#where does the man end? and where does the rabbit begin?

[usahanna]

feeling sad about springbonnie

[xoxochb]

— we found wonderland ꣑ৎ‧₊˚.

★ - warnings: none pairing: percy jackson x daughter of hypnos

series m. list

It was an unnecessary thing, weddings. legally binding yourself with another human, vowing to stay by their side, remain loyal, to take care of them, and utter relentless responsibilities. and for what? most ended up divorced and broken, additionally what’s the point of it? you’re already in a relationship before so what’s the point of committing formally if you’re already committed to them? it’s beyond your capacity of understanding to get the idea of weddings. today, your mortal cousin had been getting married to a man you for sure knew laid with other women. if you outed this secret your mother would have you dead in a heartbeat, so you sit in a white lacy chair as you watch your dear cousin bind herself with the odious man, a smoldering glare veiling your face as she does so

“(name), darling, be happy for your cousin. clap for her” your mother says, clapping her hands together herself. she sends you a warning glance as you begin to slow clap with the same look on your face. as soon as the couple walks to the end of the aisle you arise from your seat, your mother stops you “where are you going?”

you turn around and cross your arms over your chest. “I’m going away. I wouldn’t wish to eat any cake or watch them open various presents, or entirely be here anymore. I will remove my miserable self from the event so you can all enjoy yourselves without me”

“go then. your presence has been an utter bother”

you leave mid sentence. to where? you’re unsure at the moment. you walk past lovely flower adorned gardens, shades of all colors, and at the end a hedge maze. you look up to the tall hedges. would getting lost be worth it? possibly. it would surely be much more exciting than the wedding. then, suddenly, a white figure appears in the corner of your eye, you turn to it and see large ears flying past the bushes. absentmindedly you run towards it, but only catch snippets as it passes corners. you chase after it until you lose your breath, for a moment stopping to catch it. when you feel ready you look around for the rabbit, but it’s nowhere in your line of sight. you frown and curiously walk around until you find a clue as to where he had gone

though nothing appears to you. that was, until you find a large hole in the corner between two hedges, you furrow your brows and kneel down to look inside. had the rabbit made its way underground? you lean your head in further to try and gain a closer look inside of the rabbit hole. bad idea. completely bad idea. you feel two small hands push you in from behind, causing you to fall head first into the hole. using your best attempt, you try to grab the top to stop yourself but your hands slip and you’re falling down. you scream, scratch that— tried to scream, though when you did there was no sound to be heard. had you even been screaming or was it your imagination?

as you fall deeper you take in your peculiar surroundings. this… was odd. the hole walls were a dark shade of crimson, covered in paintings, clocks, so many clocks, furniture, and random objects. what on earth is this? you flatten down your dress to assure it goes no higher than your upper thighs, just incase there had for some reason been some kind of pervert down here. when you finally reach the bottom you hit the checkered floor hardly, injuring your lower regions making you pout. you take in your new surroundings, the walls were light blue, a singular glass table in the middle, and a small ant sized door at the bottom of the wall. you walk towards the table, a small box atop it reading “look inside of me” okay… that’s weird

suddenly, a sharp pain arises in your foot, you yelp and back up, looking down to find a culprit. when you don’t see anything you crouch down and find a small, doll-like person… shouting? at you. they point to the top of the table to only what you could assume is the box you had seen. you reach up and grab it, settling it before the small boy. he points at the lock and then back up at the table, you sigh and take another glance, seeing a cordiform key placed on the table. you additionally grab that and open the box, revealing sweet pastries inside reading “eat me”. you take two, handing one to the boy and keeping the other for yourself. swiftly, he eats the whole pastry, you notice his size begins to rapidly grow until he reaches what you know as a regular human height

you don’t recognize him as anyone you know. he has dark, raven hair, sea green eyes you surely could drown in, and an admittedly attractive boyish smirk. many questions roam your mind but you ultimately decide on a simple one,

“who are you?” you say, standing back up

the boy mirrors your question, “who are you?”

“I’m-” you begin, “well… what’re you doing here? what is this place? how do I leave? I need to get back up!”

“you need to calm down”

“oh, you are an ass! I just fell from a rabbit hole and you want me to ‘calm down’? unbelievable”

the boy puts his hands on your shoulders. “I can explain everything to you but firstly you need to relax. sit down”

you obediently listen and sit criss crossed on the floor, the boy following your actions

“can I ask questions?” you inquire. the boy shrugs and beckons you to ask away “what is this place? and who are you? how long have you been here for?”

“first, I don’t know. second, perseus— percy jackson. third, I don’t know”

“so the only thing you know is your name?”

“yeah… well who are you?”

“(name) (last name), daughter of hyp-” you stop yourself. if this boy… percy was a mortal you weren’t allowed to reveal your godly paternity. the look on his face proves, however, that he’s knowing of it

“hypnos?”

holy shit “how do you…”

you don’t need to finish before he responds, “son of poseidon”

you ponder for a moment. this was all to simple. how was it possible that you, a demigod, fell into a rabbit hole and met another demigod? was this staged? where you purposely supposed to find this place?

“percy… this place isn’t right”

@childofthewargod @avianlily @wildesqdreams @spider-ghoul

[softsoule]

The Wolf and The Rabbit P2.

Warning: This is my first story I'm not a writer never wrote or published anything before but I thought I would make this story so please don't criticize me too much. I hope you all enjoy that do read this!

*Pairing: Cha Hyun-Su x Reader Part One Part Three

"Not until the wolf has its snack." Those words were all your body needed to gain the strength to run.

You struggle to get to your feet, your legs wobble. He watches you in amusement. You bolt towards the door, going as fast as your feet can take you, but its not fast enough. He's hot on your trail, not breaking a sweat; it's almost as if he's not even trying.

The debris from the dilapidated building causes you to trip and fall. You try to get up, but your legs defy you. You scream out in frustration, and you begin to crawl forward, creating space between you and this wicked beast, but it's not enough.

You hear his laughter bounce off the walls; it echoes. This is fun for him—the game of wolf and rabbit. The game you so desperately don't want to play, but it's too late; you've already entered the devil's playground.

The monster is ascending upon you; he's unnervingly close.

"This is it. This is my end." you think to yourself.

"Where do you think you're going, little rabbit?" he asks.

He suddenly dashes towards you, and in a split second, you are lifted and slammed against the corridor wall. You scream in pain; you're almost sure he's broken something. The pain is unbearable. Your eyes sting with hot tears.

You wail and beg, "Please don't hurt me; it's me, Cha Hyun-Su. I know you're in there." you plead.

Your pleas fall on deaf ears. The monster eats it up; your sorrow, your desperation, and your fear makes him hungrier. He wants to hear you cry and suffer even more; he wants you to feel so hopeless that you beg him to put an end to your suffering. Your pleas and wails do something to him more than killing does. It fills a void he never knew he had.

He lays his head in the crook of your neck and almost purrs as he deeply inhales. Your scent, your fragrance of fear, is one unlike anything he's ever smelled. It smells so aromatic, like jasmine. You squirm and cry out, desperately pleading to be set free.

He wants to hear more of it; he wants to hear you beg him and plead for mercy. He wants you to worship him. He wants to own your body, mind, and soul. He wants you.

"Shh, little rabbit," he coos. His lips are now leaving tender kisses and nibbles on your neck.

"Please" you beg. "Please, what?" he asks.

Your body starts to tingle as he now starts to brush against your hips. "P-Please let me go," you stutter. He hums. "What does the wolf get if he lets the rabbit go?" he asks.

"What do you want?" you breathlessly ask. Your mind now clouded almost forgetting about the pain your in as his kisses and love bites now trail from your neck down to your chest. He suddenly stops releasing you from his trance.

He lowers his face to yours and whispers "You".

Overwhelmed by the multitude of emotions your feeling, you try to respond but your cut off by the force of his lips crashing into yours.

You squirm and struggle to break free from this devil of a man, but his lips are so enticing. The taste of him on your tongue so sweet like the forbidden fruit he is. Your body caves in falling victim to the monster you so desperately wanted to flee from.

Ignoring the pain in your side, you toss your arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. He roughly sticks his tongue in your mouth, you pull him in further allowing him to dominate you.

[gachagon]

I watched the newest episode of The Amazing Digital Circus, and yeah I can already tell this is gonna be a great show. I think it manages to handle both its comedy and horror pretty well without one being less effective than the other.

The pilot was great, but I really like that episode 2 shows us a better picture of the characters than what we already thought about them. I think the most surprising character who's development was made really clear was Pomni.

In the pilot she's naturally apathetic and also freaking out about everything, and the promo material with her included seems to follow that same track record, but here in this episode Pomni does what Ragatha's been trying to do with her the whole time! She consoles this cute little gummy gator guy about his own existence and stuff in a really mature way that we just haven't seen Pomni do before.

This episode is really about the fear of not belonging or having an impact on other people. The beginning nightmare sequence where Pomni imagines herself being abstracted versus the end with Kaufmo's funeral really shows that what she's most afraid of is that she ultimately won't have a place here at all, even if being there terrifies her.

I think Pomni has come to terms with the idea that she won't be able to leave or find an exit right away, but the fear of not fitting into her role as the Jester and doing the same song and dance for eternity eats away at her.

The funeral is a really good coping skill for all of the people in the Circus (minus Jax who just didn't go to the funeral at all) because it eases the fear of not remembering any of the people you spent all that time with, but also eases the fear of being forgotten.

I can imagine the idea of Gummigoo not remembering Pomni but still being out there "Out of bounds" is sad, but unlike the people in the circus he can always come back and in a weird ironic twist always has a place in the world he's in. And even if he doesn't remember Pomni, she'll always remember him and that's the really important part.

Also can I just say that I love this little crocodile/gator man T_T He showed up with such a silly concept but I think he really added a lot to the episode. It makes me wonder what would've happened if he really was allowed to stay in the circus despite not being real.

The episode has a lot of themes about being aware of your own mortality and why you're even alive and what purpose you serve. And in the end, for Gummi he was able to stomach the truth of his own existence with the help of Pomni, but he decided to just keep it a secret from everyone else up above.

After he gets "poofed" its safe to say he'll always still exist just not in the way Pomni saw him. And whenever Cain wants to use him for a future quest, he'll still have the same old memories of his friends and his "sick mom" who needs syrup, but the knowledge of Pomni and being Out of Bounds will not be there.

Is it better that he doesn't know what's out there? That his mother isn't actually real, and that he and everyone he knows is just 1's and 0's in a computer? Or is it better if he does know and is able to cope with that reality? Likewise, should Pomni really even worry about trying to leave this world she's been forcefully thrust into, or should she just go with the flow and accept her place as the Jester in the circus?

Truly an "Ignorance is Bliss" kind of story. We already know from this episode alone that the one thing Jax craves is chaos but that's not because he's fallen in line with being a rabbit in the game or because he wants to leave.

I think Jax is an excellent parallel to Pomni in this episode. Where Pomni tries to peacefully cope with her place in the circus and possibly coexist with the world around her, Jax wants to do nothing but cause as much disruptions as possible. Jax has accepted long ago that he's not leaving, but instead of losing his mind over it he's just become an incredibly selfish person who only wants to take his entertainment from other people. He uses his veneer as the trickster rabbit to cause as much problems in their journey's as possible all so he himself won't go crazy.

