#my joy for this show has completely derailed

[jewishgirlrevolt]

Here's my Hot take

I'm not interested in seeing Buck go through more relationships where he dates someone, and a few episodes later they break up because that person doesn't fit into the dynamic of the team and isn't a main, or whatever bs reason they give that keeps Buck in this idiotic cycle. It's boring. And yeah, Tommy was Buck's first. But that doesn't mean this relationship had to end so quickly and abruptly.

And I am also not interested in Buddie becoming canon because I don't believe in rewarding toxic fan behavior. I don't care how much i may have shipped it pre season 7. I don't care how many good and nice buddie shippers that are left in this fandom. I truly wish you well.

But the crazies, the people who sent death threats to the cast, the crew, the showrunner, and the bucktommy fans, who spammed all official accounts with their demands for the canonicity of their ship. They don’t deserve it because frankly toxicity like this shouldn’t be rewarded. The more aggressive and vile they are the less likely it should be.

This was my comfort show during a very difficult year and while I may still stick around to see what happens I am not sure I have the energy to come back in the spring. Not unless something happens that brings that joy that I've lost back.

Tommy had such potential for a long-term love interest, even if they weren't going to be endgame. He fit in with the 118. He had the potential for interesting stories and drama. He was friends with Eddie. Chim thought he was cool. He showed up for Buck time and time again.

Instead, they repeated a formula they've been doing with Buck for years, and I'm just not interested in watching the same thing over and over again.

We need good writing.

[ananke-xiii]

"The Born-Again Identity" is one of those SPN ep that I like despite the fact that there are so many things in it that drive me a little bit insane (truth be told, in part it's only my fault cause I can never completely turn up the "suspension of disbelief" volume and I go to a default "but why?" mindset everytime I see something on screen, so okay it's a *just me* problem). However, I do think that S7 was not that bad and it had some quite intriguing and original ideas while the execution was... well, let's say clunky. So, all in all, I think this episode is kinda cool.

the things that drive me a little bit insane:

the imagery of sam desperately running alone in the night along some tracks in a supposedly dangerous part of town. The "derailing" and "going off the tracks" symbolism was a bit on the nose; him buying drugs from the "tweaker" and sleeping with the guy in his car: mmm I feel like that was, like. a lot. to be just thrown away like that.

sam being admitted to the hospital with no mention of said drugs use and the whole scene with the doctor telling dean that they had to put sam in the locked psychiatric floor. I don't know, it also feels like.a lot. and.all of a sudden. they could ease into that way better, it's too ham-fisted as in: we have to find a way to put sam in an horror asylum-like facility in less than 5 minutes for the ep to make sense. so that what feels like to me.

daphne. everything about her drives me insane. I have a whole story where she has to clean up the mess dean has made and hide the body of the demon or something. she'll later start her own private hero's journey to find emmanuel and bring him back to their white picket fence life so perfect and so based on manipulation and stockholm syndrome.

the demons showing up at the grocery store. like what? it was established just a few scenes before when dean told the demon that he was "hands-off" or something and that the demon was actually looking for emmanuel. so why oh why would the other demons look for dean when there's emmanuel.alone.in.the.car. nonsense.

that one demon torturing sam with the electroshock. what was the point? why were demons there anyway? weren't the brothers hands off? maybe i missed something here but to me just felt like "asylum ep= electroshock scene is a must" and meh.

sam leaving the hospital.just.like.that and "swapping place" with cas. i'm sorry, what? i won't even comment on meg being suddenly hired as a nurse cause okay i want to give the writers that, but wtf? oh okay, this guy that has just showed up here (and has definitely possibly murdered 4 or 5 people at the entrance) is maybe not okay, let's not call his wife or someone, let's just lock him up. whaaaaat?

the quite intriguing and original ideas:

the cas/sam parallel: they are both evidently mentally unstable for very different reasons. cas has, in a way, "left the life" and dean, of all people!!!, is not 100% cool with him regaining his memories because what if he leaves???? sam is quite literally very close to leave life in general because the trauma is affecting his body in an irreversible way. they are both "born" again identities at the beginning and at the end of the episode. Very cooooool.

sam and lucifer interactions: the actors really did their job well in this ep cause everytime I watch it I'm exhausted, like I can't bear to hear Lucifer talk and talk and taunt and I definitely feel worn out like sam. I think Jared works very well with Mark Pellegrino, too bad that the whole Lucifer storyline was a mess in later seasons cause the actors had great chemistry.

meg. every scene with meg is just joy for me. and her storyline? left alone looking for "friends"? sure, she totally plans to use cas as her ally but what's new? (jokes aside, there's a whole pattern of women manipulating and using cas, am i the only one seeing it???).

marin. first of all, hello abigail????? (hannibal memories flooding in). second of all, cool MoTW-Not-So-Much-MoTW story. ofc she's a sam's mirror used to basically explain what happened to sam but the ghost who's tormenting her is also her brother and he must die-die-die because he won't let her go. hello??? paralleling sam's hallucinations with sam's issues with dean was super intriguing and too bad that the MoTW was Not-So-Much-MoTW cause marin's story was maybe not even 8 minute long.

bonus: "Peace of Mind" from S14 echoes this ep brillianty, they even cast one of the same actors (the doctor/the mayor) and they used the same surname for sam (sam smith/justin smith). cool cool cool (although unrelated to s7).

[oddmawd]

For the 35 questions, can I ask you about numbers 8, 9, 12, 19, 21 and 25? Thanks! *sends hugs*

8. Which character(s) do you find easiest to write?

i don't find Doffy or Smoker to be particularly difficult? once i outlined each story and determined their motivations, it's been easy enough to keep them on track in terms of characterization and development (though i was intimidated by doffy early on)

also Brook in The HΩuse on Rumbar Boulevard has been a joy to write, he's a breeze and SO MUCH FUN

9. Which character(s) do you find most difficult to write?

i've been poking at a Marco (One Piece) fic and tbh he's tough, it's hard to nail his demeanor and speaking voice (i refuse to add 'yoi' all over the damn place when writing in english LMAO)

also Kurama (YYH), but not because i personally have trouble writing him per se...i just have a very specific characterization of him in mind and it's pissed people off before (like bro people are SO PRECIOUS ABOUT HIM!??? wtfffff)...i have felt self-conscious about my plans for him in The Sight Unseen as a result...also the OC i've paired with him isn't the fandom's normal OC archetype for a kurama fic and i've gotten the rudest fucking comments about it saying Rei is not "special enough" for him LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO.........it's wild what people find acceptable for this fictional blorbo (like they think they can somehow dictate which OCs are 'allowed' or not) but you do you booboo, live your truth, LMAO

12. Tell us about a WIP you’re excited about.

oh god how long we got? LMAO

i've been posting lately about The Art of Queen Sacrifice, my upcoming Doffy/OC fic...it takes place in an AU setting that's more in line with a historical pirate setting, with no Devil Fruit powers, and i'm really eager to show it to you all....OBLIGATORY MOODBOARD REPOST:

i also have a ton of OCCULT PIECE stories to share...i have fics planned for Marco, Katakuri, Shanks, Mihawk, Pedro, Crocodile, Buggy, Sabo, and many more...i just love exploring the lore of that gigantic AU, and every story is a new opportunity to map out new connections and the history of the modern, urban fantasy AU setting

19. Do you prefer canon-compliant, AUs, or something in-between?

it's one or the other and NO in-between at all

i love writing canon compliant shit...There's Fire and The Grasp of Gilded Strings are both as canon compliant as they can be considering One Piece is unfinished, and i designed both stories to fit seamlessly with canon without disrupting it...i want them to read as additional side-stories that complement the canon, and for both of them, i'm achieved that (though of course future Smoker or Doffy developments during or post-Egghead, which is where we are now in canon, could derail my plans)

tbh, setting things post-canon for complete series is my overall preference when remaining canon compliant...canon can never "unmake" anything i write when the series is complete, and i used to write exclusively for completed series before falling in love with One Piece

on the opposite side of the spectrum, OCCULT PIECE is a clear indicator of how much i love completely AU settings...i love making my own playground within the bounds of fandom <3

21. Favorite pairing to write for? (platonic or romantic!)

i don't write pairings of canon characters, so OC/CC is my preferred pairing to write (and read)

25. Have you ever daydreamed about side adventures/spin-offs from your fic? Tell us about them!

SO MANY OMFGGGGGG

the entire OCCULT PIECE world is alive in my head and i daydream about it constantly...i think Sanji is at work in the Baratie restaurant in the OCCULT PIECE world and he occasionally serves meals to the couples in the OccP universe, so it's funny to think about him serving Zoro and the Witch on a date

i think about Rei and Kurama going dancing a lot...also i headcanon that she's the OC in The Hunt sometimes, and if that story is their married life, i can't help but think about what she and Kurama got up to on their honeymoon LMAOOOOOO...planning on writing that one down someday because it's gonna be 🔥

also i daydream the conclusions of There's Fire, Beyond the Fracture and Gilded ALL THE TIME, i've basically lived out those stories a million times already LMAO

FIND THE "35 Questions for Fanfiction Writers" LIST HERE

[misiahasahardname]

>:) give me your opinions

cody

izzy

noah

gwent

nizzy

nocowen

ALRIGHT, LET’S DO THIS!

(sorry if anything doesn’t make sense or if things are worded poorly)

cody -

cody is SUCH a fun character. he’s a clever guy, he puts others before himself, he’s silly, and he can be really funny! i loved him in island, i loved him in world tour, and if he ever shows up anywhere again, i’ll probably love him there too. he’s also my classic silly-guy-who-i-love-to-put-in-angsty-situations character (every hyperfixation i’ve ever had, there’s always one. except for the alphabet. there is no angst silly guy in the alphabet.). he’s also probably one of my favourite guys to ship (alongside geoff who doesn’t have a single bad ship). he’s so pathetic with romance. a guy is nice to him for one second and he melts. what a pathetic wet cat of a man. (for the amount of content i make of him, you’d think he’s one of my favourite characters, but surprisingly he isn’t!!)

izzy -

THERE IS SOMETHING INCREDIBLY WRONG WITH THIS WOMAN. i love it when characters are completely unhinged because of the comedic potential. izzy is a joy to watch (and make content of!!), she’s just a crazy girl who has committed several crimes against humanity. she’s also really funny in dramarama! i see a little bit of my past self in her. only a little bit though. i wasn’t that crazy (i think…). she’s got great dynamics with a lot of my favourite characters, her dynamic with eva and noah being my favourite. anyways i love this violent woman. i’d let her stab me, probably. just as a treat.

noah -

one of the funniest characters of the series, hands down. every joke with him is SPOT ON, this man is loaded with some fantastic quips and sarcastic remarks. one of the best parts of world tour, 100%. usually i have a lot more to say about him but right now i’m struggling to think of anything so i’m just going to say we need more transfem noah content in this world.

gwent -

the POTENTIAL this ship had! of the canon ships, this one is probably one of the best. they were great in season one, i love how they got along, how they interacted, and how their relationship changed overtime. unfortunately, action had to derail their relationship, which really sucked because they were so good together! they had great chemistry, and they were two of the saner characters of the series (not saying much, but hey). i will never be able to get over the fact they replaced this wholesome couple with gwuncan. :(

nizzy -

i’m assuming this is noah and izzy?? their dynamic has potential to be good, noah would be like the straight man to izzy (ironic), but i definetly prefer them as friends. not much else to say.

nocowen -

a ship containing three of my favourite characters AND is related to my favourite ship?! sign me up! i’m not the biggest fan of noco, but the nowen and cowen parts are something i could definetly enjoy. they’re dynamic would be really interest — cody and owen are mostly positive people filled with energy, and noah is a pessimist who just wants to lay on the ground and wait for the world to end. also, i love the fact that because noah is super smart, most of his ships are of him and some guy who will die if you don’t pay enough attention to what they’re doing!!

i hope these answers are good enough for you! again, i’m sorry if anything is worded weird.

