#the prophet-he speaks and you are not gonna like what he has to say

[hitwiththetmnt]

12 Donnie has some words for MM Leo if he’s gonna survive the writing room

[so-long-soldier-writes]

He’s Like A Puppy

kai parker x reader

summary: an argument starts up when damon and bonnie return to the boarding house to find you and kai spending time together. it goes south when you start to defend kai against your friends' remarks.

≪ originally publishes on ao3: 2/24/23 ≫

tags: discussion of murder, cupcakes, small biblical references, fluff

word count: 967

“Don’t you see that he’s dangerous? You’re insane to think otherwise,” Bonnie scolds you, pointing at Kai in the corner.

Kai, who, at this very moment, is sitting on a stool with a cupcake, a bit of the frosting on his nose.

“Very dangerous,” you comment, holding back a chuckle. 

She rolls her eyes, “you didn’t see him in the prison world. You don’t know what he’s done.”

“Killed some people? Doesn’t everyone do that around here?”

“So you think it’s okay?”

“I mean, no, it’s not okay, but if we’re gonna declare Kai evil because he killed a couple folks, then everyone else here is, too. I mean, hell. Stefan’s been a ripper, Damon’s… Damon, Elena’s famous for turning off her humanity, Caroline’s temperamental.”

“Y/N, he massacred his family, there’s a difference.”

“Is there? Killing your family, or killing strangers who had lives and families that you know nothing about? And for all we know, maybe it was a Menedez’ brothers situation.”

“Okay, yes, I see your point about the strangers. But are you implying it’s okay to kill your family if they hurt you a teensy bit?”

“May I just say it was more than a teensy bit?” Kai interrupts.

“Shut up-”

“You shut up, Damon, I’m trying to hear all sides of this story.”

“Y/N, you’re talking crazy right now! He’s a liar. A manipulative, sociopathic liar. Besides, his name’s Malachai, for heaven’s sake! He said it himself, ‘it’s like his parents expected him to be evil’.”

You chuckle.

“What’s so funny about that?” Damon’s eyes narrow. 

“You do know that ‘Malachai’ literally means ‘angel’, right? In fact, it’s a Biblical name. Malachai was a prophet of… y’know that actually doesn’t matter. Regardless, you can’t tell that someone’s evil based on their name. Unless that name is literally, like, Lilith. Or Lucifer.”

“Whatever. You can’t trust someone based on their name, either,” she counters.

“Didn’t say I trust him off his name. Just said we should treat him as we do everyone else in this massive fucking house that’s killed a bunch of people. And how do we treat them? Oh yeah - with understanding, and reason.”

“He stabbed me in the gut, Y/N.”

“So has Damon.”

“Yeah, but I have the right to kill her because we’re friends.”

“Do you even hear yourself when you speak, or is it white noise in your head while a little mouse plays scrabble with sentences?”

“Uncalled for.”

“Was it?”

They’re left at a standstill. No one is sure what to say next. 

“Okay,” you carefully start, “whether or not you trust Kai, he’s here. And, for reasons I don’t know but I also don’t care, he’s been staying here, at the boarding house. Now, since I’m your out-of-town friend, I am also staying here, at the boarding house. So what’s wrong with us hanging out since we’re quite often, literally the only two people here?”

They, again, see the point in your statement, but continue to bicker about it anyway.

“He could hurt you.”

“Could, yeah. But we were chilling for two hours before you guys came back. Nothing happened.”

“Except he’s eating the cupcakes that Elena specifically made for the party tonight.”

“Maybe you shoulda labeled them ‘no touching’ or something.”

“Are you defending him over this now?”

“Well now I’m just pointing out the obvious.”

“I just… Elena’s going to be pissed when she finds her cupcakes gone.”

“Only one’s gone, she’ll barely notice.”

“I’ll tell her he stole it.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, what’s she gonna do? Make him throw it back up?”

“One, gross. Two… maybe I’ll just let her finally kill him. That would solve a lot of our problems.”

You can’t help but smirk, “and we’ve come full circle. House of killers.”

Damon’s eyes widen as he realizes, “wait. No, wait. But it’s, ack, you suck. Fine. She won’t kill him. Just get him out of the kitchen.”

You shrug and make your way over to Kai, who’s now licking icing off his fingers. “Wanna go watch a movie?”

“Sure.” The answer is hesitant, but his excitement is given away with a sparkle in his eyes. 

“What? This was the original problem, Damon! They can’t be alone together! What if he snaps again?”

“Bonnie,” you take a deep breath, “he’s not going to hurt me.”

“How do you know that?”

“Look at him - he’s like a puppy. Just needs a friend and he’ll be okay. I’ll be fine. We’re gonna go get out of your hair, get out of your cupcakes, and watch a movie.” You state, taking his hand. 

“Call if you need anything,” Bonnie just rolls her eyes.

“Might need a grocery store run, but I won’t need help.”

“Whatever.”

◇◇◇◇

Halfway up the stairs, Kai looks behind him to face you, “why’d you call me a puppy?”

“Because you are one. Y’know, I mean what I said. I trust you, and you’re safe with me. You just need some company, Kai. It couldn’t have been easy being isolated for eighteen years.”

“So… you’re gonna be my company?”

“Is that okay?”

He smiles, his dimples showing on the sides of his face, “mhm.”

“Good. But two things… one, if you’re ever feeling angry or uneasy, come to me first, okay? I don’t want them to hurt you, so give me a chance to help you through it.”

“Okay.”

“And two, let’s not eat any more of Elena’s cupcakes. I know, pissing her off is fun sometimes, and they’re really good cupcakes. But we can make our own so Damon doesn’t kill us.”

“Fine, I won’t eat hers.”

“Sounds good. Thank you, Kai.”

“Thank you, actually. Um, for defending me earlier, and being a friend.”

“Of course. Now, let’s go watch a movie. I have Oreos in my room.”

[silkkorchid]

What went down in TWST rp in a week-

Covers 3/30 - 4/5

This week was ok ish…

NRC therapist and Gardening club seems to be planning something against Mrs. Rosehearts…

NRC Newspaper club has a new member called, Atlas, seeming to be an unofficial prophet for NRC, thanks to his Unique Magic.

There is a Dance Club at NRC now-

One of the hosts and the host club seem to have a questionable draft that was soon posted by another host. I’m looking at you 🪞⚜️.

NRC Host Club has now a menu of food, with the one of them being uhm a very clever name for it!

NRC cooking club made a disgusting salad that I cannot describe…

NRC allows students to have tazer if worn correctly…

Another race is happening between Royal Sword Academy and Night Raven College. And there is a poll which school is going to win, some students at NRC are rigging the poll.

Both of RSA and NRC Cleaning club have log entries.

Che’nya is at it with the invisible boop towards the boys.

Some of the boys’ future children are throwing powder ball at them, for no apparent reasons???

The Diasomnia gossip account seems to be telling all the juicy stuff that happens in Diasomnia- wait does Malleus even know this exists?

Someone said Sebek is just… I can’t say it as I’m gonna puke…

A boop war has commenced between us who will get the most boops.

A boop battle between Ruggie and Silver. Silver surrender with Ruggie being the winner .

A student of Diasomnia ate a whole pathway since they were hungry. The person that did this, u know.

Malleus and Althea is having a boop match across campus. Then lasers were incorporated into this match of theirs.? After all that happens, Althea and Malleus end their boop match with ice cream.

Althea trying kidnap Gidel, NO TOUCHING THE CHILD ALTHEA!

General Lilia came back from the dead.

Lilia destroyed the microwave again, wait is that smoke coming from Diasomnia?

Lilia got into Ramshackle’s kitchen and yeeeee….

Riddle realized his mother now got a Tumblr account-

Ace got food poisoning, and Riddle ban him from the kitchen till he gets his credit for the mandatory cooking class.

Mrs. Rosehearts has came back after 4 days. Someone gotta hold onto me before I jump her.

Seems like fans of Riddle are pushing their buttons with Mrs. Rosehearts, and I’m proud seeing them being straight forward on causing chaos.

Ace destroyed a microwave. No questions ask.

Ace got collared for the millionth time.

Ruggie’s future child SOMEHOW broke through a wall!? H-how does that logic work!?

Someone cast a spell onto ruggie in which made him wear bunny ears and a tail.

Leona is trying to pass his responsibility onto Ruggie.

Azul has now met his future child after idk how long.

@quartztwst made Azul bald.

Jamil trying to prevent Alcestris dating Najima, his sister. Meanwhile Althea cheering Alce on…

Epel came back after a beauty break to see the last update before shortly going offline.

Idia arguing which anime he and his future children will watch.

Idia allowing his future children to commit arson…. Ortho please stop him being a bad influence to his own future children…

Idia loosing his shit when the topic of Sonic came up.

Idia lost something very important for his magic pen.

Someone reminded Idia that he accidentally left Ortho’s filter off and you know the story.

The boys’ future children somehow got gender-bend due to a potion.?

The children tried monopoly and it turn into a full on war.

One of Sam’s friends can speak that wired language that I can’t understand-

Cheka came back after a long nap.

Someone taught Cheka to swear-

Fellow and Gidel is at it again trying to find new puppets…

[achaotichuman]

Wrap Me In Your Skin And Bones

Day 2 of @sjmvillainweek !!! The prompts for day are Planning/Weakness, I decided to go with Weakness, this oneshot is about Beron x Lady of Autumn.

A/N- To clear up any confusion, yes I know Beron was already High lord when he was engaged to the LoA and yes I know it was most likely a politcal alliance, but I have changed it so that they fell in love before he ascended to the throne.

Summary:

“I can’t.” The words were begging. Beron Vanserra, for once in his life, he begged for something.

That had to mean something. Surely, surely it had to mean something. Anything.

Under the moonlight, two lovers meet. One sworn to the throne The other to the freedom of the forest Both born of fire Both too far in love Under the moonlight, two lovers meet. One to say goodbye The other to convince them to stay

Before Beron ascended to the throne, and before their love turned bitter, the Lady of the Autumn Court and the High lord were completely, irrevocably in love.

(Inspired by Skin and Bones by David Kushner)

Read on Ao3 or below the cut!

I fantasize to feel you like a bullet

And all your layers to the fullest

But the heavens won't condone it,

“I can’t,” The words were a hoarse whisper, a plea, spoken into this space of their shared air. The dark corner, hidden under the night’s cloaking shadows. His face was illuminated by the moonlight, those deep, dark eyes bathed in silver. She cupped his cheek, gently forcing him to look her in the eyes. His arms and hands gripped her waist so tightly. Like he was afraid if he let go, she would fade into the darkness never to be seen again. 

“Please,” She whispered back. 

“Andrea-”

“Please.” She repeated, stronger, firmer. She cupped his face with both hands now. Her hands were soft, so soft, too soft. Not scarred, not stained. He screwed his eyes shut, all of it, all of her, it was too much. 

“My father…” He murmured. 