And even though in the end he's not there to witness what happens to the candy people, I think just having something new to think about is enough for him in a weird way. While Pomni struggles with feeling like she belongs, Jax has been there for a long time and his biggest struggle is "disappointment". It's being so mind numbingly bored that you forget yourself.

This is leading me to believe that what causes people to abstract isn't finding the exit or thinking about the exit, but that it's more personal than that. Abstraction seems to be when someone really truly breaks under the pressure of being in the circus itself. All of the members of the circus seem to cope with being in the circus in different ways. For Gangle it's drawing and art, for Ragatha it's throwing herself into all of the journey's and just immersing herself as an actual "ragdoll" who's going on quirky adventures, Pomni just potentially found her way of coping which could be trying to just help other people with their own baggage and being an ear to listen to, and Kinger has by all means lost his marbles so as long as he's not thinking about how hard it is being in the circus he's fine.

I think Zooble's is to just not go on the adventure's at all or maybe we just haven't seen how they cope yet. I'm guessing that Kaufmo didn't really have a coping skill, either that or it became too much and he abstracted. I think his obsession with finding an exit had something less to do with the exit itself making him go insane, and more about the possibility of him remembering something he wasn't supposed to.

He probably regained his memory in some way and that was what led him down the spiral into abstraction, looking for a way out in any way he could.

[outmakingmoonshine]

The Bear & Roman Mythology

After seeing this post by @thoughtfulchaos773 awhile ago I started looking into the myth of Venus and Mars and I'm now in a never ending rabbit hole of mythological conections in The Bear. If you haven't read the post above already I highly recommend checking it out before continuing with this. There are so many things that line up with characters and storylines in the show, even beyond the myth of V+M but it all still centers around the story of SydCarmy.

Thank you to @thoughtfulchaos773 for helping me structure and edit this post.

Disclaimer: There are many versions of mythological characters, sort of like different universes in Marvel & DC where the same characters appear in different stories, with different relationships and dynamics. Sometimes 2 characters are the same person but "split" into different aspects of broad concepts like love, war etc. There are also multiple different interpretations of those stories, relationships and dynamics by different philosophers, writers, artists etc. and of course this post is mixed with my own interpretation of the symbolism and priciples of the characters. Myths are heavily based on symbology and Roman myths are heavily based on the symbology of western astrology (or vice versa) so I'm mainly looking at the mythological and astrological symbols they're replicating in The Bear. This could be possible spoilers for the end of the show. Gifs that aren't credited are mine.

The table scene depicted Syd &Carmy as Venus & Mars but I think that was just the reveal of the mythological connections to their stories and they’ve been subtly showing us these (and other) mythological connections to multiple characters all along.

I debated putting this into parts but I think it needs to be understood all together so there is a lot of information and it's really long so it's under the cut.

Mars is the God of war and the spirit of battle who was immediately in awe of Venus's beauty, is attracted to her natural sexuality (not promiscuity) that matches his own and he quickly falls in love with her. (In astrology Mars also rules passion and lust.)

Carmy was practically in awe of Sydney’s beauty from the beginning

He openly sexually desires her from early on, his eyes basically magnetize to her lips whenever she's near and he can't help but flirt with her

He has fallen (or is falling) deeply in love with her

The overall tone of their myth together is Venus helps Mars find peace and balances out his war-like-nature so it doesn't consume him. He becomes a more evolved version of Mars from their relationship together. He's still the God of War but now with the wisdom of "being one" with love and peace. He can wage war in a noble and just way instead of like a savage because the true motive and purpose of war is to find peace.

Who is Carmy's motive/motivation for everything he's been doing?

Gifs by heardchef & thoughtfulchaos773 .

Who is a significant part of Carmy's purpose/dream?

Gifs by swannsways

And who does he desperately want to find a connection with? Syd, the source of his peace.

"Syd and Carmy do things for one another. She is a source of peace and focus for him and, at times, he can be a source of inspiration and dependability. Sometimes he can’t." - Jeremy Allen White

The overall tone of the show and Carmy's story so far is that he desperately needs to heal and find peace and Sydney is the one who brings that to him. Also Venus (Syd) is the only person in the entire Roman mythology (the show) that can get through to Mars (Carmy) and calm his anger and spirit of battle.

The actors and writers keep referring to Carmy as "like a baby" in interviews and we're watching him go through an evolution or "metamorphosis" on the show from being "like a baby" in dealing with his family situation, socialization, relationships, love etc, to being a man. Sydney was the catalyst for that change in Carmy like Venus was the catalyst for change in Mars.

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Venus was in a loveless marriage with the "God of the forge" aka the God of fire, Vulcan, and through her relationship with Mars finally gets to experience being with with someone who she truly loves and who loves her, someone who can match her nature with fiery passion.

The way I interpret the way the show plays with the symbology of Venus being "in a loveless marriage to the God of fire" is Sydney is the God of Fire (she's the one who represents fire in the show) but she has trouble believing in her own fire/passion and expressing it. Sydney loves cooking and she's excellent at it but she can't connect with her passion and make what she envisions. Sydney doesn't know how to express her loving nature either and that also keeps her from connecting with the fire inside her. Passion for something, creativity, cooking, love etc are all associated with fire. So Sydney is in a "loveless" marriage with her own fire. (Marriage is symbolic of being one with something/someone.)

Sydney also represents Ceres Goddess of agriculture, growth and motherly relationships. (I read a meta about this while ago but I can't find it now, if you know who wrote it please link it so I can add it here.) Syd is the reason for any growth of the restaurant and nearly everyone in it. She planted seeds of confidence, inspiration and motivation in so many of them and has nurtured their growth through the process. Carmy stopped letting her nurture the seeds she planted in him in 2x03.

Also Minerva (Goddess of Wisdom). The wisest people know they don't know everything so they spend a lot of time seeking more and more inspiration/knowledge/wisdom, symbolically they're all the same thing. Syd came to the restaurant to seek inspiration/wisdom in the culinary world from Carmy, he didn't deliver so turned to Coack K's book. Syd's always looking for ways to better her skills and knowledge even though she's already very skilled and knowledgable. Syd is usually the voice of reason for Carmy when he listens. She was a voice of reason for Richie in 1x07, although a very harsh one. Also in one version of myth Mars was in love with Minerva but she was annoyed by him and rejected his amourous advances and based on Syd's reaction to this amourous look from Carmy in 2x09

I think we might see Syd not being as open to these looks from him in S3.

I think Carmy also represents Neptune/Poseidon (God of the Sea). Blue, water, emotions, feelings etc all relate to water and to Carmy. Neptune had 2 main siblings, one was the God of the Heavens (Mikey), one was the God of the Earth (Nat, the Earth is symbolic of fertility) and Neptune (Carmy) was God of Freshwater and The Sea.

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Claire = Anna Perenna

Anna Perenna is the Goddess of Time and The Changing Of Years.

Time:

I still think the clocks in scenes with Claire relate to season 2's theme of time, “every second counts” and the fact Carmy was wasting time doing unproductive things with her instead of actually helping to build the restaurant. But I think another layer of meaning could be symbolism that she represents the Roman Goddess of time.

The changing of years - Anna Perenna is where the term "per annum" comes from, Anna symbolizes bringing in the new year but “the changing of years” can also be interpreted as metaphorically trying to "change" your past years, to make up for them, relive them or to right wrongs from them etc. That’s basically what Carmy was trying to do with Claire in S2, relive/"change" the negative effects of his past years. Carmy was trying to bring in a "new year" and new beginning but not with Claire, he wanted to start something new with Sydney.

The myth is Mars was in love with Minerva (Syd) and he went to Anna for advice but Anna wanted him for herself so she tricked/forced him into marrying her. Some versions don't mention a marriage between them and just say Anna disguised herself as Minerva to access Mars's bedchamber, either way their myth together revolves around her disguising herself as Minerva to force him into a relationship with her.

Carmy was imo very clearly attracted to Syd by 2x02. He ran into Claire and turned her down giving her a fake number but she wanted him anyway so she tracked him down and forced him to communicate with her which ultimately forced him into a relationship with her, even though that part wasn't really Claire's fault. I think Carmy gave in to Claire chasing him, one because he felt trapped and two, so he could learn through hanging out with Claire how to hang out with the woman he actually wants; Sydney. So he basically gave in to Claire to get a form of advice.

I'm not going to say much about the show's take on "disguising" Claire as Sydney, here are some posts that explain it very well. Carmy projecting his idea of Sydney onto Claire also plays into the concept of Anna being "disguised" as Minerva.

Anna and Mars do stay married (bc there's no divorce) in one version of myth but tricking Mars into marriage is basically all there is to the "love" part of their story which isn't really a love story because Mars was never in love with her and never chose to be with her. 

I think almost everyone in The Bear cast and the writers have said they want Carmy to end up happy, even Molly Gordon said it in a recent interview. Mars was not happy with Anna Perenna, he was trapped with her. Carmy isn't happy with Claire, he was basically cornered and trapped into that relationship. If Carmy is going to end up truly "happy", I don't see how that can be with Claire. They've done a lot of work with the script, the lighting, the directing, the music etc to show Carm is his happiest with Syd. It's ingrained so deeply in the narrative of the show now and they use Claire to contrast and highlight that fact. 

The show is about family, found family, love and connection with others. To be blunt, Carmy has shown zero signs he wants to genuinely connect with Claire on that level and every sign he wants to connect with Syd. He basicaly indirectly asked Syd to be his family multiple times. We haven't heard or seen that sentiment once with Claire. Everything the actors and writers have said on what the show is about and what they want for Carmy in the end isn't conducive to him ending up with Claire imo.

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Claire = Psyche

Psyche is a mortal who later becomes the Roman and Greek Goddess of the soul. She's a beautiful woman depicted as a pixie.

She’s portrayed as the “perfect-girl”, very beautiful...and that's about it for her personality traits. (Although later Psyche becomes a Goddess in her own right, the myths mostly present her as the male fantasy of the "ideal" beautiful woman with no distinct personality traits so men can project whatever idea they want on to her, much like how Claire is written.) She's a mortal who gains the attention of the Gods for her "otherworldly" beauty rivaling that of Aphrodite (the Greek version of the Roman, Venus). Considering most stories made today are retellings and twists of ancient epic tales, mythology, literature etc. I would bet the “manic pixie dream girl” trope is strongly influenced by Psyche.

One of the most well known novels including Psyche is “Metamorphoses”, alo known as “The Golden Ass” by Lucius Apuleius. It has 11 books but only 3 of them (books 4-6) are about Psyche and her love story with Cupid. 

**This might seem a bit confusing but it’s an important distinction to understand; Cupid is Venus & Mars’s “son” but not necessarily literally, everything in myth is symbolic. Figuratively V&M’s love “gave birth” or “created a new concept” that didn’t exist before, which is love and war combined as one. Cupid delivers love with a weapon so he’s the symbolic representation of V&M’s energies combined as one. Cupid is also known as Eros (God of erotic love) and Eros is the lust and passion aspect of Mars. Mars is not Eros/Cupid but Eros/Cupid is a singular aspect of Mars. In the show Carmy is not actually Cupid but Cupid is a version or aspect of who Carmy is. Similarly Psyche is a version or aspect of who Venus is so Claire is a version or aspect of Sydney. Psyche & Cupid are basically another rendition of Venus & Mars. Venus (the heart) becomes one with Mars (the ego/mind). Cupid (the heart) becomes one with Psyche (the mind). They're the same concepts just told from different perspectives for different cultures. 

