#paranormal activity 2 spoilers

[spookytuesdaypod]

[gravityrises]

The Virtues of Stanford Pines

Summary: I've seen people accuse Ford of doing horrible things on one side, and people defending his actions on the other side. But how about we turn the tables and talk about all of the good Ford has done. (At least, that was the plan.)

Word Count: 2813.

Spoilers: Gravity Falls series, Journal 3, The Book of Bill, Lost Legends, thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com

1. He's incredibly hard-working:

Just because someone is smart doesn't mean they don't put a lot of effort into studying and Ford definitely did. It's mentioned twice just in "A Tale of Two Stans," when he tries to convince the college board to give him another chance and when he describes his years at Backupsmore.

And it doesn't stop at intellectual pursuits. In Journal 3 Ford says he exercises daily, despite having always hated physical activity.

Anyway, I don't think anyone is going to argue this point, so let's leave it at that.

2. He's supportive of his friend:

There are going to be a few controversial takes, but I truly believe that Ford was trying to be a good friend to Fiddleford. Now, there were fights between them, and Ford did say quite a few insensitive things both to his face and in the Journal. But overall, I don't think he ever intended to hurt Fiddleford, and he definitely appreciated his friend's company.

When Ford invited Fiddleford to work on the portal, he wrote in the journal: "He (Fiddleford) has sacrificed so much to come to my aid. He has temporarily left his bride and their young son... he has abandoned his own professional aspirations... I must do my best to make him feel at home.... I am off to the store for some banjo strings and microchips!" (quote shortened, because I'm lazy) Clearly, Ford cared about his friend and wanted to make him feel welcome.

He also compliments Fiddleford's "brilliant mind," "amusing quirks" and scrupulous work ethic, by saying "I double-check my equations. He quintuple-checks!"

And I hear you, didn't he claim the complete opposite in the series? According to him, Fiddleford "was wasting his talent trying to make personal computers", right? Well, if we ignore the fact that the creators weren't 100% consistent in their writing, here's how I would reconcile those two statements. Ford thought (erroneously) that his friend's research wasn't important in the grand scheme of things, but it was important to Fiddleford personally. And can you really blame Ford? He was about to demostrate the existence of other dimensions and create a gateway that would allow us to visit them. If something like that happened irl, it would've been a groundbreaking discovery, altering our very understanding of the natural world and how it works. Meanwhile, laptops, at least in Ford's opinion, were just "heavy, slow journals." Still, he knew this work was important to Fiddleford, and he wanted to accommodate that. Hence, his trip to buy microchips (and banjo strings.)

Ford tried (and unfortunately, failed) to help Fiddleford deal with his anxiety. In Journal 3, he mentions teaching Fiddleford some meditation techniques and going to the Carnival, so that Fiddleford would enjoy "a day of relaxation." In the Book of Bill, Ford feels guilty about not getting his friend a gift and decides to throw a surprise Christmas party instead. This was also an attempt to cheer Fiddleford up after his fight with his wife.

"But Ford didn't take Fiddleford's anxiety seriously, and it ruined his life." Okay, let's say you're right. Remember, Ford was raised in the 60s. A time when mental illness or just mental distress were looked down on. What was he supposed to do? Suggest Fiddleford goes to the therapist? I mean, they were studying paranormal creatures, if Fiddleford told those stories to a therapist who didn't believe in these things, there would've been a really high chance of misdiagnosis. Should Ford have simply fired Fiddleford? Well, that wouldn't have been very nice. Also, there is no need to infantilize Fiddleford in the first place, he's a grown-up person capable of makind his own decisions. If the job is too stressful, if the relationship doesn't work out, he has every right to leave, because his life and mental well-being are his responsibility. Instead, he ignored Ford's warnings and decided to use the Memory Gun and start a cult. It was, by the end of the day, Fiddleford's decision. And it's tragic. It really is. No one deserves to lose their family, their mind and their sense of self. It's something Ford feels guilty about, because whether it was intentional or not, he did indirectly contribute to Fiddleford's downfall. That's why, when they finally reunited after 30 years, Ford apologized to Fiddleford. And according to Journal 3, Fiddleford dissmised his apology, leading Ford to say that "Not only is this man's mind superior to mine, but he has one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen."

3. He has no reservations about helping others out:

There's a reason why Ford's the first person people turn to, when there's a problem. He has both the desire and the skills to help people out. Using Dipper's idea, he stops agents from investigating his family. He goes above and beyond just to change a lightbulb in the kitchen. Though morally questionable, he did give the kids a mind control tie with the intent of helping Stan win the elections. In the comics, Stan turns to Ford when Mabel's face is stolen and when Stan himself is cursed by an old chest.

And that's how things were in the past too. In "The Pines Boys in: The Jersey Devil's in the Details", Ford defends his brother, twice. First, when Filbrick accuses Stan of stealing the gold chain from his pawn shop. And then, when the Sibling Brothers offered Ford to let him keep the monster and become famous in exchange for photos that would prove Stan's guilt. And just to add an incentive, they threatened to frame both twins, if Ford didn't comply. Obviously, it didn't work.

According to thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com, that's also how he became friends with Fiddleford: on the very first day, he spent nine hours helping his new friend prove his theory. And in the Book of Bill, when Ford learns that Bill's home dimension was destroyed by a monster, his immediate reaction is to offer help with hunting it down.

Whenever someone's in distress, Ford really wants to help them out, and I don't know about you, but to me that doesn't sound like someone lacking empathy.

4. He's got no qualms questioning the status quo:

In Journal 3, Ford mentions traveling to Northwest Manor to confront Old Man Northwest with evidence of his family's deceit. Instead, he was met by young Preston, who wasn't impressed with his speech and forcibly escorted Ford from the premises.

Also in Journal 3, Ford wanted to debate politics with Reagan. Make of that what you will.

Now this one is more of a conjecture, but in the Book of Bill, this is how Bill compliments him: "Guys as smart as you come along once every century, and they scare the pants off of authority figures!" This lie wouldn't have worked, if it wasn't what Ford actually wanted.

And of course, learning that his former "muse" is one of the most feared beings in the entire multiverse, didn't stop Ford from going on a quest to defeat Bill. Even after witnessing other creatures shriek and cover their ears at the mere mention of Bill's name. Which leads me to my next point.

5. Calling him determined would be a massive understatement:

Forget his sleepless nights at college, forget his extensive research in Gravity Falls, Ford has spent 30 years, let me repeat that again, 30 years traveling across dimensions and looking for a way to destroy Bill Cipher. I haven't even been alive for that long! From the little we know about those years, they were anything but easy. In fact, Ford describes them as "frightening, exciting, cruel, and strange." (And of course, the guy actually does use the Oxford comma in his writing. Who would've thought?) Let me stress that Ford was under no obligation to continue his quest, maybe he could've found a quiet dimension to settle down and live peacefully, in fact, that's something he contemplates while visiting A Better World in Journal 3. But he decides against it. Not because he didn't want to, he literally says that he wanted to revel in his parallel self's success. Not because defeating Bill would get him recognition. It wouldn't, at least not in his home dimension, where no one is even aware of the danger. No, he didn't stay, because his own conscience wouldn't allow it. Ford just couldn't break his vow from 30 years ago, it's as simple as that.

And what does he do, when his plans fall apart? Does he even consider giving up? Of course not! In fact, he ends his tale of interdimensional travel with the following sentence: "My resolve to defeat Bill has never been stronger." It's almost comical, watching him throw anything he can think of at Bill and see what might stick. His battle in the Nightmare Realm was interrupted? He jumps through the portal to stop Bill's forces from entering his dimension. The portal created an interdimensional rift? He tries to contain it. Bill threatens to get his hands on the rift? This time Ford has two ideas: he tries to encrypt Dipper's thoughts and creates a mystical barrier around the house. The worst happens and the world is about to end? Well, get in loser, we're going to shoot Bill with Quantum Destabilizer. Ford misses and is captured? Not to worry, there's a Zodiac prophecy, we can give that a try. It doesn't work, because two grown men can't put aside their grievances for just a few seconds, gosh that scene is so frustrating to watch. Well, here is another idea: one can erase Bill with a memory gun as long as he's in someone's mind. I don't know what else to say, Ford really did his homework, when he set out to destroy Bill.

6. He has the patience of a saint:

Wow, now here's a controversial take. Remember Stan's "Beep boop. I am a nerd robot. That's you. That's what you sound like," which Ford just laughs off. Yes, that's what siblings do all the time. And yes, this teasing does come from a place of hurt. Stan was feeling like "the stupid twin," "a dumb idiot who screws everything up," so Ford felt like he just had to put up with this. But it's still hurtful to be mocked for your interests. It really feels like their relationship was already a little strained even before the Science Fair Project Incident.

What about the fact that he was the first to stop the fight in "Dungeons, Dungeons, and more Dungeons" and suggesting Stan might actually have fun, if he joined their game?

Or all the snide comments Stan made, when they reunited during Weirdmageddon, including "Well, he's lost his mind" and "You really think some caveman graffiti is gonna stop that monster?" All of which Ford simply ignored. Yes, he did correct Stan's grammar under the worst of circumstances, I agree, but you know, everyone has their pet peeves.

What people often forget is just how difficult it is to be a kind person, when you're stressed. It is much easier to treat people with respect and understanding, when you yourself are doing fine. So is it that big of a surprise, that someone who's under pressure, sleep-deprived and/or in pain might be more prone to outbursts? And we know how traumatic Ford's experience of being bullied as a kid was, how much suffering Bill put him through, how difficult his years on the other side of the portal were and how much pressure he was under, trying to prevent a literal end of the world. It's ironic that the people who blame Ford for his lack of empathy, really don't show him any empathy themselves.

