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#also i m bad at captions lol
killjo-q · 8 months
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trying something…
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The Bad Batch 3.1 ‘Confined’ Recap
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Image from this post by @isthereanechoinhere96
Fuck you for starting with that line
Why are the captions in a serif font?
Going heavy on the theme of freedom for the clones already in the recap. Foreshadowing?
Rex!
CODY
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Meme by u/No-Needleworker5295 on Reddit
Ah fuck here we go again
Why must I be made to relive this?
Damn the music is really hitting hard and it’s only the recap
Spoilers for Season 3 below!
Mayday! *sobs*
Oh great, it’s fuck face again
Hemlock being a bastard as per usual
Poor Omega
“Prisoner? Omega, you are no such thing.” Said to the child kept in a cage.
Still not trusting and heavily side eyeing Emerie
Why do they let Omega carry around a little lunchbox? That seems like an obvious security risk. As does the cell with a window, even if it has a heavy grate on it.
LMAO Crosshair looks the saddest, wettest, most bedraggled little meow meow in existence
Who are those other clones??? I must know
Why are they taking blood samples from the top of the hand? That seems like the least useful place to take it from
“All of us serve a purpose here” Big oof
The shots and framing are making it pretty clear that the blood, and Omega's blood in particular, is important
So many commandos with the glowing visors
Oh, it’s a door scanner. I thought Omega was sitting in a cell in that shot in the trailer
Nala Se (derogatory)
Lmao that wasn’t even subtle. She just destroyed Omega’s blood sample without even hiding what she was doing
“This research, it’s not like what we did on Kamino, is it?” Pretty sure what you did on Kamino was just as horrific. Though you can’t really blame Omega for that seeing as she’s a literal child who was also probably experimented on
M-count. That’s midi-chlorians isn’t it. Lol they aren’t even being subtle about this. Force sensitive clones ahoy!
“Experiments on the specimens” Jesus H Christ
Vault? That doesn’t bode well
Everything about this episode is very eerie and sinister
Ok that is an excessive, overkill amount of security. Who the fuck is in there?
And straight into electrocuting space dogs. Great.
I knew the lunchbox was for hiding something!
Batcher? Aw, she named them after the Bad Batch
Yes, stick your arm into the cage with the aggressive space dog. That’s a good idea
Nuggies???
He was shivering T_T
Who are all of these clones??? I keep pausing the video and zooming in but I can’t see any identifying characteristics on any of them yet. 
And there he is
Oh fuck Crosshair’s hand is shaking. I know most people have probably watched the clip of this already but I deliberately didn’t. Shaking hands for a sniper is Not Good. That’s his right hand too, so presumably his trigger hand/finger/whatever it’s called? Is this a physical injury inflicted on him by their experiments or PTSD or both?
I’m intrigued at how much relative freedom they’re giving Omega. She’s not being kept in a cell all the time like the other clones. Though I suppose this is part of their plan to make Nala Se cooperate.
Ok the tap dripping in Omega’s cell is definitely a visual metaphor for how repetitive, dreary, and isolating this all is
That’s 21 tally marks
Oh, she made a straw Lula. Ow
[shrieking in distance] – what shrieking? Captions, what are you going on about?
Oh fuck that’s a lot of tally marks. And a hair change. Lots of time has clearly passed. They’ve updated Omega’s model too but I think it’s a tad heavy handed as she hasn’t aged that much.
Wow, she didn’t even look at Crosshair. Is this attitude change Omega being ground down by what’s happening to her or something she’s doing deliberately to try and play along and be more cooperative so she can find out about more stuff? Also, that’s the second time she’s walked past Crosshair in the same spot at the same time of the day. That seems deliberate. 
Lol could you be any more obvious with the lighting in that shot that Omega’s blood is important? It’s like the vial of her blood has a moody spotlight on it. Important plot point here!
Nooooo Batcher’s hurt 😭
Bacta sponge?
“If I get the chance to escape, I wouldn’t think twice about leaving you behind.” Hmmm, you keep telling yourself that Crosshair
“I’m not them.” T_T
“Don’t risk anything for me. I belong in here.” Oooooooooowwwwwwwww
“None of us belong in here.” Damn right
There is some really lovely cinematography and framing in this scene between Omega and Crosshair
Well that was brutal and heavy handed
A successful transfer? A successful transfer of what?
The “specimen” has a high M-count. So they’re force sensitive. Now for the speculation on who it is?
“You should not question my loyalty to science, Doctor.” LMAO bitch what?
Urgh, of course they’re killing the dog once it’s friendly
Ahahaha squished
Aw, she’s setting Batcher free but she doesn’t want to go. 
“I didn’t know you were so cruel, Omega.” Oh fuck right off
Piss weak attempt to help there Emerie
Hemlock getting his evil baddie laugh moment
Clever. Omega knows why she’s here.
Urgh, of course Hemlock would threaten Crosshair to get Omega to cooperate.
Re-education?!?!?! You sick fuck
“Actions always have consequences. Sometimes not in the ways we imagine.” I am really hoping that line comes back to bite him in the ass later on
Oh fuck off with bring back the doll Emerie. That is such a bait to try and get Omega to like her and behave
That’s 164 tally marks. Omega’s been on Mount Tantiss for 5 and a half months
Aw, Batcher made it out. And that’s the crashed shuttle from earlier that she’s howling on the top of. More foreshadowing?
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essaysbyciara · 1 year
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You Are You | Erik "Killmonger" Stevens x Reader ['You Ain't Her', Part III]
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YOU AIN'T HER | HE AIN'T HIM
Warnings: language, lightweight mentions of sexual situations (smut thoughts)
peace and love. - Ci
One heart, now two. Make it three, double it to six. Do we get to seven? Yes, when you post a new selfie on your stories. Erik’s been doing this since you ghosted him: liking stories back-to-back-to-back-to-infinity in hopes that you would respond. Well, that’s what you’ve been telling yourself in order to explain his behavior since you don’t want to disrupt your peace to ask him. 
The last time you spoke to him was when he asked for you new number. You didn’t want for him to have it but he asked. You didn’t want to be rude. Really you didn’t want to finally close the book on a story that should’ve ended three years ago when you said “goodbye” via SMS. It took you a week to finally let him know that dating him was a mistake. He wasn’t a mistake but choosing to go on this journey with him was a severe misjudgment. He wasn’t a bad person, it was just bad timing. Everything is bad timing when it comes to love, that’s how it feels. He was just the latest man to face eviction from your heart. He wasn’t living there for long but the roots of his adoration for you dug into your soul. 
You done talking to me? Lol
Yes. 
You no longer want to play escape house with a man that has everything he needs at home. Nosiness and a best friend that needed the tea led you to finding his beau’s Instagram. Her last four posts were of him. Her captions were of loving him. This was the man she was going to have children with, build a future with. This is the man that she wanted the entire world to know was loving on her. You wouldn’t have known she even existed if you went over to this side of the internet. 
But that’s a choice. Maybe he didn’t want people in his business. Maybe you didn’t want him checking his business. You’ve been. Every night possessed by jealousy pushed you to look at their pictures and seethe. The revenge plot came together: You’d tell her about the dinners and the rides home. You’d tell her about the times he tried to ignite a tickling session in the car before you went inside. She needed to know about the time he waxed lustfully over the time he made you touch heaven inside of his kitchen. “You stick out your tongue when you c*m, you know that?” You thought he felt bad about crossing a line. You guess he can harbor good feelings about bad things. 
All the heart-eye emojis in the messages. The texts where he told you that his barber moved across town so he wouldn’t be able to do your “Wednesday thing.” This is a relief but also perfect timing. You aren’t strong enough to walk away, so he’s doing it for you. Even when you did the first time but yet came back. 
There’s no coming back for this relationship. It would say a lot about you and what you’re willing to put up with. He can’t still be your friend when he craves to still be your lover, carrying around a dream that he hopes you’d cross the line to fulfill. Even when he told you that you were just that, a friend. Bullshit stinks. 
Did I do something to you, [Y/N]? 
You contemplate whether or not you want to tell him. You could read him the riot act. Call him out for playing his girl and also using you as a toy. You could bow out with grace. The Creator will handle it. You are no longer the judge, jury or executioner in his trial of a relationship. You could tell him how you feel -- felt -- sitting in him in a diner, cosplaying as his girlfriend.
tbh Erik, I need a break from this thing. I realize that I was starting to develop feelings for you again and I didn't think it would be right to still kick it with you since you have a girl. So I need a second to figure out if I was mad that you kept cancelling on me was because I liked you again.
These are the words that escaped you as you sat in the passenger seat of his car. Seeing him dismiss his girlfriend's calls pissed you off She didn't deserve that.
we're friends tho, right? my situation shouldn't affect our friendship.
It does. Erik's right hand between your thighs wasn't platonic. Erik telling you that he is happy to see you after you know he watched you walk up your steps and into your house wasn't platonic. Him complaining about how she won't let him choke her in bed or that she's too vanilla for him. You shouldn't know about these things.
I get you that I'm only in control of how I feel but I'm tired of feeling like shit.
I guess. I'm sorry if I made you feel bad. Don't.
I'm sorry that I couldn't just tell you that.
You're good. To be real, I never stopped feeling you even after what happened. I get why you backed out. I know your celibacy is important to you and even though I said I was cool with it, I wasn't. You knew I wasn't and tried to give me an out but I didn't want to take it because I really liked you.
I know, E. We dealt with that. Just that when you brought it up that one time, it made me feel a way. Especially since you have a girl. Like, that wasn't a conversation for us to have lol
True. That's my bad. I won't bring it up again. Lesson learned.
There won't be another again for Erik to tell you.
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respiteresponse · 10 months
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I love how you draw faces in your art style. This might sound weird and I don’t really know if I said this right but I hope you get the message. Also your art descriptions (? Titles?) always go so hard. Like ‘I let the stitches do the talking for the most part’? Perfection. It kinda sounds like something from a song (is it? Lol) also the ‘I think I like it when you despise me’ piece paired with that line specifically makes my crazyisms go wild. You know how you read a lyric without listening to the song and your brain reads it in a made up melody? That’s what your titles are kinda like to me.
wow thank you o m g . . ! ! ! ! ! i feel like i suck sooo bad at faces but i think keeping it simple works best for me so i really am happy to hear that you like how i draw them :, DDD ! ! ! ! and THANK U AGAIN ! ! its a cold day in hell when i dont use song lyrics and titles for my captions haha, my most recent one is from populace in two by from first to last, i love that song a lot and it felt really fitting for those two 😖 but really thank you thank you for such a kind message it really does make my day to hear all this so thank you :, )))) ! ! ! ! u have a wonderful day❣️❣️
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parkersharthook · 3 years
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We’ve Only Just Begun
Peter Parker x reader
Warnings: bad words, crack fluff
2.5k+ words
Reference TikToks: kiss my best friend challenge & rich best friend check
series masterlist
~.~
“Peter I’m bored.”
“Hi bored, I’m Peter.” Peter looked to you with a small smirk
“I know, I did just address you. Also, never say that joke to me every again if you wanna keep dating.”
“ooh, harsh crowd.” Peter laughed.
“babyyyy I’m bored. It’s summer vacation, I should not be this bored.”
“y/n, you’re distracting my intern.” Your dad snipped quickly, elbows deep into some kind of machinery. You weren’t really sure what they were working, having gotten very uninterested once they started. “He’s helping me right now; do you want me to lose an arm?”
You rolled your eyes and spun around in the chair, “dad you always take him.”
“hey, you get him every day during the school year. Summer is my time.”
Peter looked between the father and daughter with a brow raised, “are you two seriously fighting over me right now?”
“well I wouldn’t have to fight over my boyfriend with my dad if Harley was here right now. That selfish idiot left and now you’re the only wonder boy to entertain my dad.”
Tony scoffed and held out his hand, wordlessly asking Peter for some tool. Peter handed it over immediately before turning his head back, “where did Harley go?”
“I don’t know, he just said he was leaving and walked out.”
“maybe he’s got a hot date.”
You huffed and slouched in the seat, narrowing your eyes at Peter. “makes one of us.”
Tony laughed and twisted slightly to give you a wink, “sorry honey but that was the deal. I let your boyfriend stay here if he helps me out.”
You rolled your eyes so hard Peter was concerned you’d see your brain, “oh puh-lease, you wanted Peter here just as much as I did. Either for Spidey stuff or normal nerd stuff, you’re just using this as an excuse.”
“fine but at least I’m not complaining about him sneaking into your room every night.” Peter sputtered, his face going instantly red and almost dropping whatever mechanic was in his hand.
“oh Mr. stark, i- we don’t- it’s not-“
“relax kid, if I was going to crucify you I’d have already done it.” Tony spun to face you, “now can you please go bother someone else. If you really want to spend time with Peter you’ll let us finish this.”
You huffed and left the lab as Peter blew you a quick kiss causing you flip him off jokingly. This is not what you wanted when you wished for your boyfriend to get along with your dad.
--
It had been a few hours and you were still bored. You had promptly gone to your room after leaving the lab and gone on tiktok, you’re absolute favorite way to waste time but now you were bored again. And you missed Peter, especially after a stupid trend kept popping up on your fyp of people kissing their “best friends” making you realize you weren’t kissing your very kissable boyfriend right now.
As if he could read your thoughts, Peter waltzed into your bedroom and immediately shucked his shirt off to wipe his face and hands.
“well hello to you too stud.” You said, biting your lip and very obviously ogling his toned body.
Peter laughed as he threw his oil stained shirt into the hamper and went to grab another from the dresser. You pouted, “why are you putting a new one on? You look fine without it.”
“because it’s the middle of the day and anyone could come looking for us and I am not about to be killed by any of the avengers because I’m corrupting their ‘little princess’”. Peter said as he put the new shirt on and flopped next to you, his chin now resting on his hand as he looked up at you.
“ugh they need to get over themselves and realize that we’re adults who’ve been dating for three years and basically already live together.”
Peter shrugged, his empty hand rubbing against your bare leg casually. “you’re always going to be the little girl they watched grow up.” He laughed at your pout and squeezed your thigh, “what have you been up to? Cured your boredom?”
“No.” you huffed, “just been scrolling on tiktok. Kinda want to start making them, could be fun.”
“what would you make?”
You shrugged, immediately struck with a great idea. “I don’t know whatever the trends on. I’m gonna put the tv on, don’t move.”
You shimmied out of bed, setting your phone up as discreetly as possible and turning on your tv. You started the video and moved back to the bed. You knew the trend was to kiss a best friend but you thought it would still be fun with Peter, plus you are best friends… you’re just also already dating. So not cheating, just a loophole.
Peter was still on his stomach, hand supporting his face, as he scrolled aimlessly through Instagram. And with you sitting against your headboard, it looked friendly enough. You waited for the right time before sliding down so you were laying next to him, practically under him. He looked up at you and smiled and for a second you were worried that he was gonna go ahead and kiss you but luckily he waited just long enough where you could initiate it in time with the song. You surged forward, hand immediately coming to weave into his curls to pull him closer.
Peter was obviously not expecting you to kiss him so aggressively so he fell slightly before catching himself on one arm that was now positioned next to your head, the other going to hold your hip. Now you really were under him.
You got lost in kissing him for a few moments when you realized the video was probably done and detached your lips. You giggled as Peter chased your lips, eyes still mostly closed. You slid out from beneath him and walked over to your phone.
“wha- where are you going?” Peter pouted, running his hands through his messy curls. You bit your thumb nail slightly as you rewatched the video, it was cute. “did you take a video of that?”
You nodded and showed him, watching a goofy smile stretch onto his face as he looked up at you, “so when you said you were gonna start filming TikToks you meant immediately.”
You shrugged and sat next to him, “no but the opportunity presented itself.”
You quickly captioned the video ‘sooo I kissed my bsf’ and tagged Peter’s account before posting it and throwing your phone to the side.
Peter kissed your bare shoulder, “is this gonna become a regular thing?”
You giggled and shrugged, “I don’t know. Guess you’ll have to wait and see.” Peter groaned, grabbing you around the middle and falling back onto the bed, pulling you down with him.
--
It was a few days later when you opened tiktok again, surprised to see your video had racked up 600 thousand likes and over 5 million views. You were surprised to see that it had gone semi-viral and yet no one recognized you. Not that you had your legal name in your username and you definitely weren’t as famous as your dad and family, but you weren’t hidden away either. Honestly though, this was kinda nice to just be another twenty-one year old on tiktok, posting stupid videos for fun.
You went to the comments immediately to see what people were saying and laughed at some of the funnier ones. You noticed that even MJ had commented.
Usera: aw so cute *blocked*
Userb: ms girl… he’s been waiting for this
Userc: no way best friends kiss like that
everythingbagel: “bsf” yeah fucking right y/n
⇲ begginstrips: hehe love you mj
You went back to your fyp and scrolled through a bit before you ran into stassie baby’s video of her showing off Kylie’s car collection with the audio saying, ‘rich best friend check’. You quickly sent the video to Peter, who was currently at lunch with Harry and Ned.
y/n: wanna do this when you get back?
Peter: lol sure seems funny
it was a few more hours before Peter got back to the compound, him easily finding you curled into the couch watching How To Train Your Dragons. You smiled as he dropped a kiss to your forehead, “this movie again?”
“it’s one of the best movies ever made,” you sassed back, “so yes, this movie again.”
He leaned down over the back of the couch smiling into your face before giving you another quick succession of kisses. “wanna film that tiktok?”
You checked the time before nodded, languidly stretching your body and standing up. “where should we start it?”
And that’s how Wanda found you and Peter at 3 am, videoing rando fancy stuff around the compound, you strutting and swaying your hips dramatically. Wanda followed Peter around, who was filming, laughing at your antics and giving you tips on what to include. The three of you got so loud, that Tony eventually woke up to investigate what the three of you were up to… as it was usually not great.
“are you sure we can film this? I don’t reveal any state secrets.” Peter whispered not so well.
“what state secrets are we revealing?” you whirled around to see your father, one brow raised and a hip cocked to the side.
“good entrance, very dramatic dad.” You said with a laugh, “and there aren’t any state secrets being revealed.”
“what are you filming?”
“A tiktok.”
Tony rolled his eyes, “I’m not even gonna pretend to know what that is. Anyways go to bed, you guys are being loud.”
“yeah, yeah. We’re just finishing up.” You watched your dad walked away before turning back to Peter and Wanda, “let’s go film in front of one of his suits.”
--
Peter had posted the photo to his account and captioned it: “@begginstrips is my sugar momma ;)” before promptly throwing his phone to the floor and passing out next to you in bed.
It was 10 in the morning – which was far too early as you and Peter had only fallen asleep at 4 am – when MJ started calling you and didn’t stop until you literally rolled out of bed onto the floor to pick up.
“what the fuck m? it is too fucking early.”
“you’re all over the news.”
You paled, “what?” Everything you ever did wrong very quickly flashed through your eyes, your mind scrambling to remember what was caught on camera.
“yeah your tiktok went viral. People are freaking out.” You sagged in relief.
“Jesus mj you can’t just say that shit for it to be tiktok.” A pause, “wait which tiktok?”
