#truman final answer

[brain-bumbler]

What character do you think is underrated in pn2

...Dion. But maybe I'm underestimating the number of other people who blorbo this side character and its not just like me and two friends xD Though I also wish Frazie had more dissections and works. She's so interesting!

I think a great thing about Psychonauts is that every character is so unique and individual and creative, they all stand out in their own spotlight. And the fandom is really great about giving everyone attention. I can't think of any character that I haven't seen a lot of love for- because they're all lovable!

When I really think about it though, Truman is a good case for being underrated! He seems like such a great dad character. The fandom loves Gus, but let's not forget how Truman seems so caring and supportive of Lili. He's possibly a single dad, dealing with a whole organization and a little firestarter at the same time. Dilf Truman truthers where are you?

[spockiguess]

Hi omg thank you so much for writing John Carter and Dr Robby!!

Idea: similar to your Dr Robby fic, John wakes up in the middle of the night after a wet dream, and reader is right there, and he’s so, so needy…

Wet Dream, More Like: Let's Scream for Ice Cream! || Dr. John Carter x Reader

Summary: When Dr. Carter wakes from a wet dream, who's there to help him with the aftershocks?

Warnings: SOMNOPHILIA, Oral (M!Receiving)

Pairing: Dr. John Truman Carter III x FEM!Reader

A/N: I am so, so, so sorry this took so long! I don't know why, I was just having a major writer's block with this particular request! On that note, I hope this is halfway decent! I'm still working on everyone's requests, but feel free to send more in! Love you guys!

Purple, opalescent twilight creeps through the luxurious, linen curtains of John Carter’s spacious apartment, painting the surroundings of your shared bedroom in a shimmering, silver glow that blankets your breathing bodies as you tightly embrace each other, only one of you deep in the tranquil throes of sleep. Pedestrians yell to each other from across streets somewhere below the room while cars angrily honk like slighted geese, all the while, your boyfriend, John Carter, is absentmindedly rutting into the plump flesh of your ass, his hand gripping the side of your hip tightly. 

Carter moans into your hair, inhaling the scent of your perfumed shampoo while his throbbing cock leaks sticky, salty precum through his plaid boxer shorts. The material plasters itself to his heated skin, his taut body like a roaring furnace as he dreams of thrusting into the enveloping warmth of your drooling core. Carter’s mind races with half-thought ideas of pleasure, and soon, the feeling of shallowly pumping between your full cheeks wakes him from his reverie. 

Once awake, Carter whines, the choked sound embarrassingly high and reedy. He can feel how much of his arousal has seeped out of his boxers and into the backside of your thin panties–the only thing separating him from your cunt–and a wave of shame washes over him like the briny waves of the ocean. Already, Carter faces a struggle: should he wake you up and ask for help, or should he try to ignore his pulsating member until morning. The latter option seems fatal–he’d never make it that long–but the former is humiliating, as is. Truly caught in a bind, Carter weighs his options carefully, or as carefully as he can with the state he’s in. 

Finally, Carter comes upon a decision. He would be a fool to ignore the way your body answers his, your hips subtly rocking against his thick shaft–as if he wouldn’t notice the consoling movement in the first place. He needn’t wake you, either, in fact, he could very easily maneuver your leg to wrap around his waist from the awkward position, and slide your cotton panties to the side and ravish you there. The plan is perfect, Carter proudly thinks. 

So, he moves to enact it, with Carter taking a heaping handful of your thigh so he can wrench it backwards ever so slightly, just enough to lock your shin behind his hip. Carter moves at a snail’s pace, in order to not wake you, but you end up stirring just a little. With a raspy hum, you question Carter’s actions. 

“What’s going on, babe?” you ask, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. Again, Carter whines, this time the sound isn’t as shameful as before, but embarrassing, nonetheless. 

Carter responds, “I’m sorry, I just–I had a dream, and–.” Carter is cut off by the feeling of your body shifting to face him and your hand suddenly wrapping around the hot length of his cock through the soaked fabric of his shorts.

“Must’ve been one dream, huh?” you say. Carter swallows and nods, the subtle movement illuminated by the soft glow of moonlight filling the room. 

“Here, let me take care of this,” you continue with a content sigh, to which Carter voices no opposition. In a moment, you’re shimmying down the expanse of Carter’s body, running your hands against the soft forms of Carter’s ab muscles before hooking your fingers under the elastic waistband of his boxers. 

Carter’s voice catches in his throat when you free his tender cock from the slick confines of his underwear, the hunk of muscle bobbing against his lower stomach before being caught in your soft hand, which just barely makes it halfway up the length of his member. 

It isn���t long before you take his dick in your open, inviting mouth to suckle on the spongy head, sweeping away the thick beads of precum with your tongue. Carter moans wantonly, throwing his head back against the pillow before bucking into the sweet heat of your mouth. You resist the urge to smile and continue to lavish Carter’s head with attention, drawing more precum from the runny slit. 

All the while, Carter bucks wildly, finally reveling in the feeling of blinding pleasure that his dick had been yearning for. Taking more of Carter in your mouth, you slide your head down until the tip of Carter’s cock is pressing against the back of your throat, forcing you to swallow. Carter nearly howls, laughing at the overwhelming feeling before biting his fist to keep all of the unsavory noises he has built up locked away in his chest. 

Now, you begin to motion your head up and down, working your hand at the base of his cock to gather all the saliva that drips down from your ministrations. With each pass, you swallow Carter further, your tongue pressing against the underside of his dick with each upward movement. Carter’s begun to thrash, now, unable to take the mountains of pleasure you’re delivering straight to his being. 

Carter feels that tension pulling in his lower stomach, like a stretched rubber band about to snap. He’s on the precipice of warning you when suddenly, the valve to his release is turned and he’s spurting ropes of cum down your throat. 

You take it in stride, however, and choke back the fluid until there’s nothing left, leaving Carter fully drained. You can’t help but push the limits a little bit, earning some excitement from Carter when you continue to suck on his softening dick. 

Soon, you release Carter, and he sighs warmly. “Thank you for your help,” he says. 

“Of course.”

[finelinevogue]

i love you more than dino nuggets

summary - the night before the final show

pairing : fiancé!harry x reader

word count : +2.3k

a/n : originally was going to include the show but i have another idea for that so i’m off to write that now !!! the title will make sense as you read😭😭

It was the final night before the last love on tour show and you’d already cried three times.

Once on the plane over to Italy. Once on visiting the stage being set up today at the stadium. And once, now, crying because of how overwhelmed you feel.

You were busy getting ready in your shared bedroom, whilst Harry entertained the rest of your friends and family downstairs.

The house Harry owned in Italy, that was soon to become yours too in a week, was a massive Roman inspired villa. The orange stone that the building was made of created a cool villa to live in and with over 12 bedrooms it was the biggest house Harry owned.

All of Harry’s family and friends were staying over here for the duration of the last love on tour show, and then also for your wedding next week.

Whilst some wondered why Harry would end the love on tour shows in Italy, when nothing would ever beat the homeliness feeling of Wembley, it was all because you were getting married here a week Saturday.

How could you not? The perfect background for a summers wedding, in yours and Harry’s favourite country.

“Babe?” Harry knocked on the door and enters before you answer.

“Yeah?” You sniffled, wiping your fingers under your eyes to clear the mascara marks.

“Wha— What’s with the tears, baby?” He asked with a laugh.

“I don’t even know!” You laughed, starting to cry all over again.

“Is it ‘cause the the cake decorator cancelled on us again? ‘Cause, babe, I promise you that I will bake the bloody thing myself.”

Harry came and sat next to you on the bed, handing you a handkerchief he pulled out of his blazer pocket.

Tonight was a big celebration for him and so you’d decided to all get dressed up and have one final supper all together. Harry was in a gorgeous black slate suit, with a basic white t-shirt underneath. You matched him with a simple black halter-dress.

“Turns out these suit tissues are useful for something.”

“Thank you.” You said, dabbing underneath your eyes.

“You’re going to make me cry before the night is up, I just know it.” He nudged you with his shoulder, causing you to fall into him.

You rested your head on his shoulder and let your hands fall into his lap. His arm came around your body and hugged you close, kissing the side of your head as he inhaled your coconut shampoo.

You sat in silence for a few moments, Harry’s fingers coming to play with yours. Twirling around each other until they find home in an interlocking movement.

“Can’t believe this is all real.” You said first.

“Babe, you’re only saying that because we watched The Truman Show the other day.” Harry chuckled.

“Don’t say things like that.” You playfully hit him, but Harry caught your hand before you can go for a second playful punch. “Y’know that my worst fear is this all not being real.” You mumbled.

Harry nodded his head.

“Then let me show you just how real this is.”

Harry pushed you to lay your back down on the bed, your legs still touching the floor from where you sat on the edge of the bed. Harry moved to hover over you and took your intertwined hands with him, moving them to link above your head.

A loose strand of hair tickled your forehead and Harry blew it away with a soft blow, making you smile.

“You’re so pretty.” Harry stopped to pause and just take you all in.

“I thought you were supposed to be showing me how we are real.” You sarcastically told him. The glint in his eyes told you just how cheeky he thought you were.

Harry didn’t waste another moment before kissing you. Your lips met his instantly and just like you’d been doing for the past five years, you kissed and kissed and kissed. You both knew when to bite or slow down and speed up. You were so in tune with each other.

When you started to pant slightly out of breath, Harry slowed down and moved his lips away from yours just a fraction.

“Breathe, baby.” He whispered against your lips.

“Mhm.” You tried to inhale some air.

“Was that real enough for you?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe we should try a—”

Harry’s lips pressed back against yours and he let go of your hands, because he knew you were itching to touch him.

Your hands went straight to his cheeks, pulling him in to guide his lips against yours, whilst his own hands remained gripped to the bed sheets as he held his weight up. You kissed him until both your lips were red and swollen.

A knock on the door is what interrupted you both.

“Fuck.” Harry mumbled, stuffing his head into your neck to hide from everyone else. Now that he’d had a moment with you, he didn’t want anyone else.

“H? Y/N?” The sound of Anne came through the other side of the door. “I know you two love each other, but you have people downstairs waiting for you.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle that you’d been caught making out by Harry’s mum. You felt like a teenager all over again.

“It’s not funny.” Harry pinched your sides playfully.

“Did y’hear me?” Anne asked.

“Yes muumm!” Harry replied, pretending like he was annoyed when in reality he could never be anything but kind to his mum.

“Be down in five, otherwise I’m coming in next time.”

Harry grunted and dropped his head back into your neck, softly kissing and biting at the skin he could find exposed down there.

“Harry stop.” You tried to push him off, laughing, but he was too heavy and you were too weak to fight him off. “I’m not having your mum come back.”

“It’s an empty threat, babe.” Harry continued to kiss your neck and it was heading straight for a hickey.

“Umm… Do you remember Christmas of 2020?”

Harry’s head shot up at that, smirking as he looked down at you.

“Be more specific.”

You rolled your eyes and huffed because he knew exactly what you were talking about, but was just too much of a tease and wanted to hear you say it.

“Your mum thought I was in pain, but it turned out I was just receiving head from her son. So thanks for that. It’s a memory that will haunt me forever.”

“What? Me eating you out?” Harry looked even more cheeky. “Well, I guess we’ll have to fix that.”

His hands shifted underneath your body as he moved down until he was knelt on the floor in front of your legs. You kicked him with your foot before he could lift your dress though.

“Harry Styles!” You scoffed. “Your entire family is downstairs. Stop it.”

You were well aware that you sounded like a teacher, or a scolding mother, but sometimes it was the only way to get him to stop his adolescent behaviour.

“You’re no fun.” Harry groaned and laid on the floor like you’d just shot him through the heart with an arrow.

“Don’t marry me then.” You said jokingly.

You shook your head and walked towards the door, heels clicking on the marble floor as you went. You brushed your dress down from creases.

You stopped in front of a full length mirror to check yourself out before you rejoined everyone downstairs. Everything was still set in place, despite the copious amounts of crying.

Harry came up behind you, having felt him before actually seeing him through the mirror.

He wrapped his arms underneath your armpits and squeezed you in a hug from behind. You tilted your head to one side of his body so he could plant a soft kiss on the skin you’d left exposed.