The rest of the books in Metamorphoses are about the main character Lucius who is obsessed with “magic” and it follows his struggles, adventures and misfortunes on his personal journey of metamorphosis. Psyche & Cupid’s story shows up right in the middle of that as a kind of interruption to Lucius’s journey.

Here's Wikipedia's breakdown of the novel: 

Let's look at these story beats and see what’s recognizable in Carmy’s story in S2. But first:

Birds are symbols of freedom, hope, spirit, transition, new beginnings, strength, love, and joy. 

Donkey's are symbols of service, suffering, being servile, a beast of burden, a workhorse, being stubborn, stupid or just an “ass.”

“Lucius, dabbling in magic, attempts to turn into a bird”

I think "Magic" is symbolic of love here but to look a it from another angle, Carmy acted like he was put under a spell as soon as he met Claire in that freezer aisle. His focus has never been that great but it's like we entered into a different reality with Carmy's character in that scene and for most of S2. The same fiery man who doesn't mind being sassy, giving people attitude, who has no problem bossing anyone around, becomes a withdrawn shell of himself around Claire. Almost like he was a one-dimesional/singular aspect of himself with her. The whole airy fairy, fake deep, “stoner bro” way they were talking in that scene was also weird and unnatural imo, almost like they were portraying him as “under a spell” or “not fully himself” without bringing actual magic into the show. Tbf Carmy also seems like he's under a spell when he stares at Sydney so I think overall magic = love in this context. *Psyche & Cupid are still a love story and Carmy didn't know yet that he wasn't in love with Claire.

Through his relationship with Claire, Carmy was trying to be a bird; looking for freedom from his past, pain & trauma, hope, a new beginning, love & joy but he isn't looking for that with Claire, he’s looking for it with Sydney. He wants to transition into something new with Syd and was figuring out through Claire if/how he could do that. Claire was the cold prep.

Another layer of symbolism could be he was trying to be a bird by trying to be like Mikey (and Richie), be a “normal” guy, have a girlfriend, go to parties, be the “cool” guy etc. Trying to be what other people think freedom is because he has no idea how to make sense of it on his own.

“But after the spell goes wrong, turns himself into a donkey”

After “the spell” aka his relationship with Claire goes wrong, Carmy's been transforming into a "donkey" for most of S2.. His transition was complete in 2x10 in the walk-in when he stupidly and stubbornly came to the conclusion he can't be in a relationship and decided that reverting back to the mindset he was in at his worst in NY is the right thing to do. And judging by the trailers we're about to see him lean into being a “donkey” in S3. 

He's going to become a beast of burden, a workhorse, not just a burden for himself but for everyone else. Service is the nature of his job and he's going to work himself and everyone at The Bear to the bone. I think we all agree Carmy was stupid and “just an ass” regarding Syd in S2 and he's probably going to be an even bigger ass to her (unintentionally) in S3.

“And goes on a long journey where he is restored to human form by the Goddess Isis”

Isis is primarily known as the female matriarch in Egyptian mythology and is the basis of most, if not all, of the major female Gods created after her. Venus is the Roman version of Isis so Isis, Venus, Aphrodite etc are all different versions of the same concepts and principles just remixed and made more relatable for different cultures and time periods.

“Along the way, he hears many stories, including tales about Socrates and the endeavors of a group of bandits.”

I don't really know anything about the tales of Socrates but a quick Google gave me this:

I'm more interested in the unhighlighted part. It sounds like wisdom Carmy needs to think about and make useful if he's ever going to stop self-sabotaging and find peace. He needs to admit his ignorance and start listening to people instead of making up his own mind about what he thinks they mean, especially in regards to Syd. We're watching Carmy go through this continual questioning, his monologue scenes are one representation of that.

“The biggest, most notable story Lucius hears on his journey is about Psyche and Cupid's love story, spanning books 4-6.”

Psyche and Cupid's love story for the middle few books of the novel and Claire came into the show in the middle of the story. The story of C&P is a "side-story" and all Claire kept taking carmy on "side-missions" throughout their relationship.

The love story between Psyche and Cupid is long so I won't go into too much detail here but some brief relevant notes from it are; Venus was jealous of Psyche so she sent her “son”, Cupid (who’s really an aspect of Mars/Carmy) to make Psyche fall in love with a monster but Cupid accidentally hit himself with his own arrow and fell in love with her instead. I think Carmy “accidentally” falling into a relationship with Claire when he clearly didn’t see her as his girlfriend, represents that. When Psyche realizes she’s in love with a monster she runs away. Claire doesn’t really know who Carmy is and in 2x10 that “monster” side of him was revealed to her and she ran away.

I might make another post on Cupid & Psyche after I've seen S3 but here’s an interesting little preface of the story of Cupid & Psyche within Metamorphosis on Wikipedia:

“Lucius [...] finally regains human form by eating roses sacred to Isis.”  The end of the story is basically Lucius/Carmy stops being an ass and regains human form by eating roses sacred to Isis/Venus/Sydney.

I think Carmy is going to be “restored to human form”/ by Sydney at when he finally eats something she made, eats not tastes. Carmy will find love and peace, something he craves in another person, Syd is the only person he's shown he wants that with.

“As a structural mirror of the overarching plot, the tale is an example of mise en abyme. It occurs within a complex narrative frame, with Lucius recounting the tale as it in turn was told by an old woman”

Cupid and Psyche's story is a structural mirror of the overarching plot of The Golden Ass/Metamorphoses novel. Carmy, The Golden Ass, is going through a metamorphosis, the overarching plot of The Bear is about his journey. His story with Claire has been a mirror of his relationship with Sydney.

“Mise en abyme” is “the technique of placing a copy of an image within itself, often in a way that suggests an infinitely recurring sequence. In film theory and literary theory, it refers to the story within a story technique.” (Credit wikipedia)

Carmy & Claire are a smaller story within the overarching story of Carmy eventually finding love and peace with Sydney, that Carmy (Lucius) experiences on his journey of metamorphosis. Claire/Carmy is a copy of SydCarmy within the overall story.

Anyone who’s written a meta in this fandom knows how this show and sydcarmy “occurs with a complex narrative frame”. All the info in this post alone is barely scratching the surface of the mythological symbolism they’re using, let alone all the other works they’re using symbols and influences from.

“Although the tale resists explication as a strict allegory of a particular Platonic argument,”

Which basically means:

The story of The Golden Ass aka Carmy in The Bear, isn't easily explained as a clear example of a specific idea from Platonic (Plato's) philosophy. 

The use of the term “Platonic argument” here is very interesting imo, I know it has its own context here but what the showrunners and actors keep giving the audience is the “platonic argument”. Why do they keep repeating that word even after S2 when sydcarmy is clearly not just “platonic”?? These are cryptic clues imo, they want us to know what the show and story is about but they don’t want to tell us and ruin it. 

You can tell from all the different mythological connections to one character alone that this story doesn't come from a clear example of a specific idea, it's a hodgepodge of multiple stories and ideas but I think Apuleius’s “Metamorphoses aka The Golden Ass” may be the overall story the show is retelling. The Golden Ass is Carmy, (he’s the “star chef”, stars are gold. He never got any stars but he retained three of them, he’s like a “golden child/prodigy” in the culinary world.) The show in general is following his journey of metamorphoses. Venus & Mars are Psyche & Cupid, that’s why they keep parallelling carmy/claire with sydcarmy, blurring the lines between Syd & Claire and who Carmy’s thinking or talking about, flashing images of Syd in claire/carmy scenes etc.

Venus and Mars were only ever a secret love affair btw. They never got married or were officially together, the story of their romance is really based on speculation and interpretation. That’s basically how the show has deliberately portrayed sydcarmy as they continue to give their story so many romantic elements but still gaslight the audience so it stays a "secret love affair”.

I think The Bear is a modern retelling of the story of Venus & Mars and Cupid & Psyche via the story in Metamorphosis where V&M, one of the greatest love stories of all time, actually end up together in the end. Carmy experiences a love story with Psyche on his journey but the story ends with him being saved by Isis/Venus.

If you got this far, thank you for reading! I need to write another part about Richie (and possibly Nat if I find enough connections) but I want to wait until I’ve seen S3 first. Briefly, I think Richie might be Apollo who is Perceus in Greek mythology and the rival/brother of Ares/Mars. Apollo is the one who tells V&M’s husband about her affair with Mars and helps Vulcan catch and expose them. I also think Richie sees himself as Mars in a way, the leader of the army so to speak. Other than the mention earlier, I think Nat could represent another one of Neptune’s siblings too, Juno the Goddess of marriage.

[psychopathseraphim]

Hi! I love your tf2 fics. Can I request a sniper x reader where he and the reader casually talk in the base and turns out they have similar hobbies? Like when sniper used to be a big game hunter, so he has to have survival skills and know the nature well. The reader fishes, knows nature (plants, animals, mushrooms) but has never hunted so sniper invites her to teach her hunting over the weekend. They hunt a hare or something. I want this to be fluffy and sniper being genuinely impressed with the reader knowledge and her way around nature. I think he puts the character and brains way over looks and similarities between him and the reader are much more important, so they start to feel different about each other, sniper especially

Sniper x Reader | Hunting

Hello! So sorry this came out so late… nearly a week late, in fact. It’s midterms week at the moment and i figured i needed to focus on reviewing etc. still midterms so im still gonna be busy, but have this!! Hope you enjoy, anon. :)

Tbh, at first, i see sniper acting indifferent…towards you; he wouldnt particularly care about you— well, it’s not that he doesn’t care (if you were dying he’d try his best to help) you just werent anything special/different to him compared to the others

It wasnt until he overheard you talking with the rest about fishing, nature; particularly telling Engineer facts about nature, stories of what youve stumbled upon, that he realized you two shared similarities

He starts to approach you more often, asking about your experiences, if you camp, and you answer with confidence to everything—

“Gone fishin’?” He asked, “yep. Pretty good at it, actually,”

“Do campin’ trips?” He asked, “duh. That’s where I experienced most of those stories i told you,”

“I see… how about huntin’? Ever hunted before?”

“…”

Is shy about it, but would definitely invite you to a camping trip (including a lesson taught by him about hunting!)

You oblige, and the two of you immediately set a date— the day after! It was your week off anyways; you could do whatever you wanted

Car ride to the area’s fine; sniper likes to stay quiet and just play music. If he sees something interesting, like an animal in the wild or if he has a fact he was able to dig up, he’d speak up about it— otherwise he’d just let you sleep

You help him with setting up camp, and so the hunting begins: definitely very sweet about teaching you how to do things, what items to use. Appreciates your own input on things, LOVES when you ask questions and he gets to nerd about it and explain it

“So ya just gotta hold it like this, sheila,” — his favorite nickname for you! But he loves calling you by your first name too

“Mm… things a bit too heavy,” you were holding a sniper rifle—HIS. ‘Course it was going to be heavy

Then he goes up behind you, presses his chest against your back and helps you aim, helps you support the damn thing

By the end of this whole ordeal, you two go home content with a catch of one rabbit! One that sniper was definitely gonna teach you how to cook later into the day

He does get comfier with you after this, telling you his name and a bit of his backstory

He’s still so curious about you — wants to go on more trips or know more ‘bout you before considering confessing to you, but the man definitely has a crush on you!