“the one Peter posted of his ‘rich best friend’ and you walking around the compound.”
You let out a quick laugh, “oh ok. That’s not that bad.”
“also can we talk about this whole best friend schtick you and Peter have going on tiktok? What the fuck?”
You chuckled slightly before crawling back into bed, your heart now beating at a normal pace. “the first one was just a trend so I lied to follow it and then it was just the sound. Also he is my best friend, he’s just also my boyfriend.”
MJ scoffed, “rude. I’m your best friend.”
“right, right. Sorry.” Peter grumbled slightly as he buried his head into your hip. You gently carded your fingers through his curls, “do you know why it’s all over the news?”
“apparently people didn’t know you existed? I don’t know, just thought that you might want a warning in case your dad got angry.”
“well I appreciate it, regardless of the fact that you basically gave me a heart attack and woke me up at butt fuck.”
“it’s 10 am, get over yourself and have a cup of coffee. Anyways, lunch tomorrow?”
You yawned, “sure sounds good. Wanna invite betty?”
“she’s still in Hawaii with her family, they’re coming back this weekend.”
“right, ok. Let me know what time you wanna go.”
“will do. Love you bitch.”
You smiled into the phone and yawned again, “love you bitch.” You hung up and tossed your phone to the floor, rubbing your eyes harshly.
Peter barely opened his eyes as he looked up at you, “what was that about?”
“apparently we’re famous.” You replied as you reached over his body to grab his phone.
Peter snuggled deeper into your body, wrapping his arms around your leg and laying his head in your lap. You rested against the headboard, one hand still playing with his curls and one now scrolling to Peter’s tiktok.
You blanched as you saw the video had gotten over 6 million likes and 45 million views overnight. And according to the comments, people were very confused.
User1: ummm is that the avengers compound or am I tripping?
User2: so we’re all just finding out tony stark has a child rn?
User3: mmmm something don’t add up here?
You sighed as turned the phone off, rubbing your eyes again. A headache was quickly setting in. You leaned down to press a chaste kiss to Peter’s cheek before slowly working your way out of his grasp.
He whined, “baby where are you going? It’s early.”
“I have to go talk to my dad about this but you keep sleeping babe.”
He rolled over to face you as you walked towards your closet. “are you sure? I can come with you.”
“no, it’s ok baby. I really don’t think it’ll be a big deal.”
--
It was slightly a bigger deal than you realized. Pepper was now talking you through ‘making sure SI had a good image on social media’ while your dad smirked in a corner.
Pepper stroked your arm, “this isn’t bad press or anything. You’ll just have to be careful going into the future. And you know that with being a Stark, you’re gonna have a lot of eyes on you and probably a lot of criticism.” She sighed, “we’ve done a good job shielding you from the press for this long but it might be a lot.”
You smiled at her softly. Pepper really had always been like a mom to you and now that her and your dad were officially married, it was even more true. “Yeah I know. I’m honestly not too worried.” You turned to your dad, “did you know people didn’t know I existed?”
Tony shrugged, “Doesn’t surprise me. I have almost every record of you sealed from the public for your safety and you never were one for the spotlight.” He walked over and dropped a kiss onto your forehead, “never show my suits on your clock app again.”
You rolled your eyes and stuck your tongue out at him, “for someone who owns a company based on new and cutting edge technology, you sure are out of touch.”
He gasped, a hand pressed to his heart. “how dare you, my own daughter.”
Pepper laughed softly, “she’s not wrong. Anyways, post whatever you want to your personal account. You’re an adult, so we trust you just be careful. I don’t want to see you getting hurt.”
You kissed her cheek before standing and stretching out your back. “don’t worry, I already have a plan for my next video.”
“god help us.” Tony muttered.
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ranty-ramblestein · 3 years
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(captions~) Sep 20th: I caught Mint accidentally corner a Tiger Beetle in the entrance of the ReSe Building while sweeping, and then... befriend it?  It reminds me of that one villager dialogue about giant insect roommates, lol. At least of the villagers like observing bugs like I do!
I also saw that the weeds had grown a lot more in the Fairy Circle, spotted a sick Cyd, and caught Del and Tucker waving to each other!  Del was over by the bamboo just a few seconds before that, so he must’ve booked it through the orange orchard to see his boyfriend, which is adorable??
Sep 21st: It was raining on this meme day... Mint wrote me about failing to catch a bug, which gave me Pokegear call vibes, lol.  I wonder if she was talking about her Tiger Beetle Friend?
Oh, and it felt like the right time to renew the look of the house!  I went for white and green focus this time!  + The door color matches the parts of the frame under the roof and the window details~
Sep 22nd: The new house look is up, so I changed up the doorplate, then I found Cyd talking about sinuses, which, uh, that sounds really bad.  I can’t imagine what a sneeze with long nostrils like that would feel like...
I also gave Raymond another cat tower, lol.  Wear your viking top!! Stop losing stuff, Ken!!
And, uhh, I’ll try putting the captions under read more, ig?  You could always Ctrl+U the page for them, but that could get annoying... Wish I knew how to fix that weird anti-photo-zoom bug in this theme...
EDIT: Uhh, apparently if you just click on a photo before the page fully loads, it’ll still do the zoom-in thing where you can read captions?  Still, that’s suuuper annoying!
pic 1: "Made a friend, Mint?" Croissant asked, walking up slowly to the squirrel. "Yeah, aren't they so neat, climbing the stairs?" Mint smiled. C:"It kinda looks like you cornered them, actually." M:"Oh no"
(Hmm, should I allow more spaces if I keep doing captions like this?  Like a space after “C:” and “M:”?)
pic 2: "Oh, the weeds are way bigger, now!" Croissant gasped, poking at the tall stalks that had formed.
pic 3: I saw that he was in and was like 'Is he sick?', and, uh... he was.
pic 4: Man, Del was by the Bamboo when I was chopping the money tree, then I came down here and he had booked it over to Tucker!  He wanted to see his boyfriend, aww~
pic 6: ...I feel like this is about her Tiger Beetle friend?
pic 7: It felt like it was time to change up the house!
pic 8: New house look means new doorplate!  (It took a while before I realized the rain outfit wasn't need anymore, lol.)
pic 9: Oof, I bet elephants sneezing hurts way more that humans sneezing... Cats with their small nostrils are probably worse off, tho.
pic 10: Speaking of cats, I ordered Raymond another cat tower, and found him hanging out with Apple again!
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toddtakefive · 4 years
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Can I Have a Ride Home? I’m at a Party and I Don’t Know Any1
fandom(s): Gravity Falls, Over The Garden Wall
pairing(s): Pinescone , Mabcifica (mentioned)
words: 5314
rating: M (reasons listed in trigger warnings + swearing)
work type: One-shot , AU
tw(s): homophobia , use of slurs , violence and references to past violence
Also on AO3!!
Wirt wasn’t entirely sure how Sara had managed to drag him along with her to Senior Prom, hell he wasn’t even sure how she had managed to get a suit for him when he’d refused to go in for a fitting, but now he was standing in a crowded gym full of high-schoolers and he already wanted to leave. In his defense, they’d already been there an hour and that was an hour longer than he was at most parties.
If he was going to be completely honest, the party wasn’t that bad. Sure the music would cut off whenever there was a swear - everyone would still sing it anyways -, and sure the punch tasted weird, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad party as most parties go. The reason it was a bad party is because it was a party full of nothing but high-schoolers, and high-schoolers are scary. At least to Wirt.
He lost Sara twenty minutes ago -he’s honestly starting to think she’s underneath the bleachers flirting with the girl from her Chem class- and he’s getting bored so he pulls out his phone and starts typing a quick text to Dipper.
‘Bored. Wish you were here :/’.
The reply is immediate, 
‘Lol r u a postcard??’ ‘Wish I wre ther too <3 drving rigt now txt you lter′. 
The next text he receives is a picture taken by the person in the passenger seat, likely Mabel, with a peace sign while Dipper attempts to get his phone back without taking his eyes off the road. The caption for the photo is ‘road safety laws are bogus B)’. He laughs to himself. Yup, definitely Mabel.
He looks up at the sound of steps approaching, expecting it to be Sara but instead seeing evil incarnate. He takes in a deep breath before plastering on a fake smile.
“Hello, Trevor.” he says. 
Trevor Martin. No offense to the British actor Trevor Martin, of course, but Wirt fucking hates this guy. He’s book smart, Wirt’ll give him that, but that’s his only redeeming quality. Not only is he a totally fuckwad, but he has the audacity to say he’s not and try to date Sara, a very loud and proud lesbian. Like, dude, at least Jason Funderberker had the decency to back off when she came out. Plus, never trust a guy with a first name for a last name.
Trevor, wearing his slimy little smirk like he always does, doesn’t even meet Wirt’s eyes. “So, where’s Sara? I figured she’d be with you, you know, since you’re like her fucking boyfriend or whatever.”
Wirt scrunches his nose just slightly, he doesn’t want this situation to escalate more than it has to. “I’ve told you this a thousand times, Trevor. She is not my girlfriend.”
Trevor rolls his eyes, “Sure. You get pissed off that I’m trying to date her because you aren’t her boyfriend. Got it.”
Wirt shakes his head, “I get pissed off that you’re trying to date her because she’s a lesbian. Which is literally common knowledge, by the way.” he throws away his plastic cup and walks out into the hallway. Trevor, being an idiot in everything but school subjects, follows him into the hallway.
“She’s not a lesbian, she’s just saying that to get me to leave her alone.” Trevor explains, causing Wirt to roll his eyes as he walks.
“That’s not how that fucking works, Trevor. Besides, if a girl is literally resorting to faking being a lesbian to get you to leave her alone, maybe you just don’t know how to take a hint.”
He hears Trevor scoff, “Well she’s dating you, so she isn’t a lesbian.”
“She isn’t dating me! And you do know people can be bi, right?”
“If she isn’t dating you then why are you always talking about your relationship in World Civ?”
Wirt, just wanting this idiot to leave him alone already, stops walking abruptly and turns around. Trevor runs into him and falls back a little bit, he has a look on his face that Wirt thinks is his ‘gotcha’ face, but he’s really had enough of the whole ‘Wirt and Sara are dating in secret’ thing when they’re both very out homosexuals.
“Because I have a boyfriend, Trevor.” he deadpans, and sees that smug look fall off of Trevor’s face. God he loves the look of confusion that floods his features, it’s pure poetry.
“What?” Trevor asks, with all of his genius.
“The reason you hear me talking about my relationship -in conversations that didn’t involve you, by the way- is because I have a boyfriend. He lives in California.”
Trevor looks as though his entire world view just got re-shaped. He’s between wanting to believe and wanting to think it’s a prank, but, to Trevor, Wirt isn’t cool enough to pull a prank like this with a straight face.
The long minutes of silence is starting to get awkward, but just as Wirt is about to walk away Trevor speaks up again, “Wait so,” he pauses, “you’re a faggot?”
Wirt tenses immediately. That word. God he hates that word. The first time he heard it was when he came out to his biological dad when he and Dipper started dating back in Sophomore year. It wasn’t a great conversation, and Wirt vividly remembers the bloody nose he got out of it.
“I- uhm. Y-yeah. I- yeah.” Wirt stammers out. Trevor’s entire demeanor changes.
“Wait, what the fuck?” he says, distancing himself from Wirt by a couple inches. This causes Wirt to snap out of whatever funk he was in. He raises an eyebrow.
“Me having a boyfriend isn’t new information, Trevor. You’ve heard me get teased for talking about him before.”
“Yeah, but I thought they were joking! I didn’t think you were actually. You know.” he makes a wild hand gesture in Wirt’s direction.
“Gay?” Wirt asks with a furrowed brow.
“That! That. I didn’t think you were that.” Okay, now Wirt’s getting pissed. Obviously the use of the slur pissed him off, but not even being able to say the word gay? Come on, dude.
“Is there a problem with that?” He asks, crossing his arms. He’s not entirely sure where this newfound courage is coming from, but he can think about it later.
“No it’s just, dude have you been checking me out in the locker rooms and shit this whole time!” Trevor asks, his stance becoming defensive.
Wirt flinches back a bit at the question. “No. Why would I do that?”
“Because you’re.” Another wild hand gesture. Dude, just say the word.
Wirt sighs, “Gay. Right, yeah. We’ve established that. But I don’t go around creeping on the guys in the locker room. That would be fucking weird. And, again, I have a boyfriend, and you also aren’t my type so we’re covering all the bases of ‘I’d never do that’.”
Trevor takes a step forward that causes Wirt to take a step back, “I don’t believe you.” he says, voice lined with anger.
Wirt, quickly realizing he should have just walked away while Trevor was confused, holds his hands up in defense, “Good for you, but I don’t really care.” he glances over Trevor’s shoulder to see if he could make a break for the door. That idea is quickly thrown out the window when Trevor grabs Wirt by the collar. Wirt laughs a bit to himself, “You know, this looks kinda gay.”
Trevor’s hold on the front of his shirt tightens, he brings his hands up higher to make sure he isn’t touching the other boy anywhere, “Okay! Okay, okay, okay! Okay. Look, honestly man, never watched you while you were changing! I don’t think we’ve ever even had a P.E class together, if I’m being honest. And besides, I don’t think watching sweaty teenage boys change is that appealing. Especially not you, cause no offense you’re not really anyone’s type. At least not any gay persons type I mean! I’m sure some girl at the college you attend will think you’re hot, she’ll probably have kinda low standards but a girlfriend’s a girlfriend, right? And she’ll marry you right outta college, and you’ll become a fucking accountant or something else just as soul sucking, and you’ll have two kids, and a dog, and feel free to cut me off whenever you like.”
There’s a crunch and a massive amount of pain that makes Wirt stop talking. His head is spinning faster than a tornado, but he knows the feeling of hitting the school floor well enough to know it happens somewhere within the time he gets punched in the face a second time and kicked in the stomach the first.
He’s not entirely sure how long he’s on the floor, but he does know that when he finally opens his eyes Trevor is standing above him, heaving, staring at his own hands like they’re covered in blood- oh they are. That is blood. That is definitely blood. That’s a lot of blood. Wow.
Wirt pushes himself off of the ground, there’s an ache in every fiber of his being but the floor is cold and dirty and he’d rather not be down there right now. As he rises, slowly, he can see a steady drip of blood coming down from his face. That’s not good.
By the time he’s fully standing, Trevor looks ready to burst. “Wirt! Oh my god, dude. I am so fucking sorry, I didn’t. I don’t know why I. I never. Fuck I didn’t, I just, shit are you fucking okay?” the questions are rapid fire. Wirt’s a little too out of it to be able to tell if they’re genuine or not, and he doesn’t really care if they are at this point. This guy eats paste.
“Trevor.” Wirt finally says, “Shut the fuck up.” his words are slurred, and it’s obvious he’s still scared if the tremor in his voice is anything to go by, but he really just needs it to be quiet right now. To his credit, Trevor does shut up, but he just stands there.
There they are, two guys standing in a hallway, five feet apart cause one just beat the shit out of the other for being gay. Prom night is great. In his delirious state, Wirt can faintly hear ‘Lover Is a Day’ by Cuco playing from the gym. The beats pulse under his feet, and it’s just adding onto the pain right now.
After maybe five minutes, Trevor speaks up again. “Wirt I really am sorry, dude. I don’t know why I did that. I was pissed and you wouldn’t shut up and I didn’t what else to do! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!” Trevor hits the locker to his right with the side of his fist. The sound rings through the otherwise empty hall, and Wirt just stares at the first still on metal.
Wirt runs a hand through his hair, “That’s great and everything, but was the getting on top of me and repeatedly punching me in the nose necessary? Or, you know, any of it? You just fucking committed a hate crime dude, do you even realize that?” he’s talking slowly, his voice is tired and he would rather be anywhere else.
“I know! I know it was! But it honestly didn’t have anything to do with you being,” he pauses, and Wirt is about to finish for him before he continues on his own, “Gay. It didn’t have to do with you being gay, okay. I just. I have like severe anger issues. It’s some fucking long ass name, but the shortened thing is IED. It’s not really something I have any control over, and it’s been a while since I’ve had an episode that bad, and I promise it has nothing to do with you being gay or anything! That fucking chill, man! This stuff literally just happens, I swear on my motherfucking yeezys!” Wirt, who is finally coming back down to Earth and is able to process English language again, raises his brow, “ Okay, I don’t own yeezys, but you know what I mean.” He looks down to the floor, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
Wirt sighs, wiping under his nose with his suit sleeve. It doesn’t help, the blood keeps flowing and now his suit is ruined. Fuck Prom night, dude. “Look, Trevor. If you actually have a genuine mental illness that does that, you get a fucking pass on the beating the shit out of me part.” Trevor flinches at that, “But you’re still kinda homophobic dude.”
Trevor looks up from the ground, “What? How?”
Wirt shrugs, crossing his arms again. “Assuming someone isn’t a lesbian when they say they are is pretty high on the list. Actually, assuming a gay guy is checking people out while they’re changing is also pretty high on the list. Both of the things you said are pretty high on the list, actually.”
This time it’s Trevor who furrows his brow, “But she isn’t a lesbian. I asked her why she thought she was a lesbian a couple weeks ago and she said it’s because she thinks girls are hot and that she wouldn’t mind kissing them, but that’s normal. Like, I know a couple guys in my classes that I wouldn’t mind kissing or like fucking or something and I’m not gay or whatever. Everyone thinks like that.”
Wirt’s mind just fucking imploded on itself. He’s joking. He has to be joking. Oh fuck he is not joking. Oh dear. Wirt cringes to himself, “Oh Jesus.” he whispers, “Trevor, you do know that isn’t a universal thing, right? Like, you know not every guy would be fine with fucking another guy, right?”
“Wait, really?” Trevor asks, his voice quiet. Wirt simply nods and watches as Trevor seems to contemplate his whole existence in front of him. “But I’m not. My mom told me that I couldn’t be gay, I just needed to find the right girl and it would be fine. I don’t like guys like that, I’m not.”
Fuck, why does Wirt have empathy. If he was a dick he could just walk away from this situation and not feel a thing, but he can’t leave this guy in a crisis. Even if he did just beat his ass.
“Trevor, why do you like Sara?”
“She’s funny, and kinda cool, I guess. I just want to hang out with her more, plus my friends kept saying I should go for it, so I figured why not.”
“Dude, you just want to be her fucking friend. That’s, what you want is a friendship. Jesus dude, you don’t even actually like her do you?”
Trevor shrugs, “I don’t know. I mean, she’s cool and everything.”
“Would you kiss her.” Wirt asks.
“What?” 
“Would you kiss Sara. Or any girl for that matter.” He asks again, slower this time.
Trevor rolls his eyes, giving Wirt a look that suggest the answer should be obvious, but when he opens his mouth, no words come out. It stays open for about ten seconds before he frowns. “No I. I wouldn’t” he lets out a dry laugh void of humor. “Holy shit, I fucking wouldn’t. What the fuck.”
