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quietrainfan · 3 years ago

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Hey! Anyone want some heavy platonic Loceit angsty headcanons I've extracted from the new episode? Well, too bad because it's happening regardless. :)

Yes, also some Unsympathetic Patton. You know what blog you're on. (This interpretation/headcanon shall not die. Not here.)

(Also, this is going to combine my observations and thoughts as well, so sorry in advance if this post turns out as a bit of a mess.)

Alright, so! Orange Side confirmation. How we feelin', Sanders Sides fandom, how we feelin'?

Honestly, the Orange Side theory wasn't something I was really all that into. It was a 'meh, could be cool' headcanon for me personally. But I have to say the way the reveal was handled made me jump in my seat with pure joy. No joke, I audibly gasped when Logan's eyes flashed orange.

It was all downhill from there, I was excited. Anyone who knows me will tell you I'm a sucker for character's eyes glowing when they've reached their limit or are displaying a power they've never shown before, combine that with an unexpected reveal and I'm sold.

Plus, glowing eyes have been a common theme with Unsympathetic content and Dark Side headcanons so you could imagine how the first peak into the Orange Side's existence (or, rather confirmation. we all saw the 'hello' hint, Orange, you cheeky little munchkin.) was his color in Logan's eyes made me feel. It was so cool!!! Ah!

Then Thomas had to tease us again at the end card with our boy Orange's eyes popping up in the darkness, waiting for his chance to be too loud to ignore. Like, the audacity. Who do you think you are, Thomas?! (That was a joke. Sorry, I'm just really pumped.)

Also, Remus got quite a few laughs out of me. Ah, I missed him.

Okay, headcanon time! We're going to do Logan first, then Janus, then combine the two. Sound good? Alright, here we go (Trigger Warning for discussions of alcoholism, please if anything I write here sounds insensitive or inaccurate, let me know and I will edit. Also, no need to read if you don't want to. Stay safe.) :

Logan

Logan knew where to grab for that alcohol bottle.

I mean, I guess that makes sense since he lives there and is naturally the most observant Side. But...that bottle's placement was a little too convenient.

Sure it was played up as a joke and it was funny.

But something about the way Logan threw his coffee into the sink and quickly replaced it with the wine stuck out to me.

I've joked about Logan and/or Janus having to "drink to cope" due to sharing the single brain cell Thomas has amongst all the chaos. But seeing that in an actual episode, even as a gag, is kind of...different.

Let me explain.

This may be a common thing for Logan that he struggles with.

He wakes up early to be the first one to help Thomas start the day, naturally. Logan goes to make his cup of coffee and there's always the lingering urge to take a sip of wine before anyone can see because he just...can't face everyone without needing just a little bit of it to cloud out all the gross, petty, negative feelings he experiences every day around them.

He's logic. He can't be drinking and risk any more harm to Thomas's function.

So, it's a constant battle with coffee vs wine, coffee vs wine, coffee vs wine-

Most of the time Logan is able to resist and go with the coffee.

It doesn't make him feel good in the slightest. If anything it makes him feel even worse knowing he'll be more alert that day.

Logan hates that was even a thought at all. He needs to be alert. Otherwise everything will fall apart. He is the rock in the system and without him everything will crumble.

Such a selfish mindset. He needed to focus.

Other days Logan just doesn't have it in him to discard the wine regardless of how much he wants to.

He knows what the day holds for him. It was all so repetitive at this point. Logan knew when he wasn't able to get through it despite it all.

That didn't stop him from shaming himself for caving. He should be able to handle this. He's made so much progress with resisting it up to this point but today he through it away again because he just had to, right?

Sometimes Logan finds himself "cheating" by hiding a couple drops of wine into his coffee on days when he chose the coffee but later felt particularly bad about...a lot of things, into his second cup.

Logan more often times chooses neither. The temptation for clouding out the others was just too strong and was a waste of time.

Logan is beyond tired of the others.

Every single action they have agitates him now. No matter how minor it is.

Roman's loud voice and constant references makes Logan's toes unconsciously curl beneath his shoes. Even a silent warm smile and wave from the prince fills Logan with an unpleasant tingle in his knuckles.

Virgil's neverending foreboding and unnecessary nasty remarks that he doesn't even bother to filter provokes Logan's new habit of biting his tongue. Any kindness he ever gives him makes his stomach twist.

Patton's nicknames, poking for for a laugh, his "sweet" way of shoving away any objection he may have, how casually he behaves as if he isn't part of any problems- how quickly he's prepared to "bounce back". Logan feels like every word, action from him something steps on a guitar cord in the back of his mind that makes the ugliest, loud, screeching sound. He feels this strange warm fuzzy ache he can't define. All he hears is that cord playing faster and faster the longer he stays in their presence. Logan no longer trusts himself alone with Patton.

Logan thinks if he just separates from the others long enough, the ugly strumming noise will go away.

But he's so wrong.

Logan can hear it even when he's all alone. When it's finally silent, he still can't get rid of it.

It's loudest when Logan is alone in his room. Logan has lost count of how many nights he's spent clenching his head, quietly sobbing, and praying for it to just go away already.

Logan often feels like he's losing it.

On nights where the sounds are particularly louder than usual, he swears he can see orange shadows creeping around him, lights of the color flashing on and off, he sometimes even sees it seeping in and out of the cracks of his door like a thick fog. At times he'll even wake to it glowing absurdly bright through his window.

It's just the sunrise. Logan tells himself. He has to believe that. Everything else looked normal, after all.

What's worse is Logan doesn't know how long he's been hearing this sound or seeing the strange lights.

Patton knows about Logan's late night and early morning struggles.

But surprise, surprise, he pretends as if he's nonthewiser.

If either Virgil or Roman asks about Logan, Patton will answer: "Oh, that silly billy's probably got his head in one of his astronomy books again! I wouldn't bother him right now."

Knowing full well he's having an emotional breakdown in his room that gets worse every day.

Knowing about the little sneaks of alcohol in his hot morning beverage. Might even speak about yummy drink combinations when they hang out in the living room, while Logan is present, specifically and even only on the days Patton knows he's cheating with his bad habit, while he's still drinking it.

The further Logan is to the edge, the better. Patton is still bitter about the events of Redux ending in his favor, after all. He needs leverage from somewhere.

When Thomas left to see Nico, Logan heard the cord again. His chest tightened and though he could feel the tears welling up, he kept them down.

Thomas hasn't been very happy lately. He had to let him have this.

No matter how loud those cords get.

Janus

I noticed that Janus was either unseen by the others or unacknowledged by them.

Janus was near all of them but far enough that he was separated.

He could've just popped up at the end without them noticing but...that's less angsty therefore less fun so-

Janus has been the instigator for bringing Sides that have been hidden away to be brought to light for a long time. If the assumption that Janus let Remus out is true.

He's always been hinting at upcoming events that are sure to come if Thomas continues to ignore certain aspects of himself.

He knows. He knows our Orange boy is getting worse and soon will be too loud to ignore. Janus wants to protect Thomas but that's becoming harder every day. Thomas is making it harder.

Janus will reveal the Orange Side eventually. And very soon. Hell, that's looking like less and less of a choice considering Logan's...outburst.

I think Janus has this painful awareness that he can be seriously hated for doing his job. After all, he's always the one who's forced them to acknowledge uncomfortable truths about Thomas.

He's the one giving them all of those hard pills to swallow and especially after Remus, it is definitely overwhelming and exhausting to be met with.

They question their roles more and more because of how used they are to the fixed mindset Thomas has had for such a long time.

That can't feel good.

Janus knows that his job may cause more hatred to fester the more that's revealed.

Janus is being kept at arms length and he knows that won't stop any time soon.

But he's a clever snake. That won't keep him from keeping an eye on Patton.

(Find it real suspicious that Patton was all mushy with Janus in that end card but still is at a big distance from him.)

Loceit

Janus will sometimes find Logan in the common room with his head in his arms, sprawled out against the coffee table. His glasses being discarded from half his face, unmistakable tears lazily dripping out of his lifeless eyes.

Janus would wordlessly go to the sink and grab a glass, filling it with water.

Janus goes over to Logan, giving him a gentle rub on the back. He urges him to sit up. It takes Logan a few minutes but eventually does.

Janus hands Logan the water, supporting the back of his neck as struggles to get it down, reminding him to take his time.

Janus takes his glasses and gently sets them on the table. He hands Logan some tissues.

Logan lifelessly takes them and tries to clean his face. But he always ends up crying into them.

Janus moves Logan unkempt bangs from his face before moving his head to his shoulder. Janus manifests a warm blanket over Logan and uses a bit of his abilities to soothe the shorter man's pain, tenderly putting pressure on his neck.

Janus and Logan have a talk. Logan always asks why he bothers to stop and comfort him.

"You've helped me through a lot, Logan. Not returning the favor is out of the question."

That was always his answer.

Janus and Logan do this often.

Janus opens up about sometimes needing a bit of a drink himself from time to time. Though mostly that consists of tea more often than not, he sometimes has a glass of wine or two to relax on days when it's particularly hard.

He feels ashamed of it. Janus has to be the strongest out of everyone, especially the Dark Sides. Allowing things to faze him was the worst case scenario. At least, to that degree.

But Janus understands that isn't his fault and urges Logan not to blame himself, either. While he hated that weakness he occasionally submitted to, he wasn't going to let the rare slip up to define the worth of his role.

Logan thinks that Janus really is the strongest out of all of them just for saying things like that and he's being too hard on himself.

On nights when things become too much Janus will sit with Logan and share a drink. They try to have as many conversations without wine as possible but sometimes Janus says "screw it" and sits with Logan with one or two drinks.

Just having Janus there helps Logan choose his coffee in the mornings and feel as if he's being heard even a little bit.

Now if only those cords could actually quiet down, that'd be even better.

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syubub · 4 years ago

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2021 Reading for BTS and the collective!!

Wow wow wow! I didn't disappear or get dragged away by a demon. No no, I just got thrust into unexpected shadow work and I now have an unhealthy obsession with sea shanties and a love of pasta.

I had this idea planned to be early in January but that didn't pan out so I'm doing it now. I have another yoongi reading in the works and another fun thing coming soon as well!!

I promise I won't bore you to death any longer but I hope you've all been doing well!!

Disclaimer: This is for entertainment purposes only and not to be taken as fact.

If this message doesn't apply, let it fly!

Cool cool cool.

Let's get it.

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Oki. I first want to say that this I gonna be long lol. I did a meditation and gathered some little pieces of things y'all might need to hear and then I pulled cards for every month. The fountain tarot deck is the cards for us, the collective, and the rider-waite cards are for bts. It'll make more sense when I add picks and stuff. I did a little extra card pull for yoongi for the month of May too :) I'll make sure to type out all the cards in text so you know what they are (the pics are kinda wack.) I also used my pendulum to ask if there was a bts related event for every month and that's at the bottom. It's just to take in the possible energy for the month and something that could result from that energy!

LETTUCE BEGIN (hehe)

Starting with the section for the channeled messages. I want to reiterate that this was collective so if it doesn't resonate with you, the message might not be for you! Use your intuition.

(Enough talking. Damn)

So. As I said this was through meditation and connecting to the big column tree thing (I told my cousin about the tree/pillar and they were like,, "so basically a big energy dildo in the æther?" .... I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT. h e l p m e) and asking if there was any messages or advice that needed to be delivered and it was... intresting?

Things came fragmented. So there was little messages like, "Its gonna be okay" and "things are changing for everyone" and "open your eyes if you want to see" (that's sassy.) There was one particular thing that was confusing me though. Straight up it was just "flower" on repeat and like a really bad picture of a flower? Like you could tell what it was but it was bad quality. Anyway, I was like "okay. Kindly shut the fuck up. Pls." And I wrote down flower, pink flower and rose. Sooo.... idk but there you go.

More messages were things like, "the block isn't in your head", "try calling forth that which you seek" and... February. Possibly there is specific (very very very loose) connection to the 10th-19th? I'm not to sure what or why but I'd say maybe look out for opportunities on these days and also maybe external events.

Continuing with dates. In the last this 21 and January 21 came up. It came up again but with 2 messages. So first, either 21st is a day where something is put into motion (possibly private or public) or announced and the second was "add them together dumbass" that's not very kind but 3. Again this has been discussed too but but but... maybe a signal of a third mixtape 👀 (not necessarily on the 21st per say but possibly in March? I'm really not sure).

Oki. I got side tracked like I always do and started thinking about tattoos and stuff and I really want koo to have a peony tattoo. I feel it in my BONES. It would suit him so well. and as I was thinking about tattoos I heard, "don't be surprised if yoongi gets/shows a tattoo this year" ??? What the fuck? I think maybe they messing with me but now I have hopes and I don't want them to be crushed and thrown to the wind :(

Back to normal stuff, "the theme is growth" I think that fits very well with the reading. "Blue might be a lucky color" self explanatory. It might be lucky. "Start practicing grounding and centering" this was LOUD. This will help you in how you react to events in the future. Really do practice this if you haven't.

This is where it gets a little weird. So, I got a message that said "start living as if you never existed." I am not a 100% sure what this means but I think I have a pretty good guess. I hate to make it sound weird like this but by sort of focusing on something that is so hard to comprehend (because our brains can't comprehend not existing very well) you kinda break the 4th wall? Like in Deadpool when he addresses the audience and is aware that he is a character played by Ryan Reynolds? anyway, focusing on something that seemingly impossible you kind of accidentally open up the floodgates for a lot of other things. I would say if you are not in the right headspace to do this don't do it but it can be a powerful way to break up the monotony of reality. The theory that everything happens simultaneously bc time isn't a linear progression events blah blah we are energy blah blah the multiverse blah blah.. Theres so so so so so so so so so much about this and how it applies to things that I could probably write you 10+ dictionaries worth of material but for the sake of simplicity and not wanting to write a novel right now, I will continue. The main lesson is to start challenging your perception of the world around you. Ask why and why and why and why. Essentially seeing cracks in the matrix. Pulling your head out of your cosmic ass, realizing that rose you're smelling is actually daffodil ect. It's not supposed to bring you fear but just kinda encouraging you to question all the things that you perceive as given truths.

I tried to make that sound cohesive but really it's such a big concept that I can't really wrap it up all nice and neat.

Oki. May and March are also important times.

Listen to your intuition and try not to take everything so seriously. I'm not saying to check out and go squat in the Himalayas but it's important to find joy in the now. Life is already tough enough so don't forget to watch a silly show that you like or change your hair to a style you've never tried, wear makeup in a very loud way. Just have fun and don't worry so much about things that you can't control. Listen to yourself and your intuition.

Well that was all over the place. Let's get on to the actual tarot part now.

For the record, the pictures are right to left.

January for the collective

We have the empress, the sun, 7 of swords and a fortune that says "act well your part; there the honor lies"

Hmm. Ngl I was a little confused to see the empress and the sun for January... I mean it hasn't been great. So I pulled clarity card 7 of swords. The 7 of swords is all about betrayal. It's about the deception and and actively getting away with things. This is people lying, cheating, sneaking and the works.

This makes much more sense!! The Sun card is usually about joy and success and happiness but in this case I see it as illuminating the betrayal. It's shining light on the deception and keeps the spotlight there. Its also an energetic card so I think that shows passion for uncovering the truth.

With the empress card too I think January is all about getting creative in all forms. Creative ways to protest, to mourn, to celebrate, to connect. Also taking in the abundance that we DO have. The beauty that surrounds us. I like to think of aphrodite energy for this. Its not just love and passion and creativity but is also asserting yourself and having strong passion for what you love and fighting for it. Did you know aphrodite was also called upon in ancient Greece in times of war? She was honored as a goddess of war but still a goddess of love, the sea, fertility ect. What I'm trying to say is that being a creative and "feminine" energy is in no way weak. Sometimes the most powerful things come from this energy. Love aggressively with good intentions. The point is that you should take whatever you're feeling and translate it into something creative or something you care about. The fact that covid is still a thing really sucks but take any rage, hurt, sadness, joy, love whatever and use that shit to make something amazing. Bake bread and punch the fuck out of it, paint your frustration, play hopscotch in higheels while you listen to heavy metal. You get the point.

Now January for BTS!!

We have the death card. (I only pulled one card bc I have things planned from this)

January has been... strange? To say the least.

This card can be a lot of things for them. I think this points to more maturity in their music? Like they've finally ditched the "shiny kpop boy band" label and are being taken seriously in the west. I also think that they're going through a musical/concept transformation~ I think it also signified the change in plans bc of the Grammys perhaps they had things planned an that fell through so they were forced to rapidly change plan/course.

For January: possible mixtape or announcement.

February for the collective

We have 8 of coins reverse and hanged man reverse.

The 8 of pentacles reverse talks a lot about self improvement. Doing that good good inner work and self care. Working on developing parts of you that you've maybe neglected. It's also learning how to work with how you are instead of wishing you weren't the way you are. If you have a therapist its a great time to maybe ask for any extra tips that you can practice daily to help you even more. Maybe exploring more into insecurities relating to finance or jobs or your passions. If you don't have a therapist but you have the means to get one I always highly recommend. You don't have to have "problems" to see a therapist. Everyone could use a non biased point of view that is literally trained to help you be you best self. If you can't get therapy, I get it. Shits tough rn but there's still things we can do to better ourselves like Journaling and reading therapy blogs or self help books (not the taky shit) or trying a hobby you fell out of touch with. There's also a lot of places where you can get therapy promise on the internet. Most importantly, better yourself in the way that you need. Take time in February to take notice of what you want to improve upon. The 8 of coins reversed does come with the warning not to get stuck in perfectionism. Go easy on yourself and if you find yourself getting frustrated when working on projects, try to take a step back and practice whatever it is in a fun way and then come back to it later

Hanged man reverse talks about knowing that you need to chill but you don't. You'll need too. Maybe you'll find yourself swept up in work and tasks and you're over whelmed and know you need to stop and catch your breath but you resist. Why? Well, perhaps you're trying to ignore reality by filling the empty spaces with things and stuff so you don't have to face what's bothering you. Not wise. Take time for yourself. There's also the flips side where people are just kinda stuck.. creative block. Maybe you want something to turn out one way and it just isn't, so your stuck and frustrated and can't move past it. Let go of your expectation of how it should be and let it be what it is. Go with the flow and maybe you'll see a new way to overcome your problem. You'll eventually get that break through that you need! The theme of February is about self improvement. Listen to yourself.

February for BTS

We have judgment.

Hehe yeah. This card is about rebirth and the inner calling. Letting go of the old to step into the new version of you. This is also a very spiritual card lol. This can talk about a new decision that you have to trust your gut on. This is a very significant card that screams comeback to me. It also can talk about sharing your struggles with a group of people and that to me sounds comeback ish. Maybe this will be an announcement in February, maybe they'll be working on it idk but this is ultimate comeback energy so I hope they utilize this for a big group project!!

February: possible BTS comeback (even my pendulum knows)

March for the collective

The chariot and justice

This plays directly off of February! With the chariot you're taking the self improvement that you've done and putting it to action! Now is the time to act on the dreams and passions that you have don't wait and hope for the best. March is about action and standing in your power.

Justice card is cause and effect and truth. What you do will have consequences good or bad. Not doing anything also has consequences. Cease the moment and make the best of it. You'll be taking responsibility for what you do. You start a business? Now you have the responsibility of running it and you get the credit. Stuff like that. Stand by your decisions with conviction and trust yourself.

There's also the side of justice that talks about bringing justice. If you've been wronged, you'll be brought justice if you stand up for yourself.

We also carry the continuous lesson of learning what we truly believe and challenge those beliefs!

March for BTS

Oki we have the hermit and the 6 of pentacles reverse.

Well... let's start with the 6 of pentacles reverse. This can really talk about being so generous and giving to everyone else that you forget about yourself. I think that maybe they might be over exerting themselves and giving so much that they're exhausted physically and emotionally as well. I think too, they take on so much of our pain like its their own? Idk but this would be a good time to do a large scale fan project to show them a little extra love!

With the hermit card it talks about a self introspection so they could be looking inward as a team and kinda evaluating their bond.

I also see this as maybe being alone as in they maybe can't physically go to the grammys? Or maybe they had been planning the rescheduled concerts and they had to be pushed back even further? Things like that. Regardless this signals re thinking/reevaluating the goals that they have and considering what direction to go in!

March: possible mixtape or solo project?

April for the collective

We have 6 of coins and 3 of cups reverse.

Let's start with the 6 of coins. It's about sharing. It can be about charity so sharing money via donation but also giving time, effort, energy to people as well. Giving knowledge is good too! It's an all round exchange. Maybe someone lends you money or you lend money to someone. It's give and take. It's a two way street. It's also a card of balanced finance. So money stuff should be looking promising around this time (for you U.S people this could point to more stimulus help as well)

And for the 3 of cups reversed... I see this as reopening of places and people struggling to find the balance. So think people who've been in lockdown celebrating by throwing a big party... yikes. This card reminds that we should be mindful of the long-term consequences that come with our actions.. maybe also people that are experiencing fear of being in public places now. This is only one facet though. Bc I think this also means in general, missing being with friends and having a renewed relationship because you've really realized how important it is to have these people that mean so much to you in your life. Don't forget that you have people that love you and want the best for you. Call them when you feel alone.

April for BTS

The heirophant

Mhmm. This one kinda gives me vibes that they'll be mentoring people? Idk but I see them more as the heirophant teaching what they've learned/ know to help guide others. HOWEVER this could also be them taking a new task under their belt. Learning something new. Since this is as a group reading I assume that this talks about the group as a whole. This card is also very tradition oriented so maybe they are taking lessons that are connected to traditional Korean culture? Maybe its for RUN or maybe its to incorporate into music and preformance. Think bts mma preformance but all of them learning together? Idk, it's just a thought (maybe wishful thinking). It also talks about seeking counseling so maybe they'll do yoongis idea from the most recent RUN.

This can also be them embracing this kind of leadership/ status.