[little-red-toyota]

The engines I've worked with this summer...

This summer has been especially busy for me, I have been working at UHB as usual, but also at the Setesdal Line. And then the Norwegian Railway Museum hired me to drive Setskogen and Tinfos (which normally runs at UHB, but was on loan to the museum as Urskog is being repaired) for the summer. So I thought I would sum up the summer by showing the engines I have worked with... Starting at UHB, with my usual crew:

UHB No.14 Bingsfos:

Of course... the engine I drive most frequently. Bingsfos is used for maintenance and everyday work where we just need an engine on the go. Just a turn of the key and he is ready to work!

Bingsfos and I have become a little better friends this year, and after his brakes were fixed, he is almost a joy to drive. Almost. He is still quite the fuel to noise machine, so you need ear plugs when driving this guy. This year UHB has put more of an effort in giving me driving lessons as they need more diesel drivers, so I have been driving him around the yard as well as on the line with both passengers and goods.

UHB No.6 Høland:

No summer is complete without firing and driving Høland. The engine that started it all, my patient mentor who has suffered through my fireman training (and now driving lessons) and all my newbie fuck-ups. We have grown together and has become quite a team. He is still the machine I love the most of all.

This locomotive literally pulled me out of my depression and made my life so much better. His firebox has swallowed and burnt up so much sorrow and frustration, I can't describe how grateful I am to be allowed to work with this wonderful machine.

This year, he has been a bit overshadowed by Setskogen, but I will never completely forget about him. He even tolerates us putting a face on him at some occasions. Last time was when my newest book was published.

UHB No.4 Setskogen:

I never expected to grow fond of this grumpy old lady, but here I am. Setskogen has really captured my heart this summer. We got to work together at the Norwegian Railway Museum a lot. And up there we run the engines with only one person in the cab, so it was just me and her. Having lots of time to bond.

Although I could tell she was a bit bored at the museum, running on a line that is only 600 meters long, she still behaved well. Most of the time at least. XD She did test me sometimes, but I have a lot more experience now, so I managed.

It was fun at the museum, but I am glad she is back home again now, where she can run on coal and actually pick up some speed and pull longer trains. I ended the driving season this summer as her fireman as we pulled the longest mixed train ever at UHB during the museum era (they pulled longer trains back in the old days). A train that was far too long for the platform, so we needed to do a bit of back and forth action to make it work. XD

UHB No.12 Tinfos:

This little... monster... was the biggest challenge this summer!

She looks small and innocent, but don't be fooled. That cute appearance hides one hell of a stubborn machine! She has absolutely NO interest in obeying you, so you need to use a lot of force. Only starting her takes bloody ages... and she runs at a snail's pace.

I had to work with her at the Norwegian Railway Museum too, as both her and Setskogen were sent there for the summer. Tinfos' job was to push Setskogen out of the shed in the morning as we couldn't fire her up inside. I even almost managed to derail her as one of the shed doors got caught on her shield while we were backing inside. Luckily I managed to stop in time and free her, so we didn't end up in the grease pit...

Now she is back home again with Setskogen, safely back in her own shed at Bingsfoss Station.

UHB No.13 "Kvabben":

For some reason I haven't taken a photo of this guy... but he can be seen here. The orange boxy thing behind Høland.

This is a railcar used to transport crew out on the line. He has room for 8 people including the driver. This is by far the weirdest vehicle I have ever driven... It feels like driving a car without a steering wheel! Which is a strange feeling. XD

He is also insanely fast, so you need to be careful here or you will derail before you know it! He is currently in for repairs, so I will have my hands full for a few weeks.

KB No. 225:

I only had one day onboard this girl, but I am sure we'll get to know each other better in the future.

This was a bit of a surprise for me though. We were going to the Krøder Line for a membership outing, where we would ride the train to a destination for a guided tour. We were also going to fetch some buffers for one of our goods wagons.

I was told to dress in overalls for the day, which puzzled me a bit as we were just going on a guided tour... but I did as told and figured it would be because of loading the buffers afterwards. When I arrived I noticed I was the only one dressed in overalls, and got a bit pissed as I thought they had pranked me. But then the locomotive crew grabbed me and pulled me inside the cab to work... and suddenly the overalls made more sense. XD

It was a lovely trip!

SB No.6 "Lukas":

During my first week at the Setesdal Line I got to know this beauty. The engines there doesn't have names, so I had to name them for the sake of my book series. And as an internal joke, we gave them all biblical names.

Lukas was a fun experience and the line was scenic and beautiful, though I didn't have much time to enjoy the view due to the steep climbs. I had to shovel coal like I have never done before! XD

Lukas is a bit cheeky, so he likes to soak your pants in water and mess with you if he sees a chance. I really like him, but it will be a long time until I get to work with him again as he has now been dismantled and his boiler has been sent to England for revision. He is estimated to be back in service in 2026 or 2027.

SB No.2 "Magdalena":

My second week at the Setedal Line I got to work with a different engine as No.6 was due to be dismantled and sent to England.

So I was introduced to No.2. A grand old, Scottish lady who was surprisingly easy to handle, both to fire and to drive.

She is also the oldest engine I have driven; built in 1894! But she is as powerful and lively as her younger friends. We also ended up in the newspaper as her driver retired after 60 years on the footplate (50 of them as a driver)! I had the honor of being his fireman on his last trip ever.

Bonus mentions:

Di.3 602 "Norah":

Didn't drive her myself, but I got to ride in her cab. Nohab Di.3 is one of my favorite locomotive types, so that was a huge treat! I think I was about 5 years old at that moment. XD

Etna:

A beautiful miniature steam engine that often runs on UHB's garden railway. She is very fun to drive, but I still prefer the big engines. ;-)

Speedy:

Even smaller than Etna, he is also a miniature steam engine. I have to admit I don't like driving him much as he tends to spit embers from his funnel. Getting then in your face is very unpleasant.

Sulitelma:

One of the Setesdal Line's railcars. She has her name from her previous line. I didn't drive her, but again got to tag along when another volunteer got his drivers lessons late one night. And I finally got to see the line as a passenger.

Other engines I've met (some of them, I can list all as this would be an endless post. XD), but not driven:

Di.3 642 "Tora":

El.13:

Whatever this thing is:

Rjukanbanens No.1 (Rj.B 1):

NSB Skd. 217-117:

NSB Di.2 833:

NSB type 63 "Big German":

El.1 2001:

Borregaard's No.1 "Porter":

NSB Skd.220 144 "Reidar":

Di.3 628 "Håkon":

[no-phrogs-in-hats]

If I Could Turn Back Time

Larissa Weems x fem!reader

Chapter 18

Fuck.

My head was pounding and my eyelids felt so heavy that I struggled to open them.

When I came around, I became aware of my surroundings. The glass around me showed that it was almost dark out and the smell of flowers gave way to the realization that I was in the greenhouse. My wrists were tied behind my back and my ankles were restrained in front of me, bent at the knee, and I struggled to breathe as a piece of duct tape was stuck over my mouth.

“Ah, good,” said a voice. “You’re awake.”

She walked over to me from the main section of the greenhouse and leaned down, ripping the tape off my mouth. 

“I am so fucking pissed right now,” I hissed.

Marilyn chuckled. “I bet. I guess I owe you an explanation now.” She took off her glasses and cleaned them off with her sweater. “They’re fake,” she commented, “but I have to play the part! So…I guess, by now, you know that I’m your sort-of-but-not-really-aunt.”

“Yeah, so what the fuck were you doing asking me out?” I said. “That’s pretty gross.”

“Oh please,” Marilyn scoffed. “For one thing, we’re not even related. I knew what your mother did. I know the powers that she has. I stalked your family for ages. And, when I found out you were teaching at Jericho High School, I just needed a way to get you to come to Nevermore. I was the one who told the principal. He had close relations with my family and I knew he despised them. So, I gave him an anonymous tip.”

So it wasn’t my students. 

“But, what about Nevermore?” I said. “I was fired after I met Larissa.”

“Actually, you meeting Larissa wasn’t part of the plan at all. It was complete chance–and complete luck for me. I knew at that moment, my plan was falling into place. So, when Larissa told me that she was going to meet you for dinner and that you're a teacher, I told her to ask you about the teaching position.” She took a deep breath before sighing as if she were disgusted by something. “But then, the train derailed when you and Larissa got together. I planned to gain your trust, that’s why I was trying to get close to you. But, Larissa’s temper is easily sparked, so I thought I shouldn’t take the chance.”

“Wait, so you knew that we’re family, yet you still tried to get with me?” I asked.

Marilyn rolled her eyes. “Are you even listening? I wasn’t going to do anything. Just try and gain your trust, become close. I knew you were still fragile after your breakup with your ex-girlfriend, so I thought I’d take advantage of that.”

“You really are a sick, twisted bitch,” I spat. 

“I know,” she cooed. “But I have to be to get what I want.”

When I awake again, I hear voices on the other side of the door. I looked out one of the panes of glass to see Wednesday standing in front of Marilyn. 

I searched the floor for anything I could cut myself free with and I almost cried tears of joy when I set eyes on a pair of gardening shears. Inching over to them, I managed to grab them. It took me a couple tries, but I managed to get my ankles free and–awkwardly–get my hands free too.

Crouching low to the ground, I hid behind a plant that let me see out of one of the windows. A third person walked in, who I recognized as Tyler, and moments later, Marilyn took her glasses off. 

“Tyler, make mamma happy and get rid of her…”

“...They were a pawn in the bigger game…just like you, Wednesday.”

“I sent Tyler to the station to intercept you…”

I didn’t hear Wednesday’s words, but in seconds, Larissa appeared in Tyler’s place. I heard her say something, and before I could react, Marilyn shouted and pulled something out of her pocket. I watched as Larissa fell to the ground in a heap, falling unconscious. 

