.

they should have left august have genuine feelings for day imo like we already saw him kinda disappointed it was not a date with mork... the whole kiss thing felt so wrong they did day (and august too tbh) dirty

to start off, thank you for indulging me with a ltts message 🥰 also I hope this isn't too long, i havent had the time to seriously think about this episode so this is my chance 💓

throughout the episode I began wondering if august was a legitimate contender and the thought bothered me for a few reasons: i had been under the impression the plot isn't really about that; that there would be no space to fit in a love triangle of this size if other conflicts were to be explored and resolved. basically that mork and day would have enough on their plate without august in the picture and focusing on those two would only slow down the development of the main couple. I did find the thought of august's intentions being serious intriguing though, a bit frustrating, yes, but also interesting.

now, I had a bit of trouble understanding your point but im guessing you mean we already saw that day was disappointed the party wasn't a date so we're aware of his feelings and they are not aimed at august anymore? so it wouldn't have been an issue if august just continued liking day because day doesn't like him that way anymore, right? because I get that, it wouldn't have been the first time that's happened on screen haha but also that's exactly why I'm not that fond of the idea. day and august having a mutual crush and that going for a few episodes? THAT I find intriguing, an actual relationship trying to figure itself out while it's doomed by the narrative because it isn't the main romance.

but august having actual romantic feelings for day and stepping aside (because the show wants this couple dealt with by the end of the first half, apparently, and it would have cut him off somehow) would be something both sad and also, in my humble opinion, redundant. I've seen it before, it's just a bummer for everyone involved and I don't need it here.

what the plot actually did was very nice, as weird as it sounds. it gave us a character who loves his mate a lot. I do not doubt that august has strong feelings for day. everyone is pissed at him at the moment, day is hurt because there was pity, mork is angry because there was lack of consideration but that boy cares for day, a lot. i suppose there are feelings of guilt, they were on the court together when day lost his vision and then he didn't contact august for over a year. august probably felt some sort if personal responsibility for day's condition or for his behaviour towards him while they were partners, for the fact day felt he couldn't tell him the truth. so there is guilt and there is pity but also there is affection for a friend, for a partner, for the person alongside which you aimed for your dreams. they have a bond (and im sure people have expressed a lot about their sync and dynamic that I haven't picked up on but a bond is undeniable).

august tried to be a better person, a warm one, someone day doesn't recognise. he tried to be everything he wasn't before because thats what he decided day wants and needs. the night at the bar he was already feeling bad about leaving day to hang. on a side note, while the episode was airing i ran to check whether the cast was there that night and if it was on the same arm. it was. august didnt lie and im paranoid lmao anyways

the scene was crushing for mork and us, sure, but it was also very hard for august. he had had an accident, he couldn't contact day and still went as soon as he could after midnight. when he heard the confession he ran which honestly felt like an appropriate reaction - indicating he was there would make day embarrassed and pretending to come in later also wouldn't work because his partner who recently came back into his life with shocking news after ghosting him for a year suddenly confessed he's in love with him. while he's exhausted and hurt. of course the kid needed time to process what the fuck is going on! and he came back the very next morning, ready to make things right.

the issue stems from the fact he had no clue what right is, his underdeveloped brain told him to be a better friend than before but it went too far off in the direction of that thought and landed at "be what he wants you to be to a T" which includes, well, a romantic interest. and that's just not something you can force but alas, earnest, stupid august tried to check off everything on the "make day happy" list.

that boy ran off crying (I would too if mork glared at me like a maddog but still) because he kissed and got kissed by someone he didn't want such contact with ( the reciprocated kiss was A Lot for him) and then realised he'd hurt the person he wanted to satisfy in every way. his words indicate he didn't intend the kiss to be just one, that he wanted to actively change the way he feels about day, that he considered being his boyfriend. I figure he truly realised that was not an option while the kiss was happening hence why the second one had him running away again.

we know august is impulsive and earnest, his intentions were coming from a good place but he couldn't plan to save his life. he acts with his heart and so he was relying on falling for day till the end with no backup plan. it's either that or he knew before the kiss and intended it to be a single gift and I can't tell which is worse. in any case he was aware of the big possibility him and days weren't going to work out so his actions were majorly irresponsible.

the kiss had me screaming NOO literally and then the second one nearly had me gripping my hair, idek what sounds I made from the beginning till the end of that scene but "felt wrong" is something I can understand though it didd feel wrong but maybe not in the way you mean?

i didn't know nor suspect august's intentions and thought process so the kiss felt real to me and though I was against it as an avid morkday shipper, I didn't think that narratively it was bad. day was done dirty a 100% (though he gets mork acting on his feelings finally so..glass half full..?). let's not forget that mork actively supported day's perception of the situation as flirting - not his fault, that's what august was doing after all - but it's something that made the fall that much worse. day was getting hyped up by mork the way he was by gee ABOUT mork before that. he gets affected by his friends' opinions because he relies on them to read the other's body language and intentions. so there is this feeling of helplessness not only because of the pity that guided august's actions but the fact he couldn't assess the situation himself. so yes, for this and many other reasons, day was done dirty by every definition of the phrase.

but as for august and the plot I'm not so sure. august as a character is, to me, much more interesting as this confused and, frankly, unintelligent young man whose heart seems to be in the right place..? but whose actions are totally misguided than if he were, let's say, a good guy finally acting on his crush after years. I suppose he could've stopped before the kiss and told day the truth and maybe day would be a bit disappointed but definitely more forgiving and less heartbroken..

but then how would we see that day can help mork tame his anger with just a touch of the hand? and we needed an act so grotesque that would lead them to have a conversation that makes mork want to scream "I do not pity you, I haven't pitied you for a second, you are so strong and smart and loveable, i love you, how could you ever focus on a nobody like him when you are everything, you deserve so much more, how could you not know that, why did i ever let him near you, i should have never allowed for this to happen, i love you so much god I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU" (yes thats what those eyes at the rooftop said, idk what yall heard.)

