#i'm back and so is ghost ruben!!

[thisstableground]

“Okay, but for real, do you think I shoulda stayed to help everyone out?” Usnavi asks for the fifth time. “I feel bad just runnin’ away down here and leaving everyone else in the lurch.”

Vanessa flicks a blueberry at him and says, “man, you gave them free dinner, you called the super, what else do they want from you? There’s plenty of other grown-ass adults in your building can deal with things if they need to. It ain’t your problem.”

“He is my apartment ghost.”

“Okay, so? You can be a little selfish for once. Just ‘cause something bad happens near you don’t automatically make it your responsibility to fix.”

[tgammsideblog]

Let's talk about Jinx vs The Human World

Jinx vs The Human World is... certainly an episode. It hasn't been talked much in comparison to The End because it has been greatly overshadowed by the later.

One thing that i think many of us can agree about Jinx vs The Human World is that it has super chaotic pacing. It doesn't give you room to breathe because it is already jumping to the next plot point and you can't digest well what you are watching. This hurts the emotional impact crucial character scenes have, because again, they aren't allowed to flow well, not letting the characters to react properly.

It's an episode that should have been around 44 minutes long since it covers multiple plot threads. With that ammount of time some things could have been better paced and given a proper conclusion.

As for the plot threads, i already talked about how i like Jinx as antagonist in this episode. She is fun, her song sequence is pretty good. She ends up capturing Molly and using her as away to power up her sobgoblins.

I really enjoy seeing Scratch finally having to deal with the consequences of not being a good leader. The reason the events of this episode happen are because of his own irresponsibilty, letting Jinx steal the Chairman robe and take over the Ghost World. He realizes that he has been messing up a lot and someone else should be in charge instead. He lets the chairman robe go and chose a more appropiate candidate to be the new chairman.

My biggest issue would be the Chens plot part. I do like the part of Ollie and June standing up to Ruben and Esther and trying to persuade them into helping them to stop Jinx. It's a scene that serves more or less well as a conclusion for their arc, even if Necro-Comicon and The Grand Gesture have this purpose, (more for Ollie's character)

The reveal that Geoff was the ghost that scared Ruben was nice too. It has been a thing that was foreshadowed back on ¨Book Marks The Sprite¨

What i'm not so fond of is how it was Geoff sneezing at him when he was a kid. I think it could been more interesting if it had been Geoff hurting Ruben by accident or scaring too much. That way Geoff apologizes to Ruben, showing to him that he didn't mean to hurt him that way.

Ruben also feels like he lacks proper scenes to show his change of mind. Sure, he realizes that Geoff wasn't evil as he thought he was, making him question things. But there isn't much else. I think there could have been a scene of Geoff saving Ruben from the sobgoblins and Ruben realizes how a ghost saved him, making him reconsider his views.

His change of mind is like it comes a bit out of nowhere. Another problem is how he seems to be super friendly around ghosts near the end which it is very weird. I think it could have been better if he had some expressions and lines that indicates that he is still trying to get used to not seeing ghosts as evil.

In addition to this, the Chens don't get to do much in this episode outside of trapping Jinx inside the phantom canister. I wished that they could have set up traps to catch the sobgoblins and contain them temporary at least, that would have given them a bigger role in the plot.

I do like some moments that June has, like her interations with Darryl and giving some funny moments. She is pretty enjoyable in this episode and she shines almost scene she is in.

In some other problems, i find the whole wraith transformation of ghost friends unnecessary, it doesn't have any funtion in the story aside from seeing how they look as wraiths (which is cool!) but the plot could have played out the same if it had been just Scratch and Molly going to the Ghost World.

The Ghost Council saying nice things about Scratch and that he wasn't so bad to give Molly joy fits well their character arcs this season, but, Sir Alister saying they are Scratch's ¨friends¨ doesn't add up since Scratch doesn't want anything to do with them and he has interacted with them because he was forced to be the Chairman in first place. I would change that line of dialogue and leave it as them thinking that Scratch is not so bad instead.

In all, i think what really hurt Jinx vs The Human World is that it needed to be a way longer episode (around 40-50 minutes) to allow things to be spaced out better. A good chunk of the issues from this episode seem to come from that. With more time to explore the events and changing some things, this episode could have been more presentable in quality as a whole.

[melanieph321]

Ruben Dias x Reader - Top Spies Part 5/8

Okay, now I'm happy! 😄

Ruben and Reader are super spies, who have to pretend to be a married couple on vacation as a co-signed mission. A enemies to lovers fic, very sweet and funny!

Enjoy!

Things weren't awkward between you and Ruben since your little rumble in the sand, they were just different.

"So what are your plans for today?" You asked. Ruben was just returning from his morning jog, shirtless and dripping in sweat. You sat on the villas front balchony, enjoying a light breakfast.

"Not much, you?"

"Alejandro has invited us to play golf with him and his family this afternoon."

Ironically you and Ruben had settled in quite well with Alejandro and his family. They would often insist that you join them for a day on their yacht or a day kayaking in the sea. Ruben would usually try and come up with excuses why you shouldn't go, but Alejandro and his family kept insisting.

"What did you say?" Ruben asked.

"Well I said that you weren't much of a golfer and that it would probably be just me."

"Bet Alejandro liked that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" You frowned.

"The guy is clearly into you Y/N. He's just waiting for me to let you out of my sight."

"And will you?"

The scent of man invaded your nostrils as Ruben stepped up to you. For a moment you thought he was going to bend down and kiss you, however he paused as his lips hovered above yours.

"Never."

He snatched a grape from your plate. You admired the way his back muscles moved as he headed inside to shower. A part of you wanted to drop your skirt and join him. A very dominant part of you imagine what it would be like to fuck Ruben. Would he be gentle or rough? Handsy or tough?

Your guess was a bit of both.

********************************************

It was very obvious that Ruben wasn't much of a golfer, that he had never even held a club before. He was fine leaving you to it. Alejandro's nephew was eager to show him his collection of torphies instead.

"That's alot of golfballs." You acknowledged.

Arriving at Alejandro's golf course there were several piles of them overflowing the ranch.

"I'm thinking of expanding the resort with four more courses across the island, all with a view of the coast." He said.

"And for that you need more golfballs, makes sense." You nodded. "You should ad some more obstacles to the course, like a pond."

"No. Sand is fine. With water it gets too complicated with the golfballs."

You understood what he meant. It really was a hassle fishing golfballs out of the water, most of them got lost forever.

"Have you ever played golf professionally?" Alejandro asked. He was observing the way you picked your next golfclub, carefully weighing it in your hand, giving it a light swing.

"I stopped in the junior categories due to lack of funding from my parents."

"A shame. I would have stepped up as a sponsor if I knew you back then."

"Well that's very kind of you to say."

You learned that Alejandro supported alot of youth golfers in Portugal, including his nephew. You truly shared the passion for the sport, him a bit more since he was willing to invest in many young players careers.

"If I may ask, what was your maiden name before you got married?"

"It's was....."

You almost said it. You almost blew your cover revealing your real name.

Alejandro noticed your hesitation, tilting his head in curiosity. "I'm sorry for asking so many question but it feels like I should know who you are based on your merits. I've been on the board for the junior championships for over fiftheen years."

"No need to apologize. My junior career isn't somthing I'm really proud of. It basically eneded before it started."

"I see. And your maiden name was....?"

"Y/N!"

