Hero choked. "Right. It does. But objectively, flying is amazing. So I was just curious. Forget it."

Villain's wing movements were soundless. And along with the long pause, all Hero could hear was the breeze brushing past their ears. Great. They'd screwed up.

"It's always amazing," Villain said suddenly. "I'm not saying I don't take it for granted, but if I was to ever lose this... It would be unbearable."

Villian had always been trapped in their life. In more ways than one. By parents, by circumstances, by expectations. Even if Hero was tricking them right now, possibly leading them into another cage, they were happy that Villain had found some freedom. Is that what had turned him to crime? A search for freedom?

"Villain--"

"Crap." Villain pulled up higher into the sky. Blue and red lights bathed the entire street in flashing blue and red.

Hero cranked their neck back to look up into their frowning face.

"How did they figure out we were coming?"

"Do you think someone saw us at Lottie's house?"

"Maybe. But even so, I don't know how they would've figured out our next target."

"Coincidence? For all we know everyone was tipped off, not just Macias."

Villain didn't respond to that. They just sighed heavily. "Well, that's that ruined."

"What do we do now?" Hero asked tentatively. "Go back to the party?"

"No point. The heroes probably have set up a trap. Hotel?"

Hero's insides went electric. Did Villain not have their own place? What about Remy? Didn't they have a rich family? But the way he was asking made it sound like a plan, not spontaneity. Great, Hero really hadn't wanted to wear this skin overnight.

"Hotel." Hero agreed. "But when you say that, you mean two separate rooms, right? Because you know I need my space--"

"You have your room, Remy."

"Ok, ok, just making sure."

A few minutes later, Villain landed them in an alley. They walked the rest of the way to a hotel just up the block. Not too shabby, but nothing extravagant either.

"Give me your jacket," they demanded just before reaching the door.

"What?"

"Your jacket. Unless you want thrown out before we even check in. People don't always take kindly to a bugman walking through their door. Especially hotels."

"Right!" Hero quickly shrugged off their wool, black coat, and passed it over to Villain. Villain threw it gingerly over their shoulders. It was a bit small for them, so the woman at the desk stared at them a bit strangely, but Hero supposed it was better than moth wings and an extra pair of legs.

Rooms 203 and 204. They walked together up the flight of stairs, stopping just outside their doors.

"I'll check the drive tonight and let you know what I've found in the morning," Villain said.

Or Hero could find out now and report it to Other Hero before morning.

"I could help."

"Ha! No offense, Rems, but I don't trust you with my laptop. You've broken my technology one too many times."

"Ah, well, I offered. Don't complain that I didn't help tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Remy," Villain said, rolling their eyes.

Hero knew that Villain wasn't talking to them. Not really. But for a moment it was so reminiscent of their teenage years. Staying up late. Not wanting to go back to either home.

Their heart squeezed. "Goodnight."

They gently shut the door and let out a long breath as they trudged over to the bed, flopping down face first.

What a nightmare. They couldn't wait to be back in their own skin. They forced themselves off the bed and into the shower where the evidence would wash away quicker. They stripped out of their clothes and rolled their muscles gingerly feeling the skin loosen like wet plaster. It sloughed off in dead sheets, revealing a more freckled skin beneath. Within a few minutes they were back to themselves again, They grabbed a towel from the hook, leaving the water running to break up the shed skin and wash it down the drain.

As they exited the bathroom, Hero dragged the table chair to the vanity and surveyed their face in the mirror. They tugged gently at a stubborn piece of skin, half-peeled under their right eye.

Next, they rubbed at their throat ponderingly, weighing pros and cons. Eventually, they decided to leave the vocal cords intact. Their throat might feel weird and cottony in the morning but hacking up bloody tissue was the last thing they wanted to do right now. Not to mention they’d just be shifting right back tomorrow. Best not to put too much strain on them by overshifting

A loud rap on the door made them leap in their seat.

"Just--just a second!"

They looked rapidly around the room. Clothes…clothes… Where were their clothes?

Hero scrambled toward the bathroom, snatching up water dropped outfit, chasing as the fabric caught on their damp skin. After a lot of hopping and maybe also a bit of fabric stretching, they strode to the door.

They were already grabbing the handle when they remembered their face.

The bit back another curse, and their face exploded with prickles as the newly shed skin encased them once again. Just in time to meet Villain’s off-in-thought face.

Their expression snapped back to alertness with the creak of the door.

"Hey, Remy--"

They froze.

"What?" Hero said, heart pounding. Was the face wrong? They’d spent so long studying it today, surely it wasn’t wrong?

"You're bleeding."

Hero felt their face. Sure enough, a warm streak of blood smeared across their forehead.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“Oh, yeah. Just cut myself. You know...shaping my eyebrows."

"Right..."

Hero pressed their palm over the tear and with their other arm leaned casually against the frame. "Did you need something?"

Villain stared at them a moment. "Just curious if you wanted something from the vending machine. I'm asking the desk for an extra pillow and thought I'd grab some drinks or snacks or something on my way back."

"Uh, yeah, sure. Maybe a Coke?"

Villain smiled. “Sounds good. I’ll be back in a couple minutes.” They paused. “I’ll bring back a bandaid too.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“Sure.”

As they stepped away, Hero quickly shut the door. Had Villain reacted strangely? Were they overthinking because of their close call?

Hero sped to the mirror turning their head from side to side. Yep, still exactly like the picture, well except for the cut across her forehead.

There would have been no reason to question them, right? They probably didn’t need to call Other Hero and worry them over nothing.

Hero sat back on the bed, only vaguely annoyed that they’d need to rushed part of their body all over again. The annoyance was eclipsed by the gnawing worry inside of l them. They really hoped they hadn’t gotten anything wrong,

[yanderes-galore]

Okay so I loved your draconic!friend Toothless, but what about draconic friend hookfang?

I assume you mean the fic named Draconic Friend with Toothless? Either way I ended up making this a concept as I wasn't quite sure if you wanted a short like Draconic Friend or not?

Draconic Friend - Clingy Toothless Scenario Here

Yandere! Hookfang Concept

Pairing: Platonic/Animal/Pet-Like

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Overprotective dragon, Clingy dragon, Jealousy, Violence, Implied death/murder, Forced companionship.

Hookfang would act cold and uncaring st times.

He typically bullies other dragons but that doesn't meant he doesn't care about others.

He seems like he doesn't care for Snotlout, his rider, but he does.

For this concept I imagine you are a friend of Snotlout.

As a result you are often in close contact with Hookfang.

Hookfang is definitely more teasing/aggressive with Snotlout, yet shows preference towards you

When he first met you he appeared uncaring.

Although as you interact more and even introduce Hookfang to your own dragon, Hookfang begins to care more.

Hookfang is known to be like Snotlout, it's why they work so well.

He's proud, mischievous, picks fights....

Snotlout and Hookfang are considered rivals to Hiccup and Toothless.

Something to notice is Hookfang isn't as volatile around you or your dragon.

He actually seems behaved with you, showing manners towards you and your dragon.

Snotlout may comment on this, showing envy at how well Hookfang behaves for you.

Which leads to Hookfang scoffing and nipping his rider....

Hookfang is mischievous so he may be teasing with you and your dragon.

Maybe he even shows envy of his own towards your dragon.

He playfully pushes you around in and attempt to pester you, he is also asking for affection.

I imagine in this situation Snotlout definitely rants to you about the fact Hookfang gets along so well with you.

Hookfang now comes to you for affection and is playful, while he is more cold with Snotlout.

You probably tell him it's due to the personality of him and his dragon... but things get weirder.

Since you mentioned Draconic Friend, I'll lean the plot to something similar to that.

Hookfang is no doubt envious of your own dragon at times.

He loves Snotlout but you are... much less annoying?

If Snotlout makes Hookfang upset the Monstrous Nightmare ends up finding his way to you.

The dragon looks annoyed when he sees you so close to your own dragon... flying around so gracefully.

Which may lead to Hookfang picking fights with your dragon, similar to Toothless in Draconic Friend.

You no doubt report this to Snotlout.

He tries to tell you Hookfang picking fights is normal but you aren't buying it.

He never did that before with your dragon....