“I love you. And I can’t wait to marry you.” He kissed you again. “For you to be mine. Officially.”

“And you’ll be mine.” You turned your head and looked him in his eyes. They were so full of love, sparkling from the excitement you gave him.

“I’ve always been yours.”

His lips met yours once last time before you really did have to go downstairs.

Harry held your hand as you walked down the stairs together, occasionally checking that you were alright and that your heels weren’t going to make you fall.

Once you were down them, Harry immediately brought you into his side and had his arm around your waist. You copied his motion and followed him into the outdoor seating area.

Lots of long tables had been set up on the large patio for people to sit at, with an extra long table that was arranged with food and drinks for everyone here and an extra hundred people.

There was meats, fish, pasta, pizza and even veggie dinosaur nuggets that Harry had shipped from England just for you. For drinks there was everything from water to very expensive wine. Wine that come from the vineyards Harry has invested in around this area.

Everyone cheered when Harry and you finally turned up, many people already sitting down and tucking into their food and some people nursing glasses of fizz as they chatted.

The glow of the moon and the strings of hundreds of fairy lights made the atmosphere that little bit more special. There was some light piano music playing in the background and everything felt at peace with the world.

“I’m just going to go say to hi to a couple of people. Are you okay?” Harry asked you.

“‘Course. I’m starving and starting to get hangry.”

“Well nobody wants to see a hangry Y/N. Go on!” Harry shooed you along and you stuck up your middle finger at him. He watched you with admiration as you wandered off.

You made it to the buffet selection and happily see your dinosaur nuggets waiting for you. They even have a little sign on them that says ‘property of the lead singers fiance. don’t touch’ in Harry’s handwriting. Every minute he’s got spare he’s reminding people that you are soon to be forever each others.

You sit at a table with some of Harry’s relatives, chatting with them for a bit, before moving down the table to speak to your family.

You finished off your dinosaur nuggets and excuse yourself, wandering back inside the house and towards the freezer.

Opening it, you are amazed to find another three boxes of nuggets and you instantly fall a little bit more in love with Harry because of the simple action.

Your best friend, Ruby, meets you in the kitchen, as you’re turning on the oven to make more.

“Someone has been looking beautiful tonight.” She teased you, handing you over what must be your fourth glass of prosecco of the night.

“It’s you, isn’t it?” You laughed.

“Don’t be daft. No one is glowing more than you are tonight.”

“Not even H?” You challenged.

“I mean, yeah. But he’s only happy ‘cause you are.”

You blushed at her comment and take a sip of your drink. After the nuggets are in the oven, you sit on top of the granite kitchen island. Ruby clambered on after you, falling straight onto her back with how tipsy she is.

You laughed so hard that you ended up falling back too. Luckily the kitchen island is that big that you remain on it.

“I can’t believe you’re getting married next week.” You best friend says.

“Why does everyone keep focusing on that and not the final show tomorrow?” You wondered.

“Maybe because your wedding day is slightly more important than the end of Love On Tour.”

“I don’t think I see it that way.” You hummed at your own realisation. “They’re equal in importance. Tomorrow night is the biggest night of Harry’s career and it means a lot to me, therefore meaning a lot to me.”

“Girl, don’t tell me you’ve got cold feet.”

“No!” You blurted out, more sure of that fact than anything. “Never. I love Harry and I can’t wait for married life together.”

“But…?”

“But I think tomorrow night will be as equally as important to him and so it will be to me too.” You answered truthfully.

“Ugh. When did you get so sappy?” Your best friend teased you.

“Harry brings it out of me.” You gushed over your fiancé.

“You two are so sickeningly in love.”

“Don’t worry. Harry will give me my medicine later.” You attempted a bad joke.

“Okayyy….” Brad said as entered the room with a beer in hand. He’s been following your best friend everywhere she’s gone recently and you’re wondering whether he’s harbouring a little crush.

Both you and Ruby burst out laughing, you clutching onto your stomach from laughing so hard. Everything is so much funnier laying down too.

“What the fuck is going on in here?” Harry asked, smiling when he saw you laughing. He walked up Brad and slung his arm around his shoulder as they watched on.

“Mate I don’t even know. I don’t think I want to know.” Brad answered.

“Harry? Do you love Y/N?” Ruby asked.

“Yes.” Harry answered quickly.

“Y/N? Do you love Harry?”

“I doo!!” You shouted, laughing afterwards.

“They love each other! You’re now both wifed up.” Ruby announced.

“What?” You laughed. “Harry can’t be my wife.” You giggled.

“Oh yeah.” Ruby laughed and it set both of you off laughing again.

Harry shook his head at you both and nodded for Brad to handle Ruby whilst he handled you. Brad made sure Ruby didn’t fall over when he stood her up, announcing he was going to take her somewhere to lay down for a bit to calm down.

You felt Harry’s hands on yours as he pulled you to sit up.

Once you sat up you warmly smiled at him, cupping his cheek and leaning your forehead onto his.

“Hey, baby. Y’doing okay?” Harry asked and smiled at you.

“Mhm.”

“Your dino nuggets are ready if you want them.”

“Yes please.”

“Okay. Stay here for me.”

Harry arranged them on a plate and added some sweet chilli sauce on the side for you. He then came back over to you and stood between your legs.

He dipped a nugget in some sauce and held it up to your mouth. He blew on it to cool it down, only because he’d seen chefs on the TV do it, and waited for you to take a bite.

You hummed in delight as you bit into it. “Mm mm.”

“Nice?” Harry asked, wiping your mouth of crumbs with a nearby napkin.

“Thank you.” You nodded. “I’m excited for a life full of you and dino nuggets, Harry.”

“Do you love me more than dino nuggets?” He offered you another bite.

“Love you more than anyone or anything.” You finished chewing before speaking. “But veggie dino nuggets are the second love of my life.”

“As long as I’m the first.” He kissed your forehead.

Both of you were in the kitchen for another twenty minutes, talking about anything and nothing whilst Harry fed you. A few people had walked in, but had left you just as quickly to enjoy this quiet time together.

A couple of people had snapped photos of you too, which you would be thankful for later.

At the end of the night, after there was a mass of friends and family cleaning up and washing dishes, everyone retreated to bed.

Harry had been saying his rounds of good night before he had joined you in bed.

It was past midnight and you wanted time to slow down. It was unfair that the last show of love on tour has crept up so soon. How dare it.

You understood Harry needed some time to himself now though and start building more of a life outside of touring for himself. For starters, marrying you.

Harry sighed as he got into bed, peeling back the covers and immediately wiggling is way across the bed, over to your side, and spooning you from behind.

He kissed the back of your neck a couple of times, just because he could, as you wiggled in his hold to get comfortable again.

“Tonight was fun.” You said softly, speaking into the darkness and knowing it was only Harry who could hear you.

“It was. Tomorrow night will be even more fun.”

“It’ll be bittersweet.”

“Maybe.” His hands held yours. “But I’m getting tired, baby, and I just want a bit of rest now.”

“I know, bub. I’ll just miss it, is all.”

“You’ll always still have me, though. I’m not going anywhere.”

You turned around in his hold, facing him and resting your faces so close that your noses were touching.

“I’m here to stay too. Forever yours when that ring gets put on me next week, baby.” You tell him, smiling a little too much at that comment.

“I… I think I’m going to play something for you tomorrow. Something i’ve never done before.” He sounded nervous telling you.

“Just for me?”

“Everything’s always for you. This piece will especially be.”

“Can’t wait.” You leaned in and pecked his lips so he could taste your excitement. “You’re going to be amazing.”

“I’ll be sad it’s over, but more than ready to step off the stage and down the aisle instead. That’ll be the best day of my life.”

[fortheloveofwonderland]

Midnight | Chapter 19 | SR

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

A/N - a slight jump forward in time here. For the sake of this, Spencer’s mom lives back in Vegas.

Chapter Summary - after finding a new place to settle down, things finally seem like they might be looking up for you and Spencer. Meanwhile Luke refuses to rest while he continues searching for you.

Pairing - unsub! Spencer Reid / Fem! Reader

Category - dark angst | smut | very eventual happy ending

Warnings - cleaning up a crime scene, burying bodies, fingering, handjob, swearing, vomit, brief mention of depression, penetrative, unprotected sex, lying.

WC - 5.7k

Chapter 19 - Stitch Me Up

Two Months Later

The desert city of Twentynine Palms, California was located in the Mojave Desert and sat on the northern side of the Joshua Tree National Park and promoted the motto “a beautiful desert oasis”. 

It wasn’t small but it was huge either, with a population of around twenty five thousand, making it a great place for two people to hide in plain sight. And given its desert location, the temperature this time of year was over one hundred and five, a stark contrast from tiny little Colorado mountain towns. 

Samuel and Violet Truman of Arizona had moved out west and rented themselves a little fully furnished three bed, single storey home on Chia Avenue in a quiet suburb of Twentynine Palms. They arrived two weeks ago after spending some six weeks travelling the states with their travel companions Jack and Lily Waters. 

From the outside their home left a lot to be desired, with its rickety metal fence and lone palm tree in the sandy front yard. But the inside was so modern and sheek that the couple had signed a lease on the spot. 

From the outside looking in, you and Spencer were the idyllic all American couple. And admittedly, from the inside you were also pretty damn happy. 

Since fleeing Crested Butte in the middle of the night two months ago, things had changed dramatically. That night you’d waited until Luke had stopped patrolling your cabin before getting Mary’s body into the trunk of the Nissan. You’d scrubbed every single inch of the house until it was cleaner than when you’d arrived, tweezed the bullet out of the wall and filled in the hole left behind, before gathering all of your belongings and getting the hell out of dodge. 

On the way out of town you had begged Spencer to make one last stop. He wanted to refuse, you could tell, but he was trying so hard to make you happy, to make up for the way he’d been treating you that he agreed and pulled the Nissan to a stop on the street outside of McGills. 

It had been late and all the lights were off so you’d ducked down the side alley towards the door that led up to his apartment. You’d had no idea if he’d be there but you’d prayed with every fibre of your being that he would. And by some stroke of luck, he answered the door after you’d knocked twice. 

“Rose,” he folded his arms across his chest and leant against the door jamb. “Or should I say, Y/N.” 

“I heard Luke spoke to you.” You gnawed on your lip as Jesse regarded you like the stranger you were. 

“He did. I have to say, I did not expect you to be FBI.” 

“Yeah.” You nodded. “It’s a long story. I just wanted to come by and apologise for everything. I probably really shouldn’t have let myself follow you out of the Nickel that night.” 

“I’m glad you did.” He nodded, dropping his arms to his sides. “Even though it didn’t work out between us, it at the very least got me out of my slump. Maybe now I can actually put myself out there again, you know? Now I’ve gotten over that first hurdle.” 

“You’re going to make some woman very happy someday.” You smiled, subconsciously taking a step closer. 

“It’s a shame it couldn’t have been you.” He shrugged wistfully. 

You swallowed thickly, glancing down the alley and noting that you couldn’t see the Nissan from this position, or more importantly, its occupant couldn’t see you. You stepped even closer to Jesse and cupped his cheek. 

“In another life maybe.” You whispered. “I’m leaving town.” 

“I figured as much.” He nodded as your hand wandered down from his face to bicep. “You could stay, you know? With me. You don’t have to go just because he wants you to.” 

“You have no idea how tempting that is. But I can’t.” 

“I know.” He sighed, suddenly gripping the back of your neck. “I’m going to miss you.” 

Suddenly he’d slammed his lips against yours in a kiss so passionate your legs had buckled. If Spencer knew how you’d said goodbye to Jesse, he most likely would have gone back and killed him. If he’d known you’d let Jesse finger you in his doorway while you jerked him off in return, Spencer would have certainly murdered him and probably enjoyed it. 

But clearly you had a better poker face than you realised as Spencer simply drove off as soon as you were back in the car. And on the drive the only thing you’d thought of were Jess’s last words to you. 

“I wish I’d gotten a chance to love you, Y/N.” 

But at some point you had to let that go. 

Mary’s final resting place had been a hole in the ground in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in Montana, almost eight hundred miles north of her hometown of Crested Butte. The Nissan met the same fate as Spencer’s Volvo a further five hundred and fifty miles east just outside of Medora, North Dakota. 