Thank god for Ruben. He interrupted you and Alejandro just in time.

"Yes?" You asked since he looked to have seen a ghost.

"Our reservations.... "

"Our what?"

He looked over your shoulders where Alejandro stood and that's when you realized that somthing was definitely up.

"Right, our reservations." You played along.

"You have reservations?" Alejandro questioned.

"Yes, to the spa." Ruben said.

"I'm sorry." You apologized. "I totally forgot about it."

Alejandro shook his head. "It's no worries. I can have Beatrice rearrange the reservations for tomorrow."

"That's very kind of you." Ruben said, already dragging you along with him. "But my wife and I need to relax today."

You left the golf course but did not stop at the spa nor the villa. Ruben drove you all the way to the marina before you finally asked him. "Whatta fuck?"

"There is a submarine." He said, a bit exhilarated about the fact.

"A what?"

"Alejandro's nephew told me that his uncle has a very big boat, like a whale. A whale that can dive underwater."

"What should we do?"

"Report back to Captain. But by then it might be too late. If the Drugs are here on the island I'm sure it's getting ready to get devided and split up in more portable amounts."

"I don't know Ruben, sounds like you want us to make the bust ourselves. I don't think that's such a good idea."

He turned to look at you, seeing the concern in your eyes.

"We won't do anything to jepordize the mission let's just assess the situation and gather evidence."

There was somthing in his eyes. He really wanted to do this.

"Fine, let's find this submarine of yours."

It was later in the evening when you choose to search the bay for a 100 meter submarine, lurking in the calm waters, however with no luck of finding it.

"They can't hide it underwater, another ship might run into it." Ruben said. "But what place could be big enough to hold a submarine, let alone hide it from an island full of tourists?"

"The caves at the golden cliffs!" You exclaimed. It's where Alejandro's family had taken you kayaking a couple of days ago. You never entered the dark caves with the kayaks, but surley they appered large enough to hide a submarine.

"Fuck Y/N, what would I do without you?"

You and Ruben traced the submarine to a hidden cove on the coast of the island, where it was anchored deep in the water.

"I can't believe it." You laughed. Ruben was right all along.

"We'll have to report back to the agency once we get our hands on the evidence. Call captain Harlow and tell him to prepare the team to demand a warrant for the arrest of Alejandro Martinez."

"Ruben your seriously not thinking about going down there are you?"

He looked eager to investigate further.

"Y/N, entering the ship is the only way I'll get a hold of the evidence that we need. Trust me, I won't be long."

Trust wasn't the problem, you thought.

Ruben took notice of this too, how your steps altered, your expression indecisive. All because you didn't want him to enter the ship and leave you behind.

"Hey." Ruben closed the gap between you, letting his hand stroke your cheek.

"Ruben I don't want you going down there."

"I know. " He nodded. "But I have to, it's our chance to finally put this guy behind bars."

"I know but..."

"You won't lose me Y/N. We're partners, remember?"

You smiled as his thumb swiped across your bottom lip. Either it was you who tilted your head up to kiss him or the other way around, him tilting down to kiss you. Nonetheless, you were kissing, a real kiss, soft and sweet.

You lips parted with the echoing sound of the cave, Ruben's forhead knocking against yours.

"Wait for me here." 

You nodded. "Okay."

As you made your way closer to the submarine, you suddenly heard the sound of footsteps behind. You and Ruben turned to see the shadow of a burly man, sneaking up on you.

"You're not supposed to be here!" The man growled, pulling out a gun.

He stepped into a spring of light, revealing his face. It was Andrés, Andrés Fierro.

"Alejandro won't be happy to know that you're here."

You and Ruben acted quickly, drawing your own weapons and taking cover behind a nearby boulder. You exchanged a quick glance, and then Ruben nodded.

"Ready?" he whispered.

You nodded, heart pounding in her chest. "Ready."

The battle was intense, with bullets flying through the air followed by the loud echoes exploding in the distance. You and Ruben had Andrés Fierro cornered. But as you made your way closer to the submarine, you suddenly felt a sharp pain in your shoulder.

"Ruben..."

You crumbled to the ground seeing the wound from the stray bullet.

Ruben saw the look of shock on your face and rushed to your side, pulling you behind a nearby boulder.

"Y/N, no!" he shouted, his voice filled with panic. "You've been hit!"

"Don't let him get away!" You said through gritted teeth. "He'll blow our covers."

Ruben looked conflicted, but he knew there was only one right thing to do.

"I'll be okay," you whispered, your voice barely above a whisper. "Just finish the mission."

Ruben nodded, his eyes filled with determination. He knew that he had to get to the submarine. With a fierce cry, he charged forward. You heard two gunshots and the crumbling shouts of a man. The cave fell silent, however you were never in doubt, Ruben had killed Andrés Fierro.

[dontmixpaintinyourcoffee]

Alright, just to write down my thoughts on this, because I knew it was gonna happen but I looked anyway and now I'm kinda mad-

1. Killing the Rat Grinders is not unprecedented for the show, or even that remarkable. This has always been a very violent show, and it takes place in a high school. Stuff happens. Stuff has been happening since literally day one

2. This show is primarily a comedy. Not everything that is messed up will be addressed right away, and sometimes they won't ever be addressed, because they are pieces of improv and people forget details they made up on the fly. This isn't a show about perfectly heroic characters making morally just choices, it's a show about a bunch of messy teenagers in a fun setting doing messed up shit in an attempt to do some good.

3. Death does not mean the same thing in this world. You can't swing a cat in Elmville without hitting a random 16 year old with resurrection magic. It's very very common in this setting. Kristen alone has fully died twice, and Gorgug fully died once. In their first ever conflict!! The Bad Kids fully murdered Ragh, pretty brutally, and now he's one of their best friends. Zayn Darkshadow fully died, but he became a ghost and seems to be living his best unlife.

The thing that made the Rat Grinders so scary in the first place was that they managed to block resurrection magic. Once Ankarna and Cassandra are back and Porter and Jace are dead, there's no reason to believe that the sigil that stopped revivify will still hold. Literally nothing indicates that these deaths will be permanent. Not even Ruben's, Fig is literally in charge of the place where his soul is hanging out, she can pull him out no sweat. And if she can't Arthur Aguefort certainly can (and can probably get his body back too). You really think being dead with the capacity to be revivified excuses you from mandatory attendance??? Besides, anything is possible with chronomancy!!!

Anyways, if the angry reactions to this episode made you feel upset and confused like they made me... I mean you can think on it and consider why you disagree and re-evaluate your opinion, which is cool and good. But you can also just go outside and remember that it's a TV show and it doesn't really matter all that much that some strangers on the internet say it's bad. Which is also cool and good I think

[lomappreciationblog]

(spoilers for some events in the Dragon Arc and the Jumi Arc!)

As far as I can find in Legend of Mana, the thing about Deathbringer and his army is a plot thread that doesn't really play out in the events of Legend of Mana.

It's more of a background thing that's only explained in the History tome.

Deathbringer himself does appear as a boss fight in "The Ghost of Nemesis," the 3rd quest in the Dragon Arc, where he even has a brief chat with Larc that hints at their shared history.

I am almost sure you can actually rematch a Deathbringer II if you revisit the Bone Fortress, but it only happened once to me so I'm not sure what the triggers for that event is...anyway, during this quest, you do have to fight Deathbringer.