“No!” I ran out of the wing I was held in, Wednesday’s eyes growing wide as I collapsed on my knees in front of Larissa. “No, no, no, no, no!” I wept at her side, watching as her breaths grew shallower and shallower, eyes already shut in preparation for her demise. “Larissa, please! Please! You can’t go! I can’t do this by myself!”

“She’ll be dead by morning,” Marilyn shrugged. “Now…onto you two.”

Once again, and this time even worse, my head was throbbing and I was tied up on the ground. I felt dizzy as I was shaken awake, my ears tuning in to the voice of Wednesday. 

“Miss Foster!”

“Hm?” I was groggy and hardly knew what was happening.

Wednesday shook me again. “We need to go! Come on!”

I stood up at her beckoning and followed her out of Crackstone’s Crypt. I was beyond confused at that point. “What happened?” I asked.

Wednesday proceeded to explain the resurrection of Crackstone, Laurel’s plan, and Tyler’s participation. We took a canoe from the bank of Raven Island, rowing as fast as we could, and made it quickly to the docks of Nevermore. Students could be seen pouring out of every entrance as we ran toward the scene. 

“Wednesday, where are you going?” I called as she ran up the stairs. 

Without turning around, she yelled back, “Trust me! I know what I’m doing! Go to the courtyard!”

I listened to her, running through swarms of students. When I arrived at the courtyard, Crackstone was there, but Laurel was nowhere to be found. The entire Quad was on fire and Crackstone began cornering the children who tried to flee.

I picked up a rock and chucked it at the back of his head. “Hey! Osteoporosis!”

He turned his attention to me, leaving the students to run away. When I saw him, the black, corroded teeth, the sunken, pale face, the stringy hair that was faded and grayed with age, I felt my stomach drop. How was I supposed to face this man?

That was when Wednesday appeared, sword in hand and rage unwavering. “Howdy, pilgrim.” 

The greenhouse was deserted. I opened the door quickly, relieved to see that Larissa was still breathing. 

“Oh, thank god!” I cried. 

I fell to her side and touched her cheek. All of the color had drained from her face. She was dying, and there was nothing I could do. This was it. This was the end.

“I was hoping it would be quicker,” Laurel pouted. “Nightshade poisoning is usually deadly without medical treatment.”

I startled, wiping my eyes of blurry tears as I watched her creep out of the shadows. Her hands were in her pockets and she came closer to look down at Larissa and examine her form. 

“He’s dead,” I spat. “You’ve lost. There’s nothing you can do.”

A grin that would shame the cheshire cat grew on Laurel’s face. “Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong. I tried to get close to you for one thing, and one thing only.” She took her hand out of her pocket and revealed my watch. “I figured since I hadn’t gotten close enough to you for you to be that open with me, I could just steal it from you. So I did while you were passed out earlier.”

“Marilyn, you don’t know the consequences that’ll have,” I sobbed, struggling to breathe now. “You can’t bring him back! It won’t work!”

“We’ll see about that,” she chuckled. “You’ve taken your final breath. Every last one of you filthy outcasts will be gone.”

 She began twisting the dial, and just as she managed to press it, I hurried onto my feet and lunged forward, wrapping my arms around her. I tried to wrestle the watch from her hands, but it was useless. The clocks had been set back, my head was pulsating, and I reeled at the twisting feeling of the tricky matter that is time travel.

Turning my head, I saw that Laurel was beside me on the ground with the pocket watch in her hand. Her eyes fluttered open, and without thinking, I jumped on her in an attempt to get the watch back.

She managed to punch me, splitting my lip open and knocking me off of her. Before I could even sit up, she kicked me in the gut and fled.

I laid on my back, struggling to breathe after the wind was knocked out of me. I had to get it back. I had to get the watch back. 

I managed to get up and wiped the blood from my lip. Looking around I tried to gauge what time period we had gone to. It didn’t take long, however. I turned around to see a large settlement and I knew instantly where we were.

Jericho.

Just centuries younger. 

Laurel was here to bring a living Crackstone back to our world.

I ran in, ignoring the stares and gossip of pilgrims around me. Stopping in front of one woman, I brushed off her glare before asking, “Have you seen a woman come through here? She’s looking for Joseph Crackstone. She’s wea–”

“Yes,” she said, sticking her nose up at me before pointing to the right. “She ran down there.”

“Thank you!”

I found Laurel, chasing her down and tackling her.

“Laurel!” I scolded, trying to grab the watch from her hand. “You need to stop! It’s not possible! You can’t bring him back! Trust me!”

She glared at me when we stood up. “You’re wrong!”

“No, I’m not! If you bring him back to our timeline, he will die. He was dead before we came here, and he’ll be dead again if we bring him back. He still has things to do that are imperative to history! If you bring him back to Nevermore, everything will have changed!”

Laurel and I stood there, jaws clenched and hands in fists as we faced off.

“Give me the watch,” I muttered.

“No!” she shouted. “I won’t! I’m here to avenge my entire family! The Outcasts destroyed them!”

“How can you avenge people who won’t even exist if you take Crackstone out of this timeline?”

This made her pause.

“Laurel,” I said, “if what you say is true, and you are a direct descendant of Crackstone, there is a good chance that you won’t be alive when we go back. I’m not doing this just for myself. I’m doing this for you as well. I am saving you from destroying your family and yourself.”

She didn’t speak, and it actually looked as if she were contemplating something.

“Think about it. This is life and death, Laurel.” I reached the palm of my hand out slowly for her to place the watch in. “You, your family–your parents, brothers, grandparents. Everyone will be gone. You’re hurting, I know. But, why try to avenge them when you can savor the memories you made with them? You’re only hurting yourself more this way.”

Hesitantly, she placed the watch in my hand. I held it close and carefully turned the dial. After it was set, I took Laurel by the arm and watched as the Jericho settlement faded away.

When we returned to the greenhouse, police lights flashed outside and I looked at Laurel.

“Don’t try to run,” I said. “It’ll only make things worse.”

The doors to the greenhouse flew open and in came the sheriff along with four other officers. Guns were pointed at us and Laurel–begrudgingly–did as I said. She glared at me as she was escorted out in handcuffs and a female officer came over to me.

“We’re gonna get you out of here, alright?” she said. “EMTs are on their way too.”

I sat in the ICU for the third day, having barely gotten any sleep. Everytime this machine or that machine made any noise, my anxiety spiked and my brain was convinced something had gone wrong. And, everytime, the nurses would assure me that Larissa’s vitals were steady, albeit slightly lower than they should be.

“Nightshade doesn’t cause as many fatalities anymore now that medicine is more advanced,” the doctor assured me the previous day. “It’s mostly children who succumb to the poison after accidentally eating a berry or two. But, Larissa seems to be very healthy per her regular check up last year, so we do expect her to make a full recovery.” She looked at her briefly before turning her full attention back to me. “The ECG shows some minor arrhythmias, so we’ll be keeping an eye on that. And, as for the breathing tube, when she wakes up, we’ll be able to switch it over to a nasal cannula–oxygen through the nose, rather than the mouth.”

It was just past ten in the morning when I dozed off with Larissa’s hand in mine. I had jolted awake after feeling a finger twitch, and for the next hour, I watched in earnest as she slowly woke up. 

“No, no,” I said after seeing the panic in her eyes, and I clutched her hand tighter. “Don’t try to speak. The doctors will be here soon. You’re okay.” 

After everything was done, the doctors and nurses left us be. 

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“Hun–” She tried to clear her throat of the hoarse voice, but it stayed. “Hungry.”

I chuckled. “Well, it’s good to know you have an appetite. You’ve been out for a few days. While you were getting your tests done an hour ago I called one of the teachers to update the students. She said they’re all very relieved to know you’ll be okay.”

“And what about Marilyn–or Laurel, I guess,” she said. 

“Arrested. I’ll explain everything when we get back to the school. The students are being sent home tomorrow. I was thinking you could stay with me at my townhouse. I’m sure the bed is cold without anyone using it.”

Larissa tried her best to giggle, and with her raspy voice, she smiled and said, “I love you so much.”

[haxzie]

Nighttime Visit

Media: The Quarry (2022)

Relationship: Jacob Custos and Nick Furcillo (Custillo)

Timeline: Post-Quarry Events

Word Count: 1671

nick decides to show up unannounced to talk to jacob about that night—but not without an interruption.

another lil thing i wasn’t planning to post, but it’s here now! i also reread this a million times so if anything is off, i probably lost my sanity trying to find it. post the quarry events. enjoyyy

jacob heard a few rhythmic taps on his bedroom window. he froze for a few seconds before slowly turning toward the window behind him. his heart almost dropped to his ass at the sight of nick behind the glass pane, his innocent smile made him feel at ease immediately after. he pushed himself off his bed, hissing at the jolt of pain in his right ankle, and went to his windowsill. the lock on the window released with a ‘click’ and he clamped the top of the frame to push it upwards. nick giggled at the boy’s face of concentration wither away

“you still wear hats in the house, eh?”

jacob rolled his eyes as he pushed himself off the sill. “nick. what are you doing at my window?”

nick played with the hems of his letterman jacket, looking off to the side as he muttered, “i don’t know, i see it all the time in the movies.”

“what?”

“what…?”

“just—go to the door, nick, please.”

“but what if you hobble to the door and like—trip or something,” nick questioned with a hint of seriousness in his tone.

“and what if you eat shit climbing through my window?”

“i guess you don’t know until you try?”

“yeah. okay. go ahead, loser.”

jacob backed up to sit at the foot of his bed and reached for his television remote, muting the audio. nick easily lifted his right then his left leg over the sill, ducking his head under the upper half of the window to get into the boy’s bedroom.

the taller boy sighed out with content, “skill!”

jacob felt a pang of joy in his chest after hearing the little remark. it was one of the things he himself said whenever he completed something he thought was ‘difficult’, maybe nick picked up on it during camp. he averted his eyes from the other’s figure and focused on the silent tv. “you are such a nerd,” jacob grumbled.

“i know you are, but what am i?” nick teased. he gestured to the window in a ‘should i close it’ way and jacob just waved it off. nick walked over to a desk chair across from the bed and spun it toward his friend to sit in.

“did you come here just to annoy me or do you need something? do your parents even know you’re here?”

“little jakey concerned about me? who would’ve knew?”

“nick.”

“okay okay, no. i wanted to talk about… something. and you’re a really dry texter.”

“you really want to be punched don’t you?”

“no harm, no foul!” nick shrugged as he spun in the seat a couple times, waiting for a response.

jacob did not know what he could possibly want to talk about. does he know too? he didn’t want to derail into a panic before nick even told him the reason why he wants to talk, although he couldn’t stop the guilt eating at him in the back of his mind. he was hunched over with his elbows on his knees and fiddling with his fingers. he inhaled sharply, “what did you come here for?”

the taller boy cleared his throat and stared at the top of jacob’s cap.

“i couldn’t really sleep because erm..no one has really, ya know, talked about what happened before everything. that night.”

jacob sighed out, “i really don’t want to talk about it, please.”