Spencer purchased three pairs of bus tickets: one down to Texas, one out to Minnesota and one to Iowa, the latter being the ones you actually used. It took the better part of an entire day on a sweaty, smelly bus before you arrived in Cedar Rapids.

You checked into a cheap and dirty motel under the names of Jack and Lily Waters and spent almost the entire night having sex. Thoroughly exhausted in the morning, Spencer found a used car lot and using his Arizona licence in the name Samuel Truman, paid cash for a black Chevy Impala. 

For the six weeks that followed you travelled up and down the country in much of a zigzag, alternating between your two pseudonyms, back and forth so the BAU would never find you. You spent six weeks in multiple different cheap motels, fucking like rabbits every step of the way. 

You’d never felt so intrinsically linked to someone the way you did to Spencer in those six weeks. And it seemed he’d finally found his bliss as he didn’t kill once. 

Eventually when enough time passed you’d choose to settle down in California. But unfortunately the mundane realities of life would ultimately be your downfall. 

You stood up from the bathroom floor with a groan, wiping the back of your hand over your mouth and padding over to the sink. You stuck your mouth directly under the faucet and drank from it to wash away the taste of bile on your tongue. 

You’d been throwing up on and off for some weeks now but you simply put it down to the residual stress of being on the run. You exhaled heavily before shuffling back out into the bedroom where Spencer still lay naked on top of the sheets. 

“I’m mildly offended.” He offered you a wistful smile. 

“I’m sorry.” You grumbled, flopping back to the bed next to him. 

“It’s ok. Just never had anyone need to throw up whilst sucking my dick before.” He chuckled, wrapping his arm around your shoulders. 

“It’ll teach me not to eat hotdogs from a gas-and-go.” You sighed. “I can try again if you’re still in the mood?”

“After I just listened to you puke your guts up? I’m suddenly not very horny.” He pulled you closer so your head was resting on his chest. “But seriously, are you ok? You’ve been getting sick a lot lately.” 

“Yeah I guess it’s stress or something. I’ll be fine.” You nuzzled against him, placing your hand flush against his chest over his heart. 

You smiled as the ring caught the light and found yourself moving impossibly closer to Spencer. His grandmother's old ring had been upgraded, as had the one he wore, for newer silver matching bands inscribed on the inside with partners in crime. 

One of your stops on your travels before you’d made your way to Twentynine Palms had been in Atlantic City at a seedy motel just off the main strip. After a few drinks one night as you walked by a little drive-in chapel, Spencer had a proposition for. 

“What would you say I said we should get married?” He pulled you to a stop on the sidewalk. 

“Married?” You glared at him. 

“Right now. Partners in crime forever.” He grinned at you. 

“You’re joking, right?” Your brows furrowed. 

“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life. Before we get swallowed up entirely in the lives of Samuel and Violet, I think Spencer and Y/N need to do this one last thing.” 

And really there had only been one answer to that. You and Spencer had been bound for life the moment you’d left DC with him, you were as good as married, so why not make it official? 

If your old team were to ever find one last trace of Spencer Reid and Y/N Y/L/N it would be the signing of marriage licences in a little Atlantic City chapel. 

Spencer purchased you the new rings as a surprise and that along with your rose gold heart necklace, were your most treasured possessions. 

“You don’t need to be stressed, sweetheart. It’s over, we’re safe now. I’ll never let anything bad happen to you.” He cooed, kissing your head. 

It really was amazing the difference a few months could make. Of course things weren’t ideal, you’d always be on the run, never able to return home but things with Spencer were as close to perfect as they could possibly be. 

Since fleeing Butte he’d been wonderful, the Spencer you’d known was still in there somewhere. You may be on the run but as long as this was the Spencer you woke up to every morning, you didn’t mind at all. 

But Spencer was wrong, things were far from over. At least you’d always have these moments to look back when everything came crumbling down. But for now, despite the stress within you, you knew Spencer was all you needed to feel whole. You and Spencer were two broken halves but maybe together you could patch each other up and finally feel complete. 

***

Two days after Luke Alvez arrived back from Crested Butte he received a phone call from the diner owner's son. 

Jesse McGill had informed him of the mysterious disappearance of the girl Mary, whom Luke had met at the diner, which was followed in quick succession by you and Spencer’s sudden departure from the town. 

It really didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. But unfortunately for Luke it did take a genius to pull it off and Spencer was sure to leave behind no trail, no scrap of evidence. And two months later and Mary still hadn’t been found and the BAU had no leads on you and Spencer’s whereabouts. You’d well and truly outsmarted them. 

In his spare time, which was very few and far between these days, he poured over the Duncan Green case file as well as images of the sparkling clean cabin you’d left behind in Butte in the hopes that maybe he’d missed something. He stayed late in the office every single night and looked for any reports of sightings of you and Spencer as Emily had officially registered you as missing persons. He scrolled through police databases for any other occurrences that might point to where the hell you were. 

He’d discovered two bodies buried in woodlands across the country which were similar in MO to Green but with no pertinent links between them, the BAU couldn’t investigate. 

Lyle Smith was found in a shallow grave with his throat cut in the Hoosier National Forest just north of Jasper, Indiana. The body of Brett Carlisle from Wichita, Kansas was found in the Rita Blanca National Grasslands in Texas. Both bodies had been subject to the elements but deemed to have been dead since before that little Nissan was picked up on Elk Avenue for the first time. So maybe Spencer had been on some kind spree since he’d left DC.

And that brought him onto the discovery of the burnt out Nissan, near identical to how they’d found Spencer’s Volvo. They’d spent three days searching the area surrounding where the vehicle was found for Mary’s body only to come up short. Of course, Spencer wasn’t stupid, he wouldn’t dispose of a body anywhere near the car. 

The only lead Luke had really had in the last two months was the filing of a marriage licence in the state of New Jersey. It was like a big middle finger in his face, clearly you’d both wanted him to find it. He’d driven to Atlantic City on one of his rare days off and canvassed the area near the wedding chapels, showing your photographs to anyone who would look. But he knew you’d be long gone. 

If he could just find a way to connect any of these crimes to Spencer, or to find Mary’s body then maybe he could convince you to come home. He was sure you had nothing to do with any of this and if had solid proof that Spencer had murdered one of these people maybe it could be his way to form a wedge between the two of you. No matter what happened, Luke would never stop trying to protect you. 

But god if it wasn’t taking its toll on him.

Luke Alvez was, in no uncertain terms, coming apart at the seams. The stitching holding him together had been removed thread by thread and at this point there was barely anything holding him together. Emily had expressed her concerns for his mental health, suggesting he seek medical help for what she had dubbed a depressive spiral. 

His response had been simply, “you’d be depressed too if your best friend had married a murderer” which had pretty much shut down the conversation. 

He knew he was devolving, he’d seen it hundred of times before. His apartment was a mess of case files, innocuous accounts of possible sightings and potential victims of Spencer. He barely slept, running mostly on coffee and energy bars. He was almost certain he was getting an ulcer. 

But he wouldn’t let this go. He couldn’t shake the feeling that you weren’t safe and he couldn’t rest until he knew you were. Maybe this obsession would eventually kill him, but it would be worth it to be able to free you from the clutches of Spencer Reid. 

***

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” You scurried back to the car with your best apologetic smile as you slid into the passenger’s seat and Spencer pulled a face. 

“Did you puke again?” He frowned at you. 

“No.” You shook your head. 

“You were peeing again? You went when we got here.” He started the engine. 

You weren’t exactly sure where you were headed, Spencer had simply told you that you were going out for the day and with nothing better to do you’d followed along. You were somewhere along the I-15 heading north about two hours away from Twentynine Palms, at a gas station. You’d only stopped long enough for Spencer to fill up the Chevy and have a coffee and you’d used the bathroom twice, which was very unlike you. 

“I know, I think I drank too much coffee this morning.” You mused, putting on your seatbelt.

“You always drink too much coffee, but that’s an entirely different conversation.” He chuckled, putting the car in reverse and pulling out of the space. 

As he merged back onto the interstate you twirled your wedding band around your finger, watching the way his caught the sunlight through the windscreen and you smiled to yourself. 

“Where are we going, Spence? Not that I don’t like a spontaneous road trip but I thought we’d settled now? Driving long distances usually only equals bad things where we’re concerned.” You rolled your bottom lip between your teeth. 

Spencer removed one hand from the wheel and brought it to rest on your knee while he smiled at you softly. 

“We’re going to see my mom.” He spoke happily.

“Oh.” You nodded with a soft laugh. “Ok, good. You had me worried for a second.” 

“I told you sweetheart, you don’t need to worry about anything. Not anymore.” He gave your leg a squeeze, the adrenaline pulsing through his veins. 

His bloodlust had been sated for the past two months but now it had come back with avengence. He needed to kill and he had a particular target in mind who he was sure would satisfy his urges more so than any that had come before. 

But it was better to keep you in the dark. You were so happy lately and Spencer loved it when you were happy. He’d use visiting his mom as a distraction and he’d sneak off and extract his plan solo. You’d never need to know and your blissful little bubble didn’t need to be popped. 

It was a win-win. 

He ran over his plan in his head as he drove, making sure he had all the little details secure in his mind. There was no margin for error here, this had to be the perfect kill. 

The two of you mostly stayed silent until he’d made it about another half hour up the interstate and you huffed out a loud breath. 

“Goddamnit,” you grumbled. “I need to pee again.” 

***

Visiting Spencer’s mom had been pretty safe for the two of you given that if anyone ever asked her if you’d been here, she most likely wouldn’t remember. You spent a few hours with her upon your arrival in Vegas before Spencer took you for a three course meal at the very expensive Capital Grille on Las Vegas strip. 

After he walked you down to Caesars Palace in which you expected to be having drinks and were extremely surprised when Spencer strolled up to the reception desk stating he had a room reserved under his other alias Jack Waters. 

A bellboy led you up to one of the top floors and showed you to the Palace Premium Suite. You stood in the middle of the grand living room while Spencer tipped the young man and once the door was closed and the two of you were alone, he sidled up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist. 

“You like it?” He spoke as he kissed the side of your face. 

“Wh-what is happening?” You laughed, still in awe. “What did I do to deserve this?” 

“Consider it a belated, one night honeymoon.” His lips trailed down your neck. “And I guess just a small token of my gratitude for everything you’ve done for me. I know I have a hard time saying how I feel but I love you so fucking much and I am the luckiest man in the world to call you my wife.” 

“Spencer,” you sighed happily in your arms. “I love you too. And I’m the lucky one.” 

“Ok, now we’ve got that out of the way, tell me Mrs Reid, where would you like me to fuck you first?”

You moaned at his words, turning yourself around in his arms and attaching your lips together. 

“What are my options?” You spoke against his lips, feeling his dick growing hard as he pressed into you. 

“Well there are multiple couches, a four poster king sized bed, a pretty decadent bathtub, or there’s my personal favourite option…” his hands wandered under the hem of your shirt and over your back. 

“Which is?” You took hold of his lapels, tearing your lips away from his so you could look at him.

His pupils were already blown out with his lust, his lip quirked up into a sinful smirk. 

“We’re way up high, with some of the best views of Vegas.” He tugged your shirt up, quickly getting it over your head and tossing it aside. He took hold of your biceps and turned you back around to face the huge floor to ceiling windows overlooking the strip, his lips moving back to your ear. “My choice would be to fuck you up against the window. But that’s just me.” 

He was already leading you towards the windows, lips sucking the flesh of your neck, his free reaching between your bodies and unhooking your bra. He quickly got it off your arms and dropped it on the floor, and you made no protest when he pushed your front up against the window. You hissed slightly at the cool glass as it touched your nipples and Spencer smiled to himself. 

It was all a part of his plan. He would render you dumb with sex then run you an indulgent bubble bath with a large glass of wine to soothe your post-coital muscles. Then he’d tell you he’d left something at his mother's facility which was purposefully on the other side of town to buy him some time. 

He’d tell you he hopefully wouldn’t be gone long, but traffic on the strip at night could be a nightmare and he’d be back as soon as possible. He’d inform you of the bar and the spa downstairs if you wanted to use either while he was gone. 

And while you were preoccupied having a drink or getting a massage or whatever, he would seek out his target, slice his throat and be back before you knew it, with any luck rejuvenated enough for round two. 