i believe the charm of this scene and this whole conflict is that no one there is acting out of malice. it's just people doing what they think is right. mork stepping aside was not the right move technically but it fits his character and the plot as well. imo august wasn't done dirty, he was made interesting and also he isn't a bad guy. he did some really harmful shit but by the end of the scene i didn't feel an ounce of malice from him. there could still be love between the two but one that's not based around day walking on eggshells and one that doesn't rely on august to be something he is not. when they arent forced by the outside to be in close proximity and make things work, when they can just tease each other comfortably without taking all of the other's happiness and well-being as their own responsibility, thats when they could have a nice casual friendship with a lot of appreciation for the other. i believe him and day would reconcile at some point in the future when day is ready to forgive and august is ready to stop running.

Could you tell me more about IDW Bumblebee, I found people rarely talk about him pre-ghost era. English is not my native language and IDW got so many hard word and advanced theme, even when I read them in my mother language i understand 78% what they are talking about at best 😿

oh i got you dude. there is definitely something about the wording that confuses me sometimes too, it takes energy to fully comprehend what everyone is saying. glad i wasn't the only one thinking that! (beware long post below)

before becoming Cybertron's "assigned" ruler, Bumblebee didn't even appear much in the early days of idw, he just kinda popped up here and there, most notably spying on the decepticons. only when the autobots start to work with humans does he get involved, and eventually pressured into a leader position when Optimus surrenders to the humans who want to work together, but truthfully just using them for their own gain

so the humans (if they are in some kind of organisation that actually has a name i don't remember so i'll just continue referring to them like that) propose a "cooperation" for the autobots to capture decepticons or any rogue transformers in exchange for their safety

this is where Bumblebee shines, in my opinion, as best as he can in a leader position. at this point Rodimus (i THINK he isn't Hot Rod anymore) leaves because he can't stand working for the humans and tries to find a way to get off Earth (that doesn't go well) so Bee is basically left as the only one in charge. poor guy didn't even want to be a leader and to be perfectly honest idw tries to push this way too hard since he's really not this. he's the support guy, the one who can level the situation, but leading does not come easily for him

anyway, the tipping point comes when humans order autobots to capture Blurr, who was just hanging around and literally not hurting anyone, so when Bee decides "fuck it we're not gonna out one of our own" he stands his ground and shows that the autobots won't be pushed around. a bunch of stuff happens. i forgor. Optimus Prime returns and they arrange a team to fly off to Cybertron, leaving Bumblebee and a couple of others to wait

they hang out, Bee gets to be a scout for one issue (Spotlight: Bumblebee (how do i remember this??)) and captures a few decepticons while others space-bridge out of Earth to Cybertron. and then they?? go to Cybertron???? i think

and from here on out Bumblebee is part of Cybertronian government and it's the entire Robots in Disguise thing. it's pretty cool i like RID 👉👈

so! for characterization! my personal take is that idw focuses way too much on external plot than on internal character development (the whole get off Earth and cooperate with humans plot). like, i get it, you have to have story to progress, but it's like Bumblebee isn't Bumblebee anymore, he's just a device and a Representative of the autobots to rule. anyone else would have been a solid leader, but the voting showed him to have the most Leader position?? out of all of them??? he didn't even appear much before this arc. i LIKE that he gets attention, he's my favourite character, but it doesn't have to be him. idk

but sure, we'll move on from that. what i actually like is how he changes from A Background Character Who Seems Nice to Holy Shit I Have Trauma. he gets progressively fucked up as the story goes on, especially in RID (or is it exRID????? i can never remember), taking several unethical actions under pressure when everyone expects you to make a decision and then everyone gets mad at you for making it. i get it little guy. fuck them up i say

trying to be kind in his position is really hard when everyone is at each other's throats, when your government is collapsing, when you seem like you have the upper hand but then something horrible happens. but Bumblebee still tries to make right and just decisions, even when most public would be against him

and then he gets almost killed by Megatron in a coup! that's fun. i'm kidding i actually really like the transition from cute little Bumblebee to Goldbug (even if it was for only a couple of issues). he wasn't the same person before, and now it's solidified that he's different on the outside too

while i have you i can cry about his death which is so so so good and meaningful - it literally drives Megatron to become an autobot - but then it never goes anywhere except Starscream's arc!!!!! Megatron never mentions Bumblebee (as far as i know!) and how he's actually made such an impact on Cybertron and Megatron and his entire arc. like!!!!!! still makes my blood boil

but that's it for pre-ghost Bee! he's neat, i love him, starbee is the best, send tweet

MAG 63 - making apple pie in the kitchen

I just want to say right off the bat that this is one of my favorite statements!

"And if you don’t know what it is, well, the Internet’s a thing. Look it up." - so true, lmgtfy

"Everyone always forgets how much London is under London." - Foreshadowing? I mean, it's true, but still since this will become relevant to the plot.

"I took another picture before I followed him. The shadow was still there, and it seemed to be ever so slightly closer." - Aaaah, this is exactly the shit I love! xD

"I told him bluntly that I didn’t have enough, and if I didn’t get paid, he didn’t get paid." - Capitalism is the real enemy!!! Aside from that, it's so tragic that the Luke gets snatched. He wanted to leave.

"the third set of breathing. It was quiet, at first, long and slow, and very deliberate." - Jonny does love the words "slow" and "deliberate", preferably very close to each other, doesn't he?

"and I sank to the floor, clutching my camera to my chest like some sort of protective talisman." - I wonder if it was? Cameras belong to the Eye and that's the opposite of the Dark. The Dark is about the unseen, the Eye is about being seen. And the camera did make them visible to some point.