“i just. i just wanted to say i’m sorry. for everything, including you know who. i really—”

a groan left the shorter’s mouth, “that is literally the least of my concerns. i almost died multiple times all because i was crying over some stupid, stupid girl,” his voice faded out.

“we all know how much she meant to you, i swear,” nick chewed his bottom lip anxiously. he also didn’t want to talk about emma and jacob in general, considering how jealous he was of their relationship, but apologizing felt like the only way he could get over that. “you know it was just a game though. it didn’t mean anything. i was buzzed anyway and you… know.” he could tell he was making it awkward, at least he thought, but he heard sniffles and watched the latter hurriedly wipe tears from his eyes.

“i’m sorry i’m bad at this.”

“i swear if you apologize one more time,” jacob laughed weakly, staring into the palms of his hands. “you’re not the one to blame anyway. all that was so stupid compared to what i, we, went through later. no point in apologizing.”

nick felt a pinch in his stomach. he doesn’t remember much about their last night at hackett’s quarry. half of it he was tipsy and the other was…unexplainable at the least. when he was found in the middle of the forest near dawn, he was taken into custody immediately. which was reasonable because he had blood all over him and a lack of wounds. ryan and laura were the only other two that weren’t immediately taken into emergency care. when they were released, they went to the hospital nearby and on the way discussed what the fuck happened with nick—which was extremely baffling to him. so he could never understand what everyone else went through, but at least he could apologize for what he understood. he knows what he did before the night went downhill and anything to reassure jacob, at least a little bit, would make him feel better about himself ever so slightly.

“i know i’ll never understand,”

jacob cut him off with a harsh tone, “stop. please. i’ve heard that everyday since we left.” “i’m sorry,” nick’s voice faltered. when could he not mess up?

silence followed by soft sobs were coming from the boy in front of him, to which he stood from the desk chair and rushed to jacob’s side. he sat to the right of jacob and instinctively placed his hand on the other’s back to console him. the urge to embrace him was strong, but maybe jacob didn’t want to be hugged right now. their sides and knees were touching at least, to show that he is there. but nick had no idea what to say, he was horrible with verbal comfort.

the air was thick with silence, the only distraction being the overly cheery cartoon flashing on their profiles. nick felt the mattress dip and a head against his shoulder. he looked to his left and noticed jacob’s cries died back down to occasional stifles.

the boy’s hand came to a stop and rested on jacob’s upper arm, that he gave a hopeful squeeze. the circumstance was unfortunate, but the moment of vulnerability was refreshing—especially with someone he wants to get closer to, even after everything. he never wanted to let go, until he did. they were both alarmed by the door being swung open by jacob’s mother. jacob jolted upward and whipped his head to the door, hitting nick in the forehead with the brim of his hat. there was a quick exchange of ouches and sorry’s before returning their attention to the woman in the door way.

his mother glanced between the two then to the open window behind them and furrowed her eyebrows. “you weren’t going to tell me we had a guest?” she folded her arms across her chest, staring at jacob with a curious look in her eyes that softened at the sight of the dried tears along his face.

“i’m sorry miss custos,” nick tried to stand but the shorter gently yanked the back of his jacket sleeve to sit back down.

“we just wanted to talk for a bit and i didn’t want to bother you or anything,” jacob stood up instead and walked over to his mom. she gestured she needed a moment alone with her son and closed the door behind them. nick sat patiently, drumming the pads of his fingers against his thighs as he trailed his eyes around the room. there weren’t many decorations up other than a deteriorating poster and art-pieces from kids he counseled in which nick assumed were previous years or else jacob is indeed terrible at arts and crafts. his attention was turned towards the door as he heard it creak open. jacob was clearly flustered as he walked in and shut the door behind him, leaning his body against it. “moms are so embarrassing,” he hinted at their conversation in the hallway. nick was unsure if he should crack a joke so he asked whether or not he should leave and if he was okay.

“if you try to leave through the front door, i think my mom will interrogate you.”

“she seems like a lady i wouldn’t want to mess with.”

“you don’t know the half of it.”

they sheepishly smiled at each other.

“thank you,” jacob said in a hushed manner, staring at the hardwood floor beneath him. “thanks for coming out here even though you didn’t have to.” he pushed himself off his bedroom door and sat beside nick, a little farther this time.

“it’s the least i could do.” which wasn’t a lie. originally he wanted to go after jacob when him and abi went separate ways into the woods, but his friends suggested otherwise. emma didn’t seem all that happy being told to go after jacob instead either.

in all honesty, he probably would’ve told him a secret he’d been holding on to a majority of the two months they’d spent together as counselors. it was supposed to be their last day at the camp anyway. if he were rejected he would never have to see jacob again, but that chance has been gone.

“you’re painfully nice, i hope you know that. other than you throwing my phone to me from, like, 50 feet above.”

“no way. at least you caught it! and it was like barely 10 feet over your head.” nick taunted, playfully nudging his shoulder into jacob’s.

“10, 50, it’s all the same.”

“someone failed 3rd grade math.”

“okay, hold on—”

END.

[enchantzz]

Mitchell’s Diary - The Heritage Dance

Words: 632

One-shots in the series of Art & Vampires. Excerpts from Mitchell’s diary.

References to stories in the Art & Vampires series - I - New Orleans and II - London

Art & Vampires is mainly about the relationship and developments around Mitchell, a vampire and Amy (Ames), a human. It’s about the vampire world, the supernatural, but also about history, cities around the world, art, antiques and adventures. Face claims vampires: Aidan Turner - John Mitchell, Richard Armitage - Rick Marlowe, Jaime Murray - Alana (Lana) Lenoir and Ben Barnes - Ben Sheldon. Humans: Mila Kunis - Amy (Ames) Quinn, Bianca Lawson - Lena Parker (witch).

List of Mitchell’s diary One Shots in the Art & Vampires Master list

We went to see a mid-nineteenth century art exhibition earlier this week and Ames got the idea to dress up in real period clothing for a Heritage Dance to which we had been invited.

The dance was in the old mansion, the very same one Ames and I went to on our first business trip together. Barney, the owner, had invited us. He is starting his own Heritage Club or something and he was throwing a big party, a fundraiser. The invite said to wear period clothing, but I’m sure he meant fake costumes, not real period attire.

I told the girls that it wouldn’t be a good idea, because surely someone would notice that we were wearing the real deal, but as usual, Alana ignored my advice and jumped right in and showed Amy her dresses from that period. I don’t even know where she kept them, but she still has them, after all this time. Of course it derailed from there. There was no stopping Amy nor Alana.

Alana told Rick and myself that we should wear our old clothes as well. I shouldn’t have even bothered bringing up that they were long gone, because she went ahead and magically got a trunk out of nowhere and sure enough, our costumes from centuries ago were in it. How she managed to keep them in such perfect conditions is beyond me.

I’m amazed by Alana sometimes, how she holds on to the past but still, in every time period, she goes through life as the most modern woman.

In hindsight, it was a good thing that we were wearing our own clothes. I really don’t fancy costumes from those horrid Halloween stores and wearing an outfit that has been worn by god knows who. The thought of it alone makes me gag.

Now, Rick and I were ok with wearing our mid-nineteenth century attire in the end, but then Alana brought up that we should make it complete with our hair; our facial hair, that is! Of course we protested. Rick is fond of his beard and I like my stubble, but Alana went ahead and threatened to shave us in our sleep with the old rusty antique blades she found in the trunk as well. Can you imagine our faces when she said that?? But we know better not to question Alana’s threats, so we caved and Rick’s beard went and we both ended up with those ridiculous looking sideburns, which were popular around that time.

The Heritage Dance was marvelous though. It was as if we were transported back in time. The guests had made a real effort to dress up and even though the costumes were from different time periods and fake, except for ours, it was a spectacular sight. We got compliments from many on our outfits, which was to be expected. Fortunately, no one brought up the idea that they could be real.

I must say that I had a great time. Lots of interesting conversations that evening and a couple of wonderful dances with Alana. I know that Ames gets a little jealous sometimes, when Alana and I dance, but she is such a joy to dance with. Of course we have had several centuries of practice, but Alana has always been a natural. We just move like one when we are on the dance floor. Fortunately, there was also the opportunity for a slow-dance with my beloved Ames. It was a good night and it will stay in my memories forever.

PS. Rick is growing back his beard and we got rid of our ridiculous sideburns right after the party. My stubble is back and my unruly curls have been freed from being stuck together by the bottle of hairspray that Alana used to contain them.

If you enjoyed reading the story, please consider leaving a comment, a like or reblog the story. Thank you for sharing the love ❤️

@the-poldarkian @linasofia @laurfilijames @deanwanddamons @guardianofrivendell

If you would like to be tagged (or not tagged) please let me know. Thank you.

[nightcreepsin]

dnf fic recs bc i've been sad recently

hi i've been very overwhelmed with school and med school apps and reading fics has been a good break for me so here are some fics that i've really enjoyed for anyone who also finds joy in fic (more under the cut)

generally good fics

parchment and pouring rain by eshares - eyes meet in a book shop crossed with hiding at a bus stop to avoid the rain. boom you have the cutest fic of all time.

stay with me by alltimecharlo - george wakes up in an alternate universe and what is this? dream is his boyfriend?

coffee through first period by OBLVN - george and dream are high school teachers. dream brings george coffee every morning. this is too cute.

smash my heart by dontrollthedice - george and sapnap are super smash commentators and one smash streamer waltzes in and completely derails george's life.

looking by the window, i can see by arsenicarose - dream moves to london and his heater breaks so of course he must spend more time at his neighbor's warm apartment.

it's... not a match by crimsvn - one of my favorite tropes. person a swiping on tinder at the airport after a delayed flight and person b seeing person a swipe left on them.

sincerely, yours by hendollana - george stumbles across an attractive pair of hands on omegle (not to romanticize omegle but this fic is cute. and its fiction! pls don't actually use omegle).

angsty-ish

as it is by aviator8 - ok this is tangentially dnf and focuses a bit more on time traveler karl but it is so so good. karl and dream and saying good bye to everyone you love.

swim until the swamplands come by candypolaroide - falling in love with your best friend is complicated. it's even more complicated when you go to visit him in england... aka what if the vlog meet up was real?

grip by honkdaddyy - dream and george break up and get back to get together again. and again. there's some smut but really this fic pulled at my heart strings.

of idiots, coconuts, and raindrops that shatter by lightNS - dream tries to prove that he is in fact straight by dating a guy for a week. george is an unwilling participant in this bet. one of my favorite fics of all time.

alternate universes

hard out here for a bug these days by diapason - george as miraculous lady bug and dream as chat noir. i loved this show and its such a cute au and for those who haven't seen the show read it anyways bc there's pining and identity porn.

i'll meet you in the common room by art3mismh - george and dream are both captain of their house's quidditch teams. and it's the final match of the season, so where are they?

van gogh out with me by my9397 - dream is a super hero and hates that infamous art thief 404 always is active at the worst times. he doesn't hate, however, stumbling into the diner where george works at absurd hours in the night. i love identity porn y'all.

nsfw fics (there are too many and i couldn't choose)

moonbeans by thediscontent - this is probably like top 5 fics of all time for me. fwb. george in dream's hoodie. hopeful but not quite happy ending. everything about this is absolutely perfect.

extracurriculars by anonymous - george wants to raise his grade, and that involves stopping by dream's office one night as he's grading assignments. a teacher/student au with a twist.

ok there are wayyyy more fics that i've wanted to rec since the last time i made one of these (especially nsfw) but i'm tired and this is already so long. i'll probably make another fic rec (eventually)

send all of these authors love for putting out such good content

for more fic recs check out part 1 and part 2

[wnnbdarklord]

I didn’t want to derail the original post and this isn’t really aimed at the person who made the comment that inspired this anyway and is more of a general thing that devolved into spilling all my feelings everywhere, but like...