[82mitsu]

{18Trip} <PROLOGUE SIDE-A: Still blank> 000-A02 Hospitality Beginnings SIDE:A

A translation of 18TRIP's PROLOGUE SIDE-A by 82mitsu. ENG proofreading by sasaranurude.

TL note: 

 Bèndàn (笨蛋) is Chinese for donkey, fool, dullard, klutz, etc. Basically an insult meaning idiot.

TV Announcer <(The suspect, entrepreneur Raito Kitakata, has been arrested on charges of bodily harm. Kitakata is known to have established the metaverse service <mahorova>....)

Kaede: Phew… finally made it.

Kaede: (I love traveling, but nothing beats that feeling of relief coming back home.)

Kaede: (Well, not that I’m in a situation where I can kick back and relax. I’ll be jobless in one week after all…)

Kaede: Ah…

Man with long hair: Excuse me.

Kaede: Sorry. I was looking away…

Man with long hair: The blame lies on me too. Are you hurt somewhere?

Kaede: I’m all good. And you, sir…?

Man with long hair: Ah, I’m fine. My bad, once again.

Kaede: (That person, where do I feel like I’ve seen him before…)

Kaede: Uwogh…!

Man with red hair: Hold it there! Don’t you dare go ahead of me!

Man with long hair: ………

Man with red hair: Hey!! You can hear me, can’t you!? Don’t ignore me!!

Man with long hair: ……It’s too stupid to bother with. Don’t you get it without me spelling it out word for word? 

Man with red hair: What was that!?

Man with red hair: Ah, my luggage arrived. Outta my way!

Kaede: (I have to get mine too soon. Wonder how long it’ll take for it to show up. The bus will be leaving soon…)

Man with long hair: Oi…. don’t shove yourself right in front of me. You’re in the way.

Man with red hair: Shuddup you bozo! Your place is behind me! My luggage is the one that will come out ahead of yours.

Man with long hair: Bèndàn… Your unrealistic confidence is astonishing.

Man with red hair: Just sit and watch! What will absolutely come out first is none other than—

Man with long hair: My bag.

Man with red hair: Ah!?

Man with long hair: Hmph…. 

Man with red hair: Damn you… Wait, Li—

(A loud alarm noise can be heard.)

Man with long hair: ….Hm?

Security robot: Please do not move. Please do not move. 

Man with long hair: What?

Security robot: Please remove yourself from your luggage at once. An examination will be conducted. 

Man with long hair: ………..

Security robot: Examination underway.

(A loud alarm noise can be heard.)

Security robot: Detection of suspicious pills. Color is green. Enclosed within transparent packaging. One bag.

Man with long hair: That’s just….!

Security robot: Kindly requesting you accompany me for confirmation of the specifications. 

Man with long hair: These are… ugh….

Man with long hair: …Pellets for rabbits.

Kaede: (Rabbits….? Does he own one?)

Man with red hair: Haha! Take all the time in the world investigating him! In the end I’m the one who made it out first!

Man with long hair: Tch……

Kaede: (Come to think of it, these two were going at each other on the plane too. Although what they were arguing about was a bit…childish.)

Kaede: Ah, my suitcase showed up.

Kaede: One, two… hup.

Kaede: (Oh, right. Should put away the stuff I carried on board.)

Kaede: (Pin code, pin code…. Hm….?)

Kaede: …Huh?

Kaede: There’s a charm of a doggy attached to it! It’s not mine… whose luggage is this!?

Man with red hair: Sigh, finally made it back… Can’t say it’s easy going back home either.

Man with red hair: Oh, close call… almost forgot about this.

Man with red hair: Hehe….

Man with red hair: (Only true fans will be the ones recognizing me when I'm wearing these bad boys.)

Man with red hair: …Alright, clothes, hair… and elegance, all clear on that front.

Man with red hair: (No matter how you look at it, it’s a worthy appearance for a man of the Nishizono Family.)

Man with red hair: Now then, guess I’ll be–

Kaede <(Excuse meeeee!)

Man with red hair: Hweh….!?

Kaede: Sorry! Guy in the sunglasses over there…! Wait!

Man with red hair: Wha.. a fuh-, fan? Making a fuss over here would be… no, with elegance it’ll be OK. It’ll be okay, surely be okay…!  

Kaede: Sorry, that suitcase is–!

Man with red hair: Ahem… Sorry but right now I’m in private mode.

Kaede: Eh? Please wait a second. It’s just, that suitcase is…

Man with red hair: (Won’t give up, huh… dealing with such radical fans calls for this then.)

Man with red hair: (---Secret Technique: The Fully Refined Speedwalk Reserved For Use Reporters!)

Kaede: Wait! Wait please!

Man with red hair: Ah, hey….!

Man with red hair: Let go! You sure are tenacious, commoner!

Kaede: Co-commoner….!?

Man with red hair: Do you think that a turbo commoner like you can get away with carelessly feeling up a mega celeb like me!?

Kaede: That’s not it, what I’m trying to…

Kaede: (Huh? Isn’t this guy…)

Woman A: Eh, could that be Renga…?

Woman B: No way, what’s Renga doing here!?

Kaede: (I knew it… This person is that famous celebrity model, HAMA’s Ward Mayor Nishizono Renga. And his ward was… the 3rd one, right?)

Kaede: (Ah, that means…)

Kaede: (That other man must’ve also been a Ward Mayor. Wonder if that was Lu Liguang…)

Kaede: (They must be acquaintances given how they're both Ward Mayors. Doesn’t seem like they get along, though…) 

Woman A: Do we call out to him!? We're gonna do it, right!?

Woman: Actually, who’s like, that person with him?

Renga: Damnit, this got out of hand…

Renga: Hey! This is your fault! So do something about it!?

Kaede: Eh, even if you say that, my suitcase is… 

Renga: S-shuddup! I’m taking my leave!

<(Kyaah! I want Renga to scold me too!)

<(Sooo jealous~!)

<(Reeengaaaa~!)

Kaede: Wha!? Wait…!

<(What, what? What’s all this commotion?)

<(Did she say Renga? Like that model Nishizono Renga?)

Renga: Hey, stop! Can’t you guys see these sunglasses or what! It should be clear as day I’m in private mode!

<(Folks sure are gatherin’ ‘round… Is this where the line for paying them souvenirs starts?)

<(People as far as the eye can see…Tokyo’s made outta different stuff for sure.)

Kaede: (W-what do I do… It’s gotten really out of hand.)

Renga: I! KEEP! TELLING YOU! Scatter! Disperse immediately!

Woman A: Kyaah! Renga scolded me~!

Curious onlooker B: Woah~ That Nishizono Renga dude really got some bad vibes.

Old man: This line ain’t moving an inch. Cashiers these days, just what are they doin’.

Kaede: (This is bad, and it’ll get even worse if it keeps going like this.)

Young lady?:  Hah… What a disgrace. Wears the sash of a Ward Mayor yet he can’t even provide some decent hospitality…

Young lady?: Not a surprise HAMA is falling apart.

Young lady?: How boring, let’s go.

Kaede: (Even going as far as insulting HAMA…! No way I’ll let the rep of my home fall before my eyes…!)

Renga: AAAAH, DAMNIT! WHAT DO I DO!!

Kaede: Wait a second please!

Renga: You, what do you…!

Kaede: I’ll help!

Renga: Hah!? You, help….

Liguang: …What’s the meaning of all this.

Kaede: Ah, great timing! Would you mind helping us out too!

Liguang: Haaah? What in the world do you want me to…

Kaede: Obviously… hospitality!

<<previous chapter / next chapter>>

prologue directory: A01 / A02 (x) / A03 / A04 / A05 / A06 / A07 / A08

[artist-issues]

@clown-weed

Ew. No, actually, it’s not.

That is not at all what it is about. If it were about being a little kid who’s free-thinking is beaten down by adults making you do nonsensical things out of tyranny, Alice would defeat the Red Queen. She would not have to escape the Red Queen.

Disney’s Alice in Wonderland is a cautionary tale about the kind of attitude that must have everything their own way. It is wrong when the Red Queen does it, and it is wrong when Alice insists on it, in the beginning of the movie.

Let’s be very clear about how stories work. In the opening scene, we are introduced to our main character, the little girl we’re going to follow and relate most closely to for the rest of the story. What do we learn about her? She doesn’t listen to her older sister who tries to explain that she needs her history lesson, with or without pictures, and she wants to live in “a world of her own.”

Where the flowers talk. And the animals wear clothes and talk. And she thinks it would be a Wonderland—it’s all right freaking there in the song.

Then Alice abandons her history lesson and chases an example of that world she so badly wants—where everything would be her own way—the White Rabbit. And from that moment on, every action she takes goes like this: “well, I know I should probably stop and think before I do this thing, but I’m going to do it anyway because I feel like it.”

She feels like crawling into a hole after the White Rabbit, and she does, and she falls into a world she can’t get out of. She feels like crying because she’ll never get home, and she does, and she floods the room. Her whole problem is that she often knows what the right thing to do is, but she just does whatever she wants in the moment because she wants it.

Like a little kid who obeys every fleeting impulse.

Enter the Queen of Hearts. A character who just wants what she wants. She’s the definition of what Alice could be if she takes her worst character trait—wanting things just her own way—and keeps chasing that.

In the end, Alice runs away from the Red Queen. She wakes up from her nightmare and immediately tries to obey her sister and “recite” in a panic. It’s kind of a joke—she starts reciting what the Caterpillar recited in her dream out of confusion—but the truth is, that’s where we leave Alice. She’s reciting, otherwise known as “repeating a lesson learned.” A long way from where she was at the beginning of the movie, when she was refusing to pay attention to her history lesson because it didn’t have the pictures she liked.

The movie is about the dangerous habit of jumping into whatever you want to jump into and waiting for things to be your own way, simply because you want them that way. The movie is about finding out that what you really want—a world with no responsibility, no long-term memory, no sense, and no future—is actually not a Wonderland, but a place to get lost and forget who you are. It’s a place you should come out of, eventually, unless you want to be completely out of touch with reality and behaving like everyone else should match your whims—just like a certain Queen of Hearts.

Don’t give me that “stick it to the man,” ageless idiocy of a mistaken notion that children somehow know better than adults. Children will stick their hands on red-hot stovetops and run out into traffic and completely ignore learning from the mistakes of their ancestors in their history lessons if they don’t have adults to help them. As a certain wise parent once said, “they’ll grab at the first shiny thing with flashy ribbons you wave in front of them. All a parent can do is say, ‘wait, trust me.’”

I mean, the last freakin’ shot of the movie is, the girl who was chasing nonsense in the form of a White Rabbit is now following her responsible older sister. Jeez.