Hookfang is also oddly clingy when you're around.

You'll be talking to Snotlout or your dragon, then Hookfang sneaks up and grabs you by the back of your clothes to drag you off.

Snotlout would whine to Hookfang that he's replacing him.

The thought is unnerving... yet might be closer to the truth than you would've liked.

Hookfang begins to show jealous and cruel behavior towards your dragon.

Things like smacking them with his wings or tail, maybe even nipping them.

When it comes to you? An uncharacteristic sweetheart.

He wants you to pet his head, he wants you to ride on his back.

He acts much different with you than Snotlout.

You try to redirect his attention to his rider but Hookfang only scoffs.

You know something has to be done the moment Hookfang flames up at your dragon.

You suggest to Snotlout that you isolate from each other for a bit.

Which leads to you riding your dragon to another island for awhile.

Whatever's wrong with Hookfang should be gone by the time you get back... right?

So you make a camp and live away from the others.

It's been weeks before anything happens.

You think things went okay, surely they did, right?

When you see a dragon you think it's the others telling you that you can come home.

You find it weird that they sent Snotlout with Hookfang... but maybe they wanted to explain things?

Maybe apologize?

The truth starts to creep in when Hookfang lands... with no Snotlout.

You feel your heart stop for a moment as Hookfang gives you a possessive look.

You want to ask what's wrong but your dragon quickly steps in.

Something's wrong....

You may not know it yet, but Hookfang doesn't plan on letting you leave with your dragon.

Truth is... he's claimed you since he became attached.

He escaped from the others to find you.

Now that he's found you...

He'll make sure he's the only dragon you have to rely on.

[thewertsearch]

GA: Im The Keeper Of The Matriorb GA: It Is An Egg That Will Hatch A New Mother Grub […] GG: so you are like bugs, like bees or ants or such, but with horns […] GA: And You Are Like Erect Livestock GA: Without The Muscle Definition GA: Or The Hermaphroditic Physiology For That Matter […] GG: errr…….

What goes around comes around, Harley.

GA: I Had Imagined I Would Hatch The New Grub On A Planet In Your Universe GA: And When That Became Impossible I Quickly Lost Hope GA: I Assumed It Would Remain Locked In Its Card Forever GA: Which Could Only Be Opened When The Orb Was Meant To Be Used GA: But Then I Found Something Quite Unexpected When I Was Exploring This Lab GA: I Found A Key […] GA: It Means I Am Supposed To Use It Now

Most modi are CS jokes or one-off gags, but Kanaya's Chastity Modus is kind of special. It seems to be precognitive, and doesn't release captchalogued items until the Alpha Timeline decrees they should be 'used'. I wonder how it functions in doomed timelines?

It also makes me wonder just how far you can take the concept of a Fetch Modus. If they can foresee fated events, just what else could they do?

GA: To Hatch The Grub In The Heart Of This Meteor

My knee-jerk reaction was to dismiss this idea as completely unworkable - but now that I'm actually thinking about it, you could honestly do a lot worse.

The meteor is compact, high-tech, completely isolated from most forms of danger, and full of useful equipment. If you can get rid of Jack for good – and prevent your session from decaying, of course – then the Veil might be one of the safest places you could possibly raise a Mother Grub.

GA: There Is No Reason A Meteor Couldnt Act As The Center Of Our Races Resurrection

The more I think about this, the more I'm up for it.

I mean, come on. The remnants of an alien civilization, reborn from an asteroid belt in a liminal dimension, surrounded by infinite darkness? That's a concept that fucks severely.

GG: if you can hold out hope for rebuilding your race in the center of a meteor, then i think i can at least try to get a little cloning done with the time i have left GA: Yes Youre Right GA: I Cant Imagine How You Can Complete The Objective In The Time Given GA: But Weirder Things Have Happened I Think

Whatever Jade’s supposed to do here, she has to do it at least twenty times faster than Kanaya. She's one of the most competent trolls, and I doubt she wasted any time, so this is a pretty tall order.

Can Jade perhaps cut some corners? It's not like we really need a full-sized, multigalactic universe - a single small galaxy would be perfectly habitable.

[blushweddinggowns]

Eddie never imagined that he could be this happy in Hawkins, Indiana.

He knew the first love thing was supposed to be intense, but this was beyond his wildest dreams. Amazing enough for him to want to scream from the rooftops about how Eddie fucking Munson got Steve Harrington to fall in love with him. But he didn’t, purely because Steve asked him not to. 

Or at least not yet. 

It made sense. He wasn’t out to anyone but Robin. He didn’t want to hear the entire party’s opinions, let alone all of the questions everyone would have. One wrong word in the right ear could easily get back to his parents, something that Steve was planning on avoiding for as long as possible. 

Though… Eddie was pretty damn sure that Wayne knew. He hadn’t said anything but the way he looked at them sometimes…with that all knowing little smile. Like a constant joke that no one else was in on but him. Then again, if Eddie thought about it for longer than five seconds, it would be weirder for Wayne to think they weren’t together. You can’t have a platonic male friend in your bed every night for almost half a year without people making their own connections. Making out with Steve in front of him would be less shocking than bringing a girl home at this point. Still, Eddie didn’t tell Steve. Not when he thought they were being “sneaky.” He’d let him exist in their imagined secret bubble for a little while longer. 

Even if it was getting harder to hide by the day. 

It turned out that despite his lack of experience, Eddie fucking loved being a boyfriend. Particularly, Steve’s boyfriend. He loved it so much that he couldn’t help but find himself fantasizing about dumb shit. 

Eddie could see it. A future together. What it would be like to officially move in with him, a place all their own. Coming home to him everyday. Showing him off, somewhere far, far away from here. Being together for years, years that could turn to decades, decades that could end in forever.

It was too early for Eddie to be this locked in when it came to Steve. It was stupid and Eddie knew it, but that didn’t make the thoughts go away. 

Eddie never thought he’d be one of these people. He used to be the type to laugh at the hopeless romantics. But now here he was, daydreaming about the two of them riding off into the sunset together. 

He was down bad. Real fucking bad. Like a damn movie. If anything, it was starting to get a little scary. The intensity of it all. His feelings weren’t calming down with time. They were only getting worse.

He just… loved Steve. He loved being around him. He loved listening to him. He loved his silly jokes, his big hair, his poorly hidden sweetness, his bed head. He loved it all.

So, Eddie found a balance. Little ways to get his Steve fixes without being too clingy. But still guaranteeing he wouldn’t go a day without seeing him. Night time just wasn’t enough. So if Steve had a long day shift, Eddie started making a habit of making lunch for him. He didn’t see a reason why not when he was usually just bumming it at home anyway. 

He liked doing it. Liked it enough to learn how to cook some shit outside of mac and cheese. Nothing crazy. But a few weeks in he had to admit, he had become a god at making good sandwiches. 

It helped that it always made Steve blush so pretty when Eddie dropped it off for him. Sweet enough for that one face to put Eddie into a good mood for the rest of the day. 

He didn’t think he was making it too obvious that they were deliriously in love at his job. Even if he could feel Robin staring holes in the back of his head every time she was there to witness it. Eddie had learned to ignore it. Until the day he couldn't.

It was his own fault for lingering after dropping Steve’s lunch off. He had gotten too caught up in the horror section, too busy looking over the new releases to realize she was sneaking up on him. 

“So can I be clued in on the schedule for you two eye-fucking or will it always be a surprise?” He heard her pipe up behind him, “The latter means you’ll have to start providing compensation.”

from the newest chapter of this fic

[the1northlanderprincess]

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

Whewww. Breathe, Amanda.

Ok, so, in a pre-show post, I talked about Gal's side of things in the relationship in this episode. Since several of you made posts explaining things after the fact better than I could, I'm going to discuss our favorite dark prince.

Yeah, so, our guy is in deep doo-doo. Now, I haven't watched the episode, but I gathered enough to get a sense of where this will take Haladriel for the remaining episodes.