I too, watch people talk about the Loki show and wonder if we watched the same show. I watch people praise it and love it and write meta about it and all the while I am screaming and crying inside which show did you watch? Did you get the secret good show? How is your interpretation of events a literal 180 degrees from mine? It’s especially baffling to me when some of those people are the same ones that hated ragnarok! How did they not find the show even worse?

Some people whose meta I generally respect and takes I generally agree with seem to adore the show and I’m just sitting over here feeling gutted because I literally cannot wrap my mind around it. Because I could see liking the show because it’s fun and being a downer isn’t (boy oh boy how I wish I’d liked the show), but still seeing all its flaws and OOCness. I literally cannot compute people watching it and agreeing with the show’s perspective. I cannot compute the differences in interpretation.

Like, I can see the shape of the story the narrative is trying to shove down my throat, but I cannot accept those premises enough to engage with them. They make me fly into a frothing rage*. And no matter how softly or how kindly I try to state my opinions, the state of the fandom is such that it’s never soft or kind enough. No, instead I should just sit down and shut up and lick the disney boot and it’s so fucking lonely and alienating. Almost every fandom space I go to is just constant shitting on people who didn’t like the show.

And if I can’t enjoy the fandom anymore, I wish I could just not care enough to leave. It feels like that’s what the wider fandom wants me to do anyway, but I can’t. Because I still love this character and I want him back. But I haven’t actually seen him since 2013 and it looks like I’m never going to again. And it hurts and I’m so bitter. They took him away in IW and then gave me hope I’d see him again and then even that hope was shattered.

I want to feel happy for people who find joy in the show, but mostly I just feel abandoned and left behind. Like intellectually, yes, at least someone is enjoying it. Emotionally? Pathetic neediness and abandonment is me. 

(which isn’t to say that people need to conform to my expectations and needs, I’m just word vomiting in the hopes that getting it all out will make me feel better. but it also really does feel like I trashed half my fandom circle of friends/acquaintances cause apparently speaking out against this show (and never actually attacking people with different opinions, or at least certainly never intending to) makes you toxic and domineering or something)

(to the people who hate the show just as much as i do, ilu, you’re keeping me sane and like I’m not going crazy because the interpretations are so different)

*Reading meta where people liked the show is an exercise in self flagellation because after I finish internally crying/screaming about it not being true, it’s interesting! It has depth. I just completely and fundamentally disagree that any of that depth was intended or even there in the text. You have to do so much work to tease out a palatable interpretation and meanwhile I’m like “or they just didn’t give a shit and it’s bad writing.gif” Reading those endless articles from the people involved in the show is a whole other level of hell because if they’re not outright lying, they’re disagreeing about the show on a very basic level, and none of what they’re saying they put in did they actually manage to convey (imo, of course, which should be self evident, but as we all know, the wank rides eternal shiny and chrome)

anyway, I’m losing the plot of this so the end of this post is going to be very anticlimactic and just this sentence cause I don’t know how to finish it.

[eyesaremosaics]

Lately I have had zero tolerance for bullshit. Perhaps I have been hardened in the last two years. My interest is in the truth, always has been. I am open to whatever that may be, provided that it is proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

When I was 17, my philosophy teacher showed us the 1957 film, “12 angry men”. If you haven’t seen it, the premise is essentially: Following the closing arguments in a murder trial, the 12 members of the jury must deliberate, with a guilty verdict meaning death for the accused, an inner-city teen. As the dozen men try to reach a unanimous decision while sequestered in a room, one juror (Henry Fonda) casts considerable doubt on elements of the case. Personal issues soon rise to the surface, and conflict threatens to derail the delicate process that will decide one boy's fate.

Initially you believe the boy is guilty as sin, and by the end of the film (after going through all the evidence) your perspective flips completely. I highly recommend you all watch it. This film always stuck with me. As a libra who prizes justice, I feel we have a responsibility as a just society to have all the information before coming to a decision about a persons innocence or guilt. There are many innocent people in prison, and a lot of sociopathic manipulators out there wreaking their havoc on others. I can’t in good conscience, condemn a person based on sensationalized claims—particularly when they are “trending”.

Condemnation needs to come from facts proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Frankly it alarms me how little I see most people investigating a given situation before taking a stance on it. Blindly following “trends” is herd mentality… and I would like to believe we are all more educated than that. Any free thinking, independent person would make sure they had all the information before making a snap judgment. Just saying.

If there is one thing my partner has taught me—it’s to always do your research. Check your sources. If you don’t have the answer, ask questions. If you have a strong opinion, that’s fine, but give a convincing argument. Have all the facts. I used to sort of do everything half assed, he has taught me to be very thorough.

With all the conflict going on in the world, and so many different points of view, it’s making me reconsider the relativity of truth. The old philosophical argument that there are no fundamental truths, and that the truth is relative to perspective.

Over intellectualizing everything has been my way of detaching lately. Reality has become semi unbearable. Our precarious living situation is only growing more dangerous. I don’t have the energy to detail anymore than that. Suffice to say we are being forced out of our home, and finding a new place is proving to be challenging. However, I am determined to remain in good spirits.

Missing being creative immensely. Making art, acting, writing… all these things bring me joy, and yet I prioritize them so little. It made me realize today that my workaholism has consumed my life, at this point I’m not living for myself but for others. I accept full responsibility for not dining much to change that. The pandemic made me complacent. Has anyone else been feeling that way?

This is my attempt to tackle said writers block. When you start making art, it’s not good, it’s just pretending to be good. However, your good taste is on point, and that is why the criticism of oneself is sort of important. How else will you be forced outside your comfort zone to grow as an artist? To be more. One is always layering meaning and technique into one’s art.

I just… I want “me” back again. I’m tired of shades and shadows. Tired of false news, trends, influencers, the vapidness of it all. It’s weird how internet dynamics influence public opinion so much, and I fear the power of propaganda.

Is it so wrong to want people to make educated guesses based on factual information? I feel like so many people just jump on different band wagons just for the sake of it. It takes on a creepy little life of its own. Everything is super “raw” and hostile. It’s like we are all burn victims touching one another, lighting up each other’s stuff. It’s hard to know what to believe anymore.

These mental gymnastics are too exhausting for me. Basically—I don’t think that shit is cute, and I miss being more creative. My goal is to work on that this year. Find a healthy balance.

[wistfulwatcher]

@reflectingiridescent replied to your text post

Wait please tell me your headcanon!!! *chinhands*

Well, twist my arm 😉 Disclaimer that this might not be new at all - I haven't seen anything about this but I'm new to the fandom this year and I haven't gone looking for Nate/Sophie content (I ship them, but passively/not actively). But the headcanon: I've always assumed that Sophie quit grifting prior to the start of the original series because Nate was no longer chasing her.

In The Nigerian Job (and then again in The First David Job), Sophie says she was an honest citizen in Chicago. But considering how many items she's acquired between her London/early crime warehouse and her "retirement plan" warehouse that we see in The First David Job, the fact that it's implied she runs plenty of long cons, and that she says Sherman's been grifting a lot longer than she has in The Boiler Room Job, it seems impossible that she's ever really "quit" grifting/tried to be an honest citizen between when she started and when she quit pre-series.

So if she quit, why? I can't think of a single reference to something that would have caused her to stop - the show never implies she has any moral objections to what she's doing (in a big picture sense), she wasn't caught, and she was doing theatre in Chicago but it clearly wasn't anything very professional or long-running.

The only thing that happened in her life ~shortly before the start of the series, is that Nate lost his son, and subsequently left IYS. As Eliot points out (and is just obvious in how Sophie interacts with Nate in S1), everyone in their world knew that Nate was out of the game, Sophie included.

So, Sophie, who loves grifting, is great at it, has no reason to quit, decides to quit roughly around the time she knows Nate will no longer be chasing her. S1 repeatedly refers to how their relationship was about the chase and the danger, and Sophie really only knew him in that context. (Confirmed in The Snow Job when Sophie says, "I knew you two years ago"; when Nate left IYS, she didn't see him again.) Sophie was already falling in love with or already in love with Nate (or the idea of him - another conversation) at the start of the series, which means she would have felt that way when Nate stopped chasing her.

I think that Sophie really felt lost when that happened. Because she had these deep feelings for Nate, who she only really interacted with while grifting, and that's taken away from her when Sam dies and Nate quits. She knows that he will never chase her again, or if he does it won't be the same - that he won't be the same. (There is also the aspect of Sam's death/Nate's failed marriage/Nate's emotional destruction all completely shattering the fantasy that Sophie had gotten wrapped up in with Nate.) And I think the chase with Nate had become so much fun for her, had eclipsed all the joy she had in grifting on its own, that without the promise of that possibility, it just genuinely lost its appeal. We know she loves to hold one person's attention - and with Nate, she was. Without him, it stops being fun because she's so hyperfocused on that aspect (to the exclusion of everything else she loves about it).

And because Sophie (the real person) is such a romantic and can get so wrapped up in a false identity, I think she ended up crafting Sophie Devereaux (the persona) more and more on "Sophie's" relationship with Nate. I think when Nate quit, Sophie had a bit of an existential crisis about who "Sophie" was anymore. And I think she quit grifting at that point because she didn't have a satisfactory answer. That "Sophie" couldn't really exist without her counterpart, Nate. (I also think this is consistent with the development of Sophie the person over the course of the series - S1 Sophie is very wrapped up in her relationship with Nate, to the point of even derailing cons in the earliest episodes, but as the series goes on, and especially after her season 2 leave, that changes and she and their relationship mature.)