After being defeated, he does leave with these words, but as far as actual plot impact goes, Deathbringer doesn't get to do a lot as Jarara's dragoon...? If anything, Deathbringer has more effect in Drowned Dreams and the background of the Jumi Arc.

In Drowned Dreams, the soldiers who Deathbringer sends on a ship are on a secret quest to find the "ultimate firearm" and that the clues are in Polpota. They even make it clear they're ready to use force...

Elle (accidentally) foils all that, however, when her singing in vicinity caused the ship to sink. Which was probably for the best for Polpota - and I cannot confirm this, but I have read somewhere that Flameshe is related to this ultimate firearm. The concept art in the art book does say Flameshe has fire powers, but I'm not sure if this is actually in the game. So it's possible that Elle also actually saved Flameshe, too, if that's the case, though it does lead to a whole bunch of nastiness for Elle later.

As for Deathbringer's relation to the Jumis, in "Alexandrite" Diana (with Sandra's input) reveals the Jumi had a war with Deathbringer under Diana's leadership, and because of all the casualties this led to Florina damaging her core a lot with her role as Clarius, since she was using up her own core to make Teardrop Crystals.

And Florina being put into that position made Sandra mad, and we all know what hot mess happened next.

Now, again, the game never explained why Diana started a war. Diana doesn't refute Sandra's words so it seems true she did lead the Jumi in a war against Deathbringer, but...to what gain? Sandra made it sound like Diana is just a glory hound who waged a battle she could win since the Jumi are fine as long as Florina did her duty...but Sandra does have a strong bias against her. In the Teardrop Crystal anime, Diana is made a decidedly more sympathetic character in this regard, since it reveals that the war with Deathbringer was for the purpose of reclaiming the Jumi cores his army had acquired, which I can believe. I don't think Rubens or Blackpearl would have fought under Diana if she was just being a warmongering tyrant.

But basically, both cases above conclusively proves Deathbringer is very much an evil jerk emperor so now there is another headscratcher...

It always felt odd to me that Jajara would pick Deathbringer as his dragoon... the History tome makes it sound like Jajara was impressed by Deathbringers's desire not to die, but seeing as Jajara is a dragon who upholds order, and in fact denounces Drakonis for his lust for power and the bloodshed he brings...

It feels odd Jajara would let Deathbringer hang around, and there's no indication at all Jajara tries to stop Deathbringer from sending his army to Polpota...

And apparently, Deathbringer has this whole brainwashing thing going on with his soldiers too. How does Jajara let him get away with this???

When you finish Drowned Dreams and go back to the cape, these two even have this exchange:

So Jajara seems pretty cool with Deathbringer doing shady stuff, even. I wonder what Vadise and Sierra feel about that...

Although...if you take your defeating Deathrbringer in the Dragon Arc as a permanent thing...it's possible Thoma was freed from his brainwashing, or maybe Thona had something to do it, because after Drowned Dreams, he stays on in Polpota.

So he seems to have actually gotten a happy ending.

But yeah, it's kind of funny Deathbringer is hyped up to be this evil emperor but you practically blow past him in one battle and that's it lol.

[flower-boi16]

Jinx Vs The Human World & The End: The PERFECT Ending To a Good Show

So...recently, I just watched the finale to The Ghost and Molly Mcgee on TV. If you didn't see my review of The Ghost and Molly Mcgee, I quite like this show. It's not amazing or anything, but it's certainly a good show that I'd recommend you watch. When I went to watch these episodes I didn't expect much; just a fun duo of episodes with some heartwarming moments in them. Instead...the finale was AMAZING. I'm not exaggerating when I say that TGAMM has one of the best finales of any Disney cartoon in recent years. It perfectly caps off the show and gives a satisfying if bittersweet finale to these characters.

In this post I'm just going to go through my thoughts on both of these episodes and why I like them. Also, this post WILL contain spoilers for the entire finale, so, ya, you've been warned. But enough stalling, let's finally begin...

1. Jinx Vs The Human World

So Jinx Vs The Human World is...pretty good. Basically, the plot is that Jinx takes over the chairman's robe after Scratch leaves it on a robot to replace him and chaos ensues. I do like Jinx as a villain here; she's pretty entertaining and is also a threatening and competent antagonist, with her being able to capture Molly and drain her joy to get her sobgoblins to get stronger and attack the living world.

We also finally get a resolution to the chens plotline here; basically, it turns out that Geof was the one who scared Ruben as a kid, buuuut Geof didn't exactly mean to scare him and was just sneezing because of the dust. This is a...perfectly fine resolution to the Chens plotline, and I do like them helping in the final battle against Jinx. Speaking of that final battle, it was done pretty well; Scratch comes with an idea for how to beat Jinx, that being to think about things that bring them joy so the sobgoblins could over eat and explode.

And after that Jinx is trapped in a ghost container thanks to June and Darryl and the episode ends with Scratch giving up his chairman status due to realizing he isn't exactly a good leader and puts a curse that the rob shall choose who is worthy of being the next chairman.

The songs in the episode were also pretty good; I really like Back to Misery in particular, though Give Em' Joy was also a nice song. So overall, Jinx vs The Human World is a pretty good episode, Jinx is a nice antagonist, the resolution to the Chens plotline was solid, the songs were great and the final battle was done very well. I'd say it's an 8/10 episode, it's pretty solid. The episode would have been better as a 44-minute special though, as the pacing was kinda messy. Now...time to get to the final episode of the series, and...hoo boy, this final episode...it was PERFECT.

2. The End

I'm just going to say it; The End is my favorite episode of the whole show, hands down. I didn't expect the finale to this silly little show to be this good, but it was, and wow, this is one of the best finales in any Disney cartoon I've seen. I don't really know where to begin with this episode, so I'll just get straight to the point; basically after possessing Todd for 2 seconds Scratch gets a vision about his life, and Darryl tells finds Adia on the internet (she was blowing up on click clock), and after he and Molly contact Adia online, a revelation gets dropped; Scratch isn't a ghost, he's a Wraith, and he's Todd's wraith, meaning he isn't actually dead.

This episode basically cemented Scratch as my favorite character here. We get the song Maybe Next Time, a heartbreaking song about how Scratch wasted his life. Instead of adventuring with Adia, he stayed at home and never lived his life, because he played it safe. He was too afraid of taking risks and dying, but because of how afraid he was, he never lived his life to the fullest, he kept on closing himself off, until one day...he just gave up his ghost.

And he kept playing it safe as a ghost, closing himself off because he was still afraid. It's a heartbreaking story about somebody who wasted his whole life because he was afraid of taking risks and chose to just play it safe instead. But...that's not how the story ends.

We get the scene where Molly talks with Scratch outside of Todd's house, and it's the best scene in the whole episode. In the scene Scratch wonders what his life would've been like if he didn't constantly play it safe; if ever decided to take risks and join Adia. And Molly goes and encourages him, saying he could go back to his body and live out his life. Scratch still tries to play it safe, but Molly stops him, saying that Scratch is still playing things safe, how he's still afraid.