7. Even under torture, he didn't reveal the equation that would've allowed Bill to take over the world:

Do I really have to spell it out? Look, as someone who was on the verge of mental breakdown from a simple toothache, I have nothing else to say other than: This is admirable. And he did it to protect the world that, need I remind you, wasn't particularly kind to him. On the same note, he just never joined Bill in the first place: not in the 80s, and not during Weirdmageddon.

"Oh, but he's the one who started the Apocalypse, so he kind of deserved it." Seriously? No, I mean it, are you being serious? Is that something you would say to a person suffering from diabetes type 2, that it's their fault for eating too many sweets; or to someone with liver cirrhosis that they deserve to suffer because of their alcohol addiction? Because this is neither appropriate, nor helpful. Talk about kicking someone when they're down...

8. He's fiercely loyal to his family:

I think the way Ford compliments his grandniece in "The Last Mabelcorn" is very revealing: "You've protected your family. You're a good person, Mabel." His very definition of a "good person" is "someone who supports and protects their family." Which is... interesting to say the least, considering that Ford has spent a very long time away from his family and completely alone. But it does sound like something he aspires to. That's why he goes out of his way to help his family out, whenever they're in trouble. (See point 3 for more on this.)

When Bill threatens the kids, Ford is willing to risk the entire universe for a slim chance that they might be spared. It's a cruel Trolley Problem, which once again proves just how much he values his family. Still, this is some Fate/Zero level angst and I don't want to talk about it more than I absolutely have to. Let's finish this up with something more lighthearted.

9. He's never lost curiosity and childlike wonder:

This! This is what made me fall in love with the man and why I'm wasting my time writing this nonsense in the first place. This allconsuming excitement, when he finds a new anomaly to study; this seemingly endless energy, when he explores new places; this pure joy, when he gets to play DD&MD with Dipper! I don't know how to talk about it without gushing.

Ford obviously loves games, and not just DD&MD. He plays chess with Bill. He mentions being great at charades in the comics. And what cracks me up the most: during Weirdmageddon, when Pacifica compared the Zodiac to a game of hopscotch, not only did not Ford get offended, but he replied: "It would be a pretty fun game of hopscotch." Ford, darling, the world is about to end, is this really the best time to contemplate a hypothetical game of hopscotch? Also, you've just been through something traumatic... Forget it, you've been through 3 decades of traumatic experiences, can you at least have the decency to become a tad more cynical as you age, like the rest of us. I guess, mirth really is the mail of anguish. (It's from Emily Dickinson's poem and the quote means that some people act cheerful to hide their suffering.)

Also, something Ford doesn't get enough credit for, mostly because people usually focus on his academic achievements, but he is quite creative. He draws incredibly detailed sketches not only depicting various anomalies he encounters, but also whatever happens in his life. (Probably off-topic, but I find the implications of that karaoke page so funny. Think about it: the guy sobered up, looked at the incomprehensible nonsense he had written the previous night and thought: "You know what? This could really use an illustration.") Also don't forget that he canonically plays piano. Yeah, if I were Stan, I'd be jealous too.

And of course, that's why he's so passionate about science. Sure, part of him wants the fame and recognition that would come, if he makes a big discovery, but you can't deny that he genuinely enjoys learning new things. And that he enjoys sharing them with whoever is willing to listen.

In conclusion, I'm not trying to say that Ford is perfect in every way and has never done a single wrong thing in his life. To be honest, that would've made him a really boring character. So, yes, he is flawed, and misguided, and sometimes insensitive. He's made a lot of missteps because of his upbringing, personality and, as many have speculated, neurodivergence. But I really take issue with people saying Ford's a bad person, when he clearly isn't. Ford is and always was a good person, and by the end of all the trials he became a better person. One who understands that the only way to success is cooperation, not being a lone vigilante. That it's not a weakness to ask for help or to need help in the first place. And that a sea otter shared is a sea otter halved.

That's strange... why did I write that?

[golbrocklovely]

alright…. i went and saw snc's movie.

here are my thoughts

ABSOLUTE SPOILERS AHEAD

i'm gonna separate this into two main parts - the plot and my feelings.

THE PLOT

part 1: snc and nate go to ranch to look for skinwalkers/aliens/crypted, since all three have been sighted at this one ranch. it is claimed that a billionaire owned the land before the current owners, and spent ten years trying to find out what paranormal pull the land had. eventually, said billionaire, named bigalow, fucked around with something that pissed off the spirit of a shaman and it scared him away, so much so he does not talk about or come back to this place ever.

snc interview a psychic/ghost hunter that has been on their channel before, becky vickers. she tells them about the land, and they end up telling her that they plan on doing a blood ritual. they plan to give their blood to the land on a sacred area/believed portal so that the shaman can protect them, guide them, ect. she tells them that's a stupid idea. then she says to them "off camera", which is completely still in the movie lol, that sam needs to be careful. bc while colby is safe/worked thru whatever was blocking him, sam hasn't. there is something that sam is holding back/keeping to himself that puts him in danger, and he needs to let that go. she also says it's dumb for them to do the blood ritual and she suggests against it.

they do the blood ritual.

as snc and nate search the land, they start off in some rooms in a hotel that they are staying at on property, one of which is where bigalow saw the shaman. they have a rempod, nate does the estes method, they get some interesting words said back to them. one of which is "chimes". colby goes out to search for chimes near by. when he does, the video he was recording has no audio (somehow it did not record audio and this was on his phone). he finds chimes, in tandem with that, nate gets the word "run". colby alleges to hear a scream off in the distance (which mind you they are in the middle of no where) so he runs back to the room where nate and sam are. as they are talking about it, the rempod goes off a bunch. one of the last words they get on the estes method is "preserver"

part 2: the next day they interview the archeologist on cite that explains the different artifacts they have found throughout the land. in particular, this long knife-like blade that must have been used as an offering of some sort bc it's too long to be used as a spear/arrowhead. he talks to them about specific areas on the land, particularly the shaman cave and sacred circle. he explained that shamans were trying to connect to the spirit realm or possibly other dimensions altogether via alter states of consciousness. and it's believed that bigalow was trying to see what the shamans were doing, but thru modern means, and most likely pissed something off that caused him to flee.

in particular, they say that bigalow was doing too much, searching too hard and pushing the limits, and thus that's why he was scared off. keep this in mind for later.

the archeologist then says that bigalow was disturbing the land, and then snc and nate ask if they should do that to get the shaman's attention. he says that's one way of getting it to pay attention to you, and then it cuts to them blowing the land up a bit.

at night, snc and nate go the settlers cabin, which is from the 1800s and was home to the craw family. they use the onvoy and they ask the spirits about skinwalkers and the shaman. when they bring up the shaman's name, the (assumed) craw family stops speaking even tho before they were very talkative. the boys come to the conclusion that the poltergeist activity the craw family experience was most likely from the shaman.

the boys regroup and try to figure out a better way to understand everything. bc of the evidence they have gotten before, they believe that everything is connected (since that is what has been coming thru via the estes method), so they figure the best way to get more evidence is to do a ritual a shaman would do - which really just amounts to them lighting candles inside the cave and nate playing guitar, and doing the estes method again - but i'm getting ahead of myself.

part 3: they travel to the sacred circle and bring out *sigh* the writing planchette, along with the blade that was found in the land via the archeologist. they end up getting an infinity sign after being spooked by the static device they have going off (which shouldn't happen since there's no electricity that high up/no service at all). they believe it is whatever they are talking to/the shaman's way of explaining that again, everything is all connected and time means nothing bc everything is happening all at once. also when this happens, colby gets a lot of shortness of breath, anxiety all of sudden. nate meditates for a bit while they use the flashlight to continue talking. they end up being told that the land is haunted by aliens, skinwalkers, and ghosts. then they ask if they should continue this convo in the shaman cave, they get a yes, and then they go.

while in the cave, nate plays guitar and snc set up candles all over. colby goes under in the estes method, sam feels wind come from inside the cave. colby (via the estes method) tells him to go over there, sam squats down, and then jumps back up bc he felt as if he was gonna be touched - not that he was, but that he felt the instinct to get up bc he thought it was gonna happen. the shaman speaks and says that it's there to educate and to teach respect, most likely, to the boys.

nate asks the very valid question of "what are our intentions here anyway" to which sam responds that they are purely here to understand the difference between this side (the physical) and the other side (paranormal). to which immediately after saying that colby replies with "connected". they ask how is everything, the aliens, ghosts, and skinwalkers, connected. colby eventually replies with "same". they mention is this area, the cave, a portal, colby says "here".

as sam ponders whether or not the shamans were actually contacting the other side or actually going to the other side, colby says "danger", nate and sam jump back and take colby out of the estes method bc they heard behind them something running up to them from right outside the cave. they weren't sure if it was a person or an animal. eventually once they chill out, colby goes back under. sam ends up asking the shaman why they do rituals like this for 1000s of years on this land, going back and forth between worlds. colby replies with "mine". then "everything", then "home". sam then says "everything here is your home and you want to protect it?", colby immediately responds with "yes". sam (and colby) clarify that the shamans were using the spirits to help protect their land. sam continues to ask "but what about all the aliens, skinwalkers, ghosts - are they all yours too?" then colby responds with "one". nate then says "he wants us to unsee the division. ghosts, skinwalkers, humans, shamans, all of it. we all exist in the same place at the same time" and colby replies with "finally". once out of the estes method, colby ends up being told what he said and he said it sounds like the unified theory of paranormal.

snc and nate finish off the blood ritual, and then there is some truly terrible acting at the end with a voiceover of snc talking about how they knew they had to leave there and that this opens up so many doors and colby has the truly heinous line of "*sigh* but why am i scared?" lol

okay….. that is what happens in the movie, roughly. let's get into how i feel about all of this.