He continued kissing your neck while he started unbuttoning your pants and you helped him wiggle them down your legs and kick them off. You could see Spencer in the reflection in the window start to work on the buttons of his shirt. You caught his eye and he smiled at you. 

He shucked his shirt off and pressed his bare chest against your back, caging you against the window with his hips, his hard cock pressing into your back. His lips moved back to your neck and worked on sucking deep bruises into your flesh whilst one hand wandered over your stomach and quickly dipped inside your panties. 

You closed your eyes as two fingers were soon pressing inside of you, his thumb massaging your clit. You rolled your ass backwards, grinding against his erection but you wobbled a little on your legs at the feeling of his fingers inside you. 

With your eyes closed your mind wandered of its own accord. There were times when you and Spencer were together that you found yourself thinking of Jesse, most specifically the last time you’d seen him when he’d fingered you in his doorway. 

It was entirely involuntary, you certainly didn’t mean to think about him and his strong tattooed arms and the large vein in his forearm that pulsed when his fingers were inside of you. You didn’t mean to imagine his wiry beard scratching your face as he kissed you. And you most definitely didn’t mean to picture him fucking you whilst Spencer was. Sometimes it just happened. 

Spencer was by no means an idiot and he knew you still thought about GI Mountain Man. He knew exactly what you looked like post orgasm and he’d known what the two of you had been doing when you’d said goodbye to him, even if you’d tried hard to hide it. There had been three, maybe four times when you’d said his name under your breath when he was fucking you but you’d never seemed to notice. 

Of course it bothered him, a part of him wanted to drive back to Butte and kill Jesse just to make himself feel better. But he was trying to be better for you and so he ignored the occasional slip of the tongue. 

Your hand snaked around his wrist, holding him firmly in place in your panties. He knew you were thinking about Jesse now, call it intuition, or gut instinct, but whatever it was Spencer knew. 

He used his free hand to relieve himself from his pants and move them down his thighs enough so they were out of his way. He was almost positive that Jesse wasn’t as big as him, couldn’t fill you up the way he could.

In one swift move, he removed his fingers from inside of you and hurriedly plunged his cock between your legs, causing you to gasp and fall flat against the window. Your eyes sprung open at the sudden intrusion and you made eye contact with him in the reflection.

“Jesus Christ, Spence.” You panted as he bottomed out. “A little warning next to him.” 

He chose to ignore you, placing his hands flush on the glass either side of your head as he started thrusting into you. He kept eye contact through the glass, not letting you close your eyes for fear you would start thinking of Jesse again. 

It’s not fair. I’ve done everything for her, I fucking married her and it’s still not enough. What makes him better than me? Why is he still on her mind? 

He tried not to let his anger cloud his judgement and had to rein himself back from fucking you too hard. He forced himself to slow down, thrusting you languidly against the window. You moaned in sync with one another while the Strip below illuminated you both in its chaotic glow. 

You kept your eyes on his in the reflection while he fucked you and all thoughts of Jesse left your head. When you were clenching around him, legs shaking from your impending orgasm, he took hold of your left hand and ran his fingers over your wedding band. 

“You’re mine.” He mumbled, his face contorting as his own orgasm snuck up on him. “Mine. My partner in crime, my wife, my…fuck.” 

He groaned the last word, head falling to your shoulder as he suddenly came inside of you. You whimpered as he filled you up, pushing you over the edge and your legs almost gave up with the force of your orgasm. 

You fell back against Spencer’s chest, his arms holding you up right even though his own legs were shaking. As you fought to catch your breath he peeled you away from the window as he slid out of you and helped you over to the couch. 

You collapsed onto it, panting heavily and pulling Spencer down with you. He laid his head on your chest and listened to the sound of your erratic heartbeat. 

You laid like this for a while until you were both breathing at a normal rhythm and Spencer untangled himself from your arms and got to his feet. He tucked himself away and tugged his pants back up before buttoning them. 

“I’m gonna run you a bubble bath.” He smiled softly down at you. 

“You gonna join me in it?” You smiled back sleepily. 

“Sadly not, I realised I left my wallet at Bennington.” He went to head towards the bathroom but he didn’t get far. 

“You had your wallet at dinner.” You sat up, frowning at the back of his head. 

Spencer froze in his tracks. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. 

“Uh,” he turned back to face you, quickly trying to think on his feet, which would be a lot easier if his head wasn’t still hazy from his orgasm. “Not my wallet, I meant the burner phone. I should go and get it.” 

You scrutinised him for a moment but thankfully for him your own head was also bleary and wouldn’t allow you to think too much into it. 

“Ok.” You shrugged, flopping back to the couch. 

Spencer exhaled heavily, continuing on his way to the bathroom. He started the water, pouring in an ample amount of bubble bath and leaving the tub to fill. 

“There’s a bar downstairs and a spa, even a casino. If you get bored with the bath and I’m not back, go nuts.” He spoke as headed back into the room, locating the bottle of red wine he’d had sent to the room before you arrived. 

He made quick work of the cork and poured you a large glass before coming back over to the couch and dropping down next to you. He handed you the glass and you sat yourself up against the cushions again. 

“Hmm I like honeymoons.” You smiled, bringing your glass to your lips and taking a small sip. 

Moments later your face fell and you gagged, thrusting the glass back at Spencer before leaping from the couch and running as fast as your legs could carry you to the bathroom. 

Spencer heard the toilet seat slam back against the cistern and then the distinctive sound of vomiting echoed around the room.

Realistically he was smart enough to figure out what was going on, as were you, but both of your heads were clouded by other thoughts and so you both missed the obvious. 

Spencer padded back to the bathroom and found you on your knees, wiping your hand over your mouth. You looked up at him with large, sad eyes. 

“The wine turned against me.” You whined. “Goddamn gas-and-go hotdogs.” 

Spencer smiled sadly at you and slid to the floor next to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders as the bath continued to fill behind him. 

“Are you going to be ok if I pop out?” Please god say yes, I need this, it has to be tonight. 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. It’s passed again now, I guess I just won’t be drinking any wine tonight.” You sighed. “You go, do your thing.” 

“As long as you’re sure.” Spencer pushed himself back to his feet and then held his hands out to help you up. 

“Of course. Do you think you’ll be gone for long?” 

“No idea, traffic at this time of night will probably be a pain, but I promise I’ll hurry.” He stroked your hair back from your face. 

“Ok.” You nodded, lowering yourself to sit on the edge of the tub. “Go, I’m fine. I can run a bath.” 

“I won’t be long.” He went to kiss you but then thought better of it as your breath smelt like vomit. Instead he kissed his first and middle finger and then placed them on your lips making you chuckle. 

Soon he was heading out of the room in search of his bag so he could change into jeans and t-shirt. The weapons were in the Chevvy’s glovebox, ready for their next assignment. 

He dressed quickly and got his shoes on, throwing on a hoodie before grabbing the car keys and heading to the door. 

“Be safe, sweetheart.” He called as he reached for the handle. 

“Love you.” You replied and it made his heart swell every time he heard you say that. 

As he opened the door, his wedding ring caught his eye and he rolled his lip between his teeth. He forced open the door, ignoring the way his heart practically exploded when he looked at his ring. He had a job to focus on. 

But the truth was, you were the only thing keeping him together. He was lost and you’d found him, taken him in and patched him up. His scars both mental and physical didn’t phase you, if anything you’d loved him harder because of them. You’d fixed him up in ways you’d never understand and he hoped he wasn’t making a huge mistake in what he was about to do. 

He was fairly certain you’d never walk away from him, that nothing he could do could be worse than the things he’d already put you through. Because he was sure one day all that thread keeping him together would come unravelled and if he had no one there to stitch him back up again he would be torn so deeply there would be no repairing him. And god only knows how quickly a broken man would devolve.

No, it's no wonder I feel broken,

Are you the one to fix me up, patching up the work they done?

Try and sew me,

So thread the needle, tie it off, teach me how to trust someone.

Really hoping that you stay,

That you never walk away,

Every word I shouldn't say, I shouldn't say, I shouldn't say it.

Do you feel the stress in me,

Steady bursting at the seams?

You're the only one I need to make me complete, yeah.

Stitch me up, stitch me up, don't tear me apart,

I've been stuck in the rut, patched up in the dark.

Stitch me up, stitch me up, there's pins in my heart, oh,

Pardon all my precious scars.

No, it's no wonder you've been feeling,

Like a doll in lost and found, so mistreated, thrown around.

Who you kidding? (You kidding),

Every flaw and every fray, that's what makes you sexy to me.

Really hoping that I stay,

I could never walk away,

Every word we shouldn't say, we shouldn't say, we shouldn't say it.

Do you feel the stress in me,

Steady bursting at the seams?

You're the only one I need to make me complete, yeah.

Stitch me up, stitch me up, don't tear me apart,

I've been stuck in the rut, patched up in the dark.

Stitch me up, stitch me up, there's pins in my heart, oh,

Pardon all my precious scars.

Elegant and broken, tasteful, tattered clothing,

I guess we've been caught in the middle of love.

Motive through emotion, damaged but we're golden,

I guess we've been caught in the middle of love.

Elegant and broken, tasteful, tattered clothing,

I guess we've been caught in the middle of love.

Motive through emotion, damaged but we're golden,

I guess we've been caught in the middle of love.

Stitch me up, stitch me up, don't tear me apart,

I've been stuck in the rut, patched up in the dark.

Stitch me up, stitch me up, there's pins in my heart, oh,

Pardon all my precious scars.

Really hoping that you stay,

Pray you never walk away,

Pardon all my precious scars.

Stitch me up, stitch me up, there's pins in my heart,

Oh, pardon all my precious scars.

@bubblebuttwade @jay-2s-world @daddy-dotcom @nomajdetective

[sharkfoodstore]

For all that people meme on the fortune teller, i feel like people often don't realize the point of that scene (forbidden scrollery spoilers)

Like, I have seen many people go "well, she was doing what she had to do, you know? It is what it is. He kinda was the bad guy first."

and like, I really don't think that's the case. I feel like her actions here are definitely wrong.

For example, the end of the chapter has this moment.

This, to me, is implying that if Kosuzu keeps going down the path she's going, reimu is worried she will have to kill her as well.

Forbidden Scrollery is about the relationship between humans and youkai, the balances and imbalances of power between them, and kosuzu's choice between both sides. This is the moment that sets up the stakes of this conflict. If kosuzu chooses the side of the youkai, she will be betrayed and killed by Reimu. Yukari says this outright.

I think its very relevant that yukari is the one saying this, because she's also someone who started human and became a youkai. She made the same choice kosuzu and the fortune teller did.

And we see similar motives echoed by both characters.

Both of these people have just learned that their entire lives are a truman-show like reality where they're kept alive solely so the youkai can keep them living in fear in order to keep themselves alive. Reimu, in this instance, is murdering one of them because if too many people found out they could become youkai they all would stop being controlled and scared and the youkai would cease to be. Reimu is actively working against humanity here. This casts Reimu in a pretty negative light, because we absolutely do not want Reimu to kill Kosuzu. It's what gives those final chapters so much tension.

This is the ultimate morally gray moment of the series in my opinion. It is revealed in forbidden scrollery that reimu is not working for the humans, she is working to maintain a balance set up by youkai for the sake of the youkai.

Im not claiming that the fortune teller was "right all along about everything and is the true good guy of the series" or whatever. The knowledge he has would have led to the death of every youkai. And as the manga goes on to say, the current peace kind of works well enough from one perspective at times, both sides technically holding equal power in the relationship and the youkai technically working for the sake of humanity while also using them. Part of what makes Forbidden Scrollery so good IS the messy and complicated morality that is explored throughout the manga. It is some of the best touhou media in existence for that reason. The youkai are fighting for survival, and aren't actively killing humans, but can the humans really be asked to give up their freedom and live in ignorance like this? It is a complicated question that the series struggles to answer.

So while I do think its fun to joke about how Reimu straight up kills a guy, due to the lack of people talking about the fortune teller I just wanted to bring this up. I feel like understanding that he was actually kinda right about many things in that scene really elevates forbidden scrollery's writing and themes, and also does a lot for both Reimu, Yukari, and Kosuzu's arcs throughout the manga.

[ken-katayanagi]

The other thing that really compels me about the Razputin Vodello au is the built-in cathartic release to it.