What I really want to focus on is his mental and emotional state. So, Sauron creates an illusion to manipulate Celebrimbor into thinking that everything is hunky-dory in Eregion, and maybe to get him to relax a little. Everyone around him is affected by the darn thing. That includes Mirdania. In Sauron's concoction, she's wearing the same shade of green and hairstyle that Galadriel wore in 1x08. It gets even weirder: he is all soft and touchy-feely with her. The physical appearance, in my eyes, is very significant. It's the last time that Sauron had seen Gal in person, and had a positive interaction with her, before it all went to crap. I believe he captured that memory of her image to savor it. It was undoubtedly the last authentic happiness he ever felt.

After he is left to his own devices, Sauron hears a random elf tell his blonde girlfriend that her beauty is too indescribable for poetry. He seems to stop and dwell on this moment. This is important, too, because it is understood that Sauron is still in his own headspace. Why would he come up with something like that if he wasn't thinking of the beautiful blonde elf he himself knows? Now, we know that Sauron is enthralled with Galadriel's hair. However, this dialogue suggests to me that he finds all of her attractive. I think that should be a plus in the Haladriel Column of Pros and Cons.

Where does this lead? Well, it's more notable than ever that he is spiraling without Galadriel. His expression while listening to that couple is kind of depressed. I think he wants something like that SO BAD with her, but you know a little voice is telling him he can't. It's not possible for a being like him to have a cutesy moment like that with the she-elf he loves, and he knows it. I honestly feel sorry for him. Anyway, this all spells Bad News Bears for Mirdania. She sees all of this attention she's getting from him, and doesn't realize it's in place of the one he can't have. She'll try something, maybe kissing him (GAG), but he'll rebuff her in the worst way imaginable.

When Sauron and Gal do meet on that hill, I am almost willing to bet that he's so out of it, he will make an impassioned, broken plea for her to reconsider his offer. The Halbrand theme, which has a certain rush-against-time-to-get-to-the-one-you-love sound to it, will be heard during this moment. And we'll all drop from mega feels.

Overall, I think we can all agree that Sauron is out of his mind with desire for Galadriel, and I believe we will get immensely rewarded in the finale (or we better!)

[whxre-bxby]

The recoms x reader with competitions sounds hilarious

I can totally imagine them having weird ass competitions Lol

Can't wait for that one

Yeah, this has been in my inbox for ages so glad to finally post it

"Pecking Order"

f. Y/N Recom x Recom Quaritch /Lyle /Prager /Mansk /Brown /Lopez /Ja /Walker /Zdinarsk

Masterlist

Summary: Being a recom soldier is difficult. Especially when dealing with the new instincts and needs the body requires. To keep his team sane, Quaritch comes up with a solution in which Y/N is shared with everyone.

Warnings: indication of smut, little bit of fluff, depressing ending, outrageously minimal wordcount (my apologies)

Word Count: 1590

(I'm sorry about how short this is, but I'm really struggling to write at the moment because I have so much going on)

(Once again I am pretending that Warren and Zhang don’t exist, I am sorry to those who like them but I really don’t.)

Being on Pandora is weird. It’s a whole new planet. But what’s even weirder is being on a foreign planet in a foreign body. Another human’s body wouldn’t have been so bad, but no, you’re blue now. You and your squad along with your Colonel have all permanently become Avatars. It takes a lot of time to get used to the changes. It seems like you discover something new about yourselves every day. Luckily it’s been almost two months since you woke up from criyo. 

It seems as though the foreign environment and new feelings have almost strengthened the connection of the team. You all got along when you had to before but now you feel like they are all close friends to you. 

One evening at dinner, Lyle had brought up how most soldiers used to have fuck-buddies to get through life on Pandora. Most of the team did back then too. Now, it seemed as though no one had even thought about it. You and the others didn’t exactly know how everything worked so the subject was ignored and brushed off. But it was definitely not forgotten.

It had quite literally been years since any one of you had experienced any form of sexual pleasure. That was suppressed in the beginning but the Avatar’s body language was more visible than a human's and it was more difficult to control and suppress emotions. 

At one point in time, all recoms including you were constantly tense and distracted. No one was able to fully focus during training anymore and Quaritch noticed this. He himself had the same problem and he knew he couldn’t send his squad out into the forest like this. You would die on the first day out. The Colonel would rather solve the problem in any way possible than explain what is happening to the General. The recoms are meant to be reliable and professional. What is happening to all of you is getting in the way of both those things. 

The Colonel forced everyone to attend his ‘emergency meeting’ even though you all had the rest of the day off. The atmosphere was thick and you found it hard to breathe even though the room was ventilated. 

Quaritch had made you all sit down to listen to him but your attention was barely on his words. Instead, you were subconsciously studying Mansk. He was calmly fiddling with his fingers but you noticed how strained his arms were and how far back he had his ears pinned. Nobody was relaxed. 

You also realised earlier today that you basically lost control of your tail. It’s just doing its own thing at this point and there is nothing you can do about it. 

The Colonel started explaining his recent observations of our behaviour and you immediately thought you were all being scolded. But you were wrong. 

“The only option I see te’ help us with our probem,” Quaritch says, inhaling deeply as if he were not sure how we would react. “Is to fuck it out.” 

Lyle snorts, thinking his superior is joking but Quaritch is dead serious. 

“Suggest otherwise, Corporal Wainfleet.” The Colonel says, sternly glaring at Lyle. I stare at both of them with wide eyes. No way is he suggesting this. 

There was some kind of argumentative discussion between the two but you have tuned out, blankly staring past Quaritch and at the wall behind him. This room had no windows, so no one could see or come in here because it was a recom only area. 

“Y/N.” Quaritch’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. You glance up at him while Mansk shifts his gaze to you. 

“You’re with me.” he orders, watching your surprised yet innocent face process the information. 

“No fuckin’ way.” Mansk interrupts. You stare at him now, completely surprised by his words. Mansk never objects or argues with people. He’s the best soldier when it comes to following orders. This is out of character for him. 

Quaritch doesn’t seem pleased by his words but once again to your surprise, he doesn’t put Mansk in his place. Since this isn’t a professional environment anymore, it seems as though the ranks between the soldiers don’t play such a big role. 

A few other recoms back Mansk up, not liking that the Colonel wants you to himself which still baffles you. 

But it turns out, they all seemed to have taken a liking to you. Most soldiers were ignorant and self-centred. You weren’t. You seemed almost naturally submissive to the others, especially as an Avatar. Something about you, perhaps your scent of strong pheromones, drew them to you.

So that evening, while you were being eyed hungrily by every single one of your teammates, they made a fair plan. In their free time, they would hold weekly competitions to figure out the order of who gets the most time with you. You were included and nothing was forced on you.

Since life in the RDA was really dull and colourless, these planned activities and competitions amused everyone. 

To keep it fair, it wouldn’t always be the same task to win, it would be changed so that everyone gets a chance. Otherwise, it would always be the same people with you. 

The first and most obvious challenge was a physical strength competition. This one lasted a long time and it went all the way from who could hold themselves in a plank position the longest to wrestling in the gym. In the third week, things took a drastic turn when Lyle decided to time himself to see how fast he could make you cum. Any technique was allowed and on the same day, everyone had their turn which had you not only fucked out but completely dumb and tired for the rest of the day. 

Z-Dog won that one and right behind her was Walker. Lopez was next and all three of them took great pride in it. It seems as though oral sex was the way to go.

Quaritch was always near the top and most often the first on the leaderboard in the physical challenges. Which meant you spent a lot of time in his room, which you honestly didn’t mind. While he was a brutal and cold-hearted man on the outside, he took care of you behind closed doors. Miles picked you up and walked you to his room when it suited the two of you. There, he took his time with you. Nothing was ever rushed because he wanted you to enjoy it as much as he did. 

Let’s just say, you always slept well after having sex with him and he took care of you in his bed, letting you sleep in it. You always left his room feeling satisfied in the morning. Lyle, Mansk and Prager were also usually quite at the top so when you and Quaritch would finish, they would get a day of the week each to spend with you. Sometimes, you had a few of them at once. 

Normally, you would feel bad about yourself for sleeping around so much but they made you feel like you are all that matters to them, so you rarely worried about that. You didn’t feel used, you felt loved. Something you had been deprived of since you left Earth years ago. 