Scratch admits this, and says that Molly should be afraid too, since he could forget his whole afterlife when he goes back to the living, and how risky it is. But Molly keeps encouraging him, saying that risks are what make life worth living. She then says how Scratch didn't stop playing things safe as a ghost, and how he shut himself away from others, but now, he's grown; Scratch was able to make real friends, he stopped shutting himself away from everyone, and she encourages him to live out his life. The two hug, and, when Scratch goes to the house, he says that he's sorry if he forgets her, but Molly says that although Scratch may forget her, she'll never forget him. And so, Scratch rings the doorbell, Todd comes out as he looks outside and sees Molly, and Scratch goes back into his OG body, giving one last smile to Molly, as Molly smiles back.

This scene was PHENOMENAL. It officially made Scratch into my favorite character and was a fantastic ending to his character; Somebody who never spent his life and always played it safe, who fell into a depression due to wasting his life and closing himself off from others, but then is able to make friends and goes to spend his life to the fullest, finally deciding to join Adia and adventure with her just like how they wanted to as kids, and the credits even show him reuniting with her. Although Scratch's memories are gone, (or they probably are? I dunno, the show is pretty ambiguous with if Scratch's memories have fully disappeared but ehhh) his growth isn't, if that makes any sense.

He learns to live his life and to no longer just play things safe, taking risks, because as Molly said, risks are what makes life worth living for after all. It's not just a great way to cap off Scratch's character, it gives a beautiful and mature message; you shouldn't just play things safe, you spend your life to the fullest, take risks, adventure out, live your life, it may be risky, but that's what makes life worth living for.

It's a bittersweet but beautiful ending to the show and this character, and THAT'S why The End is my favorite episode of the show. 10/10

(Only real gripe is that I would have LOVED a final song at the end of the episode, aside from that though, its still amazing)

3. Conclusion

While I don't think The Ghost and Molly Mcgee is some kind of masterpiece (I'd say it's like, a 7.5/10) It's a pretty good show and I'd recommend you watch it. The characters are solid, the animation looks nice, it's funny (occasional usage of toilet humor notwithstanding) and the songs are pretty good. Season 2 is honestly better than Season 1 imo, the songs are better, the episodes are better, there's more development and interesting plotlines, and the finale was fantastic.

TGAMM's Finale is a perfect ending to the show, it ends all the show's plotlines in a neat and satisfying way. One of the best finales to any Disney cartoon I've seen, not on the same level as GF or TOH's finales, but still fantastic.

[thebuttsmcgee]

Okay! I've missed out on talking about the past few episodes but the show quite literally finished today as far as we know so it's a good as time as any I suppose to talk!

So yep. Spoilers for The Ghost and Molly Mcgee's possible series finale below!

So! To start off, Jinx vs the human world!

It was alright! Had good moments, bit of a lacking song near the end but the VILLAIN SONG? pretty damn good! Rob Cantor knows how to make a villain song and make them GOOD good. The rest wasn't bad, I liked Molly gaining her power from any kinda positivity, which is boosted by good talk of her forever friend, the Chen family scenes (well, besides that kinda. strange. scene about Mrs Chen asking ollie about kids but disregarding that) were really good!

There had been some light speculation about Geoff being the one who spooked Ruben as a kid but it was mostly in humor, so that ending up being true was neat! Definitely funny but also neat. It was also nice to see more of the Chen family coming to terms with actual ghost stuff and Ruben learning to chill with the ghost hate.

Jinx was a fun villain! Her VA did an amazing job as always! She stole the show in nearly every scene she was in and it was cool to see a ghost actually try to go up against the human world, as the title would suggest. She did go out in a pretty cheesey way but eh I don't really think it was bad, the show's based on friendship anyway.

The overall plot wasn't bad, it took Molly outta the picture for most of it but ya know I guess I do get why. At least it was in an actually reasonable way, by the villain actually being competent. It was cool to see how Ghosts are kinda invincible, but especially with the Chairman's robe, the og Chairman was a good showcase of that terrifying power but was cut short, meanwhile Scratch wasn't really all that a good showcase cause it's just Scratch, who iiiiis lazy lol.

It all felt kinda. Safe. If that makes sense. Like there wasn't really a moment where I felt in suspense. It was still enjoyable mostly, but I didn't really feel myself getting too worried about what could happen.

So yea, like a 6 or 7 outta 10 from me 👍.

Now! For the finale!!! WOO

THAT WAS AN 8 OR 9 BABEY!

I'll be honest, a good amount of S2 hasn't been as good as S1 for me. When S2 is good, it's REALLY good like 100% Molly or All in the Mind or Faint of Art. It's just that S1 was just SO good, some of S2 falls flat to me.

That said, The End felt like a season 1 episode to me cause THAT was sooooo good.

I felt actual stuff with most of the scenes, I was actually getting worried while Moll called Adia, I did wanna shed a tear when the truth hit Scratch and they used the exact same line read in Episode 1 when Moll had called Scratch to come back when he ran away MAN IT WAS ALL SO GOOD.

And the songs. MAN. The first one was good, a banger but nothing too extravagant, even if it's about being extravagant. Scratch's song tho? THAT SONG? ABSOLUTELY LOVE. That fucking hit me so hard, I legitimately wanted to cry a bit cause the lyrics, the delivery, the instrumentals, it was all so damn good! And the ending credits song being something that calls back to the usual end credits' theme, man that was so fucking good.

Here comes the heavy truth!

So the most popular theory ended up being true. Scratch is indeed, the Wraith of Todd, the background character who had small resemblances to Scratch.

Honestly I'm not too sure how to feel about it. It wasn't exactly shoved in our faces and wasn't quite hinted at, all that much unless you reaaaally paid attention to certain things. It wasn't completely outta nowhere, but also it did feel a bit, ehhh. The execution of it all was just superb tho, the voice deliveries, the animation, all of it was so well done. So I'm not entirely sure how to feel about it right now, other than the fact they executed it really well.

The whole scene with Moll and Scratch talking about what could happen when Todd is alive again, man. That hit. It hit good. That actually made me feel more nervousness than most of the previous episodes. Man what can I say. They just nailed it.

And the ultimate ending, with Todd having the personality of Scratch and his little quirks, yet supposedly not retaining his memories from when he wasn't in his human body. I say supposedly, cause tbh? His callbacks felt a bit on the nose, almost exactly like how Scratch would be when he was messing with Molly. He is a trickster at heart after all.

Can't say for sure if he doesn't or does remember cause who knows! Maybe he doesn't, maybe he does. For now tho, it seems as tho he doesn't.

And tbh, I still enjoy it.

Is it bittersweet? Yes. Extremely melancholic? YES. But it's done so well. It didn't feel underwhelming, it felt sad yet done so in the right way.

Everyone trying their best to get him to remember got me ngl lol that was. That was sad man.

Also I saw the Bill and Bob's ok adventure book I see yall tgamm crew.

Todd leaves to see the world and see Adia. Leaving Brighton, and Scratch's new family behind. Again, really bittersweet but done right. Todd is happy to live, and so is everyone else for him.

What a good ending. Bittersweet to a T.

Yes. Yes indeed a 9 for me!

Now as most of us know S3 might not happen. Who knows due to what, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't cause of fan demand, cause I'm p sure there was a lotta that for this show. And this was a fairly good way to send off the show! It had a pretty good run and it was usually up there with BCG, TOH and amphibia when discussing disney channel shows thatve come these past years, and for good reason.

I'll be honest. I'm kinda already missing it. I remember fondly of watching it for the first time and the next episodes, especially when it had aired near my nephews birthday and I had been wrapping his presents. I still enjoy listening to the few podcast talks and whatnot the crew have done for the show. It feels so. Sad. To know we'll probably never get a continuation of anything from this show. Not even a book. But all good things as they say.