Dona and Augustus’ relief at getting to finally learn this child they’ve been mourning for years is alive, that they get to know him and love him not just memories, but in the present, as complicated as that might be. At learning that their child was raised by a group of people who wanted him safe and happy, rather than by those who only saw him as a weapon.

Truman being able to let go of the guilt he’s been carrying with him for years, to know that he didn’t fail, that the Aquatos are alive and well and love Razputin just as much as he does, as the whole Motherlobe does. That he doesn’t have to run himself ragged trying to anticipate everything all the time, that he can once again rely on himself in a way he’s been denying for years now.

Razputin putting his identity together into a singular idea, not living with this constant uncertainty about what he was “supposed” to be. Having the answers and finding contentment in those answers, rectifying not only his own history but his family by the simple act of refusing to hide who he is and what he can do (aka PN 1 but a little bit later).

And Milla, standing in the doorway of their little apartment, with Sasha and Oledander at her side, waiting for everyone to return from whenever Raz went. They cook her meals and they help her get what work she can do done. They remind her that no one is going to forget her in a padded cell ever again.

When Raz does come back, she holds him for what feels like an eternity, and can’t manage to summon up even the tiniest bit of anger towards him. He’s so much lighter than she’s ever seen him, so clearly surrounded by love. But more than anything, he came back. So few people in her old life came back.

So little of this place is like her old life. It will always live with her, but she no longer needs to live by it.

It’s so many characters being able to finally live in the present, of no longer being terrorized by the past, which really plays into PN 2 themes.

[david-talks-sw]

MORE evidence that George Lucas wasn't involved in the Expanded Universe...

Almost a year ago, I wrote a verrry detailed post that explained just how little involvement Lucas had with the old Expanded Universe. There were 109 quotes used as sources, back then.

Recently, I came across 17 more so I figured I'd share:

George Lucas quotes:

So the above is him saying he doesn't actually get involved too deeply, that the EU stories were done outside his universe, that he didn't follow up on them and tried not to think of them.

We could stop right here. But let's keep going.

Quotes from other people:

People repeating that George was barely involved at all, that EU writers could pretty much write what they wanted beyond a few minor limitations, that EU stories weren't canon to the films:

(note: did a typo on Brett Rector's name, in the third one)

Similar ideas from Lucasfilm's Leland Chee and Pablo Hidalgo. Chee, in particular states something that encapsulates the whole Lucas/EU dynamic: Lucas wasn't beholden to the EU, but the EU had to adapt to Lucas' story. By and large, it was a one-way relationship.

(note: I revised the prompts Hidalgo was responding so they're easier to consume, for the unrevised thread you can go on his Twitter page).

This next one is interesting, because it shows Lucas was indeed less uninvolved during the 90s, what with answering 'OK/Not OK' questionnaires and such... before he became too busy with the Prequels, The Clone Wars and revolutionizing the film industry.

Here's just a collection of Tim Truman interviews where he explains how he created the lore surrounding the Tuskens' and their way of life, A'Sharad Hett, and the backstory for Aurra Sing.

None of that lore came from Lucas (and you'll notice that Aurra Sing's EU backstory wasn't acknowledged in any way when she appeared in The Clone Wars, which Lucas did oversee).

Finally, here are Karen Traviss' statements regarding the reason she stepped away from Star Wars. It's interesting to look at this because it's a prime example of just how little the EU's lore factored into Lucas' creative decision:

(note: this is a heavily condensed version of way longer blog posts, in which she also explained that business reasons factored into her decision)

This case is also interesting because it reinforces the fact that the narrative content of the EU didn't align with Lucas' intentions, as illustrated by what both Sam Witwer and Henry Gilroy had to say about Traviss' outlook on the Star Wars universe.

We also explored the subject in this post where we compare the rhetoric Lucas and Traviss use when referring to Dooku and Yoda.

Aaaand that's it, that's the new stuff!

BOTTOM LINE:

Just because the EU content came out while George Lucas was in charge does not mean that it aligned with his views on Star Wars. You can't use "Lucas owning the company" as an authority argument to validate the EU because:

It doesn't need validating, they're great stories.

He wasn't really involved in the development of those stories. He barely gave a crap.

For the original post with the 109 quotes, you can read it here:

[taylorkellyreporting]

i hope no one minds if i liveblog this bitch: twin peaks 2x01-2x09

andy is yelling coopers name on the phone and for a split second, i forgot he was a cop and said “call the police” 😭

“room service!” my brother in christ, he is actively dying

what the fuck is this guys deal

the thumbs up and the wink are sending me so bad

is he just gonna keep coming back and doing the same thing or…?

oh a new giant, that’s fun

this show is so fucking bizarre. i love it.

“you will require medical attention.” no shit

audrey is so fucked

“i like you.” ew. i know he had no idea it’s audrey but still. ew.

did no one hear the gunshot???

finally. i was half convinced cooper was gonna die on that damn floor.

what the hell, how are catherine and josie missing when shelly was the one with catherine?

i’m so glad pete is okay

“give me a couple hours to get dressed” pls

someone needs to give poor lucy a hug

leland is handling his first murder well

no one in the palmer family is stable

hopefully that floorboard knocked some sense into andy

albert’s my favorite asshole <3

though i’d prefer leo dead, i’m glad he gets to pay for what he’s done to all those girls

“where do they keep his water dish?” the smile dropped off andy’s face so fast 😭😭

aw shit, leo isn’t the serial killer.

“good work, andy.” “ yeah. woof.” pls

“laura and james were in love.” no, i don’t think that’s true.

donna is trying way too hard

i’m sorry but i’m rooting for bobby and shelly

that forehead kiss was so cute

i take it back, nadine deserves so much better than ed

is albert fake crying? 😭

great, bobbys dad is back

that was an…interesting exchange

i’m so glad i was right about leo not acting alone. i wonder if ben was the 3rd guy.

poor pete ☹️

i can’t believe josie tried to allude to catherine killing her son knowing damn well she did it

i don’t believe catherine is dead

i don’t think any of what’s been happening is good for leland’s heart

is audrey…praying to cooper? 😭

what the fuck. what the actual fuck.

2x02

senior drool cup skfjgjfks

that was creepy

fuck, what if mr. smith is the gray haired dude???

i feel so bad for ronette

log lady is the best character in this show

andy saying he can’t have kids was not on my bingo card

won’t be surprise if we find out laura was blackmailing ben about one eyed jack’s

i’m with bobby, fuck leo and collect his checks

what the fuuuuuck

omg, is maddy into james?

i wanna know why lelands grandfathers neighbor is torturing the people in twin peaks. specifically the palmer family

yup, audrey’s screwed

2x03

another letter…fuck.

albert’s not gonna take the giant thing seriously and i don’t blame him

“you were visited by a giant?” “any relation to the dwarf?” called it 😭😭

leland isn’t on the board of people who’ve interacted with that guy (alien?) so i’m gonna guess he never actually talked to harry

“so what did this giant sound like, huh? i mean, did he have a big booming voice or what?” “no, no. he spoke softly. distinctly.” “and you gave him the beans you were supposed to use to buy a cow?” giggling

when are albert and harry gonna enter the lovers part of their enemies to lovers arc?

“i love you, agent truman.” i guess i got my answer 😭

“wanna play with fire, little boy?” yeah, he’s def the guy

i don’t trust this dick dude

aw fuck, cooper figured out the insurance fraud

oh shit, nadine

nooo leland

those fuckass owls

“you’re dead, laura but your problems keep hanging around! it’s almost like they didn’t bury you deep enough!” that’s an insane line

donna’s just learned that how you get ‘em is how you lose ‘em. what, did she think she was the exception?

damn it, i was rooting for leland to get away with it!!!

WHY DOES HAROLD HAVE LAURA’S DIARY???

this ep would be perfect if not for all the teenage bullshit. i don’t really care about james and donna. maddy needs to flee that town immediately, she’s too good for it.

2x04

someone please hug leland

this type of shit would only happen to andy 😭

josie should be ashamed of herself. pete doesn’t deserve her manipulation.

poor audrey :(

OH SHIT

was not expecting that man to be an fbi agent

what the hell, why is that dude watching harry and josie 😭

dick certainly is living up to his name

“DICK!” i’ll say.

naming this episode laura’s secret diary and only showing it once was a hilariously poor choice

damn i kinda…don’t care if hank lives or dies

this episode was whatever.

2x05

i hope albert and bobby are in this ep

can someone please hug lucy?

bobby!!!

this guy is an idiot

i knew twin peaks was small, i just didn’t think it was ‘courtroom in the middle of a bar’ small 😭

donna was fucked up for that one

can’t believe all this shit has happened in 12 days

nadine is fucking superhuman now? 😭

ben’s gonna hate it when cooper comes back alive

“i’m a whole damn town!” PLEASE

FUCK, i knew lucy was lying about her trip. i really hope she’s having the abortion cause she wants it and not cause she thinks she’s alone

cooper dodging that knife without even looking was very sexy of him

hawk, my man!!! saving the day was also very sexy of him

this is the ep that should’ve been titled laura’s secret diary

fuck.

hello???

last ten mins saved this ep

2x06

fuck james!! donna should be apologizing to maddy for getting her into that mess.

“daddy?” he sure is

i’m sorry, i really don’t care about james and donna. they’re so boring.

cooper doesn’t know that ben owns one eyed, jacks, right?

well. there goes all of shelly and bobbys dreams

mr. lynch!!!

NO, WHAT DO YOU MEAN ALBERT WON’T BE COMING BACK?!?!?

“i was worried sick.” liar.

i’m gonna miss maddy but i’m glad she’s getting out of that town

josie kinda went off in that scene with ben

“good thing we didn’t light the candles.” 😭😭

i have a feeling there’s more to leo than meets the eye

“cooper, you remind me today of a small, mexican chihuahua.” hawks slow look over is sending me so bad

josie sucks and harry deserves so much better than her

i love leland 😭

THAT ENDING OMG. this ep was so good and i can’t wait for the next one.

2x07

this episode better live up to the hype

why do i have a feeling we’re gonna find out harold is either gone, dead or that he destroyed the diary…

oh my gosh

leland and sarah took the news of maddy leaving a lot better than i thought they would

“it’s like you’re blaming me for something.” i think it’s the other way around

“he’s alive!” he was never dead 😭

the face of a man realizing he’s in deep shit

“did you kill her?” “i loved her.” SHE WAS A TEENAGER YOU DISGUSTING PIECE OF SHIT

no wonder laura was so fucked up

this norma, ed, and nadine scene is so awkward 😭

omg what if leo recorded what went down that night with ronette and laura?

laura refers to bob as a friend of her fathers and the one armed man said bob uses a host. hear me out, what if ben is that host? and that’s what laura meant by “someday i’m gonna tell the world about ben horne. i’m gonna tell them who ben horne really is.” she could also just be talking about him being a disgusting pedophile.

this is me trying to figure the ben and bob stuff out. if you even care.

i’m so glad audrey told cooper about her father. i just wish he would’ve hugged the poor girl.

ben could also just be a red herring. at least when it comes to bob.

about 30 minutes in and this ep is certainly living up to the hype

what the hell is going on in the palmer residence

i am so uncomfortable

I FUCKING KNEW CATHERINE WAS ALIVE AND I FUCKING KNEW THAT GUY WAS REALLY A WOMAN!!! i just didn’t expect it to be her 😭

no seriously, what the hell is going on at the palmer residence

this episode has me on the very edge of my seat

WHAT THE FUCK MAN. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.

SPEECHLESS. I AM SPEECHLESS.