Once everyone had a turn and the feral instincts calmed down, the competitions continued but they became more funny than serious. At this point, you were all just doing it for shits and giggles because there really wasn’t anything else to do. Except for finding Sully but that mission wasn’t ready yet. 

So the subjects of the competitions started to change along with everyone’s behaviour. The lust has been brought under control so you weren’t as tired anymore and only occasionally had sex with the recoms that needed it. 

A cooking competition was held which turned into a completely messy disaster. Mansk won it by far but at what cost? The oven had exploded because Ja refused to take the food out, claiming it wasn’t done yet. Lopez put metal in the microwave which really damaged the machine and you can’t quite remember how it happened but Z-Dog and Walker had accidentally set a curtain on fire. Instead of trying to put out the flames, they got angry because “What’s a fuckin’ curtain doin’ in the kitchen anyway?!”.

Another one was who could breathe oxygen for the longest because we were now adapted to Pandora’s air. Prager won. He said he used to dive regularly back on Earth so he was able to hold his breath for a long time. 

Brown and Walker almost lost consciousness. 

It kept going on and on like this because it was all the fun you had. Even when the mission started, the challenges were who could tame their Ikran the fastest, who could guess the Na’vi words correctly and who could properly land a fall from the Ikran. You started taking part in the competitions just for your own fun. It really had brought everyone together but eventually, all good things must come to an end. 

When you started encountering Sully, you began losing soldiers and once some teammates were gone, no one was feeling good enough to even suggest anything fun. From that point of, you all just wanted to finish your mission and end this.

Enjoy the bunnies instead of the abrupt ending :)

Tag List: @drinking-tea-and-be-obsessed @jatwow @numarusworld @number1gal @ikranwings

[actual-bill-potts]

Re: your post about how elves should be weirder

I actually headcanon the elves as having a very different hair texture to humans, kind of thinner (as in like the individual strands are thin) and more like the hair of some other animals, like it has the kind of texture that makes it possible to spin into thread better than human hair (my understanding is that you technically can spin human hair if you really want to, but it's more difficult than with most kinds of animal hair, and the texture of the resulting yarn and anything done of it just isn't gonna be as nice and soft). Maybe it depends a bit, like some elves may have hair that's very woolly, and others have a texture that isn't quite as good for spinning but still works pretty well

Obviously in Lúthien's case which is the only canon case (iirc) of elven hair being used like that, her whole project of spinning and weaving a magic cloak and rope out of her own hair was a matter of necessity, but even so I think it's fun to imagine that elven hair has a texture that makes it nice fiber for all kinds of stuff. Imagine Lúthien's cloak just being absolutely wonderfully soft, like it's made of really fine wool!

But imagine also the elves spinning and weaving their hair. Maybe to giving gifts made of your own hair is considered a thing for very close friendships, romantic relationships, and between family members, like it's kind of a very intimate thing to do in a way? (...Imagine Míriel spinning and weaving a baby blanket of her own hair while she's pregnant with Fëanor. Imagine Fëanor keeping that blanket with him pretty much at all times for the rest of his life because it's one of the few tangible things he has that he knows for a fact she wanted him to have.) Maybe among some of the elves of Middle-Earth it's a common practice if you know you're about to go do something dangerous, to give loved ones some items made of your own hair as keepsakes, in case you don't return...

sorry, i got a bit carried away, i just had Thoughts :D

No no don’t apologize this is GREAT

Elves having gossamer-thin hair so it floats like a cloak around them anyway…the texture like eiderdown…some elves having very thick hair that feels safe and warm (Fingon)…some elves having thin light hair that flies about their head (Aegnor!!!)…

Elves growing their hair out for years so they can make a gift of suitable magnificence for one they love…short hair in Elves signifying either great love or great grief (or both)…Elves weaving burial shrouds for loved ones in Beleriand out of their own hair…

Míriel having woven a baby blanket for Fëanor out of her own hair broke me btw

Everything about this is fabulous

[dalesramblingsblog]

In honour of an episode that seems consciously about the construction of narratives around fundamentally meaningless aspects of the universe, a Twitter conversation with one of my last remaining mutuals to survive the Muskening, lightly repurposed to serve as a singular, narrativised Tumblr post in a way it was never designed for.

Who says art is dead?

73 Yards was strange and haunting and not entirely comprehensible in a way that Doctor Who seldom manages.

I suspect it's one where personal tolerance for that sort of thing will make or break the episode, but I certainly think that, knowing this was Gibson's first filmed episode, she did a phenomenal job.

It was also, for me at least, a more generally successful invocation of the kind of eldritch horror implied by the Toymaker or the Maestro, largely by virtue of it giving itself room to be ambiguous.

I've seen the complaints about stuff like the PM being a blank slate, but I do rather feel like that might be the point. It's an episode all about perception and projection and narrativisation of a universe that can be cold and hostile and incomprehensible.

(And frankly, I'm starting to suspect that the whole of RTD2 might be about that on some level. "We see something incomprehensible and invent the rules to make it work" and all that. It's audacious and bold in a way that Doctor Who hasn't been in half a decade.)

And as someone for whom those themes really hit home a lot of the time, yeah, I loved it. I know I probably sound like a broken record but I am genuinely just having a blast with this latest series.

The worst thing Doctor Who can ever feel like for me is an obligation that I only keep up with out of a need to stay relatively current in writing about it, and that was what the Chibnall Era often boiled down to for me.

Part of the reason, in hindsight, I poured so much of myself into my book reviews was that the show itself was simply failing to excite me with the level of regularity necessary to keep me engaged.

Knowing that I can put on Doctor Who on a Saturday night and be reasonably well-entertained and intrigued is, frankly, enough for me, but I do think there are enough aspects of genuine quality that I'm not just blindly worshipping at the altar of a false idol or w/e.

I dunno, I think at the end of the day I'm just a big sucker for TV that makes sense to me on an emotional rather than logical level. It's why I'm a big fan of Twin Peaks, or the second season of Millennium, or hell even Masks over on TNG.

The episode had the general feel of one that will be quite important to the overall themes of the season, so I can't imagine it will linger in *complete* ambiguity forever (though honestly if it did I would kind of love that).

Like I wouldn't be surprised if we're building up to a similar time loop reveal wrt Ruby's general existence. The fact that we've now got at least three instances of her timeline being haunted by mysterious old women cannot possibly be coincidence.

(Well, it can be, but that way lies goblins, as we know.)

IDK, there's a strangeness to Davies' acknowledgments of mediality here that goes even beyond Moffat's usual tricks. Casting a recurring actress by the name of Susan Twist while conspicuously mentioning Susan for the first time in forever feels so on the nose that while I initially suspected we might be building to the return of Susan, I now feel like we're instead headed for something much weirder.

There is so much going on and so much to unpack and frankly I don't have any idea how it could possibly tie together but I'm fascinated.

And again, the fact that this episode was almost explicitly about the process of fans theorising as to what the hell is going on with the season makes me further suspect a rebuttal of theory-focused cult fandom is in the offing.

When I first watched Once, Upon Time in 2021, I commented that it felt like Chris Chibnall's attempt to do a big, bold, incomprehensible piece of television, something almost in the vein of Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 8 but for Doctor Who.

But it's revealing that the only thing he could really think to do was dump a bunch of Doctor Who lore and simply edit things out. He's a mystery writer in the most tediously literal sense of the phrase, creating gaps that feel like they were made with a hacksaw rather than feeling like any sort of deliberate lacuna.

And I'm sorry Chibnall fans, there are some Thirteen episodes that I do like, but when I look at an episode like 73 Yards... whatever its faults may be, and I'm pretty confident I don't actually believe it to be perfect, it is bolder and weirder than anything Chibnall ever wrote. This is the kind of television I want to watch, and I make no apologies for that.

It's a rare piece of Doctor Who which comes close to capturing that sheer, terrible splendour I felt watching a slow zoom into an atom bomb explosion while being serenaded by the Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. And sure, it's still very far out from being quite that strange, but it retains a curious power nevertheless.

What a show.

[notstilinski]

Book Lovers Starters !

Taken from the 2022 novel by Emily Henry, Book Lovers! Some of these have already been edited. You can change them however you see fit!

“Is she a baker? The woman you’re leaving me for.”