Wirt sighs taking a few steps over to Trevor, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Go home, Trevor. You have had more than enough action tonight.” his hand slides off and he turns around to find the nearest bathroom, he about to round a corner when he remembers something and looks over at Trevor, who hasn’t moved an inch, “Try to refrain from using the f-slur before you figure out your whole mess, maybe?” He gives the other boy a quick smile before walking away.
The nearest bathroom is way too fucking far away, in Wirt’s humble opinion. And why are half of the lights off in these hallways? God, he feels like the character about to die in a horror movie. Thankfully, the light switch in the bathroom was easy to find so he isn’t completely in the dark.
He grabs some paper towels and wets them, and then he finally looks in the mirror. Jesus fucking Christ.
Trevor did a number on him, and if it were any other situation that required less brain power he would be kinda impressed. His nose is definitely broken, if the aching and gushing blood are any indicator, he’s got a black eye, a busted lip, bruises across his face and collarbone -and if the amount of times he was kicked in the stomach is as many as it felt, he’s got them there too- and, the cherry on fucking top, his suit jacket ripped a little bit.
His phone buzzes in his pocket as he finishes wiping the blood from his face, but his nose is still bleeding. Pulling his phone out of his back pocket he finds two new messages. One from Sara, saying she scored with the girl from her chem class and that she has a date next Saturday, and one from Dipper saying they’ve finally stopped driving.
Wirt texts Sara back congratulating her on her suaveness that she most definitely didn’t have (see: nearly puked on a cute girl for complimenting her shoes once) before opening up his texts with Dipper and taking a picture in the mirror holding up a peace sign. He masterfully captions the photo: ‘babys first hate crime <3′. 
His phone rings immediately.
He picks up right away, and is greeted with a very frantic, “Where are you?” there’s faint music in the background, they must be at their dance right now.
“Uhm. The bathroom in hallway E, I think. Why?” Wirt asks, throwing away the bloody paper towels.
“We’re on our way.” Is all he gets in response.
“What? You’re in California how are you supposed to. Did he fucking hang up on me?” Wirt pulls his phone away from his ear, “Wow, okay.” He pockets his phone and stares at himself in the mirror for a few seconds. It’s gonna suck having to explain this to anybody, and he knows his mom will go full Godzilla mode on the school board if he tells the truth, but he can’t just out someone. Fuck, man.
The door to the bathroom swings open and two rapid sets of footsteps approach him, he’s almost expecting to be beaten up again until he’s turned around and hugged tightly. His confusion only lasts for a second when his land on Mabel, but then it flares up again because what the fuck that’s Mabel.
He pushes away from the person hugging him and is met with a person he both did and did not expect to see.
“Dipper.” He not shocked that Dipper did actually find hallway E, they broke in last summer to investigate if the place is actually haunted (it is), so he learned the layout pretty well in that instance, but he’s shocked that he’s even in the room. “Wait. Am I concussed? Is this a hallucination?”
“Er, wrong!” Mabel says, pushing Dipper out of the way and hugging Wirt tighter than a strait jacket. He lets out a sound of pain and she lets him go immediately. “Sorry! I forgot you’re like, dying right now.”
“Not dying, per se, but getting there if my nose doesn’t stop bleeding soon. I didn’t even know I had this much blood, if I’m being honest.” Mabel laughs a bit and wow did he miss that sound. He missed them, really. It’s always better when they’re around.
“What happened?” Dipper’s voice finally enters the conversation, and it makes his heart flutter but also reminds him the situation in which they’ve been reunited. Especially if the pissed off tone is anything to go by.
Wirt shrugs, “I got into a fight?”
Dipper gives him a look, “You called it a hate crime, before.”
Wirt laughs, “Yeah, I know. But it wasn’t, technically? I don’t know I’m still having trouble processing the whole ordeal. But I just got into an argument with Trevor, you know who I’m talking about, and he got really mad so he fucking beat the shit out of me and,” Dipper turns to walk out the door but Wirt pulls him back by the arm, “don’t walk away, I’m not done yet. He has a thing called IED, or something? He didn’t know the full medical name for it, but he said it had to do with like uncontrollable anger? Like it just happens or something.”
Dipper nods, “Intermittent Explosive Disorder.”
“Yeah, probably. But he felt really bad after, and I can’t blame him for having something he can’t control, dude. That would be a dick move. But yeah, we talked it out I guess. I think I just made him question the entire universe.”
Dipper sighs, still tense but loosening now, “So you called it a hate crime, because?”
“Well, I mean, okay. At first I thought he did it because I was gay, but from our little conversation we had after, it was definitely not that.” 
Both twins raise eyebrow, “Are you gonna give us any more info, or?” Mabel asks and Wirt just shrugs. Dipper lets out another, deeper sigh. He’s known Wirt long enough to know that little shrug means ‘never in a million years ever’. 
“What are you guys doing here, anyways? I mean, I’m happy you’re here, but I live in Arizona? It’s like an eleven hour drive.”
Dipper shrugs, taking Wirt’s hand. “Guess I missed the ‘Team Roping Capital of the World’.” he teases and Wirt groans.
“Shut up! You know I think that’s stupid as shit.” He says, and as the twins laugh at him he takes a second to admire his boyfriends face. Dipper always laughs freely, and Wirt thinks that’s one of the reasons he fell in love with the younger (”by two days!”) boy at summer camp. His hair isn’t in his usual baseball cap with a pine tree on it, and is styled just the right way to cover his birthmark. He looks happy, if not still tense about the fact that Wirt got his ass beat. An easy smile finds it’s way onto Wirt’s face as Dipper calms down.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here.” Dipper says, leading him towards the door. Mabel follows quickly behind, flicking off the light. She runs ahead of them, twirling around the hallway and nearly falling over herself in the process.
“So, I know Wirt is gonna wanna bounce because he’s covered in human juice.”
“Stop calling blood human juice.”
“Don’t interrupt me, Dipper. But what are we gonna do when we skedaddle out of here?”
Both twins look to the brunette for an answer, he huffs as he tries to think of something. “We could get burgers and shakes at McDonald's? And then head home, probably. Greg’s gonna be super excited to see you guys.”
“Oh! I can’t wait to see him! We’re here for the next four days, by the way, god I can’t wait!” She pushes open the doors to the gym and the music floods over them. Jesus, was it always that loud? How long had Wirt been away from the party?”
“What time is it?” He asks Dipper, trying to ignore all of the strange looks that are being sent his way. He can’t blame them, it looks like he got mauled by a pack of wild dogs.
“It is, nine forty-eight.” The other boy responds, Wirt nods as they exit the gym into the parking lot. Dipper’s car is still as messy as it was the year before, if not more, but Wirt thinks that just adds to the charm.
Sara, who had apparently been in front of the gym the whole night, drops her punch at the sight of Wirt. “Oh my god! Wirt!” she rushes over.
“I’m fine, Sare. Really. It’s all good.” He gives her a smile, but she doesn’t stop giving him a look.
“Trevor did this, didn’t he? You know he came out here like thirty minutes ago fucking covered in blood and looked like he pissed himself when he saw me. So don’t cover for him.”
“I’m not covering for Trevor! There were circumstances that I don’t know if I’m allowed to share.” Wirt says, gesturing wildly with his hands, thankfully Dipper doesn’t seem to mind.
“Wirt, if he’s blackmailing you just tell me. I can fix it!”
“Sare, I appreciate the thought, but this is really something that should be left alone, alright? I might tell you on a different day, but right now it is confidential. No I’m not being blackmailed, if anything the information I got out of him after everything could be considered blackmail, just. Not tonight, okay?” He can tell she doesn’t want to give up but he really can’t explain all of this right now, “Please?”
She sighs, “Alright. Fine. But I expect a detailed report of what happened tomorrow morning.” Wirt nods and it’s then Sara finally notices the twins, “Oh. You found him. Cool, see you guys.” The twins giver he simultaneous ‘later’s’ and she walks back to the girl from her chem class.
Mabel moves to get in the front seat before she’s stopped by Dipper, “Ah ah ah!” he says, gaining her attention. He passes her the keys and she whines but moves to the other side anyways.
“You fucking suck, Dip-stick.”
“Sorry that I want to be able to comfort my boyfriend in the backseat of my own car and can’t do that when I’m driving.” he opens the back door and motions for Wirt to get in, and once they’re all set they drive to the nearest McDonald's.
Ordering food had thus been the easier part of Wirt’s night, but he’s hoping things will start going up from here.
The food sits in the passengers seat in the quiet car before Mabel presses play on the car stereo. Wirt immediately looks up from where his head was buried in Dipper’s shoulder, a smile crossing his face.
“Isn’t this the mixtape I made you?” He turns back to Dipper, absolutely beaming.
Dipper’s face is red, but he nods. “Yeah. I listen to it sometimes.”
“Liar! He listens to it all the fucking time. I have it memorized by now.” Mabel calls from the front. Dipper kicks the back of her seat, “Shut up! At least I don’t have an entire folder dedicated to pictures of him on my phone!”
“My Pacifica picture collection is none of your business! And you have like eight hundred Polaroids on him on your wall, don’t even try that shit with me!” 
Dipper’s rebuttal is cut off when Wirt presses a kiss to his cheek. The younger boy turns and immediately presses their lips together in a kiss. It’s soft because of Wirt’s busted lip, but it’s still incredible. It’s never not incredible when it’s the two of them.
Mabel makes fake barfing noises, causing Dipper to flip her off, causing Wirt to laugh. They pull up to the drive way, walk through the front door, and are immediately greeted by Greg. He rushes into Wirt, giving him a tight hug. Even at ten years old, Greg still has as much energy as he did at six.
“Welcome home, brother o’ mine. How was, whoa what happened to your face?”
Wirt ruffles his little brothers hair, “I got into a fight with a dragon, dude. I won, obviously, but my jacket didn’t make it out alive.”
“I can fix that for you.” Mabel says taking his suit jacket, she’s almost knocked over when Greg charges into her next which makes her laugh. “Hey there, space cowboy. I missed you too!” She pulls him into a tight hug twirling him around the foyer before setting him back down. Dipper gives him a hug as well, just as tight but without all the spinning, and then Greg’s attention is back on Wirt.
“Okay. Why was this dragon mad at you?” He asks. This had become their thing ever since The Unknown. They would talk as if they were still there, or at least like they were in a fantasy world, and explain things to each other that way. Wirt thinks it helps them cope, but it’s probably just a result of being some weird kids.
“Anger issues.” Wirt says. That’s way too simple a phrase for it, and he knows that, but Greg is nine. He can explain it another day, but this is now and it’s ten o’clock.
Greg gives him a goofy grin, “Alright!” he says, skipping into the kitchen. The three teenagers follow him, Dipper once again takes Wirt’s hand.
“What were you doing in here little man?” Dipper asks, noticing that all of the chairs at the edge of the kitchen.
Greg picks up Jason Funderburker, the frog, and smiles again. “Well, Wirt was at his dance, and I wasn’t allowed to go with, so I made my own! Mom and dad are out tonight, too so I can play is as loud as I want!”
Greg being allowed to stay home alone tonight was a big decision. Not because no one trusted him but... okay yeah no one trusted him. Plus, it was dangerous! But, tonight was their mom and Johnathan's ten year anniversary and his mom didn’t want him to miss out on his Senior prom -no matter how much he assured her he could live without having gone- so it was the only option. No one was available to babysit, again prom night, and they couldn’t exactly take their nine year old to a bar. It doesn’t look like anything is on fire or broken yet, so Wirt can say it’s been a success so far.
“Alright then,space cowboy, lets get this party started!” Mabel says as she turns up the music. The song is ‘You Really Got Me’ by The Kinks, how Greg knows this song Wirt has no clue, and it bounces off the walls echoing up the stairs.
Greg does his weird jump step thing that he’s been doing since he could walk. It’s literally just jumping side to side to music, with the occasional dangerously fast spin, but it’s not a bad move. Jason Funderburker looks sick from all of the motion and Greg stops his movement just to let the frog go.
Mabel has always been a crazy dancer, just jumping around, arms flailing, hair going everywhere from her shaking her head. She’s probably going to poke someone’s eye out one of these days, but at least she’s having fun. Or, maybe she’s trying to poke someone’s eye out. Either way, she’s having a good time.
Dipper makes sure his arm movements hit every beat, spinning around for the parts where there are no hard beats to hit but smiling nonetheless. He looks like an idiot, and he knows he looks like an idiot, but what’s the point in being around all of your favorite people if you can’t look like an idiot in front of them?
Wirt, not much a dancer in normal circumstances, is going all out right now. He’s much more graceful than Mabel is being, but other than that they’ve got practically the same vibe. Except that Wirt actually did hit Dipper in the eye on accident earlier, but that’s in the past now.
The song ends and another begins and that cycle repeats for an hour until they’re all too tired for it anymore. Wirt sits down in one of the chairs, looking out over the kitchen. Greg is sitting on the floor with Jason Funderburker while the twins argue over what terrible movie to watch simply to make fun of it.
They both turn, “Wirt,” Dipper says, “What do you think?”
Wirt smiles. Maybe Prom night isn’t so bad after all. 
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rainythefox · 3 years
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Nightfall (CH.15)
Synopsis: Pre-Resident Evil 1, slight-AU/Canon Divergence. Claire Redfield comes home to visit her  brother Chris for the holidays but gets caught up in a dangerous game of  cat and mouse with Albert Wesker, the Captain of STARS, after stumbling  upon dark secrets. She can’t call the law; Wesker is the law, and she  can’t tell Chris. She is trapped…Claire/Wesker & Slight Chris/Jill (There’s Wesker & William Bromance too lol). Rated M for smut, language, violence, adult content.
AO3 Link
Chapter 15:Infatuation
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Claire was awake when she heard Chris getting ready for work, but she stayed in bed. She didn’t join him for breakfast or a cup of coffee. She didn’t see him off. She just turned over on her side, away from her door where the hallway light creeped through underneath. She had endured a near sleepless night of tosses and turns, the aches in her muscles a stinging reminder of what she had done.
She must’ve fallen asleep for a couple of hours because she awoke to sunshine peeking through the curtains. The sun was out, reflecting off the snow that blanketed the city. Claire got out of bed and did her usual morning ritual: dressing, brushing her teeth, hopelessly trying to come up with a way to escape her grim situation. Funny how that last one had snuck into her daily routine. Her new normal apparently.
Claire made herself toast and orange juice for breakfast but barely touched it. She tried distracting herself with the newspaper, but there wasn’t anything interesting to read in Raccoon Times.
Umbrella Corporation opens new distribution center, creates 600 new jobs
Mayor Warren promises more funding for local orphanage
Kite Bros. expands Downtown travel with new subway tunnel
Clock Tower Plaza puts up traditional Raccoon City Christmas Tree
Even though Chris left her his truck again, she didn’t want to go anywhere. Where would she go? See a friend and potentially drag them into her situation? Try and get help from someone else that was under Wesker’s boot or on his payroll? Raccoon City seemed like an illusion now, a cesspool of collusion and extortion. As though the rose-colored glasses she had once viewed the city in were ripped from her eyes to expose all of the red flags and blood she couldn’t see before.
Besides, she felt bad for the fight she had with her brother last night. Despite Chris overstepping boundaries with his overprotective nature, he was just concerned for her. He knew she was hiding something and was worried. The Redfield siblings only had each other, for nearly nine years now. Chris had sacrificed time and time again for her, to make sure they could stay together, to make sure she could go to college, always making sure she had what she needed over himself. Even when Chris’s behavior got him discharged more than once, he always put her first.
He knew she could take care of herself. He made sure he taught her all he could. Most brothers were protective of their sisters, but Claire wondered if Chris’s...excessiveness was perhaps a form of PTSD from what happened to their parents. Stepping into that guardian role, he went right into the Air Force, just like their parents. He abandoned a normal future to ensure hers, to keep them together, and to somehow get closer to the parents they had lost.
That was why it was hard to stay mad at him. Even if this time he unmindfully didn’t know the danger he was putting them in with his good, albeit intemperate, intentions.
Claire decided she would apologize when Chris got home that evening. And so, she spent the day trying to be productive, to keep her mind from wandering. She studied for a while, and then cleaned the house for a bit, blasting Queen at high volume. However, no matter what she did, she couldn’t keep herself from thinking about not only her situation, but the man that now had her literally pinned under him. She worried what his next scheme for her would be. But she’d be lying to herself if she denied the excitement that also thrummed through her veins. The strange mix made her queasy.
By the time it started getting dark, Claire realized she had wasted most of her day deep in thought, trying to make sense of it all, plotting for a way out, and maybe spending more time than she’d care to admit thinking about what happened between her and Wesker.
Chris would be home soon, so she started dinner. While cooking, she turned on the television to keep her mind focused, but after a few channel changes, a local news station caught her attention with a caption that filled her lungs with ice.
“Raccoon University professor missing, linked to drugging and sexual assault of multiple students.”
Claire turned up the volume, perturbed, because she just knew which professor they were talking about…
“-ow long has this been going on, Alyssa?” asked the anchor.
The news reporter, a pretty, bob-cut blonde, was quick to answer while standing out in the cold in front of Raccoon University, wearing a white coat and a red suit. “I’m being told this may have been happening for over a year now. The RPD are keeping the victims’ identities under wraps at this time, but I do know there are at least four. Dr. Simon Lowery has been missing for a little over 24 hours, having fled after trying to drug a female student at the open house last night. We have yet to get a statement from his wife, but police are saying she had no idea of his behavior. We’ve heard the same testimonies from colleagues. This is one of those -”
Claire clicked the remote. The TV went black, silent. She stared at the screen, a shocked reflection looking back at her. The news story rubbed her wrong. Lowery was a bad man, she knew that much. He would’ve killed her over those documents, would’ve strangled her in the snow when they fought to keep her quiet over stealing whatever it was she had stolen. But not once did she get the feeling he was like that.
She’d bet money that the news story over Lowery was made up to cover up what really happened. She wasn’t sure if Wesker came up with the story or if it was any of his numerous pawns. Didn’t matter. It proved what she already knew, just like the other day when the news covered that Finley guy’s supposed “suicide” in his car. Just as Wesker had told her before, their fates were whatever he decided. Not just their deaths but their legacies, tainting and twisting them, dismantling and disgracing them, like a true god of death.
The city would never know what really happened to Finley and Lowery, whether they deserved their fates or not.
Claire shook out of her thoughts, a chill running over her as she recalled Finley’s head exploding, blood spraying all over the snow. Why had fate led her down that very same path that day?
A smoky, tangy smell pervaded her nostrils. Dinner was burning! Cursing, she raced into the kitchen to save it. The pork chops were burned on one side but other than that, the rest of dinner turned out okay.
Chris came in not long after she had finished cooking, silently walking over to her spot on the couch as she read a book. The couch shifted when he sat down, and so she looked up from the pages. Still in STARS uniform, her older brother scratched the back of his head, uncomfortable but presenting her an apologetic smile. It was hard to stay mad at him with a puppy-dog face like that.
“Hey…”
“Hey,” she mimicked.
“I’m sorry, Sis. About last night. I clearly went overboard. It’s been eating at me all day.”
