#it hasn't even been that long since i had worms but i'm so excited anyway

[tetedurfarm]

WORMS WORMS WORMS WORMS WORMS

[pixeldolly]

The Sacrifice - Part 3

"Evelyn? What's up?"

"It's Roman. He hasn't come home last night, or this morning for that matter. Do you know where he is?"

To Jacob's surprise, Evelyn sounded worried.

"No, I don't know where he is. I haven't spoken to him since yesterday evening after he dropped off Olivia."

"Oh...right."

Jacob almost rolled his eyes.

"Are you sure he's not just staying over at someone's place and doesn't want to be disturbed?"

"I thought about that, but he's not answering his phone either. And get this: I get a call from some guy who claims to be a director, says Roman missed the morning shoot for the commercial he's supposed to star in. Weird, right? He was quite excited when he first got the gig."

There was a pause while Jacob considered this. It did seem rather odd that Roman would simply drop off the map like that. Odd and, if he was being completely honest, a little concerning.

"I really don't know what to tell you, Ev...I have no idea where he might've gone."

"Okay. Thanks anyway, Jake."

The call ended, leaving Jacob to stare pensively at Olivia's face beaming at him from the lock screen wallpaper. Suddenly, the silence blanketing the apartment felt subtly oppressive, as if it concealed a terrible secret.

Jacob frowned, and shook his head to dispel such fancies. Roman was most likely fine - it had just been a few hours, after all. He probably had one too many drinks and was nursing a hangover or something.

He made a move to pocket the phone - then pulled up his convo with Evelyn instead and began typing.

The hours passed with no news. Jacob even tried calling Roman himself, only for his calls to go to voicemail. Curiouser and curiouser; Roman was usually quick in answering his calls, in case they concerned their daughter.

Little by little, genuine concern began worming its way into his heart and nestled there, gnawing at his peace of mind.

Not long after 6 PM, he got a message from Evelyn saying she and Ulf were on their way, and he spent an anxious hour and a half until they arrived.

"Hey, guys. Are....you okay...?"

"Grr - Yes...Just raw from the change. Had no time to eat."

"We'll be fine. There's half a deer in the icebox when we get back. Now, let's talk about what we came here to do..."

"Ahh yes..." *sniff* "A strong scent trail, we should be able to follow it without too much trouble."

Jacob was having second thoughts about the whole thing.

"Maybe...maybe we should go to the police? If we think something happened to him..."

"And say what? He's an adult, it hasn't been that long, and we have no proof anything's wrong aside from our gut feelings. Even if they do take us seriously, it'll be hours before they do anything. We could find him right now - hey there, sweetie! Whoa, you've gotten so big!"

"Okay, fine. But I'm going with you."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea..."

"Why? Are you saying you think there could be danger involved?"

"I don't know, Jake. That's the problem."

"Well, I'm going! He's my - he's Olivia's father. My mind is made up, Ev, so let's not argue about it. Ulf, are okay to babysit?"

Ulf looked at his wife with sudden alarm.

"Hold on, I thought we were doing this together."

"We only really need one tracker, and I know Roman's scent better than anyone."

Ulf didn't like the reminder, but couldn't deny she had a point. It wasn't his only objection though.

"And what if there is danger -"

"C'mon, that's pretty unlikely - This is Mistvale, for Watcher's sake! I doubt anything here could threaten a werewolf. Besides, someone needs to keep an eye on little Liv."

"You are the pack leader...but a husband can't help worrying."

"And you are very sweet to do so, but I'll be fine. Most likely scenario? We'll find Roman passed out on someone's couch and I get to kick his ass for making us worry."

"I do know you are quite proficient at ass-kicking."

"Damn right I am!"

The light and warmth of the building seemed to recede behind them all too quickly.

"This way."

Jacob was glad to have Evelyn's nose guiding them, because that damnable mist made it impossible to see further than twenty paces or so.

It made the streets seem even lonelier and dingier than they were.