“What went wrong is that, in a past life, I betrayed a very powerful witch, and that put a curse on my love life.”

“All I need from them is a full credit report, psych evaluation, and a blood oath.”

“Oh my god, what is that? Are you planning a bank robbery?”

“FOR ALL I KNOW, YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE FEELINGS.”

“I could tie a bedsheet around your ankle and drag you up.”

“I’m a grown adult, (Name). I can buy my own Bigfoot erotica, thank you very much.”

“You are in control. You won’t let anything bad happen to them ever again.”

“I wouldn’t call it bloodlust. I don’t revel in exsanguination. I do it for my clients.”

“(Name) is here. Everything must be okay.”

“You really are sickeningly good at everything, you know that, right?”

“If you offer to lend me your Crocs again, I’m going to sue you for emotional damages.”

“To be known isn’t necessarily to be admired.”

“If I knew the answer to that, (Name), I’d have ascended to a higher plane.”

“Yeah, well, you should try almost marrying then and see if that helps.”

“If you’re into cat pee and gasoline.”

“I’m going to be up all night making diagrams and charts, trying to figure out what you just said.”

“You are much weirder than I thought.”

“Do they eat outsiders?”

“Can it really be called fanfiction if the author clearly isn’t a fan?”

“I can tell you’re pleased with yourself when your eyes go all predatory like that.”

“(Name) will listen to you. You could sell snake oil to a snake oil salesman.”

“The ship of their disappointment in me set sail a long time ago. I’d have to do something WAY sluttier to let them down now.”

“Right. There will make it easier to knock them out and empty his pockets. What should our signal be?”

“If you’re looking for your dignity, you won’t find it here.”

“Does that mean you want to date my bullies, or to humiliate them?”

“And that’s how they discovered your passion for serial killing.”

“So I’ve found the key to (Name)’s joy. My sexual humiliation.”

“Is it possible you don’t have any pain receptors?”

“You’re right. I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to accept this can’t be anything.”

“Next time try not to look so excited at the thought of misery. It’ll help you blend in better.”

“Yes, together we add up to one emotionally competent human, a real accomplishment.”

“I would be adorable in Daisy Dukes and pigtails.”

“What do you think the age gap is between these actors? Sixty-eight years?”

“There are far worse things to be. Normal is a badge I wear proudly.”

“And by you’ve seen me, you mean you’ve watched me.”

“You’re not a disappointment. You’re not wrong.”

“I’ll remember you begging until my last dying breath.”

“You fucking undo me.”

“I just don’t want to be here anymore. I want it to stop.”

“You look like you haven’t slept in years.”

“You’re not useless, (Name). I mean, look at all this.”

“If we stay together, every single day for the rest of our lives is going to be the same.”

“I once had a sex dream about the green M&M.”

“If (Name) had known how hot the reverend is, they probably would’ve made it down here sooner.”

“If I had to pick one person to be in my corner, it’d be you. Every time. You take care of shit.”

“I wanted to help. I wanted to take care of you.”

“See? I’m perfectly harmless over here.”

“Yes, you have lost something but maybe, someday, you’ll find something too.”

“What about what you want? Who’s making sure you’re happy, (Name)?”

“You do have me, (Name). I never stood a chance.”

“I had no idea it was possible for you to want me as much as I want you.”

“(Name). You shouldn’t have to be alone through that.”

“It’s just… Ever since then, it’s been hard to imagine letting anyone close like that. Not when I’m so fucking broken I can’t sleep anywhere but my own bed.”

“Don’t be sorry. Please don’t apologize for letting me know you.”

“For what it’s worth, I doubt I will ever like anyone else in the world as much as I like you.”

“Sometimes the first act is the fun part, and then everything gets too complicated.”

“A week ago I liked you so much I would have wanted to try to make this work. But now I think I might love you too much for that.”

“If anyone could be enough, I think it might be you.”

[homestuckreplay]

GRAND SNACK FUCKYEAH: Radioactive DLC

(page 679-695)

9/23/2009 Wheel Spin: Dramatic Irony Verdict: There's A Light Dusting

9/24/2009 Wheel Spin: Movie Reference Verdict: Movies Aren't This Good

I found that the 500s in pages dragged a little, but the 600s have honestly FLOWN by. Getting 32 pages in 4 days doesn’t hurt that. The Wayward Vagabond is such a fun character to read about, and also to look at - a little guy wrapped up in rags with only their beady, darting eyes exposed is the absolute peak of character design.

As well as being fun, I’m wondering what this WV section is doing for the story. After cycling through three human teenagers with lives that are strange but still grounded in reality, what does it mean for the story to be taken over by someone who’s not human, isn’t living in our time and place, and doesn’t hit the typical beats of ‘having a name,’ ‘having interests’ or ‘having a family member’? What does it mean for someone who previously gave story commands to become their recipient? What does it mean in a story called ‘Homestuck’ to suddenly center a character who is defined by their ability to wander?

In part, I think this is establishing mechanics for temporality and causality in the story. In much the same way that Homestuck took time to establish inventory and alchemy mechanics, we are now seeing the ability of the future to impact the past. (And all three of these mechanics relate to programming – you can tell this story was written by a computer science major). WV’s world is a future state of something, possibly Earth – although this could be leaving room for another twist – and it seems like their interactions with the Sburb terminal and possibly the bunker in general will contribute to causing this state. It raises more questions about how WV’s actions in the future will intertwine with John, Rose, Dave and GG’s actions in the present to cause this future, and if it is definite, or if it can be avoided.

WV’s perspective also zooms the story out further. Act 1 began by zooming in very close on John Egbert in a single location at a single moment, but Act 2 has zoomed out to show other people’s lives, across space, time, and even species – the only link between them being Sburb, this all encompassing throughline of the story. Going from John’s very real and relatable experiences (for many), to Rose and Dave whose lives are less likely to match those of any given reader’s, to WV’s post-apocalyptic location and alien biology, feels like a story signposting that things are constantly getting weirder and further away from reality.

The mentions of the etiquette book being eaten (p.679) and inquiries regarding a can opener (p.682) neatly clarify where we are relative to John’s timeline, so we can slide quickly onward to what WV gets up to when they’re not playing games on the computer. And that something is constructing a beautiful world made of and for cans, where cans of all contents can live safe and happy lives, celebrating the best mayor a can could ask for.

It’s SO good, and it’s so reminiscent of games I played as a kid. It makes me wonder if any of our other characters played games like this when they were younger – I think John, Rose and Dave are on a borderline generationally as to whether they’d be more likely left to entertain themselves or more likely surrounded by technology and activities. I can definitely imagine Rose playing pretend games, left alone to explore a huge house with her love of books and creative writing.

Regrettably, most of WV’s troupe of diverse citizen cans are foods that are actually sold canned, though some are more appetizing than others. I couldn’t find any evidence of mayonnaise being sold in a traditional can, although to my horror it has been sold in a spray can.

Common Can Items: BEANS, GRAVY, SHRIMP, ASPARAGUS, RICE, CORN, PEAS, HAM, POTATOES Rare Can Items: MUSTARD, BREAD, CHEESE, FLOUR, CHESTNUTS, SQUASH Legendary Can Items: MAYO

Can Town feels like a distraction from some more important foreshadowing that’s being done around it, and it works as a distraction because Can Town is the coolest shit ever and I would like to build it too. However, here’s a few other things I think will be important in future.

WV’s knife is ‘an old rusted one of those red mailbox arm-swing flappy doodads’ (p.683) while the ‘little red arm-swingy-dealy thing’ of John’s mailbox was highlighted on p.28. Are these from the same mailbox?

WV discusses their hatred of kings (p.687) with a black king chess piece stamped over their head. WV has probably had a previous run-in with the king of the ‘kingdom entrenched in darkness’ (p.424) which has led to their being a runaway.

WV finds four objects conveniently placed in a circle at one end of the bunker (p.688) – a firefly encased in amber, a can of motor oil, a box of chalk, and a nugget of uranium. These potentially all have use in this bunker – firefly to provide light, motor oil to open the storage units(?), chalk to track time(?), uranium to power the battery – some of those feel like a reach, but I’m guessing these objects will have other relevance later.