MY FEELINGS

so, the main question i feel many will ask is: is it worth going to see?

and that's a complicated answer. i think the movie overall was really interesting to watch. it was an odd sensation, but i mean that in the nicest way possible, to see snc on the big screen. snc have always, weirdly, been my little secret. most ppl i interact with daily don't know i'm a fan of them. so to be in a room with other snc fans, some of which might be even bigger fans than me, watching something by them was really cool and odd at the same time lol

is the movie worth paying to watch? that depends on how you feel about snc and their content. bc this wasn't much different than anything else on their channel. but i will say if this had been a vid on their channel, it would be my favorite of this past year. so it's definitely their best content as of recent date. but is it worth paying $15 for (not taking in food and drink/getting to the cinema)… i think so. bc it's a whole experience. so if you can afford it, do so. but if you can't, don't think you're missing out on much either.

i enjoyed my time watching the movie, and i don't personally think i've wasted my money paying to see this. god knows i've spent my money on much worse content and random shit, so this is the least of my concerns truly.

also the rumors are true - they do in fact use a fuckton of ai. like way more than i expected. and while i don't love that they did that, i honestly don't care enough to be upset. i feel like there are more important things to worry about tbh. but in case that's a point of contention for you, imma letting you know now.

the overall vibe i got from the movie was very hippy dippy, and sam his philosophical ass was at an all time high, so if that's not exactly what you like watching… maybe skip out on this movie.

a post i made the day i saw this movie said: my main take away is that sam would literally summon the devil, lucifer himself, if it meant proving the afterlife was real or that the paranormal does exist. but he won’t admit that out loud. and what i mean by that is that it became very clear in this movie, and probably on accident, that there is a similarity between bigalow and sam. that they both keep pushing and pushing and pushing to find answers instead of accepting what is in front of them, and that gets them put into danger. and i think that's what the ghost hunter/psychic was referring to.

i've talked about it before on here but sam has a tendency to always jump to the worse conclusion. it's not a ghost, it's a demon. it's not a friendly spirit, it's a trickster trying to hurt them. he always does shit like this. and i think this ties to him seeking out "the truth", whatever that may be in his mind. he wants definitive proof that the afterlife exists. and i think for a while he had that with the conjuring/cody and satori. but i think he's come around to the idea that maybe they were fake or lied to him or tricked him, even if he will never admit this out loud. and now that desperation is at an all time high. and look, idk what this deep feeling comes from. is it bc he wants to be the person that truly knows what happens behind the curtain? is it to have the title as The Ghosthunter? is it just not enough alone to him to have faith and after years of searching that maybe everything they have done is enough proof on it's own? idk. i think his search is selfish in it's own way, and while i don't think it's wrong to want that answer, i think what's worrisome is how far he might go to find it. which is why i say i think he would summon the devil if he thought it would be proof enough.

but the thing is, once you knock on a door, you can't unknock. and not only that, but he doesn't protect himself. and i'm not even talking about believing in god, i'm saying he does nothing to cleanse himself. he does nothing to get out of that headspace after being in it. and i think that alone, whether you believe in evil or not, is gonna ruin him eventually. he's gonna push himself too far in pursuit of an answer he may not want to hear. and not only that, i think he will push everyone away to find it, sadly. including colby.

i also personally think that the reason for this desperate search for an afterlife not only comes from wanting to know the answer, but bc of his "purpose". he wants to feel important; we all do. and i think in his mind it's like this, either a - he doesn't feel like he's gonna reach this said purpose on this plain of existence and thus if there is an afterlife, he might have it there instead and all of this can be a little less burdensome. b - he wants to be the one to prove the afterlife exists and have that be his purpose so if he doesn't find it, he's lost at life. or c (which is related to b) - if there isn't an afterlife at all, then all of this was for nothing and he needs to find something else to both fill his time and be his purpose otherwise he wasted his potential.

i'm not saying that i agree with any of these, but i think that one of these is the reason he does all of this. or maybe not lol

overall i think i would rate this movie like a 3.8/5 stars. it would honestly be a 4 if it wasn't for the ai bc at one point, it was just a bit much lol but i think the movie itself was interesting enough, i felt entertained thru out, and again - if this had been on their channel it would be their best video this year.

if yall have seen it, let me know your thoughts !

[mamashenanigans]

Okay. I’ve had time to process the spoilers for chapter 407: Paranormal Orphan.

Here are my thoughts:

-WTF?! They are twins?! What is it with Japanese mangaka and having unhinged twin relationships?! I’m looking at you, Nightow.

-AFO was born with his Quirk activated. Stealing nutrients from his mother then desperately feeding off of her corpse. Stole her Quirk too and seems to have some sentimental value in it as he still uses it often to this day.

-Low-key, I think there’s a hint here that the genetic change in babies and pre-pubescent kids started as some sort of STD that evolved considering their mom was a prostitute and “contracted” an illness. That’s just me, though.

-The first person he ever had was Yoichi and he held his hand right after birth. Also: JFC THAT’S A BIG BOY

-AFO is a victim of his Quirk like the other villains(Toga, Touya, Tenko). He was born wanting to possess things. I don’t like the whole “he was born evil” narrative. Yeah, he looks like a crazy ass Omen baby, but it makes sense he’d think the way he does.

-AFO is also an unreliable narrator here as this is all from his POV

-He says something to the effect of (we’ll know more once we get the scanlations) how, even though Yoichi can’t give him anything like he wants from everyone else, he’s still “his”.

-So, did he just get up and start walking and taking care of his brother out of sheer will when he was still a baby or did someone pick them up and raise them to the point when AFO wanted something from them and killed them when he didn’t get it?

-Yoichi still believes there is some good in his brother because he held his hand as a baby. 😭 Poor kid

-Poor wittle Yoichi getting kicked because he threw something at AFO. For how they’ve had to live, it makes sense AFO would react that way…in a manner of speaking.

-Yoichi learning to read from comics he finds in rubble/a dump. AFO takes notice and sits next to him. He then likes the part where the author says “One for All, All for One.” He should have had a name prior that he must have given himself as Yoichi has one. Though it would make sense that AFO named Yoichi himself as “first gift” since he was the first thing he ever had.

-AFO being jealous of the Glowing Baby is pretty spot on. All of this seems to hint that AFO and Yoichi were the first to have powers considering how AFO talks about the Glowing Baby and the 50 kids born in India.

-The last page is quite a cliffhanger and it sucks we have to wait 2 weeks for the next part(there’s no way this isn’t a two parter).

-How AFO is thinking about Yoichi leaving him is intensely possessive and reminds me of how Vader choked Padme when he thought she was betraying/leaving him. This also ties into how AFO didn’t know he had killed Yoichi.

-My guess is that AFO lashed out and sliced off Yoichi’s hand in a possessive rage. He was so startled by his own action that it gave the 3rd user time to grab Kudo and Yoichi then speed out of there.

-Is it just me or does anyone else hope AFO kept Yoichi’s hand? Parallel to Tomura having all of his family’s hands. I sure hope he did because I need even more twisted twin obsession.

-It’s most likely Yoichi lived long enough after this(and maybe with his blood) transferred OFA to Kudo. He then died from his blood loss and that’s why AFO didn’t know he had killed him.

-AFO crying over Yoichi’s death maybe the first and only time he’s ever cried. Yoichi did mean something to him, maybe even more than a “thing”, but he didn’t realize it until that one moment. He blames Kudo for his death because of the mental gymnastics he has to go through to convince himself that there’s no way he would have hurt the only person he’s ever actually loved—possessive as it may be. If Kudo hadn’t have taken him from the vault, he wouldn’t have reacted and cut off Yoichi’s hand, and therefore, Yoichi would still be alive.

-If he takes OFA with Yoichi’s soul in it, then Yoichi will be his again and “I totally didn’t kill him. See! He’s still alive!”

-The internet’s hot-takes that AFO is homophobic because he went full possessive Vader over Yoichi is weird. I said it.

-A part of me wants there to be a cliffhanger where we think Bakugo may have defeated AFO. We then get the intense fight between Tomura and Deku. Deku is about to win, however that’s going to happen, but then AFO shows up around the age he was when he kicked Yoichi, and he’s holding Bakugo as a threat, demanding Deku give him his brother back. But that’s just me. Again.

Anyway, I can admit when I’m wrong about a villain’s backstory. It wouldn’t be the first time and I honestly should have expected something like this considering Horikoshi going full on horror during this Final War arc. However, I don’t think AFO being born with his Quirk activated and “wanting to take” necessarily makes him “born evil.” The twins still had to survive on the streets as orphans, anti-meta people believing AFO is a diseased heathen and never wanting to help either of them. So, he took on exactly what they thought of him. It’s actually quite sad when you stop to think about it.

I’m going to be frothing at the mouth for the next two weeks to see how this backstory ends. Since it started with AFO going nuts and thinking Bakugo is Kudo, I’m assuming we’ll get further context of AFO’s thoughts when he’s crying.

[historicallyaccuratecheese]

I’m now halfway through The Magnus Archives’ 1st season, so I thought it would be cool to just post my thoughts on each episode so far :). (Spoilers, I like all of them, and this podcast is going to be all I care about for a while.) Also NO SPOILERS PLEASE!!!