If they do continue it tho, I wonder how it'd go. Probably trying to convince Todd to remember who he is and was, his time as a Wraith and as a Mcgee.

But who knows! All I can say is, thank you The Ghost and Molly Mcgee. It's been great. Really. Thank you all.

Love yall ❤️✌️

[fcatton]

so . . . red staircase. i accidentally fingered my cousin here. . . . henry vii's cabinet . . . ghost of granny, HI GRANNY! green room . . . gardens . . . some fucking hideous rubens . . . broken piano . . . uhh, blue room . . . it's blue . . . and . . . king's bedroom.

independent . private . mutually exclusive . portrayal of FELIX CATTON of emerald fennell's SALTBURN ( 2023 ) . not spoiler free . canon divergent . see bio for divergencies .

written in first person . felix is a very . . . forgiving and trusting narrator therefore completely unreliable .

affiliates : @we4ved . @bloodrancold . @devi1lute . @kuipher . @maramcna .

three main verses . one : canon era . two : gen z felix . three : bg3 / fantasy au ( felix is a high elf noble ranger from a family in the upper city of bauldr's gate . tav or npc ) .

promo . ask . memes .

a study in. lifestyle of the rich and the famous . little lord . bleeding gold . doomed by the narrative . naïve to a fault . falling victim . y2k . closeted royalty . family comes first .

rules under cut

ONE . The first rule of my blogs will literally always be don’t be a dick. I don’t have time for it. You don’t have time for it. Just don’t do it.

TWO . I don't have any triggers, but if you do please let me know!! this blog will contain a boat load of triggering content including but not limited to gore, violence, and mature situations. I generally don't tag triggers unless I'm asked, but I tag things with NSFW when it needs to be. to note: saltburn content WILL be reblogged and can be highly triggering.

THREE . I do practice mains and exclusives, because sometimes you just click with people and that's ok! I will follow duplicates of MY muse, but unless it's a friend, I generally won't follow duplicates of exclusive muses.

FOUR . This blog is limited to interactions with mutuals. i always follow back / follow first if i feel like we can write together. if i haven't followed you back after a few days, it probably means i won't be following back to write. for the sake of my profession (i'm a high school age educator) i will not be following back anyone younger than 21.

FOUR CONT. While i do not follow back younger than 21 because i feel icky if you're young enough to be my student, my messages are always open if you ever need anything! if you need an adultier adult to talk to about something i can always try to be that for anyone. i know how important trusted adults are.

FIVE . This blog will be mostly private. I'm here for a good time not a long time. If you want to write with me, the best way is to DM me and say yo bitch let's RP.

SIX . My name is bee. i'm 32 years old. i've been writing on tumblr for like 10 years and rping in general for over half my life. i met my significant other through rp. we just moved across the country so i could go to rabbinical school. obviously i'm super busy but i love making friends!

CREDITS . graphics commissioned by the lovely @calisources.

[wastelandsable]

OC Masterlist

I have way too many and reblog enough ask games that I wanted to have them all in one place. Here’s a quick summary and I'll have details under the Read More

D&D PCs: Ambre- one armed monster hunter rogue Azalea- Modern goth vampire badass Arlo- Modern sad hot topic sorcerer Ruben- Elven Monk cleric into ghosts Leccinum- Half elven Spore druid with a dramatic noble background Seraphina- Sweetheart warlock in love with her eldritch angel patron Alibor- Old man dragonborn hero

Unplayed headcanon PCs: Percival-Gay coyboy wizard Kareus- Lesbian Cottage core Tiefling warlock Yeva- Science experiment GOO Warlock/rogue Ghamak- Soft boy Goliath fighter Kel- air genasi pirate sorcerer

 NPCs I love: Yuriko- sweetheart draconic sorcerer Taura Cen- Pantoran Jedi general of a desperate rebellion Deva Sarcoff- Sith apprentice facinated by the Jedi Order

Star Wars OC’s: Zreli- Chiss runaway Sith apprentice/droid technician ST-804 (Staydo) -Dysfunctional tactical droid Rasu Que - Defected imperial agent Tiesso- Force sensitive treasure hunter Belzekax- Jawa thief/engineer Kresh- Mikkian Conwoman/thief

D&D PC’s

Ambre Van Straeten- she/her wood elf rogue Lost her best friend and her arm to a Dracohydra and tehn retired for a decade before rejoining a party as a rogue (rather than her original strength based fighter) tries to be cocky and casual but is fiercely protective of her new party

Azalea Thibodeaux: She/they lesbian Blood Cleric/fighter. Modern mall setting She's a Goth vampire who works at BloodBath and Body works, a store in a mall in the monster realm. She was led there by a pretty vampire milf and had her memory slowly devoured the longer she worked in the monster mall. She is big, mean, and a badass and I'm in love with her. She hates kids but ends up being the cool Auntie anyway. Post game she helps her girlfriend on her transition and does art for her album covers, very edgy and beautiful, I love them. Did I mention I love her???

Arlo: He/they Shadow Sorcerer. A sad loner who, through both natural and supernatural means is easily forgettable. Accidentally wandered through a magical mist while wandering one night and ended up in the monster realm where he got a job at Hot topic, because of all the great benefits, (its a MLM) and he spent most of the game trying to get the party jobs there, which made Arlo absolutely broken as a character but ended up almost screwing us in the final battle. The party gave him split dyed hair in the claire’s bathroom and for not existing much in memory, they’re very photogenic and look great in pictures. 

Ruben: He/Him. Bi. Wood elf Monk/ Death Cleric. Classic High fantasy setting. His family died tragically due to a plague, and he was taken in by the local church as a gravedigger. Because of his obsession with death, ghosts started being drawn to him, so he grew up alone but also never alone. Eventually he went to seek out peace at a monastery up in a mountain range. After working his ass off to become qualified to be a worthy monk, the answers that were locked away were pretty much: “the answers you seek have always been within you” which wasn't  what he was ready to accept. So he becomes a wanderer and if anyone asks how he learned his dope monk shit he claims to have been trained as a Monk of The Lingering Soul (non-existent), so he doesn’t sound like a dropout. He joins the party cuz he has nothing better to do and after years of research into the occult and arcane. He finally looks back towards divinity and becomes a Death cleric as he learns to process his grief and religious trauma

Leccinum (Lex) Rottwell: They/Them, queer. Half elf Spore druid with a noble background. Was adopted into House Rottwell because they were incredible at debating and deal making, which is something that impressed House Rottwell, who is built on contracts and treaties rather than blood. After years of schooling and   becoming the head diplomat, the keep was attacked and destroyed, forcing Lex to flee into the swamp. Where they were nursed back to health by a Half Orc druid and trained to commune with nature. They joined the circle of spores as they began to accept that death and decay are a part of life, helping them cope with the deaths of their friends in Rottwell, as well as their mother. Although they are often covered in filth from travel, and wear heavily worn clothes and robes, they still remain graceful and elegant, drifting back and forth between a charismatic noble and wise guardian to natural order. 

Seraphina Ambriel: She/her Aasimar warlock. She’s the daughter of new lighthouse keepers and was raised on the sea cliffs star gazing and reading the strange books that kept appearing in the family’s cluttered library. in her late teens, she started having strange dreams of an imposing figure, with thousands of eyes always watching her. Her parents took the obsession as a story idea or a crush, since she always talked about how pretty their eyes are. She also makes seashell jewelry to sell.