“He never has to know.” Andrea dared to say it, dared to speak the words she had long kept locked in her throat. The idea that she could keep an Heir’s heart captive. 

You deceivin', wayward woman

You're a false prophet at the pulpit

The condition of your soul is erodin'

“Andrea,” He repeated, starting to pull back. 

“Beron.” She said, stepping forward. This couldn’t be lost, it wouldn’t be lost to her. She refused to let this die. 

“I can’t.” The words were begging. Beron Vanserra, for once in his life, he begged for something. 

That had to mean something. Surely, surely it had to mean something. Anything. 

“Why can’t you try?!” Tears sprung from her eyes as she stepped forward again. 

This had to end tonight, it had gone on too long, she knew that. He had told her so, when it started. At the very beginning on that fateful night under the cover of the Autumn leaves, with the cool air on their skin, with his hot lips on her neck, he told her it couldn’t last. For the good of both of them. 

But…

She knew. She knew what had to be done. 

It didn’t stop her heart from aching. 

Her tears, falling down his face made his face twist in pain and frustration. 

Wrap me in your skin and bones, yeah, you're electrical

Oh, I'm gonna lose control, yeah, as you pull me close

Wrap me in your skin and bones, yeah, you're electrical

Oh, I'm gonna lose control

“Because I cannot be the man you love forever, Andrea!” He finally snapped, “The throne will always come first and with that comes… consequences. Damages to the soul that cannot be undone.”

“I am not afraid!” Andrea shouted. 

“I cannot be weak!” Beron shouted back. 

She laugh-sobbed, nearly doubling over, “Is this what it’s about?”

He did not answer her, only stepped further back, retreating into the forests. The branches groaned and snapped as their curled in towards him, like he would be swallowed in the forest. 

“Love is not weakness!” She screamed, she felt like she was talking to a brick wall. No, a brick wall might have more reason. 

“It is for me.” Beron told her, “It is for me. Love is blind, Andrea. People will make it my weakness. You will be the weapon they use against me.”

“Beron,” She said softly, as more tears poured down her face. She was standing here, watching him walk away from all of this, and she knew it was coming and god it still hurts. 

He swallowed hard, breathing deeply through his nose. As much as he tried to hide it, she still saw the silver pooling in those eyes she loved so much. Too much. 

As your flatter talk shivers down my spine

I hear the Holy One exposin' all the lies

Lord, forgive me, I know my flesh needs to die

“It’s not enough, Andrea.” Beron said, in a clear, strong voice, a forced voice, “You are not enough.”

It felt like a dagger was being driven into her stomach over and over and over. She reached out for him, and he took another step back. 

“Whatever it takes,” She said, “Please, I will do whatever it takes.”

“You will be the ruin of us!” He said, those tears fell, and they turned to vapor on his skin, “You will ruin us and you will ruin me!”

“What will it take?” She dared to continue, his hands began to steam, as fire swirled like fine wine in his eyes. She only summoned the amber of her own burning gaze. His fire was the last thing she was afraid of. 

“You are so bold now, that will be drained from you. You cannot handle what happens in the Vanserra family, Andrea, you are free now, you could never be caged and be happy.” His tone was wistful, he was trying desperately to convince her, and it only hardened her resolve. 

“I will be with you, that is better than anything else.”

“You are naive.”

“I am in love.”

A small smile, “Like I said, love is blind.”

She has the lips red as cherry wine

A poisonous kiss, she's part of the swine

My salvation won't be sacrificed

“Beron.” Andrea reached out, and for once, he didn’t step away. He let her take the Heir’s hand in her own, but he couldn’t meet her eyes. He looked down at his feet, hanging his head, almost ashamed. 

She took his chin between two fingers, lifting his eyes to hers. Andrea leaned in closer. Her lips brushing his own. 

Beron’s breathing hitched, and he barely choked out, “Please.”

“Please what?” She hummed. 

“Anything.” He croaked, “I-”

Beron broke. He broke entirely, his body began to shake uncontrollably and Andrea immediately pulled him into her arms. Wrapping herself entirely around him as his big arms pulled her in, no matter how many times he tried to step back, he always ended up twice as many closer. 

Beron buried his face into her fiery curls, breathing in her scent deeply. Rubbing his calloused hands over every part of her he could reach. Like he were willing them to stay in this moment forever. She would gladly. She’d never leave if it were up to her. 

“This will be the ruin of us both.” He said. 

“I’d have it no other way.”

“You will regret it,” He said, but he held her tighter all the same. 

Wrap me in your skin and bones, yeah, you're electrical

Oh, I'm gonna lose control, yeah, as you pull me close

-Skin and Bones by David Kushner

[lemon-natalia]

Harrow the Ninth Reaction - Chapter 50

thirty minutes before the Emperor’s murder and i still have no idea who’s gonna do it or why

Commander Wake. the commander who is Gideon's mother. who is Awake, the Sleeper. Who is in Cytherea’s dead body. Cytherea being the one Gideon had a crush on. WHO IS BEING POSSESSED BY GIDEON’S DEAD MOTHER. WHO IS THE BOE LEADER, COMMANDER WAKE. i’m fucking speechless what is this

also she’s calling the Emperor ‘Gaius’, do they fucking know each other??

omfg her full name includes ‘Snap me back to reality oops there goes Gravity’ wtf. weirdly i feel like thats such a Gideon (Nav) name to have, except she’s taking it so seriously 

‘did the ten billion give you that too.’ ‘how many babies died in the bomb Gaius’ oh this guy really did cause the apocalypse somehow didn’t he, fuuuck

scratch the others, this is the most tense tea party there’s been so far

‘it’s all come out’ what in the world’s most dramatic intervention is this

COMMANDER WAKE ME UP INSIDE 

both Mercymorn and Augustine were conspiring with the BoE?? i didn’t see that coming, especially not Mercymorn

the eggs from the first message weren’t a metaphor????? they were literal goddamn eggs wtf

she was gonna kill said baby in order to enter the Locked Tomb, and nicknamed it the ‘Bomb’. um wow. why is everyone’s immediate plan in these books to jump straight to the baby murder. 

GIDEON (1.0) JUST KILLED HER?? again? can you even say you killed a ghost. what. what. i thought they were a thing what is going on. Gideon just saw her mother for the very first time in her life, talking about how she was planning to murder Gid as a baby, possessing the body of someone she had a crush on who also tried to kill her, get murdered. oh she’s gonna need so much counselling after this. 

speaking of, how the fuck did the relationship between Gideon 1.0 and Wake start, that feels very complicated 

and he thought the baby was his. key word being thought. not was. then who the fuck is the baby daddy. this whole shebang would make for a very entertaining episode of Dr Phil. or whatever tv shows it is that do dna tests, i don’t watch a lot of reality tv

i really didn’t think a conception story could get more fucked up than Harrow’s, but Gideon’s giving her a very strong run for her money

‘Hi, not fucking dead. I’m Dad’ YOU JUST FOUND OUT YOU HAVE A SECRET BABY WHY WOULD YOU SAY THIS. its been about a minute and he’s already cracking dad jokes. is making bad puns genetic in the Locked Tomb world or something, because that would say a lot about Gideon quite frankly 

i cannot believe the fact that these guys were in a threesome has been plot relevant two times over now

also Gideon is the fucking. daughter of the GOD of this world i guess. well there’s an explanation for why she’s so resistant to not dying then. if he wasn’t super dead, i think Silas’s reaction to this info would be so fucking funny

also. given Ianthe presumably doesn’t know about any of the details of Gideon’s birth, childhood, etc. she’s gotta be even more confused than Gideon right now

also also remember when i had that dream about the Locked Tomb? my subconscious is a prophet, apparently:

[kryptid-writes]

Chapter 4 - A Winchester Welcome

Y/N finds herself in a bunker with three unfamiliar men that are determined to help her. 

(1.9k)

I stir to the sound of unfamiliar voices, sounding muffled and far away. 

“You must know something, I mean, why would he just take some regular girl?” A man with a gruff voice says.

“I’ve heard nothing of it. She’s not on the list of prophets and she doesn’t seem to have any connections to Heaven or Hell,” another man replies, his voice low, gravelly, and unusually monotone. 

“So what? He just abducted her for fun?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” a third man pitched in, his voice slightly softer than the others.

My eyes flutter open, the light falling on my sensitive pupils. I quickly come to the realization that I am no longer in the house that Lucifer had dragged me to. I’m slumped over in a chair sat at a long wooden table in what looks to be some sort of underground shelter or bunker. 

The foundation is made of steel, layed with brick, and supported by concrete pillars. Hundreds of books and weird artifacts displayed on shelves line every wall, illuminated by the soft warm glow of overhead lights. 

I must consider my options quickly. Who knows how long it will take for the three men across the room to notice that I am no longer asleep. If I've learned anything recently, it's that the world is a lot more frightening than I've ever known before and nobody can be trusted. 

I have to find a way out and fast. Running clearly hasn’t worked out for me, so that only leaves me one option: I have to fight my way out of here. I scan the room around me looking for anything to defend myself with. My eyes land on a sharp letter opener laying on the table in front of me on a stack of scattered papers and books. It’s not ideal, but it will have to do. I swipe it quickly and hold it at arm's length in front of me as I quietly rise from my seat. 

This catches their attention, stopping their conversation dead in its tracks. For a second there’s silence, it hangs uncomfortably in the air until the tallest man finally speaks up.

“Hey, it’s okay. We’re not gonna hurt you,” he says in a gentle, soothing voice, that in any other circumstance would have put me at ease. 

He has long flowing locks of brown hair tucked behind his ears and a blue flannel that hugs his tall, muscular build. He’s well over six feet tall, not someone that I could easily take in a fight, he’d most likely snap me in half without breaking a sweat. But something about him is soft and caring. 

He takes a hesitant step towards me and raises his hands to show he means no harm.

“Stay away from me you demonic fucks!” I yell, swinging the letter opener and slowly backing away towards the open hallway behind me. Truthfully I have no clue what the layout of this building is. For all I know, this hall could lead me even deeper into this nightmare of a situation, but staying in this room trapped with three mysterious men is not an option.

“We’re not demons, we’re here to help you. I’m Sam and this is my brother Dean Winchester,” he gestures between him and the other man in flannel. 

Dean puts on a fake smile and gives a half hearted wave. 

My eyes shift to the man in a trenchcoat behind them, standing silently with an intense gaze.

Dean catches this and gives him a subtle nudge to the shoulder. 

The man looks confused and annoyed at first, then clears his throat. “I am Castiel. Angel of the Lord,” he states flatly.

“Yeah? Well I've had enough of you twisted angels for a lifetime. So, if you'll excuse me, I’ll be taking my leave!” My voice quivers, but my face stays strong and stoic. I take a step back towards the nearest hallway, readying myself to make an escape.

Sam seems to take pity on me, clearly seen in his big brown puppy dog eyes.

 Dean and Castiel on the other hand, look rather annoyed.

“You don't want to do that,” Dean warns.