"As I pressed the button, the screaming stopped, with a wet snap, and for the worst moment of my life, an explosion of light shot through the darkness." - I love this so much _

"His eyes were staring at me as though pleading for my feeble, flashing camera to save him." - Firstly, again the camera being mentioned as a possible lifesaver. And secondly, and this is why horror writers say their search history is super fucked up: Luke's eyes were probably fixed on the statement-giver's camera because he was thinking just that. Yes, just the head. It is believed, that people (and animals) stay at least 2 to 3 seconds conscious before falling in a coma and dying from oxygen deprivation and sudden fall of perfusion of blood in the brain. This is a highly interesting topic physiology-wise that I have on some occasions been reading up about with fascination and dread alike. Because holy shit, this is so messed up.

MELANIE "The new girl let me in. Are you all right?" - <.<

MELANIE "No! I, um – I actually do need your help." JON "… Hm. Interesting." - He doesn't, but I feel like he really wants to be smug about it. Like, well well well, how the turns have tabled!

MELANIE "Georgie actually has some nice things to say about you." JON "Oh!" MELANIE "That came as a surprise." - Hahaha, that little "Oh" in there xD

JON "We didn’t exactly part on the best of terms…" - Well I wonder why that is… I mean, Jon can be a prick, but Georgie isn't a saint either. She's got a bit of a control problem going on. Ha… interesting… since it is said how similar Jmart is to wtgfs, this would make Georgie and Martin similar and control is a Web-thing, isn't it? It's just that Georgie can't quite succeed in it.

JON "I’m sorry to hear that. I noticed you weren’t updating anymore." - I know people in fanfics are always like "Oh, Jon only watches documentaries" and I think this was also said in a Q&A once that he'd probably be the documentaries-type but let's not forget what kind of a kid Jon was! He was a bookworm! He probably read a lot of fiction and I can't believe that he completely stopped that, fiction I mean. He may not have seen Kill Bill, but he knows the basic story of Spiderman, hell he's probably seen the first one with Toby Maguire! So yes. I believe Jon also watched some Ghost Hunting shows. It is after all that what he wants answers to.

"The new girl" line always sent shivers up my spine....

Just saw the new Ghostbusters movie!

It was fun, but I definitely have... Notes. I will put them below a Read More so that you can scroll past if you want.

First off, forgive me for forgetting basically everyone's names.

Okay so my main gripe is the plot. The machine that extracted Phoebe's soul to make her a ghost had a huge leap in exposition. For one thing, the only thing close to it that was mentioned had to do with possessions. Not your own native soul. Also, there wasn't any mention of a timer. Not only that, but was that REALLY the actual plan from Ice Dude and Melody? Like... There HAD to have been better ways to accomplish that. Also Melody had a moment where she was like "but does it have to be her?" There was never anything given to show why it did though?? Yeah, why DID it have to be her? If there was anybody who it would have been, specifically, it would have been Firebender.

Also, it felt like it was Phoebe's story with a Ghostbusters backdrop and on top of that, she's reckless, sure, but not like... That?? Even though her actions let out the Ice Dude and she was betrayed by Melody, she didn't really have any consequences for it? Like... There should have been something about her being too young actually coming into play. But no, Phoebe gets a pass I guess.

So here's a SparkNotes version of my ideal version of this, including maybe some minor things that weren't immediately in this rant and wouldn't have been an issue if the rest of it was fine. Also, if I have things slightly out of order or forgotten my memory sucks so that's likely my bad there. Rearrange or insert as necessary. The point is these are basic ideas.

First, opening largely the same, the prologue and the dragon spirit chase. They get chewed out and go on another call and it's to the room the prologue was in and find a lot of ghosts. Opens the mystery into Ice Dude. In researching, they find Firebender trying to sell the thing. The guy brings it into Ray's shop and that stuff is the same. Ray investigates and Winston goes on the same "we're not young anymore thing."

Some of the same family issues happen with Phoebe, she also meets Melody and there's mentions of her family issues and they bond.

Then the ghost containment stuff, the lab stuff, etc. However this also includes Firebender and since he's also hit the reader, he's believed to be possessed and out in the machine and it's on a timer. He gets to talk to his grandma and learns about the fire powers before either time running out or her fading, purpose fulfilled because she passed her duty on. except the first time the lab's power flickers, the ghosts actually escape. They split into pairs.

Phoebe and her mom go after Melody. They work out differences and how she wants to keep her safe etc. Phoebe prolly does something that actually goes wrong or gets her hurt that her mom has to save her from. Through this, they also work through Melody's family issues so she actually moves on by resolve her family issues rather than the ??? In the actual movie.

Teacher and the son go after Slimer, who is much bigger now. For some reason the teacher isn't able to drive the car and they reconcile over that stuff.

Ray and Winston go after the posseser after meeting Patton Oswald about the wax recording. Winston gets excited again and Ray realizes that he IS old.

James Acaster and intern go after the hardy ghost. Also the barfing ectoplasm actually has a possession effect and some good slapstick ensues. The ultimate goal is for this ghost to possess the body to say the magic words.

Melnitz and Podcast fight the Mini Stay Pufft guys maybe they try to wreck the lab or something idk. Podcast gets annoyed he's stuck with her since she didn't do any actual Ghostbusting back in the day, but she ends up showing him she's badass.

Venkman and Firebender team up to train to control the fire while fighting the bigger contained ghost. Since Venkman actually has a psych degree, he helps Firebender unlock his anger at himself and his brother and use that as a way to build and control the fire as it is triggered by anger, etc.

After all these side things are resolved, they team up to defeat Ice Dude. Also ALL their proton packs are modified to have copper so all their combined effort actually contributes. Also, when the original crew work to reverse the containment, they all have something to do or other to make it work so it's not like... Boring pushing down a lever thing, or conveniently designed to reverse from the get-go.