Considering all of the identities that Sophie has, I also think it's noteworthy that Sophie Devereaux became the most famous. For a grifter, it actually seems a bit dangerous for her to use it so much - but, it was the name she had been using when Nate started chasing her. (And not for long before that - Stark must have been the earliest use of that name, because she was Jenny when Sterling chased her before Nate.) And I think that's an important factor in why she quit when Nate left as well - not only had she become very wrapped up in "Sophie" as she developed feelings for Nate, but that connection to him really bled into a lot of aspects of her grifting life. She hung onto that identity for so long, that it's the one - if anyone does recognize her - they use. (And obviously this is for the benefit of the audience, but the in-universe implication becomes canon.) So not only did Sophie need to retire "Sophie" when she no longer felt the appeal of grifting, it seems like she was sort of facing a new issue of being unable to simply reinvent herself in the criminal world the way she had been. That she kind of needed to retire completely, because she had clung onto "Sophie" for too long.

And why, when Nate comes to find her in The Nigerian Job, she's so open to bringing "Sophie" back to life. For a woman who suddenly quits a ~20+ year criminal career, I feel like the only thing that would work is for the very catalyst of that leave to be remedied or resolved.

[iamtrebleclefstories]

that same kind of joy

98 - “You scared the shit out of me.” 

Now, I wasn’t really sure how I felt about this fic when I first started writing it and I had no idea where it was gonna go, but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. It’s not exactly what you might’ve had in mind, but I hope you enjoy! @andreagraham​

this takes place in a wonderful world where 16x16 never happened :)

She remembers a bang. It was loud and deafening to the point that when she comes to, there’s an incessant ringing in her ears. She wants to just lay there and sleep, but that’s probably just the mild concussion talking. Instead, she painstakingly cracks her eyes open just enough to get a good view of her surroundings.

Metal. Bright. Debris. Blood.

Blood.

It’s not her own. At least, Jo doesn’t think it belongs to her. It is a trail of blood that extends in front of her, leading in front of a woman with a swollen abdomen who is crying out in distress. Jo picks herself up from the ground long enough to realize what just happened.

She remembers getting on the train back to Seattle after a weekend medical conference in San Francisco with Carina Deluca. It had been a spur of the moment decision, something Alex had surprised her with when he presented her with a train ticket, booked hotel room, and a weekend off. She had been thrilled at the prospect of hearing Addison Montgomery speak as she considered a career switch to OB. It had been the perfect getaway, until about ten minutes ago.

Now, Jo stands in the remains of one of the train cars she’d been traveling in and looks around in horror to see multiple individuals in varying states of trauma. She quickly canvasses the area to determine who seemed okay and who looked as though they were in immediate need of assistance. After getting help from a nursing student, dental PA, and off-duty officer that happened to be riding in the same train car, Jo leaves the other passengers and makes her way over to the pregnant woman who was clearly in labor.

“Hey,” Jo crouches down in front of the woman. “My name is Jo Karev. I’m a surgeon at Grey Sloan Memorial in Seattle. I see that you’re having some contractions. Is it okay if I examine you?” Jo waits until the woman nods her consent before gently pressing her hands on the woman’s bump to determine position. “What’s your name?”

“Alyssa,” the young woman breathes out heavily. “My name is Alyssa Belmont.”

“Nice to meet you Alyssa. Can you tell me how far along you are?” Jo looks down at her watch to monitor the length and interval of the contractions.

“I'm only 35 weeks,” Alyssa’s voice betrays her anxiety. “It’s too early.”

“It’s okay, the ambulance is going to be here soon and we will be able to get you and your baby to a hospital safely where some really nice pediatrician will make sure that they’re just fine,” Jo takes the hand sanitizer from her purse and uses it to disinfect her hands and ruffles through her first aid kit to find a single pair of gloves. “Do you know what you’re having?”

“A boy,” Alyssa nods. “My fiancé is stationed overseas but is supposed to come home in two weeks. He was supposed to be here for the delivery. I’m not supposed to be doing this alone.”

“Hey, Alyssa. Listen to me. You are not alone. I’m right here with you and I promise I won’t leave your side until you are holding a healthy baby in your arms,” Jo locks eyes with the young woman in front of her. “I need to know some things if I’m going to better care for you. Did you get hurt when the train derailed? Did you feel a tearing or a sharp pain in your abdomen?”

“No,” Alyssa shakes her head. “Just the contractions. But I had already been feeling some sporadic contractions throughout the day and the past week if I’m being honest. That’s normal though, right? Like Braxton hicks?”

“Yes, it's completely normal to feel a couple contractions here and there once you’re nearing the end of your pregnancy. It’s your body trying to prepare itself for birth,” Jo takes off her jacket and drapes it over Alyssa’s lower abdomen and pelvis to maintain some semblance of modesty. “Okay Alyssa, I’m going to push up your dress and remove your leggings and underwear so that I can get a look at how much you’ve progressed.”

Prior to the surprise delivery she was pulled into a couple weeks ago where all she had to do was catch the baby, it had been a long time since Jo had delivered a baby that wasn’t a c-section. It had been years since she had to check for dilation and effacement and in that moment she found herself really wishing that Carina - who had opted to stay in San Francisco for a few days more with a friend - had been on this train instead of her.

“Okay, Alyssa. It looks like you're about eight centimeters dilated and I'd say somewhere around eighty to ninety percent effaced,” Jo informs.

“What does that mean?” Alyssa brushes her hair out of her face and winces as another contraction comes over her.

“That means that pretty soon it’ll be time to push,” Jo looks around to the surrounding passengers. “Does anyone have a clean towel or blankets in their bag? And water. I need an unopened water bottle.”

A few of the lesser injured passengers step forward after ruffling through their bags to present Jo with the items she requested, “Here are two bottles of water, one clean towel, and three blankets.”

Jo does her best to keep Alyssa comfortable and wait until the paramedics arrive. But within minutes, Alyssa is fully dilated, effaced, and ready to push. Jo looks down at Alyssa and keeps her face as calm as possible so as not to alert the young woman to the anxiety currently building up inside of her.

“Alright, Alyssa, once you feel your next contraction I need you to push. You’re going to push for ten seconds and then take a break. Do you understand?”

Alyssa grunts in response, “Yup.”

After what seems like an eternity, the train car fills with a sharp, loud cry. Jo feels some tears prickle at her eyes as she’s the first person to hold this little one as it enters the world, “Hey there, little man. You’ve got a set of lungs on you. That’s good. I was worried about your little lungs. Let’s get you cleaned up so your mama can hold you.” Jo uses the surrounding materials to clean and warm up the infant before placing him on Alyssa’s chest.

“Oh God,” Alyssa chokes out a quiet sob. “You’re here. Hi baby. I’m so sorry your daddy isn’t here but I know that he’ll be so happy to meet you.”

Jo wipes a straying tear from her eye on her arm, “I hate to intrude on the moment but we do have to cut the cord and deliver the placenta.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Alyssa shakes her head. “Can I just hold him for one more second?”

“I don’t see why not,” Jo barely has time to get those words out of her mouth when paramedics come rushing through the train car. She breathes out a sigh of relief and flags one of them down. “Hi, I’m a surgeon at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in Seattle. This woman just gave birth to a premature infant at thirty five weeks. She and the baby need to go to the hospital immediately.”

The paramedic quickly calls her partner to assist her as they make quick work of getting Alyssa out of the train and into an ambulance. Just as Jo is about to turn around and head back inside to help in any way she can, Alyssa puts her hand on Jo’s arm, “Can you come with us? Please. You said you’d be there and I really don’t want to be alone.”

Looking up at the paramedic to make sure that it’s okay to ride along, Jo squeezes Alyssa’s hand gently, “Of course.”

+++

Jo shouldn’t have been all that surprised when she feels a familiar set of arms tighten around her, bringing her close to his chest. She sighs contently as she allows her husband to hold her tenderly. She whimpers in protest when Alex pulls away to get a good look at her.

“Jo,” he breathes out in relief. “You scared the shit out of me.” Alex presses a light kiss to her forehead. “When I saw the crash on the news I almost had a heart attack. I tried calling you and the hospitals but no one was saying anything. No one knew what was going on. All we knew was that the train derailed in the middle of nowhere Oregon and some of the cars detached and got flipped on their sides. What the hell happened?”

“I delivered a baby today,” Jo huffs a laugh. “After the crash knocked me out for a few minutes, I got up and there was a woman in premature labor. Her name is Alyssa. I-I delivered her baby. I was the first person in this entire world that got to hold him. The world was literally crashing down around us, but I got to deliver this beautiful baby boy with a surprisingly well developed set of lungs for how early he was born. I’ve been with her ever since it happened. They’re moving her up to a room right now. I’m supposed to meet her up there.”

“Baby, that’s incredible. But have you gotten checked out?” Alex asks quietly. “I need to know that you’re okay.”

“I’m okay, Alex,” Jo assures him. “I have a mild concussion and a couple of bruised ribs. Nothing that some ibuprofen and rest won’t fix.” Alex scowled unconvinced, causing Jo to laugh. “I’m fine. Really. Now do you want to come with me to see them?”

“Okay, fine.”

They make their way up to Alyssa’s room and Jo introduces Alex and Alyssa to each other. They spoke softly for a few moments until Alyssa’s doctor showed up outside the room.

“Sorry to interrupt,” the doctor smiles sheepishly at the group. “But you can go ahead and see your baby Miss Belmont. I can get one of the nurses to take you up to the NICU.”

“That’s okay, we can take her,” Jo and Alex help Alyssa out of the bed and into a wheelchair, carefully bringing her to stop beside her son’s warmer. “There he is.”

Alex looks up at the monitors as he listens to a resident list off the results of the studies they’d been conducting over the past few hours, “His SATs and his APGAR look great, all things considered. He’ll probably spend a week or two here before he’s sent home. He’s a strong and resilient little guy.” Alyssa and the resident both look at him in question. “I’m a peds surgeon.”

The hours go by quickly and before anyone knows it, night has fallen. Alex nudges Jo slightly, “Hey, I think we should get going. You need some rest. I got us a hotel room for the night.”

Jo nods in agreement and goes to move when Alyssa places a hand on her shoulder, “Wait. You can’t leave without knowing what the baby’s name is. I finally decided on a name.”

“What is it?” Jo asks expectantly.

“His name is Joseph Benjamin Harold. Joey for short,” Alyssa reveals. “It’s only fitting that he be named after the person who helped bring him into this world.”

“Are you serious?” Jo’s face breaks out into a wide grin. “I-I feel honored.”

“Thank you, Jo. For everything. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Those words stick with Jo all the way back to the hotel. As they’re getting into bed that night, Jo cuddles up to Alex and sighs dreamily.

“What was that for?” Alex’s face turns up into a half smile as he glances down at his wife.

“I’m just so happy right now,” Jo shakes her head. “I know I shouldn’t be. Today was a horrible day for a lot of people. There was a tragic accident. But in the midst of all of that, I helped bring a baby into the world and I feel so much joy because of it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Alex pulls her closer. “A big part of why I love peds is because of the joy you feel every time you’re able to save a kid and give them hope for a future. And I’ve assisted on quite a few deliveries and it’s pretty incredible.”

“I think I wanna switch. I wanna make the switch to OB,” Jo exhales. “I love surgery, don’t get me wrong. And maybe one day I’ll venture into maternal-fetal surgery, but I want to be an OB, Alex. I want to deliver babies and feel that same kind of joy every single day.”