[somanyfuckedupiftruebooks]

What are you doing man. Get the fuck out of there. It's time to leave.

Very cool that real actual magic just exists in TMA. Gertrude cast some kind of fucked up wizard spell and it worked.

Anyway this description was written by Jonny with the express purpose of making me, personally, upset by my inability to figure out when this is suppsoed to have happened. All the details are contradictory. The bottles are all filthy and old but the string is clean and new. The bottles have been here long enough to collect years worth of dirt and pine needles, but the collected rainwater hasn't boiled away despite the fact that that should take hours at most. Some of the photos have been boiled clean (how long would that take? a few days?) but others are is good enough condition to make out in detail despite being out in the wild for more than a decade.

Add this to the 50 year old trees and the freshly burned corpses of animals that all died at the same time (but were then preserved? somehow?) and I just want to grab Jonny and shake the answers out of him.

*banging two pots together* okay fanartists come out of your nooks and crevices, I need art of Gertrude with her cool and sexy new buzzcut hairstyle casting an insane spell out in the forest.

Okay I usually try to be pretty lenient on the statement-givers getting themselves in trouble because they find something weird and want to explore it more rather than noping the hell out. But c'mon dude. This is a far cry from finding a weird tunnel behind a fake wall or wanting to figure out if the ship you're on is actually hauling any cargo. This is some kind of cursed ritual circle surrounded by mutilated animal corpses and filled with impossibly boiling water. And you've already been burned badly enough that it took you half an hour to recover!! According to my parents you should be in hospital! There's obviously something very bad going on here, so what are you doing hanging around?? Seriously. What the fuck are you doing!! What are you doing!!! Just. Leave. And tell no one you were ever here.

I'm not saying Jason deserved what he got, but he didn't exactly try very hard to avoid it. If you mess with cursed shit, you might get cursed. That's pretty basic, no knowledge of the Entities required.

Still, this is much worse when we eventually learn that this wasn't just some sort of automatic process triggered by disturbing the circle. This was done by a Desolation avatar with a grudge.

Heartbreaking. You poor motherfucker. At least he did manage to save his son in the end, even if he had to sacrifice himself to do it. That must have taken an unfathomable amount of courage and strength of will.

Anyway this final statement really got to me because of how appropriate it feels to what Jon is going through. Didn't do anything, just doing his job and somehow stumbled into some kind of cursed nightmare. Doesn't deserve it, but is still going to lose everything. Desperately hanging onto the one thing left that he loves, and willing to sacrifice himself to protect it. So afraid.

God he sounds so tired. A combination of two statements in one day, all the excitement surrounding the table/the realisation that there were two possibly supernatural beings in the Archives without his knowledge, and just the general weeks of worm stress and months of new-job stress. He's probably also been avoiding sleep ever since realising that his nightmares are Real and Not Stopping. Now a statement from a man who was terrified right up until he killed himself without every really learning what was happening to him or why, and the implication that the last Archivist was involved in the supernatural somehow.

Good lord this man needs a hug.

@a-mag-a-day

Mag 37

So the tapes have caught bits and pieces of pertinent conversation before, but it has always been in the process of recording a statement. This is the first time that Jon feels compelled to record information that is not a statement, just in case. It's not a coincidence that this happens immediately after he gets the Web lighter.

Also it's extremely funny how done with this Martin sounds from his first word. How may times has Jon forced him to go through the same sparse details?

I've said it before but it's great that Breekon and Hope just look like delivery men. No notable features, just big, wearing delivery uniforms and speaking in fake accents. Sounds legit to me.

Yes, but consider this: what if you got into the business of destroying knowledge. Maybe that would be a good career move for you.

What is Elias playing at, prompting Jon to destroy the table? If the NotThem gets Jon he'll have to replace the Archivist and restart his ritual prep, so why take such a risky move to try and secure a Stranger mark? Why bother going for a Stranger mark in the first place, if he intends to throw Jon into the Unknowing soon enough anyway? Maybe he (incorrectly) assumes that Jon would have one of his assistants destroy the table instead of going all 'extended sounds of brutal pipe murder' on it himself. Maybe it's a test of some kind?