Idk, I think it would be better to make it more an ensemble and would better resolve some of the holes (though I don't have immediate answers for all the holes though).

tagged by @melisusthewee and @ocean-in-my-rebel-soul for wip wednesday even though it isn't wednesday anymore lol

i've been working a bit on the sequel to a previous f!hawke/varric fic of mine, believe it's easier for you, which was a modern au about varric coming back to kirkwall after a several year absence in which he basically ghosted everyone, and must work his way back into earning everyone's forgiveness/trust again

this sequel so far has been delving a lot more into the backstories of varric and hawke. i can't reveal too much about the plot of the fic itself because i want to finish the entirety of the fic before posting it on ao3 as i did with the first one, but i don't mind showing what little i've done today:

"Varric," Edyiss said as they pulled up to a red light at an intersection, "I have a question."

Varric's smile froze on his face, accompanied by his train of thought screeching to a complete and very dramatic halt, because that was not a good set of words. That was a very bad set of words in fact, ones that foretold his immediate doom. His mouth worked as he struggled to find something to say that wouldn't make things catastrophically worse. "Oh?" he settled with, which seemed like safe waters. Peaceful, non-confrontational waters. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop his mouth from continuing to move without him. "Should I be sitting down for this, or would it be better to grab a shield?"

Edyiss' eyes narrowed only slightly, but it was enough that Varric winced. "Yes," she said, which compounded his wince into a pained grimace.

"That's nonspecific enough that I feel like I should be worried," he said with a half-hearted attempt at his usual grin.

She sighed and scrubbed a hand down her face. "Just… let me get through this, all right? It's hard enough asking it without you turning everything into a joke."

Random Em doodles [Long Thread]

HEAD START! A silly meme i made teehees cutely i love lore ONCE AGAIN I AM MAKING LONG THREADS I LOVE MAKING LONG THREADS AND EXPLAINING WHAT MY TINY BRAIN HAS TO OFFER ^-^

Anywho off we start with this image and God 💀 it is so terrible out of context because it IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT HAPPANED

Okay so basically the whole plot of this AU is basically Em trying to create a reality where Emmet and Ingo do end up getting their reunion in exchange for his mortal body to be severly twisted and his already terrible mental illness and sociopathic behaviour isn't helping him make any decision a good decision so he ends up by accident in order to control the lives of Emmet and Ingo he has to essentially manipulate their surroundings and suggest them so many things to become who they are today. Nothing can fix this man, my guy.

Youre gonna watch him suffer.

Anywho. More bacon man here, hes smiling for once ^-^

Picture of him sleeping with a pillow ^-^

Height difference and usual arguments at their shared abandoned house

He has severe abandonment issues 💀 He'd be pretty hurt if Lolo ever betrayed him but I dont think so, at least. Would Lolo do it?

Em merged his account with Lolo's account because he's technically not supposed to be alive. He has his grave back in Unova but he never visited it before. It was right next to Indigo's grave too, except Em brought back Indigo's corpse all the way from Hisui.

Em doesn't understand a lot of emotions and Lolo is usually trying to get him to understand what he's feeling. Sadly he also uses it to his advantage too at times.

If there was an otome train gacha game I'd want it too

Em: I was laying on the ground right behind our house. It was raining and really damp and all the worms and maggots started eating me. It was ticklish at first but it was relieving. And then, the ground kept piling up on me until I couldn't see the sky anymore

Em: I couldn't feel my muscle, and the bones I had were starting to break down to scattered pieces. It was really nice, I felt hazy mostly but it was honestly just relaxing. And then next thing you know I was able to fly and there was nothing on me. I had no weight

Em: It was like I became some kind of angel ghost thing, it was really freeing. I've been repeating this dream for some time now so I'd figured I'd share it with you

Lolo: So all this time you were sleeping for 4 days straight was just you dying in your sleep?

Em: Wish it was

Lolo: Wow, okay. I'm trying to sleep here but after hearing that I'm not sure I'd like that kind of dream. Small spaces freak me out

Em: it's so freeing though, think about it. If you're no longer human, you don't have to suffer any more

Lolo: Ugh, wake me up in the morning

Finally! Em in some normal clothing

That's all for now see you next time ^-^

This didn’t post last night so let’s try it again!

So today I tried plotting out a pattern for the Bocksten Man's hood: there were a few changes I needed to make to the pattern for my own so I'm not aiming for 100% accuracy anyway.

I wanted to use a pretty piece of wool I had in my stash (weft width 60", warp width 38"). I'm being particular about warp/weft here because if I wanted a full proper copy, I'd need a piece with a selvedge edge about 54" and the selvedge edge is found along the warp. Additionally, while my head isn't especially big, I have a lot of hair and so I wanted to make the depth and neck opening larger.

This is my first time making a hood like this and I didn't want to make a mockup- mostly because I feel like I don't have enough spare wool to make a mockup out of it and a cotton mockup wouldn't drape correctly anyway so it would be a little... moot. I plan to hand sew the hood in a roughly period-accurate way.

ALSO my dudes I know there's a lot of controversy about the contrasting gusset? Gore? piece added to the front and I'm not going to do it nor will I be piecing my fabric together to reflect the loom length of the time.