“Chris, it’s -”
“Let me finish,” he pleaded. “I know you’re an adult. I know you can kick anyone’s ass. I’m overprotective because of what happened to Mom and Dad.”
She sighed. “I know.”
“But that’s no excuse to act the way I did. I trust you, Claire. And I believe in you. But I get so...obsessed with making sure you’re safe and-and fine that my stupid brain can’t see anything else! I let it get the better of me too much. So, from now on, I’ll work hard to keep myself from going overboard and to trust you more. N-Not that I haven’t trusted you! You’ve never given me a reason to doubt you. It’s stupid of me to act like you have. We’ve always had that unspoken pact that we can tell each other anything and it will always stand.”
Claire shifted uncomfortably in her spot. “A-Always.”
“I love you, Sis. I’m really sorry.”
The Redfield siblings were both stubborn and proud, and so sometimes it was Chris who apologized first and sometimes it was Claire. Although Chris usually gave in before she did. Despite that, this was still pretty soon for Chris to give in, as big as a fight they had. Claire wondered if something happened at work that made Chris come to his senses faster. Maybe Jill talked to him? Wouldn’t be the first time. She was her brother’s best friend, after all.
She decided it wasn’t important for now. She had been ready to apologize to her brother when he got home, and here he was apologizing as well. She was ready to put the whole fight behind them and move on...as best as she could in her predicament anyway. At least Chris had seemingly given up pushing her for answers. What a lucky break! Jill must’ve really lined him out.
Claire hugged Chris. “I’m sorry too, Bro. Love you!”
His strong arms wrapped around her and squeezed hard. For years growing up, it had been the safest feeling in the world. She always cherished it. Soon they pulled away, and got up to eat dinner.
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William paced, flipping through pages, catching important details and logging them away at a rate far faster than the average person. Wesker leaned against the wall, dressed in his STARS attire, watching him pace a trench in front of him. Always calm, always collected. How did he do it?!
The cable car shuddered, flicking the light overhead as it rose to the surface. He hated taking this hunk of junk! Normally, he didn’t have to, but they were meeting Irons in the sewers. Perfect place to find the slimy rat.
“No! Goddamn it, no! Why? They said Sheena Island was strictly testing and experimentation! That old bastard is moving my Hunter research there without my consent, and now the Tyrants? Mass production on a prototype? Even if they perfect the Epsilon strain, it’s nowhere near ready for cloning!”
“Are you truly all that surprised?” Wesker asked.
“No, I just…” William sighed. “It’s shit like this that tells me Spencer has no plans to put me on the executive board! If I don’t get in there, we’ll never be able to fulfill our plans! And there’s no way in hell I’m bartering the G-Virus for that spot. It’s my legacy, mine to completely control. He’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers!”
“Best not tempt fate, old friend.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“At any rate, your tantrum is premature. With those numbers, the Sheena Island facility won’t be operable for any kind of mass production until August at the earliest. The research team on the Epsilon strain knows that the T-002 will be obsolete by the time it is finished. More than likely a new model is being developed and that will be the one they intend to manufacture. We have time to take this knowledge and use it to our advantage later.”
Birkin snorted. Lately Al’s “optimism” gave him anxiety. "Don’t you think we have our fingers in too many pies already? And toes at this rate. We’re wearing ourselves thin, Al. With too many enemies waiting for us to screw up.”
It was a reasonable concern. Sheena Island’s true motives were still mostly top-secret for now, going by this information sent by Alex. Roth must’ve bought this information from this other cohort of his, and was probably trying to haggle deals with Mueller, Lowery, and Bard. As well as Crawford and Finley. William made a mental note to thank Alex for this later. Wesker may have been a member of the Umbrella Intelligence Division as well, but he meticulously watched his dealings, aware of Spencer’s tabs on him. Alex didn’t have this problem, and so was their go-to source of anything they weren’t privy to.
His partner scowled. “That is such an absurd idiom. Regardless, we are committed at this point. Roth still has our stolen data and the plans for Sheena Island directly affects our goals. You admitted it yourself.”
The cable car shook and screeched, sliding to a halt. The light above the door turned green, and the robotic female voice told them to watch their step and have a good day. No, he would certainly not have a good day! He was having to deal with this and was about to meet a big rat in a stinky sewer. Didn’t the stupid voice know that? How insensitive!
“Yeah, I know. Guess we better be careful how we handle this.”
Wesker and William exited the cable car and walked side by side through the sewer facility. There weren’t many workers, but they all gave them a wide berth, keeping their heads down.
Wesker chuckled to himself, but William heard it over the water pumps and machinery.
“What’s so funny?”
“Just acknowledging that your prolonged bout of paranoia has made us change places. I’m usually the one telling you we need to be careful.”
They were both ruthless and ambitious, but Wesker had more patience and control. And although his back-and-forth stints of paranoia did make him more cautious, Will still hadn’t developed the patience or control that his partner had always had.
If only you knew why...what he’s making me do…
William frowned, rubbing his shoulder and quickly cleared his throat. “Well, no wonder you're so optimistic lately, taking after me. Like a little ball of sunshine!"
His partner didn’t respond to that, and William hoped it wasn’t because he had caught his nervous tic. In case he did, he quickly changed the subject. “So, did you get the kind of reaction out of Ada you were expecting?”
“More or less. I’m still annoyed by how you handled it though.”
“Look, you asked me to bring Claire up in a way to get a reaction from Ada to see if your suspicions were right and I did just that! You’re welcome, by the way!”
They reached the monitor room where they were meeting with Chief Irons. William entered first, and the Chief immediately noticed him, an Umbrella mercenary on each side of him. His pudgy eyes squinted testily and he opened his mouth to start his usual complaining. That is, until Wesker entered right behind him. His mouth quickly snapped shut. Ah, the benefits of having Al around!
Irons glanced around the room, his usual air of arrogance belittled and squashed like a bug. But there was nowhere to run in this room, nothing to protect him. He was at their mercy, but the tough-as-nails Irons wouldn’t be one to break so easily.
He half-laughed, half-snorted, attempting to cover his discomfort. “Now this must be a special occasion if you're both here. Rumor has it when you two are together, someone's going to die...or wish they would."
"Well, funny thing about rumors, Brian," William smirked. "There’s always some truth to them."
It was fun seeing the color drain from his face only to completely flush red like a cherry. He glared their way, fists forming tightly at his sides. "Oh yeah? And how exactly am I on you two assholes' shit list today? Considering all I do is cover your goddamn tracks and provide you with security all hours of every fucking day. Wait, don't tell me, you two have a rehearsed good cop, bad cop routine just for me?" He laughed. "No thanks."
Will nudged Albert. "Damn it, he guessed it! Wait, am I bad cop this time? I forget?"
"I'm always bad cop."
"No fair! We should take turns!"
Irons rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Just get to the point of why I'm here. If we're negotiating new deals, it's a bad time. I'm a busy man, after all."
"Funny you should mention that, Chief," Wesker sneered. "We're done negotiating with you."
The Umbrella mercs pulled their guns on the Chief. Irons froze on the spot, eyes bulging and going to the trained weapons, and this time he turned a bit green.
“Listen, Albert...let’s not get too hasty. Let’s talk like gentlemen. I-I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”
His resolve was cracking slowly, but William wouldn’t count the bastard out just yet. Irons had grown complacent in his position, taking advantage of anything he could get his grubby hands on. William and Wesker had allowed much of this behavior to slide in the knowledge that Irons would eventually get himself into a bind. And that’s where he was now.
“Of course, Brian. I am a sophisticated man, after all. Take a seat.”
The Chief of Police looked relieved at that and pulled out a chair and sat down. The Umbrella mercenaries stood at his back, guns still aimed to the back of his head. William and Albert sat down across from him.
William slid a sealed yellow envelope across the table to Irons. “Open it and take a good, hard look, Brian.”
Irons wiped his mustache, a little sweat forming on his brow. He slowly opened the envelope and sifted through the contents. Each page he flipped through he grew a shade whiter, until he was pasty like a ghost.
“What the fuck is this?”
William leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head. “Oh, I don’t know. You tell us.”
Irons trembled in his chair, both from anger and fear. He flushed again, one fat fist crinkling a page and he quickly stood. “You fucking bastards!”
One merc’s gun barrel pressed into Irons’ skull and he quickly remembered his place. He slowly sat down. He sure was sweating a lot now!
“You put yourself in this situation, Brian,” Wesker stated. “You know I keep tabs on you and yet you got sloppy. Arrogant, too, thinking you’d be able to set me up.”
“Your sick fantasies with the mayor’s daughter will be released to the public. Your replacement has already been chosen. You will die,” William continued.
“No! No, please! We can come to an agreement!”
“There are no more agreements to come to, Brian,” Wesker growled. “Just two choices. You can die like William so eloquently stated or you can sell the remainder of your pathetic soul to our cause.”
And unsurprisingly, the Chief went with the option that kept his sorry ass alive. “Deal! You got it!”
“And just so we’re clear. That -” William motioned to the envelope. “- never goes away. This is your last chance. Next time...well...there won’t be a next time. Just you dead and your dirty secrets exposed for all to see. Never forget how replaceable you are, Brian.”
Irons slowly nodded, guarded. “And exactly what are you two going to want me to do for your “cause”?”
“You will still perform your normal duties for Umbrella, and only report to me,” Wesker explained. “But if William and I tell you to do something, you do it. Even if it goes against your orders from Umbrella.”
“Fine.”
“William will be taking over as your handler. You should thank him. It was my intention to kill you tonight and he convinced me otherwise. If he asks you to perform in the circus, I expect you to clap your flippers and balance that ball without any disinclination. Do I make myself clear?”
Irons ground his jaw and stiffly nodded. “You always do, Albert.”
William sat up a little straighter, a haughty grin spreading. Albert’s protectiveness of him always gave him a feeling of empowerment, feeding his ego, and made a darker part of himself more bold, more ambitious.
“Don’t worry, Brian,” Will said with a fake, friendly smile. “You do a good job and stay on my good side, I always pay really well, way more than Al does.” He added a postscript after seeing the Chief’s interested grin. “Get on my bad side, however, and you’ll be my newest experiment...just ask Lowery.”
The Police Chief’s relief was short-lived. The mention of Lowery’s name struck something in him. He scowled, stiffening once more, looking between the two partners in crime.
“So you two were behind what happened at the university?”
“Oh yes,” William bragged. “Which is partly how we found out about your little attempt to set up Albert.”
“Which brings us to our next order of business, Brian,” Albert added. “Who was with you when you met up with Aaron Roth?”
Irons shook his head, hands on the table, still aware of the guns at his back. “Look, Lowery and Bard paid me to keep their business dealings hush-hush. I think they were trying to coerce Mueller into selling key information on his project in exchange for getting some crucial research going down on some island.”
Will sighed. “Don’t make Al repeat himself, ya idiot.” He snapped his fingers. “His name? Who is he?”
“S-Some bigshot from Europe who works on this island. He’s partners with Roth, buying and selling research within Umbrella and other companies. Goes by Stefan Bennett, but I couldn’t tell you if that’s his real name or not.”
When Will glanced at Al, a subtle flex in his shoulder was all he needed to read him. Bennett wasn't anyone known to them.
"Where are they hiding out?"
Irons shrugged. "Don't know. I'm only being paid for their meetings. Bennett will be at Bard’s annual Christmas party. I don't know if Roth will be there. He acted like he had other plans."
Like selling my research, the bastard...
"Then I suppose a meeting with Nathaniel Bard is in order," Wesker announced, sunglasses glinting under the fluorescents as he looked to William with a dark grin.
William returned his partner's smirk. "Yeah...It's party time."
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(photo by IsmaelUchihaSan)
It was the perfect day for Jill to be off, or not have her shift until the evening anyway. Late morning, while Chris was stuck at the RPD, the girls enjoyed a light brunch and lattes at a quaint coffee shop before doing some last minute Christmas shopping.
Claire always enjoyed hanging out with the older woman. They had a lot in common and Claire was always learning something new with her company. She often found herself wondering if her oaf of a brother would ever romantically ask Jill out. It seemed like everyone could see it but them. Then again, perhaps they didn’t pursue their feelings because of their careers. Claire didn’t know the policies of STARS, but there might be restrictions there.
The two of them picked up Claire’s gift she had bought for Chris and took it over to Jill’s house. The box was tall and rectangular, about the size of a small adult. Though bulky, it wasn’t as heavy as it looked, and with each of them on one end, was able to carry it easily into the home.
They were greeted by Jill’s overly affectionate golden retriever, Bella. Claire flopped onto the floor to properly greet the fluffy, blond dog. Jill giggled at the sight.
“Hell of a guard dog, ain’t she?” Jill joked. “She’ll lick you to death.”
Better than getting my throat ripped out by Wesker’s dog…
Claire pushed aside that unpleasant memory and stood back up. Hard to believe that was only a few days ago. Her hand was already a lot better, but her ankle still hurt like a bitch.
They carried the box into Jill’s other bedroom that doubled as an office and home gym. The STARS Alpha member’s house was a three bedroom, two bath. She assumed the third bedroom was a guest room, but Claire wasn’t sure. Chris’s house was a bit bigger, with three bathrooms. They had their own in their bedrooms and then the guest bathroom in the hallway.
“Thanks for keeping this here for a bit, Jill.”
“No problem. I guess my home is the popular choice to hide gifts. Chris has yours here as well. I’m just waiting for Barry to ask to keep the girls’ gifts here, as if they don’t have enough space in that big house of theirs.”
“Well, you know how Moira is. She gets into everything. They can’t hide any gifts from her! She’s gonna be a handful as a teenager!”
They laughed and returned to the living room, Bella trailing behind them. Jill fetched them some water and the girls took a load off on the sofas.
“The punching bag was a good thought,” Jill declared. “I know Chris has been wanting one.”
Claire nodded, smiling as she watched Bella carry around her favorite plush duck toy. “Yeah. He’s been really wanting to start bulking up more. Although when we were playing on his guitar last night, I realized he needs a new toolkit for it. So I might have to go pick up one of those as well.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot you play too. Why haven’t I got to see you play yet? I’ve watched Chris lots of times.”
Claire shrugged. “I guess we just never think about it when I'm visiting.” The Redfield siblings didn’t mind playing guitar in front of others, but they cherished playing together, reciting notes and melodies their father had played for them when they were young. “Chris told me you played piano? I need to see that!”
Claire didn’t get the piano at all. That was entirely different from the guitar.
Jill softly laughed. “Yeah. It’s ingrained from childhood. Had the meanest instructor ever. Chris jokes that playing the piano won’t ever do me any good, and suggests I learn something else.”
“He’s just jealous,” Claire joked.
Jill laughed at that. “He totally is. You know, I’m happy you two reconciled so quickly. Chris can be so stubborn sometimes.”
“He can be, but I’m not one to talk. Whatever you said to him, it must’ve worked. So thank you for that. I know he’s just trying to look out for me, but it gets old. I’m an adult and can take care of myself.”
The older woman furrowed her brows and shook her head. “It wasn’t me.”
“Huh? It wasn’t?”
“No, it was the Captain.”
Her heart flipped, twisting her lungs to where she choked on air before she could take a drink of her water. It took all in Claire’s power to keep a straight face and feign something catching in her throat. “I’m sorry?”
“The fight you two had upset Chris a lot, affected his performance when we were doing some training. I guess Wesker picked up on it. Apparently, they took a long lunch together, and the Captain helped Chris get his head straight. At least, that’s what Chris told me later.”
Claire was completely freaked out by that information but hid it, wiping her suddenly clammy hands on her pants. She drank half of her water in one gulp and squeezed the bottle so hard it crumpled in the middle.
“O-Oh, I figured it was you.”
“Not this time,” Jill answered. “But it wasn’t without a lack of trying. He just didn’t listen. Not until he had gone too far anyway, the ass. At least Wesker got through to him.”
“Yeah…” she cleared her throat and stood up. “Well, I should get going. I don’t want to take up all of your free time and I have some studying to do. Thanks for helping me pick that up and letting me hide it here.”
It was partially true. Claire didn’t want to take up all of Jill’s day off before she had to go in for night shift. But mostly the recent news had unsettled her and she needed to gather her thoughts on the matter.
Jill smiled, nodding as she patted Bella on the head as the retriever’s big brown eyes stared up at Claire with that duck still in her mouth, tail thumping hard on the hardwood floor.
“No problem, Claire.”
“Stay safe tonight, Jill.”
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“You’re not on the schedule...again.”
Ada sighed, crossing her arms and looking at the guard like he was stupid. He was. “I know that. But that won’t matter. William will still see me.”
The guard shifted uncomfortably, studying her suspiciously and then glancing at his list again. “Dr. Birkin is an extremely busy man. He’s been doing important tests all day and asked me to not allow anyone but Mrs. Dr. Birkin and Dr. Wesker entry. I’m sorry, ma’am.”
“I’m here on behalf of Albert. He’s busy at the police department currently. Just give him a ring and you’ll see.”
The guard hesitated, thinking and unsure. Clearly, he was scared to disturb his boss in the middle of his important work.
Ada smiled flirtatiously at him. “C’mon, Johnny. Help a girl out? It’s important.” She winked.
Johnny sighed. “Oh, alright.” He put a hand to his headset. “Dr. Birkin? I’m sorry to bother you, but Ms. Wong insists on seeing you. She says she’s here on behalf of Dr. Wesker.”
The spy didn’t miss how the camera up in the corner of the hallway turned down their way, aiming the attached machine gun right on their faces, blinking red light a far deadlier version of Candid Camera.
“Yes, sir. I understand. Will do,” Johnny said into his headpiece. He nodded at Ada and stepped aside. “You may enter. But please, keep it short. He has much to do.”
Ada waved him off. “Thanks, Johnny.”
She went through the automatic door, was sprayed down again, and strolled through the large, multi-room laboratory. She turned a corner, saw bright yellow and outstretched arms, and, on reflex, kicked the thing away from her.
“Ow!” came a muffled voice.
“Will, you idiot. Don’t sneak up on me like that,” Ada snapped.
The mad scientist pulled the hazmat suit’s helmet off, waddling over to the nearby safety station to strip it off and hang it up.
“I think that’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to scaring you!” William laughed.
Ada crossed her arms, glaring at him. “You didn’t scare me. You didn’t even startle me. You mildly annoyed me.”
“Ugh, you sound like Al. One day I will scare him. It’s on my bucket list. It might get me killed, but imma do it!”
The spy shook her head. “I don’t know about you sometimes.”
Birkin seemed extra...quirky today. He had an extra bounce in his step, grinning, humming as he left the safety station to his main desk. That’s when Ada noticed numerous empty energy drink cans and half a cup of cold, forgotten black coffee.
“How many of these have you had?” He did kind of look like one of those zombies Ada had seen being dissected in the Arklay lab, pale skin and dark circles under his eyes.
“Uhh…” he pondered, counting on his fingers as he twitched and quivered restlessly. “Five? I think?” He flopped down in his chair, shifting it side to side.