All three of the directors on Alice in Wonderland had children, and you know Disney himself had his two daughters before Alice in Wonderland ever came out. If you think for one minute that this movie was about how kids are forced to learn nonsense, rather than taught not to overindulge in nonsense when it turns you into an out-of-touch tyrant, you are duping yourself.

[luneemeritus]

Hello! I've been reading and liking your posts on Hazbin Hotel (especially the analyses of Angel - he's my favourite character!) and I wondered if I could ask you something about Huskerdust?

It's something that's been playing on my mind that I'd be interested to get another perspective on.

I ship Huskerdust, like many Hazbin fans, but I'm aware that not everyone likes it. And I've seen the arguments about Angel's initial treatment of Husk and whether it was sexual harassment and how much that ruins the Huskerdust ship and so on.

One point I see made a lot is this:

"If Angel was a straight man and Husk was a woman, everyone would agree that this behaviour was creepy and wrong and no-one would ship those two! But because Angel is gay and Husk is a man, it's fine apparently? No!"

It's been stuck in my head. And I've not seen many Huskerdust defenders addressing the claim (apart from, like, one YouTube comment I doubt I'll be able to find again).

So I'm turning to you because I enjoy reading your Angel Dust posts and you're pretty good at pointing out flaws in haters' arguments.

What would your response to that be?

OMG thank youuu!!! I also love your posts, specially how you mix Angel with Jessica Rabbit, she's gorgeous, I simp for both of them honestly 😭

Ok ok. Now, let me sigh veeeery heavily because 'anti-Angel Dust' requires a lot of patience to deal with. Huskerdust only came to be because Angel stopped his behaviour, which everyone, including the writters, know it was fucked up. Their argumentation ends there, to begin with.

(tw: SA, rape)

And this take "If Angel was a straight man / If Husk was a woman" is beyond delusional. Guys, do anyone here thinks being creepy and pushing boundaries is ok? No, right? Literally no one thinks that's ok. Angel don't think that's ok. This is why he stopped. This is why, even before opening up to Husk, he stopped the moment Husk pushed him away. It was clear to him that there was a limit he wouldn't cross. Notice how they 'dehumanize' (he's a demon spider but, you got it) Angel to "a creep", ignore his victimhood AND shamelessly wish for him to not be loved because of a mistake he committed AND fixed it, but then Huskerdust fans are the wrong ones? Angel is overly hated (and lied about btw) because 1, he's a victim, 2, he's an imperfect victim, and 3, he makes mistakes *because* of his victimhood, but idk, his haters live in some alternative reality where a gay man victim of human trafficking is well accepted and understood. Even if their hatred towards the character proves the opposite.

Angel didn't do anything he can't amend for. Do these people also think the shipp was "ruined" because Husk was an Overlord in the past? No, right? Obviously not, the AMOUNT of Angel haters that justify and ignore Husk's flaws is absurd. Husk also pushed Angel's emotional boundaries and made unnecessary rude comments about his work. Is he a monster for that? Obviously not, the moment he realized what Angel was going throught, he changed his perspective completely and that should be the case with everyone. Because yes, Angel's victimhood DOES matter, his hypersexuality is a coping mechanism, a facade, all of this matters, it matters SO MUCH MORE than Angel asking for Husk to bang him. "But it doesn't justify" boohoo Sherlock Homes, Angel stopped his behaviour. There, satisfied? Lol no because hating a victim is never enough, always a new reason (I also wish Angel would verbally apologize, that would be great too, and Huskerdust is still a slow burn, always keep that in mind). Angel is a victim of human trafficking. It's not Val being mean to him, it's Val using him as a slave. A slave. Rape. Collective rape. Sex trafficking. Sex slavery. Yall know what that means?

Here, an example and a study about how enduring abuse fucks up your brain.

https://www.bianj.org/abuse-brain-injury/

https://www.npr.org/2024/03/13/1238225255/domestic-violence-is-now-recognized-as-a-leading-cause-of-traumatic-brain-injury

Imagine how Angel's brain is. Like. Angel haters, I know putting yourselfs in someone's place is not your thing, specially when you have to weaponize someone's gender identity and sexuality to make a point, but imagine having your brain deformed by years of abuse. Abuse from the person you once loved. Bad, right?

It's just that Angel's haters are unable to analyze any kind of nuance. Doing a bad thing, like pushing boundaries, doesn't make you an irredimable person. Angel, because of his hypersexuality caused by years of severe abuse and isolation, harrassed Husk. He realized he fucked up. He stopped. Husk also seem extremely guilty for his past. They're both owned by people that have pleasure in torturing others, violating every single part of their body, mental state and soul. See the difference?

Victims aren't perfect. Victims will make mistakes. Husk is also a victim (by Alastor), and he also makes mistakes... HUGE mistakes, cause you know, being a Gambling Overlord... not the best vibes. Angel's haters should really stop pretending to care about poor Husk's feefees and just admit they don't want a victim to find love and peace.

...ANYWAY. Sorry, Chrysalys, for the big ass response but I feel like I said everything I wanted to. I hope the haters didn't changed your perspective about the shipp! Because, as yourself said in your amazing analysis, they're not perfect people, but they're perfect for each other. Huskerdust is precisely what a wholesome, healthy couple is, even with two flawed people: they talk and communicate about their problems. They opened up. Understood each other. Support each other. I reblogged someone joking about how Huskerdust was able to make in one episode what Stolitz didnt to in two seasons LMAO

[caffedrine]

Keith Howell vs. Kagari Amagase - The Beast Tempts the Rabbit - Keith Ending Summary.

A big thanks to @otomehoneyybearr who is kindly letting me bleb off their translation of the Kagari vs Keith Event.

The Keith Ending follows their excellent translation of the common route found here and here.

Again, the event story assumes that Emma/MC got through Part 2 without romancing anyone.

This is mostly a summary for me - I make no promises on the accuracy of what’s happening. I’m not nearly fluent enough to get half the jokes/innuendo much less accurate plot points.

With a hand over her mouth, Emma was dragged backward into a room. The other person wasn’t anyone Emma recognized, but ominously, he was holding a bare knife in his hand. His clothing was festive, suitable for the party, but his sharp eyes indicated he wasn’t interested in celebrating.

He addresses her as the woman who came with the red-headed man. Emma wonders if this means that he’s not familiar with Kagari’s name and if he’s just a hireling.

He asks Emma what her purpose in coming here is. Emma tells him that she has no choice but to come here. Privately she thinks that she is not so far from the main area and could make it if she needed to.

The man does not like that answer, and his knife stabs at her, piercing through her clothes and stopping at the skin. Emma suppresses a scream, it’s scary, but she can manage.

The man decides she’s a useful tool to buy more time, and gestures with his chin, and the knife scraping against her skin, to open the hallway door.

If Keith, standing on the other side of the door, is surprised to see her, he quickly recovers. 

Emma wonders if he came looking for her since she was late returning and feels herself start to tremble with repressed fear.

Giving out a murderous intent beyond anything Emma has felt before, he pulls her towards him by the shoulders and kicks the man back into the room. The man hits the wall and falls unconscious as if knocked out.

Emma watches Keith glare at the man with cold unforgiving eyes, completely different from how he was earlier. 

This is a different Keith.

Keith has a secret that he can’t tell anyone. He has two personalities, and while the one everyone encounters most often is the kind, friendly, Nice!Keith, his other personality is cold and as ferocious as any beast.

Alter!Keith asks what that man did to her and Emma assures him that nothing happened beyond being threatened with a knife. Alter! Keith’s eyebrows furrow and he awkwardly touches her as if to verify that she’s alright. Emma did notice how his face briefly relaxed when she told him she was unharmed.

Alter!Keith apologizes for coming late, and Emma thanks him for saving her.

Also, she greets Alter!Keith.

Alter!Keith tells her not to greet him as if they just bumped into each other, reminding her that he can see everything Nice!Keith sees. If anything, she should be apologizing for acknowledging him so late. 

Alter!Keith guesses that the now unconscious man is somehow involved with the man Kagari is after. Emma agrees but adds that he wasn’t familiar with who Kagari is. They agree that this man was probably hired for protection. Kagari muses that it was probably a cheap distraction hire.

Emma is startled, she hadn’t even seen Kagari join them. Kagari looks at Emma and asks what the man did to her. 

Absentmindedly Kagari tells Keith that he already called for a guard to take care of the man. He then wonders where his target went. Emma recalls and gives Kagari directions.

Just as Kagari begins to dart off, Keith reaches out and grabs him by the collar, stopping him. He tells Kagari to take a knight with him.

Kagari assures Keith that he’ll be fine, but Keith disagrees. The knight isn’t to protect Kagari - but to prevent him from killing anyone. Keith reminds Kagari that if he ‘accidentally’ kills one of Jade’s civilians, Kagari will be barred from ever entering Jade again. In fact, Jade would no longer engage in the trade of medical herbs with him. 

Kagari complains that Keith has developed a very mean personality. After a moment, he reluctantly agrees to obey Jade’s laws. This once.

Since they found the man Kagari is looking for, Keith is going to hand this matter off to Kagari to deal with. As Jade knights catch up to them Keith warns Kagari not to overdo it. He takes Emma’s hand, leading her away.

Before she turns away from him, Kagari gives Emma a small ‘goodbye’ wave.

Later

Alter!Keith tells Emma to hold on just a moment longer. Emma whines that she’s at her limit, but Keith tells her to endure just a few more seconds, and he’ll give her a reward.

The game master cheers and congratulates them - they managed to score first and second place! He holds up his stamp and tells them to give him their stamp cards.

Kagari’s matter settled to Keith’s satisfaction, he had immediately brought her to the festival to enjoy it together. Their recent booth was a game that involved throwing balls into baskets on top of a house’s roof. 

Suddenly, Alter!Keith grabs Emma’s arms and begins to massage them. Startled, Emma asks what he’s doing, and Keith reminds her that he promised her a reward. 

Emma makes an embarrassing noise, and Keith asks if she really likes his massage. Emma confesses that it kind of tickles - and distracts him by asking what their next booth is. 

Smiling wickedly, Alter!Keith accepts this distraction and holds up the list of booths, under the heading ‘Flower Tour Stamp Rally’.

The idea is that one could go around to booths and shop, play minigames, and participate in hands-on demonstrations to receive stamps on their cards. Once you have enough stamps, you can get a prize in a first-come first-serve basis.

Alter!Keith sees the next closest booth is a flower shop with a flower crown-making activity. Emma laughs and offers to make Alter!Keith a very pretty crown. Alter!Keith is happy to accept anything that is made for him - or maybe anything that Emma specifically makes for him. Emma thinks that Alter!Keith rarely receives any gift specifically for himself.

As Keith pulls her to the next shop, Emma wonders about Kagari, if he’s okay. As if reading her mind, Alter!Keith assures her that Kagari is fine, and if anything, she should be worried about his target. 

Besides, she was the one dragged into Kagari’s mess, she shouldn’t feel obligated to see it through. Instead, she should enjoy Jade, a place she rarely visits. 

Suddenly Alter!Keith pulls Emma close and whispers in her ear to pay more attention to him. They rarely see each other, and he’s right here right now. It’s unfair of her to only play with Kagari.