OKAY CHANGE OF PLANS I started writing the stuff above before I really tackled this and also BAD NEWS I started chalking the pattern on the fabric and realized the diagram I was working off of was more.... vibes based than an actual rendering. I got the diagram off an academic website and it had some, but not all, the dimensions listed below so I started being a good mathlete and working out the ratios from the diagram but HEADS UP it's not accurate and starts to fuck up so-

so-

so-

I started working off a pattern in the "Medieval Tailor's Assistant" which looked too boxy to me- and then I panicked a bit because I've never made a hood before and I struggle with slip on garments (I don't want buttons for this particular one)

so I looked up a few online drafting guides (this one was simple and straight forward) and looked at this blog post (which shows their hood laid flat and then on the body) and then tried to harness the ghost of the Bocksten Man's tailor and I took some scrap fabric I had an made this little hood. It's missing the gore in front to smooth out the shoulders but I basically wanted to know 1. will my head fit through the neck hole and 2. will my head fit

so now I know more than when I started

I originally planned this as a hood that was fitted around my face but I'm not sure anymore, I need to sleep on it

I also did my laundry today, even making a special load for my linen cote, and I applied for a job!

It's a 3-ish month position, but the pay is comparable to my last job!

Hey saw ur Klaitemestra post and agreed w it. I'm reading the Oresteia and while Elektra may be an unreliable narrator u can't really say that Klaitemestra treated her kids fairly after she killed Agamemnon (or even prior to that). Like, it's mentioned Elektra smuggled Orestis out of the palace in this translation I'm reading, and it may be interpreted as Elektra thinking that even the palace wasn't safe for her own brother anymore. Let's not forget Klaitemestra ridicules Elektra's 'whining' (mourning for a father she waited to see but was killed before she even got the chance to talk to him) and even plans/threatens to murder her with Aigisthos (wow, someone got the child murder virus from the HoA). I get defensive of abused characters, and the way these signs in the Oresteia are ignored by some Klaitemestra fans don't sit right with me. It's like most of these stans forgotten that all characters are complex other than the shades of 'girlboss' or 'bastard.'

(Oof sorry for the long ramble, but I just wanted to share my thoughts with u on this situation.)

(Hahah, no worries.)

There are several versions of the myth that has a nurse/other caretaker/Elektra smuggling Orestes out, yes, so the implication would absolutely be it's not safe for him. And it's funny you mention that threat of killing Elektra, since I saw that quote (from Chrysothemis, right?) in another post just the other day! Not something I knew about since the Oresteia/House of Atreus doesn't interest me. But as a plot point it very neatly connects with the earlier threat to Orestes and how little the rest of the children apparently matter compared to Iphigenia('s ghost).

Like, on a theoretical angle I don't care a whit about people crowing over Klytaimnestra murdering Agamemnon. It's just one-note when it's basically the same post over and over and over again (much like happens with Zeus and some other characters), which isn't funny or witty or even interesting. But like. Go wild, I guess.

What annoys me is that there's literally never any serious talk at all about what Klytaimnestra does do wrong (comparing, again, to Agamemnon, where all you basically see is "what he did wrong", either as serious discussion or shitposting). Mention that and it becomes either some yelling about OH SO PEOPLE KILL OTHERS IN GREEK MYTH I'D NEVER REALISED!!! sarcasm or ~women's wrongs :)~

And I don't know. It feels bad to me to dismiss female characters' abuse or killing of those weaker than them and in their power while leaning hard on it for male characters.

That isn't restricted to Klytaimnestra, of course, but I don't think I've usually seen such a complete disappearance of her victims compared to other characters.

it is kind of amazing, a lot of the most passionate ace attorney fans i see these days have gotten into it fairly recently, like after the series basically finished. the modern ace attorney fandom is largely a better one than what i saw back when the 3DS was the hot new thing.

maybe it's a different experience getting into the series now because the games are all out. i got into this series a decade ago when the original trilogy came out on the WII, so while i did have the entire DS era to appreciate, i had to experience dual destinies, spirit of justice, and the layton crossover as they came out, and they kind of had to stand as their own experiences. while the layton crossover came out in japan in 2012, we in the states had to wait another two years, after dual destinies came out.

and to me both of these games were like? fine? you know i had a fun time with them, and they're not bad mysteries, but they also didn't make me feel the way the original trilogy did. i played apollo justice back in 2012, then waited a year to find out its themes would get undermined in the next game. it took another three years for spirit of justice to come out and reveal that the series really is in a strange relationship with itself now. it gives us a new set of characters each game, a new game mechanic to enhance the trials and blur the mechanical focus the series once had, a new backstory for apollo justice instead of bothering to develop the plot threads that were established at this point 15 years ago.

(ugh) i don't mean to mean to be negative about the modern trilogy. it does have a lot of charm to it, and i'm actually more willing to defend spirit of justice than you might expect, but like. when you wait years for "pretty good, yeah" it starts to make you a bit jaded about the future of the series. i've chosen to believe that, since the last new game the series has gotten was in 2017, that there simply isn't a future. the series is done now, and i can make of that what i will.

but if you got into this series recently, you basically have the entire series to binge, and can do so as a full package. you get to see phoenix wright's growth over six games, his relationship with edgeworth, maya, the law as a whole, and you get to appreciate all the characters for what they are rather than anticipating what they could be. if you don't like the games, you can just play another one. or, hell, watch a longplay of it. it's probably a better experience because the trial design of JFA and T&T are fucked.

i'm excited for the future of the AA fandom, but i wonder what place i really have in it. i mean, i'm a game designer now, part of why i made those graphs was just to understand the mechanical design of the trials, what makes these things work or not work. but ace attorney is enjoyed as a story first and a video game second, and i can't bring myself to get passionate about the story anymore. these days i'm more often impressed by games than i am excited about them, and in general my mechanical analysis mind doesn't work well with the kind of fandom that is primarily about characters and relationships. i envy the modern ace attorney fandom.

at this point i've... i don't wanna "moved on," but it's more like "branched out." i've tried a lot of other mystery games! a few mobile ones, aviary attorney, ghost trick, her story, layton, socrates jones (which is fucking excellent by the way), and umineko, which is textually a game but not practically. i might try famicom detective club sometime? i dunno, i just like trying new things, because i love discovering ways that games can surprise me. maybe ace attorney 7 comes out and makes me reconsider all this. but, in the meantime, i'm glad to be here for what the ace attorney community has become

So the latest TLSQ was... something. Once again not surprised Merula was involved considering what a fucking nightmare she is to share oxygen with but I'm really disappointed by a very clear plot direction not being taken.