“Yeah, and why’s that?” I huff, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Lucifer seems to have taken an interest in you and he will stop at nothing to find you. If there’s one thing I know about my brother, it’s that he’s stubbornly persistent,” the angel weighs in.

“We have this place sigilled to high Heaven. He won’t be able to get to you in here, but as soon as you leave those doors, we can’t protect you from him,” Dean says, crossing his arms.

“Why would you want to help me?” 

“It’s what we do,” he replies with a smile.

“I promise you, you’re safe here. You just have to trust us,” Sam says, approaching me carefully like I'm some wounded animal. 

I give a quick nod and reluctantly lower the letter opener, deciding to let my guard down, seeing as I don’t have many other options at the moment. 

Sam takes the blade from my hand and flashes me a relieved smile, placing it on the worn wooden table. He pulls out two chairs, the scrape of wood echoing around the large room. He sits on the chair to the right and pats the other, urging me to sit next to him. 

With caution I slide into the chair, never taking my eyes off him in fear this all may be a trap.

“What’s your name?” He asks kindly, gently placing his hand on mine in an act of sincerity. 

I can’t help but remember the feeling of Lucifer's hand over mine, the buzz of electricity that quivered through us. I shake off the memory, refocusing my attention on Sam.

Dean and Castiel leave the room, having a hushed conversation between the two.

“Y/N.”

“That’s a lovely name.” He pauses for a moment, thinking of what to say. “How are you holding up? I’m sure this is a lot to take in at once.” He feathers his hands through his hair, tucking a strand behind his ear.

“I’ve been better,” I reply bitterly.

He nods sympathetically. 

The room goes quiet as we both become lost in thought.

Dean returns holding three bottles of beer, Cas following not far behind. He places a bottle in front of me, popping off the cap with a pocket knife before taking his seat across the table.

 Cas looms awkwardly behind him, staring me down suspiciously, like a bomb that may go off at any moment.

Without a second thought, I grab the bottle, putting the cold glass rim up to my lips and chug. I close my eyes and feel the bubbly liquid flowing down my throat, leaving a warm sensation in its wake. I drink until the bottle’s completely empty, shaking it lightly to get every last drop. The alcohol eases my worries, reminding me of my days before the dreams started, before being kidnapped by the devil, before being injected by the mystery serum, before finding myself in a bunker with two men and their angel. The days, that in hindsight, I really took for granted. I open my eyes to see everyone staring at me intently. 

Sam looks surprised, eyebrows raised and mouth slightly ajar. 

Dean on the other hand smiles, clearly impressed. “So,” Dean says, trailing his eyes over my form. “Why is Lucifer so fixated on you?” He asks, kicking his feet up to rest on the table and taking a swig of his beer. 

Sam shoots him a disapproving look, but chooses not to say anything.

“I’m not sure actually.” I glance down at my hands, picking at the skin of my cuticles absentmindedly.

Sam silently hands me his beer.

 I nod appreciatively and take a sip, choosing to savor it this time. “I started having dreams of him about a month ago. Terrible, terrible dreams. Then he abducted me. I thought for sure he was going to kill me, but he seemed possessive and surprisingly affectionate towards me?” I say uncertain, not entirely sure if I believe the words coming out of my mouth.

The three men exchange glances between each other, somewhere between confusion and skepticism. 

“Affection?” Dean asks, raising his brow.

“Yeah, he kept calling me his beloved and assuring me everything was going to be okay,” I say the words like they’re sour in my mouth, leaving behind a bitter taste. 

Dean's face twists in disgust picturing it. “So that’s it? Did he do anything else?” Dean questions, his deep voice echoing off the walls.

“Yes,” I state in an angry tone. 

The boys lean in, waiting for me to say more, but I choose not to elaborate further. I’m not too keen on sharing the most traumatic event I've ever experienced with some strange men I just met.

“I’d like to go to my room, please.” I grab the bottle and take a long swig, tracing my eyes along the wall, purposefully looking anywhere besides them.

“Y/N,” Sam says in his soft voice, indirectly asking for more information.

“Please, Sam.” I give in, looking at his soft hazel eyes. 

He nods, then stands from the chair and escorts me to an empty bedroom down the hall. We walk in silence, only the sound of footsteps echoing through the hall. “Dean’s just one room over and my room is across the way.” He points to a room a few doors down across the hall. “We’ll be here if you need anything at all.” He places his large hand on my shoulder, giving a light, reassuring squeeze.

“Thanks.” I close the door behind me, letting out a long breath I didn’t even know I was holding in. Looking around, the room is neatly cleaned. Mostly barren besides a bed, a nightstand with a small lamp, and a leather trunk at the foot of the bed. Despite the place feeling void of human touch, I still feel more comfortable here than in Lucifer's abode.

 I enter the small connected bathroom and shrug off my dirty clothes, turning on the shower. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Despite the hours of sleep I've gotten recently without much say in the matter, my eyes have light purple bags under them like I've been awake for days. My hair’s a mess, strands going every which way and little knots forming at the ends. I run my fingers through, slowly working through the tangles until it looked somewhat presentable.

I step into the shower and the hot water feels incredible. It temporarily melts away the memories of the day, the tension easing out of my muscles. I lather my hair with the small bottle of lavender shampoo in the nook of the shower, and wash all the grime from my body with the tiny bar of soap. Getting clean has never felt so good in all my life.  I close my eyes and stand under the stream until the warm water runs cold, the drops feeling like little needles hitting my skin.

After drying off and brushing my teeth, I slip into bed, only dressed in my underwear, as I don’t have any clean clothes to change into. My body relaxes knowing that I’m safe from Lucifer in this bunker, at least for the time being, and that’s good enough for me. For a long while I sit awake, staring at the ceiling, my mind running so fast yet feeling so empty, but eventually exhaustion sets in and sleep claims me once more.

Series Masterlist

Full Masterlist

[dichromaticdyke]

GUYS I'M HAVING ANOTHER BOUT OF DIVINE MADNESS

i've been seing posts here and there expressing disappointment at aotd not giving us more answers about the lore of Salacia and the Whale Prophet and all that, and i agree, it's a bit disappointing to not know definitively what's going on with them.

BUT.

I THINK THE LORE WAS IN FRONT OF US THIS WHOLE FUCKING TIME.

if you liked my analysis of "Aortic Desecration," "SOS," and "Blazing Star," then hopefully you'll like my analysis (and HEAVY theorizing) of Dethklok's most enigmatic running theme—the "Murmaider" trilogy of songs.

okay strap in i'm probably gna sound like charlie day's pepe silvia rant. i'm gonna start just by breaking down the story of the "Murmaider" trilogy i'll also be skipping any lyrics in the songs that aren't directly connected to by analysis/theory (such as the parts where nathan is just listing different murder weapons or chanting "murmaider").

so, starting with murmaider. this is the only song of the trilogy to actually make an appearance in the show, with the other two being exclusive to their respective dethalbums, but even still, this song only plays for a few seconds, and it's just the chorus. this song appeared in "dethwater," the same episode that established dethklok's connection to the water. this episode also notably featured toki's guitar picking up the sounds of whales (something that would later be revisited when edgar noticed this in season 4 and began decoding the whales' messages).

There are no fingerprints deep underwater Nothing to tie one to a crime And if you seek vengeance All you need are instruments of pain

so the story being established here is pretty clear. some unknown protagonist that nathan is speaking to is going to kill someone underwater so that he can seek vengeance and not get caught.

But beware For when you quench your bloodthirst Others will seek vengeance on you And they won't rest until you're dead

nathan warns this protagonist that his actions will cause those related to the victim to seek vengeance on him. fair enough.

Hold your breath and swim and strain Smell of death, can't escape Blood will cloud, drift away Attract the murders of mermaids It's so cold, they all know What you've done, you can't run Vengeance is the law for thee A thousand leagues below the sea

this is where it starts to get interesting. the fact that those that are seeking vengeance on our protagonist are mermaids says to me that the initial victim was a mermaid. if not a mermaid, they were at least some kind of sea creature. otherwise, why would the mermaids care all that much? care to the point of vengeance? but the next portion sinks this theory for me.

You've been tracked, you've been seen Murdering the next of kin Ate their hearts, drank their blood Washed your fins in blackened mud

"murdering the next of kin" is very important. next of kin to what? or to whom? did our protagonist kill a mermaid/sea creature's child?

Now you swim, try to hide Heart beats faster from inside Thought it was a big charade Your life was ended by mermaids

so our protagonist tries to escape from the mermaids seeking vengeance on him, hiding in the water, but in the water, the mermaids are able to find him, and they kill him.

now let's look at murmaider ii: the water god. already, this song seems important, namedropping a god and all.

The gods watch over you And they consider what you've done But now you've hidden away to gain your strength Deep in a cave Your power is regained And your legacy has spread to the deepest of the sea The one that brought them vengeance That fights for his belief

now, this is where the theorizing really starts to come in. who is this that nathan is speaking to? this figure that nathan is speaking to here is a figure that has "brought [...] vengeance." specifically, it seems that they've brought vengeance to the gods that now watch over them. is this the same protagonist as in "Murmaider?" that seems impossible, as it's implied that that protagonist died. though that protagonist was bringing vengeance, but we're not sure whom to. we also don't know for sure if the mermaids who allegedly killed the previous protagonist are gods or work with gods. put a pin in this.

He can swim through matter He has poisoned teeth His tentacles have murdered His scream can kill the weak He's got explosives (check) Corrosives (check) A master of the art of murder Mermaids weep the blackened tears

despite this being in third person, this still is referring to the protagonist whom nathan is speaking to. this is a direct continuation of nathan speaking about his legacy as "the one that brought them vengeance / that fights for his belief." this is establishing the power that the protagonist has. anyway, mermaids crying blackened tears over this protagonist? seems important.

So you swim to a sunken ship Invited by a soul who bleeds from the lips The prophet, who beckons you, wades in the dark Speaks an ancient language, this language is of sharks

HEY LOOK A WATER PROPHET, THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR. however, this isn't the water prophet we're most familiar with—we're familiar with a whale (not a shark) whom is referred to with she/her pronouns (not he/him). but that doesn't mean this isn't important. put up another pin.

He says, "You're the one that I decree The one who can save us and set us free You've gained the power of a deity You have the strength to wake us from this sleep" [...] And the prophet gives to you this warning: "If this path is chosen you'll be met with strife For you'll be seen as an enemy of the sacred And the gods will curse you for the rest of your life" And you say, "I get by just fine (check) I've known much worse life (check) I've conquered dark times (check) They should fear my might (check)"

so this shark prophet, as i'll refer to him, is telling our protagonist that, because of their power, they will get the right to further divine powers so long as the protagonist uses this power to help..."us." however, in freeing the nebulous "us," this puts our protagonist in conflict with the gods and other holy/sacred beings. this doesn't dissuade our protagonist, having full confidence in his abilities and power.