Emma grumbles that if one of them is being unfair - it’s Alter!Keith. He’s usually mean and carefree, but sometimes he gets like this, cute and pouty. It’s bad for Emma’s heart. 

Alter!Keith was mean and cold, but he had immediately reacted to her being in danger. He probably even dragged her out of the mansion and to the festival to cheer her up from that frightening experience. No matter how he acts, at his heart, he is as kind and sweet as Nice!Keith.

Emma tries to distract Keith by pointing out the flower shop and rushing to it. Alter!Keith warns her not to run, and she assures him that she’s fine. Besides, if she gets hurt, she won’t be able to play with him anymore. Alter!Keith agrees and tells her to not leave him behind.

Together they visit more shops, playing together like they’re children again. Their stamp cards quickly fill up, and soon they claim their prizes.

Eventually, Alter!Keith brings Emma to a greenhouse full of flowers as tall as she is. She feels like this is an extra reward, and next to her, Alter!Keith is happy enough to hum under his breath. She wonders if he rarely gets a chance to let loose and just have fun. 

Alter!Keith directs her attention to some cream-colored flowers with small blossoms, explaining that they’re difficult to grow and only bloom once a year. Suddenly he leans close to her to whisper in her ear. There’s a saying that if you look at them with the one you love, you’ll be forever united. 

Emma thinks that’s a sweet story, but oddly she’s becoming aware of Alter!Keith pressed up against her. Alter!Keith laughs, Emma is as innocent and as clueless as ever. He complains that he was hoping she would look at him instead of the flower. 

Emma grumbles that Alter!Keith has just gotten meaner since they last met. It’s starting to worry her, how much Nice!Keith has to put up with.

Alter!Keith considers this and comes up with the perfect solution. Emma should just move to Jade and live with them, then she can make sure he’s not too mean. Both Keiths would be happy to have her around, and she would always stay by their side. 

Emma complains about Alter!Keith teasing her again. It’s getting bad for her heart.

Alter!Keith tells her that she only has herself to blame, she’s too fun and easy to tease. Emma grumbles that she’ll have to brace herself so that next time she visits, Alter!Keith won’t get to her.

Together they walk around the greenhouse, looking at more plants and flowers. However, the flush in Emma’s face does not go away. Eventually, it grows late, and Emma tells Keith it’s time for her to return to her lodging. 

Emma thanks Alter!Keith for everything today, the stamp festival, the greenhouse visit, and even what happened earlier at the mansion.

Jade and Rhodolite are neighbors, but it will be difficult for Emma to visit again. Andrea, their status is so difficult, even if Emma finds herself in Jade, it will be difficult to spend time together. The thought makes Emma feel lonely. 

To Emma’s surprise, Alter!Keith rests his head on her shoulder. He asks her not to leave yet and then rests his entire body against Emma. 

Emma stumbles: Keith is larger and more muscular than the average man, and his weight quickly becomes unbearable. Just as she begins to totter over, arms grab her and Keith rightens himself. 

Keith looks confused, but when he realizes the state he and Emma are in, he rightens them quickly, his face going red. He looks around them, bewildered and teary-eyed. Emma recalls that Nice!Keith has no memory of what Alter!Keith does when he’s in control. 

Near panicking, Nice!Keith wonders why he’s holding Emma, and what they’re doing in the greenhouse. He begins apologizing for whatever ‘he’ did. 

Emma quickly assures Keith that nothing bad happened, and if anything, she welcomes being this close to Keith. Then she realizes what she just said at the same time Keith does and they both go red.

As Keith tries to recover his composure, Emma thinks that Nice!Keith didn’t initiate this switch. So why did Alter!Keith switch?

While Emma considers this question, she quickly catches Nice!Keith up on the events of the day, and Keith’s anxious expression begins to fade. He’s pleased that Kagari found the person he was gaffer, and that Alter!Keith was able to set things up to prevent Kagari from committing any crimes. Though he would have preferred it if everyone had been a bit more subtle. 

Anyways, he will have to thank ‘him’ - he kept Emma from getting hurt. Absent-mindedly, Keith reaches out to touch Emma before immediately pulling back. Instead, he asks if she is alright, and apologizes for always doing weird things around her. Emma assures him that she never thinks that he’s strange nor is his concern unwelcome. Keith smiles at her with a face like a flower blooming. 

Emma recalls that she was heading back to her lodging and began to excuse herself. Dejected, Keith recalls that she was heading back when he switched. He offers to arrange for a room at the castle for her. It’s thanks to her that they were able to find the fugitive, and Keith would like to thank her.

Emma politely assures Keith that isn’t necessary - she decided on her own to help them. Besides, she got to attend the stamp festival, and Keith gave her this lovely dress. 

Honestly, Emma would like to accept Keith’s invitation, but she is aware of the difference in their social status. She can’t just take up Keith’s time these days, even if they are friends.

Besides, if she stays with Keith any longer, she’ll never want to leave again.

Suddenly Keith tells her that he was lying earlier. He doesn’t care about rewarding her or thanking her. It was a pretense to mask his true intentions. He wraps his large hands around hers, apologizing. He just wants to spend more time with her, for any reason that she’ll accept.

He stares directly into Emma’s eyes and asks her to stay. 

Maybe this is why Alter!Keith switched with Nice!Keith.

Emma tells him that she was wrong, she wasn’t fine earlier. She didn’t want to say goodbye to Keith either. So, would it be alright to accept his offer to stay at the castle with him?

Keith smiles, and Emma thinks she can stare at that smile forever.

With flowers fluttering all around him, Keith kisses the back of Emma’s hand. He admits that he was unable to forget her after his visit to Rhodolite. When he was with her, he felt like it was the only time he had to truly be himself. 

So, when he saw her in town, Keith was trying to restrain himself from jumping for joy. He admits to being a little jealous of Kagari. Northgate, wait, in all honesty, he was very jealous of Kagari. 

Now that he has her to himself, Keith feels like he’s soaring, just like a weed that has just been doused with nourishing water. 

Emma doesn’t quite understand his unique analogy, but she understands his intent and smiles. 

Emma’s heart is happy and light as well, but she understands that all they are doing is prolonging their inevitable parting. 

Later

A messenger visits Emma in her bookstore, delivering a carefully wrapped package with Beaufort flower motifs on the paper. 

The last gift was wrapped in paper with a rose design, and this one is just as beautiful. Emma carefully unwraps it, preserving as much of the gift wrapping as possible, only to reveal a book. It is the famous author Sonia’s latest release. 

(Meanwhile, Chevalier is still waiting for the books he asked Emma to pick up for him a year ago)

She picks up the letter attached to the book; the envelope also has a beautiful flower embossed on the paper. 

The letter starts, as they always do, with Keith stating his name.

Keith thanks Emma for her last letter and the gift of rose tea. The scent reminds him of her, and he often prepares the tea when he needs to relax. He’s now at the point that the tea is running low, and there is enough only for about three more cups. 

Keith apologizes for wording his letter like a diary and changes the subject to something more important.

Keith’s letter begins to talk about a new medicine discovered, and Emma smiles as she continues to read it. Then Emma notices a different handwriting in the margins and realizes that Alter!Keith is also writing to her. 

The last time they met, Emma made a request to Keith. She wanted to write him letters, so that way she could talk to him even if they were apart. She assures him that she doesn’t expect him to reply to her, she just doesn’t want this to be the last they can ever ‘speak’ to each other. 

Keith is so delighted by this idea, that he wonders if he’s dreaming it. Oh, he’s so happy he could just collapse from joy!

Keith will definitely respond to her letters; he likes the idea of tangible evidence of their feelings.

Just remembering Keith’s expression makes Emma sigh dreamily. She traces her fingers over Keith’s letters, imagining the feelings he poured into this paper and his expression while writing it.

(Pictured above: Keith's expression while writing to Emma)

It’s difficult for two people to meet when they live in Rhodolite and Jade respectively. But with these letters, the distance between her and Keith seems a little less vast.

[asterdisaster06]

It Will Come Back

Simon "Ghost" Riley x fem!reader

summary > hand to hand combat with an overly touchy simon

word count > 1.3k

cw > suggestive, but not explicit. romanticizing of yandere tendencies

a/n > Open ended one-shot, may come back to it if inspiration strikes

ao3

There’s something off about him. Simon Riley. Or Ghost as he’s known to his teammates - including you. Not off on the field or in training. Not off in the way that he shoots or reloads or checks over his weapons before the mission. Not off in his work ethic or the way he kills. Off in the way that he’s oh-so-domestic towards you. Indirectly, of course. In a way that you can’t prove when you tell someone that his behaviour irks you. What could you tell them? That you swear you can see him lurking in the shadows, stalking you, or that your personal things always seem to disappear? You’d seem aloof and distracted if not downright insane. 

And forget mentioning how kind he seems to you. Offering to lace up your boots or god-forbid, help you train. The small touches across your back or hands still make you shiver. There’s also the small gifts that appear on your bed, the very same one in the locked room, mind you. You’ve changed the locks at least a dozen times before Price told you to stop wasting time and resources. It made you want to scream before you began to question if the captain was in on it. You had brought up concerns before and they were conveniently brushed off. 

Of course, that was a completely absurd thought given the fact that you never named the perpetrator that was making you uncomfortable on your very own base. Even still, you would’ve thought that Price would have done more than simply question you. Every time you’ve brought it up he says that he’s ‘handling it’ so you stopped asking after a while. It elicits a sense of unease at the fact that you seemed to be on your own regarding this issue. 

The way he looked at you scared you almost as much as facing down the barrel of a loaded gun - something that you’ve done more times than you’d like to admit. It’s not as if you had a grudge against the man - far from it. You used to admire him as a Lieutenant and wanted to be close to him, worked to become close to him. That’s how you ended up on the 141 task force. A part of you still does, admire him that is. You’re unsure of exactly when this Stockholm-esque syndrome began, but there’s something in you that wants Simon in the same carnal way he wants you. The same way a rabbit begins to accept its fate belongs in the claws of the wolf. Thinking back on it all, you were beginning to regret your moxy. 

“Did you forget we had training today, love?”

This is exactly the shit you were talking about. Not that anyone believes you, nor did you have the confidence to tell them. Not after the last incident. You had met your wits end and basically begged Laswell to transfer you. Obviously, some grounds for your repositioning was required - which was where it went wrong. You had no solid evidence, a very good track record on the team, and Simon had knocked on the door as soon as you were about to explain yourself. If you had thought he wouldn’t have been able to weasel his way out of you screaming fraternisation at Laswell you would have shouted it all around base. That’s the lowest point your pride had ever been at. Turning tail and running wasn’t your proudest moment, but there was a certain threshold before fight turns into flight. 

“Princess?”

God, you hated that name. You couldn’t even hold it against him as it was your unfortunate callsign. You had never despised it this much before coming to this godforsaken place. You huff and shove yourself up from the couch - grumbling about missing the Uno game going on between Soap and Gaz.

“One more word out of your mouth besides ‘yes sir’ and it’s ten laps,” Simon glares at you.