(!! Spoilers for "The Tale of Pumpkin Johnny" TLSQ !!)

MC has a nightmare of Pumpkin Johnny attacking them in the Forbidden Forest. Later, when the group is talking about how Barnaby also had a nightmare, MC is given the option to say if they had a nightmare as well or not.

I chose not to tell. We later find out and see that people get attacked in locations they saw in their dreams. Much later, MC goes with Merula to the Duelling Room, where they both get attacked after finding a note that says they are next.

It's when I thought to myself "A-ha! MC getting attacked in the Duelling Room instead of the Forbidden Forest like they dreamt shows that this isn't something supernatural! I bet this is that pumpkin seller dude pulling a Scooby-Doo scheme or Merula doing a prank!" I can't remember if we learn about the pumpkin dude before or after the attack but my suspicions laid between him and Merula.

Except... this never comes up. Our decision to whether tell we too had a nightmare or not did not matter, and MC never mentions it.

I also have issues with the supposed moral of the story but I was like "Whatever, this TLSQ blows" by that point with how the writers clearly missed out on actually showcasing MC's intelligence.

I now get why MC is such a moron if their writers are like this.

(I don't get why the idea of Pumpkin Johnny is so odd considering this story is of fantasy/supernatural genre? We have curses, ghosts, ghouls, all with such insane origins that the idea of a student being teased into running away into the Forbidden Forest, dying there and returning as a vengeful spirit is the most basic story ever.

The moral of the story is also fucking stupid and unfair considering how the person who called him forth is not only the biggest bully of the cast, but she also got away with everything. MC & Co. were terrorized emotionally and actually got physically injured, but Miss Merula Snyde gets to eat pumpkin pasties with a slap on the wrist! Fuck this bullshit.)

I was actually planning to do this quest because I thought I’m missing some points for this month’s Magical Milestone. But then I opened my game yesterday and it turned out I completed it already after all, so… I don’t think I want to waste my time on Pumpkin Johnny anymore, to be honest. Because it’s not the first negative opinion about it I see.

Seriously, I don’t know what it is with Halloween TLSQs, but if you ask me, none of them was good so far. The first one wasn’t bad, but I can’t stand the stupidity of first-year MC defeating Fenrir Greyback. I believe on the second Halloween, we got only Chiara’s friendship TLSQ, which is admittedly not a seasonal quest, but I’m still gonna count it. And here, I just can’t accept that Remus Lupin would tell a twelve-year-old child: “The power of friendship will help you survive the night with a deadly werewolf!”. Then we had the Deathday Party TLSQ which was just boring, and the one where Merula decided to steal Gryffindor’s Sword which was just a hot mess. And like… why they’re all so bad?? Halloween is such a great topic to work with!

I’m sorry I’m not addressing your plot-related comments, but… I don’t even know if I want to learn about this plot. That being said, I do think that your concerns sound valid, even without this knowledge. Especially the one about the supernatural genre.

It just…

*sighs*

ohhhh my god the discord rp shit is so insane i'm sorry i need to add on lmao. tbh i've been running discord rps for the last 3 years and the group hopping is such a big issue but i rly think it stems from the rpc just doesn't seem to have the heart to give a fuck about other people anymore. the reciprocation is gone. a group will have all of this hype one minute but then the next it's crickets. idk if its people just jumping around for that next big thing but i've never seen it this bad.

like in the groups ive run in the last 3 years, you'll have people u know from an old group who had once been rlly super involved and active like, join your new group so like cool, they join & you KNOW damn well what they're capable of and have seen them put effort into a group before, and they just... ghost. they don't care. they speak all of once and then seem to immediately give up and if they don't, they do bare minimum activity to stay but it's just like they're there to hold a spot and nothing more. their connections are basic at best if they even reach out to plot and there's absolutely no effort in trying to get to know or care about other ppls' muses. it's just so frustrating and i really believe it stems from just a lack of giving a shit about other ppl. either that or half the rpc just RLY loves filling out apps but not actually roleplaying. clown behavior regardless.

i think as well, these days people don't care about platonic plots as much as they claim to. i've been in groups where my muse(s) didn't have romantic connections/didn't end the group with a partner, but i still enjoyed the group because of the deep and complex platonic connects they made with other muses. so if people don't enter a group and immediately get romantic prospects, they feel like it isn't worth it, and they leave. - x

*rollerblades into your blog carrying two starbucks* so i heard you had thoughts about a rotbtd pjo au? 👀

Okay, buckle up my friends because this is going to be a very confusing, unnecessary, and bizarre trip.

Imagine this. Act I of a hypotetical RotBTD (and more!) PJO!AU.

You know how halfbloods have prophetic dreams or dreams about their past? One day, these dreams get out of control. Demigods at Camp Half-Blood keep having nightmares that sometimes become true, sometimes don't. Of course everyone is freaking out

Because a halfblood's life is never easy, Morpheus/Sandman, the god of dreams who could possibly help them with the problem, disappears

This is where our heroes, Merida, Jack, Rapunzel and Hiccup, get involved: they are assigned a quest to find him and a nice personalized prophecy which mentions The Big Four demigods who will defeat evil (yes I am that subtle)

(I'm still figuring out their backgrounds, so I can't give more details about the Four, sorryyy)

During their journey, we find out that behind the nightmare apocalypse there are Phobos and Deimos (Pitch Black and maybe Drago?), minor gods who want to make the halfbloods powerless so they can't fight for/with their parents anymore

Yadda yadda, character development happens, the four become besties, they beat the bad guys, no more nightmares, you know the drill. The gods even start claiming basically everyone who wasn't, minor gods included. And they lived happily ever after-

EXCEPT. The four (now officially nicknamed The Big Four) are the only people who heard the full prophecy, and they know that the last lines still haven't come true. Cue dramatic cliffhanger

Act II!