WV has a favorite color!! They eat a green-stemmed pumpkin (p.668), a potted plant (p.678), the uranium nugget (p.689) and two green sticks of chalk (p.691). Previously, WV said that a potted vegetable in John’s kitchen ‘LOOKS DELICIOUS’ (p.277) and that ‘THE GREEN TEXT WAS ATTRACTIVE’ (p.294), referring to GG’s messages. Eating the green things always happens so fast after noticing them that it loos instinctual. This inability to hold back from eating green things might be deployed for plot reasons later.

[bleachbleachbleach]

[Bleach 083]

I have never really identified this in myself before, but I am kind of maybe a little obsessed with Ganju. A lot of this has to do with my general superinvestment in Rukia and Kaien and the whole Shiba-Kuchiki situation. But I'm also just into Ganju himself? I think it's the 4WD boar. SUBARU FAM.

Also because it's interesting to think about what we can draw from these panels, in terms of how Ganju is thinking about himself. I'm pretty sure we don't yet know that the Shiba are former nobility (though now I'm not sure in what future context that, specifically, would come up? if I had to guess Byakuya brings it up on the bridge, because literally who else would). Regardless, they have this whole cannon situation, and they are adept enough at the spiritual arts to know/invent kidou. In this chapter, the ceremony of the cannon is a huge deal (and requires use of what we might assume is Kuukaku's zanpakutou?). Even if we don't know the specifics, we know these are not your average Rukongai konpaku by any stretch of the imagination.

From Rukongai

But Ganju has still narrated a version of his brother that excelled in the Academy "despite being from Rukongai." The Shiba are absolutely not "from Rukongai" in the way that, say, Parakeet Kid is, even if they have always lived outside the Seireitei walls, pre- or post-demotion. Despite that distinction, and their linage, Ganju still thinks of himself--and by extension, Kaien--as being of this place, this non-Seireitei place. I mean, he rides a boar, he has fully embraced the bogan lifestyle.

My point is, this distinction of being from Rukongai matters to him, in his calculus of the world. Being from a noble family, it's probably only as surprising that Kaien is as innately talented as he is, as it is that Byakuya would be innately talented (relative to other Kuchiki as well as relative to other shinigami). The reach isn't as extreme as it would be for some literally random Rukongai konpaku. But that's not how Ganju sees this.

My brother who's in the Gotei

As far as determining Gotei norms, Ganju gives us a lot of cool info, provided we take him at this word as someone who would be intimately familiar with how the Gotei works. SURE, everything I've said thus far suggests we shouldn't. But I also feel like his pride in Kaien--and the kinds of weird things grief makes fixations out of--would suggest that even if Ganju knows nothing about the Gotei, he knows these little Kaien-shaped pieces to the letter:

Perhaps obviously, it is unusual to have lieutenant-class levels of reiryoku on entry into the Gotei

This does not automatically qualify you to become a lieutenant (even if there are slots available, which it kind of seemed like there were, re: Ukitake)

Kaien makes lieutenant within 5 years of joining the Gotei, which is also an exceptionally quick ascent. Given that Ukitake is nudging him in that direction during TBTP, this gives us something of a timeline on how long Kaien had been in the Gotei at that point (not very!).

"I was just a kid"

Then, between 40-110 years later, Kaien dies.

It's wild to think about Ganju being "a kid" when this happens. When was Ganju born???? Given that neither time nor aging are linear here, that's an impossible question to answer with certainty. Plus, I think "a kid" in this context could mean a whole lot of things that don't necessarily mean "I was exactly seven years old."

Even if I don't think I buy it entirely, I'm into the possibility that Ganju really is BABY, and was born after Kaien was already a shinigami and living apart from the fam (are the Shiba parents still alive and living and even weirder and more itinerant life than even Kuukaku--perhaps on the high seas??).

I'm also into the possibility that, honestly, Ganju has had a hard life, and that Kaien's death fundamentally separated his sense of who he was prior to that moment and who he would become, and that this is what he's referencing when he says his memories are dim because he was "only a kid" then. He had to grow up fast, at the same time as he's in no rush to grow up (running around with his boar gang, self-proclaiming things, rushing home for supper, acting the dutiful little bro to Kuukaku). Regardless, there's a lot of trauma surrounding Kaien's death, for sure. Which isn't to say Ganu's entire and only personality and reason for anything is his trauma, LOL. But it's not like Kaien's death and absence isn't a huge part of what's made him. It's not until this moment with the cannon, and the Hero Garb he made himself (using the Shiba crest) that he really says, okay, let's get some real info. Let's move forward.

DIY Regalia

Even the fact of his making his own Hero Garb really intrigues me. There is a long history that the Shiba are a part of--and again, we see this in the ceremony of the cannon, and perhaps even in Kuukaku's clothing and tattoos. It's not as though the Shiba don't already have regalia. And we could take this as Ganju finally fashioning literal, specific garments for himself as he takes up more of the mantel of his family's legacy, in the style of their usual regalia. I totally buy that.

But I also feel like the focus on this special getup being self-made goes back to Ganju not necessarily having access to the full picture of who his family was as a Great Noble House, and what all that history really is. We know that sometime after Kaien's death, the Shiba ceased to be a Great Noble House. If Ganju really was that young when Kaien died, there's another disruption. Like his memories of Kaien or his notions of who Kaien was, what the circumstances of his death were, Ganju is kind of piecing these things together without a map. ...Not unlike Ichigo!

(Must run in the family.)

[purgemarchlockdown]

Magic as a TV Show

(CWs: Child Abuse, Cults) (Edit: Did some light editing, still a bit messy but should be fine now)

So, it's not a secret that I'm a big fan of Magic. It's my favorite T1 MV and one of my favorite Milgram MVs in general. Even before Purge March I'd re-watch it over and over again just because I liked it so much.

One of my favorite things about it is the way the visual language and symbolism develops over it's runtime, and with Purge March it's gotten ever better so lets talk about it!

Based on True Events

So, Magic is the very cheery TV Show that is based on the horrors going on backstage, and it's also aware of it's own fictional nature. It ends with the real Amane watching the show. It knows it's a world created by a 12 year old who wants to be Good.

This causes something interesting when viewing it's imagery. As Magic depiction of events can be both very literal and very metaphorical at the same time.

For example: Something that surprised most people (including myself) is the cat being real, and while it is representative of Something (which we will get to) it is very much an actual cat that was killed.

Magic plays with what is real and what is fictional very loosely, and while certain things Happen in the real world, you can't really separate the real from the fictional here. It's too interconnected with each other and the imagery would lose it's impact if you did separate them.

So with that established it's visual analysis time!

The Set

So Magic is set in one place for the majority of it's runtime. This set! Which resembles a lot of educational kid's tv programs, usually ones for preschool and under.

Here's are sets from an early season of Hi-5 and Imagination Movers to compare.

You can see the similarities, it's heavy on bright colors and wacky designs, the logo of the show is plastered Somewhere you can easily see, and only some of the props can actually be used!

These two examples are also very music based. Both of them being shows starring children's musical groups.

The animals here (except for the Cat which is in a Complicated situation) are probably representative of the audience. The other people of the cult being taught along with Amane.

Audience Participation is a big thing for shows like this, you'll see them perform with a bunch of children on the side cheering and dancing. It's a fun time for everyone!

Going back to the set, while the main set only has the colorful stage we do see a few props in Magic. You can see a Choir book right here so the group can sing.

A Whiteboard to teach.

A Donation box to show your generosity.

And...

A Game Show Stage to see if you understood the lesson.

Age Rating

I've talked...extensively before on how Pain is handled in Magic and while that post is outdated because I posted it right before Purge March a lot of it still stands to some extent.

Amane's pain in Magic is downplayed in Magic, it's nothing serious. Even though this pain is something Inflicted Onto Amane Physically by Gatacha.

I was going to talk a bit about corporeal punishment in Japan before realizing that this isn't even something that is considered a punishment. It's just a finger flick. This is something your older brother does to you cause he thinks its funny. It's the lightest possible kind of "punishment" there is.