Ada leaned against his desk, glancing at the disorganized paperwork strewn about. Her sharp eyes caught many interesting and familiar things: G-Virus, Plant 43, Hunter Beta, Cerberus, NE-Alpha parasite, Lisa Trevor, T-Virus Epsilon. Then her eyes caught the interesting things that she had only seen once and was curious to find out more, now with associated words that intrigued her further: Prototype Virus, Project W, eugenics research, Progenitor, Ndipaya.
She had only a few seconds of absorbing these words before William snatched up the two papers that had anything on it. She watched him open his safe and put them inside, only accessible with a scan of his hand.
Ada acted like none of it interested her. “Five, huh? And how long have you been up, exactly? You look like shit. You smell like shit.”
William lifted his shirt and smelled. “I don’t know, when did Al and I go talk with Irons?"
“That was yesterday morning.”
“Oh...shit. Well, it’s been over 24 hours then.”
“I can tell.”
“So, how’d it go with Mueller?”
“As well as you’d expect. I’ve already relayed the info to Albert. Mueller won’t be a problem. In fact, he’s willing to help if it gets rid of Roth. I guess he feels scammed by the trade.”
William smirked, still swiveling slightly side to side in his chair. “I bet he does. Well, with Lowery no longer having a tongue and Irons and Bard put in their places, looks like we might be able to wrap this up by Christmas!”
Ada rapped her nails on the desk, frowning. “Albert told me the plan. Look, between you and me, I gotta ask...what’s the deal with him and Claire?”
Will chuckled. “What’s wrong? You jealous?”
“In your dreams. It’s just that...I mean, I don’t know the girl,” she lied. “But I thought he was just using her to get to Roth. Why have a fling with her? He doesn’t do that...at least not with just anyone.”
“You sure are a curious little kitty,” William half-joked, half-warned, leaning back in his chair. “What are you hoping to use this knowledge for?”
Ugh, she hated when he was an asshole. Then again, he was protecting Albert and so she should’ve known better. The spy sighed. “Fine. I’m just a little worried about Claire, alright? Can you blame me?”
She knew how Wesker worked. Claire was in way over her head. Didn’t matter how smart and strong she was. Despite being his type, she was still different than most and he did seem to have some kind of soft spot for her. And that is what both bothered and intrigued Ada.
“It’s not like you to worry about others like that. And I can blame you, actually. You got yourself tangled with Al. That’s on you.”
Ada bit her tongue. This wasn’t about her. “And poor Claire got tangled out of her control. C’mon, Will. I’ve helped you two a lot recently. Throw me a bone here. I deserve something in return.”
Will kept a straight face, thinking it over. Ada glared at him. Finally, the Golgotha creator grinned widely and leaned forward. Ada recognized the child-like delight, and knew he was about to spill the beans.
“Alright, alright! I think he has feelings for her.”
Ada laughed skeptically. “Whatever, Will! Tell me for real.”
She had to admit, she had thought something similar a few days ago when she spied Wesker nearly pinning Claire against his car. But she soon dismissed it. He definitely liked her and was attracted to her…but had feelings for her?! That was a little hard to believe.
“I do! He is obsessed, I’m telling you. The girl would’ve been dead a long time now had it been anyone else. He’s given her more chances than I’ve ever seen. He had the chance to pop her brother in the back without anyone knowing and didn’t do it! I don’t think he knows it himself, or he purposely keeps himself in denial, but...there’s something about her.”
Ada frowned, thinking it over. William had a point. All of Claire’s stunts to try and fight Albert should have ended with her dead a long time ago. And how her brother had been getting suspicious and snooping around, well, it should have ended the same with him by now.
“You think she reminds him of Anezka?” Ada asked.
Was that her name? Ada couldn’t really remember. She wasn’t around back then and had only heard all the different stories when she came here a couple of years ago.
“Nah...I mean they’re both redheads and feisty, but I don’t think that’s it. Anna jilted him, and besides being a little touchy over it, he’s moved on.”
“Is that really what happened?”
William shrugged. “I guess? No one really knows...not even Al.”
Ada wished she had been a fly on that wall when Anezka was still around. So many rumors and gossip about what happened. She practically disappeared, as though she was only a dream. But Albert remembered...resentfully. Ada knew him well enough that it wasn’t just his ego that got hurt. He actually had cared for her, and he hated that he did.
“Well, Albert’s given Claire all these chances to let her live. You think he will let her go when Roth is dealt with, as he has promised her?”
William scowled, leaning back in his chair. “What do you think?”
The double agent had no idea why, but her heart sank a little. As if she was hoping for something she knew better of. And here she thought her line of work had snuffed out all remaining optimism in her life.
“He won’t kill her. I guarantee it,” William boasted. “As obsessed and possessive he already is of her, she’s stuck. There will be conditions he gives her. I’m sure you know what those would be.”
“You sound happy about that,” Ada pointed out.
He shrugged, but the slight upcurve of his lips gave him away. “I like the girl. Sherry adores her. She’s proven to be quite resourceful and clever. She’ll be handy to have around. Besides, if Al actually has feelings for her, I gotta see where it goes! The geneticist in me really hopes he knocks her up.”
It may have sounded like a dark joke, but Ada knew the lunatic genius was dead serious. “I’m really disturbed by how obsessed you are with your best friend’s love and sex life.”
“I’m just looking out for him!”
Ada would never understand Wesker and William’s relationship. One of life’s greatest mysteries. But what was also another mystery still was why Wesker had feelings for Claire.
Was she the next Anezka?
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She parked right down the road. It was already nearly dark, but at least the temperature hadn’t dropped too much. Claire stuck to the recently salted sidewalks, hands stuffed in her parka. Her heart pounded in her throat, and her mind raced with what he could want this time.
Wesker called her while she was waiting for Chris to get off work, summoning her to his house for an “important discussion”. She was anxious for two reasons. One, the last time she saw Wesker just a couple nights ago, they had sex. And two, after learning from Jill that Wesker was the one who dealt with Chris, she wasn’t sure what that meant for her or her brother.
She was queasy, butterflies in her stomach, but she wasn’t about to lose her cool. More than anything, she feared her body would betray her once more, a dark excitement coursing through her blood.
Upon reaching Wesker’s house, Claire spotted a vehicle she didn’t recognize in his driveway. She didn’t get too close to it, but it looked like a ruby-colored Porsche Boxster. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or not about not being alone with the STARS Captain, but she took a deep breath and rang the doorbell anyway.
After a minute of silence, anticipation eating at her, the door opened. Her heart skipped when those familiar grey-blue eyes and dark smirk greeted her. Her stomach twisted, but Claire couldn’t tell whether it was from disgust or excitement.
“Good evening, Claire,” he purred. He stepped aside to allow her entry. “Please do come in. I don’t want you catching a cold.”
She rolled her eyes and stepped inside. “Thanks.”
He shut the door while she looked around. Odin padded over and sniffed her, docked tail wagging slightly. But she didn’t see anyone who could’ve owned the car outside.
Wesker’s hands brushed up her back. The bad thing was Claire realized she didn’t blench this time. No, this time she shivered in pleasure. She inwardly scolded herself as he took her coat off to hang by the door.
“We have much to discuss, dear heart,” he said, one muscular arm locking around her waist and pulling her deeper inside the house.
That’s when the younger Redfield saw a familiar face come into the living room from the kitchen, carrying a full glass of red wine. She nearly blurted Ada’s name, surprised, but quickly bit her tongue, hiding any reaction. Wesker didn’t know that she and Ada had already met personally. And it needed to stay that way.
“I sure hope you weren’t saving that malbec wine for a special occasion, Albert. I helped myself,” Ada said. When her eyes landed on Claire, she was the perfect actress. There was no recognition, no subtle signs given to Claire. “Is this her?”
“The one and only,” Wesker affirmed.
Ada took a long sip of her wine and sat it down on a coaster on the center table before walking over to them. Wesker stepped away while the double agent looked Claire over, one arm crossed and one hand on her chin as she thought. She walked around Claire and even grabbed her arms and lifted them and spun her around.
“Hmm...Yes, I can definitely work with this.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Claire grumbled. Ada spun her around again and grabbed at her hair. “Hey! What’s the big idea?!”
“Hold still, hun.”
Ada withdrew a tailor tape measurer. She measured Claire’s waist, chest, and height, even her arms and legs. Afterwards, she yanked Claire’s ponytail out and felt through her tresses.
“What are you doing?” Claire snapped.
“Taking measurements,” Ada replied. “Trying to figure out what to do with your hair.”
“Why?”
“I’ll explain later,” Wesker stated. His Doberman sat at his side, head cocked curiously as Ada got handsy with her measurements.
“Okay, finished,” Ada announced, rolling up her tape and putting it in her pocket. She retrieved her wine and took another drink. “I’ll have something ready by tomorrow.”
“What ready?” Claire demanded. “What’s going on?”
Wesker’s lips barely curled upward. “Oh, where are my manners? Claire, this is an associate of mine, Ada Wong. She originally was to pick you up at the university. Ada, you know Claire, I’ve told you all about her.”
The Eurasian beauty dipped her head. “Charmed.” Still completely in character, although Claire now saw something subtle in her eyes as she stared at Claire. Perhaps a warning? Or just acknowledgement?
“You too...I guess,” Claire said.
Wesker chuckled, catching their attention. “You do not have to pretend to be strangers on my account, ladies. I know you’re well acquainted.”
Claire ground her jaw, glaring at him. Ada didn’t even flinch, expressionless. Taking another sip of her wine, she shrugged.
“Can’t pull the wool over your eyes, can I Albert?”
“Oh come now, Ada, don’t be that way,” Wesker teased. He obviously sensed something from her that Claire didn’t. He stepped around the agent’s back and, besides her tensing barely, she didn’t look disconcerted. “You knew the risks when you decided to meet Claire behind my back.”
Ada didn’t say anything to that. Wesker’s dark grin grew a bit more.
“I’m quite curious of your intentions. You’re not the jealous type. And you’re not one to have concern for others. So why so curious about Claire? I know this has nothing to do with what Sergei asked of you.”
Jealous type? Claire glanced between them, not sure what kind of undertones she was reading here. She was missing something, that’s for sure. She could only infer that Wesker was gauging Ada for something.
“I was just curious what you saw in her, I guess,” Ada dismissed calmly.
Cool under pressure. Just like the man testing her.
“And did you figure it out?”
Ada’s eyes locked with Claire’s. “I think so.”
Wesker’s soft chuckle told them he didn’t believe her one bit. “You and William should give up trying to find something that isn’t there.”
Ada didn’t have to say anything. Her smile told it all. She was pleased somehow, as though she read deeper into Wesker’s words somehow. Claire wished she would tell her the secret. And also shake this weird feeling in her chest.
“Am I going to get filled in here on why she needed to take my measurements?” Claire grumbled.
“Yes, my apologies,” Wesker admitted, his full attention on her now, and the younger woman regretted saying anything. “Ada, you may go now. I’ll fill Claire in…” He smirked.
Oh god. Did he just…? Her stomach pitched and rolled. She knew what would happen once Ada left them alone. In his house. It was an instant body verses mind battle.
Ada shrugged and walked away. Claire never wanted someone to stay and leave all at once before. But the Eurasian woman plopped down on one of the leather sofas instead, resuming drinking her wine. Odin left his master’s side to plant himself in front of her, as if expecting Ada to give him attention now that she was sitting down. Claire released a breath she didn’t know she was holding.
Wesker scowled. “Or…make yourself at home.”
“I will,” Ada answered nonchalantly. “I’m not about to let this delicious wine go to waste.” She made a show of swishing the red liquid around in her glass. The wine complimented her burgundy fingernails.
Claire caught the agent’s honey brown eyes as she looked right at her while sipping from her lipstick-stained glass, a coded message for her. You’re welcome…
Claire swallowed mixed feelings and glared at the STARS Captain. “So what exactly are you making me do this time?”
“Relax dear heart, it’s nothing you’re a stranger to. We’re going to attend a party.”
His stereotypical college girl jab aside, it sounded easy enough. But Claire knew better. Whatever kind of party it was, with Wesker involved, there would be danger, deception, and death at every angle…
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Claire stared at the mirror, stunned. She wasn’t one to get dressed up, not this fancy anyway. Her red-brown hair was pulled up into messy curls with a few tresses hanging around her face. She had more make-up on than what she was used to. The jade-colored halter dress complimented her hair, eyes, and heels. She was only in the shoes for less than half an hour and her feet were already cramping. How did women wear these things all day?
The two assistants Ada had helping her with Claire were finally finished and departed from the big, spotless, and up-to-date bathroom. They were in Wesker’s living quarters in NEST. The younger Redfield tried not to think about what happened the last time she was here. Wesker and William awaited them in the very same room where she and Wesker fornicated, only having arrived a bit ago while Claire was still being made over.
Ada looked her over one last time, one final judgment for approval. Claire didn’t say anything. She really wanted out of this bathroom, but at the same time, she wasn’t ready for the next step.
Apparently, the crooked STARS Captain had meticulously planned tonight. Chris and Jill were working graveyard shifts while he was off and Claire had to tell her brother that she might would have to stay the night at William’s house babysitting Sherry if her parents had to work all night. All the chess pieces were in place so far. Bard’s Christmas party would last well into the night, and depending on how it played out, they might be there awhile. She could only hope nothing went wrong and would get to return home tonight.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Claire. There’s no doubt about that,” Ada said finally.
“T-Thanks.” She wasn’t expecting a compliment from the older woman.
She looked in the mirror again, distracted. This was a little too much for her, but she had to blend in with the other guests at the party.
“I won’t be surprised if Albert takes you home with him tonight after the party.”
Claire blushed, taken off guard, a near panic in her chest only broken by blood rushing like electricity through her veins. She turned to the double agent, holding her breath. Ada sounded so sure as she looked Claire over. As if she knew something the younger Redfield didn’t. Surely, Ada didn’t know…
“I know what happened between you two,” Ada admitted, reading her mind.
“He,” Claire started to blame her captor, but stopped. Could she honestly say it knowing she had decided to do it? Wesker may have manipulated her into wanting to, but she still chose it all her own, no matter how much she wanted to deny it.
“He what?”
She shook her head. “…Nothing.”
“I told you he always gets what he wants, didn’t I? He’ll make you want it, too. That tongue of his is far more deadly than any weapon he has on him. You have no idea how way in over your head you are, Claire.”
The college student glared at the Eurasian beauty. Was she serious right now?! “You’ve got it all wrong! It was just a one time fling. And as far as the rest of my situation goes, I think I’ve been doing pretty damn good considering!”
Ada sighed. “You’re clever, strong, and resourceful. You’ve handled yourself impressively this past week, but that’s partly why Albert’s so infatuated with you.”
Claire frowned, not sure what to say to that.
“Albert’s hardwired to manipulate and take advantage of anyone and anything he can. You give him an inch and he’ll hook his claws so deep in you, there’s no escape. You gave him way more than that.”
“So what? I’m trapped forever now? Is that what you’re saying?” Dread seized in her chest.
Ada looked to the door, as if suddenly paranoid Wesker and William could be listening in and slightly lowered her voice. “I don’t know. Look…yes, he’s using you to take care of Roth in exchange for your freedom, but William and I suspect that Albert may have developed…”
“What?” Claire urged when the agent trailed off.
Ada quickly shook her head, frowning. “Never mind. Just…keep your head. Do what you must to get Roth where Albert wants him for you and your brother’s freedom. Albert’s got a soft spot for you, he’ll likely keep his word if you’re good. As far as this affair is concerned, I cannot help you. That’s your business. My only advice is that you be careful.”
Soft spot? Where the hell was she getting that? There was nothing soft about that man. Then again, she and William, two people who knew Wesker best, kept saying that, so it had to be true to some degree.
Claire wanted to tell Ada that there wasn’t an “affair”. It was a one time slip up, a mistake, it wouldn’t happen ever again. But she couldn’t even believe herself, so there was no way she would convince the double agent.
“Ok…thank you, Ada. For everything.”
Ada exhaled through a small frown. “Don’t thank me just yet…” She turned, walking for the door and motioning for the younger Redfield to follow her. “C’mon, we have a party to get to.”
Claire inhaled deeply, gathering herself, and followed her out of the bathroom. They came into the den, where Wesker and William sat across from each other on the leather sofas talking. They were dressed in posh black suits. Claire berated herself for goggling Wesker. The bastard was so damn attractive anyway, but that suit was hot! She couldn’t believe how much it actually affected her seeing him in that outfit.
The men noticed them and stood up, but their eyes immediately went to Claire. She suddently felt exposed. William’s jaw dropped and he ogled too. The smirk that slowly grew on Wesker’s face as he took off his sunglasses to look Claire over was wicked. More so, it was hungry. He popped William’s mouth shut without taking his eyes off of Claire and closed in like a predator about to sink its teeth into its coveted prey. His eyes entrapped her, an instant, breath-taking spell, and then she was hungry too, felt it spreading through every inch of her body like wildfire.
Ada was right…Wesker would be taking her home with him tonight. And nothing was going to stop him.
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shirtlesssammy · 4 years
Text
2x11: Playthings
Then:
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These brother have seen some things
Now:
This episode starts off real comforting. Aside from the exposition of a family moving out of an old inn, we’re greeted to a room FULL of creepy old dolls. A show doesn’t even have to try when dolls are thrown in the mix. The room of dolls belongs to Tyler, one of the little girls in the house. She has a dollhouse --a replica of the inn-- that would have made a younger me faint with jealousy. 
The dolls in this dollhouse move around mysteriously though. One moment she places a doll in a rocking chair, and the next he’s sprawled on the floor in front of the stairs --head on backwards. 
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She hears a scream and comes out to see her mom calling 911, and the moving guy near death on the floor in front of the stairs. 
(Sidenote: Anybody remember reading The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright as a kid? I loved that book.) 
The brothers, meanwhile, are trying to find Ava. Typical Sam can’t just sit and spin his wheels, and wants to work a case about deaths at an inn in Connecticut. Dean wonders why Sam doesn’t want to wallow --”more angst and droopy music and staring out the rainy windows”. AND I HAVE TO STOP AND POINT OUT THAT DEAN HAS DONE ALL OF THIS WHEN HE’S THOUGHT CAS DEAD. Projection looks awful on you Dean. 
They get to the inn and Dean’s pumped about working a haunted house case ---possibly running into Fred and Daphne. Bby boy eventually DID run into Fred and Daphne and I have EMOTIONS. (But, like, real ones. Our little show got a crossover with Scooby-doo!? It’s still surreal to think about sometimes.) 
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Sam notices a powerful charm warding off enemies outside the inn. 
The brothers check into the inn. Susan, the owner, tells them that the inn is closing and asks if they’re in the area “antiquing”. Dean readily agrees to go along with their cover. She then asks if they want a king sized bed. Sam corrects her and she apologizes, but poor, poor, repressed, stressed Dean can’t let it go and asks her, “What’d you mean we ‘looked the type’?” 
They get room 237 --and Dean, film buff and noted Stephen King fan-- has no reaction. Boo. 