Camp Half-Blood is going through a great period: there have never been so many kids and even if the gods don't talk to them that much (they must be very busy, right?), many heroic quests are being received (wow, who knew that the gods owned this many neat weapons and useful items we have to retrieve)

I won't repeat myself, I explained Red Shoes' arc here, just keep in mind that it roughly follows the movie plot

What I didn't mention is that Snow White finds the infamous golden apple the morning she's supposed to begin her quest and meet the F7. Is it a good luck charm from her mother? A trap? A prank? Near the climax she realizes what it actually means, while still searching for her father:

You see, only someone close to Aphrodite, a goddess, could secretly take it, someone like a god

Since gods can't directly intervene in their children's battles, that means that someone is trying to help them... Or warn them

It isn't about the myth, but its name. Apple of Discord (or is it Apple of Strife? Like, the official name, if someone knows please tell me). This person is sending a message: a war between the twelve olympians and the minor deities is going to break out if nothing is done about it

Yeah, turns out that Phobos and Deimos inspired other minor gods to rebel as well

That's why many new halfbloods were claimed, why they were assigned more quests than ever, to get weapons for their parents, to reinforce an army for both sides

Minor gods are tired of being left out and ignored, so are some of their children. Take Hans (from Frozen, not, you know Red Shoes'l), still un-claimed after years. Or Elsa and Jack, born from Boreas. Kubo, son of Nemesis. Agatha, ghost daughter of Hecate who found peace after Hades' son Norman confronted her. Regina (Snow White's stepmother), another daughter of Hecate:

Everytime something bad has happened, a minor god or their kid were involved

What happens next... is still work-in-progress. I have some more thinking to do 😅 I want to have Chaos involved in Act III somehow? Maybe he's the mastermind behind everything, and he was the one who influenced the gods to revolt, with his..... chaotic nature

And sorry for the late reply! I kept adding details to the list and it kinda got out of control

Hi Sine! I know it’s a frequently asked question, but I really want to know if you can rec some more stony fanfics, especially those 616 fics with very, very much pining. ;) (I have benefited a lot from your reclist on dreamwidth, and god, it literally lightened my life!) I really love to read more fics published after 2014 recommended by you! You are such a talented writer and have a very good taste in stories. Love you so much! xxx

Thank you for thinking of me! It is not actually that frequently asked these days because mostly people don't ask me things when I have anon off. I meant to write a sequel to that reclist at some point -- that was when I got into the fandom -- but then I started writing fic for it instead.

I went through everything tagged Pining and 616 and Steve/Tony that were posted after 2014 on AO3 and picked out several of the ones I remember liking and then threw in a few things that weren't actually tagged Pining but that I remembered had pining in them.

Come the Knives of the Springtime, by scatteredmoonlight. Early canon pining at a gala!

Danger Mouse, by isozyme. Stranded together after a crash landing in the Savage Land (does anyone ever land there on purpose?), Tony is inadvertently infected with the need to cuddle Steve.

dick drunk, by mistymountainking. Not actually tagged as pining, but this is 20,000 words of early New Avengers PWP in which Steve, a good pal, offers to fuck Tony until he stops thinking about drinking, and Tony is convinced that Steve definitely could never really want him, while Steve is busy fucking him through the mattress.

Hot Brunettes, Huh? by unosarta. Early canon identity porn pining. Steve has it bad for Mr. Stark.

I Don't Want My Heart to Show, by laudatenium. Early-canon AU where Steve is around for early ToS and becomes Tony's bodyguard, during the events ToS #45. Identity porn. Pining. Feels very classic.

I'll Be Looking at the Moon, by BlossomsintheMist. Set in the aftermath of The Crossing, an AU in which everyone but Tony has come back and rejoined the team; Tony is off moping because he feels bad about all those mind-controlled murders, and Steve hunts him down and helps him get right again. This is very long. I reread it frequently.

in case of emergency, by Welcoming_Disaster. Sparring fic! Everyone likes a good sparring fic!

Just for the Conversation, by msermesth. A threesome between 616 Tony, 616 Steve (Commander Rogers), and Ults Tony. Steve does a lot of pining.

Like a Hurricane, by resurrectedhippo. More "Steve pines for Tony while having a threesome with Tony and someone else," though in this case the third person is Ru.

ooh you and me would be a big conversation, by Mizzy. Set in current canon! One of those fics where Steve and Tony are sleeping together without actually talking about what that means to each other, and maybe they should. Has a fun angsty pining plot.

Stark Disassembled, by Crait. A series that is an AU take on Extremis up through (currently) Civil War, with Tony pining a whole lot for Steve. Contains one of my favorite Tony voices ever.

The Time of the Season, by WhenasInSilks. WIP. Early canon fic in which Steve basically goes into heat (not A/B/O) and really needs to have a whole lot of sex right now and also is pining after Mr. Stark. Luckily, Steve's good friend Iron Man is ready to step in and pretend to be Mr. Stark for him.

when you are fallen, by haemodye. Basically an AU of the premise of the movie Ghost, in which everyone thinks Steve is dead but really Steve is invisible and floating around and watching Tony really completely lose it when he thinks Steve is dead. They both pine a lot. I think I have recced this before; I feel like it is one of those fics that doesn't get recced as much as it deserves.