Or maybe I'm overthinking it and Elias just gets off on watching Jon fuck around and find out.

First time Martin expresses care/concern for Jon <3 They've definitely been spending more time together off-tape. They've got to be basically roomates at this point.

Also the prompt of 'go to sleep dumbass' help us place this in time. I definitely think this statement takes place immediately following the last (instead of with the normal week long gap). Jon ended that statement running off to talk to Martin and starts this one obviously having been speaking to him for some time. In the gap between tapes he has also interrogated Rosie, spoken with Elias and presumably been to see the table in Artefact Storage himself. I think it's safe to say that during the interim everyone else has gone home for the night and Martin and Jon are now alone in the Archives after hours again.

If I'm right about that timing it means that this is the first time we know of that Jon has read two statements in one day (depending on how canon you consider the liveshow to be, and whether or not it 'counts' if Jon reads a genuine statement off-tape as he does in that show). We know the statements can take a lot out of him, so that's got to be contributing to his general state of exhaustion.

Also I've dragged Jon before for recording statements onto tapes that are already running, but in all seriousness I think that at this point the Eye won't allow him to turn off a tape recorder for good without feeding it. Once a tape recorder is playing, it must receive a statement, no matter how confusing it will be for any students or academics using the tapes for research.

I wonder what kind of reputation the Magnus Institute has in the wider world? We know it's generally a bad one, but also we see so many statement-givers coming to the Institute for help. Is that motivated purely by desperation, or is there an idea in the general public consciousness that if you are having a supernatural problem of some sort that TMI can help? We know that the Institute only exists to observe and record and helping people is not on their agenda, but we do have confirmation of instances where they have helped the general public. I am thinking of Piecemeal, where Lee Rentoul talks about how they helped a friend of his who thought he was being haunted realise that he wasn't. Maybe the Institute only helps in cases that have no connection to the Entities? That probably makes the most sense.

Very cool how this statement starts out as if it could be Lonely before taking a sharp turn into Desolation territory. It's not about how alone he is, it's about how much he has to lose.

I can't remember, is this the place where Agnes was born? I know this is the site of Gertrude's binding spell, but did she find the site of Agnes's birth to do this? That would make sense and explain the altar stone in the centre. But I am a bit confused by the trees. They were deliberately planted 50 years ago? The binding would have happened around 12 years ago, so Gertrude didn't do that. It also would have been before she was Archivist? I have no idea when Agnes was born (I have a terrible head for dates) but wasn't it during a forest fire that would have decimated this entire area? I can't imagine that those Lightless Flame freaks were planting new trees afterward. Maybe they just grew on their own because of spooky reasons.

So I happen to be in the car with my parents (two retired nurses) as I'm typing this and asked them what would realistically happen to a guy who drank boiling water. They both absolutely fucking lost it.

Mum: Severe burns all over his mouth and throat! He'd be in absolute agony.

Dad: Not his throat, you'd never swallow.

Me: It doesn't say if he swallowed or not.

Dad: You couldn't. Not in that amount of pain.

Mum: Only if it was literally forced down him.

Me: So you'd need to be hospitalised?

Both: YES.

Mum: Immediately! Your mouth would be absolutely ruined; you wouldn't be eating anything without medical intervention.

Dad: And if there was anything in his throat there's no treatment for internal burns like that. They'd just have to give him antibiotics and hope.

Mum: But he wouldn't have swallowed boiling water, that would be insane. It would just be his mouth.

Me: This says he just lay down for about half an hour to get over the pain, then he sort of just kept going like normal.

Both: Not a chance.

[arcadejohn127-9]

Thank you for the ask! Don't worry, I'm always taking my time, I'm just really excited to do this much writing again. Hahah I've been drinking and eating, don't worry - you're so lovely!