Link to Masterpost (contains all of these thought posts)

- Episode 1, Anglerfish 🚬

Statement of Nathan Watts, regarding an encounter on Old Fishmarket Close, Edinburgh.

Really strong start, not the scariest episode so far but definitely unnerving, and it gives a good first impression and layer of intrigue. While the story is simple in comparison to the later ones, it was still enjoyable, and I was just appreciating the atmosphere and framing device of the episode as well.

- Episode 2, Do Not Open ⚰️

Statement of Joshua Gillespie, regarding his time in the possession of an apparently empty wooden casket.

This is still one of my favorites. The whole time I was on edge, and this was the first episode that really kept me up at night. I went from wanting to know what was inside the coffin desperately, to wanting to stay away from it as much as possible. Joshua’s insuring dread and creative solution to his problems was fantastic, and it ends with some intriguing plot threads being set up.

- Episode 3, Across The Street 📓

Statement of Amy Patel, regarding the alleged disappearance of her acquaintance Graham Folger.

I think I share a common sentiment when I say that Amy stalking Graham was almost as creepy as the actual horror lmao. Overall I don’t have that much to say about this one, but it was very enjoyable, and I feel really bad for Graham in retrospect :(.

- Episode 4, Pageturner 📕

Statement of Dominic Swain, regarding a book briefly in his possession in the winter of 2012.

I…feel like I should hold off on talking about this one for now. While it was definitely well written and creepy, it just seems to be so full of setup for future plot lines that I almost don’t feel like I can form a concise opinion on it until I really get what’s going on. Honestly, my only complaint with this episode is that maybe it’s setting up TOO much in one go, but I still had a good time with it overall.

- Episode 5, Thrown Away 🗑️

Statement of Kieran Woodward, regarding items recovered from the refuse of 93 Lancaster Road, Walthamstowe.

This one actually did a pretty good job at getting me to think about waste disposal workers lmao, I never really thought about them like that before. This one was just really creepy, but also kind of fun in a weird twisted way. It did a great job keeping me on edge as well.

- Episode 6, Squirm 🪱

Statement of Timothy Hodge, regarding his sexual encounter with Harriet Lee and her subsequent death.

I am simultaneously horrified, and unfortunately aroused by what happened here.

- Episode 7, The Piper 🔫

Statement of Staff Sgt. Clarence Berry, regarding his time serving with Wilfred Owen in the Great War.

Having an episode set nearly 100 years ago is a really fun idea, and it’s executed perfectly here. It was interesting how it also featured a real person, and I liked how the paranormal activity felt more metaphorical here, it really did feel like it was showcasing the horror of war.

- Episode 8, Burned Out 🌳

Statement of Ivo Lensik, regarding his experiences during the construction of a house on Hill Top Road, Oxford.

I found this one to be very nerve-wracking, since not only was the whole scenario with the tree just, like…three creepy things happening at once, but the fact that the statement was given by someone with schizophrenia did a good job making me question it’s validity, even though I’m certain it’s true after listening to a later statement. I also hope that I get to see how the history of the house is unveiled in the future.

- Episode 9, A Father’s Love 💡

Statement of Julia Montauk, regarding the actions and motivations of her father, the serial killer Robert Montauk.

This one made me feel really sad :(. I really felt Julia’s despair in this one (Jonathan Sims does such great voice acting for every statement btw, both the character and the actual person), and I was even more saddened by the implications of why Robert did what he did. If my assumptions are correct, then…SCREW THE MOTHER! It was also the first one that got me thinking about where exactly all of the paranormal stuff comes from, and later episodes only add to my theory that it’s all due to demons/cults/higher powers.

- Episode 10, Vampire Killer 🧛🏻

Statement of Trevor Herbert, regarding his life as a self-proclaimed vampire hunter.

Much like Episode 8, this one did a really good job at making me question the validity of the statement, although I became more sure of its truth a bit earlier. I also just love how nonchalant Trevor comes off as, compared to all of the other traumatized horror victims. (Also, I’m guessing that the name Trevor and the episode title are meant to be a Castlevania reference?) While vampires aren’t the most creative thing for an episode, at least in comparison to everything else, the beast-like execution here more than made up for it in my opinion.

- Episode 11, Dreamer 💭

Statement of Antonio Blake, regarding his recent dreams about Gertrude Robinson, previous Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute.

Yeah…Gertrude Robinson did not die a normal death. My guess is that she was caught by ✨the horrors✨, but I’ll wait and see. This was another very tense episode, with the prophetic dream world being really, REALLY creepy. I do hope we get to see more of “Antonio” in the future, as I think he could be quite important. (I also hope he gets punched for DUMPING GRAHAM IN HIS TIME OF NEED-)

- Episode 12, First Aid 🏥

Statement of Lesere Saraki, regarding a recent night-shift at St. Thomas Hospital, London.

OMG GERARD KEAY HI HI HI HI HOW ARE YOU!!! Yeah I audibly gasped when he showed up again, it was such a cool moment. Anyways, hospitals already creep me the fuck out so this was pretty effective. Definitely some great setup here, and it helped to make a bit more sense of Pageturner, now that I have a better idea of what Gerard’s whole deal is. It also added some good fuel to the whole cult idea, and my god this poor nurse. Having to deal with all of this in a single night sounds like hell.

- Episode 13, Alone 🌫️

Statement of Naomi Herne, regarding the events following the funeral of her fiancé, Evan Lukas. Statement taken direct from subject.

Having a new voice in this episode was really cool, and Katie Davison did an excellent job as Naomi! It was also cool to see how Jon interacts with other people, he was…nicer than expected. This episode honestly felt like it was calling me out, as I am also someone who’s confident in my independence, but if I was in Naomi’s place I would also probably be scared shitless. I really hope she’ll get a happy ending :(. Also, The Lukas family is quite intriguing, especially since we now know they have a connection to The Institute…

- Episode 14, Piecemeal 👆

Statement of Lee Rentoul, regarding the murder of his associate Paul Noriega.

Firstly, this is probably my favorite of Jon’s vocal deliveries. His performance of Lee Rentoul just feels perfect. (Once again, this applies to both the writer and the character, I’m genuinely convinced the latter is an ex-theatre kid.) Outside of that, THIS ONE CREEPED ME OUT. The body horror was very effective, with the only thing holding it back being the fact that Lee isn’t the most likable protagonist in the podcast, but if this happened to someone else I’d be even more upset. Still though, it was a very creative concept, and the whole vibe and execution of the episode made it great.

- Episode 15, Lost Johns’ Cave 🕯️

Statement of Laura Popham, regarding her experience exploring the Three Counties System of caves with her sister Alena Sanderson.

What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fu-

- Episode 16, Arachnophobia 🕷️

Statement of Carlos Vittery, regarding his arachnophobia and its manifestations.

The way they tackled the concept in the title was really well done. Arachnophobia is seen as an irrational fear by a lot of people, so having it portrayed as an effect of childhood trauma was a good call. And as someone who is not arachnophobic, this episode got me close to feeling that way. What ever force was making Carlos relive his trauma is a sick fuck. Also the cat was a real one, glad he survived the whole situation. (Also THE WORMS, HOLY SHIT IT’S THE SEX WORMS!!!)

- Episode 17, The Boneturner’s Tale 🦴

Statement of Sebastian Adekoya, regarding a new acquisition at Chiswick Library.

This episode really compelled me to get out the rubber bands connecting images lmao. I really liked all of the connections to past statements here, like the presence of another book from the library of Jurgen Leitner, to the mention of Micheal Crew. The body horror here was once again very creepy, (outside of the flat rat, that was morbidly funny), but my favorite part of the episode was the introduction of Elias, which was a humorous, but also very intriguing scene. Also, the themes of books containing power was great as well. Great stuff all around.

- Episode 18, The Man Upstairs 🥩

Statement of Christof Rudenko, regarding his interactions with a first floor resident of Welbeck House, Wandsworth.

…ew. Ok in all seriousness, this is probably my least favorite episode so far. Still very far from bad, but after all of the extremely interesting themes and plot threads, having an episode where the idea was just “What if a guy had a house covered in meat? Wouldn’t that be fucked up?”, felt just a little bit underwhelming. Which like, the fact that my least favorite episode’s biggest problem is that I find it slightly pales in comparison to previous ones is just a testament to how much I’ve been enjoying the podcast. Still though, there were definitely a few things I really liked. The reveal of the room was creepy (especially considering the meat that seemed…alive…), and as someone who has had to deal with upstairs neighbors making noise for hours during construction, this episode definitely scared me.

- Episode 19, Confession, and Episode 20, Desecrated Host ✝️

Statement of Father Edwin Burroughs, regarding his claimed demonic possession.

This, alongside Lost Johns’ Cave, was one (or I guess, two…) of those episodes that seriously fucked me up. While I am not religious, I have always had fears of how religion can negatively affect me and the people around me, despite the good that it seems to do for so many people. So seeing Edwin be charged for every “sin” he committed by a higher power that wishes to steal its faith, and then not get judged by it, but by the people around him for his one true sin, was absolutely haunting, and I hope he turns out ok in the end. Outside of the horror, the episodes were fantastic. Listening to the events of Episode 8 from Edwin’s perspective, and seeing how Ivo’s actions saved him, was really cool, and solidifies in my mind that Ivo’s experience was real. The connections to demonic magic and Latin script thickened, and it was overall just a great mid-season finale. In conclusion, I hope that Martin feels better soon, and if he isn’t actually sick and is being plagued by ✨the horrors✨, well then I hope he survives :).