Alibor Shourac: he/him Elderly Bronze Dragonborn Vengeance Paladin.Was a grand fighter and adventurer for a long time before retiring and training soldiers and guards. Aging and sad because he feels as if he never truly accomplished anything noteworthy. Jumps at any opportunity to adventure and explore again.

Unplayed head canon party:

(also includes versions of Leccinum and Ruben because i love them)

This group didn't really get past session zero or their story changed so much in my headcanon I put them all in one adventuring party in my head. Group name still pending 

Percival: He/him gay. Human Conjuration Wizard. Dark skinned with a cowboy aesthetic. He was a mage college student who was traveling by train to visit and research magic from other cultures when it was robbed and crashed. A small gang came and saved the passengers, offering them a place with the group. Percy, young and foolish, joined, not realizing it was a manipulative recruiting  tactic. After a year being gaslit and used by the leader, Percy fled into the desert. Uses his familiar, Jackie (the jackalope) as a comfort animal. Even after all that, he still looks for the good in people and always is willing to help.

Kareus: She/her, Lesbian. tiefling Archfey Warlock. She was orphaned at a young age and wandered into the forest to scavenge for food and got lost. Almjir, an exiled fey, and current local horror story noticed her and gently started guiding her to survival, eventually showing himself and giving her warlock powers. She has a flowery aesthetic but all of her warlock shit is very spooky forest witchcraft vibes. She is deep red with tall antelope-like horns. She loves flowers and animals, and exploring in general. 

Yeva: He/Him. Simic Hybrid(ish)  Great Old One Warlock/rogue. He remembers very little of his youth, before he was convinced to assist in experimentation in a mutation compound. He spent years being drugged and experimented on, his body and magical essence fused with that of the giant spiders that took residence in the forest around the compound. Because of this, and his drug induced madness, he was able to form a connection to the Great Spider Vulcara. He begins getting distorted vision and ends up forming a pact. And Yeva wakes up with the compound on fire.and escapes into the woods. After nearly starving to death in the wilderness, he makes his way to the city, still plagued with visions. And stumbles upon a cult wielding the same sigils he’d seen in his head. Long story short, they’re frauds and twisted Vulcara’s power towards greed. Upon realizing this, Yeva flees, leaping through a 4th story window where he was saved by Percy’s feather fall. (falling being a recurring theme in their relationship). He has an acid burn scar across his neck and chest, (partially stretching to his cheek) with red pustules emerging from it (that look oddly like spider eyes) so he always wears layers of clothes and scarves to hide it.

Ghamak Frightguard: He/him goliath fighter He had a Kenku Monk companion that was killed very early on so now he often carves little crow trinkets from wood to remember him by. Very loud but also very tender and caring. 

Kel: she/they bi, Air genasi storm sorcerer. Was on a treasure hunting crew before she was struck by lightning and washed ashore on a lost island, where she delved into an old dungeon by herself and found an amulet at it’s heart that seemed to release the permanent storm surrounding the island. She attributes the amulet as the source of her power even though it was the first bolt of lightning struck her. Stereotypical boisterous birate; drinking, fighting, flirting etc though completely shuts down when flirted with.

D&D NPCs:

Most of these are for my cowboy fantasy game but I've been known to reuse characters I like in different games

Yuriko: she/her dragon sorcerer Fantasy cowboy setting On a trek to find the dragon that blessed her family generations ago that presumably is the cause of her magical power. Naive and easily excited but kind at heart. Also was accidentally in a gang for a lil bit so there's that. Her face is haloed in dragon scales and has partially clawed hands

Void!Arlo: they/any The OG canonical Arlo.was part of an experiment that rent them from reality, and partially into all realities. Impossible to remember anything about them after they've gone but they're often there when the party needs help or a clue. Or an ominous warning about dangerous magical experimentation. Any genre or game system, they're there somewhere

Taura Cen: she/her Pantoran Jedi General. After successfully leading a desperate rescue mission, she was given a planetary leadership role on Verlion 1 that turned into rebel leader once the sith empire swallowed the planet into its borders. She struggles to separate her emotions from her work, leaning her towards analytical leadership rather than trusting the force as much as she should. She wields an clean cut lightsaber with an indigo blade

Deva Sarcoff: He/they Sith inquisitor. When he was a boy on his way to be trained as a youngling, his shuttle was attacked by the sith and he was forced into servitude of the empire. Eventually he gained enough skill to be granted the role of inquisitor, but was constantly looked down on because of his ever burning obsession with the jedi. Perhaps its longing for the life they could have had

Star Wars OCs

Canon wise I haven’t locked down an era, it'd probably have to be Old/high republic because Zreli is a runaway sith apprentice and Rasu Que is literally a character I made in SWTOR, but i haven't gone over the lore timeline since In nearly a decade and i haven't looked to see what/if they changed anything since they made the new trilogy (i'm not that old i swear) But Tiesso Brass’s story kinda depends on there not being the jedi order or at least their temples being forgotten. BUT because i can do what i want, they're all crew on the same ship even though they shouldn't exist at the same time. 

Voz’rel’iaro (Zreli): She/her Chiss, Sith runaway. She fled her sith apprenticeship, faking her death, and stowing away on a freighter as a droid technician, confidently bluffing her way as a full member of the crew. To hide her scars she wears layers of tied cloth covered by a half robe and wrapped bandages over any remaining skin on her appendages, only taking her gloves off  when she needs to do fine tuning and is too visible to use the force. Because of her small stature, her compensates by her practice with the force, though this mindset of her not being physically capable adds onto her self doubt and slows her path to the light. She kept her backstory hidden until the freighter she was on was raided by pirates. Fully intending to just hide and avoid the conflict, tucking herself into the secret compartment where she hid her sabers, she realized she’d actually grown fond of the crew and. In a brutal yet restrained show of power she killed the pirates and rescued the crew…who then fled without her. In the wreckage of the pirates ship, she began tinkering and pieced together the rough body of a tactical droid though retrofitting its right arm with several components of a destroyed astromech. She also attempted to install some storage files from a protocol droid, mostly out of boredom from being stranded, but only ended up frying the droids processor. This lead to it only being fully functional for both tactical and protocol purposes when wired to external hard drives and kept from overheating. She named  the droid ST-804, or Stayto for short

ST-804: they/them Their processing is a unique mix of tactician and protocol droid, so their personality is…unique to match. Having both the processing capabilities of combat management, and also knowledge of intricut social policy, Stayto, once overheated or overworked, tends to shut down with processing errors. While being able to manage one of its processes without error for short periods of time, switching modes too often or letting overheat forces a partial shut down where they’re unresponsive for a variable amount of time. For longer treks away from the ship, Stayto uses a small modified hovercart to help transport themselves and a couple tanks of coolant. While they dont blame Zreli for their errors, they’re far too anxious to ask or prod about the reason for their creation.