2x08

alright, it’s the next day and i’m still fucked up from the last episode and not at all ready for this one 😵‍💫

what the fuck did he do with maddy

oh my God, he is aware of what he’s done

this is so fucked up

“God, how you must hate us white people after all we’ve done to you.” “some of my best friends are white people.” i’m screaming

i really need leland to be exposed

evil asshole

i’m so conflicted about ben. on one hand, i’m glad he’s being interrogated about laura but i really want them to figure out he’s not the killer. but that means he walks free 😵‍💫

i don’t like norma’s mom at all

at least the deputy isn’t dead?

norma needs to leave hank already

i’m sorry, was pete in love with josie? is that what he’s saying?

please tell me andy isn’t dumb enough to believe lucy already gave birth 😭

i love that ben is on the brink of losing everything

please for the love of God, search the car

gwen is so dumb 😭

“clearly this mans stairs do not reach the attic.” i’m crying

no fucking way hank knows ernie

i hope they found maddy

2x09

MY FAVEEES

hate the circumstances but i’m SO happy albert is back!!! my favorite asshole 🫶🏼

omg that’s why he took the fur from bens office!!!i really didn’t think twice about anything leland did leading up to the reveal and thought he was just being his regular crazy self but no he was literally planning maddy’s murder 😭

i wonder if leland starting planning maddys murder right when she got into town or if something in particular triggered him

i think this is the most serious albert has ever been and that’s saying something

oh brother

ugh, normas mom is a real bitch

WHAT THE FUUUUUCK

my heart is breaking for laura

damn, leland is setting ben up real good

where the fuck is bens wife?

damn, it donna!! it’s not her fault but still. damn.

i don’t really care for donna but i don’t want her to die

i can’t watch but i can’t look away, either

thank God for harry

“doesn’t matter, don’t you see? nothing we do matters, nothing’s gonna change.” i hate that he’s right.

FUCK james, all my homies HATE james.

i have so many questions

OH MY GOD HE’S FIGURING IT OUT

wait, leland doesn’t know what he’s done???

fucking hell.

my honest to God reaction to last half of this episode. how am i ever supposed to move on from this storyline? i almost don’t want to press play on the next episode because i’m failing to see how they can ever top this arc.

[deadpresidents]

Just saw Oppenheimer and I was a bit disappointed with how they portrayed Truman. He came across pretty poorly IMO. It was only one scene but I wondered what you thought.

I understand your disappointment and it certainly wasn't a very in-depth portrayal of Truman, but according to the book that the movie was largely based on -- American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) -- the meeting that Oppenheimer had with President Truman went down pretty much as depicted in the film.

As Bird and Sherwin write in American Prometheus:

(O)n October 25, 1945, Oppenheimer was ushered into the Oval Office. President Truman was naturally curious to meet the celebrated physicist, whom he knew by reputation to be an eloquent and charismatic figure. After being introduced by Secretary [of War Robert P.] Patterson, the only other individual in the room, the three men sat down. By one account, Truman opened the conversation by asking for Oppenheimer's help in getting Congress to pass the May-Johnson bill, giving the Army permanent control over atomic energy. "The first thing is to define the national problem," Truman said, "then the international." Oppenheimer let an uncomfortably long silence pass and then said, haltingly, "Perhaps it would be best first to define the international problem." He meant, of course, that the first imperative was to stop the spread of these weapons by placing international controls over all atomic technology. At one point in their conversation, Truman suddenly asked him to guess when the Russians would develop their own atomic bomb. When Oppie replied that he did not know, Truman confidently said he knew the answer: "Never." For Oppenheimer, such foolishness was proof of Truman's limitations. The "incomprehension it showed just knocked the heart out of him," recalled Willie Higinbotham. As for Truman, a man who compensated for his insecurities with calculated displays of decisiveness, Oppenheimer seemed maddeningly tentative, obscure -- and cheerless. Finally, sensing that the President was not comprehending the deadly urgency of his message, Oppenheimer nervously wrung his hands and uttered another of those regrettable remarks that he characteristically made under pressure. "Mr. President," he said quietly, "I feel I have blood on my hands." The comment angered Truman. He later informed David Lilienthal, "I told him the blood was on my hands -- to let me worry about that." But over the years, Truman embellished the story. By one account, he replied, "Never mind, it'll all come out in the wash." In yet another version, he pulled his handkerchief from his breast pocket and offered it to Oppenheimer, saying, "Well, here, would you like to wipe your hands?" An awkward silence followed this exchange, and then Truman stood up to signal that the meeting was over. The two men shook hands, and Truman reportedly said, "Don't worry, we're going to work something out, and you're going to help us." Afterwards, the President was heard to mutter, "Blood on his hands, dammit, he hasn't half as much blood on his hands as I have. You just don't go around bellyaching about it." He later told [Secretary of State] Dean Acheson, "I don't want to see that son-of-a-bitch in this office ever again." Even in May 1946, the encounter still vivid in his mind, he wrote Acheson and described Oppenheimer as a "cry-baby scientist" who had come to "my office some five or six months ago and spent most of his time wringing his hands and telling me they had blood on them because of the discovery of atomic energy."

[mariacallous]

It was the literary scandal of the decade, the ultimate betrayal and, it turned out, the end of Truman Capote’s career. Published in Esquire in November 1975, “La Côte Basque 1965”, an excerpt from Capote’s then-forthcoming novel Answered Prayers, saw the celebrated writer share the innermost secrets (and most scandalous gossip) entrusted to him by his beloved Swans, the wealthy and glamorous group of high-society women that included Babe Paley, Slim Keith, Gloria Guinness, Lee Radziwill, Marella Agnelli and CZ Guest.

Visceral in its revelations of substance abuse, sexual assault, a murder cover-up, a graphic description of extra-marital period sex and, to top it off, bestiality, the article was a sensation for all the wrong reasons. It saw Capote deserted by his closest friends and shunned from the New York clique he had yearned to be a part of growing up – and, against the odds, had managed to infiltrate as an adult thanks to the success of his novels In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Capote’s questionable actions (and the irresistible drama they precipitated) form the backbone of Ryan Murphy’s long-awaited Feud, inspired by Laurence Leamer’s bestselling 2021 book, Capote’s Women. An all-star cast will bring the man and his muses back to life when the Gus Van Sant-directed series premieres this month on FX in the US, but what was the real-life fallout from the publication of “La Côte Basque 1965” like for Capote and co?

“He never recovered from it,” says Ebs Burnough, director of the 2021 documentary The Capote Tapes, a five-year discovery project that saw him uncover hours of audio footage of Capote, and which gives the most thorough insight into the flawed figure to date. “[These were] friendships born and nurtured over 20-something years. All of a sudden, not one but all of his friends – who had been like his family, because he didn’t really have any family – were not speaking to him; there was literally nowhere for him to go. He was alone drinking, and the phone stopped ringing. He was a man alone on an island.”

Described by the New York Times as “the high-society temple of French cuisine”, La Côte Basque – just off Fifth Avenue and a stone’s throw from The Plaza – was a fine-dining eatery as famous for its juicy gossip as it was for its succulent Coeur de Filet Périgourdine. No one, however, dared to write about what was said and done there – until Capote. While his ostracising may seem like an obvious consequence for spilling society’s sordid secrets, Capote was flawed by the outrage.

Before publication, he boasted to People that he was planning on assassinating his characters with a pen instead of a gun: “There’s the handle, the trigger, the barrel, and, finally, the bullet. And when that bullet is fired from the gun, it’s going to come out with a speed and power like you’ve never seen – wham!”

Success was, in his head, assured, as Capote had been open about writing “La Côte Basque 1965”, bragging about the stories he would tell, continues Burnough. “He was working on that piece for over 20 years, so in his mind he didn’t anticipate the fall out because all of them knew he was working on it.” Upon the outrage, Capote was, “totally abandoned but also indignant”, he continues. “He even said, ‘Hey! What did they expect from me? I’m a writer!’”

Capote had form. “Remember, this was something he had done with Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” explains Burnough. “When you think about it, Holly Golightly is essentially a call girl, yet with Audrey Hepburn [playing her], and because it was so beautifully written, lots of New York socialites were saying, ‘Holly was based on me!’ There’s [even] a quote in The Capote Tapes where Babe’s daughter [Kate] says, ‘Mummy was so excited to be immortalised by such a famous author.’ So, I think he was certainly expecting great praise.”

Babe Paley was Capote’s most aggrieved victim of “La Côte Basque 1965”. In it, Slim Keith’s alias, Lady Ina Coolbirth, reveals to the fictionalised version of Capote, PB Jones, the story that Paley is said to have told Capote about catching her husband, CBS head Bill, in bed with another woman. When Capote rang the Paley household to see what they thought of “La Côte Basque”, Bill is said to have lied, claiming that it was thrown out before either of them could read it; a distraught Babe, who had read it, and who considered Capote her closest confidante, had terminal lung cancer at the time of its publication and never spoke to Capote again before her death in 1978.

Such dismissal of his work would have affected Capote, says Burnough, but the fallout from the Swans leaving him would have been even worse. “Babe Paley was his North Star. She was everything he aspired to be and everything his mother aspired to be. [His mother] had always wanted to be a socialite, so his obsession came from her wanting but not being a part of that world, and then abandoning him as a child. There’s a lot of mother psychology there.”

It makes total sense that Babe Paley was the victim of Capote’s worst betrayal, says Lisa Pomerantz, the New York-based brand expert with a lifelong obsession with Capote and his era of social commentators. “She was the one that opened up the most to him. He took total advantage of her because the others – Lee Radziwill, CZ Guest [et al] – were always more guarded,” she says. “The question is, did he do it knowingly? He was a tortured soul, mostly because of his relationship with his mother – that combined with his natural obsession with this aspirational life and Babe and Bill being the epitome of it.”

Having been sent from New Orleans to Alabama to be raised by relatives after his parents’ divorce, Capote is said to have been a lonely, introverted child searching for a sense of belonging. So why, having infiltrated the glitzy New York scene as a bonafide player, did he blow it all up?

In tandem with craving acceptance, psychologist Carolyn Mair muses that, deep down, Capote resented the world he had managed to become a part of. “People warmed to him and wanted to protect him as he projected an identity of both child and woman, yet his wit could be razor sharp. His ability to remember conversations verbatim made him a good source of gossip,” she says. “Yet as his psychological problems worsened, it seems reasonable to assume that his judgement also worsened.” Shocking others, she adds, “can also be a way of getting attention”.

The backlash from other circles would also have been keenly felt by Capote, continues Mair. “The Swans were the high society who lived aspirational lives and were the envy of women across the States and elsewhere,” she says. “Ordinary people would have read about these women and their lifestyles in the press and fashion magazines and would relate to them as if they were also their friends. The publication of ‘La Côte Basque 1965’ would likely have triggered a shocked sense of betrayal amongst the readers of popular and fashion press at the time.”

Perhaps the most interesting upshot of the “La Côte Basque 1965” scandal, though? The ways in which it laid the groundwork for tabloid culture, says Burnough. “This was an era [in America] when no one even talked about the fact that Franklin Roosevelt was in a wheelchair, let alone the affairs people were having, let alone as graphically as Truman did. As the late, great John Richardson said, ‘[Capote] took the lid off a pile of shit’ and it started the exposé culture we have today. It was a real ‘gotcha!’ moment for the rich and famous.”

[theultrablog]

Pulp Storytime #59: Gallery of Souls! by Magnus Seter and Petter Nallo

The best art is visceral. Here’s an extremely suspicious phrase: “I didn’t spend a lot on your Christmas present. Now get packed.” Devika gave Florence a mailbox shaped like a treasure chest… That was assigned to a hut in Rura Tonga, a remote tropical island northeast of Australia. She could share it with Trudy (no house of the future, but what is?), while Aldous got one of his own. There’s nothing funnier than giving a fastidious butler a dirt floor hut; It was an hour before Devika revealed that there was actually fitted stone flooring waiting at the dock. The mailbox said Ziegler Security: South Seas, and promised tons of adventure! The final two members of the team, inventor Professor Callahan and wandering Martial artist Xiao Yun, were eager to solve some crimes and set things right.* Any day now.

Surely there was -some- action on an island with a population of 105? ——— So after a very, very relaxed holiday season, the gang was eager to return to Los Angeles for an actual case. Outsider artist Christian Stark wasn’t answering his phone, and San Diego mobster Samuel Stone wanted him for a meeting. The team's only lead was a letter where Stark promised to meet in an LA park at 9 PM that night.

Trudy Truman’s journalism skills got a huge workout this session. She contacted the arts desk at the LA Times and got the address of Stark's Gallery. Bingen the Butler was suspicious though; fearing the worst, he circled the block and found out the suburban gallery was under surveillance. It was time to get in the back way. The gang hopped a fence and examined the backyard. TT’s sensitive nose paid off… She found a trail of smelly detritus leading from the unlocked back door of the gallery across the lawn, and down into the sewer. She also smelled blood...and human flesh.