Sam reviews the deaths so far: a realtor and mover. Someone doesn’t want this family to leave. Dean is more focused on the vibe he’s sending out to the world that makes them think he’s into dudes. Sam succinctly sums it up by saying, “Well, you are kinda butch. Probably think you're overcompensating.” Dean’s nervous reaction kills me every time. 
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Walking around the inn later, Sam finds more hoodoo markings. They then go to talk with Susan. In order to talk with her more, Dean sees her collection of antique dolls and tells her that Sam’s a collector.
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Sam checks out the dollhouse and notices the doll with the twisted head. Tyler comes in and Sam asks about it. She said that she found it like that. She says that neither Maggie or her would do that because Grandma Rose would be mad. These are all her toys. 
Grandma Rose is upstairs, in a wheelchair, and Sam is forbidden to talk to her about the doll collection. The brothers set to digging up dirt on the grandma. 
Susan learns that the new owners plan on demolishing the hotel. 
Tyler has a tea party while the visiting attorney sits on his bed. There’s a doll sitting on the dollhouse bed as well. Both the dollhouse door and real door to the attorney’s room open. Tyler looks over to the dollhouse and sees the doll hanging from the ceiling. 
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The doll’s real life counterpart is likewise occupied. 
Sam watches as the guy is hauled away in a bodybag. Dean asks Susan about what happened. 
He then finds Sam, who is REALLY DRUNK. Sam’s upset he couldn’t save the guy --and Ava (lol, are you sure about that one Sam?). Sam’s deeply upset about Dean’s earlier confession about saving him or killing him. In a moment of clarity, Dean tells Sam that John should never have laid that on them. Sam gets a promise from Dean eventually though. 
Dean heads to the bar and finds Sherwin (the butler?). 
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He asks Sherwin about the history of the hotel. Sherwin walks Dean around and shows him pictures of the family in “happier days.” Sherwin notes that Rose will have to live in a senior facility and the only home she’s ever known will be demolished. They look at old pictures, and Rose’s nanny also sported a hoodoo symbol on her pinafore. 
The next morning, Sam’s worshipping at the porcelain throne. Dean checks that Sam doesn’t remember his promise to kill him and then proceeds to tease him mercilessly, Big Brother Style ™. 
The Winchesters head up to talk to Rose, who lives in the attic not-at-all-creepily. (Note to self: live in the attic when I’m extremely old and infirm and invest in a good, old, creaky rocker.) Rose can’t talk, which seems to rule out hoodoo on her part (which requires motor and speech control).
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Susan finds them and kicks them the hell out. 
Back inside, the two girls are playing together and not packing. Susan tells her daughter that her friend (!!!) is IMAGINARY!!! Yesssss creepy ghost child time, baby. 
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Susan is 100% DONE with Tyler’s buddy Maggie and tells her she’s too old for an imaginary friend. (Somewhere, young Sam is shouting HOW DARE.)
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Later, Tyler plays with her dollhouse when the swing on the swingset starts to move.
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A cold breeze blows across Susan as she packs the car and she notices the swings moving on the real swingset outside. The teeter-totter starts to move and that’s DEFINITELY NOT THE WIND. While she’s distracted by the haunted playground, her car heads straight for her. It’s R-E-D-R-U-M time. 
Sam saves Susan just in time. They all head straight for the booze. Dean tells her their theories: they thought it was hoodoo but now their money’s on ghost. In response, Susan takes a big swig of liquor. #Relatable
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Now their theory is that Grandma Rose was using hoodoo to ward off a malicious spirit, but couldn’t once she had a stroke. Sam tells Susan that she needs to clear the house, including her two daughters. RECORD SCRATCH. Susan only has ONE daughter! They race off to find Tyler and her imaginary friend.
Upstairs, Maggie confronts a terrified Rose. 
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Maggie’s going to keep Tyler for herself. MuaHAHAHAHA. “We can have lots of tea parties. Forever and ever and ever….”
Upstairs, the adults are met with a horrifying scene of unbelievable carnage.
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For Someone Had Fun with Eyeballs Science:
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Susan remembers that her mother had a sister. Would you say a………..twisted sister? Maggie died in the pool and her ghost now haunts the place. 
Cut to Maggie and Tyler dangling from the balcony railing over the pool. Tyler’s scared, but Maggie promises that after she jumps they can be together forever. The adults arrive at the pool just in time to see Maggie hurl Tyler into the pool. Tyler gets tangled in the plastic pool cover (SHUDDER) and breaks free only for Maggie to duck her back underwater. 
Suddenly, Maggie hears another voice! It’s a young girl calling for ���Margaret.” Maggie fades out. Sam breaks the glass at last and dives into the pool to save Tyler. 
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He hauls Tyler out and to the edge of the pool. There’s a lot of slow motion sorrowful looks between the adults (instead of instant first aid smh) when Tyler spits out water! She’s alive! Tyler reports that Maggie’s gone from the pool. 
Up in the attic, Maggie talks to Rose. They’re striking some kind of deal in order for Maggie to let Susan and Tyler go. “You kept me away for so long,” Maggie says. “I thought you didn’t love me anymore.” She caresses Rose’s cheek.
A little while later, Susan screams from the attic room. Rose is dead! The paramedics declare it another stroke. (A stroke of MURDER.) After Tyler and Susan head out for their new not-at-all-traumatized life, the Winchesters head off as well.
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(I planned to put in a caption where Dean comments on Sam getting some MILF action and then Dean just comes right out and SAYS it right in the goddamned script.)
At the Impala of Feelings, they talk about the good times: the case is solved! And...the bad times. Sam reminds Dean of his promise to kill him. 
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Back in the house everything is super fine and extra great. Two girls play in the family apartments while Maggie’s doll looks on fondly. 
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The Dollquote Murders:
Son of a bitch. … Maggie said it first!
I just figured after Ava there'd be, you know, more angst and droopy music and staring out the rainy windows…
You are kinda butch. Probably think you're overcompensating
You're bossy. And short
That car didn't try to run you down by itself, okay? I mean, I guess it did, technically
Think you could have hooked up some MILF action there, bud
Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 
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gamzee · 4 years
Text
I was going to keep this card up my sleeve for the purposes of writing the act 8 intermission, but homestuck as hamlet and fandom as ophelia is resonant. I spilled the beans on twitter so I will spill them here too.
OPHELIA: Good my lord, How does your honour for this many a day? HAMLET: I humbly thank you; well, well, well. OPHELIA: My lord, I have remembrances of yours, That I have longed long to re-deliver; I pray you, now receive them. HAMLET: No, not I; I never gave you aught. OPHELIA: My honour'd lord, you know right well you did; And, with them, words of so sweet breath composed As made the things more rich: their perfume lost, Take these again; for to the noble mind Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind. There, my lord.
Cascade felt to many of us like a promise of the core ethos of a future homestuck rather than the cultural zenith it has become in retrospect. Another work like Cascade is not sustainable in the times we live in, but hauntology has fully settled in and won’t let anything come after without us remembering that beautiful, wonderful thing that happened. Many promises were made back then... many....
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HAMLET: Ha, ha! are you honest? OPHELIA: My lord? HAMLET: Are you fair? OPHELIA: What means your lordship? HAMLET: That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should admit no discourse to your beauty. OPHELIA: Could beauty, my lord, have better commerce than with honesty? HAMLET: Ay, truly; for the power of beauty will sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the force of honesty can translate beauty into his likeness: this was sometime a paradox, but now the time gives it proof. I did love you once. OPHELIA: Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so. HAMLET: You should not have believed me; for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it: I loved you not. OPHELIA: I was the more deceived.
Language floats about on twitter nowadays about how it truly is our fault for our misidentification of homestuck’s real aesthetics and ambitions, and comments that specifically point out tumblr creating a false, softer homestuck feel about as gendered as hamlet’s upcoming take on cosmetics. Is fandom, or bad fandom, only cosmetic? 
My takeaway is that... yes, actually, there was something we didn’t realize about the relationship we were all getting into. Perhaps it was obscured underneath all the voices of various contributing artists; [S] Explore made me feel a sense of haunting beauty that hasn’t left over a decade later. Lexxy’s god tier jade is a wonderful painting of a happy young girl who came back to life and saved everyone, but beauty in homestuck now is about pure, unadulterated terror. Terror of beauty, and terror of each other.
(Well now I’m sounding artsy, let me just get this snippet from a PDF of the script.)
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[caption; for a moment Hamlet has been touched by the sight of Ophelia with her book of prayers. yet there is estrangement in the word “Sylph” “Nymph.” She inquires for his health (having seen him yesterday); he answers as to a stranger; formally, as he does to Osric... and with some impatience; he will tell her nothing. She produces his gifts; he has been sent for by the King; Ophelia, like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, has doubtless also been sent for; he falls back on his accustomed method of baffling half-truths. These toys were the gift of another Hamlet to another Ophelia-- not his.]
Homestuck begins to question the base nature of canon and the expectations held to canon, and thus everything feels a bit like evasive maneuvers re: accountability for anything that is said or done whatsoever. Baffling half-truths, questionable sincerity in open derision, like as follows;
HAMLET: Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest; but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me: I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in. What should such fellows as I do crawling between earth and heaven? We are arrant knaves, all; believe none of us. Go thy ways to a nunnery. Where's your father? OPHELIA: At home, my lord. HAMLET: Let the doors be shut upon him, that he may play the fool no where but in's own house. Farewell.
Lol, house.
OPHELIA: O, help him, you sweet heavens! HAMLET: If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy dowry: be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go: farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool; for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too. Farewell. OPHELIA: O heavenly powers, restore him! HAMLET: I have heard of your paintings too, well enough; God has given you one face, and you make yourselves another: you jig, you amble, and you lisp, and nick-name God's creatures, and make your wantonness your ignorance. Go to, I'll no more on't; it hath made me mad. I say, we will have no more marriages: those that are married already, all but one, shall live; the rest shall keep as they are. To a nunnery, go. (Exit)
The suspicion fostered in narrative by the epilogues is in fact a kind of “lesson” we are to take towards all narrators and all stories. But is that any way to live-- like, no reciprocation, no honesty, no trust or gentleness-- there shall be no marriage. This sort of intertextual reading (wait is it... intertextual if it’s paired with a narrative external space? It’s not like i can just CALL Kristeva to ask) ...does kind of imply the Epilogues were inevitable and a result of homestuck’s “real” philosophies. But you still get to ask, is it a good philosophy? Hamlet agrees and he’s just a famously good and emotionally stable guy, so who’s to say. 
(My real answer is that Hegel’s m/s model was right and that mutual recognition is not only better but the best thing humans can do and strive for, and so this all feels petulant to me. But famously good and emotionally stable Ophelia drowned in a river so maybe don’t take my word for it.)
Pair with Errant Signal’s videos on The Beginner’s Guide and That Dragon Cancer if you like which both have thoughts about narrative-reader connections. (The latter discusses the former.)
Anyway, this should be my new twitter bio;
OPHELIA: O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown! The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, sword; The expectancy and rose of the fair state, The glass of fashion and the mould of form, The observed of all observers, quite, quite down! And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, That suck'd the honey of his music vows, Now see that noble and most sovereign reason, Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh; That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth Blasted with ecstasy: O, woe is me, To have seen what I have seen, see what I see!
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vardasvapors · 3 years
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Ok I feel like you will understand or at least not interpret this in bad faith, i love that ‘classics but make it gay’ art concept from that one art you reblogged but it got me to wondering what would be a good way to do a bi version of that! Without just stating ‘btw they’re bi’ in an art of a gay or m/f couple, but showing it instead. Any ideas?
FUN IDEA hmmm well i’m not an artist and i haven’t seen other examples of art from that zine or challenge to compare. in original non-redraw type art, if it’s of a familiar enough time period/cultural milieu that i can make these assumptions, i actually REALLY enjoy ‘m/f but with such a Queer Vibe that they seem likely to be bi.’
but i guess whether that works for a redraw challenge depends on what the source looks like! like if the source has an m/f couple both of whom are aggressively gender conforming, but you redraw it with both looking pretty gnc and caption it stating what redraw challenge it’s from, that context should (lol) clue ppl into realizing this is intended to be a Bi Thing, but idk that’s fairly variable.
another idea that comes to mind is that i’m sure there are classic examples of art where like, there’s eg someone of gender A torn between two potential love interests both of gender B, or a hero/ine of gender A surrounded by a group of admirers all of gender B?
so instead of that, even though have like, person of gender A torn between 2 love interests one of whom is gender A and one of gender B, or surrounded by admirers of multiple genders, or smth like that lol! ofc this also overlaps with poly stuff, and some people are annoyed by the stereotype of like, you-can-only-demonstrate-ur-biness-with-multiple-partners stuff but ehhhhh it sounds perfectly good to me.
this is all wholly hypothetical though and most definitely not for That zine itself lol.
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aw-eather · 4 years
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Heather Watches SG1: s2ep22 Out of Mind and s3ep01 Into the Fire
Ah two of my all time favourites. Maybe even THE favourites. They’re just SO good. Also my shipper heart cannot take it but we love torturing ourselves here so lets go. 
I’m gonna try and do enough that y’all get at least one post a day and scheduel them to go up periodically :) 
This go very long so I hope it posts properly. 
Ooooh mysterious tank
I mean honestly this was suspicious from the get go
Don’t trust this guy
JACK
YOU’RE ALL WET JACK
Is he? 
Are they dead tho? Are you sure? Cause that sounds fake... 
You see, the year is now.............. 2077
CREDITS
Teal’c looks all big and scary but really he’s a precious boy
End credits
TERYL ROTHERY
honestly that device looks very Star Trek
Missed opportunity to make a 69 joke
Girl he has been asleep for 79 years he probably remembers shit all 
Good boy, answer nothing. Don‘t trust the random men that woke you up
thats not sarcasm, I don’t trust them either 
“the rest of the facility” riiiiiight
Wizard of Oz reference
38 teams is a lot of teams
MMMMMMMM sounds FAKE
DON’T TRUST HIM JACK
General whats his face just dropped something on the ground
STARGATE
Jack is handsome
Me: I’m gay
Jack O’Neill: Yeah sure ya bethcha 
Are ya just? What makes ya think Jack can help? he’s been asleep for 79 years
Tok’ra mind probe
Benefical alliance my ass, what did they ever really do for the Tau’ri??
Except promise to send a ship when they “had one available”
So thinking of Sam right now would be BAD Jack. 
NOX
I LOVE THE NOX
WHAT CUTIES
look at them, they’re so sweet
Jack stop thinking and showing them shit 
Could be a great weapon but the Nox are peaceful and beautiful and I love them
LITTLE GREY ALIENS WITH THE LITTLE GREY BUTTS
Thats a big ship
This is the only “look at all the shit we’ve managed to do so far” episode that is actually any good
Why don’t we meet the Furlings?
I wanna meet them 
They sound fluffy
I love the baby asgards look at ‘em so cuuuuute
Kathrine! You’re great girly
“Touch it” *Jack touches it without knowing what it does, could die*
Jack waving his gun to touch the molecules seems like a bad idea
Yeah let him rest stop bullying him
purple goop
stop the pruple goop Jack
purple goop is never a good thing
Oh look... ANOTHER tank
DANNY BOY
Please cover your nipples
I don’t wanna see your man nipples
A third tank... funny that
SSSSAAAAAAMMMMMM
Funny how none of them are ACTUALLY dead
LIES WE’VE JUST SEEM THEM
Get these people some clothes
leaving her wrapped in a blanket is rude
Blanket looks like a mat tbh
BRATAC
SKARRA
Daniels hair is so bad in this episode I’m not sorry its HORRIBLE 
He has a SHIELD Jack
FUCK YEAH JACK THROW THAT KNIFE YAS
HATHOR
I love Hathor hosts
She’s great honestly
Sam and janet and the girls kicking ass is the best
RIP Hathor 
No seriously Daniel’s hair is BAD
Teal’c
JANET
ah yes, unusual 
Teal’c is so passionate and caring about his friends I love him so much
THREE FUCKING WEEKS?!?!?!?!
janet is such an angel you can’t convince me otherwise
Are they tho? 
Yeah he would but Teal’c with do anything for his F A M I L Y
Well he will leave
Aw Teal’c I love you with my entire heart
That zoom in on the patch is nice 
YES JACK STOP THE GOOP
Nice kick! 
BYE TEAL’C I LOVE YOU
AWW THIS EXCHANGE IS SO NICE 
AW THE SALUTE BABE NO THAT HURTS MY HEART ITS SO SWEET
#SorryNotSorry but Jack looks so fucking good in this outfit 
Like... he looks sooooo good
God I am questioning my sexuality left right and centre today
But seriously can he dress like that more often? 
Go get ya girl, Jack!
Oh look... not the SGC 
WHO WOULD HAVE EVER GUESSED
Serpant and Horus guards! :O
STOP THINKING BABE
THEY GONNA FIND YOOOOOU
SAAAAAAAAAM
BEAT THIS GUYS ASS AND SAVE. YOUR. GIRL
O U C H THAT WOULD FUCKING HURT
SHOULDER TOUCHING 
SHOULDER RUBBING
SHOULDER TOUCHING 
SHE IS TOUCHING HIM
I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD FOLLOWED BY A MEMORY OF HIM NEARLY DYING 
SHE’S STILL HOLDING HIS SHOULDER
STARING AT HER NAKED BACK
TRYING NOT TO STARE AT HER NAKED BACK
HE IS SO IN TROUBLE 
HE FANCIES HER SO MUCH 
I MEAN SAME
she also looks good but like he looks better???
GRABBING
WALL HOLDING
HANDS TOUCHING SHOULDERS
PINKY CURLED IN SO HE DOESN’T TOUCH BARE SKIN
COULD HAVE MOVED BUT ISN’T MOVING 
THEY WANNA HOLD EACH OTHER
DEAR GOD
sorry I’ll stop with the caps
I just physically cannot with those two
i love them so much
and i hate how they were treatd
Hathor you idiot, 
SUANNE
LOL Jack 
Servants in the royal court? Yeah sounds great
Rude Jack
lol the pat on the shoulder Jack you dick
uuuuuuhhhhh didn’t notice before how HOT IT IS WHEN HATHOR RUNS THE IDC REMOTE UNDER SAMS CHIN AND THE LOOK SAM GIVES HER I-
ACK SNAKE
I hate them the same way Jack does tbh
they make me squirm
Give it to Daniel. Why is Daniel the only one that never has a snake in him... wait... 
sorry but I just wanna talk with the national captions institute... 
Alright! On to Into the Fire! 
DAVIS
MAJOR DAVIS I LOVE YOU
MY FAVOURITE
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH EVEN IF THINGS DO FALL TO SHIT WHENEVER YOU’RE THERE
Dramatic zooooom on Hathors name for E M P H A S I S 
CREDITS
I love how Hammond is like EVERYONE is saving SG1
How DARE you, Daivs. They are THE team, rude!
I love that everyone steps forward because everyone loves SG1 but also everyone knows you don’t leave anyone else behind. 
I love Hammond
MARTIN WOOD :O
He is a great director
Ew snake
Jack still looks fucking good 
Jack now is not the time for sass 
Give it to Daniel. No one cares
Sam is like “I’m not scared bitch bring it”
Of course it wants Jack
Poor Jack
Why is it always him?? 