April: I got nothing. It does feel like something though

May for the collective

Five of cups and queen of cups reversed

Five of cups is disappointment, regret and self pity. Now honestly this to me looks like possibly a tightening of restrictions yet again. Regardless of the situation that this is talking about, the best thing you can do is not wallow in the bullshit. You scrape yourself off the pavement and move foward. You'll need forgiveness of yourself and others and that if shit isn't going your way, you need to pull your head out of your ass and look around bc there's options out there. It's like drowning in a kiddie pool. Just stand up, dude. The water is like 5 inches.

Queen of cups reversed talks about self love and self care. It's more of that look inwards energy. Think about really taking care of yourself. May might be emotionally draining so you need to be ready to take care of you! Part of self care is making sure that your boundaries are well enforced.

Be on the look out for codependent behaviors. Check in with yourself.

The queen of cups is very intuitive and having it in reverse can talk about you not taking enough time to listen to it. Make an effort to meditate for like 5 minutes a day at least. Do something to let yourself connect to your intuition and higher self.

May for BTS

9 of pentacles

This about enjoying the fruits of your labor and absolute abundance and luxury. This could talk about them rolling in the dough after signing a new partnership or having a concert or something if the sort. This could also be a time where we see them buying new things like houses, cars and rings (lol) but also this could be them doing a very high production value project! Also namjoon and his bonsai army are thriving in this time!

May: possible concert or scheduled concert event. Activity of some kind.

Yoongi interlude

I asked for one card to give me an idea of what the mystical May 13th really is. I got: the star, 2 of cups, 4 of wands, the world and the sun.

Guys. I can't with this. 2 of cups is a card of union, romance, soulmate. 4 of wands is celebration, joy, homecoming, bliss. The world is completion and the sun is happiness, joy, marriage, enlightenment.

I've said it a billion times but that's some soulmate shit. So soft so cute and May will be eventful for his personal life.

June for the collective

Death and the heirophant reversed.

Wow wow wow death is transformation and a new chapter so a new way of life and something new/ different that changes how we see things. Again this could be relating to new covid things and new policies and stuff like that but also new as in new to all of us. Groundbreaking perhaps?

The heirophant reversed talks about teaching yourself. Being your own teacher and making your own path. This might be spiritual or otherwise. Challange what the world wants from you and instead listen to what you truly want bc you don't need anyone's approval. Continue to ask questions about why things are the way that they are.

June for BTS

Page of pentacles

Oki oki page of pentacles means a new creative venture and manifestation. Maybe something that they've been wanting for a while finally comes to fruition. This might be the start of a new project that they haven't done before or something cross genre? Idk but its a really good sign of being motivated for a new endeavor and manifesting any projects that they've ever wanted to do. Love this promising energy!!

June: idk

July for the collective

10 of swords and 9 of cups reversed.

10 of swords signals a painful ending. Also deceit. Its a necessary end to a long battle. The only thing you can do is control how you react in these situations. You just kinda gotta surrender into the pain and know that it's temporary. Take time to reflect on what happened and why and how it will help you grow.

The 9 of cups reversed talks about valuing stuff and material things over emotions and spiritual things. This can be talking about society in general, that we are becoming more aware to the fact that there is often more value placed on ephemeral items rather than humanity as a whole. This also can be talking about coming to the realization that we've been working so hard towards... something we don't really care about simply because we were told that it's what you do.

If you want something different to happen you have to put in effort. You can't be sitting in front of a water fountain being like, "damn. I'm thirsty. I really really want water so why isn't it in my mouth yet?" Like?? Hello? You have to take the first step, my dude.

Certainly don't try to do anything that would cost you finatial security or health.

You have the potential to find happiness within yourself. So try looking inside instead of looking outward.

July for BTS

4 of swords.

This is about rest and relaxation!

Taking time to meditate and take some time to look at what you've done objectively. Ots like the hermit in a way but much more focused on resting and relaxing so you can come back stronger and with better direction. Maybe they'll take a break for a couple days but I really see it as them reassessing options. Especially if July goes how I think it will. Maybe they'll film something like In The Soop again? Maybe we'll see bon voyage type thing? Idk. But it could be something kinda out of the spotlight? Maybe something more healing?

July: maybe something?? I'm not sure but it seems like something might be in store.

August for the collective

5 of coins and the wheel of fortune

Well let's see. 5 of pentacles talks about isolation and a negative mindset. This talks about falling on hard times but its a temporary set back. This energy can be talking about falling on hard times emotionally as well. In the card it shows a woman outside of a church shivering and cold but she's too busy thinking about all that she's lost that she doesn't notice the warm church that she could step into for shelter.

But then with he wheel of fortune that talks about fate/destiny, opportunity and luck so maybe this is a necessary loss so that a new door can open. This does kinda tie in with July as well. The end of something is painful but it's often a necessary thing. Might be a bit uncomfy but that's how things change. Again I see this maybe hinting more towards society but none the less it's definitely a theme for August to have doors closing and new ones opening so be on the lookout for that.

August for BTS

The devil.

Now don't fret. The devil talks a lot about choice. Most notably the choice between instant gratification and and something more substantial and the devil leans towards indulgence. It also has a lot to do with the shadow side. This could talk about ~scandal~ sure, but I think its more of a time where you become aware of negative patterns and you shine a light on that part you've ignored. On a much lighter note this card talks also about an incredible bond between people. It can be unhealthy if not given space or boundaries. Listen to pied piper and come back to me.

I also REALLY REALLY REALLY hope that this card points to this: sexuality. The boys have always been pretty pg when it comes to the topic of sex and embracing sexuality so I really do hope to see something more daring and grown up and exploring a tastefully sexy concept. On the same vain as sexuality this card also talks about kinks and stuff like that so don't be surprised if we get more outfits like fake love Era bondage harnesses.

August: ???

September for the collective

We have the world and 10 of wands reversed.

The 10 of wands reversed talks about carrying burden. Doing extra work and taking on more responsibility. Doing everything by yourself and carrying this heavy load alone will get you burnt out quicker than anything. You might be taking on too much and you'll need to prioritize what you really need to focus on. I also think there will just be a lot happening in September for a lot of people. It's a lot of working hard because you know it's good work or because it's what's right. This could be social responsibility that's placed on you or work responsibility. For whatever reason this burden isn't something you want to share with others because you think its yours alone to deal with. It's not though bc you'll figure out eventually that if it hurts so much you'll find a way to lessen the burden. 10 in tarot is all about the completion of a cycle and going through the wands cycle is hard work because for anything to be made of passion, you need to put the work behind it. The burden isn't forever, the heavy work load will lighten but this is you seeing things out. It's a good thing!

Especially considering this is paired with with world. The world is all about completion and that's what you're doing here is finding completion. You are seeing things out until the end but you just need to learn to give up some responsibility, lessen your burden.

This also talks about hard work being put into wider social spheres as well. Things like the vaccines becoming more widespread through the whole globe or at least better planing and infrastructures not related to covid. Things are looking up!

September for BTS

Knight of swords reverse

This bad boi is restless energy. It's being so pent up that you're ready to burst and you really want to take action but you can't because something is keeping you from taking that action. Again I do think this is kinda covid related in regards to touring bc if they do tour in 2021 its gonna look a lot different. This energy can be a bit impulsive and directionless so I think maybe they'll channel this into album material something? I'm not really sure tbh. I'm suprised this energy didn't show up earlier because it almost seems inevitable.

September: no clue

October for the collective

Ten of coins and the star reverse.

Welp let's start with the 10 of coins. Its about wealth, financial security, and long term success so this is a pretty prosperous time. This talks about the obvious monetary wealth and material wealth but also an abundance of opportunities. So this is definitely a good time to enjoy whatever consistency you have. This energy is really really abundant in the career space as well. So October could be very prosperous in the job field and you'll have likely found what it is you really want and could be successful at. This could be the actual act or just the idea. This is could also talk about investing in something for your future, this could be time or money.

With the star reversed it can talk about a loss of faith and a disconnection. This often points to feeling like you've just been forgotten or left out. Like the universe doesn't give a shit about you and left you out to die. Things might seem unfair but always try to look for the lesson that you can take from the experience. Seeing the 10 of coins and the star makes me think that a lot of people have kinda lost faith in their manifestations and also just in the concept of not living in a state of need. Especially if you see other people doing well and you've been trying so fucking hard but you haven't gotten a break. I know we hate to hear it but this can serve as a test of faith. Or rather an opportunity to get your shit in line and take a second to breath. Do something good for yourself and then continue on. This star in reverse serves to show you what no longer sparks joy and helps you find what does and what that initial spark was in the first place. Helps you get back to the original vision/ spark.

October for BTS

5 of pentacles reverse.

This signals the end of difficult times and getting that groove back. The last month was restless energy with no where to go but this month that energy is certainly put to good use. They might be figuring out what has been missing In their lives and starting to rectify that. They are definitely reminded that material wealth doesn't bring spiritual or emotional wealth. Might be also feeling a bit alienated too.

October: something is likely but idk

November for collective

Six of swords reversed and the moon.

Transition and change is prevalent. The 6 of swords is about leaving behind the familiar. Maune this is leaving a job, a new change in the status quo, leaving a relationship ect. The thing you have to keep in mind is just how amazing this is in terms of what it will do. It will alow growth!! And bring clarity!! Thos can also be societal as well, something being left behind in favor of something new. It's letting go and reflecting so that you can move foward.

This is strengthened by the moon card. The moon card is the subconscious and all the things that come with it. The anxiety, the illusion, the uncertainty. You'll want to deal with whatever emotions come up. The moon can signify a confusing time where things aren't what they seem to be. That's the illusions so you'll have rely more on intuition at a time like this. Your dreams might hold significance in this time as well. Listen to your guides and your own guidance because it will help you understand more than you did before this journey began. Using moon cycles to your advantage in November might really help you!!

November for BTS

7 of wands

Challenge and competition. People are envious of bts. We know this. But people will be challenging them for what they've gained: music industry domination. This might co.e in the way that people will spread vicious rumors in attempt to disenfanchise or possibly it will be a fair fight. It could also be a challenge/ battle for some other aspect that involves legal matters.

My best guess though is good old competition. Bts has proven again and again that they will continue to do what they do how they do but they will not be trampled over. In the best way this could renew some of that spirit in friendly competition. They will tear eachothers throats out for a pack of ramen so maybe a bit of competition will be good for them. It keeps life intresting.

November: nothin

December for the collective

Two of cups and the emperor!

Let's start off with the emperor card talks about stability and order. It can also signify being the "breadwinner" so its a good sign that you'll kinda be on top of your shit. The emperor is also an amazing leader so you might find yourself taking on a leadership role too! This is very organized energy that works very smoothly!

two of cups is such a lovely way to end out the year! It's love and partnership and attraction so if you aren't in a relationship by this time you might meet someone who strikes your fancy!! On a none romantic relationship note though, this card is also great for business partnership bc it signifies that you're on the same page and have the same goals in mind!

It's harmonious relationships and trust between them!! Love love love this energy so much! Cups are the suit of emotions and this card is so promising.

If you are in a relationship, this can talk about "falling in love all over again" like you're just reminded of how good they are.

December for BTS

Queen of cups

Intuition, creativity and emotional stability. They're using intuition to guide their moves foward with emotional maturity. They are in a place of knowing what they want and why. This would be a good time to work on an album or a book or to release them. The queen of cups is like the friend that you can tell absolutely anything and somehow they have a helpful answer. This card is really calm and it can also talk about subconscious thoughts.

I think that bts is maybe making more of a conscious effort to make sure that what they do is just as emotionally fulfilling for them as it is for us! They might be kinda pondering the future at this time and considering if this is what fills their emotional cup!

December: possibly a thing?

Now these cards are the vibe of the year and some advice.

For the collective (on the left)

Three of swords and judgment reverse.

The fortune says "accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory"

The 3 of swords is about disappointment and hurt and heartbreak. It's about the emotional release that we all need when shit gets tough. Don't pretend to be strong. If you need to cry, fucking cry. This year is about letting go of expectations and do what you have to do to release so you can move foward and not have these things pile up.

You have to make an effort to not let yourself take on what other people think of you. You aren't defined by what some asshole says. You define yourself.

Judgment reverse is about self doubt and ignoring your path. It's being stagnant and being harsh on yourself. This year has a focus on building yourself up and noticing when you are not. Bring light to the things that are holding you back without harsh judgment for yourself. You can't beat yourself up. If you make a bad decision you know not to make it again. Take accountability and move on.

The oracle card is inner temple.

Seriously all the focus of this year is in self improvement and dear god, please take time to work on yourself spiritually!!! Everything you want to know is there if you take the time to listen. This should be a place where you feel safe and welcome. It definitely should not feel like something you HAVE to do.

For BTS

10 of swords and page of swords

The fortune says "you create your own stage. The audience is waiting" (how tje fuck?? This is the perfect fortune)

The 10 of swords is a painful but necessary end. This is accepting the current situation. They maintain focus for 2021 for them is adapting and keeping their spirits up.

With the page of swords it talks about new ideas and that kind of creativity. It's also a lot about communication so I really think that they'll be figuring out new ways to connect and new projects that will be prosperous.

The oracle card is Pleiades

This is what we talk about all the time. Bts has helped so many people want to be better and do better. They are uplifting humanity and giving people a sense if belonging. Bts finds you when you need them most 💜💜💜

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow I had to write this up over 2 days bc this was so fucking long. I need a nap. Idk if I'll proof read this before I post it so don't hate me for the mistakes (honestly, there's like 10,000 spelling and grammar mistakes in my other posts too 🙃)

I hope you guys enjoyed it and maybe this will be helpful to to have a forecast of some possible energy for you to look out for!!

Also bts bc I love them. I have another bts 2021 reading I'll do soon too!

Hope you guys are happy and well 💜

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portalford · 4 years ago

Text

I Can Picture You So Easily

AO3

It hits Stan at the stupidest times.

Well. That makes it sounds like Stan just forgets, when really it never quite goes away — sometimes it’s just more.

Like now.

He’s looking in the mirror — he found it tucked way, way back in a closet (and he’s gonna skip right over that because when he got here the mirror in the bathroom was broken, cracked until you couldn’t see a thing and why was Ford—nope) — and he’s trying out a new look for Mr. Mystery.

Gotta keep it fresh, right? Accessorize?

Glasses aren’t accessories, unfortunately. He can’t go without them anymore.

(Really, he needed them years ago, but he was too stubborn to admit it, or too broke, or whatever, but he’s literally tripping over his own feet now. Needs must).

Ford wouldn’t be caught dead in this getup. No sense of fashion. So that’s fine.

The glasses—

(Ford started wearing glasses when he was six. Stan had laughed himself silly when they went to the drugstore and tried on the biggest, most obnoxious frames they could find. Ma had scolded, but she’d been too distracted checking price tags to do more than scold.

In the end, they went with some cheap horn-rimmed frames that Stan wouldn’t be caught dead in even now. Old-man glasses, at six. But that was Ford all over).

—they bring some stuff up. The twin thing sucks, sometimes.

(Looking in a mirror and seeing the changes, the lines in his face, the grey in his hair — does Ford have crow’s feet now? Is his hair going silver? It was always unmanageable — is it thinning like Stan’s is now, or is it still thick and flyaway, like it was when Ford was sixteen? Did he even live long enough to get lines in his face and aches in his joints, or is he forever twenty-eight, dead somewhere in the universe?)

Time to stop thinking.

Notice the differences.

Stan’s ears and nose are bigger than Ford’s, always have been. He’s heavier and his shoulders are broader.

(Has Ford gotten bulkier, fighting to survive? Or is still he halfway to gaunt, like the last time Stan saw him?)

Definitely time to stop thinking.

Stan flashes a smile, and yeah, that’s all him. Cheerful, magnetic, and a hundred percent fake.

Time to work the crowds.

*****

There’s an ad for the nice ink pens Ford saved up to buy when he was fourteen.

Stan turns it off.

*****

Mabel finds a picture, once.

“Grunkle Stan!” Her eyes are all lit up as she shows him the torn photograph. “I found this under a floorboard in the attic!”

If Stan ever had any doubts about his poker face, he can lay them to rest now. It’s all on the ropes and his expression is perfectly level, maybe even a little curious.

Mabel is still talking. “I didn’t know there were pictures of you before you were all old! Do you have any others?”

Oh.

Stan still forgets sometimes, even after everything, that most people can’t tell him and Ford apart.

He knows better.

The young man in the photograph is unmistakably Ford, taken while he was living in Gravity Falls. He’s got his head bent over that journal of his, but the photographer managed to catch the eager light in his eye, the edge of his smile.

Stan wonders who that photographer was, all those years ago.

A tug at his shirt reminds him he’s not alone, and he definitely can’t get messed up about this picture of his secret twin brother.

Mabel’s face has fallen a bit. “Grunkle Stan? Are you okay?”

Stan gives himself two more seconds to look at the picture — Ford just looks so happy; Stan can’t even remember the last time Ford looked like that, even before it all fell apart — and turns to Mabel.

“Yeah,” he says. He smiles and ruffles her hair. “Pretty good picture, huh?”

*****

The name is the worst.

Stan never thought identity theft could involve so little fun.

Usually he can get away with just “Stan Pines,” and that’s fine. That’s his name. That’s who he’s supposed to be.

Sometimes, though, that’s not enough for whoever’s asking.

“What did you say your name was again?”

He smiles. Lays it on thick. “Stanford Pines.”

“Could you sign here?”

He does. His blocky, uneven handwriting looks even worse than usual where he’s expecting to see neat, flowing script, the way Stanford Pines is supposed to be written.

“This is Stanford Pines,” someone will say. “Mr. Mystery.”

Stan smiles some more. Yes, Stanford Pines is certainly that.

Gideon is the worst. Stanford this and Stanford that and Stan’s never wanted to punch a child so much in his life.

“Stanford Pines!”

He smiles, and he lies.

*****

Dipper halfway drives him nuts sometimes.

It’s not like the kid’s a mini-Ford — he reminds Stan enough of himself, sometimes, though Stan’s not sure that’s great either — but he’s got the brains and the stubbornness and the love of weird nonsense, for sure.

He’s also got that obsessive edge, the drive that sent Ford right off the metaphorical cliff.

Usually Mabel tags along on the weirdness hunts — they make a day of it. They go out, just the two of them, and come back laughing and joking and shoving at each other.

That’s enough of a painful reminder, but sometimes Stan will catch Mabel sitting by herself, coloring or crafting with a little less energy than usual, and he’ll realize that Dipper’s buried himself in monster theory again.

He tries to keep the kid busy with chores and hustle, but it’s a losing battle.

It was the first time, too.

*****

There’s this old song that Ford used to love when they were younger.

It’s got no words, and Stan used to make fun of it — what's the point of a song with no words? But Ford insisted it had Meaning, capital M.

It comes on the radio now and then.

Depending on how masochistic Stan is feeling that day, he might let it play.

He still wonders what Ford heard in this song, and if Ford would hear it now.

*****

He realizes, one day near the end, that he’s been Stanford longer than he’s been Stanley.

What’s the point, really? What does a name matter if it’s so easy for someone else to take your place?

(Did Ford matter so little, in the grand scheme of things, that not one person could recognize him in a place he lived for six years?

Does Stan, in a place he’s lived for almost thirty?)

If he could just stop catching Ford in his reflection now and then, that’d be great.

*****

It’s not any better once Ford gets back (once Stan brings Ford back, the ungrateful bastard).

“Stanford!”

Stan’s got a smile on his face before he even turns around, and what’s wrong with him that he’s halfway made this lie into a Pavlovian response? Someone calls him Stanford, he smiles and lies.

(Stanford — the real Stanford — is in the basement right now. He doesn’t even exist, as far as anyone else is concerned. Stan is Stanford, Stanley is dead, and Ford is a nonentity.

What a life this is).

*****

“So how was it?”

Stan grunts. “How was what?”

Ford rolls his neck, wincing a little as he works out the unavoidable crick from hunching over a drawing for twenty minutes. “Being me.”

Stan shrugs. “Wasn’t hard. We’re basically the same person, y’know.”

Ford snorts. A long time (a lifetime) ago that comment might have gotten him worked up, but he’s steadier now, softer around the edges. “Very funny. I saw your lease renewal. You didn’t even change your handwriting, for heaven’s sake.”

“Ford, I rolled up to town, said I was you, and started a tourist trap. You had a total personality transplant and nobody noticed.” Stan grimaces. That sounded really bad.

Ford’s expression has gone rueful and a little sad at the edges, but he doesn’t seem like he’s about launch into full-blown self-recrimination, so that’s fine. “Yes, well. That’s what happens when you isolate yourself for six years and your only friend erases his mind to cope with the mistakes you made.”

And that’s Ford trying to shoulder all the blame again, but Stan keeps his mouth shut. They’re both too comfortable to argue right now. “Being honest — for once — it kinda sucked.” Ford’s looking at him, open and encouraging, so Stan keeps going. “Everyone thought I was you, and it—I wasn’t. I didn’t want to be.” Stan shrugs. “I wanted you you.”

Ford smiles, and it’s a little more worn than Stan remembers, but it’s real, and it’s him. “I understand. I met a few parallel versions of you on my travels, and they were you, but — they weren’t really you.” Ford closes his journal (his new one) and sets it aside, tipping his head back over his chair. More playfully, he adds, “I wouldn’t want to be you either, Stanley.”

Stan laughs. “Yeah? Couldn’t handle the salesmanship?”

“Have more self-respect than to wear any part of your wardrobe.”

“Says the man who wears sweaters in the summer.”

Ford lifts his head and smiles, and this time it’s almost exactly how Stan remembers — quick and a little crooked. “Fair enough.” Ford stretches, rolls his neck again. “For what it’s worth, Stanley, I am glad to be back.” A wry look. “Even if it’s going to take ages to sort out the criminal record you gave me.”

Stan slouches deeper into the couch. Any further and he’s going to slide off, but that’s a risk he’ll take. “Yeah, yeah. Talk to me when you’re legally dead.”

“You did that.”

“And?”

“I legally don’t exist.”

“I was trying to learn theoretical physics at the time, Stanford; cut a man some slack.”

Ford laughs, quiet. “Did I ever thank you for that?”

Stan cracks an eye open. He didn’t realize he closed them. “What, learnin’ physics? Because I’m pretty sure that’s some of the stuff that’s not coming back.”