Thank you for reading my silly little thoughts if you’ve made it this far, it really means a lot to me :). I’ll probably update this every time I finish half of a season, so hopefully my thoughts on episodes 21-40 will be here in the Reblogs soon. :)

[revyn-moonfox]

Commenting on the the magnus archives episodes, part 3 (I think) - spoilers ahead

MAG 16 Arachnophobia: I was fully prepared for that episode to destroy me, I can't stand spiders, but now I feel like it could have been worse, at least it was only one spider at a time, my nightmares are filled with a bunch of spiders... which I guess he got at the end, but that wasn't described in great detail, so I was okay. Apropos the end: I was a bit confused because I read this episode was the most obviously paranormal one, and honestly, thinking the spiders from your youth are haunting you isn't so much paranormal, I thought episode 15 with her beeing found with candles she didn't pack was worse, but then I got to the end, and him beeing found incased in Web... uah. And come on John, you wanna try to reason that they came from one week of lying there?! Ugh

MAG 17, the Bone Turner's Tale: immediately after the first few sentences I was like: oh no, this is a Leitner one, isn't it? And sure enough it was... I don't even know what else to say to this except type out the Leitner Rant, but that is a lot of text, and this post will already be very long. At least John is a bit more inclined to believe the tale when there is Leitner involved.

MAG 18 The Man upstairs: I needed a bit more time for that episode because I have a very active imagination and got nauseous towards the end...

MAG 19 Confession | & MAG 20 Desecrated Host || : love the connection to the hilltop Road episode. Also, did somebody say religious trauma? Because these episodes screamed in answer. The beginning of 19 was... worrying to say the least - "We will get to the cannibalism of course" ehm, hold on, what? On another note, these episodes made me suspect that John's predecessor realy had a sorting system because that was at least the third episode in a row with the flesh entitie! While I honestly was just waiting for the first appearance of the Vast...

MAG 21 Freefall: finally, the Vast, I don't know what exactly sparked my obsession with it, but I like this entitie (as much as you can like a fear personified) since I first saw a art-tiktok about it weeks ago. Nothing much to say to this episode tho, except that John got sceptic again, he had such a good run of taking things seriously before.

Ending the Episode with the quote "By God Martin, what are these things?!" Was a choice...

MAG 22 Colony: Did I ever mention before that I love Martin? Well, I do, and now that he actually speaks for himself once, I feel even more justified in saying that.

Two options here "poor Martin, just wanted to show a picture to his (future) boyfriend" or "King wanted to stick it to his asshole Boss" I'm in the party of both. Both is good.

Also, after this episode the following post I found on Pinterest suddenly makes a lot more sense

I also asked myself how much the entities blurr together, because, while this was mainly corruption, there was also darkness because the lights didn't work in Martins flat, right?

I was so happy when John showed that he cared for Martin, in telling him to life in the institute for now :)

The creepy text messages at the end sparked a conversation between me and @regulus-needs-swimminglessons and I wanted to share one of his comments to that:

These text are so funny because there are basically 2 options

1 (the boring one) Jon and Martin don't text a lot so Jon doesn't actually know what Martin's texting style is like so Jane was able to impersonate him easily

2 (the better option) Jane was looking through the past texts giggling and kicking her feet while reading funny passages out loud for her worm friends so she could copy his texting style but she had to hold back to not end every message with "❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰😍😘😘😘😘😘😘❤️❤️❤️😘😘😘😘🪱🪱🪱🪱🪱😘😘🥰🥰❤️"

MAG 24 Schwarzwald: at first I was convinced that the headline was read by someone else than John, because it sounded weird to me. Then I got reminded that German words, like Schwarzwald, just get pronounced weirdly by englishspeakers, which is totally normal, so back to the story. An old letter to Jonah Magnus, did Elias read these 👀. The comment that there was no account of a Johann von Württemberg confused me, because Johann is/was a fairly common german name, especially in the higher up families. And there was in fact a Johann Friedrich von Württemberg who lived from 1582 to 1628, but that's not the one reported here, I would guess. He ruled as the 7th Duke at that time. Anyway, the Grave gave me slight Lukas-Family vibes, even tho I know that not the case, the involved entitie here is the Eye not the Lonely (even tho it kind of screams the lonely to me too, I mean, it's the Schwarzwald, and he described it as silent on lonely, but oh well)

Martin, scaring John by walking though the archive without pants. 🤣

Sir that is his living room and he can wear whatever he wants 😌 Martin can do whatever he wants, wherever he wants, just because he's awesome, and I love him.

MAG 24 Strange Music: I don't like dolls, I don't like clowns, and that's all I'm gonna say to that... But there is finally an appearance from sasha, which is awesome ^^ And again, something incredible: John is inclined to believe a Statement woob woob

MAG 25 Growing Dark: I mentioned religious trauma before, and I will mention it again, because this is exactly that. A bit frustrating to go back to "mh, we don't believe this because the author isn't even believing himself"

MAG 16 Distortion: Michael! My Dude! Be a dear and miracle me a towel, would you? Oh whops, wrong fandom, wrong quote... anyway, hello Michael, and hello Sasha. Its a bit sad to hear every archival assistant tell in their statement that they feared to come forward because John would judge them... But Sasha is hurt, and the "most level headed" so of course he believes her. Also, she's a little heroine, because she went to that place only to save John (and Martin, and the Archive, but oh well) first time that not beeing able/wanting to quit got mentioned, intrigued for the future.

MAG 27 A sturdy Lock: Everything involving the spiral always confuses me. I feel sorry for the old man, and am very interested what the statement from his Son is gonna be. But what do you meant the door had no knob or keyhole at the end?!

That's all for now, I'm currently listening to MAG 28 Skintight, but that will be in my next post I assume. So good bye, I hope you had fun with my incoherent rambling. (And again: please excuse my grammar, English is not my first language)

Okay byyyyeeee

[anthroposeen]

tmagp 20 relisten notes!

we're 2/3rds of the way through the first season! very exciting, and with a lot of red string thats really starting to connect!!

as always, tma and tmagp spoilers under the cut! proceed with caution

celia:

- going into the meeting, celia is cautiously supportive of sam. so far, shes the closest to the (tma listener) audience in terms of background info. she's more inclined to believe sam anyway bc she has experience w the paranormal and especially with eye-related world catastrophes (from here on out, im going to approach celia as a character who is canonically from the tma universe, as i think theres plenty of supporting evidence at this point)

- she didn't know that starkwall were a militant branch that used to be employed with the oiar! in this way, shes working as a small foil to alice, who has a lot more info on government secrets, but actively avoids learning about paranormal ones.

- celia proposes that burning down the institute was actually done for good reason. as an audience, we can understand why (and even agree with her) but this is going to be a hard moral take to justify to her coworkers (especially if she wants to maintain a relationship with sam, whos falling on the opposite of this fence) and i get the sense that her grand reveal will eventually be drawn from them distrusting her. even from the perspective of tmagp characters, its becoming clear shes hiding things

- she says shes done research on TMI and describes its research as "catastrophic, world-endingly bad" ofc, shes right, but it does raise a question about how much of this research shes shared with sam, who requested she update him with anything she could find on it. either she was, and sam still believes that the protocol wasnt justified, or she didnt. and we dont know how much more she could be keeping to herself

- celia leaves an invitation for sam to keep her in on the conspiracy, but i dont see them agreeing on the morality of what he finds

sam:

- despite receiving pushback about his 'The Computers Are Spying On Us' theory last ep, sam is still determined to confide in a "safe" environment. as the audience, we know that phones, security cameras, and god knows what other devices are also being used to watch them, but this is still a proactive step on sam's part to avoid being listened-in on

- he's put together that starkwall initiated the protocol in 1999 to put a stop to whatever the magnus institute was doing -> based on the fan reactions ive seen, its been widely assumed that this was related to the tmagp!watcher's crown or some other eye ritual, and while thats entirely likely, the protocol could have been triggered from a large unbalance that wasn't necessarily ritual related

- he's pretty convinced that the protocol mentioned in ep 19 cant be the same protocol as in the modern day, positing that theres such a large lapse in time between the incident and TMI burning down (with sam and celia agreeing). but i dont think its a stretch for us to assume the protocols are the same, or at least based heavily in the same concept

- he received starkwell paperwork from 1999 via a mysterious email! though the address was different this time, it makes sense to relate this back to the email he received from "john", and also the email that sent gwen info on lena. im not sure if these are individuals each sending their own mail (jmj), or if its one person (thinking of the man colin keeps referencing as their spy)

- the paperwork he received was about the total destruction of TMI, but was heavily censored. i wonder if it was already redacted when it was recovered by the emailer or if they were the one who concealed parts of the documents

- "you cant seriously be ok with working for such a shady organization/ people died. they might still be dying." sam seems to really be coming into his protagonist wings this episode, reminding the audience why he scored so high on empathy at TMI as a child. similarly to alice, hes very motivated by protecting people, but has a strong sense of justice that i dont see in the other characters yet. while alice and lena are motivated by keeping the status quo for maximum guaranteed safety, sam is already pushing for change even at a personal expense

alice:

- expectedly, alice is more hostile towards sam's revelations, but not in her usual skeptic manner

- she knew about starkwall's history and reputation within the oiar and wasnt at all skeptical about their involvement in the TMI fire. i found this interesting because it showcases her specific brand of knowledge (government secrets and conspiracies) but also lacks the complete shut-down she normally uses when discussing paranormal topics.