You tried, buddy
Sam’s hand on his CHEST PLEASE JUST GET MARRIED
TEAL’C 
BRATAC
Sam literally hates watching Jack in any pain 
Poor Jack
Hathor fuck off
What exactly was the point of ripping his shirt? It makes no difference to the snake going in the back of HIS HEAD
Ew
oh gross
i hate it
I hate it so much
ugh the chills I currently have
Suanne Baun is super pretty though
YAS TOK’RA LADY
WE RESPECT AND LOVE YOU
Another Wizard of Oz reference 
Sorry Daniel looks so bad
its the hair honestly, the little dorky fringe
Sam’s hair, on the other hand *chefs kiss*
Yeah but he’ll be fine, Tok’ra lady saved the day <3 
YAS GIRL
NOOO Poor Tok’ra lady
Sorry fam, I forgot her name lol 
Sam pulling that jacket on, Sam in a jacket thats a little too big for her , Sam in a white shirt.. Sam
Yeah they are Teal’c. 
Dead and false and dead... or is he???
Hand dance
Energy barrier is in the way, boys continue to shoot
oh no shooting towers of death are never a good sign
And of course Daniel got hurt so we have to baby him for the rest of the fucking episode jfc just sit him down somewhere and Sam and the rest of the teams can do the hard work... again
Cool Tok’ra tunnels are Cool
Lol Daniel being sassy (oh its just a deep, bleeding gash, it’ll be fine) lol sorry he is funny when he’s sassy
I’m sick of your army already, Hathor
OOOOH a barrier 
Hammond is awaiting 
Why do they give them such short time periods to do shit? Like they know things go wrong literally ALL THE TIME 
Like “hi you have 24 hours to go into a SECURE, GOA’ULD FACILITY, RETRIEVE THREE SG MEMBERS AND GET OUT. PIECE.OF.CAKE”
6 hours is a long time to sit on your hands and do nothing tho. Ah well might as well go and save the boyfriend
The president can suck a rotten potatoe
Davis, you can’t really argue with him, he outranks you about 4 times
Sam’s sleeves are too long and baggy and its SO CUTE
GO SAM
SAVE THE DAY
BUT SAVE YOUR BOYFRIEND FIRST 
Hammond visiting Chulak 
because he’s an angel baby
and the best dad ever to his four kids; Major Dr Science Space Baby, Sassy Grumpy Fruit Loop and Sam Carter Loving Space Baby, Warrior Gentle Giant Space Baby and Annoying, Doesn’t know shit, Archaeologist Space Baby.
Yas Teal’c, spill that tea
I will join you, bb
Hammond in a toga will also join you cause he a babe
and he needs your help cause Davis said No. 
HAMMOND OF TEXAS IS MY FAVOURITE THING EVER I LOVE IT 
Sam: I’m gonna go and shut this shield down
Sam: but not until I have tried to save my Future Husband. 
Poor Tok’ra lady
Hand on chest again
Fucking Hathor man
Go away boo, you’re ruining the moment 
Stop hurting Sam
YAS JACK FUCK YES I LOVE THAT
I love his response to it too
Like the shock and fear
This hug goes on a long time
I know he’s cold or whatever but like... 
and I know he’s in shock and so is she a bit
he’s doing it for her as much as him
but they’re STILL hugging
They literally never do this again
Its so sweet because after this its just... nothing? Like POV happens and then Upgrade and Divide and Conquer and they go ah fuck we can’t hug anymore so all we get is platonic shoulder holding and using shoulders as pillows. The closes we get to a hug is Death Knell and emotional trauma Threads. I want a REAL hug
And he holds her arms for ages and helps her up
Wow they’re so fucking in love this hurts
“Found ‘em” Jack stop so cute
C4! Who’d have thought it
Ah shit they’re surrounded 
He still looks good
They BOTH look good 
They make a great couple 
Nope, not really but its what ya got so you’re gonna have to deal with it
This general guy is a bit of a dick
Thats right Sam, don’t listen. Good job, Danny boy.
Only 1? Thats not a lot of time
Get out there, Jack! Buy that time
Gun Bum! (if you know Sanctuary, you’ll get it)
He’s really not doing a great job of pretending to be a Goa’uld
Its really not impossible 
ex-goddess lol 
“She’s Gone. She is no more.” I’m honestly shocked people didn’t shoot him more often 
I love him tho
Thank god, thats good timing
Hammond is IN. HIS. ELEMENT 
There is no way she heard hiom say now but she still knew. I love them. I love how well they know each other and they’ve only known each other a little over two years
Time to KICK SOME ASS
JAFFA YAS
ooh coming in from behind, sneaky
YEEHAW
OH HAMMOND YOU PRECIOUS BABY
Sam going straight to Jack and it looks like she goes to put her arm around him. 
I hate them ffs
Bra’tac and Human fuck me thats so cute
Sam’s smile when they see Teal’c and Hammond is Gorgeous
and Hammond patting her on the back! stop! I love Space Dad and his idiot Space babies. 
Final Thoughts:
Seriously guys this is my favourite Final and First eps of a season. 
100% one of my favourite two parters, if not my all time favourite two parter
Great direction, good story, excellent bad guys, good acting, just enough suspense with out being too drawn out, something for everyone, comes of the back of a fun as fuck episode (1969), Hammond has a big part, Davis is there, lots of cute Sam/Jack and of course, Daniel’s Elf Hair. 
Also the Tok’ra are actually useful in this one which is SHOCKING 
Lemme know your thoghts friends, I’m excited to hear them! 
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guylty · 4 years
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Hello hello hello! A week has passed and I am back from my mini break. I am going to indulge in a little travel report here, so those of you who have no interest in sitting through someone else’s holiday pictures – no offense taken, I totally understand! – please just scroll down to where you see the header for the round-up. All your tumblr Armitage needs will be satisfied down there 😉.
Tbh, it was lovely to leave the confines of my home town and finally venture out a little bit farther afield. In fact, it only occurred to me as we were on the road, that I hadn’t left Dublin at all since mid-January 😱. Ireland is not really that big – it reaches about 500 km (300m) from top to bottom – but the terrain here is characterised by rocks and hills, which makes for small, windy roads, especially as the infrastructure does not need to be as car-friendly as in other, more populated countries in the world. So don’t be surprised if you see the estimated travel time in the map below.
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Yes, it takes more than 4 hours to travel 287km (178m) in Ireland. 😁 If you look really closely at the map you will actually notice a black jagged line running through the land. That is the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Our route this time took us the Northern Irish way, crossing into NI near Belturbet and then exiting again via Pettigo. The border is still “green”, i.e. there is no visible sign that you have actually moved from one jurisdiction to another. (I can usually only tell by the difference in road surface 😂 and the fact that the speed signs are suddenly in miles/h and not in kilometer/h any more. It’ll be interesting to see the Brexit regulation work out the issue of the United Kingdom’s *only* land border while keeping both EU customs rules as well as inner-Irish peace…) This is the shortest way of getting up from Dublin in the centre of the East coast, into the Northwestern corner of Ireland, which is part of the Republic and called County Donegal.
Our journey took us even longer than the estimated 4 hours, but then we also had to switch drivers in order to relieve my mother-in-law (77) and take a lunch break. We eventually arrived in Dunfanaghy in the late afternoon where my father-in-law had specifically booked rooms with a view in the plush Arnold’s Hotel. At first I was a bit taken aback at the layer of dust in our otherwise lovely room but then I realised that it meant the room had not been used in months and we were the first occupants since reopening the day prior, i.e. no lingering viruses there… From our luxurious king-size bed we had views out to the beach. (Click all images to enlarge!)
View from the bed
Village idyll
Busy despite the Covid crisis
Dunfanaghy beach at low tide
I have to say I was a bit skeptical as regards the attitude of the holiday makers towards keeping safe from the virus, though. Dunfanaghy was packed to the gills with tourists, particularly from Northern Ireland. (The weekend actually coincided with the traditional, Protestant celebrations of the Battle of the Boyne on the 12th of July every year. This is a significant date in NI, marking the victory of Protestant king William III over Catholic king James II, celebrated with drums, huge bonfires and marches by the Orange Order. It continues to be a controversial tradition within NI, with (some) Catholics offended by the celebration of this victory, while (some) Protestants insist on their right to express their traditions.) As part of the UK, NI has had a different approach to the Covid crisis than the Republic, and tbh I was not really that impressed with the general lack of social distancing displayed last week. (It goes without saying that it was *not only* NI people who were far too close for my comfort; there obviously were also plenty of Irish holiday makers there, too.) Within the hotel, there were hand-sanitisers at all exits and corridors, so it was easy to keep hands clean. In the restaurant, the staff wore PPE masks and the guests were seated well apart as fewer tables than normal were set up. So I felt relatively safe in there. But I hardly saw any face masks worn in the village, people were congregating in big groups outside pubs and shops, and it felt as if there were no covid restrictions at all. All that made me very angry. On our walks, particularly in the very busy Glenveagh National Park, people would not keep distance even though the paths were more than 2 meters wide, and on the parking lot, cars parked directly side-by-side. But then again, at least we were outside, and Glenveagh is an absolutely stunning place.
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Glenveagh
Glenveagh Castle
In the kitchen garden of Glenveagh
Bag End?
Entrance to the kitchen garden
Wild life very close by
I have been to Glenveagh a good few times before. It’s a stunning valley with a 19th century hunting lodge castle at the centre. There is a formal garden through which you enter the castle grounds, but what I had not see until now was the amazing kitchen garden. The little gardener’s cottage under the large tree somehow reminded me of Bag End.
The best thing, of course, is the beaches and dunes and the mighty North Atlantic.
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Tramore Strand
Horn Head
View of Tramore from the dunes
Horn Head from Dunfanaghy
I was thinking of Squirrel/Radagast who had commented about wild flowers before I left for the North, and I took a good few photos of flowers.
Native Irish orchid
Calla lily – associated with the Irish struggle for freedom
The weather was – Irish. We had two days that were predominantly dry, with only a little bit of drizzle here and there. Only on our last day the weather really turned against us, which was annoying as we had planned to go walking with my in-laws a bit. But well, a bit of wet doesn’t deter my hardy in-laws. There is no bad weather – only inappropriate clothing. So we trudged off on a two-hour walk in the Ards Forest. I think I was the only who got drenched to the skin. Yep, even after 20 years I still haven’t learnt… or bought the right equipment.
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Typical family picnic. In the rain. Sharing 1 bottle of Guinness, 2 apples and 2 sandwiches. No lie.
However, we did also get a bit of sunset in, and so the trip’s best memory is this – a sundowner from Horn Head with the ragged shape of Tory Island in the background.
So, that was my summer holiday 2020. Four nights away with family. It was actually really lovely, especially as my f-i-l is now getting really old. This may have been his last trip up to Donegal. It was lovely to spend time with him and my m-i-l who are still very active and who are interesting to chat to. I was especially delighted that Little Miss Guylty came along, too – not just for myself but also for the grandparents for whom her presence is particularly special. And I had four nights of sound sleep that really recharged my batteries. So much so that I can now jump energetically into this week’s tumblr round-up:
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  Badtennantwolf has put together a set of icons. I am including the set here for the first four pictures of RA at SDCC in 2015 as we recently had a chat about that occasion (and the famous dragon beanie throw) elsewhere
Richardarmitagefanpage reminds us of a Hobbit Extended Editions rewatch organised by One Ring Net for 21 July
Some dramatic Guy of Gisborne gifs, season 3, by riepu10
LOL. Including this mainly for the spot-on caption by thewarriorandtheking
*sniggers* Mezzmerizedbyrichard has come to the aid of many hot and bothered Mr Thornton admirers…
I have always been somewhat intrigued by that pock mark on Richard’s arm. Maybe he had it removed or something, because I also remember pictures from around the same time where he sported a blue plaster on his bicep. Picture posted by hobbitoferebor
Goodness me. 13 years ago. Yes, he looks a good bit younger. And full-on Gisborne-sideburns. Gifs by riepu10
Eyelash porn courtesy by mezzmerizedbyrichard
Ignore the wig and enjoy the nose! Richard as Claude Monet, giffed by mezzmerizedbyrichard
Lehnsharks’ Thorin drawings
BTS footage of Richard as Thorin was few and far between, so here are a few precious scenes, giffed by riepu10
Daniel Miller/Trevor Price looking ominous… Gifs by riepu10
One of nfcomics’ What A Guy Wants… interesting metaphor…
There we go. Sorry for the whole long holiday crap. I can faithfully promise that that is it for this year *sardonic laugh*.
However, before I go and more importantly, just a quick reminder:
It’ll be August soon and that means… RA birthday auction time!!! Donations of items have been coming in and it is high time for me to start organising and promoting, soon. Watch this space for more info!
Have a lovely weekend,
Sonja ❤️
  2020 Armitage Weekly Round-up #28 Hello hello hello! A week has passed and I am back from my mini break. I am going to indulge in a little travel report here, so those of you who have no interest in sitting through someone else's holiday pictures - no offense taken, I totally understand!
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yaz-the-spaz · 4 years
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ok so thank goodness for amazing friends cause i didn’t actually have to go searching and watching the thing myself and was just sent screenshots and background info to save me the time and energy lol but anyway this is what ppl are basing their theories on (re maya possibly being on the zoom concert vid)
so basically there’s a lot of debate on whether it actually was maya or not cause it’s supes shitty quality and some people are saying it looks like her and others are saying it looks more like a guy lol - more on my thoughts on this below but for anyone who wants to be their own judge...
behold this potato ass footage: 
(btw sorry for the caption, that’s just the op’s opinion not mine):
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so basically my thoughts are thusly:
the pic does look kinda ambiguous and the shitty quality makes it hard to say for sure...like if it's a guy it is a TINY BOI which awww lol but if it's maya/a girl they are a quite masc looking girl imo which nothing wrong with that obvs but maya's never looked quite THAT masc to me (although i obvi haven't studied her face too closely esp not from various angles/lighting so maybe she does look more masc in certain angles with no makeup and bad lighting idk lol) but anyway if it IS her the friend who sent me the pic had this to say (edited a tiny bit only for clarity) which is just hilarious and also very relevant tbf lol:
“It is such a horrid picture if it is her...1st why is she there and 2nd girl isn't going to get much modeling work looking like that.  Oh and her follower count is down back to 237k from the highest of like 239k who stunts to lose followers.”
and also this same friend of mine who sent me all this went deep diving on m’s friends and family and found an ig comment (pic below) from her uncle to this guy named arturo who appears to be a close friend of m’s and who had a birthday yesterday and was at the henry’s family house and well...all i have to say is if it’s your birthday why are you going all the way to your friend’s family’s house when your friend is (supposedly) not even there and is all the way in another country/in london with her ‘bf’ lol 
[and that’s not even getting into the fact that you shouldn’t be going to ANY friend’s houses in the middle of this fucking quarantine but we won’t get into that rn 😒]
anyway regardless of whether it was her in the zoom concert vid (which i am skeptical to believe unless she flew all the way out to london just for that/to show her blurry face in a potato ass vid and then went home again just in time to be in town for her friend’s bday lol) it wouldn’t be much unlike any other extra af stunting we’ve seen to prove the gf’s are “rayL”, but i’m still more inclined to believe it’s someone else, either a masc-ish looking girl or a smol boi
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purplesurveys · 4 years
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819
what is a food that you’d hate to be allergic to?: Omg SEAFOOD. Can’t live without it. If I was allergic to it I’d be that person who brings tons of antihistamines everywhere I go so I can power through when eating crabs and mussels and shrimp. I just can’t live a life of being forced to watch others eat seafood while I can’t lol.
what color was the last towel you used?: Light blue.
would you prefer to date someone taller, shorter, or the same height as you? Same height or a tad bit taller is fine; I’m not super particular when it comes to height.
when was the last time your nose bled? My nose has never bled before and I dread the day it happens for the first time, because I’m totally unprepared and blood freaks me out and I will highkey probably pass out for a bit hahaha.
how old are you turning this year?: I already turned 22 last April. Considering the circumstances, my birthday had surprisingly gone really well too.
what is your favorite thing to snack on while watching a movie?: French fries from Potato Corner. My go-to bucket size is Mega and I will typically request my order to be 1/2 barbecue and 1/2 cheese fries. I’ll feel super uneasy if I don’t have that exact order when watching a movie at the cinema.
swimming pool or hot tub?: So I had to look up hot tub because I wanted to know how it’s different from a jacuzzi, and holyyyyy crap I’ve learned something new - Jacuzzi is a brand of hot tubs, wtfreak my life has been a lie I thought it was a word!!! Hahaha in any case, I do prefer hot tubs more. I’ve always felt dirty hanging around in swimming pools.
can you swim well? I’m not able to perform any of the strokes like an Olympic athlete, but I can tread well and for a good amount of time.
what body part do you wash first in the shower?: Not really a part of the body per se but I’ve always washed my hair first.
who would you allow to read your thoughts for one day? No thanks, I find that too invasive. 
what kind of first impression do you think you make? Cold and a little aloof, which isn’t too far off from the truth especially if I’m not approached first. If someone does talk to me for the first time, it’ll depend on their body language whether I’ll choose to continue to be reserved, or if I’d want to be bubbly and vibrant around them.
name your last reason for using a camera? My dad honked his horn as he parked in the carport to let us know he was home, and my dog ran up the screen door and sat patiently to wait for him to come inside, his tail wagging the whole time.
where was the last place you fell asleep other than your bed? Sometimes I’ll line up our dining chairs together so it can turn to some sort of bed, and I’ve been falling asleep on that often lately.
what are you excited about? To drink the rest of this milk tea my dad bought me :) He went out to run some errands and I guess he’s been hearing me talk about how I miss having milk tea, so he went out of his way to go to a Chatime and get drinks for me and my sister.
seven days from now, will you be in a relationship? Yes.
are you a happy person? My emotions are always all over the place. I’m never consistently in a certain mood.
when was the last time you laughed really hard & why? I was bored and missing normal life last night so I went through my uploaded photos on Twitter so I can see what I used to do before everything went downhill...and by doing that, I realized that I’m quite good at tweeting HAHAHA most of my captions made me laugh and my content/photos weren’t all that bland or bad either. Idk, this is one instance where I can confidently say that I’m funny hahaha.
what are you wearing? A UP shirt and a pair of shorts.
what do you want? For my college to post the official list of graduating students for this school year so that I can finally partake in the tradition of changing my Facebook DP to my senior photo. I REALLY love how my portrait turned out and I can’t wait for my loved ones to see it.
did you enjoy your weekend? It was okay I guess. My mom was annoyingly cranky throughout Saturday for no reason, but it mellowed out by the next day and that’s good enough for me. Other than that, it was just as uneventful as the last three months have been.
do you regret anything you’ve done recently? Just little stuff that I get over quickly like, “oh I regret making this coffee at 11 PM because it’s now 3 AM and I’m jumpy as fuck.” But no big regrets recently.
is there anybody you wish you could see? For fucking sure. I don’t even have to tell y’all who it is.