So now you know then, go then Swim on through the cold then Harness your strength Because one day you may be called To meet the mighty gods Deep within the ocean And if you're not prepared Your soul will not be spared

OKAY BOYS, HERE'S WHERE IT'S GETTING FUCKING INTERESTING. our protagonist is told to lay low, gather strength, and wait for the moment when they will go up against the ocean deities. again, DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR? don't forget this, but take out that pin from earlier. this protagonist is the same protagonist as in "Murmaider." he didn't die—his "life was ended," but given his divine power and strength, that doesn't necessarily mean death in the permanent sense. the mermaids were bitterly weeping about this protagonist, someone that they thought they had killed but whom is still alive, getting stronger, waiting...

Your eyes have gone black You'll never look back You'll never stop swimming You'll always be tracked Your life has transformed Your power has grown Your minions stretch for leagues For a bloodied coral throne A crown of murdered foes Will sit upon your head Those that wish to challenge you Will wish that they were dead The beasts of the sea will collect and submit Pray for your forgiveness and live as you permit

okay, pretty straightforward yet again. the protagonist is getting stronger, hiding away from the mermaids, gathering minions, killing those in his way. "the beasts of the sea will collect and submit." this is a warning.

And you say, "I am the water god You will bow to the water god You will live for the water god And you will die for the water god" [...] And the deities loom nearer They will find you

the power has gone to our protagonist's head. he is demanding fealty, proclaiming his own divinity, whilst the true divine beings continue to track him down.

okay. murmaider iii. let's look at the conclusion of this story.

The blackened deep The coral keep The dying king Will no one weep? Ruled in fury Incurred his debt This wretched prize Crown of regret Scavenger Savager Blasphemer Vile Violator Tormentor Murmaider Guile

once again, pretty straightforward. our protagonist, who had decided himself a water god, a ruler, is dying. he's been a vicious ruler, and he may have regrets over this, but he also may not wish to go back on anything he's done.

Within this dying sea The Murmaid Three arrive These witches have foreseen The end of everything

three hags with the power of foresight? damn that's crazy, i too love the three fates from greek mythology.

They say, "Your power blinds you Your DETH will find you Vengeance from your enemies Your kingdom crushed, your subjects bleed Refuse defiance Forge this alliance From the land (check), from the sky (check) And from the blackened fire"

so, the murmaid three are giving our protagonist a chance to avoid his fate of a vicious death. let's note, firstly, that the spelling DETH is important in mtl, as this is the spelling used when referring to the dethlights, and other divine power harnessed by dethklok. but looking past that because we haven't gotten to the analysis portion yet, our protagonist has already forged alliances with land and sky deities, just not from the deities of blackened fire. interesting, blackened fire is also a reoccurring theme in mtl, i wonder if that's important.

The end's approaching (We survive) Darkness encroaching (We survive) This nautic land (We survive) Our final stand (We will swim, check) We will swim (We will fight, check) We will fight (In the deep, check) In the deep

the protagonist doesn't seem to care about forging this alliance, instead choosing to fight.

The final dream The gleaming reef The silver light The murmaids sing The blackened fire The blazing sky The pluming ink The sea beast cry His final sleep But we survive

hey wow, namedropping "Murmaider," "Black Fire Upon Us," and "Blazing Star" all in one verse? damn that's crazy. anyway the protagonist fucking died, but "we" survives. i think the "we" is meant to be dethklok, like. just pretty clearly. nathan and dethklok have never been portraying anyone besides themselves in this series of songs, just singing to/about the protagonist.

anyway, i think this was all about salacia and the whale prophet, with salacia being our protagonist.

i think salacia, back when he was a proper god, fully fused with the four other souls, was a powerhungry god. at some point, he felt wronged by the whale prophet in some way or another, and he killed her child. the mermaids went to try to get vengeance on him, and they thought they killed him, but what they really did was separate the four souls from him, sending them into the doomstar.

salacia fled the ocean from her. now that he was so wounded and only at half his power and strength, staying in the water would allow the whale prophet to find him. this shark prophet in the story, though, is a figure that doesn't show up anywhere in mtl. but we know that salacia can change form, so, why not the whale prophet? though, yes, she wants vengeance too, but she also wants to see what he's capable of. she needs to know what she's up against, after all. she tells him just to rest up, wait for when she calls upon him. but he doesn't do that. he harnesses further power from her, using it to start a reign of terror.

eventually though, he realizes the truth of what/who she is, and he flees the water. out of the water, he no longer has connection to the whale prophet's power, and his own natural powers are dwindling. this would be around the time that he starts the tribunal in a final attempt to regain his lost power. the tribunal is his alliance with the land (check), and his attempt to seek power from the doomstar and the four souls is his alliance with the sky (check). that just leaves dethklok as the blackened fire. i'm not gonna go into a whole analysis of "black fire upon us" to prove i'm right, but they've been connected with the imagery of blackened fire for a long time...ughh i'll get into it in another post. but anyway, salacia doesn't foster an alliance with dethklok, instead using and harming them to get what he wants. the blazing doomstar endows dethklok with the power of the dethlights, and they use that power to send salacia back to the water, where the whale prophet devours him, finally getting her vengeance from what he'd done all those years ago.

this all might be a stretch. as i was finishing this, i was starting to think i was crazy, and maybe i am. maybe i'm way overthinking this, and we'll never truly know what the hell was going on with salacia and the whale prophet and all that god stuff. that's fine with me, tbh. but i hope you all like my little theory, this took me two hours to write once i thought of it while waiting for the bus.

[dramionediscussion]

I am so tired of fics that drag out miscommunications. I just 'noped' out of a fic where Draco's parents manipulated him and Astoria into kissing on New Years - mostly Astoria going in for the kiss. And it was in the Prophet and Hermione saw the prophet and the miscommunication persisted for FAR TOO LONG. Years, in fic. Hermione cried but abandoned their secret relationship in a show of cowardice and pride and Draco didn't go after her, but they both wallowed in self pity and indecision while pining for each other and AARGH! That's not a miscommunication/pining fic. That's are "they are stupid on biblical proportions because lets have them act like kids with their feelings hurt having tantrums instead of acting like adults" fic. Blimey.

I once read one where Astoria and Daphne were like sisters to Draco, he was closer to Astoria since she was about 5 years younger and he considered her a little sister. They were having problems with their parents and Draco offered to help them out with the pureblood stuff. I think they wanted to leave the family and wanted their inheritance but couldn't because they were girls. Daphne was okay since she was getting married to Theo, so she was gonna get her inheritance and disown her parents, but Astoria was still underage. So Draco found some pureblood loophole.

Anyway, Draco and Hermione are dating, only his side knows, she doesn't tell her side. She meets Astoria and Daphne and she knows some of what they are going through, and Draco told her that he has a way to help, she understands that he can't reveal all to her right now. Then something happens to Astoria, Draco has to leave unexpectedly, he sends a letter, and goes to Astoria to take her and protect her, Daphne and Theo are with him. But Rita Skeeter sees them first and writes an article and of course lies. I think she sees Draco leaving with Astoria early in the morning and makes up a lie that they are in a relationship and about how they had a marriage contract in place (he did have one with Daphne, which was broken since she is with Theo, which Hermione knows about).

Anyway Hermione sees this article first then the letter and burns the letter and ignores Draco. So he rightfully stays away. If she wants to believe Rita Skeeter, then fine. Now none of the Slytherins speak to her. She reveals she was with Draco to her friends, they obviously bash him, Hermione doesn't defend him. Then after a few weeks, Astoria finds Hermione and tells her off, Hermione feels bad then goes to Draco to apologize. Her friends tell her no, you are better off without him, but she says she loves him. And Draco immediately forgives her!

UGH!

I find with a lot of misunderstanding fics like this and what you describe, Hermione is always the one at fault for not stopping to at least hear Draco out, and she never properly apologizes but Draco instantly forgives her.

And when it is Draco at fault, he has to grovel for her to forgive him.

But in most fics, they are adults, communicate with each other!!

-Lisa

[bodacious-energizedprotodermis]

without having done any research, I'm gonna guess that Jayfeather was the first of the Three to have his powers fleshed out by the writing team. his powers feel like a natural continuation of Leafpool's own powers (psychic bond with Squilf where they sense each other's emotions, and sometimes their thoughts, can enter the Dark Forest on her own, saw Brambleclaw's dreams on her own seemingly without StarClan knowing).

How could Jayfeather not have the power he has? It's in his blood. I also think him and the others losing their powers is fucking stupid

read more for my headcanon ramblings of 'connection with StarClan'/'having some kind of power/destiny' is inheritable, so if a cat with a great destiny (a leader, a medicine cat, a cat involved in prophecy) has children, this power/influence on destiny can grow with each following generation

Firestar - has had prophetic dreams since his kittypet days. When he shares this fact with Cinderpelt, she says something along the lines of it being an unusual trait. At the time this was written, dreams from StarClan tended to only be sent to cats actively seeking a closer bond with StarClan through service (medicine cats, Clan leaders).

Leafpool & Squirrelflight - can sense each other's emotions and, to some extent, sense each other's thoughts. They can even sense what the other is tasting! (Squirrelflight is also one of the cats who received the dream to go to the Sundrown Place, arguably one of the most consequential prophecies at this point in the series, which is not directly tied to Jayfeather but still fits into this trend.)

Leafpool - has a limited ability to go into the Dark Forest on her own, and see into other cats' dreams. She follows Brambleclaw into the Dark Forest in New Prophecy (and chooses to not tell anyone, LEAFPOOL WHAT THE F-)

Jayfeather - has an incredibly strong ability to sense other cats emotions, most of the time without intending to (this leads to him wanting to be alone most of the time, he is constantly aware of what others are feeling, especially when it's directed at him!). He is also able to sense the thoughts and intentions behind the emotions of cats who are awake, though the extent to which he is able to seems to depend on the individual cat and the emotions they are feeling at the time (for example, wariness or fear are sometimes described by him as being "thorny barriers" that he cannot sense past). It is easier for him to read the minds of cats who are asleep - by entering their dreams. He can also go to the Dark Forest on his own.

To me, this shows a trend of an ability/influence on destiny growing with each successive generation.

How does Dovewing fit into this direct descendant scheme, you might ask? Well. I'm not there in my reread journey yet.

However. It all leads back to Jake. It's late so pardon me while I go off the rails

It's not the connection to Firestar that matters, not just being kin with him. Oh no. It's being Jake's kin.

Although Jake is outside the scope of my current progress of my reread, if we included him in the list it would look like this: Jake - befriends Pinestar, and welcomes him when Pinestar becomes a kittypet. Also befriends Talltail/star, and convinces Talltail to not carry out revenge against Sparrow. No powers to speak of, but arguably has had a not-small impact on the destinies of two major figures in Clan history. Also fathered Scourge, another cat with a major destiny who lived outside of Clan life yet directly impacted it.