Only Yun and Trudy had the fortitude to make their way inside. The smell was a mixture of sewage and the stuff bodies are made of. Trudy opened the windows, and the gang explored the remains of an art opening-turned-massacre. Who could’ve done this? A babbling psycho in the downstairs bathroom tried to assault the team with a butcher knife; Xiao disarmed the maniac and smashed him into a nearby sculpture. Back in the grasp of sanity, all he could talk about was his torment and his fear of “the great devourer.” Weird!

The investigation continued, with the group splitting off. The professor and the Australian girls headed to Stark’s Apartment. The butler and martial artist made their way to the 9PM rendezvous. Instead of Christian Stark, they were ambushed by… an ancient Roman soldier?! Meanwhile, the Commonwealth trio arrived at Stark’s downtown digs. The lobby sign said it was on the eighth floor... Rather than walking all the way up, the professor got out his tool kit and fixed the creaky elevator. Good as new!

——— Yun greeted the man in Latin. He asked if they were the artist. Hearing “no”, he decided to take out a gladius and attack! Yun, a master of both wuxia and acupuncture, gave Aldous a chance to disarm the man, sending the roman's blade into the park lake. The soldier still fought furiously, prompting Aldous to shoot him in the leg. A wonderful idea, except that they were trespassing…and to park security, it looked like they were attacking an unarmed man! Back in the apartment, the players discovered the elusive artist wasn’t there…but he was being stalked by a jealous collector called Howart, who was obsessed with Roman history. Trudy sniffed… something horrific was coming up the stairs. Rounding the fourth floor and moving swiftly was a gelatinous mass of faces and limbs. A cairith, personally sent by whoever was trying to put a kibosh on their investigation. It was the entire width of the stairs, and they weren’t going to escape out an eighth-floor window… Quick, to the elevator! At the park, the ever-prepared Bingen produced his firearms license and retrieved the Gladius. He would be happy to be booked for misdemeanor trespassing… but maybe the assault charge should go to the weirdo who didn’t speak a word of English? Downtown, Callahan Ziegler and Truman crowded into the elevator. Luckily, they could take it full speed to the bottom, moving past the oozing mass. If they hadn’t fixed it, they would’ve had to deal with the creature, which could’ve easily gotten into the elevator cage… A horrifying death, avoided thanks to engineering! Reconvening, Trudy once again used her research skills. Howart was an art collector and a Rome aficionado. He had a secured compound in Beverly Hills… but how were they going to get in without rousing the police? The Hollywood Butler had an idea. They could schmooze with the local fire department, say that his old boss Maude was doing a movie, and enter the premises disguised as firemen. Professor Callahan created a smoke grenade cannon and fired it from an adjacent Beverly Hill. The guards were utterly baffled. So was the group when they found out Howart’s library had a gateway to a much hotter place…Hell.

The art collector had gone mad from sorcery. Drawing from dark forces, he called damned Romans to fight for him. And now, in an ancient Church beyond time, he prepared to sacrifice a mystically gifted artist to the goddess Morta. Howart was to be the new Roman emperor, a Caesar to rule over the living and the dead. That would be bad enough, except the Cairith Monstrosity was bound to his will as well. Several tons of undulating gelatinous corpses, standing between the Ziegler Agency and the man they needed to rescue. The wuxia master sprinted into action, jumping over rows of soldiers and interposing between the Emperor and Christian. If he wanted to kill the artist, he was going to have to defeat her hand-to-hand… Not likely. Meanwhile, Trudy ignored the thousands of black candles, using her journalistic sensibilities to find something awry…and noticed a small box on a pedestal. It seemed to have a piece of flesh floating above it, and she theorized that it was a reliquary, controlling the abomination. If Florence could just shoot the thing… but surviving a roman hit squad isn't easy! The party could handle itself in a brawl, but these were crack troopers in formation. Between that and the creature bearing down on them, it wasn’t a matter of if they would lose, but when. To make things worse, the emperor tried to dominate Xiao’s mind! Dozens of horrified voices cascaded into her skull, but the Chinese patriot knew Rome was inferior. She fought back with a series of bone-breaking strikes… Florence finally got clear of the retentii, exploding the reliquary with her pistol. The monster attacked the Romans, who tried to stab it back. With the enemies fighting each other, the investigators had a shot at survival.

The Emperor decided to take drastic action. If he couldn't sacrifice his captive, he would sacrifice someone more important… Himself! He slit his own throat and fell on the altar, his blood rising towards the ceiling and summoning an angel of death. That got the players panicked. Xiao used some of her healing skill to re-balance Stark’s Chi, allowing him to limp towards the exit. Aldous carried him even further, trying to help him hobble back to the library. The swirling chaos threatened to engulf all the characters, but Florence called upon the emotions that had led her to sell her soul in the first place, confusing the angel long enough for everyone to escape the underworld. Back in Beverly Hills, all the characters had to deal with was a swarm of pissed-off guards and a confused fire captain. Aldous’s stealth and Trudy’s charm let the group weasel out of things; Callahan asked if all the thugs wanted to be held on suspicion of kidnapping and satanism. Uhhhh... Not willing to trust their mob employer, the Ziegler Security Services team had a quandary. Where could they hide this famous artist where the mob couldn’t get him? Maybe on a remote island in another hemisphere? Xiao Yun

[itsahotminuteinbetween]

tell me about an au/oc of your choosing?

sorry for being so late to this, i saw it day-of and i didn't have time to answer it (plus i don't do very will with non-direct questions for some reason) so my apologies!!!

gonna talk about the truman show au cuz it's rotting my brain:

love the idea (I say to the brain possessing my skull) of moon.ai being aware of when Moon is able to see what's going on in sun's simulation-it doesn't happen very often, but sometimes the virus will give Moon a short snapshot of sun's side of the mindscape to decrease his moral-and having back and forth code conversations that sun isn't aware of. Moon is extremely uncomfortable with how well moon.ai mimics his personality-then again, he is basically a replica of Moon's code with different protocols-Moon wonders how different the two of them really are. Would he have turned out like this one if he hadn't gotten the virus? Is he even the original Moon, or has he been wiped and recreated so many times that there's no way to tell? What separates him from the entity in front of him? Is he any different, any better, any worse? Even if he and Sun did ever leave, would Sun ever like him as much as the copy?

moon.ai doesn't usually engage with the interloper-he's not supposed to be here on its domain, to be around Sun and ruin his perfectly constructed day-by its calculations, it had been the closest they'd gotten to meeting the Sun's standard 'goodDay'-it hadn't had to reset the domain in 3 weeks! Stellar progress, considering the frequency of the previous alterations as of late; it had taken a while to finally set all the variables to the perfect settings for complete satisfaction and avoid triggering the Sun's trip-wire protocols, and some scrapped model wasn't about to ruin it for them. Sun didn't need the prototype- that's what it was for, to distract and entertain the solar counterpart and keep him safe and happy!

Which is somewhat difficult to do with a ghost-like specter hovering over him and screaming in their intermeshed headspace.

[tm-trx]

currents.02 [2025]

selections from my week in media [5-11 january 2025]

[ listening ]

[ reading ]

The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish {4.5 stars} - I loved this book. The house swap trope was fun, although the New Orleans side did feel a bit more fleshed out. That could be a pacing issue though. The two relationships are very differently paced, which was a little bit frustrating because I liked Truman a lot and sometimes it felt like he was in a secondary pairing because of how his story unfolded. In his own book, without a faster-developing relationship being portrayed at the same time, it wouldn't feel slow at all. But even with that, it was one of the best romances I've read in awhile.

[ watching ]

The Dragon Prince, s7 {finished: 5 stars} - This has been an amazing series to watch over the past few years. The world building is so creative and a lot of fun. This last season felt complete, even with a couple of dangling threads left for a possible new series.

Gyeongseong Creature, part two {finished: 4 stars} - I loved it. (Even that epilogue.) I wish it'd been a little longer, with some of my world-building questions answered, but I'm okay with being in the dark about some things.

The Heart Killers, ep 4-5 - I legitimately cannot tell if anyone other than Fadel has developed real feelings for their love interest at this point. Well, no, Bison has, definitely. So it's just Kant and Style that have me scratching my head. I thought Kant was pretty gone on Bison, but now I'm questioning everything he's doing/saying. I thought Style had developed some genuine feelings for Fadel, but that's clearly not the case. He does have some great lines though:

"Sometimes you make me feel so scared and sometimes you make me feel so safe."

If he's actually being genuine here, and not trying to keep Fadel sweet, then that is a hell of a thing to say to someone you're only sleeping with.

When the Phone Rings {finished: 4.5 stars} - It lost half a star for jumping a baby shark in the last episode. Aside from that, I loved watching this show week to week. The finale episodes were a great start to the year.

When the Stars Gossip, ep 1-2 - A romcom kdrama set on a space station? Yes please. In all the months that I've been waiting for this one to come out, never once did I read the info closely enough to realize it had a comedy tag. So I had to swiftly pivot my expectations at the last minute before starting. But by the time I'd finished episode two I was firmly on board. The next seven weeks are going to be so much fun.

previous Currents posts

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[guerillas-of-history]

Hi! Love your page and everything I've learned from it. It's really opened up my eyes to alot of things that I've never even imagined! Which is why I have to ask because I can't find a correct answer or logical thought process to it.

Why does the U.S support the appartied Isreal state? I truly can't come up with a logical reason to it and really sorry if you've brought it up before but I'm truly lost on why it's been like that.

Thank you for the work you put in to this page 🌻

Dear anon, thank you so much for your kind words, I am truly glad you think so. I apologize that its been a few weeks since you sent this, I've been trying to articulate a satisfactory and succinct response. With the monumental events currently underway, now is maybe the most appropiate time to try and answer.

U.S. support for israel started in 1948, with president Harry S. Truman being the first world leader to recognize the state of israel. This was because Truman's old buisness partner Edward Jacobson spent years laying the groundwork alongside zionist leader Dr. Chaim Weizmann (who would become israel's first president) this was in the aftermath of World War 2 and European powers were exhausted and former colonies were starting to rise up and throw off the imperial yoke. Simultaneously the Cold War began to take shape, the Middle East with its oil and strategic waterways such as the Suez Canal proved to be one of the sought after areas for American hegemony, concurrent to this the Soviet Union had been supporting secular Arab Nationalism as a counterpoint to the nascent zionist state. Perhaps the two most important events explaining the unequaled support for israel by the U.S. are the Six Day War in 1967 and The October War of 1973. In the 1950s the CIA recognized israel as a "logical corollary" against the radical nationalism growing in the Middle East. In June 1967 israel defeated the combined armies of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in just six days, israel then proved to be the United State's greatest ally in the region capable of both defending and projecting U.S. interests. In 1973 Egypt and Syria launched a massive suprise attack on Yom Kippur, the war was fought to a relative stalemate with heavy casualties on both sides. Henry Kissenger traveled between the nations and help negotiate a ceasefire utilizing what became known as "Shuttle Diplomacy" the U.S. used the aftermath of the war to subvert Soviet influence, particularly in Egypt. America laid groundwork for normalization of ties between the two foes, with it being finally cemented in 1979, even though israel is almost universally despised by the Egyptian people. Since then U.S. support for israel had only increased exponentially with israel becoming by far the largest recipient of American aid since WWII. In 2016 then president Barack Obama gave 38 billion dollars alone, through a defence agreement. U.S. support over the last half century have enabled israel to grow into the monster it is today, israeli apartheid and systematic oppression of the Palestinian people is one of the greatest crimes of the last one hundred years.

This is an incredibly complicated question, and I'm sure I've missed some key points and its hard to summerize this subject concisely. I haven't even gotten into domestic support for israel as well as other external factors. If there are any specifics you would like to know please feel free to send me an ask or message me directly, and if anyone has other valuable input I highly welcome it.

[tinyinvadr]

Here’s part two to Road to Recovery, this time from Maple’s POV!

Road to Recovery

Maple

I sat in the chair that Rox had been sitting in only a minute before. I wasn’t sure where to even begin, so I waited for Truman to initiate the conversation as I aimlessly fidgeted with the ribbon on my shirt.

“Rox already told me a bit about where you both came from. You were a part of a borrower colony, living in a retirement home, with non-psychic parents. Is all of this correct?”