I actually have dimples myself, I frown alot and having a resting bitch face so they're not seen often but whenever I smile I remember people would love poking them or ask me to smile so they could see them

Brother's + the undateables react to an MC with deep dimples when they smile

Lucifer:

He didn't think much of them at first

It wasn't until he had your face in his palms, the biggest smile on your face

Then it hit different

Whenever he's stressed he asks to see you

If you're already in the room he'll call from for you

"Do that thing I love, won't you?"

You wanted to laugh to him

None of the less, you flashed him a big grin

"excellent, don't worry I'll get these papers done soon."

Mammon:

He pokes them

Just straight up jabs his finger and into your dimple

"They're cute but check out mine!"

Mammon, please you're always smiling, we know!

Whenever you smile he will just poke them

If you think you're safe? You're never safe when Mammon has what he calls

'Human smile sense'

No matter where you are, if he can get to you - he will be running over to poke your dimple

Levithan:

The avatar of envy - yeah we know how this is going

He noticed them straight away and pouted

Wishing he had dimples

Whenever you smile around him he always feels so flustered

But apart of him is just jealous

Pokes your dimples in hopes you'll stop smiling

But then gets sad you're not smiling

"Why do you get dimples?! They make you look so cute! AH-! I DIDN'T SAY THAT!!!!"

Satan:

Isn't fazed by them, doesn't really care

He thinks about them too scientifically and objectively

"Dimples are just indents in the flesh caused by the way your muscles are structured, I don't see the fuss."

While he does say this

He's a book worm and understands in literature they are associated with heroism and innocence

He'll be studying your chatacter to see if it's true

He does believe they're cute but doesn't really care if they were there or not

Asmodeus:

"Oh I have dimples! Let me show you!"

He'll of course show you the ones on his cheeks but then when he turns around

Unless you're uncomfortable with it, speak now or forever hold your peace

He lights up his shirt after lowering his pants

Revealing lower back dimples!

He's one upped you and it wasn't even a challenge

He thinks your deep dimples are extremely cute

Will kiss them

Beezlebub:

He likes reading; he's just not talkative about it

Besides he favours fairy tales and works of fantasy

He's like Satan, tries to see if you have the characteristics dimples are associated with

He thinks you look super sweet with your dimples

Somehow surprised you with his straight forwardness

"You're really cute."

He knows how to make you smile so he gets to see them as much as he wants

Belphegor:

"got any other dimples you wanna show?"

Just bash him with a pillow

Another dimple poker

Will just poke them and count up to atleast 10 and then just suddenly fall asleep

It's like counting sheep!

Will just randomly call out for you and ask you to smile

It doesn't really effect him too much, as long as he gets a goodnight kiss from you then that's all that matters

UNDATEABLES↓

Diavolo:

He has one cheek dimple

When you smile at him and sees your deep dimples he'll get excited

Showing off his singular dimple

Ever since he heard they were rare he hasn't been able to stop his excitement and point it out to people

"Your smile looks so adorable!"

likes seeing you smile anyway so he'll just ask you to smile when he isn't feeling great

Barbatos:

He's gotten immune to the charm of dimples

Lord Diavolo has made too much hype over his own he just can't get the fuss anymore

He'll compliment them if you want one

Overall; no opinion on them

Will point them out if this is the first time he's seen you smile/seen the dimples

"Your smile is all I care about, I only want to see you happy."

Solomon:

"Do you want more dimples?"

Will NOT elaborate on what he means

You're not sure if he means he'll use magic or will actually change your muscle structure by hand

Either way; say no

He's very old like the rest of the demons and angels

He's overgrown the hype in the humans fascination with dimples

Gives them little kisses so you smile more

Simeon:

Will gush everytime he sees them

Tells EVERYONE he knows about your dimples

Always complimenting them

"You're beautiful! Your dimples make you even cuter!"

Asks you to smile all the time

Kisses, gentle pokes and caresse

Your dimples might be getting too much attention from him