Jake is the guy. The one who started this major lineage of cats who are inextricably linked into shaping the destinies of the Clans. They are cursed by Jake's legacy, that innate ability to shape the world around them. And like Jake, the way they shape the world around them can have major future consequences for many cats.

It also links into how the destinies of Jake's lineage and Pinestar's lineage are intertwined. (Catch me later when I finally write down my thoughts on Squirrelflight's and Brambleclaw's destinies being explicitly described by the narrative as being intertwined for the rest of time) Jake helped Pinestar adjust to kittypet life. While he wasn't the reason Pinestar left Clan life, he was still involved in something that changed Tigerclaw forever. Jake also fathered BOTH of the cats that killed Tigerstar, Scourge (in life) and Firestar (in death)!

Or it's just StarClan doing some good old-fashioned nepotism. But this post isn't about that!

[brucewaynehater101]

SPECIAL DEATH MESSAGE:

(offers you a dainty bone china teacup full of earwax)

Republicans have an uncanny taste for the inside of Donald Trump's rectum

Someone genetically engineered the noses off of my space sheep. The whole sniffer bloodline is being executed for smelly crimes. Also appearing on toast, THE FRIED TOMLINSON SPAM EGG CHIPS AND SINGERS!

Upon their second meeting he scolded her for upsetting the Queen of the Artichokes

Insallah, the [genocidal eugenicist] reptile shall be made into air conditioning

In this brutal, breakneck first-person booter, the Anger Foot introduces the ruthless gangs of dystopian cesspit Shit City to a fury of feet and firepower.

(in heavy Hungarian accent) Great bewbies, Honeybun. My lower intestine is full of spam, egg, spam, bacon, spam, baked beans, spam, spam, and spam. My n1pples! (I am dragged offscreen by a Victorian London bobby as Vikings chant loudly)

Does he have foreskeen eyes?

Massive swarms of cicadas devouring our crops, check. Rivers and seas boiling, check. Lots of natural disasters, check. Leprosy rates spiking among Americans who have never even seen an armadillo (a plague of sores and boils), check. (That last one especially so in Florida, I guess God hates DeSantis.) Speaking of which, false prophets, check and double check.

Many used camels be upon you. GETAWAY CAMELS! GETAWAY DATES! ONLY SLIGHTLY USED! GARRYS MOD HAS MADE BRAIN IS FULL OF POOTIS!

(but earwax isn't drinkable :( Is it to look at?)

"Republicans have an uncanny taste for the inside of Donald Trump's rectum." Is that a clever way to say they kiss ass???

Space sheep! Now I'm imagining star patterned sheep 🥺 Sucks they're all being killed off, though :/ Have you seen that one detective show where this guy solves crimes cause he can smell real good? Very curious how he vs the sheep would go

Idk wtf a Tomlinson is, but spam and eggs sound gross :( At least a singer is there? For the toast 🍞🥂

Artichokes are delicious. Would the queen be offended if I ate one in front of them?

"Insallah" is a cool as fuck phrase. I hope God approved of turning a genocidal eugenicist reptile into air conditioning. Fucker deserves it. Might as well get used out of the gross reptile

First-person booter?? I'm guessing "Anger Foot" is the name of the game... Booter, like kicking someone? Which makes sense later with the fury of feet and firepower. Ig Shit City would probably be a horrible place to live (but also fun?? As long as you are strong enough against feet?)

Well... I don't like spam or eggs and baked beans are alright... You seem to very much like them plus bacon if your lower intestines are full of it. Would that be a balanced meal? It seems like a lot of protein

Whelp... Vikings are cool. Wonder what their chanting would sound like. Though cops aren't cool in comparison :/ Bobby is a funny name for 'em, though.

Lots of questions about "foreskeen eyes" Is that foreskin eyes (which... would that make them reptile eyes??) or forseen eyes (fortune telling eyes [fortune eyes is a fantastic song])

Cicadas!!! Their carcasses are scary :( We do have a ton of natural disasters occurring (I feel like that's the wrong term cause they ain't gonna end).

I didn't know much about DeSantis. All I knew is that I can't visit Flordia anymore :/ There's some wild shit online about him, though. On the related topic, makes sense why climate is revolting against him.

Hmm... Who's the false prophets this is addressing? And, what would they need to double check? Perhaps double checking the lies (since they are false)?

Used camels be upon you... Hmm... What would a not used camel be? What makes them used? Is it bad that they are used? It's maybe good that they are used as a getaway (depends on the circumstances)

Dates, on the other hand, do not make good getaways. They are tasty, though

Wait... Are the dates slightly used? Cause I'm good. I will only consume unused dates

Garrys mod??? And the only thing I'm seeing for pootis is a weird looking bird :/

[evita-shelby]

National Anthem

Chapter 12

Cw: miscarriage, prophetic nightmares, death, mention of kinks, some sex, angst

To those who playes 2 truths 1 lie, so sorry lol

Taglist: @thegreatdragonfruta @zablife

Jack’s smoked through tomorrow’s cigarettes trying to make sense of it. Rosie dreamt of doctors performing a lobotomy that apparently killed her, Junior dreamt he’d be shot in the head as he rode in a parade.

Laurie used to have nightmares of dying in mud and rain until he died in a trench in France in 1914. His sister Katie had dreams of coughing and choking on her own blood. Their mother once said their father had cursed blood, and that was why he got killed when he was a boy.

The gangster remembered all those times his enemies cursed his name and now wonders if curses can be passed on to children. He should talk to his wife about this, she knew more about this bullshit anyways.

“Tell me what?” speak of the devil. Wearing her velvet robe and braving the cold just to see what’s bothering him. They should be in bed, his witch trying to keep warm cuddling with him and thinking about the bungalow in Florida and that hammock in the backyard.

“Junior dreamt he died.” He could lie, he’s done it before, but he’d also like to sleep in his own bed instead of the couch tonight. Besides Eva would kill him for not telling her about this new development.

“Well, he did get pretty sick, there were times I thought he wouldn’t survive it.” She admits joining him on the freezing porch. He’s banned from smoking indoors because his witch couldn’t stand the smell when she was pregnant and now the habit stuck.

“Not that, he says he saw himself as an adult waving at a crowd and being shot in the head.” Jack takes one last drag of his cigarette before handing it to his wife. Eva only smokes when shit’s too dire to take on without one or in the wonderful occasions where she came from uninterrupted sex. Too bad it’s the former.

“When I see death happen, it usually doesn’t. You didn’t die that day in your office, the neighbor’s kid didn’t get hit by a car and I have yet to die.” This was more of a reminder than an actual explanation for this. Apparently, she can only predict a real death if it’s coming for people she doesn’t like or knows well.

“You can teach him and Joey how to shoot when they’re old enough if it eases your mind.” But it isn’t a real guarantee that this applied to the kids. She admitted she was scared about losing him that day, held him tightly that night and those after as if he might die.

Fucking hell, he never thought he’d have to deal with this shit when he decided Eva was gonna be his wife that day.

“Do you regret it?” she asks fearing he might. Evie’s mind reading has become so normal to him he’s no longer surprised his witch catches on to his thoughts like that. Makes it easier to unburden himself with her, doesn’t even have to voice it half the time.

“I never have and never will, sweetheart.” Jack is a man with few regrets, he never does anything unless he wants to and when he doesn’t, he sticks with it to the bitter end. Choosing her would never be one of them.

By May Junior’s nightmares are almost forgotten. Everything goes so well it is scaring her.

They have a house in New York now, a lovely mansion too big for them with servants catering to their every whim and armed men loyal to them. Jack’s success had merited such a move and after Junior’s nightmare, he was loath to leave them behind now.

Luca Changretta was gearing for a war overseas while Jack laid out the framework for their takeover from right under his nose. Even his Family were considering killing him to prevent the White Hand from taking their place.

They were making strides in society, all the must have invites, rubbing elbows with the right people and teaching people not to fuck with them. They’ve just returned from Calvin Coolidge’s inauguration after rubbing it in their competitor’s face.

John D. Hertz had been the unlikely bastard to learn that last year. He wanted protection from the Checker Taxis and his other enemies and would’ve gotten it if his words about her hadn’t pissed off Jack. Something that had caused an attack on the company stocks with the help of their connections.

Now it was the turn of the men who owned the rights to a western movie Eva foresaw making it big.

It had started with a movie house that refused to let Eva into their establishment on their first few dates as man and wife, then the entire chain out of spite and now Jack was aiming for Hollywood after securing New England and most of the East Coast.

She hasn’t rewarded him for this achievement yet, and because nothing else has managed to get her to shake off the unsettling images, Eva decides to wake him early on his day off. He won’t mind, loves it when she makes use of his morning wood for their mutual pleasure.

Would erase the nightmare from her mind along with her refusal to have another baby so soon after Kitty. He loves breeding her, loves seeing her fat and needy and loves its when her tits are full of milk.

He's a dirty bastard, anything and everything will find its way into the blessed times they can have fantastic uninterrupted sex. The new house lets them do that more often. Sometimes they’ll lock themselves in that room far away from the family wing made just for their sexual escapades and go at it like unhinged demons.

“Nightmares again?” As expected, Jack is very amenable to a good fuck before breakfast. Their three older children were at school and Kitty was sleeping like an angel, gave her the perfect opportunity to forget what haunted her dreams.

“I want to forget them.” She admits it in between kisses knowing he won’t say no. “Help me forget them, Jack.”

“As you wish, sweetheart.”

It is to no one’s surprise that Eva finds herself pregnant by Father’s Day. She is not happy about it, there is a terribly bad feeling about this pregnancy. Eva blames it on her vanity and loss of figure, not wanting to burden him with what she saw in her reading that day.

She won’t tell him the cards say they won’t be born.

Not all pregnancies agree with her.

Though not as bad as Rosie’s, this one is one of the bad ones. The doctor hasn’t put her on bedrest ---even if he did, she’d ignore it--- but you could tell something wasn’t right by the way she carried herself.

There’s something she’s not telling him, something his witch believes he can’t tell from looking at her. Been married for six years on the dot, Jack wagers he knows her better than anyone now.

“What’s wrong, Evie?” he asks, cornering her in her powder room as she got ready for their anniversary dinner tonight.

“Fucking department store didn’t have my color again.” She grumbles after applying lipstick a shade brighter than she likes. Evie likes to make herself up like a vamp, with dark burgundy lips and darker eyes to sell the whole mystical beauty look she has.

“Eva.” He warns against her lying and gets to the point. “I know there’s something you’re not telling me. Something about the girls we’re having.”

“Nothing’s wrong, just pregnancy fucking me up. Now hurry up, we’ll be late for the reservations.” Half true.

She’s weepy and tired all the time. Her sex drive going from wanting to kick him off the bed if he breathes in her direction to seeking him out in his office as if he hadn’t fucked her before he left. Still got five months to go, a lot could happen between here and January.

The nursery is half decorated, she’d put off ordering a crib for the twins and acted as if she were tempting fate this time around.