Ford rolls his eyes. “For saving me.”

“Hm.” Ford’s thanked him several times, but lately it’s been less Ford kicking himself and more Ford cautiously trying to engage in the old back-and-forth they used to have, and Stan can get behind that one. “I dunno. Might have to say it again.”

“You’re burning through my gratitude very quickly,” Ford says mildly, “but all right. Thank you for saving me. You knucklehead.”

Stan never got called that when he was Ford. He thinks he’s missed it, at least the way Ford says it — like it means something completely different.

“Uh-huh.” Stan’s eyes are closed again. He figures he’ll just leave them closed. “Missed you too, nerd.”

And maybe there’s something to be said for being your own person.

It feels pretty good.

#gravity falls #gravity falls fanfiction #stanley pines #stanford pines #back on the angst with a happy ending train #feat. a side of introspection and melodrama!#i love it here

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bunnys-beetlejuice-blog · 4 years ago

Text

some kind of loud, attention grabbing noise that lets you know ITS FIC TIME, BABYYYYY you could start here, but the context... the build up.. the hours of worldcrafting, you'd miss it all... so start here, instead, then circle back.

These last two weeks have actually been nice. She and Adam had both mutually agreed that, despite not being the kind of person either of them would intentionally seek out on their own, Beetlejuice (she still has a hard time believing that’s what BJ stands for, but okay,) is fun. Not just fun, but funny, and seemingly often in the mood to laugh, in that overblown, Vincent Price horror movie way he does, which earns him multiple shushes in the library.

Drama club has gotten better. Barbara has a private theory that what most people need is to just get used to BJ, to spend enough time with him that he stops looking like an outsider, and it’s coming true, slowly, but finally. BJ had mentioned off-handedly he played ukulele, and when the other kids had expressed interest, he’d brought it with him the next day... Though she’s not quite sure where he kept it, the entire day. She’s seen that mess of a locker he’s got. She doubts it fits in there. And it can’t have been in his backpack, either, because every time he sets it down, she can hear what sounds like glass and rocks settling. She’s even seen him, after school, pick up a rock and shove it in one of the pockets. She has to assume his bag weighs a hundred pounds, or so.

His instrument, almost predictably, was painted with black and white stripes, but he’d played the little thing like a pro. She had never taken him for someone who enjoyed the mellow, soft sounds the ukulele was known for, but clearly, she doesn’t know enough about the boy. Miss Larson, the drama instructor, had clapped, and learned that BJ could read music, too. “Maybe while we’re practicing, you can accompany us?” She’d asked, clearly trying to work a way into getting more participation out of their newest member. BJ had been flustered, but had agreed, easily.

The wildest thing had been hearing him sing. They’d moved from being in the drama room, most days, to being in the auditorium, working on lines and practicing their singing. No one’s been officially cast, yet, but it’s mostly to get used to being on stage. Miss Larson had insisted that BJ sing a few lines for them, and he’d sort of made a face, ducked backstage, and had appeared with his ukulele in hand. Barbara didn’t even know he’d put it back there.

“Uh, so, sing what?” He’d shuffled awkwardly, and Miss Larson had smiled. “Whatever you feel,” to which BJ just snorted, and rolled his eyes, but then he plucked a few notes on his ukulele, and started to sing.

“There’s a camp, there’s a camp, by the frozen lake, wa wa ooh. With every belly starving and every finger numb, but up on the hill there’s a red, red rum, somebody’s always cooking something in the lean-to.”

It wasn't a song she’d recognized, but it was clearly morbid. She shouldn’t have expected anything different. The real focal point was his voice, his strange, scratchy pitch, because despite sounding like he gargles sandpaper and nails, he’s got a strong, clear tone, one that carries well, and as he sings, he doesn’t hit a single sour note. She also noted that his enunciation is much clearer when he’s singing, oddly enough. He sang as much as he decided he needed to, and clung to his ukelele as he finished, like a lifeline. “So. Yeah.” He’d said, and then flinched when the clapping started, from all members present, but especially her and Adam. He’d stood looking around at them all, utterly baffled.

“You didn’t tell us you would sing!” Jeremiah, the student director, was the one who looked the most enthused, and BJ balked. “Didn’t think it mattered. M’just gonna be a stagehand.. Right?”

“Maybe he could play the dentist?” Miss Larson had looked at Jeremiah, and they’d begun talking amongst themselves, ignoring him, as he strummed nervously at his instrument.

“Oh, wait, check this out!”

And he sings again, another verse from that same, oddly morbid song, which she’d started to pick up is definitely about cannibals, but his voice is.. Different. The grit is gone. It’s like he’d ran his vocal cords under some hot soapy water, and washed all the grime and gravel out of them, because he sang like an angel, like a normal person, and then, suddenly, devolved into a hacking cough, doubled over.

“Sorry, can only do that so long. Hurts my throat,” he said, after a moment, all the grit back in his voice. He waited. There had been a soft laugh, and then it grew louder, coming from each of the members watching him in turn, because the idea that speaking like THAT somehow hurts, and his normal tone doesn’t, is just so outrageous and silly, and he’d stood there proudly, grinning in that way he does, because his joke had landed, and he might, for the first time since he was forced into their club, be enjoying himself.

So, yes. The last few weeks have been good. Very good.

All that club progress aside, looking back makes her a little flustered, because at this point, she’s gotten the hint that he’s not gay. What he is, is incredibly flirty, not only with Adam but with her, and she finds herself... enjoying it. He keeps his ukulele tucked into the bottom of the cart in the library, and sometimes, when he’s certain he won’t be interrupted, he grabs it and sings little songs about them, laying on top of the cart like a drunk lounge singer on a piano, as she or Adam wheel it along. The songs are made up on the spot tunes that often start dirty, and end sincere, like he can’t even help it. It’s embarrassing, and endearing, and just very… Beetlejuice.

There’s just the problem lingering overhead, the one she’s desperate to solve, of Kevin. BJ doesn’t talk about him, abruptly changes the subject when she tries, or just goes silent, and gives her a hard glare with those amber eyes, which is the worst of the three options, because silence on him is unnerving. He can do this thing where he goes deathly still, and she swears he doesn’t even breathe, just stands there, totally unmoving, like a corpse.

She thinks if she could just go to his house, and talk to his mother, she might get a better understanding of the entire situation, but despite him inviting them, he’s never followed up, and both Adam and herself are too polite to push.. Directly. But then, he doesn’t show up that day, not for library duty and not for drama club, and she makes the decision for him, that today is the day they’ll be coming over. She gets his address out of the guidance counselor, easily. “It’s so sweet you two want to go check up on him,” Mrs. Birch says, sliding his address across her desk to Barbara. “I knew the drama club would be a good fit for him! He’s already making friends!”

Adam’s mom is nice enough to drop them off, and Adam, adorable, sweet Adam, stares delighted at the house, as they walk up the front steps. “It’s a tudor!” he tells her, and she sort of nods, not really knowing exactly what that means. “I’ve never seen one painted black and white, before. Usually those accents are a natural wood color,” and she rings the bell, as he goes on. The outside of the house matches BJ’s stripes, and she wonders if that’s coincidence, or if his parents just really, really love him. The door swings open, and then a chubby blur jumps away from their line of sight, startling her from her thoughts. “Beetlejuice?” Adam calls, concerned, and it takes a moment for their friend to reappear in the doorway, with a croaked out, “Sup?”

He looks terrible. He always looks a little terrible, as mean as that is to say, too pale and with purple spots under his eyes she chalks up to exhaustion, but he looks worse, today. It hadn’t occurred to her that he’d actually be sick.

“We just wanted to come by and see if you were okay,” she tells him, and BJ cocks his head so far to the side, he looks like he might fall over. “Why?” “Because.. We’re your friends,” Adam says, cautiously, which causes BJ to stare down at the checkered entryway tile.

“Oh.” He packs a lot of emotion into that little noise.

“Can we come in?” She asks, and he doesn’t look sure, rubbing at the back of his neck, but then next to him, in the doorway, appears what must be Mrs. Deetz. She’s on the tall side, slim, with blonde hair past her shoulders, and she’s wearing all black with lace accents. Even her stud earrings and the rings on her fingers are that same dark hue.

“Well, hello! BJ, invite your friends in!” She urges him, and then, to them asks, “You kids hungry? We’re just sitting down to dinner. It’s grilled cheese tower night,” and then she turns, and leaves them there, like that needs no explanation.

BJ fidgets a moment, but relents. “Come in, I guess,” he moves aside, and Adam and Barbara take a collective step into the Deetz household. The house is dark, not for lack of light, but for lack of color. The walls are paneling which Adam, delighted, says must be original, but they’ve been stained a dark shade of coffee, and it takes a moment for her eyes to adjust. When she does, she takes in how strangely eerie the place is. It’s less like someone’s home and more like a haunted house ride.

“Oh, you guys haven't taken down the Halloween décor, yet?” Adam asks, noting a cracked vase full of black roses on a side table as they follow BJ further in, and BJ snorts. “That crap? It's up in th’ attack. This is what passes for normal around here.” Barbara stops to stare at a picture of a distorted figure cannibalizing a smaller one. “Saturn Devouring His Son,” BJ says, briefly putting on a voice like a tour guide, high pitched and peppy, and both she and Adam wince. “What’s with you and cannibalism?” she asks, which only earns her that haunted laugh in response.

The kitchen, at least, looks a little more normal and bright, but Barbara learns quickly that’s not to be trusted, because sitting on the counter is what looks to be a lasagna made from sandwiches and sauce. “You guys are here on a night Emily had to cook. Bad luck,” BJ tells them, and it takes her a moment to realize he’s talking about his mother. Does he use her first name?

Emily, or, Mrs. Deetz, her mind corrects politely, busies herself with dishing them both a plate. “So, you kids must be.. Adam and Barbara,” she says, knowingly, and BJ, perhaps embarrassed, shuffles his bare feet at nothing. He’s been talking to his mom about them… aww. She notices then that he’s in his pajamas, which are, like everything else he wears, eccentric. He looks cute. She realizes she’s staring, and BJ catches her eye, and wiggles his eyebrows at her. Oh, god.

“We’re sorry for dropping by unannounced, Mrs. Deetz,” Adam says, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and Mrs. Deetz waives that off. “It’s totally fine. BJ’s never taken a sick day, before, I bet you probably thought he was faking. You kids can call me Emily. And that, of course, is Lydia.” She gestures to the nine year old scrutinizing them from the kitchen table.

“Hello again,” Barbara says, and Lydia gives her a smile, at least, but it's wary, it’s very, “I’ve got my eyes on you.” It’s strange to see from a little kid.

They all sit down to eat, all five of them, at the kitchen table, she and Adam settled across from BJ and Lydia. Adam squints, trying to read what’s on the other boy’s shirt. “What does that say?” he asks, and BJ glances down, and pulls the top taught, to make it easier to read. “Least exciting hole I’ve ever been in,” both boys say, at the same time. “Grand Canyon National Park.” Barbara and Adam both blush at that, and Mrs.. Emily, Emily just laughs. Lydia looks annoyed. “No one will explain to me what that means,” she tells Barbara, leaning closer to her, and almost looking hopeful. Barbara avoids that look. “It’s a dirty joke,” is all she says, and Lydia, clearly not satisfied, just takes a bite of her grilled cheese abomination. “Chuck hates this shirt,” BJ tells them. “Chuck?” “Chuck, Chuckster, Chuckles, Charles.. My dad,” he grates out. Barbara can’t imagine calling her father by his first name. She’d be in a world of trouble for being “disrespectful,” if she tried. “Is Mr. Deetz home?” Adam asks, and Lydia is the one to reply, mouth still a little too full.

“He’s at the office. He’s always working so fucking late,” Lydia says, and then lets it settle in the air, like she’s waiting for something. Barbara balks, and it feels like her eyes are bulging out of her head, because she’s never heard that kind of language from a nine year old. She glances at Emily nervously, waiting for her to blow up, to be angry, but Emily just seems to be in deep thought.

“I dunno about that one, Lyds,” Mrs. Deetz finally says, and Lydia puffs up her chest and tries again. “He’s always working so god damn late?” She looks to her mother, and Emily, finger on her chin, nods. “Yeah, alright. I hereby decree that Lydia Deetz, at the age of nine and a half, is allowed to say god damn.” Lydia pumps her fist and then takes another huge mouthful of grilled cheese casserole. “Bout fuckin’ time,” BJ grunts. Barbara thinks the Deetz family might all be whack jobs. there's more, a lot more, but tumblr can't handle it all, so read this chapter in full over on Ao3!

#beetlejuice #beetlejuice fanfiction #beetlejuice the musical #goldenrat #beetlelands #barbara maitland #adam maitland #lydia deetz #emily deetz

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storytellingfandom · 4 years ago

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Calculators and Key Changes

Summary: Kazami blew into Republic City High like a hurricane. The students loved her, she changed how the arts program was run and rose it out of the ashes. She got along with most all of the staff, that is, except for one.

Lin would give her props for saving the arts program, but that’s as far as it went. The failed opera singer was obviously looking for what she’d see as an “easy” gig to get her back in the papers and then abandon her students. And she wasn’t going to offer praise for a one trick pony.

But when things shift, when there’s an understanding, can their students push the two titans of the school together to find their own happiness?

A/N: This is a completely self indulgent high school AU. I tried to write it in second person POV, but it didn’t flow well so it is third person with it being Lin x OC. Many props go to @kuvirasbrat for helping me get this shaped though <3

Word count: 1976

Pulling into the school’s parking lot, the sun had just started to rise and the soft glow was caught in the windows in the early autumn light. Bright blue eyes took in the colors as she pulled into the school parking lot and settled her car into her normal parking spot near her choir room. Turning the car off, Kazumi Ikeda sat in her car for a moment and sipped her vanilla chai latte a little bit longer.

She loved her early morning ensemble kids. The ones who were willing to get up early, go through music reading bootcamp, and audition for this class. The ones who not only enjoyed the music, but felt it through their being.

With a sigh, she opened her car door and grabbed her bag. Setting her latte on top of the car for a second, she reached in and grabbed a second bag with her materials for her music theory and history classes later on that day. Shouldering it, she grabbed her latte again before making her way into the school.

The start of a new year was always fun, at least it was after the first week. Waving to some of the other teachers that had sold their souls for early morning advanced groups, she slipped into her classroom and into her office. Switching the light on, she dropped her bag full of her materials on her desk and her purse into a drawer. Bringing her keys with her, she tossed them on the piano as she went over the music they’d be starting today.

At least these copies didn’t have fucking equations hiding what key it was in.

When Kazumi had started at Republic City High after a successful career in opera, the one person in the school that seemed to want to see her fall on her face was Lin Beifong. When she’d started, the woman made damn sure she knew what she thought of her. Barbs were sniped on both sides from that day forward. Barbs turned into more though when Lin made it almost impossible for some of her students to leave for competitions that they were needed on.

And she wasn’t about to let that go by unnoticed.

Finding out Lin liked to be in school just as early as she did, she kept her doors opened for practice, pressing keys harder than they needed to be so that the piano music would disturb the woman in whatever she was doing.

Lin retaliated in stealing things she needed for her other class. The projector was never there when she needed, she never got to show movies unless it was on the older tvs.

Kazumi didn’t take equipment, she understood what Lin’s job was and what was needed, instead she gathered the help of her students. Band kids offering their drum lines for a song that just had to have them. Sopranos doing what they did best and rang out louder than they needed to.

The next time she’d changed her music for her students, she found her music coded in math equations which meant she had to solve them in order to figure out the key signature. Which meant going in search of a different math teacher to help her solve it properly since of course Beifong was a genius in overly complicated mathematics.

Two years had passed and by now it was school tradition. You either sided with Beifong or Ikeda. Students offered ways for the women to get back at each other. Competitive sides fought over top marks in it. Anything from fundraisers, pep rallies, games, it all became a competition for which teacher would have the top group or would bring out the most from them.

This year though, Kazumi found herself over the idea of this silly thing. Over the summer, she’d lost a dear friend in a terrible accident and the competition suddenly seemed so trivial.

She doubted Lin would cooperate but maybe she could at least pull some of the stick that seemed to be shoved up the other’s arse out.

Shaking her head, Kazumi made sure the side braid she’d fashioned that morning was still in place before going to open the door to her classroom. Smiling when she saw Asami standing outside the door, she motioned in the young woman before setting the door hold in place.

“Good morning, Miss Sato. Did you have a good weekend?” Kazumi asked, following her back into the room.

“Yeah, I mostly got to work with the new engineering teacher on an after school group that will start up hopefully this week.” Asami answered, setting her bag near the risers before moving to grab her music folder.

“That’s great, Asami! You’ve been working on that for about six months haven’t you?” Kazumi asked, moving to sit at the piano to plunk out a tune.

“Yeah, I’m really hoping that others will be interested so that the school let’s it stay.” Asami answered walking over to the piano.

“Well if I can do anything let me know.” Kazumi answered, reaching for her coffee with one hand to sip on.

As the other kids started to file in, she greeted each one in kind. For the ones that were returning, she knew details of their lives. Their siblings, relationship with parents, their hopes and aspirations, little things as well like their favorite shows or what they were up to outside of school.

It was why the kids always seemed to connect to her.

“Ms. Ikeda?” One of the kids called out, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“Huh? Oh! Sorry guys, let’s get started.” Kazumi announced starting into the familiar tunes of their warm ups. One blue eye caught the open door though and she paused. An olive branch. “Bolin, will you shut the door for me, please?”

Eyes went wide at the request but the boy stumbled over himself to pull the door closed. Poking his head out as he did so, he offered Beifong a wave before pulling the doors closed and shutting in the music.

An eyebrow went up seeing Bolin pulling the door shut. That was new. Normally Kazumi made it a point to leave the door open. Leave it so that the voices of their shared students filled the hallways. Way too damn early if you asked her. Especially the sopranos.

She was sure her forehead had become permanently imprinted with things such as her stapler or paper clips from the times she’d beat her head into her desk at the incessant noise.

But now the hallways were quiet. The voices were muffled, not flowing through, leaving the halls quiet and stagnant. The rest of the student population wouldn’t be here for another hour or so yet, and now all of a sudden, Lin found herself almost missing the sound of music in the hallways.

Not that she’d ever tell her that.

Draping her jacket over the back of her chair, Lin shook out the silk black blouse, making sure the cuffs were setting properly on her wrists. The charcoal grey slacks coming to a tapered cuff just above her ankles to reveal the small heel she wore. Steel grey hair pulled back into a bun, and makeup light and never more than needed.

Precise, angled, and too put together.

Reaching her her coffee, Lin sipped it quietly. Bitter in her mouth, the dark liquid was the opposite of what the choir director drank. Black, with only minimal sugar allowed in. Maybe she’d been a little harsh on the other woman. She’d been an accomplished opera singer from what she’d heard, something happened though and now here she was teaching. It felt like the story where she’d gotten a bad review and tucked tail to run.

Whatever the case, maybe the closed choir room door was a peace offering of some kind, and while Lin highly doubted they’d be friends, being civil did have certain appeals.

*********

Lunch time in high school was always a fascinating set of traditions. Friend circles grew, they shrunk, they included people Kazumi would never expect. They were fascinating. However, they were only as fascinating as that when she didn’t forget her granola bar sitting on her dining room table. Like she had that morning. Her lunch wasn’t for another couple of hours. This was fine.

Wandering between the tables, she waved at those that called out their greeting and paused when she heard others call her over for questions.

��Hey, Ms. Ikeda?” A student called out to her.

“Hey Ayama, what’s up?” Kazumi asked, walking over to her table.

“You studied literature for a while, right? I’m taking Mr. Kogarashi’s history of religion class and this text is so....empty of anything that I can’t figure it out.” Ayama answered, looking up hopefully.

“Ahh, I’ve heard rumors of his class. He does seem like one to assign those. Here, let me see the passage.” Kazumi answered and reached for the text. Tenzin really did pick the worst things for kids to read for class, no wonder the kids skipped.

It was perched on one of the tables going over a reading section with one of their students that Lin found her. Part of her dark brown hair in a side braid leaving the rest to fall around her shoulders. Elbows resting on her knees, the sun catching her toffee colored skin and showed off the warm undertones, catching the blue of her eyes that were lost in the book. While she wore tailored jeans and the sleeveless linen blouse that was tucked under a deep red cardigan jacket.

Wait, since when did she notice these things?

Shaking her head, she walked over to her normal spot, listening to Kazumi point out different imagery points and where she could connect them to the historic points that Tenzin deemed more important than others. A gentle hand on the students shoulders, and she was easing herself off the table.

Heeled boots guided Kazumi over to Lin, offering her a tentative smile as she came to stand with her. “Lin.”

“Kazumi.”

“You hear about the updates for the library?”

“Yeah, they have a new section for practical mathematics. Maybe the kids will see it’s used everyday.” Lin shrugged, her arms folded across her chest. Looking over, she noticed that the other woman didn’t have the normal granola bar that she’d eat during this time. “Don’t you usually have a bar or something?”

“Huh? Oh. Normally yes, but it’s currently making use of itself on my dining room table.” Kazumi shrugged, eyes straying over to the normal trouble makers. “I’ll be fine though.”

“You have the later lunch.” Lin pointed out, raising her brow. “You’ll be miserable by then.”

“I’ll be fine. Really.” Kazumi answered, confused as to why Lin seemed to make such a big deal out of it when they were barely speaking.

Sighing, Lin broke her granola bar in half and handed one side of it to Kazumi. “Here. I’ll never hear the end of it if I saw you before you pass out from low blood sugar.”

Eyeing the other woman, seafoam blue eyes looked on the other for a long moment before she took it from her. “Thanks.”

*******

The moment hadn’t gone unnoticed by the students who watched with large eyes as Lin passed the choir director part of her granola bar. Nor had the fact they’d been standing and having a civil conversation for more than ten seconds.

“Do you think…”

“I don’t know. She never shares food like that!”

“Are they still talking?”

“It looks like it.”

“Did Ikeda just smile at Beifong?!”

“She definitely did.”

“You know what this means?