You’re convinced he only makes you do laps because it allows him to stand and watch. Not like you can prove it, and sometimes he does run with you, but it feels almost impossible for that not to be the case. A little rabbit and the big wolf. 

“Yes sir,” You sigh.

“Atta girl.” His words send a shiver down your spine.

It’s always hand to hand combat with him. Always. You suppose it’s better than him micromanaging your shooting stance. A shiver passes through your body at the thought of him gripping your body and manipulating you however he pleases. Becoming pliable for him to mould into the perfect soldier. No, the perfect pet. At least this way you have a chance to fight back. A small voice in the back of your mind reminds you that Ghost probably likes the struggle. The power imbalance. Another one insists that you like it just as much if not more. You choose to ignore that last one. 

“Considering your performance on the last mission, I find it imperative that we work on your skills regarding escape,” Simon says sourly.

This was complete bullshit and you knew it. Biting your tongue like you’ve always done is becoming harder by the day. He’s referring to how you - under his orders - infiltrated a side hallway and got apprehended by two guards. Two guards that you had not been made aware of - you should have been considering Ghost himself had travelled that hallway not long ago. Of course, Simon rushed in to save you, ever the shining knight in armour. 

“Your only goal is to overpower me, by any means necessary,” Simon speaks, and you can almost hear the mirth through the baclava. It makes your hackles raise in fear of what this entails. 

Despite your on guard position, you somehow end up with your back on the floor. Your hands are roughly pinned above your head - an almost delightful strain running down your spine causing you to shiver under his grasp. His thighs entrap yours with his hips harshly pressed into yours. A shaky breath of air escapes your lungs at the suddenness of it all - nevermind how close your Lieutenants face is to yours. This wasn’t exactly how you expected to end up on your back for him, but you’d take what you can get. 

A moment of hesitation costs you your comfort as one of Simon’s gloved hands moves down from your wrists to your neck - gripping it tight enough to restrict some blood flow, but not air. It makes a soft whimper escape from you, your body keen to betray you. 

“Seems like someone’s enjoying this a little too much,” Simon chuckles, his eyes dark. 

“Fuck you,” You seeth, an escaped hand digging it’s claws into his collarbone. 

“Sorry, Princess. That’s off the table,” Simon grunts, almost amused.

You quickly turn on him, shoving him off of you and pressing a knee into his abdomen with the other one entrapping him in a similar fashion that he had done to you. Your hands keep his shoulders pinned to the ground, not taking any chances. 

“You know damn well that’s not what I was-” You’re cut off by Simon lifting one of his thighs to meet you, making your brain short circuit. 

“What was that?” You could hear the smugness in his words. 

“I’d say I won that, so there’s no need for this to continue,” You spit out, quickly retracting yourself from him. 

“If you say so,” Simon says, giving up weirdly easily. 

“That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Simon starts, standing up to tower over you. “Unless you had something else on your mind?”

“One thing.”

“Anything,” Simon whispers, and you’re unsure whether his tone elicits more excitement than fear.

“Admit to Price and yourself that you’re being a creep,” You hiss.

“Whatever do you mean, love,” Simon mocks.

“It was worth a try,” You huff, turning your back on him and walking off.

[ononestring]

Well, I think it’s over. As much as I try to work on this, I just really cannot finish it in a way I’m even remotely happy with. I officially would like to release this concept into the public domain. This took a lot of thought, and as long as you credit me, feel free to use this idea from now on.

Track list:

PROLOGUE

The concept is a spamton based origin story called on one string. It starts with Kris at Spamton’s shop in a normal looking save file, however, the path to Spamton’s shop door has a path going off to the left. When you go on it, an adjacent path is seen with a younger spamton standing on it. The game glitches out. A Gaster sequence begins. He tells you that you aren’t supposed to see this, but he will agree to show you Spamton’s story if you agree that you cannot alter the events and will simply play as a memory version of him. The game starts.

VERSE ONE

Wake up!

(Beautiful concept art by Grimblo)

You wake up in Spamton’s bed. You are instructed to complete his morning routine. One of these is writing a letter to Seam. This is the save system in this game. There will be desks across the game to write to them and save your game. Spamton is infatuated with Seam and Jevils performances, (although doesn’t approve of Jevil’s segment) and writes to Seam as a fan, having watched them on T.V. Spamton has to go to work.

(More amazing stuff by Grimblo)

and after coming outside to see a heavy traffic jam; the player can only walk to the tramway entrance through a brief “Train rush” segment where you have to make the train on time while avoiding other denizens. At work, Spamton is instructed by the pink Addison to “get to work” and so you are instructed to enter the email room. Here is two desks, one that says “Addison #4” and one that says “Addison #0”. Behind the #4 desk is the blue Addison, Spamton’s only real friend at work. He cheerfully greets him, informing Spamton he left all of “your favorite emails” for him. These are referring to all the responses from Noelle. There is then a short work minigame where you have to please customers over email. Upon returning home, you are forced to go back through the tramway at night. That’s when the Nightpath Ne’er-do-wellers attack! This is where you will learn the battle system.

Spamton discovers a letter, from Seam. This is where you receive the shadowpin, an item that will let you move through dark worlds. Seam was curious upon receiving Spamton’s letter, and wants to see if he really does have what it takes to make it. Spamton, excited and nerve-wracked by this, goes to Queen’s mansion where a Halloween party is commencing. He asks her how to get there; and tries to seek advice. Queen informs him of a close friend of hers, (referring to the Dialmiser) and his city which is fairly close to cyber city if you go through the Coldlands, which is what the cliffs are from chapter one. Spamton suits up, gets in his car, and goes to the edge of cyber city where a toll booth is. The man inside warns spamton of the coldlands and the danger they hold, however spamton leaves anyways. It’s a long, creepy segment but eventually Spamton can see DIALVILLE on the horizon.

Down the Rabbit Hole…

The DIALVILLE port is empty and eerie. Spamton hears rustling from a bush.

Out pops Storgsly, a self-defined guide to the city who is also later revealed to be this chapters secret boss. He tells spamton that as long and they stick together, he can take him to the other end of the dark world and get him closer to meeting Seam. Storgsly joins your party. It becomes increasingly clear as you walk through the port Storgsly doesn’t know his stuff, but Spamton is seemingly blind to it. The first Dialmiser encounter occurs when you reach the front doors.

He is standing there, and Storgsly quickly tells you he has to go. Spamton tells the Dialmiser Queen sent him, and Dialmiser is quick to tell him that Queen is someone whom he does not respect. He is very pompous and believes he is the greatest person in the city, and reveals he has taken over the politics here to a grand extent, even locking the mayor up in his own office. It is here when Spamton notices a direct path to the other end. He does not take it. He realizes that it’s his moral obligation to help DIALVILLE, and Seam can wait.

WELCOME TO DIALVILLE!

Although Dialmiser has greatly put a wound on this city, things are as lively as ever. People here aren’t pushy and rude like in cyber city, they love to communicate with one another. Letters, phones, telegrams, litter the street. Spamton quickly finds out about 4 major divisions the Dialmiser is running, and decides he needs to take these out before he leaves. The first, in DIALVILLE itself, is his fun factory. After traversing through the city, Spamton makes it here. This division is run by this chapters “milk” boss: The Bentlov Twins.

Conjoined twins, one happy as ever, one down and sad, they are forcing DIALVILLE residents to work in Dialmiser’s factory. This is where you first fight them. It’s a short fight, and it’s isn’t the last. The next district is the city hall, so Spamton enters at night and has to avoid mini-misers guarding puzzles and mini-games. Once you save the mayor, this district is cleared! The next district is the letter plains. Unfortunately, to liberate them you will need to fight the Bentlov Twins. It’s a twin horseback battle where you have to take them down.

(More amazing art by Grimblo)

VERSUS STORGSLY

Upon defeating them, they reveal the final district: the Dialmanor. But before you go there, they invite you to visit their house and rest up before you go. When you do, you meet their lovely family, and discover a dark secret. Storgsly is related to the bentlov twins. Stashed at the back of the house is a dark, dusty room where you find the key to the ravine tram, aswell as some backstory for him amongst the items. After going inside the room, each family member will relay a short excerpt about him. Approaching the ravine, Storgsly urges you to not go. When you decline, he runs away. After using the lift key, you descend into the ravine. It’s cold, dark, and as soon as you walk for a little storgsly swoops down and steals the pin. A short chase segment ensues before you corner him at the back. The ravine shatters and he uses the pin to try and take you out. Using the pin, he manifests attacks from within his phone book. When you defeat him, a small crack has formed in the pin. Going back to the Bentlov house, you have the option to give the bell beret away to them. The Dialmanor is a large area with puzzles, minigames and there is currently a mask party ensuing when you arrive. After a spat with the manor guards, they tell you where to go to find Dialmiser. After a long staircase, you figure out how to liberate the final district: defeat the Dialmiser. The battle is lengthy but when you do he reveals that maybe he pushed everyone away that ever made him want power in the first place. He gives the key to the city back to the mayor, and Spamton departs in his car again…

VERSE 2 COMING SOON

[xerith-42]

Garrance Headcanons/Ideas

Help I'm falling down the rabbit hole

-Laurance and Garroth are a perfect example of the one who's been in love for three years and the one who fell hard and fast. Laurance started developing a crush on Garroth when they were in training and it slowly blossomed into deeper feelings when they found one another again. Garroth has fallen in love twice and when it happened with Laurance he had literally no fucking clue what to do.

-Laurance first fell in love with Garroth when he saw how passionate Garroth is about what he does. Garroth is lecturing some other trainees that are in their class about respect and honor and he looks so stern and upset when he does it. He wants to be taken so seriously and be a pillar for others to rely on at all times, and Laurance just thinks he's a total dork. Because he is. And Laurance loves that about him.

-When they're alone and actually comfortable being intimate with one another Laurance is really wordy, flowery and poetic in his musings about Garroth, faith, life, whatever he can go on about. Garroth is useless. All he can do is sit there flustered and stare at his not boyfriends beautiful eyes.

-The first time they showed real physical intimacy is after Laurance wakes up screaming from a Shadow Knight related nightmare. As always, he wants to keep it under wraps, but he woke up Garroth who will not leave him alone until Laurance explains himself. It's not the first time he's heard Laurance wake up from a nightmare, but the first time he's sounded actually in pain. He can't stand the sound.

-Upon hearing what Laurance was dealing with, Garroth sits next to him, puts an arm around him, and simply whispers the words "I'm here to protect you." And Laurance fucking breaks. He starts uncontrollably sobbing into Garroth's arms and he can't stop. This is the moment when Garroth realized he fell in love again. When he realizes he would do literally anything to keep Laurance safe and happy. Not because they're fellow guards, but because he loves him.

-They don't get many moments alone, so they dearly treasure the ones they do get. And even when around others, Garroth can't help but catch a glimpse of Laurance's smile and it makes his whole day brighter. Laurance gets to see how seriously Garroth takes his job and can't help but be in love with every aspect of him. They are so desperately and helplessly in love with one another and so terrible at expressing it.