“Okay. So as soon as we get back to the hospital, we’re going to talk to Bailey and see about getting a letter of recommendation to the OB program so that you can switch specialties without repeating an intern year,” Alex rubs circles on Jo’s back.

“Are you sure? I know this is a big decision. I’ll be a resident again. I’ll have longer hours and be making resident money again,” Jo eyes widen at Alex’s simple response to her desire to make the change.

“Jo, I make plenty of money for the both of us. We’re married, we have a joint bank account. You don’t need to worry about the money. We dated throughout your entire surgical residency and everything was just fine. I want to support you however I can, and if what you want is to be a part of the vagina squad then I’m going to support you in that. I’m going to be there for you every step of the way,” Alex’s lips curve into a smirk. “Besides, I think you’ll look really hot in pink scrubs.”

“Shut up,” Jo laughs and shoves him lightly.

“What? It’s the truth. But then again, I think you look hot in everything.”

“You’re so good to me,” Jo’s eyes shine with happiness. “I love you.”

“I love you more.”

[thevindicativevordan]

You did one for Hulk (incredible btw). Got any thoughts on Spider-Man?

He used to be one of my favorites.

It's easy to see why Spidey took off as Marvel's premiere character, and competitor with Batman for the most popular superhero ever. If you'll indulge my DC bias, Spider-Man sits at the intersection between Superman and Batman. Like Superman, Spider-Man never knew his birth parents, and was instead adopted and raised by an elderly couple. Uncle Ben and Aunt May are the people Peter thinks of as his mom and dad, and it's their lives that help shape Peter. Both Superman and Spider-Man wear colorful red and blue costumes, both have iconic jobs working for newspapers with cantankerous bosses, and both have a lot of Jewish DNA in them because of their creators. Like Batman however, Spider-Man has a tragic parental figure's death to motivate him, he has a very poor reputation with the public, they both style themselves on animals, and both have strong roots in the cities they protect. That Peter's greatest foe, the Green Goblin, also stands at the intersection between Lex Luthor and the Joker makes for a great parallel. Add in that Spider-Man has the second best Rogues Gallery in comics, and it's clear Peter drew on the best attributes from his predecessors as a foundation.

What separates Peter from them though is that he was the first hero with real problems. Neither Superman or Batman had to worry about paying rent regularly like Peter did. Both stood apart from their peers by choice, while Peter wanted to make friends but wasn't able to do it. Krypton and the Waynes died through no fault of Supes or Bats, but Uncle Ben's death was something Peter was at fault for if indirectly. Then you had Gwen Stacy killed as a direct result of Peter's superhero career, introducing the idea of heroes who could fail. Spider-Man was pitched as the flawed hero, the human hero, the guy you could think of yourself as being if you got superpowers. You would screw up and make mistakes, but you'd try your best regardless. Of course the readers would be drawn to, and identify with him, and that's both the secret to his success and what keeps fucking him over. A lot of guys see Peter as their self-insert, so they keep trying to return to their youth through him which keeps derailing him as a character. My entry into Spider-Man fandom came during one of the brief lulls from Marvel trying to reset him to what they see as his "roots".

I remember seeing the Rami Spider-Man movies in the theater and being utterly entranced. I played the first Spider-Man movie tie-in game pretty religiously as a kid (fuck that level where you infiltrate OsCorp, those robots were insane), as well as other Spider-Man games such as Web of Shadows. Can still hear the theme song of the 90s animated Spider-Man show in my head, that show's versions of Green Goblin and Venom are still my favorite takes. All this is a rambling way of saying that "my" Spider-Man was formed during a period where Marvel seemed ok with Peter being more adult, something they've been trying to roll back ever since.

Peter was a college student in the 90s cartoon, the comics had him and MJ married (my first Spidey comic was vol. 1 of JMS' Amazing Spider-Man run, so Peter and MJ being married is the "default" for me), the video games were set in the Ramiverse so he was a college student there as well. It's such a weird era to look back on in retrospect given what's to come and what came before. Peter had problems and was flawed, but he was also so much more mature and thoughtful, intelligent in a way beyond just being a science whiz. He and MJ had a great dynamic as a couple under JMS. They were so clearly in love and also utterly unwilling to take each others shit that it was just a joy to read. That relationship really was something I dearly loved, and of course I took it poorly when Marvel broke the two of them up. Making it a plot where not!Satan comes down and takes their marriage away only rubbed salt in the wound.

Suddenly Peter was a lot more immature and stupid, and Marvel was insisting that this was "how he should be". Marvel was claiming that Spider-Man was all about youth, thus he needed to remain young and marriage free in order to work, which flew in the face of the character as I understood him. To me, Spidey was a character about the opposite, he was about growing up.

More than any other character in the MU, Peter was the guy who embodied character development. In his early years under Lee and Dikto, Peter was an asshole with a chip on his shoulder. Far from being the martyr figure everyone sees him as today, Peter initially just kept trying to make money with his powers. He was constantly moaning and bewailing his lot, because he was a fucking teenager! EVERY teenager treats ANY setback like it's the end of the world. Yet over a period of years, both in universe and out, Peter grew into the great hero everybody sees him as today. He became kinder, more charitable, and made friends with his peers. He acquired a steady stream of super hot girlfriends, ultimately marrying MJ. Peter married MJ before Clark Kent married Lois Lane, that's a huge freaking accomplishment! Totally makes sense that Peter would get married first because while Superman was more or less frozen in place like all DC heroes, Spider-Man was the one who embodied the Marvel trait of growth and change. The world kept throwing shit at him and Peter dealt with it as best he could, and that gave me hope because if he could overcome the forces arrayed against him to find some degree of happiness, so could I.

One More Day completely obliterated all of that. I didn't recognize this character anymore, I didn't care about the shallow relationships they teased him entering, relationships we all knew didn't matter. If Peter couldn't stay married to MJ, he wasn't going to last in a relationship with Carlie Cooper or any of the girls Slott set him up with. Peter being immature worked great when he was actually in high school and college, but Marvel wanted to write him as a high schooler without actually deaging him. The contrast between how he was characterized before and after OMD was just too jarring for me.

Ultimately I left for a while. I read Superior and Spider-Verse, but I was no longer religiously following Amazing Spider-Man any more. Checked out Ultimate Spider-Man which I had never read, and I enjoyed it, but I also held a grudge against it's success. Clearly this was the series that enshrined high school Spider-Man as the "ideal" status quo for a lot of people, and I couldn't help but blame the series for Quesada's successful torching of a more mature Peter Parker. I also read Spider-Girl which took place in an alternate continuity where Peter was still married and he had a daughter with MJ named Mayday. I loved that series a lot, and Mayday became my favorite Marvel superheroine. Eventually I came back to ASM with Spencer because a few of my fellows told me he reminded them of JMS, and I've enjoyed his characterization of Peter. Doubt the marriage will be coming back any time soon but it's nice to read a more adult Peter after how he was characterized under Slott.

Hard to say what the future holds for Peter. Tough to say for certain but with the end of high school Peter in the MCU approaching, it feels like we're on the edge of another shift in status quo for Spider-Man. May be that the creation of Miles is allowing Peter to finally start to mature again since Miles can be the corporate wet dream of an eternally young "diverse" Spidey. The insistence on putting Miles into more and more of Peter's stuff, with Peter mentoring him, makes me hope that Marvel is becoming more ok with Peter growing up. The Insomniac Spider-Man is a college graduate, he feels the closest in tone and character to the Spider-Man I grew up with under JMS and Rami. They even got to kill Aunt May off, something Marvel is still terrified to do in the comics, and the relationship between Peter and MJ is portrayed as crucial to both (as it should), even if MJ is a little too Lois Lane lite for my liking.

Hopefully Spider-Man can shake off Quesada's lingering influence and start being what he was created to be: the guy who moves forward rather than running in place.

[murdereraisuha]

Final Chapter 5 Reflection

This will have my personal opinion/thoughts on:

The VDC outcome, Rook’s actions, and what could’ve made it better

The Rook reveal and Neige

Kalim, Jamil, and Epel’s development

The Grim scene

Total word count: 2134 words

--- 1 ---

So, RSA won the VDC. My feelings on this are mixed.

Looking at it in relation to the whole plot of TWST, it makes sense. It moves the chance for NRC to finally beat RSA to the upcoming magift tournament, which gives NRC’s potential victory a large amount of excitement/importance which it wouldn’t get from this middle of the year championship.

Furthermore, Rook’s actions do make sense based on his personality. If Vil really didn’t believe that he himself was beautiful, Rook of course would vote for the team that exhibited pure joy in their performance and therefore exhibited a heartfelt beauty. It would be a lie to vote for NRC, and it would disgrace both Rook and Vil. Rook’s actions plot wise also lead to the discussion about Vil valuing himself vs seeking value from others, which I think is a crucial thing for Vil to remember. While trying to gain recognition for hard work is good, and Vil certainly does deserve recognition, it’s much more important to maintain a good perception of yourself even when things happen or people wrongfully say things that might tear down your self-esteem

However, I still have issues with how this played out in relation to the plot of chapter 5. It’s unrealistic for all of Vil’s misgivings about himself to get fixed through the power of friendship and beating each other up. But, still, the team went through a lot in order to get to the championship united and ready to perform. It feels like a slap in the face for them to lose after all that. Especially the scene with Kalim and Epel crying while Ya Hoo cheerfully plays in the background, it's so comically dissonant. Though we already got an explanation from Vil about how Neige’s performance appeals to viewers, I was still shocked. At least it was a close competition rather than a crushing defeat. 

Also, while Rook’s message was sound, the timing was rather bad. Vil and the rest of the team just had a massive battle and then went through a whole song & dance performance without major blunders while still injured. Focusing on Vil’s self-esteem there makes it seem like Rook is just brushing all that determination and effort away. Though Vil doesn’t seem to truly hold it against Rook since he offers the handkerchief back to Rook when he cries, the situation still feels off.

In conclusion, I think that the plot events made sense. However, the execution of them could have been improved. As is, it’s hard to understand Rook’s motivations in this part due to the ridiculousness of RSA’s kid’s song winning. To fix that without just completely overhauling the plot, I believe that the admirable qualities of Neige and the dwarves should have been shown more clearly. For example, while the Pomefiore CM shows a glimpse of their bond, that’s nonexistent in the game. I think that incorporating that into the game (ex. a short scene of Neige reassuring the dwarves that their performance will go well before they step on stage) would help people understand Rook’s point of view better by showing instead of just telling us about the belief Neige has in his friends.. 

Moreover, alongside better reasons for why Rook choose RSA, I think it should be clearer why he did not choose NRC. It seems an attempt at warning of the “betrayal” was done with Vil menacingly saying he’ll win the VDC during the voting, followed by the shot of Rook just going “........”.  To make this less sudden, I think I would change episode 66. Though that episode has Vil saying that he’s ugly, because the team contradicts him and keeps him as the leader it makes it seem like the problem is solved there. Therefore, to better lead to Rook’s speech, I would change episode 66 to have Vil show more hesitation and signs that he still doesn’t believe in himself. 