“I tell you everything, Eva, why won’t you do the same?” he asks her as they head downstairs, she turns to give him a look for guilt tripping her about it and in the next second she missteps and falls the rest of the way down.

Jack’s too beside himself to leave her side. The fall hadn’t been too severe, no bones were broken, no lasting head injury nor internal bleeding. The babies hadn’t made it as she fell on her stomach enough times to kill the poor things.

She hadn’t been told yet, the doctors had suggested he be the one to break the news to her after seeing Eva’s medical history. Jack has no idea how he’s going to confirm that her heavy bleeding is because they lost their unborn daughters.

Two tiny little things that barely looked human inside the doctor’s receptacle. Rosie had dolls that small, he thinks as he looks away from the babies they hadn’t even considered names for yet.

“I didn’t see them in the cards, they were never going to be born.” His wife finally tells him what she was hiding for four months. Just because the cards said nine babies didn’t mean all of them would live, she explains, and he listened to what she had resigned herself to as they mourn their dead babies.

His triumph over the Black Hand on January 1926 finds him smoking in the veranda after Eva tells him she wants to try again because the cards say they’ll have a baby boy next year.

[ananke-xiii]

Missing Mothers and Missed Opportunities

Or: There can be three, four fathers in this show but there can only be one mother (and she doesn’t even want to be there, lol)!

One way that I like to see the first episodes of s13 is focusing on missed opportunities. Sam’s mind is in the past, he is very much ruminating about his missed opportunity with his mother while Dean’s mind is in the future as he is trying to deal with the fact that Cas is dead (although, to be honest, I think Cas’s death is a catalyst for Dean's much deeper issues related to his identity. As I’ve already said, in s12 Dean was in the process of understanding who he was regardless of his relationships and while he had some sort of reconciliation with Mary, he didn’t have any with Cas).

It’s no wonder, then, that Sam thinks that Cas and Mary might still be alive while Dean doesn’t. In Supernatural the past can come back and if it’s come back once why can’t it come back again? Past is hope. The future, however, is always “doom and gloom” in this series, it’s apocalypses, it’s “it ends bad, it ends bloody”, it is, in other words, super pessimistic. And “The Future” is impersonated in Jack and in the visions of the future he transmitted to Castiel which Dean blames for his death.

Sam is smart but it doesn’t take a genius to understand that if Jack has opened the rift once he might be able to open it again. Therefore, Sam sees in Jack an opportunity: if Jack can control and manage his powers he might open the rift again and Sam could get his mother back. What’s more, he also starts to see (what he thinks he’s) himself in Jack.

Dean: I told him the truth. See, you think you can use this freak but I know how this ends and it ends bad. Sam: I didn’t. Dean: What? Sam: I didn’t ‘end bad’. When I was the freak, when I was drinking demon blood. Dean: Come on man, that’s totally different. Sam: Was it? Because you could’ve put a bullet in me. Dad told you to put a bullet in me, but you didn’t! You saved me! So help me save him! Dean: You deserved to be saved, he doesn’t! Sam: Yes he does, Dean, of course he does!

The “What?” shows how the two are talking about completely different things. Maybe it was the word “freak” that triggered Sam, however I tend to agree with Dean here: Sam and Jack are not “totally different” but they are different. What I disagree with is when Dean says that Jack doesn’t deserve to be saved (Dean, Dean, Dean… you, just like everybody else, don’t need to “de-serve” anything. I swear to God the day we realize what the words we use actually mean maybe the world will really start changing). Because the thing is that Jack doesn’t need to be saved. He’s not a human who drank demon blood for what he thought was “the greater good” but turned out to be the beginning of his end. He was not part of a gigantic, messy, blatant scam involving Heaven and Hell. Jack’s partially the result of both Lucifer’s delusions of grandeur regarding Creation and Kelly’s conservative and dreamy desire to have a baby with the President of the USA (he was never gonna put any ring on it, girl and you knew it. Btw, Kelly is the baby-trapper in this story and no one else, I won’t change my mind ever), but he is nevertheless one of the most powerful beings in all existence. I honestly think that the only character who has ever understood Jack was Donatello.

Donatello: Oh. Speaking not as a prophet but as a scientist, I don’t think teaching him is in the cards. It’s like asking a lion not to be a lion. Sam: But this is not a lion! This is a human! Donatello: With a strong dose of God juice.

It’s not a strong dose of demon blood, Sam. It’s God juice, okay? LOL. Anyway, Donatello is super on point here: Jack is human and not-human. He’s a living aporia, the character where all the false dichotomies of the series show their fallacies. He’s “both… and” incarnated. He’s born and he’s already in his 20s. He’s a child and he’s a not-child. He has an age and he’s without age. Nobody will ever come close to understanding him if they cling close to a “black or white, good or evil” mentality. And this is why the show totally failed (for me) in s14 and how Sam is also failing here because he projects his own (respectable and very real) Lucifer-related issues with evilness onto Jack. Jack is beyond “good and evil” because he’s both human and angel, he embodies two different moralities and also transcends both of them because he’s neither only human nor only angel. To sum up, I don’t think that Supernatural, with its structure and its specific morality, could have handled a character like Jack. And this is why the show has to de-power him, de-soul him, make him die and resurrect etc.

Back to Sam and his failings. He projects his own stuff onto Jack, he wants to use him as a “can-opener”, he thinks Jack can be saved from “evil” because he can teach him. My question is: how much can Sam be negatively judged for these actions? My answer is: not so much.

As far as projections go, this is what he’s been doing from S1. Per SPN structure, both Sam and Dean have been projecting and identifying their issues onto the monsters of the weeks for 15 seasons. Jack is just the “Monster of the Season”. Projection and identification, identification and projection… I mean, this is what the show is about. If all of sudden Sam had woken up and miraculously solved all his identity-related issues the show would have been over.

As far as the utilitarian aspect goes, Sam has actually made some progress here. He “only” surveils Jack via cameras and tries to convince him to do some stupid exercises with a pencil. Previously on Supernatural Sam had literally enslaved, chained and imprisoned the people/creatures he wanted to use. These kids, they grow up so fast :”).

As far as the “do no evil” teaching goes, now here’s what’s really interesting to me.

The episode is “The Rising Son” and Sam’s passionate plea for Jack’s goodness via his teachings is paralleled to Asmodeus’s attempt at locating Jack in order to find him and harness his “timeless knowledge and unschooled power”. Asmodeus acts like Lucifer acted with Sam in S11 in that he pushes Jack to open up the earth “for God” (“I speak the words of God”, “God has a message for you”, “Do it for God” etc). Since Lucifer’s not here, though, Asmodeus wants to “[have]him (Jack) found and trained to rule. With me as his humble advisor, of course”. Of course we know he will fail because he himself says that he had tried to train the Shedim in the past and utterly failed.

ASMODEUS: I know the perils of Lucifer’s disappointment. DREXEL: He—he did that? ASMODEUS: Long ago. Eager to please, I freed the shedim. DREXEL: You… Oh, I’ve heard stories about— ASMODEUS: Oh, I’m sure you have. Hell’s most savage. Things so dark, and base, God himself would not allow them into the light. But I, in my pride, believed that I could train them. Use them. But Lucifer feared them, as well he should, so he forbade it, locked them up again.

This, of course, means that Sam will fail to train Jack/the Shedim too.

The parallel between Asmodeus and Sam must be explored because the show seems to pass it as an Evil (Asmodeus) vs Good (Sam) training but it’s not as simple as that. There’s even a scene where Asmodeus-as-Donatello talks about Jack with Sam and he seems to agree with Sam’s theory that Jack can be molded. While Sam thinks so because “Kelly was a good person”, Asmodeus-as-Donatello is obviously more interested in his evil father’s lineage.

While it’s true that both of them don’t even consider to give Jack a choice, to ask him questions and to try to understand him, they’re not exactly wrong when they agree that Jack’s powers do need some training, regardless of why they’re interested in his powers, Jack doesn’t have a grip on how his powers work. The show insistence on “good vs evil", however, completely ignores the very valid point where Jack’s powers are simply neither good or evil per se but they are “only” a(nother) force to be reckoned with.

This “good vs evil” thing obscures something very important and I think a distinction must be made here about what "training" really means in this context: Sam wants Jack to learn to master his powers, so that he (Jack) can be in control of them; on the other hand, Asmodeus wants to exploit Jack because of his powers, he wants to be the one who’s in control of them.

Both Sam and Asmodeus have an agenda, clearly, they’re also two characters very much interested in power. But when Asmodeus says that he wants to train Jack what he really has in mind is to groom him. Asmodeus’ techniques are very similar to Crowley’s with baby Amara and Demon Dean (I know Dean was not a child but he was one metaphorically because Crowley calls himself “Father” and “daddy” while he calls Dean “a rather scrumptious altar boy”. Ugh). These are predators’ techniques: their intent is to create intimacy with a person (for instance, Asmodeus takes on Donatello’s resemblance to lure Jack and take him to the Hell’s Gate), usually a child, to make them do what they want and abuse their victims, victims who usually don’t even realize they’re victims (Jack doesn’t know he’s being manipulated).

This is NOT what Sam means when he says he can teach Jack. Sam’s utilitarian mindset can be reproachable but his intent is not the same as Asmodeus. Sure, it’s still absolutely problematic but, again, his intent is not to open up the earth to release the Shedim and use Jack to rule Hell. He wants to open the rift to the Apocalypse World to find his mother. He is, in other words, being a softer version of John Winchester. In fact, he is replicating John’s methods because this is what he grew up with and this is what he knows. Avenging Mary’s death, finding Mary in the AU… even if the intent might be comprehensible it doesn’t justify both John and Sam’s attitude towards the reaching of their ends. Yet, their ways are still not the same ways of a Crowley or an Asmodeus.

The other thing is that John was Sam’s father. He was father to two human children whom he raised as if their childhood was a huge, endless military training. Training someone, as a concept, is not evil: if you have a skill or a talent or whatever, you need to train and learn and explore your limits. Having someone who believes in you and wants to help you in your training is not evil too: in fact, it might be a very good thing. It’s a problematic thing, however, when your caregiver is more focused on the training than the care. It’s even more problematic if said caregiver is a paranoid who raised his sons as soldiers. But this is still NOT the same thing as demons such as Crowley and Asmodeus do.

The differences in "training" and what Sam fails to understand about what happened with Asmodeus is explained in "Patience":

SAM: Even with Asmodeus, that just happened?

JACK: No, he made me. It was like, like he was in my head.

SAM: Okay um, then uh… Imagine him doing that.

JACK: No!

SAM: No? Why not?

JACK: Because I don’t want to! It’s just… I can’t do this! And you keep staring at me, waiting!

Asmodeus made Jack use his powers, he was in his head. He had also abducted him, manipulated him: he wasn't trying to train him, he was trying to groom him. Of course Jack doesn't want that.