have you ever kissed anyone with a name that starts with j or m? Nope. I almost went out with an M, though.
how many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust? 2 3/4 lol. I trust Andrew 110%...and I mooooostly trust my dad. Not with every single topic under the sun, but I still trust him a whole lot nonetheless.
do you think you’ll be married in 10 years? I hope I will be by then.
what makes you mad most about girls? Definitely wanna avoid generalizing in this question but the way some girls will fawn over men is super hypocritical and that bugs me to no end. Girls shaming other girls for a range of things is also annoying, whether it’s over wearing too much makeup, not wearing makeup, choosing to abort, physical appearances, their diet, etc. Some really need to mind their own fucking business.
have you ever been given roses? Yes.
do you even like getting flowers? I love receiving stems or bouquets but I’m not obsessed with them in that I wanna get them regularly. Giving me flowers for Valentine’s Day or on our anniversary is more than enough for me.
what’s your favorite flowers? Peonies.
could you go out in public looking like you do now? No. I’d change my shorts.
who’s the first person you texted today? I haven’t texted anyone today.
would you move to another state to be with the person you loved? That’s a toughie...it would depend on the opportunities I have wherever I live in the present, and whether there are better ones where my partner is. I’m young and still building up my career, so realistically I’d wanna look out for myself first instead of clumsily jumping in headfirst for love lol.
how’s the weather today? It’s strangely warm and humid and uncomfortable, which is annoyinggggg. News has said that the wet/rainy season already begun, so I don’t know why the sun is still hanging around and being, again, annoying.
what color are your eyes? Really dark brown, almost black.
do you like poptarts? In my country we only get the same five flavors but my favorite out of all of them is chocolate fudge. I really wish we had a wider selection though :(
where will you be 12 hours frm now? Getting ready for bed most likely.
is it easy for others to make you feel intimidated? No. I’m usually the one who involuntarily makes others feel intimidated, oops.
do you know what you are going to wear tomorrow? Not exactly but it’s definitely gonna be one of the several tops and shorts I’ve just been repeatedly wearing at home since March.
are you on a desktop or laptop? Laptop. I haven’t used a desktop in ages.
does anyone hate you for no reason? I’m sure one or two people do, but I genuinely can’t care less.
what are you planning to do today? Finish my milk tea, maybe take another survey or two, eat the salted egg chips that my dad bought, and, if it cools down later in the day, take a quick nap.
play an instrument? I can play the recorder. I also memorize several songs on the piano, but the key word there is memorize lmao. I just know which keys to press due to watching covers over and over; but I can’t read notes, I don’t know which letters match which keys, have no idea what major and minor is, and I basically know absolutely nothing about using a piano.
would you go back in time if you were given the chance? Just to get closure from certain people or events. If I can go back in time I’d spend more time with my late grandpa, for one.
where did you get the underwear you are wearing right now? I’ve already forgotten.
have you ever kissed someone whose name starts with an r? No. I’m an R though, heh.
have you ever passed out? Yeah numerous times. I’m a big fainter, which just sounds so uncool lmfao.
are you easily confused? Yes I feel lost quite easily. I’m often the butt of my friends’ jokes because of this, but I don’t mind hahaha.
do you think you would make a good wife/husband? I like to think that I would be, but I dunno. I’m still insanely young and I know I’ll be a completely different person with different priorities, mindset, attitude, etc., by the time I get married. It’s too early to tell.
what’s your favorite kind of ice cream? Cookies and cream. Queso real is also a really good flavor and it was my favorite for some time before my taste shifted to cookies and cream.
do you like coffee? Love coffee.
do you like summer? I like it when I get to go to the beach or when my family books trips out of town or the country, but I reeeeeally could do without the hot and sticky weather. It’s definitely not my favorite period of the year.
where were you at 8am this morning? I was asleep for half of it, then by 8:30 I was up and scrolling through Facebook.
do you fall for people easily? No. That is one thing I can’t do as a demisexual haha.
everything happens for a reason? This is usually my mindset, yes. It helps me process and accept circumstances better and much more quickly.
have you ever dated someone more than once? Yup, Gab and I have broken up before.
who have you texted in the last 24 hours? No one. Not really big on texting these days as I’ve been using Messenger to contact people throughout the quarantine.
what color nail polish is on your toes? My toes are never painted.
do you find members of the preferred sex confusing? People of any gender have the potential to be confusing. < This.
what are you listening to right now? Right now all I can hear is the work being done for the new house that’s being constructed in front of ours, so I’ll hear the occasional shoveling of stones and trucks coming in and out of the construction zone. The last music I listened to was the Presto from Summer of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons because Portrait of a Lady on Fire always makes me feel things.
how has the week been? It hasn’t been horrible, I’ll give it that. I’ve been revisiting my old fandoms out of boredom but it’s turned out to be a lot of fun; my mom brought home cupcakes at the start of the week; I had milk tea today; and we just had Kimi groomed this afternoon so his fur is all gone and now he looks like a giant rat.
is there something you wish you could tell someone but can’t? I wish I could have respectful debates with my Duterte- and/or Trump-supporting relatives, but I know that’s impossible.
what are your biggest turn offs? People who: can only hold shallow conversations, are disrespectful to those in the service industry; are casually homophobic, racist, sexist, transphobic, and/or fatphobic; take their religion way too seriously; and neglect their pets.
favorite shirt to wear? My CM Punk Best in the World shirt, without a doubt. I’ve been wearing it semi-regularly for nine years and have absolutely no intention of throwing it out.
favorite drink? Depends on my mood and the occasion. If I’m studying I’d wanna have coffee with me, if I’m casually dining at a restaurant I’d be happy with iced water, etc.
last person to say ‘i love you’ to you? Gab.
would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Yeah, but when that’s gonna happen again I still have no idea...
what’s your favorite color gummy bear? I always find myself reaching for the red ones.
what is the nicest part of the opposite sex’s body? I don’t consistently stare at a certain part of a guy’s body.
have you ever run into a dishwasher? No, those aren’t common here.
ever had a song sung about/for you? Nope.
is there a baby in the room with you right now? No, not technically. But I do consider my pets to be my babies. < Same. Kimi, now a giant rodent, is walking around the living room at the moment but he never strays too far from me.
where do you sing the most, in the car, the shower or other? CAAAAAAAAAR. This is a big reason why I miss driving, I haven’t been able to belt out in a while.
what is your favorite thing that is green? I don’t own a lot of green stuff since it’s my least favorite color...buuuuut I do have a printed flowy dress that I just love to wear, and it’s mostly olive green.
what did your last text message say? It’s an automated text from a vet clinic I went to last December telling me that I should bring Kimi back for a checkup. I appreciate the gesture but I’m not going back there after how condescending the vet was acting towards me.
what is the way to your heart? Acts of service has been my love language for the longest time.
what do you smell like? I smell nothing off of me now but I do know that I don’t smell unpleasant, because if I did I would’ve noticed it immediately and would feel more conscious.
what’s in your pocket? I don’t have any.
anything in your mouth? Not right now but I’ve been sipping milk tea with pearls all afternoon.
ever hurt yourself playing wii? Only after my first day of playing Wii Sports. It was like a workout for my tiny 10 year old body and I woke up all sore the next morning.
do you have freckles? No, not a common feature here.
what’s the last movie you saw in the theater? Knives Out.
ever jumped/fallen/been pushed in a pool with your clothes on? Noooooooooo. I feel like that’s super uncomfortable; I’ve always entered pools with a swimsuit or bikini. My glare is usually enough for people to understand that I wouldn’t appreciate being thrown into a pool while I still had clothes on.
are you wearing any clothes that you wore yesterday? Technically. I took a shower in the evening and changed into the clothes I’m wearing now, but that was in the evening so it’s not like I wore them all day yesterday.
name a song that you know all the words to: Every single Paramore song. Guaranteed.
what’s the last thing you watched on tv? If we’re really going with a physical TV, the last thing I watched was Descendants of the Sun when I used the Netflix app on our TV. The last series I watched in general was Friends.
what can you hear right now? Two fans whirring in the living room.
did you feel better or worse or the same yesterday? I’m slightly better today. I’m glad Kimi has finally been groomed since his fur had knotted up in the last couple of weeks. Plus I also have milk tea today, and that’s always a winner :)))
are you close to your siblings? With my sister, but we treat each other like buddies and are more of the tough-love type. We banter more than anything and we don’t hold heart to heart talks.
do you bite your nails? No we have a nail cutter at home that I use. If I’m going through a period of heightened anxiety I will bite my nails though.
do you like your feet? Uh, I guess. I’m not complaining about them? but I’m also not attracted to feet. Mine are just there and I’m fine with them.
do you sleep well at night? For the most part.
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myassbrokethefall · 6 years
Text
All right, I just watched This for the third time, and the first time where I could really pause and rewind and have my attention undivided, since the first time through my brain was just a mess of AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH THIS IS SO GOOD THIS IS SO GOOD and the second time it was so I could follow along with Gillian’s tweets. (I may have learned what a taint was that day, but I did not get much detailed information about the plot.) (Just kidding, I already knew what a taint was, unlike Gillian Anderson who is clearly still enjoying the novelty of having recently found out about it.)
Here are my unedited (except for typos/some cleanup for clarity purposes) thoughts as I watched it, under a cut because anytime anyone says “lol here are my UNEDITED THOUGHTS” it should be under a cut, I feel like. Enjoy! Or don’t.
Phone: MULDER! MULDER! MULDER! MULDER! MULDER! MULDER!
Mulder: *sleeps*
Scully (very quietly): Mulder
Mulder: WHAT I'M UP I'M UP
I hope those assassins had to get out of the car and manually heave the gate out of the way like Scully did in IWTB.
Why is there an antler on the floor? Do Mulder and Scully just have...a single antler
"Accuse your enemies of that which you are guilty"?? I didn't even see that because apparently I didn’t look up either time while the themesong was playing. Also, in the grand tradition of "that with which he can't live without," this is grammatically incoherent. Good proofreading everyone
I look forward to someone less lazy than me examining every single frame of film in which the Unremarkable House appears and itemizing all of Mulder and Scully's possessions. I MAY have the same toaster oven as them?
Scully's badge number is XF072161?? What happened to JTTsomething? @startwreck did you know about this
227700 Wallis Road, Farrs Corner, VA. A real town. Google Map it, click Satellite, zoom out and note with pleasure (if you’re me) how in the exact bullseye middle of a bunch of empty green they are, far from civilization. That’s how I like my Unremarkable House. 
Simultaneous thoughts I had as the second wave of bad guys was attacking: How on earth did somebody get upstairs that fast? Did they parachute in? / Look at that beautiful porchlight
Crucial Plot Points That I Missed Entirely While In Raptures Over The Mulder And Scully Goodness Of This Episode, Part 1: Barbara Hershey’s character sent this Russian goon squad. Ah.
russian guy: (mockingly) “I want to believe”?
mulder: it’s not enough this dude is about to kill me, he has to make fun of my nerd poster? insult to injury
skinner: ugh just surrender to them! it's fine 
m&s: they tried to assassinate us two times
skinner: ohhhh lol sorry i didn't know they were going to do that MY bad
This order of presidents/32 32nd 34 35...stuff feels so unpolished and ad-libbed even though it's obviously plot-crucial (so I assume scripted), but it's like, they're just kinda bouncing around NEAR the lines, and I love it. And I love when Scully holds out her hand for him to supply the answer of which president FDR is and he has no idea so she supplies “32nd” and he's like “32 yeah I was totally about to say that yup” and then he forgets the number 33 exists, thus missing the clue. You're a mess, Mulder. Thank goodness for your smart wife.
Also it makes me wonder if "now you're just showing off, really" was an ad-lib of David’s because it feels like he interrupts her line; she has just said "FDR" and he says that and then she continues on with the FDR part again. scripted or duchovny? LEAVE MY JOKES IN GLEN
Them just figuring out this cemetery clue like Encyclopedia Brown GIVES ME LIFE
Skinner gave them a Leatherman? Handy/I’m surprised they didn’t trade it for more muffins
“it links to a video of the pet or person” lol
THIS SHOW IS LITERALLY SO DARK I HONESTLY CANNOT SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING; it went to commercial on a lingering shot of something and I don’t know what it was
So we kinda already knew this, but the "I'm gonna open an x-file on this bran muffin" line comes BEFORE the "I opened an x-file on this building in the '90s" line, leading me to believe that the bran muffin x-file line is also an ad-lib (in addition to Gillian’s “alien butt” line directly after, which she confirmed it was) because "opening an x-file” was on David's mind from doing the scene over and over. Scully's "An x-file?" line delivered like that's a new idea doesn't really mesh with her just having heard that term 20 seconds ago in re: bran muffins. DETECTIVE WORK
(also to be clear I’M FINE WITH THAT, leave in all their ad libs, they’re canon now, canon canon canon canon)
scully: walter we need your HELP 
skinner: kids, i literally already gave you all the money I have, jesus I am just trying to go to work, can you please handle your shit
scully: we used UP all that money on MUFFINS, and we ATE THEM ALL ok those muffins were GREAT but we are HUNGRY AGAIN we need your HELP GODDAMNIT even though we don’t TRUST YOU, why are you such a JERK, can’t you just go to the ATM? UNTRUSTWORTHY
"if you want to see the x-files you don't have to go to the office" me: I do spend quite a bit of time at the office seeing the x-files though (or at least various secondary references thereto)
Mulder, after two seconds of searching in the proprietary search bar: fuck this it doesn’t work I'll just google it #relatable
Crucial Plot Points That I Missed Entirely While In Raptures Over The Mulder And Scully Goodness Of This Episode, Part 2: that the spank bank thing was a deliberate secret message leading to the Langly's girlfriend lady. (also that they kept that from Skinner)
I also missed all this Sims talk with Langly’s girlfriend, on how they would know it was a simulation. "you wouldn't be able to click on the neighbor's house" "there would be a loading screen every time you went on vacation" "if you had the pets pack installed the same dog would come every day and dig a hole in your yard" "buy mode would be disabled if there was a burglar" "you would only be able to make macaroni and cheese until you had more cooking points" "if story progression was turned on sometimes you'd go to your neighbor's house and there would just be a random baby on the floor" "blurry boxes would appear on you every time you went to the bathroom" i got a million of ’em
Lollllllll at Mulder's awkward cough after “maybe he saw Mulder in his dreams” / “Who hasn't” / Scully’s look
What’s with all the fly imagery? Two acts have opened with closeup shots of insects.
This skanky bar scene...every moment of it is a cinematic masterpiece that I will treasure forever
Scully's hilarious face in reaction to the beer is another thing I didn't notice. like, this is what you ordered for me while I was asleep? gross dude
also I love her smile as she closes her eyes again like, mulder's yappin, all's right with the world, goodnight
Langly simulation: Are you...Fox...Mulder? Something about that name...is familiar to me...as if from another life...I feel compelled to contact you though I don't know why or what it means
Mulder: Yes, it's me, and Scully
Langly simulation: DANA SCULLY?! Omg how are you girl I miss you so much! omg I'm gonna cry I’m so glad to see you how the hell are you
We're digital slaves...they force us to make grilled cheese sandwiches over and over again and every time we try to play videogames they make us study the mechanical skill instead...sometimes they put us in a pool and take the ladder away just for their sick amusement...that's not even getting into the torment that comes from the move_objects on cheat...sure we may have rosebud!;!;!;!; levels of money and I may be the mayor but aging is turned off and I've already bought the fanciest TV and the most comfy bed and I've done all the tomb quests in World Adventures and I don't know what else there is here for me...plus the game lags every time I try to go on the subway...it's hell, Mulder, hell (sorry, done with the Sims jokes now)
Scully, they don't serve mimosas on the bus; believe me, I would know.
Do Gillian's kids get freaked out hearing her speak in an American accent? No more freaked out than seeing her in a red wig i guess
JACOB JARVITS FEDERAL BUILDING #neverforget
What is with the "looking moodily out at the New York skyline at night while sipping a martini in an ’80s movie" soundtrack in this "get us in the tunnel" scene
Mulder's eyebrow raise after "married to the Bureau" *drapes it all over my body*
the clearest and largest STAIRS sign in all of history; sure half the episode is so dark you can't make out what's happening but god forbid we not know that the door Mulder's gesturing to is the S T A I R S
literally why IS mulder yelling out numbers on the stairs at the top of his lungs? he's not even counting the floors, there are 29 floors and he's like 32 34 36 38...he's counting by twos...is he counting the stairs? Why? scripted or duchovny? "glen please leave in my inane stair counting, it's funny!" "david by gum you guys are magic. magic! ok ok, no problem buddy, just keep it flowing"
mulder and scully get in like 12 physical fights in this episode. AMAZING
Ok, now here’s where I really have to pay attention because i legit did not listen to a GODDAMN WORD of this Barbara Hershey scene the other two times.
Why are there SO MANY lamps in here and how is it still so dark
"You're still refusing to answer the question of your father" am I supposed to remember what that is? Show, you greatly overestimate me
Hold on, did Scully jump some guy with a flashlight and beat the shit out of him during this voiceover and I didn't even realize it? GO SCULLY (closed captioning: “blows landing, groaning”)
Crucial Plot Points That I Missed Entirely While In Raptures Over The Mulder And Scully Goodness Of This Episode, Part 3: the entire earth is about to burn down, whoops, did NOT catch that.
"my company advised killing you" okaayyyy
Did barbara hershey ask muldo to kill csm last episode and he said he wouldn't? why the hell not? do it dude do it
"we can upload a mind through any smartphone" sure until Apple releases a new OS and then it starts lagging
“We can take a piece of your mind anytime you make a call” oh good they’ll get like 3 pieces of my mind a year then. It would be much more efficient to take a piece of my mind every time I open Hay Day
Mulder has been handcuffed or fake-handcuffed A LOT this episode. He's going to need to process this through roleplay once he and Scully get home
Is Scully using the Leatherman as a physical key to switch off a top-secret high-security NSA federal computer system in lieu of the actual, presumably very specialized, key manufactured for that purpose? It really can do anything.
I can’t tell what we’re supposed to be seeing in this conference room to indicate that it was abandoned. Barbara Hershey is gone but was there other stuff in there? Like a sign that said “THE CONSPIRACY” or something? The LAMPS are still there, I guess they didn’t have time to pack those up
There's an orange on the floor in the UH. This is a step up, nutrition-wise, from the time Mulder had potato chips on the coffee table in IWTB. 
There is a basketball hoop DIRECTLY over a lamp. Really, Mulder?
Scully literally drops off to sleep in 3 seconds. all things continuity. 👏
So, destroy the backup? Does that mean there's a backup to the simulation and they’re just going to restore from it and nothing they did accomplished anything? Except for being the most delightful and satisfying episode of TXF ever filmed? Also what does the curly-haired guy being in there mean? I mean obviously he was uploaded after he died but is he in there like, tormenting Langly now? In the backup? How many backups are there? Can a Leatherman be used to defeat all of them?
I don’t care; Mulder and Scully are asleep on the couch and everything is perfect.
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