Rasu Que: he/him human imperial agent This was my first SWOTR character that I remember only the bare essentials of so I'm remaking it as I go. He was an infiltrator and assassin that over time began working more and more independently without direct supervision. That's when he let himself get too attached to the civilian population on a rural colony world. In the would be easy invasion of the planet, Rasu que sabotaged what he could and deserted, fleeing and hoping he’d done enough to make a difference. He spent the next several years forced to play towards survival as the empire tried to hunt him down to silence any possible spread of imperial secrets. He was shot down and crash landed on the same planet Zreli had been stranded on and they worked together to hijack the ship of the pursuing bounty hunter, and thus officially formed the crew. Spends his time trying to train the crew for combat and survival, unaware of Zreli’s backstory until much later

Tiesso Brass: he/him human. A force sensitive scholar and treasure hunter who took a special interest in the force after discovering several old temples, and tomes in his travels. He decided his goal is to compile a tome of objective force study outside of the influences of the sith and jedi. Whether or not this is possible remains to be seen but by golly he's gonna try. A certified expert in history, cultural anthropology, linguistics, and getting the party into terrible situations. AND he even did a summer course on ancient architecture. He was snagged by a bounty hunter after stealing an artifact from a sith temple. The same bounty hunter who had their ship commandeered by Zreli and Rasu.

Belzakax Starhopper: they/he/it Jawa thief From a young age they always had their sights set on prizes bigger than common salvage and accidentally stowed away on a bulk freighter traveling to the core worlds. They were taken in by an engineer and taught the finer workings of being a starship mechanic, using their small size as an invaluable tool on patching up hard to reach places on the freighter. Eventually they were removed from the ship, having been caught stealing the personal effects of one of the deck officers, luckily they didn't find their stash of things stolen from everyone else on the ship so they were able to pawn off enough to survive on Coruscant underworld, and eventually began pairing with Kresh on her schemes

Kresh Catilla: she/her Mikkian conperson After a series of dramatic schemes that cause her to be banned from most major places of entertainment in the outer rim, Kresh began her quest of swindling and stealing from anyone on Coruscant fool enough to fall for her charm. It only got worse when she made the acquaintance of Belzekax who’s eye for engineering structures and natural stealth turned con jobs into full scale heists. One of which ended with the pair having to steal a starfighter and flee the system with a sizable bounty on their head. After selling the fighter and keeping a low profile for several months, the pair thought a bounty hunter had caught their trail, seeing his ship lingering in the local space port. Deciding to get ahead of the bounty hunter, they went to ambush him on his ship, only to find Zreli and the rest of the crew had taken possession of it

[a-heart-in-spades]

It has been a slow day. Usually Cayde would be thankful to have a breather, but it's been a long, long time since he was able to leave the Tower, and the lack of excitement was driving him up the walls.

He just wanted to finish setting the scout routes in Europa and burn some energy in the shooting range. He's thinking maybe he could join one or two Crucible matches when he heard her. Not the nuisance herself, she has finally learnt to not stomp her boots like a Titan, but it was the whispering of the staff coming from the hallways, the way some moved from their working stations to get a clear view of the event that was surely about to happen.

Last time she gave him a report, he had -very kindly- pointed out some mistakes she had made during her scouting and ways she could improve. Ikora firmly believed the kid had big potential; Cayde would admit that at least she had eyes and a brain smart enough to distinguish enemies and guns from a distance. Beggard can't be choosers, and in this time of need they would take-in anything vaguely Guardian shaped. But she thought she was the hottest shit, refused to take any advice and actually questioned his experience. He spent 20 minutes sorely pointing out how terribly bad her combat approach was. She ran out of counter-arguments pretty quickly.

By the end he thought he had taught her some well deserved humility, but before she walked away she had muttered: "At least I can get out of this Tower." And she left to enjoy adventures in the Wilds while Cayde was stuck on a job as exciting as watching paint dry.

His hunter's instincts reacted just in time to catch a heavy folder flying to his head. He frowned and looked at Ayla, who was smiling like the cat that got the cream, and he could almost hear alarm noises going off in his head.

"What did you do this time, Hunter?" He asked.

"Why don't you read the report, since I spent oh so long writing it. I even highlighted the important details."

He began to read. The font was minuscule. Everything was highlighted bright yellow. His optics hurt. Then his ego took a hit when he saw what she had done.

"You found the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection?" Cayde didn't realise he had said it out-loud until he saw Ikora had stopped reading her own Warlock reports and began to focus on this conversation. No one has been able to find the hidden bunker in centuries.

"How many pieces?" The Voidwalker asked. She looked almost in awe. Cayde wanted to punch something.

"All of them. The entire collection. Almost in perfect condition too." Ayla said, her smile almost solemn. "We found the remains of people guarding the door of the bunker. Historians who spent their last moments making sure art and history will be preserved." She had to had practised this speech.

"Paintings of Rubens, Dali, Vermeer. Monet!" Her Ghost puffed like a proud chicken, unable to hide his excitement, which made people around them start whispering with the same energy. "Records said The Water Lilies were destroyed when the Collapse hit. But they are there!"

"I'm just glad we found the bunker before something damaged it." Ayla admitted, and passed two more folders to Ikora and Zavala so they could read the full report. He couldn't help but notice their texts were legible. She took the time to print three versions in full colour. If he weren't so annoyed, he'd be somewhat impressed by her pettiness.

But her fake modesty was getting to his nerves.

"This is- excellent work, Guardian." Zavala finally said. He smiled. Not a Vanguard Commander smile: a Zavala one. A genuine, warm, real smile for the most insufferable hunter that has ever walked in the Traveller's light.

Ayla smiled back, but when she looked at Cayde her expression sharpened. She's gloating, and he wanted nothing more than to bring her down to earth and make it clear she still got a lot to learn. But he couldn't. She accomplished something objectively great, and he fucking couldn't.

"Good job." He muttered.

"WHAT? I couldn't catch that."

Cayde felt the edge of the table bent a little with how hard he's grabbing it.

"I said: Not bad, rookie."

His refusal to give her a proper praise just made Ayla smirk grow bigger. She didn't say anything back, just turned around to the group of four Warlocks that had been waiting to report back to Ikora and overheard the commotion, and started answering their questions.

Zavala and Ikora started to set groups to retrieve all the pieces of art, to talk about the exhibitions and events they would organize, of how much this could improve the moral of the City. And Cayde kept sulking alone.

Well, if anything at least he could brag that a Hunter did it.

"Good job." He muttered.

"WHAT? I couldn't catch that."

I adore this because that level of rivalry is just unf. The tension, the snark, the all of it!

[joleneruberj]

He stood with his back to me, looking at the painting by Rubens “The Fall of the Damned"

I looked at his silhouette, and goose bumps ran down my spine. I haven't seen him for so long. I literally forgot what he looks like, but only the back of his head recalled everything that I once had time to lose.

He did not sense that there was someone else in the room. Maybe I was a ghost in his eyes. Perhaps he knew that someone was there, but ignored it. His breath echoed in every corner and dug into my soul.

Since the last time I saw him, he had not been so stately, and now his presence filled the room with a gloomy but cozy scent of oak.

I took a step forward, hinting at my presence. The sound of a heel thump filled the empty room.

He turned slowly, and my heart felt like it was torn apart. It was as if I was paralyzed.

He tried to see me at a fairly distant distance, trying to figure out who he should be addressing.

“Sorry, I didn't notice you,” he said, as if he had never met me before.

He took a step forward, and I realized that the meeting had already taken place, and it was already impossible to avoid it.

“I'm Scott,” he said lightly in his voice. - "and you?"

His question stabbed me with a knife. He doesn't remember me. Or maybe he doesn't even know. Like I never knew.