“Beikeda finally sails?”

“Definitely. Asami, you get the coffees tomorrow?”

“On it.”

“Gotta start small. But we can do this guys. Let’s pay them back for everything they do.”

#lin beifong #lin beifong x oc #lin beifong/oc #lok fanfiction #fanfiction #legend of korra

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kyutown · 3 years ago

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🌊✨🌊✨🌊✨🌊✨🌊✨🌊✨🌊✨🌊✨

Hello hello there luv <33 how’s your day going? I kind of forgot if I sent in a request already or not 😅 I’m so sorry for the inconvenience and so I’m just sending it in just in case 😅💕

So I would like a ship with Enhypen:

I’m a ‘04 liner, 5’5 and my mbti type is enfp, my enneagram type is 3. Also I’m South Asian and extremely proud of my heritage and culture. I can accept other cultures easily and love to learn about them so someone who is respectful and open about other cultures and heritages would be ideal. I feel that I want someone that I can kind of match with too like me and him could wear the same aesthetic and take cutesy pictures. I have a deep interest in the arts, from painting to dance-which I have been doing for the past 11 years- as well as biology and science in general. I’m a scorpio sun, Pisces moon, and Virgo rising and don’t really have a specific favorite color or season cuz I think every color has its own vibes and every season brings something new to the table 😊 I’m a bit indecisive and pretty bad at expressing jealousy, though I do put great emphasis on communication in any relationship. My love language is quality time but I do reserve physical affection for those close to me. I’m also a inconsistent in my endeavors and am working on that trait of mine, but I do better with consistency if I have someone constantly motivating me. (Lol the unfinished paintings in my room could probably tell u that) I also love public speaking and such but only until my social battery runs out haha. Plus I have an easier time trying something new if I have the comfort of a warm loved one near me. I prefer sunny blue skies and warm days with a light breeze, major picnic vibes lol. I can be a bit guarded though with what I say, even to the people who care about me the most, so I get along well with people who won’t misunderstand me. My parent’s , especially mom’s, opinion really do matter to me a lot and I am someone who thrives in social environments and cares about keeping a respectful and kind reputation towards all. I'd also love it if I could go on and on about different theories and topics , deep or not, with him. I need constant mental stimulation in a relationship and honestly, without it, I just get bored. I want to be able to learn from him and I want him to be able to learn from me. Like to just be a couple that is always trying and doing something new, but I also want to be able to relax with him as well when the world gets overwhelming. I feel that I, myself, have a hard time grounding myself so someone who can help me keep my feet on the ground and head in the clouds would be nice. I'm either totally logical when it comes to matters of the heart or totally head in the clouds. It's something that I am working on, but I do acknowledge that. As for pet peeves, I can't stand it when people come to me with an issue that I already tried to help them solve and they don't even take my solution. I need someone who is going to at least try to take my advice and not just throw it down the drain. Again, at times I can run away from my emotions and just be detached for no reason..I need someone who understands that and knows how to handle that. I like it when my loved ones are a little argumentative with me as well, as light teasing though, rather than being all sappy and lovey-dovey all the time. I need someone who isn't going to get too hurt by my way of joking and can joke back but knows not to cross the line. Fun fact: my friends unanimously agree that I’m the color yellow and the my personality is more like the sun than the moon. I also love sunrises and sunsets , actually idk if I’ve mentioned this but I just love the sky in general. Lol over half of my camera roll is filled with pictures of the sky and I try to take time out of every day to simply look up and enjoy the beauty of it :)))

I apologize for how long this came out , I have a tendency to rant 😅 but thank you so much for doing these, please take care of yourself 💕💕

Some energy boosters for u:🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷✨🌷

hi! thank you for responding!

for enhypen, i think you would match well with sunoo! i think sunoo is very similar to you as he is like the sun in the group! he would always take aesthetic and cute pictures with you and would love to go on picnics and go on dates where the sky is visible because you wants to see your smile! he is someone who is very happy and tends to strive more in the social environment! though he may be silly and playful, he would be serious when the time makes him to or when you are sad, his serious face goes on as he would never mess around when you are hurt. but overall, he would be the one who would care about you and would be your cloud that surrounds you to your sun!

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tirednotflirting · 4 years ago

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haunting me forever from the start

some spooky season Cake for @ashesonthefloor‘s halloween fic event :)

so so much thanks to ainslee for organizing such a fun event !! i feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to take part in something with some of my favorite writers and people and if you haven’t dug through everyone else’s posts i recommend checking out the event masterlist here !!

alright you’re gonna have to forgive me because i have never been to a haunted house and i wrote most of this in the middle of the night after work and I was always too scared to find haunted house pov videos at that hour. so i took some creative liberties on some of this.

also this is likely pushing the limits of how much fluff i should be allowed to fit into something but i promised miss meg Cake fluff after the other piece i posted of them earlier this week sjdflksdj

soooooo my prompt was: “We’re part of the same group in this haunted house, and you won’t stop clinging to me every time we get spooked.” Or, one person is really clingy with someone else in their group. It’s a good thing they’re cute. They can either know each other or not.

okay enjoy the silly fun and happy halloween !!!

{read on ao3 here}

Genuinely, Calum should have expected this when he told Michael he could pick out their Friday night activity.

Or well, Calum really hadn’t gotten the choice in picking what they did since he only got out of his calculus midterm probably forty-five minutes earlier and Michael picked him up, and rather than driving back to their shared apartment for another movie night, they’re now somewhere on the north side of town in a parking lot. It’s the parking lot at the fairgrounds which at first had Calum confused because Michael hasn’t been a fan of this fair since the trouble he had with the corn dogs here about a year ago. But then Michael asks him to grab the folded papers out of the glovebox and after just a bit of inspection, Calum learns the real reason they’re here.

“No. No way.” Calum shakes his head, his arms folding across his chest, defensively.

“Come one, Cal,” Michael whines. “You’ve barely left campus or the apartment in weeks because of midterms. You can’t tell me that you really wanted to spend another night watching superhero movies in the living room.”

“That’s literally exactly what I wanted to do tonight. Mikey, my brain basically melted during that exam.”

“Great,” Michael starts as he swipes the papers from Calum’s hand and moves to open his car door. “Then this haunt probably won’t even scare you too bad like the ones we tried last year.”

Calum huffs out a breath as he opens his own door, slamming it closed a bit harder than probably necessary and joins Michael in front of the car. It’s early October so the air in their college town is cool but not yet cold. Either way, he’s thankful for the hoodie he had decided to bring to campus that morning. They head up in the direction of the fairgrounds and Calum lets Michael lead since he obviously has a bit more of an idea about where they’re headed.

“Or that’ll just make it even worse.” Calum tries to argue. “I’m barely a functioning human right now. My head is filled with integrals and fear, Michael.”

“You’ll be fine. I’ll be right there with you the whole time and if it really is that bad, I’ll owe you a hot chocolate and funnel cake once we get out, okay?”

Calum purses his lips in thought for a moment because that is a pretty good deal, all things considered. Plus he hasn’t had anything to eat since the late lunch he had a few hours before his exam and his stomach is yelling at the mere mention of junk food. “Fine.” he concedes. “But you aren’t allowed to make fun of me like last year if I get freaked out in there, okay?”

“You got it.”

They continue through the fair, the bright lights around the food and game booths starting to light up all colors of the rainbow as the sun makes its final descent below the horizon. It’s an awfully cheery prelude to a haunted house, Calum thinks, and he’s kinda surprised Michael somehow found a haunted house nestled into the middle of a fall fair. Around them, families and groups of high school kids wander with bright eyes and smiles from booth to booth. Kids clutch sugary treats and oversized stuffed animals while parents follow closely behind. Young couples wait in line for the ferris wheel and share clouds of cotton candy. It’s all such a rosy picture of an autumn evening and Calum wishes he were taking part in this rather than heading up toward the nightmare factory Michael is leading him towards.

Eventually, they reach a barricade where some kid in a neon t-shirt with the name of the haunted house printed across the front scans the printed tickets that Michael has and they’re pointed toward a line forming outside of the metal building that’s likely has some other not-so-spooky purpose outside of the month of October. In front of Michael and Calum are a group of boys probably around middle school age, if Calum had to guess. He’s considering how mortifying it’s going to be when a bunch of actual children hear him scream when Michael chimes in, as though hearing Calum’s thoughts.

“See, Cal,” Michael lets his elbow drop to lean on Calum’s shoulder. “These kids aren’t even scared of this. You’ll be totally fine.”

Calum is moments away from giving a snarky response when he catches a glimpse of the people in line behind them as he turns in Michael’s direction.

And of course the most beautiful boy he has ever laid his eyes on is just steps behind him and also about to witness Calum shriek like a baby at the sight of a clown or something.

The boy is accompanied by another (though their body language seems to be mimicking Calum and Michael as they laugh at something on a phone screen so for the time being he decides they are not on a date) and he’s tall, taller than Calum by a few inches probably. He’s got curly blonde hair tied up back into a little bun though the cool evening breeze has some of the hair around his face blowing into his blue eyes. Calum is trying not to be overdramatic but he thinks he might be looking at an angel. (Or a really pretty demon. He is like, seconds away from walking into one of his greater fears, after all.)

He shakes his head before abruptly turning back toward the front of the line to avoid staring when Michael, of course, decides to take a look at what Calum had been glancing towards. His face lights up and Calum assumes he’s about to be teased until they head into the haunt when Michael himself blushes just slightly across his nose before speaking. “Ashton! Is that you?”

The boy walking up with the angel pulls the hood from his sweatshirt off from around his head and smiles brightly. “Michael, funny seeing you here. How’s it going?”

“Doing well. Finally got the roommate out for an evening on the town since he’s been studying like it’s his full time job for the last three weeks.”

“Michael, we’re sophomores. Studying actually is my full time job,” Calum pouts. Great, he thinks, now the cute boy is going to think he’s a total nerd. Which he absolutely is but that’s not the point.

Ashton laughs at the exchange. “He’s got you there,” he starts while extending a hand out toward Calum. “I’m Ashton. Michael and I took developmental psychology together during summer session. This is my roommate, Luke.”

Calum accepts Ashton’s hand and smiles shyly first at him and then Luke, who holds his hand up in a short wave as Ashton introduces him. “I’m Calum. It’s nice to meet you guys.”

Similar greetings are exchanged among the four of them as they go through obligatory What’s your major? Where are you from? undergrad small talk as the line inches toward the entrance.

Michael and Ashton eventually pull the conversation toward what they’re taking in their psychology classes this semester (Ashton is a year ahead of the rest of them and Michael very obviously wants the low down on the finals he’ll be taking at the end of the semester but also Ashton’s number if Calum is reading the signs correctly). Luke laughs and turns his eyes toward Calum's as they’re shut out of the conversation.

Suddenly Luke is leaning in toward Calum's ear and he swears his heart skips a beat because Luke is very cute and smells very nice. Luke giggles softly before speaking quietly enough that it’s obvious he’s trying to avoid the other two hearing him. “Ash used to come home from that class with heart eyes, I swear. If he doesn’t get the guts to ask Michael out before the end of the night, we may need to take matters into our hands.”

Calum grins, feeling accomplished that he read the situation correctly. “You like playing matchmaker then?”

“Only when it’s for people being that dumb.” Luke gestures over to the blushing pair standing a couple feet away from them. He’s got a point, Calum admits silently. He’s been friends with Michael since they were kids and he knows that flirty face anywhere.

“Alright so if we get to the other side of this and they’re not exchanging numbers, how subtle do we go about suggesting they get together again to geek out about psych theories?”

Luke shakes his head, a playful grin playing at his lips. “Oh no, I’ve always found greater success with a more direct approach. It’s the engineering major in me. We like to face our problems head on.”

Calum is opening his mouth to make another comment back (though he will admit, trying to fit flirting into an exchange about setting up his best friend is a bit of a challenge he’s realizing) when the line starts moving again, bringing them just about to the front of the line. And of course, Calum was too distracted by the short banter the line allowed to pay attention to how much time had passed and now he’s just about to step into this mess of an idea of Michael’s.

The group of kids that had been in front of Michael and Calum are let in with the family that had been just before them, and the person running the door lets the four of them along with the couple behind Ashton and Luke know they’ll go through the haunt as a group. Ashton lets out a short laugh once the kids head off into the darkened doorway. “Honestly, glad we’re not going through with them. Love a haunted house but I swear kids will just scream so loud for fun in these things.”

Calum watches the three of them agree and he finds himself nodding but also silently preparing himself for being the annoying kid screaming. Though in his case it’s more because he’s a bit of a wimp and not just doing it for fun.

He chats back and forth with Luke for a few more minutes while they wait for their turn to head inside. Luke’s telling him about some ridiculous thing that happened in one of his labs the week before and Calum finds himself a little shocked at how quickly their conversation has become so comfortable. He’s not used to feeling so at ease with people so quickly that aren’t Michael or maybe his sister. He would sit with the feeling for longer, really let himself think on why he might be feeling that way, but then the kid at the door is telling them to head on inside.

The haunt starts basically in Calum’s least favorite kind of way. (Though given his disdain for these things, it’s not like he has a favorite but that doesn’t change how this is his least favorite.) It’s nearly pitch black as the group of six step inside and it’s just a little bit too quiet, the only sound in the room being the wind blowing against the metal roof of the building. He hears some snickering coming from the group that he tries to focus on as he squeezes his eyes shut and wills them to adjust to the lack of light.

Soon enough though there’s some scratching noises coming from the corners of the room and a couple actors in dark, obscure costumes pop out in the direction of their group. Calum contains most noises of panic, really just gasping as his feet stop short. The chest of the person walking behind him collides with his back while a gentle hand grabs onto his shoulder as the person steadies. Automatically, Calum assumes the person to be Michael since he’s typically the one jumping to comfort Calum with such little hesitation.

But then just in front of him he hears a giggle that he knows belongs to his best friend and he feels his forehead scrunching up in confusion until a voice speaks quietly near his ear. “You good?” Luke asks him, his hand still placed comfortingly against his shoulder. Calum feels his face relax then, his mind just a bit more at ease knowing that it’s not that other couple with them stuck behind his panicked body.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good.” Calum whispers back to Luke after clearing his throat. Luke’s hand drops from his arm after what feels like a gentle squeeze and they continue on ahead. Calum takes a deep breath both in an effort to calm himself and in annoyance. Not only is he going to have nightmares for weeks after this but there’s also no way in hell he’ll be able to make eye contact with Luke once they’re out of this thing.

The scary noises drift in and out and Calum finds that those aren’t too bad. The hissing of a smoke machine lets him anticipate the floor of the next room being covered in a fog and he feels pretty proud of himself when he gets it right. The room isn’t too bad; the actors in there are obviously meant to be some brand of zombie and it was only about a week earlier that Michael and Calum did a rewatch of Zombieland for movie night so the memory leaves him giggling along with everyone else for once.

Calum is just starting to believe that maybe he’s got a grip of things this time around in terms of containing his fear at the whole situation when suddenly the room is filled with strobe lights and loud noises (chainsaws, maybe?) and Luke’s chest is once again colliding with Calum’s back as he shoots back some at the noise. This time around Calum feels gentle hands moving to hold onto his arms, the touch instantly one that calms him and gets his feet to start moving in the direction of the rest of the group again. Calum focuses on the feel of Luke’s warm hands tapping out a beat against the fabric of his sweatshirt and his view of the back of Michael’s head as they move down the path set out in the room to avoid looking at his surroundings too much.

The haunt isn’t a long one and according to what Calum had heard Michael saying about this place on their walk into the fairgrounds earlier in the night, there should only be a couple more rooms before their group reaches the end. Calum continues to jump at most of what is set up throughout them but he feels a lot more grounded and at ease than he typically would since about 75% of his attention is laser focused on the hand that Luke eventually moves to rest between Calum’s shoulders.

Soon enough though they’re back outside in the cool fall air and under the colorful lights of the fair. The settings oppose each other quite extremely, Calum thinks while he makes a little huddle with the other three boys. He can’t help but notice how Luke’s hand has yet to drop from his back and he leans just slightly back into his touch. Michael and Ashton are babbling along together and don’t notice the silent actions of the other two but when Calum turns toward Luke, their eyes meet and Luke’s already blushy cheeks go just a bit more pink.

Luke’s hand drops away from Calum’s back then and a confused look drops to his face. Luke looks toward the ground, a nervous smile playing at his lips. “Sorry I didn’t like, ask before trying to comfort you in there. Not exactly appropriate of an almost stranger, I guess.”

Calum shrugs. “It was welcomed, honestly,” he starts, his grin growing as Luke looks up at him a bit shocked. “I mean, I was very obviously ready to run out of there like two minutes in. You’re basically the only reason I didn’t turn and immediately head out. So, thank you.”

“Any time.” Luke smiles brightly.

They continue to just stare at one another for a few moments, neither really knowing what to say next, when Ashton clearing his throat pulls them out of it. Calum turns his face toward the other two and tries to control his shock when he sees Michael’s lazy grin and strong grip on Ashton’s hand. Ashton gives them a knowing smile.

“We’re gonna go grab some snacks and maybe try out some of the games. Meet back at the entrance to the fairgrounds in an hour?” he coordinates, already starting to walk backwards away from the two of them.

“Sounds like a plan,” Luke answers for them. “Have fun, boys.

Ashton raises his free hand to give a short salute before turning and pulling Michael toward the row of food booths. “So they figured things out then?” Calum says as they watch their friends walk off.

“Apparently.”

Calum laughs quietly and moves to step in front of Luke. He’s not that great at being bold (especially after being terrified for twenty minutes straight) but he figures he could at least give it a shot. “Guess it’s our turn?”

Luke’s gaze pulls away from their friends to meet Calum’s eyes again. “What?”

“Let me buy you a hot chocolate as a thank you for protecting me in there?”

Luke smirks and replies quickly with his own request. “Only if you’ll let me take you out for coffee next week.”

Calum sticks his hand out between the two of them. “Deal.”

They giggle as they shake on it and then start off in the direction that their friends went just a few moments before them. Luke is quick to reach for Calum’s hand and weave their fingers together as he starts a rundown of questions that should feel like small talk but for some reason they don’t. Calum figures it has to do something with the attentive look in Luke’s eyes or the smile pulling across his face as Calum speaks about something as mundane as the calculus exam he took earlier in the night. Though it also again feels like it could be something more, something bigger than that.

But Calum’s mind is a crazy mix of adrenaline from the haunted house and endless thanks to Michael for bringing them out tonight and trying to pick out the perfect way to describe the blue of Luke’s eyes. For now, he decides, it’s enough to squeeze his palm against Luke’s to pull him in the direction of the hot chocolate with sprinkles and worry about the bigger stuff another day.

It’s a year later when Calum is sitting at the kitchen counter, staring at his statistics homework like it’s in another language and Luke is laying on the couch scrolling through his phone, his homework already finished. The university was closed that day due to the snow so Luke had decided it wasn’t worth it to go back to his own apartment after reading the email notification that morning.

Calum is too focused on the problems on the page in front of him to hear Luke pad over into the kitchen so he jumps just the slightest bit when he feels a pair of warm arms wrap around his middle. Even on the coldest days Luke is warm like sunshine, Calum has come to know and love in the last year. He lets his pen drop against the counter as he lifts a hand to play with the curls around Luke’s ear when he leans down and lets his chin rest against Calum’s shoulder. “What’s up, love? I’m almost done with this and then we can watch a movie or something while we get dinner going.”

Luke hums in agreement with the plan, his face turning a bit to press a kiss against Calum’s cheek. “I was thinking about date night next week. And I think we should do that haunted house at the fair again.”

Calum sighs and turns his head then. “Luke, I love you but despite the incredibly cute, horror loving boy that guided me through half of that thing, I still really don’t like haunted houses.”

Luke pouts then and huffs out a little sigh. “Fine,” he starts, his arms wrapping a bit tighter around Calum. “We should do something special though. Think anniversaries are supposed to be celebrated, right?”

“We could still go to the fair if you want?” Calum suggests with a shrug. “I’ve always wanted to be kissed at the top of a ferris wheel.”

“I think that could be arranged,” Luke smiles before pressing another quick kiss against Calum’s hair.

Luke stands up straight then, not giving Calum more than a moment to respond to the sweet words, and heads into the kitchen. Calum lifts his arm to rest against the countertop and lets his chin fall into his hand as he watches while Luke starts pulling things out of the fridge to make dinner. (It’s my night to cook, Cal, don’t you dare try getting up.) He decides then that he’ll probably go ahead and buy a couple tickets to the haunted house as a surprise for when they go to the fair the following week. Because if there’s anything Calum has learned in the last year, it’s that nothing can ever feel too scary or unsafe with Luke at his side.

#5soshalloweenevent2020 #cake #cake fic #will say i asked my friend who used to work in a haunted house a couple questions but i think he immediately got suspicious #so i uhhhh stopped #i won't lie i fully rewrote most of this thing like two nights ago so there are likely some errors w grammer and such #but this was my first like #not really sad cake and i had a lot of fun #baby's first fic event !!!!!#i am SO excited to get off work tonight and read everyone's fics with ice cream and celebrate halloween a few hours late :)))))

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isaacdian · 4 years ago

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hope you don't mind me asking, do you have any Isaac and Miria headcanons? i'd love to read some from you. you appear to have a good grasp on the characters, and great love for them. :)

aw thank you so much for the ask, sure thing!

some of these will probably get into theory territory as well, because i’ve had the novels sitting in my mind for years now, and there are a few details i’d like to mention (beware of baccano light novel spoilers, just in case).

this could get a bit long, so you can read it below the cut:

i’ll write my headcanons/thoughts in no particular order. more people might have come to similar conclusions, but i don’t think i’ve seen any posts or had any discussions with anyone regarding these (at least in depth), so!