- i think alice genuinely doesn't believe in supernatural stuff, or at least she's alright with vaugely accepting it as long as it cant affect her or her friends. she holds the same sentiment for government conspiracies, but without the heavy handed skepticism. i think she largely operates off of 'ive personally experienced this so i know it definitely exists' rules

- we get to see a small fan theory get confirmed this episode: alice does firmly believe in the conspiracy sam is looking into, but is motivated to ignore it for her safety and his own, and she admits to turning him away from it to keep him safe

- very important to note: she repeatedly says shes scared of them all getting fired, and seems to place getting fired and safety as two equal options, like you cant have one without the other

- we see alice refuse to believe certain aspects of the protocol conspiracy based on the idea that things dont run smoothly enough to support such a massive cover-up. ie; the computers cant load properly so they couldnt spy on them, and the protocol is not an ongoing project bc the staff are too small and flaky to take on that task.

- "i hate that thats how things are. i hate it. but it doesnt stop it from being true." -> this gave me flashbacks to jon and martin discussing the eyepocolypse in s5, where martin found it difficult to conceptualize and accept that the new world order was purely evil, constantly repeating that he hated reminders of their reality. always followed by jon firmly stating it WAS the reality, though, and denial was unhelpful. alice seems to be stuck in the middle of this same type of moral battle. constantly weighing her denial of her situation with the reality she is starting to be forced with facing

- the difference between her and sam's empathy lies in its scale. sam is willing to accept massive risk if it has the potential to help others, purely based on strong principles. whereas alice doesnt see the point in taking that risk- in putting everyone in danger- if it will not have a definite payback. she puts a high price on protecting her people, and weighs reality over hypothetical good

- as such, she refuses to be a part of the conspiracy, seeing it as an unrealistic risk that would do her and sam more harm than good

gwen:

- shes been assigned to recruit new externals, which does shine a new light on why she wanted more security. its one thing to interact with a contracted killer that has ties to the oiar, but another to confront one with no reason to respect her authority

- she is so clearly out of her depth in this career pitch

- "youve got completely the wrong idea", implying that the oiar isnt interested in controlling the actions of the externals. they're still free to do as they please, and the way gwen phrases it you get the sense that their opportunities are only increased through involvement with the oiar

ink5oul:

- they're tattooing on a dead body, and seem surprised that gwen was able to find their warehouse

- they dont fully understand what they're becoming. they can sense a change in their humanity and how they interact with energy (how they feed upon the fear of their victims and the attention from others)

- they refer to this need for attention as an addiction*

- another theory was confirmed! ink5oul is stealing designs from old artists like sutherland macdonald and oscar jarrett. i didnt think was going to be true when it first started circulating, but im not against the narrative move! it makes for a very conflicted character rather than a purely talented and perfect one. plus, i find it kinda funny that their not magically good at tattooing, their ascendence into avatar-hood started with them stealing designs

- they actually refer to their art in a really self depreciating way, only really having confidence when it came to their adaptations of older work, but still seeing their art as different and lesser-than the original

- i think a portion of this is due to the chemical ingredient of the ink -> though oscar jarrett doesnt have any alchemy ties that i could find, i think it might play a role in how the tattoos behave and how the skin beneath the designs was perfectly preserved

- despite their personal dislike of their own art, ink5oul still seems pretty egotistical, accepting that they must be better than others if theyve been given a platform. this is an interesting flip on an imposter syndrome, where we get a character who truly believes they deserve recognition knowing they didnt do the work behind the fame

- around the time ink5oul started enjoying the fear of their clients, their physical body also experienced a reflection of that. their tattoos began to change, with the ink (presumably the kind that jarrett had used) flowing under their skin. its implied that they use this to adapt designs into something more beautiful and brutal, as a way to continuously feed

- "have i changed or have i simply emerged?"

- ink5oul is one of the first tmagp avatars that seems to really disregard consent in their victims. ripping away the idea that victims, in some respect, "choose" to get involved in their fate. all of those people chose to roll the dice. that mugger chose to approach needles. the chef chose to accept lady mowbray's hunt. but ink5oul takes relish in the concept that they can take this away from people.

incident:

this is our first example of a live incident! taken directly from the interaction between ink5oul and gwen, most of the incident notes will be in their fields.

- what really strikes me is that gwen didnt ask many questions to prompt ink5oul into speaking, and we get a decently long and comprehensible (dare i say) statement from them. this could be explained as ink5oul just being full of themselves- its not out of character for an influencer to monologue about their life and accomplishments and drama, but its strange that we get such a concise statement in this setting. in tma, unless it was taken by an archivist or within the institute, statements were jumbled and inconclusive most of the time, so what was influencing ink5oul to spill their darkest secret? this is easily something that could end their career, but they say it all very casually, for apparently no reason

- i went back to check, and the incident is recorded through gwen's phone, not via a tape recorder, so im unsure what could be the influencing factor here

glitches/lies:

none

extra comments:

- *ide love to see addiction in the tmagp universe be explored in a new way. in tma we saw examples of how addiction fell into the becoming of an avatar and we got some examples of withdrawal, but i feel like there could be room for exploring a character whos getting sober. we saw this with melanie in tma, but her route to forfeiting her 'addiction' was through a horrible sacrifice, and i wonder if they'll keep with these rules in the tmagp universe or if addiction will play a somewhat different role

- im happy that ink5oul will remain a rogue agent for the time being, it offers some depth to their character arc that i feel other externals might lack, just because they become tools of the oiar and they might lose some spontaneity in their actions. though, im very interested in how the externals contract operates, since gwen seemed to think it offered a much better deal than free ranging fear (it checks out if the oiar is routinely feeding the externals).

[random-mailbox]

Random-Mailbox's Favorite Sailor Moon Fics - Week 49 - Proposals

Today’s stories are all about proposals and I think including them into this list is more spoiler-y than usual. Sorry! But they are all amazing ♥️

As always, my apologies in advance for spoiling some of these for you (Fic Titles are linked to either FFN or AO3 entries).

Walk These Old Roads With Me - @queenrisa14

To reconnect with Usagi after his Galaxia-inflicted disappearance, Mamoru whisks her away to the mountains, trying to get over the chasm that has formed between them.

Let's Try This Again…- @areptiledysfunction1107

To make up for his Galaxia-induced botched proposal at the airport, Mamoru decides to rectify things by taking Usagi to check out the Perseid meteor shower and tell her his wish. This one is a lemon.

King of Earth, Fool of Love (and Fashion) - @midnightdrops

Mamoru finally worked up the courage and made a plan to propose to Usagi. That is until the rest of the senshi got involved “to help”

(Im)perfect Proposal - @kaleidodreams

Helios tries his best to propose to Lady Serenity, with everything going absolutely sideways.

Belonging - @tinacentury

This story is set in Sailor Stars if Mamoru DID make it to Harvard but Usagi still didn't realize that the ring he gave her was an engagement one. My favorite part was seeing Mamoru react to one of the best episodes of the season "A Night Alone Together: Usagi in Danger" unfold outside-looking-in. 

The Reveal: Chapter 11: Theme: Secrecy - @kasienda

Mamoru is trying his best to propose to Usagi, except that Sailor Moon and her paranormal activities keep getting in the way. This story is definitely miscommunication done right!

---

Next week we will cover the trop of "Locked In" - be it closets, islands or other tight spaces.

Here are the links to the previous Tumblr posts in these series to explore more amazing works based on different themes - make sure to check them out if you haven't had a chance! (Click on title name to go to the post) - I will keep updating the list every week as new posts come up:

Week 1 - Groundhog Day

Week 2 - Established Relationships

Week 3 - Sex Positivity

Week 4 - Unfinished Stories

Week 5 - Darker Stories

Week 6 - Potions 🧪

Week 7 - Reveals

Week 8 - 👻Halloween🎃

Week 9 - Wrong Perceptions

Week 10 - Non-Senshi AU

Week 11 - In-Progress Fics

Week 12 - Mutual Pining

Week 13 - Enemies to Lovers

Week 14 - Slow Burn

Week 15 - Christmas Part 1 - Ugly Christmas Sweaters and Santa!

Week 16 - Christmas Part 2

Week 17 - New Years

Week 18 - High School AU

Week 19 - Slice of Life

Week 20 - Coffee shop AU

Week 21 - Huddle for Warmth

Week 22 - Friends to Lovers

Week 23 - ❤️Valentines Day❤️

Week 24 - Do a Grouch a Favour Day (or Cheer Up Fics)

Week 25 - Soulmate AU

Week 26 - Amnesia Fics (and resources)

Week 27 - 🍀St Patrick's Day🍀

Week 28 - Fix it Fics

Week 29 - Prompt: Mug

Week 30 - Flowers

Week 31 - Traditions

Week 32 - Dreams

Week 33 - Friends

Week 34 - Body-Swap

Week 35 - Medical Assistance

Week 36 - Sex Pollen

Week 37 - Psychometry

Week 38 - What If

Week 39 - Missing Scenes Part I

Week 40 - Green Jacket

Week 41 - Dr Chiba

Week 42 - Birthdays

Week 43 - Fluff

Week 44 - First Kiss

Week 45 - Reviving Shitennou

Week 46 - Tutoring

Week 47 - Thunderstorms

Week 48 - Food

[cru5h-cascades]

Chapter 2: Cru5h Beefs With a Fictional Teacher Man

Spoiler shield! If you haven't played through chapter 2 in its entirety play the chapter and come back afterwards! If you have, then feel free to keep reading I guess.

So, chapter 2... let's hop to it!

The reason why the bag detail wasn't released to the public was so that nobody would try copying the crimes and make it harder for the murders to be solved. Personally I don't see the point in that since there was also the detail of the bags being old. Who'd go out of their way to get some old bags to replicate these murders? Surely that sort of distinct detail would help differentiate the actual murders from the copycat ones... right?