-When Garroth betrays everyone at the end of Season 1, Laurance is completely fucking destroyed. He feels utterly betrayed that Garroth thinks he would go behind his back for Aphmau because Laurance is the one out of the three of them who recognizes the "has two hands" mentality. In his mind, there's a possibility they could all be happy together. He perhaps selfishly thinks he can have both of the loves of his life love him back. But Garroth thinks he doesn't care about his feelings and only cares about Aphmau. Laurance can't even bear the thought that Garroth doesn't trust him after everything they've said to one another. After everything they've been through together.

-And then he has to leave Garroth behind!! Just as Garroth comes to terms with his own feelings in the Irene Dimension, he realizes that Laurance loves him just as much as he loves Laurance. He realizes he was an idiot for ever assuming Laurance would intentionally hurt him. He glances behind him and mouths the words "I love you." Laurance is sure he meant it for Aphmau, but Garroth looks right into his eyes as he says it. It's the first time either one said I love you to the other.

-Laurance is flung fifteen years into the future and the first thought he has upon returning home is a crushingly empty feeling in his chest. He can't even comprehend where he is or what has happened because his heart aches at the memory of Garroth in that moment. He begins to mourn a man who isn't even dead yet. He mourns the love of his life who was just returned to him. Like he's so used to doing, Laurance mourns.

[owlslyingdown]

remember when you lost your shit and drove the car into the garden? / don’t you understand your mind is not your friend? / you said we’re not so tied together, what did you mean? / why are we still out here? can’t we just go home? where were you back then? / can we show a little discipline? / why are you hiding from me? / is it time to leave? is it time to think about what i want to say to the girls at the door? / can i stay here? can i sleep on the floor? / is it easy to live inside yourself? / do you really think you can just put it in a safe behind a painting, lock it up and leave? / are those dreams inside your head? is there sunlight on your bed? / the day i die, where will we be? / where is her head? is she outside? is she looking out? / if i held your hand again would you be here down on your knees like this? / if i yield to my trances will i get up close again? / i ask the same questions to everyone i see - what am i missing? where have you been? what if they ask me about it? where would i begin? now, love, where have you been? did somebody break your heart again? are you gonna fall apart again? / don’t you know someday somebody will come and find you? / can you get away and talk to me? / rylan, did you break your mother’s heart? is it easy to keep so quiet? is it easy to live inside yourself? / what could i say? how close am i to losing you? hey, are you awake? can i ask you about today? / what was i even leaving for? / can’t you find a way? how’d you do it? / have you found him? have you told him everything? does he say he feels bad about all this? / am i crazy? / what if i’d never written the letter i slipped in the sleeve of the record i gave you? what if i’d stayed on the C train to Lafayette? what if we’d never met? what if i’d only just done what you told me and never looked back? why’d i leave it like that? / isn’t it a little too late for this? / have i become one of your problems? do you think you can carry me over this threshold? you won’t walk away won’t you? you don’t walk away don’t you? / darling can you tie my string? / how does it feel to feel like you? / do you care if i stayed? / could she run forever? / hey, where the hell are you? won’t you come here and stay with me? why did you listen to that man? / what does it mean when your arms fall asleep? how do you get rid of hornets? when did they say we should turn back the clocks? why do they always say everything’s for the best when everybody knows it’s not? / will someone review my salary please? / how can we keep on covering? / didn’t anybody tell you how to gracefully disappear in a room? didn’t anybody tell you this river’s full of lost sharks?

how am i supposed to know? what am i supposed to say? they say love is a virtue, don’t they? what did Harvard teach you? how can anybody know how they got to be this way? / is it weird to be back in the south? / so where did you go? and do you now know how to be happy? / is there a powder to erase this? is it dissolvable and tasteless? / you’re fireproof, how’d you get so far? / can you make me a man? / am i the one you think about when you’re sitting in your fainting chair drinking pink rabbits? / oh where are all the moments we had? where’s the brain we shared? what happened to the wavelength we were on? where’s the gravity gone? how’d i feel about it? / what was the worried thing you said to me? everything is different, why do i feel the same? is this how this whole thing’s gonna end? / can’t you write it on a wall? can you turn the TV down? / what are we going through, you and me? what is it you want me to be learning? / what makes you think i’m enjoying being led to the flood? / why won’t you leave me quicker? / when they ask, what do i see? / what am i doing watching clocks? what am i doing wandering halls? / how long have we been here? am i ever coming down? who do i think i’m kidding? / light from the stars won’t really reach anything, will it? why don’t you let me lay here and listen to the distant sirens? you don’t know how much i love you, do you? what was it you always said? is this how i lose it? everything at once, carried to space by a dolphin balloon? if i said i was sorry for always being underwater, would you stay? do you hear me? what was it, the story you told me? why am i so hard to be around? / don’t you think i look pretty anymore? / what about the glass dandelions? what about the tv screen? what about the last of the good ones? what if we moved back to new york? what about the rainbow eucalyptus? whag about the moon drop lights? what if i reinvented again? what about the mountain valley spring? what about the ornaments? / and how is the water of the rain? and how is the air of the wind? and how are the arms of your mother? / how completely high was i? / can i get a minute of not being nervous? / can’t you see that it makes it so much worse? would your life be so bad if you knew every single thought i had? / did you clean yourself for me last night? did you dress me down and liquor me up? do you feel alone when i’m in my head? do you still feel clean? how can you blame yourself? why did you dress me down?

every question by the national

[writingsofwesteros]

Aegon was walking boringly through the Red Keep's halls. His half-sister's family had come to visit the King and so his mother had been more anxious than ever about impecabble behaviour. Surprising enough, she barely payed attention to Rhaenyra when she arrived, focusing more in greeting her children and leading them all inside the palace. As soon as they were all settled, she seemed to dissapear from court and wandered to other places, not like Aegon cared. He just wanted something to pull him out of his boredom, but this time his whore couldn't do and he ended up returning sooner than usual.

He stopped dead on his tracks when he heard some familiar sounds coming from Rhaenyra's wing, where all the family slept. Bed creakings, something hitting the wall repeteadly and hushed voices. Already feeling his pants tighten at the picture, he followed the sounds hoping to get a good view to relieve himself. He found out it came from his half-sister's chambers, which shouldn't have been surprising...if the Princess wasn't currently visiting her father and so nowhere near her chambers.

The closer he got, the clearer the sounds got. Whimpers, grunts, begging and moans. The creaking of the bed was louder and it was a shock they haven't opened a hole int he wall. Aegon placed his ear against the door, already sneaking a hand around his hard dick.

"Oh gods, yes. Am I hitting it right, my love?"

"Fuck! yes Dae. Right there, please don't stop!"

He accidentaly pushed the door open, not noticing it wasn't locked, and what he saw made him freeze in shock and arousal at the same time.

There, in the sheets that were supposedly for Rhaenyra, were non other than her husband and her daughter. Both glued to each other, sweaty bodies colliding in a hungry, desesperate rythym like rabbits in heat. Daemon was riding her from the back, grooping her delicious breasts and licking her neck, whispering obscenities to her. Aemma was laying completely on the sheets, fists clenching them and hiding her face in the pillows, ocasionally arching her back with a wanton moan and urging Daemon to go faster, harder. Aegon watched the exact moment when Daemon came, his big body twitching over Aemma's while the girl bite a pillow to supress a scream. But they didn't stop. Aemma gracefully changed positions and placed herself on top of him as she began to jump on his cock, cum still dripping from her legs. Her hand scratches his chest while his hands grabbed her by the hips.

Aegon couldn't remember when he started to stroke himself, but something shifted when Daemon sat up, surrounding Aemma's torso with his muscular arms, and the both of them started to messily make out while her movements quickened, showing that their hunger haven't been placated yet. Between the sounds of their tongues fighting for dominance and the wet sounds of her cunt, Aegon came hard on his hand, biting his tongue to not be discovered. He stood there, breathing heavily against a wall, when he heard Aemma letting out a rather loud groan as Daemon chuckled.

"That's it, my sweet girl. Cum all over my cock, just like that"

"D-Daemon, I-Oh gods!"

She let her head fall back, exposing her neck for Daemon's eager mouth. He squeezed her against him as she trembled on his hold, her arms hugging his shoulders tightly. They gently layed down back on the bed, with Daemon still hugging her as their breathings went back to normal. Last thing Aegon heard before sprinting was them making out again.

Feel free to continue it ;)

HOT HOT HOT! I have no words and Aegon is so disgusting and I love it

Aegon begins to sneak closer to their chambers again and again; hoping for another glimpse..and he does..not realising they know he is there.

Aegon probably ends up seeing Jace and Alicent together as well; but that's for another time.

If they don't notice he's there; Aegon just watches; palming himself and even goes to the street of silk for both a man and a woman..so similar to Daemon and Aemma

[itsmeelenoryayy]

This is kind if a rant post but i just have to get this off my chest what ive seen in the creepypasta/marble hornets fandom is how much some people write Tim/masky as like this very toxic and rude person who just dosent gives a shit about anyone and thats where you can really see who acually watched marble hornets and who didn't i get it not some people acually have the time the watch the whole thing but hey am here to help with that and talk about his caracter a bit

So Tim basicly grew up in a mental hospital and took medication for a long time he had seizures hallucinations and just really bad stuff honesly and hes been tormented by the Operator from a very young age and the hospital he was staying at as a kid burnt down but he goes back to the place pretty offen (he even haves a panic attack and halucinates that the Operator is there wich was honesly way too realistic and scary) he and Brian are frends but Masky and Hoobie are NOT frends Hoobie does everything in his powers to work aginst the Operator and aginst Tim, Hoobie even takes away Tims medication once and we can see him having a seizure (wich was also very scary pls give this man a break)

Now that we kinda got his backstory out of the way lets talk about his personality he comes off as very rude and sassy to people at first and he just seems to hate when people try to get closer to him wich let me tell you something thats a trauma respons my dear people who ware treated badly and got blamed for everything in ther childhood offen push people away in order not to hurt them since Tim blames himself for everything that hapened to Alex Brian and Jay (wich something i do not belive to be true) hes like those people who would rather have you hate him then be disapointed in him but if you somehow manage to spend more time with him you can kinda see how caring he can be its hard to see it but i still see it in him he cares very deeply for the people he loves (he literally give half of the pills he had to Jay when thats basicly what keeps Tim alive and away from a possible seizure) even tho he pushes everyone away he hates begin alone and on his own but i think if you know him enough he will finaly show his true caring self even if he lets somebody get somewhat close to himself he does some things that he wievs as "the best for them" but ends up accidentaly hurting people while trying to protect them he also smokes i forgot to say that

Now for the caracter of Masky we don't acually know much about him we never acually hear anyone calling him Masky in mh i don't know if the creators said it or its a fandom thing hes very agressive but still somewhat smart and hes not on anyones side but dosent nececarrly works aginst the Operator hes very agressive and we never acually hear him talk i like that headcannon that Hoobie is selectively mute and i think that Masky isint hes just an asshole and sees no reason to speak

Also a random fun fact about his caracter he can play the fucking banjo and he haves something what Alex calls "the music room" wich is just a room with instruments pluss one of the creators said that all of them have myspace account wich is super cool i would wanna see what Tims Myspace account looks like

Yeah thats it let me know if i sould add anything also there is this creator rabbit or rib who i think portraits him very well go check her content out shes very awsomesauce i hope that helped byeee