- i like to think that miria and isaac ran away from their then (seemingly) unhappy lives after they got to interact with each other for quite a while, and not spontaneously upon meeting for the first time.

there isn’t much evidence to back this up beyond some characters commenting that they “were probably runaways” or that “maybe they eloped”, so they might have escaped together on the spot, since we already know they can be very impulsive. however, i get this feeling that their bond took some time to develop, and i’d love to see some of their interactions as isaac dian —and— miria harvent before they ever became isaac & miria, if that makes sense.

i doubt they met too long before their string of robberies, though? this is such a weirdly specific and probably meaningless thing to pinpoint, but in 1935 miria asks isaac if he’s ever been to the circus, and he responds that he does remember animals, but he doesn’t remember if that was the circus or the zoo. this hardly means anything, but their circumstances overall don’t really make me think that they’ve known each other since they were too young.

- whatever optimism and general exhilaration regarding life isaac has is innate. on the other hand, miria has mostly acquired her own sense of hopefulness over time, with isaac’s help.

miria is a 100% confirmed literal ray of sunshine and this indisputable. it just hasn’t/doesn’t always come to her as effortlessly as it may seem. bloody to fair isaac and miria magic show color page.png

this is somewhat related to the next one (and also the last point i’ll mention at the end of this post):

- when isaac gets arrested and he and miria get separated in 1934, they’re both having an equally hard time dealing with this.

okay this one is like. obvious ksjksk. but i wanted to talk about how they deal with this situation, because at first glance it looks like miria got the shortest end of the stick here. and in a way, that might be true! i’ve already mentioned that miria herself has been shown thinking about how much isaac helped her to be happy, and narita has been deliberately vague regarding the nature of their silliness, on top of hinting at the possibility of their shenanigans being a kind of mechanism to escape the harsh realities of life from the rolling bootlegs (very first novel), if i recall correctly.

(btw:

i recall that somewhere in the 1935 arc, graham starts talking with the usual “let me tell you a sad, sad story” prelude. however, isaac and miria are upset by this, and they tell him that he shouldn’t tell sad stories, because if you do it, your happiness will run away. meanwhile, this part in cloudy to rainy living rent free in my head:

i have to laugh..........)

that being said, i couldn’t help but feel like isaac was having an equally bad time, even if he displayed it in a different and not so blatant way. while i was rereading the novels after i got to buy the official english release, i felt very strongly that something was definitely wrong about their separation, which, again, is obvious to us readers and to the characters who know isaac & miria. but it extends beyond that. there was this general feeling of knowing that whoever came across an unaccompanied isaac would magically feel like there was something missing. i don’t know how else to explain this. he’s still full of energy and optimism and he’s fueled by his desire to reunite with miria, but every time he’s shown hesitating or doesn’t reach a satisfying conclusion while thinking about a frivolous topic, it hits you like “oh... right” (firo didn’t help much on that last front, either, so miria and isaac must have had to discuss what exactly happens to fellas who don’t believe in fairies after their reunion... lol)

in short, he needs miria just as much as she needs him. this is something i’ve seen other people mention as well: isaac might be the “force” factor in their relationship, but that force won’t amount to much without miria’s “direction”, and viceversa. the lift each other up, and they keep each other grounded, too.

i’m also remembering isaac and sham’s conversation and just. there’s a self-esteem/confidence factor in there. Fun Game of Spot the Difference

and this is getting ridiculously long, so i’ll spare you from having to read my dumb thots about isaac’s (possibly real) fear of miria not liking him, as the narrator implies, which i subconsciously ended up linking to that one impossibly crack ending in the ds game, where you pick the option of him not knowing frankenstein’s monster’s real name, so miria leaves him after realizing how “cheap and uncool” he is LMAO

- isaac’s father might have been an academic of some sort, as well as a stern man who disapproved of his son’s flighty and childish tendencies.

???????? besides miria’s implied tragic backstory, the most we know about both of their pasts is that isaac comes from a wealthy family with whom he seems to have a bad relationship with, so even though i’ve tried to work out other details (his parents’ provenance for instance?) i can’t really elaborate on this. even if isaac’s knowledge on the topic is pretty scrambled (to put it nicely lol), he knows a lot about “the orient” as he puts it, and the “dian” surname is pretty unique so who knows!👀 i’ve only mentioned his father because isaac, too, has only mentioned his "old man” twice so far in the novels, if i’m not mistaken. in my opinion, it also speaks volumes how flustered isaac got when molsa apologized to him, because it was the first time someone older than him has done this. and this is pretty arbitrary, but if isaac started robbing and getting into trouble before he and miria even met and/or before he got kicked out/ran away from home, that whole deal about “being used to dealing with policemen” (in the unofficial translation i read back in the day it was something along the lines of “this isn’t my first time being interrogated by the police”) in 1934 would make sense, i guess, considering that miria didn’t realize what was going on at the moment even though she’s a fairly perceptive person.

anyways it’s too bad we don’t know that much about miria on this front, also!! i get the vague feeling that she might have also come from a wealthy family (probably not a good environment, though), since in 1935 it’s mentioned that the closest they’ve ever gotten to working/having a job was when they were digging for gold, apparently. that’s why i can’t really think of anything too specific regarding miria’s past and upbringing... i have a feeling that she might have felt alone, trapped and/or overwhelmed. let’s just hope that when she said her bruises would heal up fine with ice in 1935 it had nothing to do with this “i should have died” business :(((

- even though isaac and miria love their friends and would do anything for them, they aren’t particularly attached to anyone (or any place) besides each other.

this is more of an observation than a headcanon, but i find it really interesting: they would definitely do anything for their friends, and they do enjoy life very intensely, but that’s precisely why they don’t seem to be fixed in one singular spot? basically, i feel like they’re the personification of “home is where the heart is” taken to the extreme. they could go anywhere and do anything as long as they have each other, and they will never make any attempts to actively do things that make it easier to label their relationship, such as getting married, which is heavily implied by firo (i think) in 2002 bullet garden (i think!!). that’s also part of the reason why i’m sure they’d never find themselves commiting to things like taking care of a pet, or a child; it’s more like they instantly “adopt” everyone they run into, as if they’ve always been friends, even if they won’t meet again for months, years, or ever again. anyway, isaac and miria are extremely good and they are literally going to be happy together forever and ever! they don’t need to prove that.

that doesn’t mean they’re not sentimental, though! i like to think that they keep some meaningful objects that remind them of fond memories of their friends. and this is hardly canon because it shows up in the anime And in a background at that, but shoutout to the rocking toy horse in their california mine lol.

- miria knew about her own immortality (as well as isaac’s) before the 2000s.

THIS IS PROBABLY MY SPICIEST TAKE and i tried to back it up in the next point of this list. i still keep thinking i’m reading too much, into this but

i can’t stop thinking about the implications, folks

which brings us to:

- miria is smarter than isaac is and actually has a fairly good idea of when he’s making stuff up, but is happy to let him take the lead.

i won’t deny that isaac and miria dedicate a huge chunk of their day to doing moronic stuff, and they are pretty dumb, but i feel like people don’t give them enough credit for how perceptive they are. even though that’s true of the two of them, i feel like this mostly applies to miria.

among other things, we’ve learned that she knows ronny isn’t human and has supernatural powers (wow), which is why she comes to him for help after isaac’s arrest. she’s very good at paying attention to small details, such as the kind of programs ennis watches on tv, or chané’s feelings, when the two talk in 1934. miria also “really knows her way around japanese” and has been shown to --apparently?-- multiply large numbers in her head in 1935... while isaac was talking about how good of an idea it would be to use the martingale betting system. not to mention how isaac stated he “doesn’t know how to count money” earlier in this arc. my god ksdjgjks. i want to know what’s up with this, if anything.

so, yeah! there’s probably more stuff that i could mention, but i am exhausted lol. thank you for your patience anon, i have no idea how long this has been sitting in my inbox. always happy to get baccano questions <3 i apologize for any typos/errors and the like.

bonus headcanon: miria grabs ennis with one hand and chané with her other hand and they go out with their arms linked and excited and they learn more about having fun, as friends do. no printer just fax

#Anonymous #baccano #headcanon

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snazzamazing · 6 years ago

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Stupid random theories, headcanons, and unpopular opinions of mine

Btw, these are all long so sit tight

My mangle theory :

I cant be the only one here who thinks that mangle was taken apart by little kids. It wouldn't make sense that little toddlers would be strong enough to pull apart a metal robot. That's because the kids didnt break her, william did. Mangle seems like he was an inspiration from funtime foxy because sister location happened before AND a lot of times, "toy foxy" is often referred to "funtime foxy". Due to this inspiration, mangle had the ability to record voices and things just like funtime foxy. Why am I pointing this out? Well, why would mangle randomly have static noises and a broken radio sound? It's her recorder, it's broken. He recorded many things and then recorded something that someone didnt want anyone to find out about. That someone would be William afton. William is always suspicious and doing evil things.Let's say that, oh idk, maybe William murdered someone, some person called the cops on him, (which explains the police messages n stuff in the radio) William killed that person and his the evidence of the murders. At least that's what he thought. Mangle was somehow recording the whole thing. William had no other choice but to take her apart and destroy him. But then William thought that it would to suspicious to have mangle be randomly broken the next day and so he fixed mangle up in way where it looks like shes fixed, but one tug hes broken and the kids are there to blame for. All of this might be a stretch I know, but apparently in one of the fnaf 2 minigames where theres a mangle Sprite, in the files or sources codes or WHATEVER IDK, there's a hidden message that says "he was here" or something like that. THAT CAN SUPPORT THIS THEORY errr headcanons? Idk I should go sleep lol

Micheal headcanon:

I always wanted to believe that Micheal was the older brother/Bully and that the bite victim was a different character. Why? Because I want more..character for Micheal. He went to sister location because he wants his torn apart family to be back together. He went to save Elizabeth and he never forgave himself for being the one to 'kill' his brother and all that failed. I wanted Michaels story to be exciting and emotional because of his past and the whole family thing

I also always liked to think that Micheal started working out to gain some strength before becoming a technician because he knows that the robots are strong and dangerous. That way things can be more action packed with Michael punching through pipes and walls, and holding back animatronics trying to grab him, and just...cool stuff

Fnaf headcanons:

Freddy has a nice deep voice and that's his real voice. When it comes to preforming during the day, he talks in his "family friendly" voice which is all goofy and fun (kinda like Patrick star's voice) The animatronics are a lot different on stage. It's as if they play as characters and they change their voices sometimes (like Freddy). Chica acts like this ditzy cute country gal, Bonnie is a laid back chill bon, foxy is just more ...pirate, and Freddy is a fun loving silly lead singer

Nightmarriones pupils change shape to Express his emotions. (Sad=tear drop pupils, sick=swirly pupils, angry=skull or fire pupils)

Lefty has his own voice instead of a whispery girly voice because he is his own character. He may look like the rockstars but he was made differently. The rockstars were built by some factory or company and they have advanced technology which gives em the ability to have emotions, personalities and to do tricks. Meanwhile lefty was built by henry in a shed or something. Henry only focused on programming him to find charlie and he had to make lefty look like the rockstars to blend in and not be suspicious. Other than that, lefty was a total rush job. Henry only wanted Charlie therefore, Henry didn't care to give lefty a personality, emotions, an EYE, or stablness.

In the afton family, the mother is sweet, kind, caring, and over protective while william is outgoing, silly, and isnt afraid to do anything (before he went insane). Usually kids have similar personalities to their parents soooo I like to think that Micheal is more like his mom but looks like his dad and that Elizabeth looks like her mom but acts like her dad. Why? Because I always saw Michael as a hero, he cares for others and he wants to save his family. He is sweet and protective like his mom. Elizabeth is rebellious and sassy. In the sister location mini cutscene with William and Elizabeth, she disobeys william to see baby and that's a rebellious move. Elizabeth likes adventure and crazy things so she wont follow the rules any time soon.

Funtime chica does all the rockstar's make up. When months pass by, the rockstar's paint would peel or chip and so ft. Chica would repaint their lipsticks, eye shadows, cheeks, etc. And they look fresh and new afterwards

Even though puppet and Goldie (and all the other animatronics) have been through so much shiz, they still try to keep their cool and enjoy life

In the rockstar crew r. Bonnie is the creepiest. Yeah, he seems chill and is self centered, he is the only rockstar who is most likely to murder someone if he's told to do so (this isn't counting ucn where they all kill). All on Bonnie's songs are so creepy and he sings about killing you in unique ways. Stuff like making slivers (or slippers) out of you, flaying your flesh, smashing your face into concrete, ending your life, and stabbing your heart with his guitar. He's definitely into gory stuff

Springtrap has two different personalities. Most of the time he's himself, spring bonnie. A kind fun loving bun who completely changed his personality after becoming springtrap. He is know constantly scared, upset, and afraid of Williams next move. He hates being an evil monster but it's not something he can control due to William still having control over him. When the slringbonnie side of springtrap gets mad or upset that's when hes weak and William takes control and becomes the evil side of springtrap. Springtrap is very aggressive and very strong. Slringbonnie tries to fight back Williams spirit, but as time went on and when the kids got sent free, spring bonnie got lonely and gave up which let William take full control over him. Sprjngbonnie is gone, its William now (which explains scraptrap)

Idk if this is a theory or headcanon but fnaf 1 bonnie is blue. Yes, he is known to be purple and everyone says and draws him purple but he's blue. Maybe it's the certain blue color he is but due to lightning it makes him look very purple. When he's in more darker areas, bonnie is very blue but when he's in the light areas, hes purple. Let's not forget how every single version on bonnie is blue (except for extras like spring springbon and bonnet etc.) Exept for fnaf 1 bonnie. That doesn't make sense if one of the originals would be purple but all the other versions are blue. One more thing, in the silver eyes, they mention that bonnie has blue fur ;) this was a dumb rant sorry

Shadow bon is evil and can shape shift cause hes a goopy shadow boy and shadow fred is his lil assistant

After fazbears fright burned down, William got to take control over springbonnie(trap) and roamed the streets at night. He roamed dark allies and probably killed whoever slighted him. It was a long walk but he was just trying to get to his destination, fred bears diner. Because of the fires, the springtrap suit was more ruined and unsturdy and so it was time for a change. Somehow William got out of the suit but he's weak without one so he picked an old spring bonnie suit, scraptrap. (According to the fnaf minigames there are multiple spring bonnie suits so that why spring trap looks different)

I got more headcanons but this post is already to long :p

My Unpopular opinions:

Am I the only one here who's not way into the whole Michael AI theory?? Like it kinda makes sense but at the same time, making a whole new robot son with advanced technology IN THE 80s does not give the fnaf-y feel?? Ya know what I mean? Like it doesn't fit the theme? Also the ai thing is in the books and the books are a different universe from the games sooo idk why matpat still connected them?? Hsjsbsjsjsn fnaf is just waaaaay to confusing. Also please dont get mad at me for this opinion cause matpats ai thing is just a theory, its not canon

Foxy isnt super great. Dont get me wrong, I love foxy and he's an amazing character but I don't get why he got so much attention and hype

Bonnet and lolbit should just be canon already. They're not canon characters but they're included in sooo many things in fnaf so might as well make em canon

Funko needs to make a fnaf 2 figure set where you collect t.chica,t.bonnie,t.freddy, puppet, one of the withereds or shadows and you collect them all to make a mangled mangle figure. I would DIE for a fully formed noodle fox figure, how cool would that be?

Scraptrap design is perfect. I know that we all make peanut and Jimmy neutron jokes but honestly I love his sharp teach, creepy eyes, AMazInG voice, and his stabby arm. Sometimes in some angles, he can look heck a creepy

SCRAP BABY LEGITIMATELY FREAKS ME OUT SHES SCARY

butter sock

#fnaf #five nights at freddy's #fnaf sister location #sister location #fnaf ucn #fnaf theories #fnaf headcanon #im sooooo tired #all of these are dumb but i just wanted to get em off my chest #not art #yay

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joyful-mollymauk · 6 years ago

Text

Code’s Molly Theories

Molly Theories Index

1) indicators that Matt & Tal have stuff planned 2) possible ties between Molly's and Clay's backstories/arcs 3) Lucien's ritual: both his intent and the spellslinger's 4) possible NPC activity going on regarding a rez 5) what a returned Molly-Lucien-other might be like 6) the fire bird

Molly Theory part 1 Matt & Tal Indicators Matt’s first objective is to run a fun game for his friends, and his second is to tell an amazing and coherent story. Back in Campaign 1, resurrecting characters was standard practice, starting with Pike’s low-level death pre-stream. So we know Matt is not opposed to making every rez possible.

Tal has been crafting Molly’s character since way back in Campaign 1 and was itching to play him even back then. And when Molly died, Tal admitted that he cried all night long and didn’t get any sleep.

The M9 were gearing up to attempt a rez in episode 27 and then inexplicably acted like rez magic didn’t exist in ep 29. No in-game reason was given for this sudden about-face, so we can only conclude it was an out-of-game decision.

Only Matt and Tal have authority to call a halt on rezzing Molly. Given the rez frequency last campaign, all the loose story threads, and the sheer amount of love Tal poured into Molly, it wouldn’t make sense for him to just move on. So why else call a halt to rez attempts?

The only explanations I see are to wait and try at higher levels, when the chance of success is higher, let Tal play a different character temporarily, or leave Molly’s fate purely in the hands of the DM.

Matt has woven something grand into Molly’s backstory, including a whole cult following, a botched (?) ritual, and a mysterious spellslinger of unknown intent. He’s already had Molly rise from the grave once, giving him plenty of leeway (and a narrative drive) to do so again.

Further evidence of this intent is how gleefully smug Tal got whenever Matt made reference to Molly being dead. As if Tal was excited about that but trying not to say anything. Tal also built Clay with an easy way to leave the narrative whenever it suits him. This is very useful when you know a character is temporary.

Tal has mentioned that he keeps Molly leveled up along with the rest of the M9. He also slips right back into reacting as Molly whenever stuff about him is mentioned. This proves how ready and eager Tal would be to bring Molly back into the game! He’s waiting patiently but is definitely excited, and oh how ecstatic he’ll be at Molly’s return.

Molly Theory part 2 Lucien & Clay Backstories Clay’s family lived in the woods outside SCR. Something has been twisting the things that live there, and the firbolgs who went to investigate never returned. Lucien ran a cult (?) in that same forest. Whatever they were involved in was magical, secretive, and likely not something the public would approve of. What are the chances of these facts being separate when Matt loves to tie things together?

Lucien apparently died and came back to life, and Clay is a death cleric who opposes undeath vehemently. If Lucien is tied up in something necromantic, Clay is perfectly designed to combat that.

Given all this, my personal theory is that investigating the forest’s ailment for Clay will lead the party straight into Molly’s backstory. And, quite possibly, something occupying Molly’s body!

Molly Theory part 3 Lucien’s Ritual Cree’s impression of Lucien’s ritual was that he was trying to reach “The City.” Whatever the ritual entailed was similar enough to death that Lucien instructed them to not do anything right away if he appeared actually dead.

Entering a near-death state to travel sounds like astral projection. The lengths they went through and the apparent danger involved suggest The City couldn’t be reached by normal means. Or perhaps he just needed to get there without his body.

But! The ritual was being performed by someone outside of the Tomb Takers and did not have the effect Lucien expected. Either the spellslinger genuinely tried and failed or did something else under the guise of the ritual.

The ritual, as it was cast, left Lucien’s body as a nearly empty shell, with only fragments of his original self remaining. If this was the spellslinger’s intent, then perhaps she was trying to clear him out completely so something else could move in. This would mean her first attempt failed. But now that his body is truly empty, she might have the opportunity to try again!

So. Why Lucien? If we’re going with this theory, there must be something special enough about him to warrant that level of attention. Perhaps she was simply there to get the book and has no further interest. But those red “eye” marks are not mundane, and Matt very likely jumped on that detail and made them significant.

Molly Theory part 4 Possible NPC Involvement There are three NPCs in play who might involve themselves in “Molly rez” shenanigans. First, there’s Cree. She reveres Lucien far more than the Gentleman, knows that he has died “again,” and has people she can contact for help in bringing him back.

The most critical person for Cree to contact is that spellslinger from the capital. She both has the book and cast the original ritual that Lucien returned from. But, as mentioned before, this spellslinger may have her own interests with Lucien’s body.

And, on the other side of things, is Gustav. He has little in the way of resources, but he has been set loose by Clay to go take responsibility for whatever grievous wrong he’s been punishing himself over. Interestingly enough, Gustav is also from SCR! He somehow found Molly near his gravesite, cared for him patiently, and helped him grow to be a good person. He also somehow knew about those three demigod-like entities, turning their story into a circus performance way back in episode one! (He portrays the phoenix, or “fire fairy,” as a heroic warrior, fighting for the light.)

So. What is he guilty for? Is his story connected to Lucien’s as well? If Gustav gets involved in all this, he’s the only NPC who will be trying to recover Molly.

Tin hat: Once the M9 encounter Not-Molly, Gustav will reappear as an ally to help them get him back.

Molly Theory part 5 Not-Molly My favorite Not-Molly theory is an avatar of that bird creature, but we’ve got other options too. The spellslinger could be working with some other entity, like a powerful Kryn. Perhaps she wants him as her own puppet, winter soldier style. Or she could actually bring Lucien back, with or without Molly in there as well.

We’ve got a lot of unknowns, but one thing is certain: it would be silly of Matt and Tal not to do something with this!

Personal hope: we get to see Tal play an evil Not-Molly and giddily torment everybody.

Molly Theory part 6 The Fire Bird Matt has presented the M9 with a mural depicting Ukatoa, a fire bird, and a giant worm. And way back in episode one, Gustav told tale of a mystical serpent that gifts abilities, a “fire fairy” that fights for the light, and terrible beasts whose “bellowing roars will quake the lands of Xhorhas and beyond.”

“But from that night, a burning light doth keep back shadows’ bane. The strength to fight will set alight the morning sun again. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Ornna the fire fairy.” -Gustav, C2E1

So what’s the connection to Molly? Lucien’s name ALSO means “light,” and he was a (rare!) purple tiefling with a scattering of red marks and (going by the official art) dark gray horns. Interestingly enough, those are the same colors Matt gave the fire bird!

It’s unclear what Lucien’s motivations were, but he led the Tomb Takers to split away from their previous order because he had “a new path” for them. Cree later stated that he was their new path. (He had also adopted the title “The Nonagon,” which sounds connected to his nine red marks that could not be covered with tattoos.)