If Sam is replicating his father's teachings we must then ask: who is Jack to Sam in this moment in the narrative? He’s definitely not his son nor his sibling. But he's not someone Sam keeps in locks either. As I’ve said, Sam has never been above imprisoning people in his dungeon to reach his goal, yet he takes another road with Jack, maybe precisely because he’s identifying with him and projecting onto him his own fears and issues with “being evil” and “being a freak”. There is something very similar between the two but what is it? And why is it not expressed? Maybe Sam is not Jack the way he thinks he is but they do share one thing: they have both missed the opportunity to create a bond with their respective mothers.

Sam only really utterly fails Jack when he’s dishonest with him. He eventually understands that and comes clean with him but I think that a lot of the initial issues happened because he was not communicating with Jack at all. And he didn’t even give him a choice. I think that if Sam were honest with Jack and gave him the choice to help him he would have discovered another thing that make them veeeery similar: both of them are okay with twisting human morality and… sort of… manipulate people a little to get what they want. Does this make them evil villains? To me, no. Does this make them human, layered, compelling characters that raise interesting moral questions more than give black and white answers? Totally yes!

Sam and Jack are not “totally different” but they are different. Conversely, they are not “totally similar” but they are similar. The Rescuing of the Mother can happen because The Loss of the Mother is something that Jack can deeply understand and relate to. He doesn’t want to save Mary just to please Sam and Dean. I think it’s deeper than that.

In case it wasn't clear, the conflation of Mary and Kelly is very clear in "The Big Empty":

MIA: You’ve lost someone recently? DEAN: No. JACK: My mother. SAM: Uh, our mother. We’ve having a difficult time.

Mary-as-Missed/Missing-Mother is such a central theme in this season that the Apocalypse World is a literal ramification of the Original World that's solely dependent on Mary Winchester’s choice to not deal with Azazel. John is never brought back and, more importantly, Sam and Dean are never born. This is a world where she’s not the mother. But why is Mary’s choice so vital it can create different timelines?

S12 and S13 implicitly seem to tell that everything that happened was because of Mary’s choice and… it’s, like, not true? Sometimes Sam and Dean are so ultra-focused on “free will” and “making the right choices” that tend to forget the part where both them and their parents were part of a larger scheme that was predicated on people ultimately being herd towards a designed pen. Like, while I think that Dean and Sam having issues with their mother is completely real and plausible, I don’t understand why the narrative re-frames itself in this way… I understand that they were going for a specific retelling of the first seasons but this is not just retelling, this is demolishing the premises of those series. S4-5 were precisely about the mystification and the perils of a glorified, Grand Destiny that in reality was nothing but a Big Scam. It’s not your destiny if your destiny is something that somebody else is telling you about and when this somebody else has a vested interest in you believing that you have that specific destiny. Or if somebody else is removing all of your choices leaving you with close to nothing to choose from.

Apocalypse World is, thus, such an unfair double-edged sword, cause on the one hand, it gives Mary agency but on the other it shows us that both choices resulted in… well, frankly, catastrophes. And I think it’s unfair to throw this huge weight onto her shoulders after they had dug her up from her grave while completely ignoring the whole thing about senior management angels playing puppeteers with the Winchesters.

Kelly-as-Missed/Missing-Mother is the other side of the coin of this little argument of mine because in s13 the writers demonstrated how Kelly must stay dead because one mother is enough and they didn’t know what to make of Kelly since she was not a hunter. She was just, as a character, Jack’s mother. The rift to the Apocalypse World was even possible in the first place because she (more or less, it’s complicated) decided that she would.have.her.baby. But, just like Mary before her resurrection, if his actual mother were back in the game it either meant that Jack was out of the game or that they had to include her in some capacity into the Winchesters dynamics and they didn’t want any of that. Mary’s death meant that Sam and Dean entered the hunters’ life, Kelly’s death assures the same for Jack. Plus, they all have an angel watching over them, isn't it just great? But hey, wait, this is the absent fathers show so we’re gonna give this kid three, four, five fathers!!! (sarcastic). Also, Alive Kelly wouldn’t be the Good, Perfect, Dead Mother that she is to Jack because, well, she would be a Real Character, not a memory on a pen drive and Alive Kelly would be so faaaar from the Good and Perfect Mother. Do we have to try to write another complex mother? One is enough!!! (sarcastic).

In conclusion, in s13 Sam’s (and Jack’s) huge missed opportunity stays… missing. Jack will go to the Apocalypse World and fight the angels with Mary whereas Mary decides to stay there (lol!) to help with the fight. They literally have to find a bus and move all the remaining AU people to the Original World because Mary has decided that she wanted to stay in a world where she didn’t choose John and she didn’t give birth to her sons (me asking Sam who has just died and was resurrected by Lucifer only to find out that his mother didn’t want to be saved: are you REALLY okay? LOL). I’ll stop here cause this is getting way too long but maybe, just maybe, s13 as a whole was a giant missed opportunity.

[variousqueerthings]

watched network and it's ofc very famous and the acting was very good, esp really interesting women in this one and it has some great moments and speeches, but idk. doesn't feel as though it has the same kind of heart to me as the other lumet films i've seen so far:

i thought it was interesting and worth watching, but both on an emotional and political level it seemed oddly disjointed to me in that way where it's abundantly clear that while it's meant to be satirising a whole swathe of ideas, some people have more innate humanity than others based on static identities (yes, the shadowy tv exec is a white dude, but so are almost everyone else. yes faye dunaway is giving a great performance as a cold, fucked up network person, but it's got great dialogue and there are other women in the film. black characters? well...) i don't even think it's anti-establishment as such, even though it does start there and probably wants to be and also could have been if it had been more focused

with parts that were tremendously good, especially the ex-wife speaking her part + the network executive describing the power of capitalist-fuelled "entertainment" in shaping peoples' opinions and how that plays now with especially american politics more shaped by that notion than what people have done politically a lot of the time, and other parts that were highly suspicious in their cold seemingly satirical dehumanisations, such as the depiction of a far-left liberation terrorist group based on the symbionese liberation army that is ultimately a hollow inclusion of leftist ideas (whether or not those ideas are positive it's just shallow) and certainly puts you in mind of what the fanatical ultra-radical hypocritical left looks like (and it looks like it's run by politically messy black people), or the anti-arab rhetoric that seems to come out of nowhere all of a sudden, twice! (and this without a single arab onscreen....)

that's it for me in the end -- where everything else I've seen so far of sidney lumet (12 angry men, dog day afternoon, serpico, running on empty.... so yes, i have a fair few yet to watch!) seems to be offering humanity within plots that have surface-level similarities, this one just seems very "throws ideas at a wall about being angry at... something, but it seems the people causing the trouble consist of a. the soulless network executives and capitalist CEOs (sure, yeah, ok) b. the shadowy arabs somewhere (huh?) c. the ultra-left, led by black people (.... wait) who ultimately will also cave to the great spectre of Ratings and d. literally everyone else who watches tv"

sometimes "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore" begs the question... who are you mad at, exactly? and this movie, in failing to answer that beyond a vague "... society? tv...?" kind of way rather than being more specific and direct, falls into some very biased obvious ideas, and also I think is at the core of why there are so many "woah this movie predicted everything!!!" type articles. it's a blank space that doesn't have a clear political idea and so people can fill that space however they want

i didn't really speak much to the "prophetic" nature of the movie, but that does also feel not-entirely-wrong-but-not-quite-right, I think people exaggerate -- it is resonant, especially today, but it's also based in the times it was made in: soulless network execs? they existed in the 70s. people doing extreme things that got a bunch of ratings? happened in the 70s. prophets on-air asking you to get mad? you got that in the 70s. like it wasn't ronald reagan and donald trump or the sheer amount of reality tv, but like. it's all structures being built in the 70s already

and I do give it a lot of reasonable doubt in intention, because as far as I know sidney lumet was always making movies with a clear idea about what he felt, and so I guess I can say who he is mad at, but the movie itself? feels more like an indictment against itself by trying to float a hopeless endless churn of soulless tv vs. the self-fulfillment that seemingly comes from pursuing a more wholesome (het, white, marriage-based, american) lifestyle that can "save" you from the trap of tv's ensnaring entertainment cycle. as if those two things aren't inherently connected

[liloinkoink]

Hi hi, I am so here about learning about yorr dnd AU. I am super super new here so please throw it all at me!!

i did a short summary of the premise for the last ask, so i’m just gonna tell you a bunch about my dude, Ellery

each of us basically brought one of to the table—they started out as our sonas, but they became kind of removed enough to be their own guys

Ellery i have. so many thoughts on. i gave him amnesia which is my guilty pleasure Favorite trope ever so im having a ball

Ellery is a death prophet, receiving visions from Myrkul about whatever Myrkul sees fit to share. Myrkul warns him of the upcoming apocalypse, but sharing this vision w the temple is what spurred the Cyric group to act and kill him, destroy myrkul, and bring on the end times. he felt terribly guilty in the days leading up to his death about his vision causing his own destruction and putting his friends in danger, and that’s had a lingering effect on him even with amnesia

after his revival he’s quieter. he doesn’t know why, but he has the vague notion he shouldn’t speak. he doesn’t share his visions as much unless Mar, who shares them now thru their soulbond, brings them up. his amnesia was probably partially caused by his own guilt, and learning about how his vision lead to the apocalypse and Mar’s death after his own has him very reluctant to gain his memories back (among other reasons. his amnesia fascinates me)

i asked everyone to give me notes about their characters so i could write fic better, and in those notes i asked everyone to tell me how their characters act 1) when calm or in shenanigans, 2) when stressed, under pressure, or in danger, and 3) how they generally speak

for an example, i gave a response for Ellery for all of that

if things are calm he’s probably just chillin quietly most of the time. i joke about elevator music playing in his head 24/7 but i think he’s been like. trying to watch everyone talk/interact to figure out what the people around him are actually like and get to know his friends (again). hes also trying to learn what he himself was like, based on how they approach/treat him, and letting the other four set the pace for their relationships to/with him

he also has a lingering feeling he shouldn’t talk bc of what explaining his vision did, even if he doesn’t rlly remember where that feeling came from, and is especially reluctant to speak up at the start

he’ll respond if spoken to directly and cut in occasionally, or bring smth up if he thinks it’s important, but mostly he’s just watching/listening. the longer they’re together the more he’s going to weigh in on convos unprompted + the more animated/expressive he’ll become

that said. in all points of the story you can also just. rope him into shenanigans or interactions and he’ll kind of just roll with it. if you sit down next to him and ask him “is water wet” he will just keep discussing it with you until you stop. literally you can walk up to him and press A indefinitely he Will just keep going

for what kinda stuff he says and how he talks. i’m giving him the fancy/pretentious end of my word bank. hes getting the fantasy end and PR manager/communications aspects of my speech.