- "(y / n)." - I answered in the same way as when that long ago, to our first acquaintance - “(y / n). Remember me?"

The slight smile faded from his face, with his eyes he looked for a clue on my face

“… I haven't seen you for so long. Sorry, I wouldn't even think it was you. Everything has changed so much.”

“Fortunately or unfortunately, time always takes its toll. And then he took what belongs to him.”

"All in the past." he said with a stern voice, reminiscent of the Scott I remember. “I don’t really want to remember any of this. The past is in the past. Now a new life has come.”

I looked into his blue eyes, filled with longing and fatigue, which a couple of minutes ago were glowing from familiarity with the unknown. Probably I was looking in them for the answer to the question that torments me these years, which I all this time dreamed of asking him looking into his eyes. Well, here he is.

“Are you happy?”

His blue eyes in the darkness seemed to darken even more, he looked down at his shoes and sighed, replied:

“I don’t remember when I was happy. I remember that it was a long time ago, I was different. With a different environment, different thoughts. I was happy with those who mean nothing to me now. I do not remember their faces, voices and names. I'm not happy (y / n). I died once, and now I live the life of a dead man.”

I wanted to hug him. But this was the most difficult decision in my life in recent years.

But As if something pushed me, and I easily hug him.

I closed my eyes, not hoping that I would be reciprocated. But thin fingers gently touched my back, and then the palm completely lay on it. He squeezed me tightly in his arms like never before. His clothes smelled the same as they did long ago. The hair was soft and the touch was so familiar.

Tears came to my eyes. I didn't want this to happen, but I gave vent to my feelings. I wanted to drown in his arms and stay in them forever.

My hands slid down his back, the fabric of his jacket felt softer, and the air around him went cold. Soon the embrace eluded me.

I opened my wet eyes. The room was dark. The open window stirred the curtains.

Getting out of bed, I glanced at my watch. 4:23 am, November 8th.

A photograph of Scott was staring at me from the bedside table. So young and handsome.

“We haven't seen each other for so long,” I whispered.

In the photograph, he glows with life. But unlike Scott, photography won't die. She will live forever.

[thisstableground]

If it's okay, I'm really in need of Ruben yelling at stupid people re. science and/or health (and Vanessa & Usnavi staring because they ain't used at Ruben being so assertive - also, ngl, it's kinda hot). Can be anti-vaxxers, flat earthers, or the kinds of stupid we're witnessing rn with people going out to crowded places bc they're "not afraid" and "I'm healthy/young anyway" (bc fuck vulnerable / chronically ill people right *headdesk*)

ruben is sointensely focused on the heated conversation he’s having with some rando when vanessa comes in that hedoesn’t even acknowledge her presence.  she slides behind the counter next tousnavi, who is eating jellybeans and watching the argument with a look of pure delight. 

“what’sup?” she mutters, stealing a handful of jellybeans as ruben is loudly saying,“–fully discredited, and if you don’tfind it suspicious he was trying to patent his own single-dose vaccines indirect competition with the MMR then you’re clearly—“

“we was chatting about work while i rang her stuff up, and she askedif i was ever tired or had problems focusing and i was like ahaha did you meanmy whole life and turns out she was just tryna sell me some of thatpyramid scheme supplement crap,” usnavi whispers back. “i took a leaflet to be polite andshe started trying to recruit me.”

vanessasighs. “again? usnavi, you gotta getbetter at just telling these people to shove it .”

“i know, iknow, she kept saying run yourown business, be your own boss and i was like, hi, welcome to my store that i own,”usnavi gestures all around him. “but i never know how to make them leavewithout being rude, you know?”

“and this?”  vanessa indicates ruben and the pyramid scheme woman, who is looking unconvinced as she tells ruben “i’m just saying, my children were never vaccinated, and not only arethey not autistic, they’ve never caught any of these so-called diseases so—“

ruben makesan explosively angry sound. “that’s called herd immunity! which is onlypossible because of vaccination! andpeople like you are ruining it!”

“honestly, ididn’t even know he was here,” usnavi says.  “she said it could help symptoms of things like ADD and depressionand autism and he just materialised out from behind the cereals like an angry ghost.it’s been like fifteen minutes. he scared off three other customers.”

“why areyou smiling so much, then?”

usnavishrugs. “i mean. look at him.”

they bothturn and observe him for a long moment. vanessa’s never seen ruben like this: he’s standing up straighter than vanessa’s ever seen,his gentle eyes glinting furiously, and he’s ranting “- a danger to public health, and the very idea that a horrific illness is better than being autistic is absolutely—“ 

she looks back at usnavi and they both nod in confirmation: yup, that’s a fine-ass science boy we got here.

“and besides,” ruben finishes, slightly out of breath, “if your pseudoscience sugar pills were thateffective at curing so many things, don’t you think science would have foundsome kind of proof of it by now?”

“if you do the research-“ the lady starts, but she’s cut offby ruben scoffing.

“you mean reading whatever blog you got your ‘facts’ from? I got myPhD in biochemistry when I was 21 years old, my research has been quoted by some of the most prominent scientistsin the world, and i’m autistic, and you couldn’t get me to touch your snake oil capsules for a million dollars.”

“you big pharma types—“

“okay, you can leave now,” ruben says abruptly. “if you stay any longer you might catch The Autism off me.”

“nobody knows who the fuck you are,” vanessa adds, making a shooing motion. “go on, get.”

“not that imind but neither of you actually got authority to kick folks out of mystore,” usnavi says mildly, ignoring the woman’s i’m just trying to help parting shot as she leaves, taking the leaflet she left behindand tossing it in the trash.

“sorry. i hate people like that.”ruben doesn’t sound particularly sorry, glaring at the closed door even thoughshe’s long out of sight. vanessa wonders if she can get usnavi to close thestore early so they can take some of this energy upstairs. dr marcado is hot.

“are youreally autistic?” usnavi asks. “you never told us that.”

“…ah,”ruben says, suddenly slumping back into his usually slouchy posture with his eyes all big and surprised, like a startledtortoise who didn’t mean to come so far out of the shell. “oops.”

[thisstableground]

Of course it would be Ruben to think more about reading and learning instead of avenging his own death, lol. Just fast forward a decade, "Oh yeah, I should probably do something about Ian". I'm sure if Ruben was a ghost, would he be more focused on getting his murder solved rather than tormenting Ian, but you know him better, what do you think?

honestly i think that ruben, if he had died and gone ghost, would primarily focus on finding a way of making sure that jason gets cured and by that means getting rid of ian, not so much as vengeance but out of a sense of sheer necessity: ian knows who his family are. he has no reason to hurt ruben’s family at this point, if ruben is already out of the picture, but what if one of them goes digging for answers and gets in trouble? or if they just go looking for another chemist to replace him with and the same thing happens to someone else? not worth the risk. but i don’t think he’s a tormenting I Will Haunt You kind of person.

oooh. ghost story with ruben where he thinks his unfinished business is making sure that jason gets cured so that ian is gone and can never hurt anyone again, but then after that happens ruben doesn’t like, disappear into the afterlife or whatever and it’s because his unfinished business is actually just one real good haunting of jason where he’s like “you used me and manipulated me and i deserved better”, but it takes ghost ruben a long time to really understand that he did deserve better, bc the real unfinished business was all the deep-seated psychological issues about ruben’s self-worth

then he magically comes back to life anyway bc thinking about ruben being dead is too too sad