So. A purple-gray tiefling, named after the light, is granted nine magical red marks that bring him in perfect alignment with the fire bird’s aesthetics. He then becomes the new path for a cult. That sounds like a deliberate link to me.

Tin hat: Lucien’s body was sanctified to become that bird’s avatar. And when the M9 catch up to these events, they’ll meet The Nonagon instead.

And that’s what she’s got so far! If anyone has questions you’re welcome to send them in to joyful-mollymauk and I’ll send them on to Code! I’ll also update the Code’s Molly Theories tag when any new canon lore comes along to update these theories or spawn some new ones!

Thank you Code!!!

#Code's Molly Theories #critical role #critical role spoilers #Mollymauk Tealeaf #meta

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internetremix · 6 years ago

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In IR lore, what are the personalities of your personas? Basic likes and dislikes?

Kristen: Goggles is An Child and behaves as such. She's very cheerful, very curious, a bit mischievous and also 100% obsessed with making fanwork of her internet family... like a goddamn weirdo. She'll usually be hanging out with everyone, spot some sort of inspiration, squeak with joy and then rush off to write or draw. She's also the defacto leader of the Smol Squad, which is composed of herself, Shyner, Jojo and Chi-chi, and she's usually the one squeaking out ridiculous plans in muppet for dumb shit like stealing cookies and trying to trap people in fanfiction scenarios. She likes to help and can often be found doing such things as assisting Xander in his many schemes or just popping up to provide shit like charts or hold things for other people- basically whenever it would be funny to have some goddamn muppet backing something up.

She loves plush toys, particularly Crockernanner, and also loves sugar, star decorations, and cuddles. She likes being picked up and loves attention, and she's pretty consistently attached to at least one person, often her big brother Split if she's not with the Smol Squad. She is in eternal war with Phill since he bullies her constantly, and will occasionally try to set up elaborate traps for revenge only to fail miserably. Also she's a huge weeb. She does not like to sleep and will often go days without it before being dragged off by some bigger person to take a goddamn nap you ridiculous child. She is also very afraid of thunderstorms, she doesn't like loud noises or the dark.

She also has... various flaws and problems. But those are spoilers and I have no idea when/if we’ll be doing story stuff with IRsonas so I don’t want to give too much away with that.

Sorry this is very long, I think about my child a lot.

Jojo: JoJo is also a very happy child... like, stupid happy all the time. Like, they don't really have a concept of being angry. they're either manic happy or a bit sad. They love to find any way to make anybody smile or laugh, whether it be a somber happy, or a crying fit of laughter. They thrive off of happiness. They're a bit mischievous as well, and will try to play pranks and swipe things to chew on. They'll just appear in random places you'd never expect. like, in the pantry, the vent, or in your drawer. They chew things all the time to keep their dragon teeth sharp! They do tend to come off as obnoxious and kind of useless sometimes? But that's ok.

They love happiness, rocks, swimming, sandwiches, Vanilla coke, coffee, pianos, stars, ghost stuff(horror genre), and laughter. JoJo is pretty similar to Goggles now that I think about it x_xJoJo is best friends with Phill, and will always be on him in some way. Like his leg, back, holding onto his scarf by their teeth, etc. They're also very close with Goggles and Shyner, and Scott (even though Shyner tries to chase JoJo off with knives, JoJo will take it as a game of tag or something)JoJo doesn't like being yelled at or being told to go away. They get spooked easily by loud noises. They always get paranoid when they think someone is mad at them and will go to ungodly lengths to make them not mad or slightly annoyed with them, which sometimes makes people more annoyed with them than they were before.

JoJo is just an exaggerated version of me XD

Atwas: Atwas is fairly easy going. They make light of things often, and often hide serious sentiments behind jokes. They’re the type to roll with goofy and silly situations, and are very “yes and” type that enjoys escalating things in the name of light-hearted fun. They enjoy playing pranks, especially ones that take advantage of their hologrammatic nature (being able to enter and ‘possess’ electronics is something that they take advantage of often). Being technically in the cloud and a part of the internet at all times, they will often chime in with fun (often unrelated or humorous) metrics about situations and people as they occur—and often forgets that having a HUD isn’t something everyone has access to.

Being ‘technically’ invulnerable, atwas isn’t phased by the more dangerous things that go on in the IR tower, but usually prefers being a spectator or commentator as opposed to being an active participant in general shenaniganry. They don’t have any particular animosity towards anyone, and will occasionally help manage technical parts and functions of the tower.

They enjoy things like tech, cold weather, tea, fun statistics, darkness; and aesthetics like Film Noir and Retrowave.

They dislike things like excessively hot weather, being interrupted, getting too personal, having to put in a lot of “effort”, and being out of the loop.

Shyner: Shyner can easily be summed up to a tsundere in denial, and is the definition of an agent of chaos. If something goes wrong, she’s the one pouring a trail of kerosene to let the fire spread. She's loud, impulsive, and really doesn't give two shits. While quirky and charismatic, she’s also sarcastic and witty, reveling in the amusement of making fun of others. She’s often stubborn and impatient, thinking highly of her own beliefs and angered by those who dare to challenge her ideals. She also lacks a filter, and enjoys garnishing her words with colorful profanities. Filled with gripes of past trauma, she’s engaged in a constant internal war of turmoil and grief. She’s incredibly cautious and closed off around those she doesn’t trust, and can be very selfish. Despite this, she’s loyal to the few people she cares about, going out of her way to put them first if a dire situation were to arise. She’s also very sneaky and mischievous, often finding amusement in spying on others. Her MBTI is INTP-T.

Her hobbies include stargazing, ghost hunting, spying, and Satanic worship. She enjoys melancholy vibes, horror movies, animals, thunderstorms, and has an unhealthy obsession with sweets. Yes, this child will stab you without hesitancy if you take her cookies. She dislikes seafood, big crowds, kiddie leashes, and is afraid of experiencing intense emotion she doesn’t understand.I love my satanic smol bean very much. If I may be so bold as to dive into the nitty-gritty psychology, Shyner possesses many flaws, a lot of which I personally struggled with growing up. She is a reflection of my past self, some gripes with my current self, and the perception of how I could have turned out if I hadn’t met my family at IR. Hiding behind the exterior of being a merciless bully, she still has an intense internal desire to be a good person, but gets frustrated and often derails herself in the process of fighting her desire to act on impulse. She keeps most relationships with people at arm's length, fearing that if someone were to think highly of her, it would only be a matter of time before they’re disappointed. If we were to go full-fledged story mode, she would most definitely have an intense character redemption arc, making the revelation that being shitty to those who care about her isn’t the way to run from her problems and hide away from her own sense of self-insecurity/hatred.

Phill: Phill likes mischief, bad jokes, sexual undertones, Jojo, sexual overtones, bullying Kristen, and the colour pink. That's it xD

Jojo: :D yay

Alex: Alex don't give a shit but is for whatever reason the bossman and is also as powerful as silver age Superman, just don't try actual murder of the crew and he won't yeet you into the sun

Moon: 2019 Moon is an idiot. If we didn't know any better, we would assume he was born from nothing but an old head of lettuce in Satan's refrigerator. Think like Scott from Monster Prom, but different. He knows his right from his left, but the compass is still just "NESW" to him. Impulsive, lovable, and kinda loud, this muscley dumbass will do practically anything you tell him to if he finds it enjoyable. When paired with a few people, he works well as a second to many dynamic duos. Brodingles and Moon/Split and Moon are two really good ones, dangerous shenanigans ensue. Can and will rap like a beast, any challenge to a freestyle will result in a career ending and a death being sentenced. Extroverted people pleaser, definitely shooting high to perform and when adapting to a character, goes a little too hard. This man played Gander in Charlottes Web and didn't stop making goose sounds for months. Did I mention he's also a disney princess? Singing, animals, mortal enemy falling to their death? Everything

Dawn: ToonWolf/Dawn's personality falls within the confines of recklessly adventurous who doesn't think things through entirely. They like to try and rope others into going on various hikes, treasure hunts, mythic/cryptid searches, etc. Unapologetic sailor mouth. They will fight for friends and family. Various animals, trinkets, treasures, and cool but useless garbage are brought back to the tower often (oops theres a liiiiiiitle bit of hoarding). Sometimes those animals consist of dogs, cats, lizards, bears, wolves, The Great Noble One, horses, lions, elk, you get the idea (Can I keep them?Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaseeeeee??????????).

Overall they are most comfortable and relaxed in/around water and likes a whole lotta things including sailing, swimming, adventure, stargazing, animals, mythology/legends, friends, family, and drawing.

They dislike waking up early, limitations, being talked down to, boredom, desert/hot/humid/dry weather, coffee, and the movie "Cube"

Tex: Tex is an avid cryptid detective + has a surprisingly good intuition when creating conspiracy theories about them to follow. Mm lots of memes and disguises. Smart, but usually just off on their own thinking about other stuff.Totally has a wall in their room dedicated to figuring all the cryptids out with like, red string and everything.

#whole crew #ask the ir crew #irsonas #sorry I know this isn't everyone we have a big crew and not everyone is up to answer this stuff #Anonymous

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courtingstars · 6 years ago

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Notes for The Vanishing Prince, Chapter 4

It’s Chapter Four, hurray! This one turned out a little differently than I expected… Mostly because the scene at Rakuzan ended up being so long. But I decided to keep it as is, because I just love Rakuzan’s team SO MUCH. <3

So as promised, this was Rakuzan’s turn to have a cameo (and by cameo I mean a super long scene, with loads of love for the Uncrowned Kings and especially Reo).

Also, I ended up including screenshots from the anime in this post! So if you’re interested in a basic breakdown of my theory about why scenes like this one prove that psychic phenomena were included in the show from the beginning:

Well read on, friend. BECAUSE OH DO I HAVE THEORIES ABOUT THAT.

(Cut for stuff about Rakuzan, a little about why I love the Uncrowned Kings so much, even more love for Reo, a brief explanation of some of the supernatural/psychic references, and a seriously epic yudofu restaurant because tofu is Akashi’s first love, obviously)

On Rakuzan’s Campus

It was fun to try to figure out what Rakuzan as a school would be like… I’ve had a headcanon for a while that each member of the Generation of Miracles chose a high school (and a team) that generally reflected their personality and priorities. So my version of Rakuzan has a lot of Akashi-esque qualities to it. XD

Canonically, Rakuzan is supposed to be a prestigious school that excels in multiple areas. That’s one reason why I included OCs in this chapter, to show that Akashi is far from being the only overachiever at his school. Which, as Furihata realizes, makes his status at the school that much more impressive! (Plus I like to fill out different areas of characters’ lives that we don’t get to see in canon, sometimes by coming up with new characters… I try not to overdo it too much, though, because I know it might only be interesting to me? //laughs)

As a side note, the Rakuzan students are shown preparing for their school’s cultural festival, which is a common event in Japanese schools, and pops up in anime a lot. It frequently involves each class and/or club designing a different booth or event for the festival (like selling food, putting on a play, etc). I’ve read a few series where the festival occurs in late summer to early fall. I don’t know if that’s the typical time of year or not, but that’s why I included the student council working over their vacation to prepare! From what I understand, it’s not uncommon for Japanese students who are really involved in extracurricular activities to continue participating in them over summer vacation (like sports practices, for example).

I Just Really Love The Uncrowned Kings, Okay?

Hopefully I wasn’t the only one looking forward to seeing how Furihata would get along with Rakuzan’s three Uncrowned Kings! I find their canon relationship with Akashi really fascinating, so I wanted to explore some of the implications of it in this chapter. (And then it went on WAYYY longer than I expected. But I was just having too much fun and too many feelings to stop? XD;)

For me, one of the most interesting questions about Rakuzan in KnB is why the other players elected Akashi as captain in his first year… I have a lot of headcanons about it (and a one-shot fic that I started ages ago, that I still really want to finish!). It’s especially interesting because the Uncrowned Kings had a history of competing against the Generation of Miracles in junior high.

So in this chapter, I ended up hinting at some of my theories about why the Kings in particular would decide to make Akashi (and specifically Bokushi!) their leader. I also implied that Akashi wasn’t the only member of Rakuzan who was forced to reevaluate his priorities because of the events of the Winter Cup. (To me this is portrayed really well in the last few episodes, through Reo’s reactions especially.)

Basically, one of the reasons I love Rakuzan so much is because I think of all of them as hyper-competitive people who originally decided to go after victory and focus on dominating the competition, at the cost of everything else… And then were forced to face the consequences of that decision, and realize it was ultimately unfulfilling, at least in part because they came to genuinely value the bonds they’d formed as a team. <3 So I tried to show this in how they explained the situation to Furihata.

… I’m also kind of surprised that I managed to fit in references to all five of the Kings in this chapter? I did not expect that. (And I definitely did not expect how Kiyoshi and Hanamiya would come up in the conversation. //laughs)

Also, I do headcanon Reo as wearing makeup sometimes! I just feel like he would be amazing at it, honestly. (Or maybe I’ve just spent too much time watching beauty gurus on YouTube or something, lol.) In any case, I’m SO HERE for Reo in general… Especially Reo the Love and Sexuality Guru, finally telling it like it really is? //laughs (Oh my god I worked SO MANY self-indulgent headcanons into that silly conversation… Though interestingly enough, Reo flirting with Takao is from some of the anime outtake/bonus scenes. XD So I didn’t make that part up, at least!)

I should probably also mention that some of Furihata’s assumptions/uncertainty about Reo’s identity are related to Japanese culture… In KnB, Reo is depicted as the type of person who would probably be thought of as an “okama,” which usually refers to a gay man who’s also very feminine in their gender expression. (It can also refer to a drag queen, for example.) I think the term was used in the KnB manga, but I wasn’t able to verify that? (And I should also mention that the term itself can be offensive or positive/reclaimed, depending on who uses it.) So gender and sexuality are distinct aspects of a person, but Reo’s choice of self-expression and honorifics, at least to someone who is Japanese, would tend to imply certain things about both. I tried to make that as apparent in the scene as I could, without going into the cultural concept behind it?

(Also a special shout-out to anyone who figured out why Reo asked Furi his date of birth, and why Furi’s answer intrigued him… Because OH HOW I COULD RAMBLE ON AND ON ABOUT THAT.)

On Empaths, Mediums, Clair Senses, and Auras

So for those of you who wanted to see more supernatural stuff in this fic, I really hope you enjoyed Reo’s little conversation with Furi! (I’ve been looking forward to these two finally interacting for SO LONG. I’ve had a million headcanons about them, ever since I wrote that one chapter of Giving Chocolate ages ago… I even hinted at it in several of my other fics, mostly the Christmas ones. XD)

I won’t go into a super-detailed explanation of supernatural abilities here, since the terms I used aren’t culturally specific to Japan, and are pretty easy to research. But since I see Reo as someone who likes to use knowledge from lots of different modalities of the supernatural (like tarot divination, for example), I figured that I would give a quick overview of some of the stuff he mentioned.

An empath is basically someone who is supposed to be able to sense supernatural “energy” in their environment. The idea is that things like a person’s mental health and emotions manifest as energy—in their aura, for example—and empaths can sense this energy and even absorb some of it. (Sometimes to the point that it’s difficult for them to tell the difference between their own feelings and someone else’s.) Empaths can get very overwhelmed and anxious around crowds of people—or a specific person who is emotionally intense or even toxic—for the same reason. Basically, an empath is naturally affected by outside energy, and tends to let that energy in, more than most people. Even though they themselves may not realize it.

A medium, on the other hand, is someone who can connect with spirits, like those of people who have passed on. (I didn’t mention the term in the chapter, but seeing ghosts could potentially fall under this category.) The ability to do this is believed to manifest in a lot of different ways. Some of the possible ways are sometimes called “clair senses.”

“Clair senses” refer to different types of psychic/supernatural perception. The most common term is clairvoyance, which is being able to “see” supernatural phenomena. (From what I understand, it can be literal seeing, or more of a “in your mind’s eye” type of thing.) There are other types of clair senses too, like clairaudience (hearing supernatural things, like a spirit’s voice), and claircognizance (knowing something supernatural, kind of like having a “hunch”).

And finally, an aura is a form of supernatural energy (or light!) that surrounds a person. Some people think it reveals everything from your overall health to your current emotions. (I’ve always been kind of fascinated with the concept, and I even had my aura read for fun once. //laughs) In Chapter Four, we find out that while Akashi’s aura is more or less a single color (red), Furihata’s aura has multiple colors. Believers in auras often claim that the appearance and colors of a person’s aura can tell you a lot about them, and what they’re going through.

So it might seem like a stretch, to be including this stuff in a fic about a basketball anime… But weirdly enough, the canon of Kuroko no Basuke has a lot of intriguing moments that could be interpreted as referring to stuff like auras and clair senses? I could probably ramble on about my theories on this for FOREVER, so instead I’ll just leave a couple of screenshots here:

(Subtitles/translation courtesy of Crunchyroll)

… Yeah. I definitely did not come up with the idea to include this stuff on my own. XD (You can interpret these moments as symbolic too… But I feel like the story actually makes more sense if it’s literal, at least on some level? //laughs)

(Especially since that’s not even counting all the aura-like visuals in the show. And the weird eye stuff. And characters who can apparently predict the future in various ways. AND THE TRIPPY DOOR VISIONS AT THE END. SERIOUSLY DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THE DOOR VISIONS. Anyway.)

On Platform Dining in Kyoto

I might talk about this in more detail for an upcoming chapter, but yes, the part about dining on platforms in Kyoto in the summer is a real thing! You can find a general overview about it here.

Basically, since it gets so hot and humid in the valley where Kyoto is, some of the restaurants have a tradition of putting up special wooden platforms over the river and serving their customers on them. It’s called “kawayuka” dining when it’s done over the Kamogawa river, inside the city. (An area outside Kyoto called Kibune also participates in the tradition, where this style of dining is called “kawadoko.”)

On the Yudofu Restaurant

Finally, in the longstanding tradition of me doing way too much research about the places in my fics, I did indeed pick out a real place for Akashi’s favorite restaurant!

First off, I should probably mention that yudofu isn’t just Akashi’s favorite food. It’s also one of the most famous regional dishes in Kyoto. (Maybe THE most famous!) Kyoto has a ton of restaurants that specialize in making high-quality tofu, so a boiled tofu dish like yudofu is extremely popular, both with locals and tourists. Yudofu itself was also created in Kyoto, because the monks working in the temples needed vegetarian dishes for their Buddhist diet.

Yudofu is thought to have originated in the area around Nanzenji temple. That being the case, I wanted to choose one of the most traditional, famous restaurants there to be Akashi’s favorite. I had a couple of choices, like this restaurant, which is one of the oldest restaurants in Japan. But in the end, I chose a place called Nanzenji Junsei because the atmosphere of the garden, the ability to reserve a private dining room, and the elaborate set meals all struck me as something Akashi and his family would appreciate. (Plus it seems to be highly rated as well as famous.) You can learn about the history of the restaurant, and see tons of pictures of the buildings, garden, and the food on the absolutely gorgeous official website here.

(Yeah. I want to go there. SO BAD. You can also see more pictures of the restaurant in the TripAdvisor reviews, including more shots of the private dining rooms.)

And while I haven’t been lucky enough to try it in Kyoto, I have made yudofu before! It’s an ultra simple dish that relies on the highest possible quality ingredients. So it’s definitely an appropriate choice for Akashi. (That being said, it does amuse me that his favorite food is basically just, well, tofu cooked in water… Like what teenage guy would say that was his top favorite food EVER? Oh, Akashi. You are such a Kyoto boy. XD)

On a side note, if you want an idea of how old some of the restaurants in Kyoto really are, I thought this article of the top ten oldest restaurants in Japan was interesting! Kyoto still has restaurants in operation that date all the way back to the middle ages.

The city’s culinary fame also inspired a longtime headcanon of mine that the Rakuzan players initially bonded over restaurant hopping… So that’s why that keeps popping up in my fics? //laughs Well, that, and this screenshot from one of the third season endings that literally shows them eating together in a place that looks like a Kibune kawadoko restaurant, and wearing yukata no less:

(Oh Mayu, I miss you, why did you have to graduate before this fic takes place? XD)

(And seriously don’t get me started on the shots of each team from that ending, they’re all adorable with great little geographical/cultural references AND I CAN’T)

Well, that’s it for my notes! I have a draft of the next chapter completed, and while my goal is to work ahead in the story first, I hope to be posting it very soon. (I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say… IT’S A TRIP.) I’ll also be sharing my Pinterest board for the fic then, so if you enjoyed the ones for Storming the Castle, that’s coming up!

#long post #really long post #vanishing prince #the vanishing prince #kat writes fanfic #knb fic #kat writes about basketball dorks #kat writes about ADORABLE BOYS AND THEIR ADORABLE FRIENDS HELP ME #I want to go restaurant hopping with Rakuzan XD #actually I just really want to try yudofu in Kyoto #also can I just say I was a mess just from rewatching the few episodes to get those screenshots #I STILL LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH #THE EPISODES ARE SO GOOD #I FORGET HOW GOOD THEY ARE SOMETIMES #anyway bless any of you who actually read this #good lord will I ever shut up about these basketball kids #the answer is probably no

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lightsandlostbells · 6 years ago

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Skam France season 3, episode 6 reaction

I have a Jerome theory and I’m sticking to it

Episode 6

Clip 1 - Lucas gets his turn in the hoodie of despair

Lucas is at school Monday. We get a shot of his bandaged hand that’s a parallel to the trailer for the season, where we also start with a shot of Eliott’s hand. In both situations, Lucas/Eliott is about to walk into the school in a tense, uncertain situation, Eliott facing a new school and new people after his episode at his old one, Lucas facing his old school and old friends after alienating or angering the people he cares about.

Also, the bandaged hand is representative of his emotional ~wounds but that’s ... really obvious, I feel silly saying it.

The angsty piano music, a hallmark of this season, plays as Lucas crosses the yard. The boy squad laughs at him, and if that wasn’t obviously fake, then Raptor Alex miming a blowjob at him while standing with Eliott should be a dead giveaway, because like hell Eliott would tolerate homophobic bullying of Lucas, no matter their relationship status. (Though it’s kinda amusing to think about this scene as an Alex/Eliott AU where Alex is bragging about his BJ game and Eliott is smirking like “damn right.”)