There was a suspect for the OG murders! But he went missing. Kinda weird we didn't get a name reveal or anything if this could be vital info for the case.

Missing Man and Missing Boy/Kuze's brother are two different entities. It's unknown if Kuze's brother is dead or not or if he has anything to do with the murders from 18 years ago but after his disappearance the murders stopped for some reason. I don't have much else to say here besides the fact that that's kinda weird.

First mention of paranormal activity not involving the funny bag man! For context, somebody called a cab for [insert protagonist name here], but it's never specified who. Just another detail I wanted to point out.

Also in the cab scene it's mentioned that a motorcycle was in the area of Eisuke's murder. I have my doubts that whoever was riding that thing is responsible for the murder since apparently that motorcycle was there like every night and I doubt Eisuke frequently visited the pump station to sulk around over there.

Prior to the murder, Eisuke seemed to have it all together, at least in front of others, anyways. Considering what his fam had to say about the night of his murder, some shit was definitely going on with him behind the scenes...

And now... cru5h goes on a rant about Fukuyama...

WE GOT TO SEE THIS MF'S FREAKINESS IN ACTION!!! TALKING ABOUT DEATH IN GENERAL/THE MURDER SPECIFICALLY(?) MAKES HIM GET WEIRD!!!! BRO ESPECIALLY GOT WEIRD WHEN ONE OF EISUKE'S FRIENDS GOT MENTIONED (Megumi? I forget her name. The one Eisuke may or may not have had a crush on or whatever)!!!

If Fukuyama had a meeting to go to then why did he take the time to get interviewed by Ayumi? And why did he up and leave mid-conversation only to come rushing back (in a scene that actually kinda startled me; I did not expect him to come back so fast lol)?

Fukuyama is in his 20s right now so he's defo not the OG killer. Copycat murder? Maybe? Or alternatively, what I think might be the case, PROXY FOR THE OG?? Idk he's just SO. DAMN. SUS. MY. FUCKING. GOD.

And that's everything new that I thought I should bring up. Of course some stuff might have been left out since it's just what we've known already from the website or whatever.

The Language of Flowers, the final part of the demo coming out next week on the 27th, most likely will have heavy focus of Emio's backstory (and not just the eggplant flowers specifically but that's probably gonna be mentioned as well) so WHOOO MORE SMILING MAN LORE!!!

[youhavenoideahowbadiwantthis]

I've been waiting to watch The Outwaters since I heard about it a few months ago. I love found footage and I love cosmic horror. Mash them up and you've got yourself a stew.

I found a few days ago that it was available on VOD so I got it for $13. That's a pretty sick part of the COVID film release trend. Love when brand new horror comes out to own for the price of a movie ticket.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

I'm going to just say the very common disclaimer: "this film is not for everyone."

A bunch of friends go out to the desert to film a music video, apparently. There are constant mysterious booms and shrieks. Desert animals exist around them. A bloody axe man chases them around and kills them. The cameraman/main character (Robbie) wakes up in a pool of blood and looks for his friends and there appears to be a time loop and maybe he's the axe man. There's an, apparently, big, practical effect creature that makes noise at him. Then he finds his dead friends' heads and cuts off his penis and disembowels himself with an animal tooth.

End.

So, if you're reading this, you're probably frustrated at how lazy and lackluster that synopsis was. Right? Now you know how I felt watching almost 2 hours of it.

I promise I will discuss WHY I feel this movie is one of, if not the biggest piece of shit I have ever watched in my life, but first, I want to dissect this movie through other people's words.

"Banfitch has a clear talent for character development, which is thrown out the window as soon as the true horror begins. Yet, getting to know his cast of characters only makes watching their annihilation more gut-wrenching in the end." - Grace Detwiler, Rue Morgue

If you think this character development is outstanding, I'm excited for you to watch literally any other movie, ever. He attempts to create the candid, real characters or Benson and Moorhead films, but they end up one dimensional, typical found footage characters. Think Paranormal Activity characters, but not even douchey enough to be interesting.

"...will likely be most effective for viewers who are strongly affected by the power of suggestion." - Grace Detwiler, Rue Morgue

Lol. I mean...yes. Correct.

"...[transforming] the found footage format into something far more transgressive..." - Meagan Navarro, Bloody-Disgusting

If the boundaries that are being crossed are "good overall filmmaking" into "bad", you're still wrong. Many found footage movies have done that. This is uniquely bad, however, so maybe there's a point there.

"...the film is more interested in immersing us than it is in answering any questions. In this regard, it completely succeeds as it spends longer and longer getting lost in the landscape that has become distorted." -Chase Hutchinson, Collider

Ok, let's talk about this, specifically.

At no point, was I immersed in this movie. The first 20 mins are the, supposedly incredible, character-building, that can really just be boiled down to the phrase, "hurr durr, you reminds me of your parents." I promise, you may relate to the dialogue between these characters, but you're better than them. Seriously. This entire build up is filmed with the tightest camera work I've ever seen. This man forgot to zoom out and he moves the camera quickly and often. You will get sick.

Then they're in the desert. The camera is slightly better because you have a vast landscape behind people most of the time, so it isn't as disorienting. But God help you, he will manage to examine every nook and cranny of a bush and the inside of their tent and the one girl's face, over and over again.

The night time shots are so much worse. Half the time, he's filming with a normal light source that illuminates a large enough area to provide tension so that you only recognize so much of what is on screen. The other half is lit by a gas station pocket flashlight using batteries from the early 2000s. I, like many other people in this day and age, have a large television. So when I have a 65" TV (1809 Sq. In.) and about 1/6 of the movie is filmed through a 3" diameter pinhole, I'm gonna be upset. The power of suggestion does not trump the power of wanting to watch a fucking movie.

Apparently, there was a large, maybe practical effect monster. Couldn't tell you, because it was filmed through this dipshit pinhole. If I spent the money to build a monster for a movie, YOU WILL FUCKING SEE AT LEAST 20% OF THAT MONSTER FOR A FEW SECONDS.

The story was run of the mill. The themes and characters were as deep as a teacup. The cinematography was fucking trash, even for found footage.

This was like a visual representation of a Chainsmokers song, but they were trying to make a black metal song, but the only black metal they've heard was Deafheaven, but the only Deafheaven they've heard was Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, but they recorded it in mono.

Also, a lot of people are comparing this to Skinamarink. Stop. Both films are frustrating and work on the power of suggestion. However, Skinamarink actually leans into the suggestion. It gives you vague pieces to tell yourself a story. Outwaters gives you a story and then lazily slops out blurry garbage that has been done better many times before over the course of almost 2 hours and then just kind of ends. I was not a huge fan of Skinamarink, but in my opinion, it is far more worthwhile than Outwaters and it's insulting to Skinamarink to conflate the two.

I will not say that I could make a feature length film. I don't have the talent or creativity. It's easier to sit and judge than to actually do something. Maybe Banfitch should take a break to reassess his influences to see what makes them worth watching, because this movie is evidence that he has missed the mark.

I hope he gets better.

If you want to watch the movie, sure, go ahead. If you want to watch something that will actually entertain and/or challenge you, might I recommend the following:

Resolution, Spring and The Endless are all wonderful pieces of eclectic cosmic horror by Benson and Moorhead. Good characters and intriguing concepts without giving away every detail.

Banshee Chapter by Blair Erickson is an incredibly underseen cosmic/conspiracy horror film that predates Stranger Things by several years, and in my opinion, does it better (horror-wise).

Bellflower by Evan Glodell is not exactly horror, but is a film that I feel Banfitch to inspiration from. The character development is on point and organic and it has sort of the mumblecore feel that I felt Banfitch was trying (and failing) to develop in the first 20 mins of his movie.

These are just suggestions that I think all do a significantly better job in every respect than Outwaters.

Just my opinions.

Thank you for listening, though I'm not sure why you would.

[canadiankazz]

THIRTEEN HORROR FILMS THAT SCARED TF OUT OF ME

tag rules: select 13 horror films that at one point in time terrified the hell out of you (gifs optional)

I decided to do this ask, even though I wasn't tagged, because I love horror. (Though I'm often a coward.) I also can't make gifs, so forgive me using other people's. (Additionally, there's unmarked spoilers, so be warned.)

The Grudge

2. The Ring

3. The Sixth Sense

4. Halloween

5. Jaws

6. Deep Blue Sea

7. Shaun of the Dead

8. Dawn of the Dead (The 2004 remake)

9. The Babadook

10. Tremors

11. Cujo

12. Alien

13. Paranormal Activity

[unpopularly-opinionated]

So uh, I just realized my last update on my journey to becoming a pretentious film buff was in October so MY BAD. The last movie I told y'all I'd seen was Barbie, and since then I've seen 50 movies so uh, yeah, here's the update nobody asked for, rapid fire because I'm not about to rehash 50 fucking movies worth of reviews (I think this is where I'm supposed to plug my Letterboxd account so here):

So last time I did one-liners about every movie to keep things brief, but since there's nothing brief about 50 movies, I'm gonna cheat a lot here. Luckily I can discount 33 entire films in one go so that helps.

As Above So Below: Love me some pseudo-historical bullshit used to explain why fucked up shit happens.

Late Night with the Devil: Really great movie with a pretty campy ending.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes: Really unnecessary and just bad Hunger Games prequel.

Bridesmaids: Should've been a romcom about Kristen Wiig and Chris O'Dowd instead of what it was.

Paranormal Activity's 2, 3, 4 & 5: Watch 1, 2 and 3 and then just imagine your own ending to the franchise, you'll be better off that way.

Sinister: Really slow with no payoff. Trailers were scarier than the actual film.