I simply nodded, not sure if I could manage to get any words out.

“Can you tell me about when your powers started to develop? Was it around the same time as Rox, or was it before or after them?”

I took a minute, taking a few deep breaths, and then, I responded.

“A little bit after them. Honestly, I think seeing them use their powers might’ve triggered mine.”

He nodded. “And I hear you’re quite skilled in zoolepathy.”

I gave him a confused look, and he chuckled.

“I mean your ability to talk to animals.”

“Oh! Yeah. There were a bunch of animals living outside the building. Bunnies, squirrels, all sorts. A chipmunk actually gave me this acorn cap as a present.”

“I take it you were friendly with these animals. Did you talk to them often?”

I sighed. “Not really. Only when I was sure no one was around to see me. I didn’t want everyone to freak out about another psychic in the colony, so I kept quiet about it. No one knew except Rox, Ash, and his dad. Not even my parents knew. Oh… they’re gonna be so mad when we get back home…”

He paused, taking it all in.

“Let’s move away from that subject for now. I’d like you to tell me about your time at Whispering Rock. From my understanding, your reason for going there was to look after your younger sibling. Would you say that’s correct?”

I thought it over. He wasn’t wrong. That WAS my reason for going at first. If Rox hadn’t been so stubborn, I never would’ve left the colony. I’d have just stayed back at home, going about my days like I always did. It was the same old thing, every single day, but at least it was safe. It didn’t matter how bored I was, I needed that stability. Without it, I had no idea what was going to happen, and that terrified me.

That was why I kept trying to make things go back to the way they were when we were younger. Everything was so easy. Everyone got along, and we didn’t have to walk on eggshells around Mom and Dad.

I used to believe that if we just gave in to what our parents wanted from us, we could all be happy again. But on some level, I always knew that there was no going back. Forcing Rox to give up a huge part of themself wasn’t the answer, but when everyone around me kept telling me it was, I had a hard time arguing with it.

When they told me they were planning on running away to a psychic summer camp, there was a small part of myself that wanted to run off with them, no hesitation. The way they described it sounded so freeing. I could finally escape from all the stress that had been weighing down on me, having to watch my little sibling get treated like a criminal.

But that fear of the unknown held me back. If we left, we’d be alone and defenseless against all the threats of nature. Even if we were lucky enough to make it to camp in one piece, that meant we’d be surrounded by humans. And not just any humans. Humans with psychic powers that they could use to track us and hunt us down. We’d be dead within minutes.

I tried every argument I could think of to convince them not to go, but it was hopeless. They couldn’t be swayed, so I had no choice but to go with them. I couldn’t let Rox go without me. Of course, I trusted that Ash could protect them, but it still felt wrong. It would feel like I was failing them as a big sister. Or, more than I already was.

We hitched a ride with a visiting grandkid who was headed to camp. One long bus ride later, we found ourselves at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp.

The three of us set up what I hoped would be a temporary home in the main lodge, and we lived off of scraps for the first few days. I didn’t see Rox or Ash much, since they spent most of the day exploring the grounds while I stayed put and hoped they would get bored with the place.

Soon, the counselors returned, and they had a borrower with them. His name was Flint, and he was around Ash’s age. He’d recently climbed the ranks and became a Junior Psychonaut. I didn’t believe it for a second. Either this was some sort of sick trick, or he was being horribly exploited.

He introduced himself as the new junior counselor, and explained that he was offered the position for the specific purpose of training the borrower kids who had been spotted at camp. Everything about this made me sick.

I followed the campers to Basic Braining the next morning, as Rox never came back from exploring and I figured I’d find them there. Instead, I ran right into Coach Oleander.

“Looks like you finally made it to the battlefield, soldier! Let’s get you to the training course!”

He reached out for me, and I panicked and ran. I hid in the trenches, though I never let him leave my field of vision. If I knew where he was at all times, he couldn’t sneak up and surprise me.

Suddenly, what I thought was a human ran past with Rox perched on his shoulder. When he stopped to talk to Coach, I realized that he was Flint, and he’d somehow grown to human size in the mental world. Before I knew it, Rox teleported away from them and appeared next to me.

“C’mon, Maple! You’re never gonna learn anything if you hide for the entire class!”

“For the millionth time, I’m only here to make sure you don’t get killed by those monsters!”

“They’re not monsters! Flint is living proof of that!”

“How am I supposed to trust him when he makes himself look like them?”

“Oh please. That’s nothing. I’ve already shifted WAY bigger than him.”

“Rox!”

They sighed, sitting down beside me.

“Will you at least try? Please? I really think you’ll like it.”

That part of me that wanted to say yes reared its head again, and for a moment, I was tempted to take a risk and go with them. But just as fast as that thought came to me, it was pushed away by the memory of the Coach reaching out to grab me only minutes before.

“No…”

Rox kept trying. They came back with Flint, who had changed back into his borrower form. Still, I wouldn’t budge.

It wasn’t until Coach shrank himself down that I finally agreed to give training a chance. He was far less intimidating at borrower size. In fact, I hadn’t realized how short he was until I saw him standing next to me.

That first training session went surprisingly well. I could tell Coach was struggling to keep a calm demeanor, since it was obvious he was used to being very aggressive and high-energy, but I appreciated that he put in the effort for me.

Rox was more than happy to go along with his traditional teaching methods, though. They loved getting to PSI-Punch at stuff, and admittedly, it felt good to see them so happy. They never had this much fun back at home.

Within a very short time, I went from hating camp and being terrified of humans to absolutely loving it. Coach, Flint, Agent Vodello, they were all so nice and helped me to adjust. I wanted to just stay there forever.

Then Dr. Dreher used Ash’s powers to freeze the campgrounds.

I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I knew it was bad. There was snow everywhere, and it didn’t take long for me to collapse from exhaustion as I tried to navigate it. I thought for sure I was a goner, but Coach found me just in time. Well, one of his bunny friends found me and brought me to him.

While I had gotten better with being around humans in the mental world, this was my first time encountering Coach in the physical world. And this was my first time interacting with him at his full size since my first visit to Basic Braining.

I could tell it hurt him to see that I was a little afraid, but he didn’t dwell on that, and focused on getting me back to the main lodge. As he carried me back, I managed to speak up.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Huh? Kid, what are you apologizing for?”

“I’m sorry I’m afraid…”

“It’s a survival instinct, Maple. I’m not offended by it. I know it’s gonna take a while for you to get used to being around humans. Now, rest. I don’t want you using up all your energy out here.”

We made it back to the lodge, and Coach got me a hand towel from the supply closet to use as a blanket. He offered to put me down, but I let him keep holding me. It helped me warm up quicker, and it felt nice to know I was truly safe in that moment.

I was able to rest for a while, but then, Coach suddenly put me down.

“Stay here, Maple. Milla needs me.”

“Wait, what’s happening? Is she in trouble?”

“No, but Sasha and Flint are.”

I stood up, pushing off the towel.

“Let me help.”

Before he could respond, Rox appeared beside me.

“Yeah, me too!”

Coach tried to argue with us, but we didn’t take “no” for an answer. Flint was our friend, and he needed help. And I wasn’t about to fall back into sitting around and letting the people I care about get hurt.

I told Truman everything up until that point, since he already knew about what happened with Dreher. He processed everything I’d told him, then spoke up.

“After everything you’ve been through, how do you feel about your decision to go with Rox and Ash?”

I sighed. “It’s complicated. I was scared, but then I felt amazing. But now that I know the only reason we went there at all is because we were tricked… and now I feel sort of guilty for liking camp as much as I did. Ash and Rox both went through one awful thing after another, meanwhile I was just a kid having fun. It’s not fair.”

He nodded. “I agree. It isn’t fair. All of you should have been able to enjoy your time at camp to the fullest. But that also shouldn’t take away from the positive experiences you had there. To me, it sounds like you underwent a lot of personal growth in a short time, and that’s something to be proud of.”

“I guess so… but I can’t help but feel like they hate me now for getting off easy.”

“I don’t see any reason why they would. I’m sure they’re relieved that Dreher never got to you. And I wouldn’t exactly classify what you underwent as ‘easy’. You conquered your lifelong fears and nearly froze to death.”

Truman was right. It was perfectly okay that I loved going to Whispering Rock as much as I did. The circumstances that brought us there were horrible, and I could completely understand if they wanted to go back home, but at least I knew that I’d be leaving the past few days behind a better person than I was. The three of us needed each other more than ever, and it felt good to know that I could support them.

Seeing the progress I’d made, Truman and I ended the session, and Coach came in to swap me out with Ash.

When we returned to the hallway, I sat myself down beside Rox.

“Hey, so… if you wanna go back home after all this, I get it. Whatever you wanna do, I’m with you 100%.”

At that, Rox looked at me like I was crazy.

“What makes you think I wanna go back there?”

“Oh, um… I just thought with everything that happened…”

They placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Maple, it’s not about where we are. It’s about who we’re with. I wanna stay with you above all else, and if YOU really wanna go home, I’ll go back with you and I won’t fight you on it, but don’t you think we’re with a way better group here?”

I smiled. “Yeah, we are. I think we’re home, Rox.”

[skysometric]

you went on a big asking spree asking about everyone's favorite games, but I'm curious... did you have a favorite album, TV show, or movie this year?

an EXCELLENT question! but my answers my be a little disappointing, because...

Favorite Movie of 2023

i don't... really watch movies? they don't capture my interest or investment like games do. this isn't for lack of trying over the years, i've been exposed to many different genres; i just don't click with the format, i guess. i think of them like the average boomer thinks of games – they're cute little distractions and not much else.

there's definitely a few movies that i like and stand out as formative memories, i just don't go out of my way to watch more. even before the pandemic i would only ever go to the theaters like once a year, and for most of the pandemic i can't say i watched anything even digitally.

...but that did change this year! my partner and i watched both Sonic movies and the Mario movie at home, and of the three i can safely say i enjoyed Sonic 2 the most! i like what it was trying to do with its two stories intertwined, and it gave Sonic and friends a lot of time to shine both in action and characterization. plus the finale was super cool~

i do have a handful of films i want to watch one day... but it's kind of a "whenever i feel like it" basis. the ghibli films are high on the list, as are the monty python films and the truman show. maybe i could revisit ferris bueller's day off now that i'm an adult...?

Favorite TV Show of 2023

...i also don't really watch tv?? am i boring???

i mean, historically, i've gotten more into tv than movies. i like the long continuous plot threads, i like getting to know characters in detail, i like slice of life and comedy and cartoons. i have fond memories of watching sonic x, spongebob, survivor, and mythbusters growing up!

but like, as an adult i've never seen the office, or steven universe, or adventure time... and i'm in no rush to, they're just not really priority for me. i can't even think of other shows i might want to watch. idk!

i tried to watch some anime at one point but that didn't really do me either? i guess i had some fun watching squid girl a few years back... i think i just get understimulated by just watching things, vs playing them.

confusingly, you know what i do get into? livestreams and let's plays. so my weird, cop-out answer of "favorite series" is that i've been really enjoying Chuggaaconroy's let's play of pokemon bw2. his let's plays have gotten me caught up with a series that i wasn't "allowed" to play as a kid... i guess that's part of why watching someone play a game isn't as understimulating to me?

Favorite Album of 2023

you can probably guess where this is going – i don't really listen to music that plays on the radio or gets recommended by spotify. i have good reason for this one though: music with lyrics is overstimulating to me in specific circumstances, like when i'm working (always) or driving (the only time i'd use the radio).

but wait, movies are understimulating, even though there's talking... and music with lyrics is overstimulating, even though there's nothing to watch... argh! i don't even understand myself!!

either way i usually put on video game music, because that helps me focus at work, and (usually) doesn't have lyrics in it. i'm aware there's plenty of great instrumental music outside of just games, but games already have so much variety and quality to their osts – i've rarely ever had to seek out more! my music collection is already big enough!

my favorite album to listen to this year has been the music that plays in the cyberspace stages of Sonic Frontiers. the full game's ost is MASSIVE and incredibly diverse in styles, but the hardcore EDM of the cyberspace stages is extremely my style. and the remixes they added in the dlc are some of the best ones! been listening to the full playlist multiple times a week all year to power through some rough work days, and it still hasn't gotten old 💖