Daphne comes up and kisses him on the cheeks. She’s so effusive and affectionate that at first I thought she already knew Lucas was gay and was trying to jump to the front of the queue to make him her gay BFF. It’s not that, though. She touches his arm and is like HOW BUFF which is hilarious because Lucas is, how do you say, wispy. No offense at all, but I would never be like yeah, that guy looks like he works out. Lucas doesn’t seem to buy it either. Of course Daphne wants him to help move a couch, lmao. Protect the five vulnerable girls going to pick up the secondhand sofa from a potentially shady dealer? I guess Daphne got over her fear that Lucas would be taking over as head of the common room once she realized he was another pair of arms to carry that couch.

Of course when Lucas looks over, it’s not the boy squad, but some random dudes. Not Alex and Eliott but some random dudes. Not Maria and Chloe, but some random girls. All of them seemingly minding their own business and not caring about Lucas one way or another. This puts a different focus on the scene than with Isak, because with Isak he actually was walking into the lion’s den. He saw Emma and Even in the courtyard and psyched himself up to walk between them with his Nas song playing in his ears to psych himself up. Isak was miserable, but in a way it felt like an act of courage; he saw his worst fears on both sides of him, literally, and pushed himself forward. With Lucas, I’m not saying he isn’t brave, but with all those people turning out to not really be there and not really laughing and talking about him, the emphasis is more on his paranoia and fear. It’s a much drearier take on a scene that was already depressing (and I feel like the lighting/coloring reinforces that, too, but err, that’s Skam France’s usual aesthetic so I’m not sure how intentional that was.)

Clip 2 - Yann the voice of reason

Gym class, not for Lucas, but for Chloe. After class ends, Lucas comes into the gym and wants to talk to her. Chloe is not having it. Lucas tries to say she said on Friday is nonsense. He’s not a (homophobic slur) and he asks her not to spread it around. Ohhh boy, this is. Uncomfortable. Completely understandable that he doesn’t want the rumors to get out, and I get why he’d say he wasn’t really gay in order to protect himself, but him using a slur? That’s really sad. That makes this not just a strategic move or an attempt to handle the situation before it gets worse, but something self-hating. There was no reason for him to use homophobic language except to distance himself from being gay, like in episode 3, the advice he took to keep people from guessing.

She’s pissed that he didn’t even come to apologize or talk, just to ask her not to spread it around, so you know she’s not really listening and making this about her own feelings. And look, we can say over and over again that Chloe has a right to be mad, and of course she does. But she also just doesn’t get the seriousness of outing someone. Lucas is begging her not to spread the rumor, very upset, but Chloe says he can’t tell her what to do. Man, so they made Chloe even worse than Emma, despite having Lucas treat Chloe worse than Isak did with Emma. Isak didn’t plead with Emma to not out him while Emma was like, “Whatevs, I do what I want.”

Lucas is clearly unraveling. He bursts out of the gym and runs into Yann. Lucas tries to use his family as an excuse again and Yann cuts him off, saying not to play him. He knows whatever’s happening with Lucas is more than just his parents. Yann is a lot more blunt about it than Jonas; Jonas knew that Isak was bluffing but let it slide without calling him on it. He’s also more blunt about Lucas refusing to talk about his problems. The guys all just want Lucas to get better, and are here to talk to him, but if he doesn’t want to do that, then he needs to fix his problems and come back when he’s better. Completely fair, tbh. I can see how the more straightforward approach works with Lucas; Isak felt more defeated at this stage, like he barely had energy to get through the day let alone put up his usual act, so chill Jonas could get through to him, whereas Lucas is like brimming with anger and fear and seems more defensive, so he needed Yann to just cut through his bullshit directly.

Clip 3 - Pasta is Deep

I feel like a recurring issue with Skam France is that it skips establishing the mood of a clip, often just jumping into whatever needs to happen without a lot of grace, which probably has a lot to do with their time limitations (although this episode is several minutes shorter than average so...) This scene isn’t one that I expected them to recreate so closely, with Isak just ordering a sandwich for like a minute and a half, but it did remind me of how that completely mundane action was so much more than the damn cheese sandwich, because it was about putting us directly into Isak’s headspace and letting us feel how blank and distracted he was, and then what a jolt it was when Even appeared - exactly what Isak must have felt. I think Skam France could benefit from being more careful with staging moments like that, more showing, less telling. Like there’s nothing wrong with the start of this clip but it skips establishing Lucas’ mood entirely, and Eliott comes around the corner so we the audience see him before Lucas does, so there isn’t as much of a reaction.

Anyway, the important observation: Eliott cut that girl in line, what a dick.

There are two plates of pasta on the counter before them, and Eliott says if he were Lucas he’d take both of them. Lucas says sometimes you have to choose. I get that this is ~symbolic and it’s about Eliott trying to have it both ways and Lucas not having that but it’s one of those moments that takes me out because ... why would Eliott say Lucas should take both huge-ass plates of pasta ... except so Lucas can be metaphorical in response ... is that normal? It feels like a very writerly setup to be Deep so the dialogue can have a double meaning, except it doesn’t actually make sense on the first/surface meaning, if you get what I mean. Or else Eliott thinks Lucas is capable of eating two plates of pasta.

Eliott tries to make conversation but Lucas just grabs a plate and storms off. That was some good timing with the angry plate grab. Eliott looks sad and the angsty piano music starts again.

Lucas walks into the cafeteria and sees the table with the boy squad and the table with Chloe and Maria, while Eliott is walking behind him. This time Chloe is looking at him for real. Lucas just leaves his tray without eating and walks off as Eliott notices.

It was kind of odd that they needed both moments of Eliott reacting to Lucas’ distress, like ... we got it the first time when they were in line, we didn’t really need the second time to tell us the same thing we just saw thirty seconds ago. Was that supposed to be Eliott noticing Lucas didn’t want to sit with his friends so it wasn’t just him causing Lucas stress? IDK. Even if that were the case, it felt redundant. (Sometimes with this show I want to be like “have confidence that the audience will understand!”)

Clip 4 - Someone’s gonna catch a disease or a demon from that sofa

The girls and Lucas walk to a secondhand store. The store is like where they keep the props for The Conjuring movies. For some reason this thrift shop has multiple dolls that are missing body parts just hanging out, which is objectively the creepiest thing you could encounter. There are also jars of yellow ... something. I’m not gonna say it’s definitely pee, but it could be pee.

Daphne is once again the MVP of the show for how she screams and runs away when she gets freaked out. She’s so entertaining.

A dude shows up and the scene dramatically cuts to black with the sound of a sharp blade, as if in a slasher movie, but of course then we cut to this guy pouring tea for everyone. Total tangent but you know, a horror series could be pretty fun if it followed the real-time format of Skam. They played with the concept in the cabin episode, as a parody of course, but I would love to see more genre series in this mode of story-telling. A really well-written suspense or horror story could be so effective in real time!

Also, the guy looks like the school psychologist from Skam Italia. And the gym teacher from Skam Italia. Or maybe I just think all older men with beards look alike.

It was the guy’s brother’s shop. He was a compulsive hoarder, which is not a surprise in the slightest. The brother died recently. “Of what?” “I don’t know, I haven’t found him yet.” Lmao, this is a funny scene. They guy is joking and says his brother had cancer, but let’s be real, that’s also a lie. The guy was obviously murdered by those dolls.

The gang gets some additional goodies from their visit. So Lucas has to carry the couch back with Manon and Daphne, Imane and Alex carry the football table, and Emma trails behind with her lava lamp. LMAO. It’s a great image. (I have no idea if Daphne was actually carrying the couch at all, or if she was just supervising. I think Lucas and Manon were doing the heavy lifting, literally.)

They take a break and Lucas rubs his injured hand. Lucas, get help for that! Go to the doctor! I’m sure she has some eccentric yet helpful life advice in addition to her medical expertise.

Daphne comes up to him and asks whether he’s heard from Basile since Friday. NO GOD WHY.

Lucas smiles and says a bit, why? Daphne is like… just for news. The girls tease her by saying she’s actually into him, Daphne says no, he’s so annoying. WHY GOD. WHY MUST WE GO HERE. It’s so aggravating that the best character on this show is going to be paired off with the worst character on the show (and one of the worst characters in the entire Skam universe).

The girls talk about how much their men suck. Daphne says guys are worst than girls. LESBIAN. DAPHNE. PLEASE. I’m begging you.

Daphne says no offense to Lucas, and Imane says he’s not a real guy. Whoa! Hold on a moment there. Lucas’ expression is all WTF, Imane tells him to take a joke. This is one of those casual comments that can cut deep; Imane doesn’t know Lucas is gay at this point, so it’s not quite her assuming that gay guys are honorary girls or something like that. But one of Lucas’ fears is how being gay will separate him from his male friends, and at this very moment he is separated from them. So this is not a reassuring thing to hear. Calling someone a “real guy” can sting for someone who’s struggling to find out just where they fit in with the guys, and now hears that they don’t really belong there. Interesting that they made Imane throw out this comment since it’s more careless than we often hear from her. Not that she’s perfect or anything, just that we more often hear remarks like this from someone like Daphne. But it goes to show that everyone’s capable of these microaggressions.

Daphne says Lucas is so lucky, girls are so much simpler (I guess she means with dating). Irony! Lucas does not say L M A O in response. How lucky can he be when a raccoon man broke his heart? Manon says that’s inaccurate and not true. Daphne thinks it’s easy for Manon to say that when she’s dating the perfect guy. Irony! Manon hops off that couch and says it’s time to go again. I wonder how long they’re going to string along the hints that all is not well with Marles. Noora came back and immediately told everyone that she and William had relationship issues, but Manon is hiding the truth.

I thought this clip was a lot of fun but it’s one that doesn’t really fit with the mood or atmosphere that Lucas is going through right now. I saw people defending it as like a break from the misery and tension, and I couldn’t help but be like ... no! That’s not a good thing! I get that Lucas doesn’t need the same emotional journey as Isak, but speaking as someone who watched Skam S3, episode 6 in real time, the constant pain was a good thing. Sure, it was draining. Sure, it was stressful. But it got you into Isak’s head. It made you feel what he was suffering. It captured his isolation and loneliness. It made the final clip of the week with Jonas such a huge relief (and to be fair, they sure took a different tone with Yann...) Narratively, it was expertly crafted and paced. With scenes like this, it does chip away at some of the tension. I wouldn’t say it’s pointless (and again, on its own there were a lot of funny moments) but again I wish Skam France was better at establishing and holding a mood. Because there are ways they could have shot this scene with similar content, but with more of a consistent emphasis on Lucas’ POV, filtering through his lens. Focus on his detachment, have something in the shop remind him of Eliott, etc. The dead guy’s brother talks about how isolated and lonely the brother was and how he didn’t open up to anyone. Something like that. Except for a few brief moments like the shot of his hand or the response to Imane’s comment, the scene doesn’t have much to do with him, really, and this is a very crucial time in the story to be making us feel what Lucas feels.

There’s also that I feel like a girl squad scene is like a requirement of each episode, and listen, I enjoy them as much as anyone, but I also think that these scenes can feel like they don’t fit with the narrative as a whole. Both the cake clip and now this clip had little to do with Lucas’ POV (compared to something like the Kinsey Scale discussion which was relevant to him). There are some bits contributing to other subplots, like a hint at the end about Manon and Charles, which is probably meant to lead into the next clip where Manon cries, but tbh they’ve dropped quite a few hints about her not being OK by now so IDK this particular one was necessary? And to be fair, other seasons of Skam spread their focus beyond the POV character. But part of why Isak’s season is so good, IMO, is that every single clip contributes to the main story. It’s very tightly written. I guess I can’t help but wish that every clip had a clear tie to Lucas’ character arc even if there are other subplots happening, and not just that other storylines are taking place and Lucas happened to be there.

Clip 5 - Not talking is good

Lucas is up at almost 2:00 watching TV. A late night clip, wow! Glad to see one of these. It’s something that does establish mood and get us into Lucas’ mindset. Timing is one of the most useful tools the Skam format has, compared to traditional TV series.

Manon comes in and he asks if he woke her. She sits next to him and climbs under the blanket. Manon is clearly distressed. Lucas notices she has tears in her eyes. She seems on the brink of saying something, but he suggests they don’t talk about it. He puts an arm around her and she leans into him as the piano music starts again. We’re getting a hell of a lot of that this episode. She cries, he starts to get teary as well.

Lucas and Manon have the most familial relationship in the flat. In Skam it was Isak and Eskild, here it’s definitely Lucas and Manon. They feel like each other’s family. I do really like this scene for showing their bond and demonstrating that they’re both going through something they can’t talk about, it’s really lovely. Neither of them can say what’s troubling out loud. Manon has been needling Lucas to talk to her about his problems, but Lucas doesn’t pressure Manon to talk about what’s making her cry. There’s probably a balance they need to achieve to get to the emotionally healthiest place.

One effect of moments like this is that the Lucas/Manon relationship feels so much more developed than some of Lucas’ other relationships, like they can cry with each other and show emotional vulnerability with each other in a way that Lucas can’t with other people. Like I was rooting for Lucas and Yann’s friendship, and there is a ton to be said about Lucas being accepted by his best friend and what that means in terms of depicting supportive male friendships, but I also completely get why people thought he should come out to Manon instead, because story-wise, this relationship feels different from others. Lucas does feel comfortable with her, even if they’re not talking about their problems, and making the progression to voicing their problems to each other seems like a logical progression.

Clip 6 - Find your Jerome

Lucas has gone to the school doctor from the first season, who tries to guess his name. The final one she guesses is Isak, lmao. Awww. I’m going to be a total sap and say that my heart got all mushy and emotional hearing that name. I miss my boy! I need Julie Andem to deliver that reunion special ASAP. But I do like Skam France’s nods to the original show, they’re not that subtle but they’re sweet gestures.

Lucas says he has trouble sleeping. To their credit, they did show him and Manon up late at night this week, so it doesn’t come totally out of nowhere. I do think perhaps they missed a chance for him to go to the doctor because of his hand. And maybe lie to her about how it happened, but she kinda guesses he punched something and gives him a little speech about not bottling up emotions and taking out his anger by punching stuff? IDK. I think that would’ve fit Lucas’ characterization and his particular struggles, but this is fine.

I love how satisfied the doctor seems when she tells him to avoid blue light. Nailed it!

I feel like this scene could’ve been built up a a bit clearer, because Lucas is all, “IDK why I can’t sleep” and that seems a little ridiculous, like obviously he knows why he can’t sleep all of a sudden. If he didn’t, he’d be like, “Oh, blue light is the problem? That settles that.” He’s got big personal problems. It’s just that he’s not going to tell this doctor what they are. With Isak, he had a clear motive for going to the doctor - there was a text where Linn mentioned her sleeping pills and Isak came in asking for some of those, except the doc gave him some advice to talk to people instead. Like I’m not sure what Lucas wanted from going in here? Because he knows he’s thinking too much at night, but he doesn’t want to tell the doctor the specifics. So I’m not sure what he was hoping for by going here since I’m sure he wasn’t planning on using this appointment as a therapy session. I guess he could’ve been intending to ask for some sleeping pills or something else to help him sleep, but never got around to it because the doctor started to talk about her lover and thoughts of murder. Just a small observation.

The nurse starts telling him about how she also has problems talking about herself due to shyness or modesty (lol, this doctor being shy or modest). But she can talk to Jerome, the man she’s apparently cheating on her spouse with? Or engaging in some mutually agreed polyamorous arrangement, looking at it in a more positive light. (Or Jerome is a mannequin. Somehow that seems like the most plausible option.)

She mentions that her days are filled with teenagers who think they’re pregnant, nice nod to S1, and tells Lucas she can confide in Jerome about her murderous fantasies when her brother wants her to visit. LMAO. Well it’s nice that she can talk to someone about that? Tell me that this tidbit isn’t made dramatically more interesting if Jerome is indeed a mannequin, though. Anyway, she encourages Lucas to find his Jerome, someone he can trust.

Outside, Lucas is sitting and thinking and brooding. He reaches his hand into his pocket and finds a note from Eliott. The tinkly piano music starts again, damn, they’re going for a record in this episode. I think it’s the same tune as when Lucas first saw Eliott. The note is a very cute cartoon of his raccoon fursona, “Eliott 25473” looking at a hedgehog and not approaching him, but “Eliott 34512″ runs towards his fate and talks to the hedgehog. Hedgehog looks super happy to see this raccoon. The animal cartoons continue to be one of my favorite parts of this season.

Lucas sees Eliott walking across the courtyard. That seems to make up his mind, so he puts the drawing in his pocket and gets up. He walks up to someone and asks if they can talk later. The view of the person is obscured just to give you a misdirect that Lucas is talking to Eliott, but of course it’s actually Yann. Yay, Yann! And we’re all so excited for this beloved scene to happen next!

Clip 7 - Coming out to Yann

Ahahahaha.

After school, Lucas and Yann are sitting on a bench in the schoolyard, and Lucas is saying how he has been acting weird lately. There’s the complicated situation with his parents, there’s school, there’s the rent he can’t pay … and he thinks he fell in love. Not with Chloe. It’s not a girl. Yann seems a little surprised, which Lucas observes, but mostly Yann just seems to be listening. Yann is like, but it’s not me? Lucas says no, but there was a time last year … he trails off as Yann seems to be thinking wait, what? So Lucas just holds off elaborating on that confession and tells Yann about Eliott. Yann seems to understand, he’s just nodding and listening, asking a few questions. All is well.

Lucas says he wanted to tell Yann the truth, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He went to see the nurse because he hasn’t been sleeping. She told him to talk to someone he trusts. Lucas talked to Mika and it bit him in the ass. Chloe got mad. Yann asks if anyone else knows. Lucas thinks Manon, Emma, and Alex are suspicious and have guessed, and when he talks to Imane about it, they fight. Lucas asks Yann what he thinks. Yann is turning over something in his head. Lucas wants to know what Yann is thinking.

And Yann says, he can’t do this right now. He needs time. And he gets up and walks off. Lucas sits there in shock and misery after Yann leaves as dramatic music plays.

I feel like I need a drink before discussing this scene.

I do not think this was the right narrative choice, for multiple reasons. The clip has already been debated and discoursed, so I might not be saying anything new, but let’s unpack it from several angles. I will say upfront that after this scene, even before we got confirmation, I thought it was most likely Yann was upset about not being trusted, or other people finding out before he did, than because he was a big homophobe. But I still don’t think this makes the scene much better or justifiable.

From a basic writing standpoint: I think this was sloppy. I don’t think it was meant for anything other than throwing more shit at Lucas and some quick shock value. They wanted to surprise the viewers of the original show or throw in a plot twist. But none of this fits Yann’s character. The guy has been encouraging Lucas to confide in him during the season, so for this to happen when Lucas does finally confide? Feels wrong. Keep in mind that Lucas is not just confessing about being gay/falling in love with a guy: he mentions his family situation, his rent, school. Yann may not realize that Lucas was outed, but Lucas does mention the stress he’s felt from other people finding out about him and Eliott. So Yann hears all of this and decides to walk away, because of his own wounded feelings. Yann, after being supportive of Lucas and his family situation for ages. Okay. I get that characters aren’t perfect. But this doesn’t even feel like a choice Yann would make. Earlier in the episode he was like “either talk to us or sort your shit out”? He makes it clear that they’re not going to wait around for him if Lucas doesn’t want to talk, it’s caring but very no-nonsense, which is part of why it feels like his reaction doesn’t fit - he takes it personally that Lucas didn’t come to him. It just seems at odds, and I get that people don’t necessarily react consistently, but in a scripted TV show I do expect characters to react in a way that feels organic to their prior behavior.

Without a doubt it would have been worse to make Yann walk away because he’s genuinely homophobic, but in a way it feels even more contrived that he did so for other reasons? I’m trying to word this properly, but while making Yann homophobic would have been a horrible choice and I’m glad they didn’t go that far, the fact that he’s not makes this scene feel extremely petty in the overall narrative. Like when Yann explains himself in the next episode, it becomes abundantly clear that this was a fake-out, this was meant to throw the viewers off for a few days. It was just cheap. It doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of the narrative.

There’s the racial aspect. You cannot ignore that in this scene. We have two non-black Jonases in OG Jonas and Giovanni reacting amazingly to this confession, and the Skam France writers chose to make their black Jonas react poorly. I doubt their thought process was “he’s black so he’s gonna be more homophobic.” But I do think they should’ve thought the implications through. Because as much as people wanted to say race didn’t matter in this scene - it did. People already had an irrational dislike of Yann for doing the same things that Jonas and Giovanni did, and this clip just confirmed their worst biases. We had people hating the black character because of this change. People being like “I told you Yann was the worst and that he wouldn’t support Lucas!!!” when there wasn’t any reason to think Yann wouldn’t support Lucas prior to this scene. It was uncomfortable to watch this play out in parts of the fandom. And you had one of the character’s best, most shining moments taken away from him. Sure, the scene with Yann in the next episode is great. But the coming out scene is beloved and iconic, it made Skam fans love Jonas when many people had still been on the fence about him due to S1, and it could have been an equally powerful moment for Yann, a character who is already marginalized and dismissed by parts of fandom for being black. He didn’t get that.

Also, when Basile and Arthur ended up being OTT LGBT allies to the point of comedy, and Yann is the one with a bad reaction ... not great that the white guys were overly awesome and the black character is the one who ditched his friend. I’m not saying Yann has to be perfect and that’s the only way he can be great representation. But they had a precedent of this character reacting well and they actively changed that to be worse, and they changed these other two characters to be even more enthusiastic about their friend being gay. Then we also have two other white characters, Manon and Mika, supporting and comforting Lucas when he’s breaking down, in part because Yann rejected him. It’s a pile of unfortunate implications.