Spencer: Watched this immediately after Sinister on a whim, thinking it would be a nice pallet cleanser. Unironically, this film was more unnerving than Sinister, but in a good way. Love Kristen Stewart.

Woman of the Hour: Pretty good and informative movie about a serial killer who I've never heard of. Love Ana Kendrick so that's always a plus.

Canary Black: If you combined Angelina Jolie's Salt with Angelina Jolie's Mr. & Mrs. Smith, cast really poorly chosen actors, and botched whatever kind of reconstruction job Kate Beckinsale's had done, then you'd get this really bad movie.

Dead Poet's Society: Pretty sad watch knowing what it's about and knowing how Robin Williams ended up.

The Purge: You mean to tell me the people trying to kill you who you eventually get the upper hand on but don't kill yourself are just going to forget about it for the next 364 days? Nah.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Having only seen the remake prior to this, the original is obviously better. Also Brad and Rocky can get it.

Dune Pt. 2: Took me way too long to watch this movie after how long I raved about the first one being amazing. Spoiler alert: This one is just as amazing.

Alien Romulus: If Disney made an Alien film, this would be it, and that's both an insult and a compliment.

All of Us Strangers: Gut-wrenching, relatable movie about a gay experience I've literally never had.

1917: Pretty neat war movie shot in the one-take style which gave it a nice flow that I've not seen in a movie before that I can think of.

The Entire MCU franchise (except Spider-Man: No Way Home): For clarification, this includes movies like The Incredible Hulk and Deadpool & Wolverine, both of which are technically a part of the MCU despite not really feeling like it. But I didn't watch any of the FOX or Sony movies (aside from the first two Tom Holland Spider-Man movies I guess). Technically, all but two of these were me rewatching them for the sake of being able to both review and rank them. The only two I hadn't seen previously were Ant-Man: Quantumania and The Marvels, both of which, surprise surprise, were pretty bad.

[bokunoheros]

BOKUNOHEROS' MASTERPOST.

this is a SHARED BLOG, that will feature NSFT* content as well as DARK CONTENT. don't like? DNI. 🙅 minors? DNI w/ NSFT or D.C.

*what's NSFT? not safe for tumblr!

CALIUS 🦊

     hello! i am CALIUS, i'm 20, and i have been writing in general since around 2015, and have been honing my skills since. i will be writing mostly nsft and dark content, but may do something sweet or sfw every once in a while. my pronouns are HE/IT/MOON, and i am transmasc non-binary. here is my ko-fi!

     i have been very on and off into bnha since around 2017/2018, however, now i’m fully invested (god save me). i have not read the manga, but i am up-to-date with the anime, and i am aware of SPOILERS for the ENDING. 

KATSUKI BAKUGOU is my HUSBAND, while SHOUTO TODOROKI is my BOYFRIEND. i have two hands for a reason. these are the characters you will see me posting the most about. (KEIGO TAKAMI is my sneaky lil side piece.)

XENOVA 🐙

hii!! my name is XENOVA and i’m 18. i’ve been writing for my hero since 2018 :0 i use ANY pronouns. shoutout to calius for proof reading and grammar checking all my work btw

i’m also a fan of other media so bnha is NOT my top priority and i do struggle a deal with writers block but i promise i’ll still try to write good work for you guys <3!

i’m desperately in love with TOMURA SHIGARAKI, while TAMAKI AMAJIKI is my side piece (and DENKI KAMINARI is my sneaky link). i’m caught up on the anime and know spoilers for the manga so if you wanna chat please send a dm!! much love mwah mwah 💋

FORDULA 🪲

hey so i'm actually super normal (lie), but my name is STANFORD and i am 18 :P i am in love with TENYA IIDA, DENKI, and HITOSHI!!... i have a tumblr and ao3, but i'm inactive as hell so don't expect shit from me, despite me being an avid smut writer... i do work a full time job (unlike these 2), and i may not be quite as active!

MASTERLIST. (coming soon!)

KINKTOBER 2024.

OUR DISCORD.

INDIVIDUAL ADMIN RULES.

GENERAL RULES.

we will NOT write for:

YUGA AOYAMA, KOJI KODA, RIKIDO SATOU, MEZO SHOJI, TORU HAGAKURE, MINOROU MINETA, the entirety of CLASS 1-B with the exception of NEITO MONAMA

ALL of SHIKETSU HIGH & KETSUBUTSU ACADEMY with the exceptions of CAMIE UTSUSHIMI, & YO SHINDOU

ALL PRO HEROS with the exceptions of KEIGO TAKAMI/HAWKS, RUMI USAGIYAMA/MIRKO, SHOUTA AIZAWA/ERASERHEAD, NEMURI KAYAMA/MIDNIGHT, & YU TAKEYAMA/MT LADY 

THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS with the exceptions of TOMURA SHIGARAKI, TOUYA TODOROKI/DABI, & HIMIKO TOGA

VIGILANTES

PARANORMAL LIBERATION FRONT

GENRES we write:

SMUT (MINORS DNI w/ 18+ CONTENT)

DARK CONTENT/DEAD DOVE: DO NOT EAT

YANDERE

ANGST

COLLEGE AU

FANTASY AU

FLUFF

MODERN/REAL LIFE AU

SOULMATE AU

SMAU

any AU You, yes You!, can think of! just send in an ask :3

ABOUT THE TRIO

CALIUS and XENOVA have known each other since 2020, and have been almost inseparable since then despite never having met in person (yet). 

CALIUS and FORDULA have known each other since 2022(?), having met in highschool, and hang out often irl.

XENOVA and FORDULA met through CALIUS.

[afabstract]

LSD 2: Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2 Review - OD's on Drama

Dibakar Banerjee's "LSD 2: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha 2" is a saturated sequel that spins out of control from its very first story. Read our spoiler-free review.

⭐⭐ Rating: 2 out of 5. Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram) When “LSD: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha” came out in 2010, it was as unique to Bollywood’s drama genre as “The Blair Witch Project” or “Paranormal Activity” was to the realm of horror movies. However, director Dibakar Banerjee’s 2024 sequel, “LSD 2: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha 2,” is a chaotic follow-up in the LSD filmverse, which packs the screen…

[horrorlamb]

The Franchise Files - Paranormal activity 2.

This review contains spoilers. Almost exactly 1 year after the first movie officially hit theatres, we were blessed with a second. Upon release, this broke the record for the biggest midnight gross of an R-rated movie with $6.3 million, and the biggest opening for a horror movie of all time, earning a total of $41,500,000 in its opening weekend (It is no longer even in the top 10).Very early on…

[irresistiibles]

was that dev patel? oh no no, that was just jonathan sims, a canon character from the magnus archives. they are thirty one years old, use he/they, and are not aware that they are not actually from washington dc. too bad they can’t stray from this city for long.

how long has your character been here

probably like 8 months but he believes he's lived here 13 years.

what is your character’s job

he works as an archivist for the national archives (and has worked in the past at george washington university as an archivist and honestly preferred that and might wind up going back to it especially once he's aware again)

where has your character been pulled from in their fandom

see that's a great question and kinda why he's unaware until i finish this relisten. he's not gonna be unaware too too long but i'm trying to figure out if i want him more middle of the series around season 2 or 3 or more at the end. if other people bring characters i'll probably see about potentially matching that or not to cause problems

has any magic affected your character

memories are gone!

more info:

**i'm going to keep spoilers light though it will mention some abilities jon has which are spoilers for like season 3? but i won't go into details about how or why he has those abilities

so unimportant but according to the wiki both john and jon are fine as spellings and i'll mostly be using jon.

head archivist from the magnus archives it's jon's job to go through statements from people about things of potentially paranormal activity

it's a horror podcast so obviously things devolve pretty fast but i won't get too far into it.

he's not the easiest to get along with in first meeting. he can come across as pretty rude and dismissive and condescending. he prioritizes his work over being nice and isn't the best at being social

but they are nice, they just aren't very good at being nice. jon can get very in his own head and tends to trust himself far more than others, which obviously leads to him being uh, just kinda obnoxious sometimes idk how else to say it

he thinks he moved to dc at 18 from britain in order to get his bachelor and masters in the us and wound up staying there after being offered a good job opportunity he couldn't turn up, so while he didn't grow up in dc he's been here a while

they're aware of the weirdness in dc, and have been doing some independent research on it, though jon is sure there's a reasonable explanation for it all that just hasn't been discovered yet

records all his research on a tape recorder of course.

honestly right now he's easier to get along with than he would be with his memories. yeah, they're a bit standoffish, and too smart for his own good with a tendency to pry, but jon is relatively nice beyond that and can be a bit of a pushover and easy to get around.

has some light powers of compulsion but does not know this at the moment and definitely has the chance to do it by accident. this is mostly used in terms of compelling people to answer questions he asks and we can definitely plot stuff with this is desired

asexual and biromantic

potential plots:

anyone he knows from work. government officials who have gone to him to retrieve records, students, what have you. listen my knowledge on legit archivist work is light but we'll make it work

a roommate as long as they're cool having a cat

some friends? honestly he's not hard to push into friendship if you can deal with their personality

definitely friends that drag him out to a bar or cafe or whatever because otherwise he will work late nights and weekends the guy needs to get out

someone they butt heads with, maybe met through work or something similar. jon is so easy to butt heads with if you take first impressions seriously.

maybe a barista jon sees all the time. he gets a lot of tea and would have a preferred particular order so

someone could absolutely get him hooked on energy drinks

some one off dates either past or present

since he's trying to research washington if your muse is aware and wants to talk about home or any of the crazy events jon would love to do an interview

i'll come up with more as i add him to my plot doc.