This makes Amane's reaction to it seem silly. An Overreaction to something that isn't even that bad. She has cartoonish swirls and falls over dramatically. It's...Immature of her to react like this.

Even though we know these are injuries are much more serious than they are shown here. Magic doesn't portray them as serious, and also portrays Amane as Immature for acting like this.

Which points to something interesting, as I said this show resembles a preschool show and it's strange that twelve year old Amane Momose, almost a teenager Amane Momose, is existing in a world like this.

It gets even weirder when we consider that, while Amane most likely hasn't been exposed to much media her mind still conjures up a marching band in Purge March and she talks very "adult" in both her VDs and hates it when people treat her like a child.

Not only that, but Amane Momose in both Purge March And Magic is drawn visibly older than she actually is.

It's not the easiest to see because I can't find a good picture but you can see it in just the face shape. Outside of Magic and Purge March Amane's face is more squishy, with less defined cheeks and bigger, rounder eyes. While Magic and Purge March have her face be more defined and her eyes smaller and sharper. Making her look more like a young teenager rather than the seven year old. She's even called Big Sister Amane in Magic's credits.

If Amane Momose's mind is depicting her as older than she actually is, and Amane Momose outside of it acts very "adult" and hates it when people treat her like a child. Why then does Magic portray her actions as immature? Why is she put in the spot of a preschooler learning from their teachers?

Why is Amane Momose, in her mind, stuck in a preschool show?

Well, there's two layers to this.

First of all, Good preschool shows are usually very empathetic to the kids watching them and good preschool shows don't patronize or talk down to the viewers.

Even if the problem is seemingly irrational or nonsensical.

It's important to be empathetic with your viewers.

And to treat it their problems and issues with respect and understanding.

A concept that would be very appealing to Amane Momose, person who gets tortured for even showing a smidge of "impurity."

Second, why...wouldn't Amane Momose be portrayed as the preschooler learning here? She's the one constantly messing up, still not a good girl even though she should have learned by now. She's immature by the standards of her cult.

She's the perfect actor for this role, a girl that cannot be a good girl but wants to be.

Only if, only if, only if I could be a good girl I hope, I hope everyone can be happy and smile Forever, forever together would be a dream

The big sister that everyone can learn from, a character who has to learn from the older more experienced folk in the cast before becoming like them. The one who fails so that everyone else can learn.

This is the role Amane Momose has given herself.

Well...that and one other thing.

Cast

Will I ever get over the cat parallels?

The answer is no, but ignoring that, Amane has gotten two acting roles! The cat here is both the actual Purge March cat but is representative of Amane. As seen by how the injuries on the cat are her injuries in Magic and Purge March and how the cat gets directly paralleled with her in shots. This cat is, for all intents and purposes, both The Cat and Amane.

This gives the scene where Amane helps the cat a neat double meaning. Amane is helping the cat but it's also symbolically her helping herself...and failing.

Because Your not supposed to escape your trial.

Amane: Both pain and illness are trials.

This is one of the worst things you can do.

Amane: According to our teachings, those who run from them are the worst evil there is. That’s one of the four great principles. No matter who you are, that cannot be forgiven.

Your especially not supposed to steal those trials away.

Amane: Oh – speaking of which, there is one among the prisoners right now. An evil existence that’s trying to steal people’s trials away from them.

The cat is Amane's sinful desires to escape pain and help people, because that's Bad Apparently. She is cast as both the sinner and the thing that tempts people to sin. The corruptive force and the one who falls for it.

If were talking TV: She's the one in those 90s PSA episodes who gets Wrapped up in a Bad Thing and also the person who's the gateway to the Bad Thing.

(Blueepink has a wonderful addition to one of my posts over here which elaborates on this and is what made me realize it in the first place. Go read it she talks about some fun animal symbolism in it!)

Amane does however redeem herself in the end. You can always learn to be better after all. Even if you are the Worst Girl.

But you can't get rid of the devil that easily, she had some help!

(You can't get rid of the devil that easily in general, but it's nice to imagine you could-)

Let's talk about the mascots!

And Crew

So as people have noted each mascot corresponds to one of the doctrines.

In Magic introduction order we have:

Gachata- ’Tis ordained, thou shall stay thine course, then perish Yuri- ’Tis ordained, thou shall deliver unto those thou believest in Gozake -’Tis ordained, thou shall discard vulgarity Riyone- ’Tis ordained, thou shall follow thine destiny

(Fun fact: The doctrines are introduced opposite to how the mascots are introduced in Purge March. I don't know what this means but it certainly is interesting)

Like a lot of children's tv show groups, each mascot seems to be focused on a specific task/idea.

Gachata is Teaching Yuri is Donations Gozake is Choir And Riyone is Complicated

Each design reflects this in one way or another. Gachata is a robot because robots are associated with being smart and logical. Yuri's clothes are patched up and he's wearing a bin making him look, well poor. Gozake is in priest's wear and has a Conductor's Baton and Riyone...

Well, she has bandage ears. But that's a weird design choice isn't it? Especially since the cult is so against medicine, or more accurately against escaping pain, that Wrapping a Handkerchief around a cat's leg is considered wrong.

Amane literally wants to kill Shidou Right Now for violating that rule...so why does Riyone have bandages?

The answer is she doesn't, this is Magic Exclusive Design Choice.

Here is the best picture of Riyone I Could get in Purge March.

These are not the same ears, their rounder and smaller and don't have the bandage holes at the end.

Do you know what else is weird about Riyone?

This sequence.

Because as Amane has stated in the T2 VD, your not supposed to run from pain.

So why is Riyone suggesting healing the cat's physical injury through prayer?

Especially since, presumably, the rule about pain is under her. She's the one representing it.

Well, this is Amane's fictional TV show. The one she's writing to bring herself comfort. Why Wouldn't she want Riyone to be a healer who could stop the pain?

You will note that this gives extra responsibility onto Amane for not following what is the obvious Good Action. Healing the Cat with Prayer would have Fixed everything but she had to go Too Far and needed to be taught a Lesson and now the cat is Gone.

Riyone is also paralleled with her mom.

This is probably due to the rule she's associated with, as that's the rule her mom punished Amane for breaking and the rule Amane punished her for breaking.

Amane has Not acknowledged that what was done to her was Wrong, she has just acknowledged the hypocrisy of the action. Riyone is portrayed as right for punishing her since it Is her doctrine she broke, while her mom is portrayed as wrong because she was not able to live up to her own standards.

This is probably why Riyone doesn't disappear in the end. As said above, Magic plays very fast and loose with what is real and what is metaphorical. Riyone represents her mom Yes but She's more representative of the rule, a rule that Amane still (wants to) believe in it.

For now at least.

Lighting

So I haven't mentioned the stage light yet even though it's a really important part of it, it's what sets off the chain of events that end in Winged Amane. It's the most real looking thing in this entire MV.

In a move I will find funny forever, this is one of the few things in Magic that doesn't seem to be connected to any specific real world event, object, or person. This stage light is most likely, purely a metaphor.

The way it disguise its nature is really interesting to me. Magic is so obviously fictional and fantasized that the real looking stage light stands out, especially since it hurts The Cat. It's unexpected and concerning, it feels out of place in this cheery world.

Except, I've mentioned it multiple times now that Magic plays fast and loose with the boundaries of fiction and reality. Magic is a show and it knows it. This Stage light was always apart of it's visual identity as a show.

This Stage light is the most obvious Show element out of everything. It's the lighting AND the inciting incident. An important backstage element and an important story element all wrapped up into one light.

This is also probably a reference to an early scene in the Truman Show.

The light falling is one of the first things that clues Truman to the nature of his world. It's the inciting incident because Truman starts noticing more strange things happening in his town, and an important backstage element, a star in the sky.

Plus, the stagelight was already breaking when we see it in Magic, we can see it flicker for a few seconds before falling.

It wasn't sabotaged with the intent to hurt. The light of this world is Literally Breaking. This image of stable happiness was never going to last forever and has probably been broken multiple times in the past.

It just so happened that The Cat was the one it fell on-top of this time.

Audience

I would go into more costuming or the storybook sequences in Magic if this post wasn't already so long. I think Magic is a deeply interesting MV and honestly it doesn't even feel like I'm scratching its surface sometimes.