--- 2 ---

Anyway, on to the reveal about Rook. I wasn’t sure what to think about the name slip up during the previous part, but I just guessed that maybe they’d met before and that meeting is related to RSA and Rook having light magic. Nope, we get Neige simp Rook. I think this reveal was really surprising, but more in a funny way than a “ruins Rook’s character” way. It’s nice to see Rook seriously caught off guard by Neige just nonchalantly exposing him in front of everyone, and everyone’s reactions were extremely funny.

I think that the chapter did a decent job of making it clear that Rook’s relationship with Neige as a fan of him is vastly different from Rook’s calm admiration of and friendship with Vil. I’m kind of curious now about how and when Rook became a fan though. Him being the 2nd member of the fan club implies that Rook found Neige when Neige still hadn’t gotten much fame yet. 

I loved everyone’s Ya Hoo too. Ace and Jamil having level 0 enthusiam, Kalim and Rook having level 1000 enthusiasm, Deuce being startled but slowly getting into it but still being kind of eh, Epel just keeping that wide-eyed confused expression the whole time. ボーテ、１００点. For Vil, I understand that he was probably faking his big smile for the benefit of the audience. However, I still hope his opinion of Neige has improved somewhat or will improve. Neige telling Vil that he’s still number one in the eyes of the people who voted for him was really sweet and their interactions with each other are pretty cute/funny when Vil isn’t trying to murder him.

Unlike other minor characters like Chenya and Farena who either weren’t involved in the plot or were only involved as backstory, Neige is Vil’s present rival and motivation for doing the stuff he does and over blotting. With such a large presence that continued all throughout the chapter and the Rook reveal, it would seem strange for Neige to suddenly drop out of existence come chapter 6.

Therefore, assuming that the Grim situation doesn’t derail the current patterns we’ve seen in the story, I think that Neige will be included as part of the Pomefiore involvement in chapter 6. Of course, it could be something small like getting called in for a favor near the end or just mentions of Rook continuing to write him fan letters. However, I’m hoping it’s something larger. From my analysis of the previous part:

Vil’s team’s performance had a lot of cohesion and rehearsal put into it, but it was very competitive focused. On the other hand, Neige and the dwarves obviously had a lot of fun with their performance. However, it was clumsy and they were ill prepared. Therefore, Vil could teach Neige more discipline and planning while Neige could teach Vil about how to not lose sight of finding joy in your work. 

Now that we have confirmation that Neige is a genuinely nice guy, I really want Vil & Neige friendship to happen, or for them to at least be on good terms with each other. It might just be my personal love for relationships where one person tries to be all rival-y but then the other is like “nope, I’m going to friend you whether you like it or not,” but I think this sort of development in the story of TWST would be really enjoyable to watch.

--- 3 ---

For the performance of Absolutely Beautiful, I love that Jamil got to be in the center for a bit. However, that also just makes me more disappointed that we didn’t get more Scarabia or anything about how their families are watching this. With the stuff in 5-30 and 5-34 focusing on Kalim’s perspective on things and his relationship with Jamil, I thought that at some point we would get a final scene focusing on them and how they’ve developed since chapter 4. What we got with  Jamil swooping in to the rescue with the magic carpet then talking about how he could sense that Kalim was about to do something stupid was better than nothing, but idk. I just love the writing and complexity these two have gotten and I wanted that to continue to the end. I still have hope though! If we can get a thing about Leona noticing the traces of magic in the arena, then we can get future appearances from the Scarabia boys too!... please...

Now, for Epel, I also have mixed feelings about his development throughout the chapter. I absolutely loved the beach scene with Deuce and Epel, it was so cute and I liked Epel realizing the power of beauty because of the apple juice Magicam post. However, I think the narrative missed something important. Though Epel’s views had a lot of improvement to be made, Vil’s treatment of him was also terrible and should have been addressed. I believe Vil saying that “throwing a tantrum and taking it out on others was terrible of him” in episode 66 implies that he’s realized that all his actions, not just the overblot, were wrong. However, it’s not clear enough that that was the intention. Vil does not apologize specifically for how he attempted to force Epel to conform to his own beliefs. Though there’s always chapter 6, it still doesn’t seem like the story will ever really address this issue, which is a shame to say the least.

Furthermore, in this final part, Epel offering to take the center position was really good and showed how much he’s grown since the beginning of the chapter. However, it still didn’t bring the whole “poison apple” thing to fruition. Absolutely no one made any comment on his cuteness or how it might rival Neige’s cuteness. Did they plan something with that but scraped it? Like, this is way too little pay off for such a focus on Vil shaping Epel into a way to best Neige. My disappointment with this ending might have to do with these past 3 main story updates being the only ones I’ve been in this fandom for, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Whatever the cause of my disappointment may be, my disappointment still does exist.

--- 4 ---

To top off this roller coaster of a chapter and end this reflection with a more neutral analysis, we have the stuff with Mickey and Grim. Mickey seems really nice, I’m glad that Yuu seems to have made an ally in him. We certainly need one after whatever the hell just happened with Grim. I really have to give props for how unsettling both Grim’s appearance and the sounds during that scene were.

Though we’re obviously getting close to the endgame, the Ignihyde sneak peak that we got seems pretty normal and related to their personal problems rather than the plot. Though it would be interesting for a big change to happen like Yuu being out of commission for the chapter, I think it’s more likely that Yuu will be rescued, Grim just goes missing, then we don’t get much more info on that whole thing until the end of chapter 6 leading into chapter 7.

Anyway, for the scene itself I understand if it just because silent protagonist, don’t want to make them talk/do too much, but it feels kind of weird that there wasn’t really any indication of a struggle? Just standing there, staring at Grim, getting clawed, then black out. Nothing to indicate trying to step back. There was some weird clopping??? sound after he attacked but since the camera didn’t move that wasn’t Yuu collapsing.

Also, it might just be supposed to be “Grim’s laugh but creepy,” but his ケヒッ、 ケヒヒッ laughter sounds unusually distinctive? Idk, I just had the thought that it could be in reference to some other disney character with a similar laugh but idk who that would be since I’m not big into disney movies.

Right before he attacks, Grim also shouts “this is my stone!!!” Firstly, assuming that this stone is the same small size as the others, shouldn’t he already be done eating it? Yuu’s not exactly gonna stick their hand down his throat to retrieve it. So what stone is he talking about?

Well, we know that the magic crystal on the magic pens is supposed to collect blot so that it doesn’t built up inside someone, right? Blot accumulated from outright eating it instead of blot accumulated from casting magic is probably different, but what if some of the blot from the black stones did get gathered up by Grim’s crystal on his collar? We know how crazed he has been getting about the black stones. Is it so much of a stretch to think that he might be trying for more? That he might be trying to create instead of just find? 

How would a black magic crystal taste?

[elvendoodles]

The Power of Dark Magic: Images and Translations

When I go home for the summer I'll scan the pages in and take to Photoshop for proper English pages. But for now I'll use phone pictures!

A Mysterious Stranger

Emily Jones waited until the whole house fell asleep before sneaking out of the house to the garden using her grandmother's amulet, she opened the magic portal. The blue fog began to swirl and Emily rose from her world to that of Elvendale.

She couldn't wait to see her friends the Elves!

She found Azari, Naida, Aira and Farran at their hiding place in the trees.

They were really happy to see her.

As they hugged each other, overjoyed to meet again, Sophie, Emily's little sister appeared. She too had slipped into the portal!

The Elves immediately adored Sophie. She was like Emily… except small. They were happy to be able to show her around and introduce her to their dragons. The Elves wanted to give her a welcome worthy of Elvendale.

Emily was not happy. Elvendale was her place. Well what know that it was selfish, she had no desire to share her adventures with her sister.

She wanted Sophie to go.

The story continues for another three pages, however I'll save that for the Photoshop

Oh my god you're dramatic

How are the elves gonna look at Cronan and say "Yeah, this checks out"

A Sad Memory

Rosalyn remembers a very close friend. Read the story of the Elf and write the name of the friend she is talking about in the box.

It was joy at his side

It was laughter and beauty

But his soul got corrupted

Under the effect of dark magic

Once a loyal friend

Unable to do harm

He's a real rascal now

Called the Goblin King

I love how Cronan is referred to as a "rascal" here ("gredin"). Although, alternate translations of this word also bring up "villain", which is probably more accurate...

In The Woods

Cronan has imprisoned Emily’s sister, Sophie, in the Goblin village! The only way to get there is to cross the Shimmering Woods. This magic forest has many surprises in store, as you will be able to realize by finding the 10 differences between the two images.

Just thought this was a lovely picture

They really like putting Cronan in the corner huh...

Also the activity on this page states that Cronan's mind control is temporary and eventually wears off. Thought that was an interesting difference from SoE, where Rosalyn's cure was temporary

A Magic Recipe

Rosalyn brews a healing potion for her dragon, Sapphire. Are all the ingredients she needs in the room? Also complete the sketch that spurts out of the potion she is brewing.

Awww!

The Wheel of Hope

Does anyone still think Cronan has a good heart? Use the clues to find out who is trying to convince the Goblin King not to use his Dark Magic anymore.

Spoke this wheel every third section

Following the rotation of the hand of a watch

Do not count those crossed out on the other hand

Only in this case, the wheel can reveal

Who still has hope. Did you guess?

Yeah... the translation of this riddle was pretty jank, but I couldn't think of any alternate way to work the words around in English

*AGGRESSIVELY LOOKS IN REDRAW OPPORTUNITY*

Some other bits I'd like to add but left out because image limit/the images can already be found online:

Meet The Characters

Rosalyn

She was once the queen of the Shimmering Woods, but the Goblin King has stolen her crown. Now she's hiding in the forest, trying to help its inhabitants and derail Cronan's plans.

Quartzine

She was ready to sacrifice everything to gain total power. She was punished for her greed by being locked in an amulet. But Cronan can still hear her voice and wants to free her at all costs.

Cronan

The one who was once a good Elf, caring and fascinated by the world, is today the terrible Goblin King. He uses his amulet to mind control the creatures of Elvendale.

Sophie befriends the goblins and they show her where they keep their treasure

On the page "Memories" Elvendale is referred to as a "Royaume", which directly translates as "Kingdom". However, an alternate translation is "realm". Considering canon, "realm" may be more accurate

"A Terrifying Guardian" has Ashwing freely roaming the forest protecting the fortress. In both the webisodes and SoE Ashwing was kept locked up underground

On page 4 the Goblins speak in full sentences. Although this may either be for the reader, or just because French is Like That

Welp, this is it for now! Currently waiting for "The Elf Witch's Revenge" to come in, and I'll have to translate that from Polish. Have a nice day all!