that said, i do think the way he talks has changed since he died. pre ritual he was probably very aware of his position as leader and was careful he was staying like. a good religious leader ™. but now he has less of a filter and is more willing to make stupid jokes or be kind of mean/teasing (esp later in plot). while i do think he’d swear sometimes before his death behind closed doors it IS funny as hell to me if flint and syyrin hear him swear casually for the first time post revival (tho i don’t think, even post revival, that he swears as much as i do)

in high stress/danger situations he’s also relatively calm? at least when everyone else is around. he trusts his team will watch out for him. i like the image of him being relatively quiet in battle using spells and shit from the back, tho a few of his attack cantrips are touch-based iirc so he’s probably in and out. in battle i think he sticks around mar and iscariot bc he knows he and mar need to watch their health together and iscariot will Always help/protect him. i do think the quiet would probs lead to him getting injured and not thinking to mention it until the end of a fight. this Also contributes to him looking scarier on the battlefield. it’s unearned his stats suck ass but the ppl they’re fighting don’t need to know that

i think he sorta sits on his feelings until he literally can’t anymore, either by mar knowing them via shared visions, a physical injury becoming unmanageable, or him being unable to control his expressions abt them. like not saying anything about being afraid or overwhelmed until he ends up shaking or in tears

him being affectionate is the same way. he isn’t gonna say anything about it he’s just gonna go stand/sit near people until he gets what he wants

also i think he just says ominous shit sometimes. at the start it’s bc he’s just. weird. and later he starts saying it on purpose for a reaction while playing it completely straight bc he thinks it’s funny

[rhubarb-newt]

i was gonna write a long in-depth explanatory version of this post before the new episode came out but ran out of spoons editing it. so here’s the mildly unhinged version, brought to you by my catholic trauma.

the yellowjackets cult is really, really catholic, you guys.

both Laura Lee and Jackie are being treated like Christ figures of the group(I will elaborate on Jackie later). frankly I could also see a version where Laura Lee is the Virgin Mary, but she sacrified/martyred herself in an attempt to save her team and is mentor and guide to Lottie, and is the one to really introduce religion to the group.

Not to mention this scene-

lots of people comparing this to the Alice in Wonderland tea party, which I don’t fully think is inaccurate, but to me this actually resembles The Last Supper? which brings us to this

it should be pointed out that Lottie was the first to leave early because Laura Lee asked/forced her to. similarly, Jesus at the last supper called out telling the one who betrayed him to leave - which means Lottie is fulfilling the Judas role. Or rather, Lottie thinks of herself as Judas.

it’s worth pointing out that she blames herself for Laura Lee’s death, foresaw it but didn’t recognize what was happening and therefore didn’t stop it. Lottie actually holds a similar level of responsibility for Jackie dying because she was the one in charge of the group that turned on Jackie and told Coach not to interfere when Jackie went out into the cold.

When Judas betrayed Jesus he did not know they were going to kill him. Judas was wrought with grief over his mistake and tried to return the silver he’d sold Jesus out for, and committed suicide. With adult Lottie spiralling back into visions, this does make me worry a lot about her. 

Obviously Lottie’s visions play a role in this and she’s being hailed as a prophet, though an unwilling one. It’s clear she does not want the attention and is fostering hidden guilt. 

Taissa, especially in the most recent episode, is being positioned as a saint, though I could not tell you which one. Van has fully ascribed divine influence onto Taissa’s “shadow self” and aligned her with Lottie’s religious leadership even though Tai openly dismisses it. I’m reminded of saints speaking in tongues. I have less to say on Tai than anyone else, in part because I don’t understand her role just yet, but the impression that her shadow self is not fully evil seems to only enforce this role for her. 

finally bringing us to Jackie and Shauna - Jackie is not nearly as obvious as a Christ figure as Laura Lee is. In truth, both of them are functioning as Christ figures for the sake of other characters, being Lottie and Shauna. 

Jackie is functioning as the maligned aspects of Christ. The coach selected her as team captain because “she has influence,” she is the prodigal son, the popular girl, the moral compass, which all falls apart the moment the team is in the wilderness. She refuses to go along with the demands of living in the forest (resisting the temptations of the devil, as the forest is working as a malevolent entity) and is immediately, somewhat rightfully, resented for it. Jackie is certainly not perfect, can be nasty at times, and is pushed out of the group to freeze. After she’s dead though... well...

Jackie serves as communion. Note how Lottie and Shauna are the first to approach. Shauna says “she wants us to,” projecting on Jackie that this was a sacrifice of some kind for their survival. That Jesus has broken the bread and poured the wine, saying “this is my body and blood, do this in memory of me.” 

But Jackie, as far as we’ve known her, would not have wanted this. She would have been disgusted at the thought. And I think that’s key - we see Jackie through Shauna’s eyes, and Shauna is projecting.

Shauna is the first to eat Jackie. She is the one to spill blood in the adult timeline. Lottie and the cult members have latched onto Shauna’s baby and the birth as something to celebrate, despite their isolation. Shauna is the protagonist of the series.

But perhaps most on the nose - Shauna had three chances to save Jackie

and denied her

three times.

Shauna is Saint Peter, the first pope. She is the one who breaks cultural barriers and is a leader in her own right, though she would never own up to it. Peter denied knowing Jesus three times on the night of crucifixion, to protect himself, and wept upon the third denial when he realized his betrayal and what it meant.

 Peter is known for being a fisherman, directly paralleled in Shauna Shipman, and was called upon to be a fisher of men when Jesus was collecting his disciples. Seems pretty dark when you consider Shauna inadvertently lured in and killed a man named Adam of all people. Not to mention her role as the butcher, not far off. 

Regarding Shauna’s pregnancy I’ve seen a lot of people supposing her baby may be an antichrist. I haven’t made up my mind about this but it does seem the cult that is forming is growing very attached to the idea of Shauna’s baby. I think if the baby survives it is going to further symbolize something, “on this rock I will build my church” etc, to begin the growth of their cult.

One last parallel - Jackie’s necklace, gifted to Shauna twice, is seen around Mari Pit Girl’s neck, before she’s hung upside down to bleed out. Saint Peter, when he was killed, was crucified upside down because he believed he did not deserve to die the same way Jesus did. 

This could all be wild speculation but... with the way Mari’s been acting? could very easily be Shauna passing her final judgment.

tldr the way the girls see themselves, is super christian and it’s only going to escalate from here

[debbeh]

Recap of every Yonderland episode but only until my legs fall asleep and there is no context.

Season 1

Debbie is your run-of-the-mill mother who likes to eat crisps and watch TV. For some reason an Elf appears in her Cupboard and she’s all like wtf, why is there an elf in my cupboard. And Elf is like, wtf I have a name? And the stick he’s holding is like, oi, my names nick. Anyways, Debbie and Elf consult the wise Elders about why she’s here and they’re like, idk ask the oracle and the oracles like, yeah you’re the chosen one or whatever. You gotta like save the place from evil or whatever- oh also your gonna meet some guys named Jon or Robert or something. Debbie’s still like wtf but then she stops a fight between some goofy little guys and everyone’s goin crazy cuz woah! Not klling people? Crazy. And Debbies like bro its just commons sense. I just had to tell these guys to apologize- what are they’re names again? JOHN AND ROBERT!!! (air horn + vine boom) OH SHIT. and then, what’s this? After credit! ITS FUCKING NEGATUS

She wants to figure more about why it is foretold that she has to save Yonderland or whatever so they go to this temple to find a scroll (insert literal lesbian love story that they never talk abt again) and they get a wizard to help. Yada yada yada… they get in the temple but they lose the scroll, oh well. Anyways, hm this Negatus guy sounds pretty nasty huh?

Yoooo Negatus totally burned down a temple and now all the monks are homeless. Negatus sends his demons to hunt down Debbie and the monks. Whats this? The monks can lie now??? Wahoo, Negatus gets yelled at. So sad. 

OMG ITS THE OLYMPICS BUT WITH KISSSSING?????

Debbie misses her kids but the elders are like, oooh we make song for you and make your hair pretty and she’s like ok I guess I’ll stay. 

King what’s his face says he knows where another prophetic scroll is- sike he just wants to bang her- oh no negatus is here! But don’t worry! He has no pants! Negatus gets stabbed in the foot and Debbie learns the value of sharing

Speaking of idiots, Debbie gets kidnapped by a whole town of them! They’re called Ninnies and they wear potato sacks (so sad). This episode is basically The Giver. She teaches them that reading: good and that they shouldn’t be giving Negatus precious diamonds for free. Meanwhile, Negatus, in an attempt to woo his boss, a mysterious shadowey figure, hires a guy named Kenall (the twinkiest twink you’ve ever seen) to cut the diamonds he stole so he can buy an army. Sike, kendall is an idiot. The end

Negatus dresses up as the embodiment of Bo Burnhams's Shit and tricks Debbie into going to his lair. Little does Negatus know, Debbie has friends and ALLLLMMMMOOOOSSTTTT gets Negatus to see the power of friendship but last minutes hes like byeeeee bitches!!! And kidnaps her (this is a common theme). Luckily her friends save her last minute but as she is teleporting out using Nick the stick who is also the portal to her cupboard (I forgot to mention), she sees Negatus’s boss and is like huhhh, you look awful familiar……..

End of season one!!!

Season 2

Negatus buys mech suit to kill debbie, Elders go on lockdown and do a lord of the flies. I love this episode but I DO NOT remember what was important abt this one besides Evil boss lady get mad at Negatus >:(

Debbie goes to a fair and solves a murder mystery, Negatus gets audited.

Knight flirts with Debbie and Debbie teaches him the value of realizing you are geh. 

Ninnies are back but they’re all finance bros but they don’t pay their workers. Debbie helps them fix that so Elders can get pillows.

Debbie finds out that mysterious boss lady is her twin sister!!! Saves Mathew Baynton (AKA gross kangaroo nany) from a gas leak. 

Debbie joins the french revolution

Debbie saves an endangered species with phalic-ass noses.

TRANS HOTAN TRANS HOTAN <3. Big showdwon with evil twin

The end!

Season 3 (last season)

One of the old elders is back and Negatus does not turn into a gross idiot for 10 minutes

Oh no! Old elder is evil and Elders go into hiding, Debbie is framed and they break into their throne room thingy

Nobody trusts debbie but she helps knockoff batman find his true passion in becoming Mr. Cav (Accounting teacher for the 5 of you that are reading this that I don't know in person)

Drag bake off becomes war zone and Negatus gets his feet massaged.

Negatus arrested for writing Dick smellz on a wall. Debbie helps him break out- SO CLOSE TO A CHARACTER REDEMPTION ARC ITS NOT EVEN FUNNy

NEGATUS DO SOME SPYING VERY SILLLY Y GOOFY

Beauty contest but if you’re not pretty you fucking die

Time travel take da pain away. 

Christmas Special!!!

Sike, its called Thanktival here (and there’s 143 days instead of 12). Chompus eat da presents. Negatus redemption arc FINALLY???????? He become santa, insert balls joke x 5. Elders’s kiddos compete in a singing competition and wow everyone with this thing called carols????? Elder Vex wears sweater. Balls joke. Negatus go sleepy in PJs. the end :3

:3