I sometimes call it Amane Momose's self-insert hurt/comfort fix-it-fic because that really is what Magic is. It's her fix-it fic. Her TV series. Her maladaptive daydream that makes her feel like she still Has Something to hold onto.

Even I can say "I'm sorry" Even I have hope I swear! I'm going to be a good girl now! That's it!

This is actually something she shares a bit with Fuuta but if we talked about those parallels we would be here forever and it's also very much out of the scope of this post.

But, as I mentioned, we see Amane watching it at the end. She's an audience member for her own show, detached from all the silly, empathetic, understanding, fun events going on in that world.

Amane Momose is Very Aware that the world she wants isn't real.

But even so, that Want for it to be real is going to bleed into everything.

[crownmemes]

Supernatural & Paranormal Sentences, Vol. 2

(Sentences from various sources for muses exploring the unexplained. Adjust phrasing where needed)

"I think this case is nothing more than a murderer taking advantage of local folklore."

"It's very dangerous to believe people. I haven't for years."

"It's been said that the fear of the unknown is an irrational response to the excesses of the imagination."

"I've always put my trust in the accepted facts. What I saw last night... For the first time in my life, I don't know what to believe."

"I have to confess that I, for one, will be locking my door tonight."

"Creatures like us are not supposed to interfere in your world."

"That's why I like you! Your ideas are weirder than mine!"

"There is still a lot about this that doesn't make sense..."

"Nothing disappears without a trace."

"You ever had the suspicion that you've been abducted by aliens?"

"I heard reports of several UFO sightings in this area last night. Did you see anything?"

"This house is supposed to be haunted."

"I'm assuming you're familiar with the early indications of repressed memory?"

"Maybe some mysteries are never meant to be solved..."

"What the hell? Was that real?"

"I've seen too many things not to believe."

"It's not places which are evil, it's people."

"I can offer you no satisfactory explanation."

"Did you ever look up into the night sky and feel certain that not only was something up there, but it was looking down on you at that exact same moment, and was just as curious about you are you are about it?"

"What would be the chances of someone like me seeing a UFO?"

"Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?"

"Did you see that?"

"You ever experienced a period of missing time?"

"What you are looking at, it exists nowhere in nature. It would have to be, by definition, extraterrestrial."

"It can't be aircraft. Aircraft can't manoeuvre like that."

"I did not say that "people" believe this; I said "conspiracy theorists"."

"Just because I can't explain it, doesn't mean I'm going to believe they were UFOs."

"You put such faith in your science, but the things I've seen, science provides no place to start."

"Are you at all familiar with the phenomenon of cattle mutilations?"

"I hope you're not thinking this has anything to do with government conspiracies or UFOs. "

"I shall never forget what I saw this evening."

"You make an effort to appear conventional, but I know that you share my love of all things bizarre."

"There's something unexplainable here, but it's certainly not unidentifiable."

"You're saying that time disappeared? Time can't just disappear!"

"Fact is, we've got a cannibalised body. Someone - or something - out there is hungry."

"Why are you so determined not to believe me?"

"I thought you'd be pleased that I'd opened myself to extreme possibilities!"

"The government can't control a deficit or manage crime. What makes you think they can plan and execute such an elaborate conspiracy?"

"It's happening again, isn't it?"

[lily-alphonse]

Omg pls do smth for Haley x Sebastian. I can imagine her hating him for being the ‘town freak’ but she actually loves him yk yk??

Hi Seph! I had an insane brain blast for this one and I would love to write it one day. I'm going to try to summarize as best as I can because my brain is absolutely sprinting with this idea and I already have the makings of a full fic formed lol. 

I checked AO3 for funsies and was surprised to find they genuinely are rare, I was expecting more. At the time of my search I see ten, you can click here to see existing Haley/Seb on AO3.

I actually have a plan for these two to hook up in my SamAlex series (it isn't posted anywhere yet but sooo soon, you can check out the ask its based on though) but that's more casual, let’s give them the makings of a real relationship this time.

I might have seen this somewhere but I love the idea of Haley going to Sebastian for weed, and that's how they get closer.

I need Sebastian to SAVE her. That’s what got me all fired up. That’s my climax.

Ok so initially, Haley definitely just sees Sebastian as a freak, especially because he was even weirder in high school while he was figuring out his style and stuff. 

She dreads that she has no other option but to go to him for weed, preferring to go through Sam whenever possible, but Jodi is really strict you know, he can't always be meeting her for stuff like that or keeping weed in his place. 

So she has no choice but to meet him.

Sebastian has changed. He's grown, he's gotten his style together. He's kind of punk, but Haley doesn't hate it. (I'm imagining @modern-gremlin 's interpretation of Sebastian for this). Haley's even a little intrigued, but won't admit it to herself. He's not the kind of guy she usually goes for.

The first time she meets him at his house on the mountain she complains about the trek, but she’s wearing fashionable heeled boots and Sebastian looks at her like she’s stupid. “Nice boots.”

“Is that sarcasm?”

Sebastian can't tell if she’s asking that seriously or not. It makes things awkward (high implications that Haley is autistic I love autistic Haley fanon). “Maybe” he decides to answer.

She waggles a gloved finger at him. “No, no. I don’t take sarcasm. I will thank you for your compliment, and your backhanded joke is ruined,” she says matter-of-factly.

Sebastian, amused and a little high, just chuckles and says “Okay.”

“Thank you. Now where’s my weed?” 

Sebastian shakes his head to himself, an incredulous smile glued to his face. He can’t quite shake his sarcastic tendencies when he gestures back to the house, “After you my lady.” 

She nods and flips her blonde hair behind her.

They start meeting up regularly, usually once a month. Always short business dealings. At first Sebastian does offer to smoke her out so she can test it, but she refuses. More than potentially being awkward, she really prefers just to smoke at parties. It's not that she doesn't trust him, she supposes she does if she's buying weed from him, and he never seems to short her.

I want to have a buildup bonding moment where she learns something about him that's surprising and she likes it. Maybe she comes by and he is working on his motorcycle (🥵 every Sebastian lover when we get that scene) and after that starts opening up to him a bit more.

She starts letting him know about the parties she is going to in town where she's taking the weed to. When it seems a little sus or new territory, he asks her how she's getting home and stuff like that, just to make sure she's safe, and she laughs him off. She's a big girl, she can take care of herself. He assures her anyway that if she's ever in a bad situation she can call him or Sam. They are often in town on the weekend anyway. Haley is touched at that.

She decides maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to get high with him sometime. I’m thinking the first time is a fun little hangout with a group though I’m not sure who exactly yet. Essentially I need them to get high and have a good time and with their guards down there actually starts to be a little romantic tension between them but they can’t do anything about it because of the others there. 

Next we get a party scene where Haley is kind of checked out and uninterested in hooking up or playing any racy party games because unfortunately she’s kind of hung up on Sebastian now. Both are individually having their own 'damn I might have caught feelings' moments.

A few days after those realizations they stumble across each other by accident and are both sober, that's important. They have a cute little sober moment like she comes across him in the woods as she’s taking pics, or he takes her out on his motorcycle. By the end of it they are officially both interested in each other. They are looking forward to seeing each other again, but neither of them has spelled out that they're dating. 

Then, first conflict. Something happens, probably some kind of miscommunication. They don’t end up reconciling before Haley gets herself into trouble at the next party she goes to.

This bit originally got too graphic for this post so I will just say, she ends up in a bad situation, and manages to call Sebastian.

Sebastian comes in fully prepared to do jail time. I'm not pretending he is a big guy, I know that, he knows that. He has just seen some shit in his life and knows how to defend himself. Plus it helps that he is pissed. He majorly fucks up the bad guy and rescues Haley.

She's super out of it but murmurs his name. "Seb..."

“I told you I’d come get you,” he says, choking on relief. 

Haley smiles a little and closes her eyes again. He picks her up, walking out of the party cradling her in his arms. 

And then we could get an epilogue of them properly reconciling and becoming official and all that teehee

This ask is a part of the (now closed) SDV Rarepair Challenge! Check out the other answers here, and make sure to boost your favorite so it can appear in the final fic poll! More info on that here.