Then we have prioritizing the straight character’s feelings. Yann’s reasons for walking away were about Yann, not Lucas. Yann being upset that Lucas didn’t trust him. Yann being upset he wasn’t the first one to know. It’s self-centered. And we’re supposed to assign narrative weight to how a straight character feels about a gay character coming out. This is one of the biggest moments of Lucas’ life, for any gay person’s life. It should not be about the straight character’s feelings. That was something that was so important about the original scene. Jonas showed empathy and understanding that this was Isak’s moment, not Jonas’. Jonas listened. He let Isak talk at his own pace. He asked about Isak, he asked about Even, he didn’t make it about how he, Jonas, should’ve noticed a long time ago or how he felt about it. By making Yann walk away, the scene doesn’t become about the relief Lucas feels, it doesn’t become his affirming moment. In fact, it doesn’t even feel totally like his miserable, shitty moment? Because now everyone is thinking why the fuck Yann did that, what’s wrong with Yann, is Yann going to come back and apologize, etc. The ~mystery takes the emphasis away from Lucas.

In conjunction with the doctor scene… the actual fuck were they thinking? The advice given to Lucas was “find someone who you can trust” with the message that it’s such a relief to open up to someone. And this lesson as it actually plays out? Leads to rejection. Showing that if you talk to people, it won’t be any better, it might actually be worse because then your friend will leave you. What a great message. It’s not like talking to people and not bottling up your feelings is one of the most important lessons of the show. For a show that is aimed at helping teenagers through stress and shame, teaching them valuable lessons to deal with their problems, it’s thoughtless bordering on irresponsible to juxtapose these clips.

And that leads into my final point, which is not just about this scene, but about how criticism can be received in this fandom. We gotta talk about “realism” and its use as a defense in the Skam remakes.

Some people might ask, well, why does there need to be a great message in Skam? Why do there need to be life lessons in these clips? Can’t it just be an entertaining show? Or, the other popular argument: It’s realistic, therefore it’s beyond critique. (Usually not worded like that, but that’s the sum of the argument.)

Yes, Skam is a show built on realism. It is a show that captures teenage acne and awkward pauses and the mundane experience of lying on your bed texting someone, trying to think of the right things to say, in a way that is often glossed over by other TV series. But Skam is not just a realistic show. Skam is an idealistic show and it always has been. The show has always been about trying to give teenagers hope, to present positive models of behavior, to show the best of what we could be.

Here are some things that could be considered “realistic” in S3:

Isak rejecting Even due to his mental illness

Isak getting bullied and beaten up after being outed

Isak’s religious mom telling him he’s going to hell for being gay

Isak shoving himself back in the closet and continuing to date girls

Even killing himself due to depression

These are all extreme examples, for sure. But they’re things that have happened in real life. They’re stories that have been told in media before. Why didn’t Skam go there? Why did S3 end with Isak and Even in a happy, loving relationship, and not both of them dead from reenacting Romeo + Juliet, or Isak crying over Even’s grave, or Isak forever alone and miserable and suffering for being gay? Because that’s not the point of the fucking show.

Skam is not perfect. The characters are not perfect. But you have to ignore a core value of the series if you want to claim that Skam is about realism but not idealism. There is a reason so many characters resolve their problems by talking about their feelings. There is a reason we get so many quotes about how we should have empathy for others. Are there many true villains in this series? The only one who feels completely irredeemable is William’s brother, the sexual predator, and even he got a moment of sympathy when Mari acknowledged how messed up his childhood was. Everyone else, even the ones who act as antagonists, eventually gets some kind of compassion and forgiveness. Isak ends S3 on good terms with basically everyone: his friends, his parents, his roommates, Even, even people like Sonja and Emma. Because the show wants to give you some goddamn hope. Skam wants to demonstrate how good we can be to each other when we try.

I watched this episode of Skam in real time. I was going through Isak’s misery day after day. I was there when the original clip of Isak and Jonas dropped. When Isak came to Jonas and Jonas reacted so wonderfully, it was a tremendous relief for both Isak and the audience. I remember when the regular hearts on the Skam website (the like button) turned into rainbow hearts - it was for that clip, and it was such a meaningful moment. Isak was out, the hearts had changed, Isak had changed, there was no going back, but it was a triumphant change. And it wasn’t Disneyland. The clip was healing. It inspired other fans to come out to their friends and loved ones.

Circling back to Yann’s reaction here: I certainly get why it would resonate with viewers who’ve had similar experiences coming out to people and don’t want to invalidate their responses. It’s not that I think it’s completely out of line with Skam’s idealism for him to walk away. That he comes back in a few days and apologizes is a positive moment with good messages. It’s more that this moment was changed to be worse - I can’t help but feel it betrays that sense of optimism and hope that was built into Isak’s story. Because the fact that they went for the more dramatic shock value moment, rather than the healing moment, feels deeply cynical about what they want for the viewers. As I said above, the change didn’t feel well thought-out, it felt cheap. It’s pretty meaningless in the whole narrative, it’s just a quick gut punch to make you (and Lucas) feel bad. There are other bad things that happen to Lucas that matter in the overall story, because they influence his character or push the plot forward. This felt like angst for the sake of angst. "Realism” should not be a shield for every writing choice on the show, or else we can let all sorts of shitty tropes (and just plain lazy writing) happen in the name of realism.

Also, can we get rid of the idea that Norway is some homophobia-free paradise and Jonas’ reaction makes sense only in an LGBT wonderland? Homophobia is everywhere. Some places more than others, for sure, but nowhere is perfect. Isak’s story was full of homophobia even if he wasn’t getting gay bashed. How do you think he developed internalized homophobia in the first place? If Isak’s culture is devoid of homophobia, then why is he so nervous about coming out to people at all?

And I gotta say, after events in episode 7, it is totally ridiculous to defend this scene as realism and “not Disneyland” when Basile and Arthur are basically wearing Mickey Mouse ears when they learn Lucas is gay. Not that I think it’s wrong for them to be supportive, just that their scene is clearly grounded in idealism.

The original clip with Jonas reacting well to Isak coming out? Was based on a true story. It’s just as realistic as Yann walking away.

Social Media/General Comments

Lmao, Daphne’s inspiration deco for the common room. Dream big, girl. I like Alex’s response of pretty pink and elegant toilet paper decorations. Emma suggests a big box of condoms, which is the most practical suggestion.

Eliott posted a picture of his raccoon fursona throwing out many notes, so probably him struggling to come up with the right thing to say/draw to Lucas.

Daphne and Lucas have a friendly conversation. She really wanted him to go lift that couch.

Eliott posts another picture with a Virginia Woolf quote, saying “In case you ever foolishly forget, I am never not thinking of you.” Should be obvious that he’s thinking about Lucas. Virginia Woolf is a good choice for Eliott to quote since she was supposed to be bipolar, as well as bisexual (not pansexual, as Eliott may identify like Even did, but still relatable as they’re both into more than one gender).

Here’s a post about the Pygmalion reference with the picture Eliott posted. I feel like there’s something to be said about Polaris, too, and Lucas embodying one of the characters in Eliott’s movie, so that it feels like Lucas is lifted right out of Eliott’s art.

Eliott deleted the cartoons of him and Lucille cat after the cafeteria conversation with Lucas about having to choose. He CHOSE.

There’s a very sweet text from Manon and Lucas where she thanks him for last night, it was nice to not talk with him. Awww. They do have a nice relationship.

Emma seems done with Raptor Alex judging by her post “when he’s a fuckboy but he’s cute as hell” which goes along with the conversation when they’re moving the couch. Do we think Emma and Yann will end up getting back together, next season perhaps? Will she and Alex continue to be FWB? Or will Emma find someone else? Or be single for a while?

Super depressing post from Lucas after he comes out to Yann, a cartoon saying “God needs your boat to use as an ash tray” showing that he’s really slipping and feels like he’s drowning. When Yann walked away, he took Lucas’ last shred of hope with him. JFC.

I’m not French so feel free to explain or clarify something I missed.

If you got this far, thank you for reading!

#skamfr reactions #skam france reactions

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mirandadrawss · 5 years ago

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Chapter 1 Preview

🕷😱

The scratch of hundreds of quills against rough parchment permeated the air around Obsidian. For what felt to him like the thousandth time, he dipped the tip of his Peregrine feather into the inkwell and swept his eyes over the final question.

Explain the importance of dialect and accents during incantations, including, how different accents affect a spell’s performance and if spells require variation based on region or location.

Oh boy, he thought. He fluffed the end of his quill against his temple as he struggled to recall the enthusiastic lectures of his Incantation professor. Obsidian had always had a hard time paying attention to the lectures about history and theory, in spite of Professor Drought’s passion. Drought fawned over the subject she taught and that carried over into her teaching style, but theory just wasn’t as intriguing as the practical application of magic. Why learn why something had to be said a certain way if you could just learn to say it right and have the spell work? And, while we’re complaining, why did everyone have to use quills? They were ridiculously expensive and ballpoint Bics worked just as well. Not to mention the incessant cacophony quills made when everyone was writing at the same time. Light from the runic stones floating overhead flickered off his indigo horns as he shook his head to himself. With a final dip into the ink, he began his answer.

When using incantations, the meaning and purpose of the Magikan is more important than the accent of the words.

It really irked him that he couldn’t just put Warlock, but the Inclusion Act the Academy had put into place required political correctness in all official schoolwork. As if someone would be offended by him writing about Warlocks specifically. Okay, they probably would be. But that wasn’t his problem. And come on, Magikans? Just because Magika was the official language of spells and basically anything magical they had to have the most stupid umbrella term for everyone who used it. He rolled his eyes and continued writing.

While pronunciation of the spell is still important, as long as the magic user holds firmly in their mind the end goal of the spell, the incantation will succeed regardless of the different accents that may be pronounced.

Sid read over the answer; not too shabby, and it might even be correct. He was at least 87 percent sure it was. He checked the pocket watch he’d laid out on his desk at the start of the exam, as black as his namesake, with molten hands that flowed around the face as the time passed. It’d been an early graduation gift from his mother, probably demonic in its design, but Sid absolutely loved it. Guess there were some perks from having a succubus as a mother. With fifteen minutes left until time was up, he put his quill back to the parchment and continued,

This only applies when using the universal language of magic, Magika, to speak the incantation. If a spell is spoken in the magic user’s native tongue, it will need to be read precisely and exactly.

Fanning the still wet ink with his hand, he chanced a glance a few tables to the left to where his best friend Chrysanthemum was sitting. She was sitting up straight, hands clasped in front of her, staring ahead. No surprise that she’d been done for a while, Chrys was the expert when it came to the theory of magic. And she was always so proper. Sid smiled to himself as he stacked his papers neatly and rolled them into a scroll, knotting some twine around the center. With a flourish of the Peregrine feather, he signed his name on the side of the scroll, Obsidian Damon Lux, and dropped his quill onto the desk, splotching it with remnants of ebony ink. Sid didn’t mind his name, all things considered. He was just grateful that his mother, Jezebeth, hadn’t named him Satan or Hell’s Son or something absurd like that. He was just loath to admit that his last name came from the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas where Jez had given birth, after yet another tryst with an unsuspecting mortal. Succubi becoming pregnant had been unheard of until Sid entered the picture. Most Warlocks were the product of male demons impregnating mortal women, but Jezebeth had been the exception. She didn’t even know who the father was, since she had no idea how long she was pregnant for and had been doing what succubi do best for the entire time; a profession she had kept up even with a child following her around. He’d been near enough to his mother’s seduction practices to be able to practice them himself had he wanted, and he’d spent most of his teen years in another dimension that was home to demons and the Dark Lord himself, to whom he’d conveniently been sworn during an anti-christening ceremony. But he was as normal as demon spawn come and had luckily been born with normal features, not counting the white-less violet eyes and the horns on his head that gleamed like the rock he was named after. Those features always seemed to get him the most friends when he was younger, at least until they introduced him to their parents. When he’d returned to the human dimension to start school, he got more hassle than he would have liked, so he’d taken to spiking his ash white hair and eventually dying it crazy colors to hide the protrusions on his head. He’d tried out sunglasses for a bit, but found that those brought an equal amount of stares, since no one really used sunglasses in the Portland gloom. Besides, Sid liked his eyes, and his true friends, like Chrys, had never seemed to mind.

“Quills down,” echoed the sharp caw of the exam proctor and almost instantly the scratching that had filled the air ceased. “Please leave your scrolls on your desk and exit the room. You will be informed of your results early this evening.”

If there was one thing that made a magic school better than regular university, it was that the grading was done by magic, which meant same day scores. Sid stood up and stretched, his back creaking like a storm-worn cellar door. He made his way towards the exit, detouring to fall into step beside the freckle-faced honey blonde female Sid called his best friend.

As if on cue, Chrys began her routine post-exam rant. “I really think I messed up that question about Werewolves and Vampires. And the one about staffs versus wands. I definitely failed. There’s no way they’ll award me my title. I’m going to have to retake this entire year! My apprenticeship will go down the drain and I’m going to look like an imbecile if I have to apply again.”

Sid sighed. He had nothing but love for the girl next to him, but she severely underestimated her smarts. He interrupted her panicked speech, “You did fine, Chrys. If even I feel like I’m going to pass, there’s no way in Hellatia that you failed.”

Sky-blue met black and violet as Chrys turned to look at Sid. Her nose was slightly crinkled in a look of consternation, but soon gave way to a grin. “Alright, alright, I suppose I can’t have done worse than a blockhead like you.” She pushed his shoulder playfully, a hint of longing flitting across her eyes. “I don’t know why you always say Hellatia. You could just say Hell like everyone else, silly.”

“But, for the fifty thousandth time, there’s not a place called Hell! Trust me, I spent way too much of my childhood in Hellatia and every”

“Every demon was very clear that Hell is not a place and they made sure that you knew it. I know, I know. I’ve heard you rant plenty of times. But even so, isn’t it easier to just say Hell? Even just as an abbreviation?” Sid opened his mouth to retort, but Chrys carried on with a grin, “So, where should we wait out the final scoring? The library?”

An exasperated sigh escaped Sid’s lips. “I don’t want to see the inside of a library for a century at least. And after that misery I could use a good burger. Shake Down sound good?”

Chrys gave a contemplative nod and they walked out the gates and past the ‘Portland Academy of Magic’ sign that morphed into ‘Portland Academy of Arts’ as they left the grounds and headed to their favorite restaurant.

“You know, once I’m actually a Warlock, I can glamour myself the way the school does so I don’t have to get stared at everywhere we go.” The two of them were standing in line, staring up at the menu above their heads, Sid trying to ignore the sidelong glances from everyone around him.

“Oh ya? You could just make everyone see a regular boring guy? Where would the fun be in that?” Chrys retorted. Sid was glad she didn’t mind the staring. They moved to the front of the line and the cashier, used to Sid’s slightly odd appearance, gave them a smile of recognition.

“The usual?” Ty the Shake Guy asked. That wasn’t really his title, but since becoming regulars, Sid and Chrys had dubbed him accordingly, seeing as he was there every time they came in. A synchronized nod came from the odd couple and Matt called back a triple decker, rare done, Avalanche burger, a double cheeseburger, and two chocolate and banana shakes.

Before Ty could tell them the total, Sid handed over the exact amount. “Pleasure doing business as usual sir,” Sid said, giving a mock salute. Chrys, polite as always, thanked Ty and they sat down to wait for their food. The adrenaline they’d felt from the exam drained from them as they sat down and a companionable silence took over until the food was brought to the booth. Sid’s order was an almost bleeding mess of patties and cheese and sauces barely staying on the bun and Chrys’s was a neat, normal, double cheeseburger. Chrys had somehow gotten used to Sid’s strange eating habits a while ago, but she did avoid looking directly at the monstrosity on his plate. Apparently growing up around demons gives you a preference for less cooked meat. Sid never really talked about how this had come about, and Chrys was wise enough to not ask.

The burgers were gone in a matter of seconds, leaving the two of them blissfully sipping their shakes. Chrys absentmindedly stared out the window, and the early summer sun glinted off her hair, haloing her in a golden aura. Sid looked up from the chocolate banana goodness, and broke the silence. “So what’re we going to do once we’re officially graduates?”

Chrys looked over at Sid, “You mean besides take over the world?” Laughter leaked out from both of them at their ongoing inside joke, and in between giggles, Chrys said “Well, I have a position with the Department of Magical Studies lined up. It might just be an apprenticeship, but I think it’s going to be a really great learning experience.” Chrys’s tone reflected the shadow that had crossed Sid’s face, “what is that look for?” “Well, um…I might have forgotten to look into something like that.” Sid trailed off and stared intently down his straw and braced himself.

“You didn’t find an apprenticeship?” Chrys gaped at him in disbelief. “They’ve been harping on us all year about that! It’s the most important part of our education. You can’t become a High Mage or Warlock or, well, anything, without it.”

More words spouted from Chrys, but Sid couldn’t hear them. He hadn’t purposely forgotten, he’d just assumed he’d have time. Even when Chrys was telling him about all of her interviews and offers she was receiving, he still thought he’d have more time. Funny how it always slips away like that. And now here he was, about to be an apprentice Warlock without an apprenticeship. Chrys was right, you couldn’t do much without completing an apprenticeship, at least not much legally. And being an unlicensed Warlock was definitely frowned upon, if not illegal in most cities.

“Sid, SID!” Sid was pulled from his pool of inner turmoil as Chrys laid a perfectly manicured hand on his shoulder. “You stopped listening to me didn’t you.”

He looked up at her, her face a mask of freckled concern. “Ya. Sorry. I totally spaced getting something figured out. I just, I thought I would have more time. What am I gonna do? My mom’s already going to be disappointed if she finds out I’m not going to be performing blood sacrifices to the Dark Lord every day, let alone if I’m not even a real Warlock. What do I do?” He really didn’t know and he looked pathetically across the table at his best friend who had everything figured out. And while he hated asking for help, he was at a loss.

Chrysanthemum straightened into her take-charge stance and in one smooth arc she was out of the booth and dragging Sid with her. “We’ve got to check the bulletin board. There’s got to be a Master Warlock who’s as much of a procrastinator as you are.” As she went on listing all of her backup, last ditch, worst case scenario, contingency plans, Sid brightened as much as an almost Warlock with no prospects being dragged down the street by his best friend could. Leave it to Chrys to be willing to figure out plans A through Z, even if it was his own fault. It was something he loved about her. She was so selfless and willing to help anyone who needed it, especially the people she cared about.

They didn’t slow until they were nose to nose with the bulletin board just inside the massive oak doors of the school. Now this wasn’t just any bulletin board. It was The Bulletin Board. In addition to being the center for local posts, it was a magical conduit for Magikans around the world. Similar boards existed in nearly every magical loci, whether a school or government base, even some select personal facilities could have access to it. A Magikan could post something on a board in one place and the same post would be reflected on the board in all relevant locations. It was by far, the best place to look for apprenticeship availabilities so of course this was where Chrys and Sid found themselves.

To both their disappointments, the board was sparse. An ad for some used textbooks, a tutor request and a lost familiar sign were all that lingered on the magical surface. The blossoming hope that Sid had felt at Chrys’s enthusiasm died as he stared at the empty board. Nothing. Not a single job posting of any kind. He could feel the sinking of Chrys’s mood as she stood next to him. “Well, we could…,” Chrys struggled to come up with an alternate option. Sid knew she’d been counting on the board, even with all of the backup plans she’s been coming up with on the way here.

“It’s fine Chrys. I’ll figure something out, promise.” He strained a smile as the halls around them filled with a familiar cawing voice.

“Attention all students. Final grades are now available in the Grand Hall. Report there to pick up your reports. If this is your final year, please also be prepared to submit your apprenticeship acquisition forms to the advisors upon receipt of your final report. That is all.” With a squawk, the voice was gone and a feeling of dread began creeping up from Sid’s feet.

“They need the apprenticeship information now?” He squeaked, looking exasperatedly at Chrys. “What are they going to do if I don’t have anything?”

“Well, I mean, I don’t think they need it right away,” she hesitated. “They just want to make sure they get things in order sooner than later. I’m sure they’ll have some good advice for students that don’t have anything lined up. Ya, let’s go now. Then we can get you in to talk to someone before everyone else storms the hall.” And without further preamble, she headed down the cavernous hallway towards the Grand Hall, purpose echoing in every step.

“Okay, I guess that’s,” Sid started to say, but cut off as a shred of hope flickered into existence on the bulletin board. He grabbed the paper as soon as it had fully materialized and read it closely.

Apprentice needed. Practical skills a necessity. Be prepared to demonstrate these during interview. Report to Devlin Smokeshard at 98 E NE Street between 4PM and 8PM on the 21st of May.

Sid stared at the scrap in his hand in disbelief. Today was the 21st. Digging his empty hand into his jeans pocket, he pulled his pocket watch out and checked the time. 4:30. This had to be the best luck Sid had ever had, even over the time he’d gotten out of a presentation on fungi because he had ingested some of the sample he’d been reporting on and ended up with a terrible flu for a week. If he left now, he could hopefully make it back before anyone noticed, and with a job to boot. Sid turned on his heel and headed back through the Academy doors, pulling up the UrWay app on his phone and ordering a ride share to take him to his lifesaver.

Thanks to traffic, it was an hour later when they arrived at the address, a run down looking building with a solitary, cracked, street light at the end of the front walk. Sid got more than the usual weird look from his driver as he stepped out and looked around. The car sped off in a squeal of tires as he took in just how terrible the place looked. Weeds sprouted from every crack in the walkway and vines covered the front wall of the house entirely. The one window he saw was cracked and on the whole, it had the appearance of a ‘condemned for the past hundred years' building. From the corner of his eye he thought he saw the streetlight flicker purple as he walked past, but he chalked it up to his nerves. “Well, I don’t really have a better option do I?” He asked no one in particular as he made his way to the front door. When he raised his hand to knock, the door opened wide on its own and Sid jumped about a foot in the air.

The view of the inside wasn’t much of an improvement. Everything looked moth eaten, moldy and termite ridden. Or at least what Sid assumed termite ridden wood looked like. He supposed this was what he got for putting it off so long. Of course he’d end up apprenticing in a garbage heap. He took one last gulp of fresh air and stepped over the threshold.

#read #warlock #necromancy #magic #fiction

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