You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), by Kiyaar. Ki doesn't write a whole lot of pining, but when she does, she destroys me. An AU set in the 70s where Steve isn't Captain America anymore and he picks Tony up at Studio 54 and they hook up in the middle of all this glittery coke-fueled disco decadence while not actually realizing who the other person is. So much angst and pining.

I hope you can find something to read there!

Free! The Final Stroke screeching/reaction (spoilers)

AHHHHH I JUST WATCHED THE FINAL STROKE MOVIE TODAY IN THEATERS ON PREMIER DAY AND IT WAS LAKSJDFOAIFJWOEI to summarize it all, it was Very Gay, which was to be expected but they DID NOT have to get so freaking extra with it 😩😩😩

much screaming and many spoilers ahead

FIRST OF ALL, KIRISHIMA NATSUYA: HE WAS SO FUCKING HANDSOME DAFKJOIEFJOSIDJF. SO HANDSOME. SO HANDSOME AND STUPID AND OVERLY FRIENDLY AS WE LOVE HIM TO BE ALKDSJFOAIEW.

he was in the film for a total of maybe 5 minutes altogether, which was kind of a lot bc the film kind of was just putting all the characters back in for the sake of putting them in imo? for the fans, lol. so everyone could see their faves. and in these five minutes that he appeared, our mans:

bragged about his little brother he's so proud of

got laughed at by nao for being natsuya (aka dumb and straightforward) as usual

trained with sousuke (he was hanging out in the same pool with him, nao, and makoto to train and aid in sousuke's rehab training)

got a call from ikuya after the international swimming competition in sydney!!!! in that same cafe he's always at!!!! and he was with nao at the time he got the call. casual and cool as always, being the cool big brother or whatever. he ended the call with a curt, "you got it. see you. don't catch a cold."

HE WAS HANGING OUT AT CAFE MARON WHILE THEY WAITED FOR THE SYDNEY COMPETITORS TO COME BACK TO JAPAN. HE WAS BEHIND THE COUNTER WITH ASAHI (WHO WAS HOLDING BABY TSUKIMI IN A CARRIER ON HIS CHEST!!!!!) AND HE THREW HIS ARM AROUND ASAHI AND WAS GETTING SO CLOSE LIKE ALKSDJFAOIEJAOEI. I have absolutely no clue what he was saying at the time bc i was too busy freaking out and trying to hold in the sounds bc the theater was so quiet. but his GODDAMN FACE. HE WAS SMIRKING. SO HANDSOME 😩😩😩😩😩😩😩

and of fucking course, they were all out together at a restaurant when the sydney competitors came back, and he was like, "wth no one else is drinking alcohol tonight?" and nao was like "ofc not haha" AND YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

HE FUCKING FALLS ASLEEP AT THE TABLE AFTER DRINKING AND EVERYONE IS SURROUNDING HIM AND PATTING HIM LIKE "dude..." and ikuya is sitting there like, omg can't believe this mess is my brother....

i thought that just might be his last scene in the film but then we show back up to the kirishima household and natsuya is eating some sort of luxury holiday(?) bento and ikuya is like "aren't you gonna save any for me?" and natsuya's like "of course not. this is for me, you gotta wait until next year xD" and then ikuya just fucking SNATCHES up several different foods and stuffs his face with all of them and natsuya starts arguing with him over them laskjdfoawiefjao where was this brotherly affection all this time?????

and then cut to a few seconds later, natsuya's bumming in his room on the floor like in s3 when ikuya comes in and tells him about his new future goals and alskdjfaoei brothers sharing their ambitions together 😩😩 WHAT IS GOING ON. EVERYONE GETS ALONG SO WELL NOW???

NEXT: we'll go back to the beginning i guess lmfao but they're preparing for some sort of university festival

we start off with an easily misunderstandable shoujo-style situation where asahi is talking to ikuya like, "i know it's your first time... you don't have to be nervous. i know you can do it." and ikuya's like "no! i can't 😣" like the tsun he is backed up against the wall. and then it turns out they're trying to make a mille feuille cake.... but everything he's made so far looked like crepes

and for some damn reason, KISUMI comes outta nowhere into the kitchen and is like "ooooh what's this? a mille feuille cake? although they all look kinda like crepes haha ^^" and then ikuya RUNS THE FUCK OUT OF THE KITCHEN, yelling, "i told you i couldn't do it!!!" like the fucking tsun he is... and asahi is yelling at kisumi like "why did you just say that!!!" and starts rubbing his knuckles into kisumi's head and kisumi's just laughing like, "oh did i do that hehe"

and for some reason... seijuurou is working at the booth in his speedo and swim team jacket. i mean i'm not complaining but sir.... PLS TAKE MY MONEY AND GIVE ME YOUR FAT OCTOPUS BALLS. (he literally started a batter mixing competition with hoshikawa inside the booth, like what are they even doing in the same booth???)

then rin and sousuke show up to ikuya, asahi, and hiyori(?)'s booth, and they're offering them the crepes and then they get into a conversation about smth that leads into them showing the embarrassing photos they have of each other?????? like ikuya has a pic of rin in his maid costume for some reason??? (tho it isn't shown) and rin shows an embarrassing pic of ikuya he has in his phone that he got from natsuya???????????? and then ikuya starts chasing after rin yelling at him to delete it lasdkjfoaei

and then haru is off to the side selling ugly ass bird mascots again lmfao. bc ofc he is. love that weirdo

BUT THE REAL KICKER HERE IS KINJOU!!!!!!!!!!!

APPARENTLY, HIS VILLAIN BACKSTORY COMES FROM HIS CHILDHOOD CRUSH (/exaggerated) ON HIYORI ALSKDJFOAIE WHAAAT. apparently he was that annoying kid in the playground who would go up to hiyori and bother him bc he wanted a friend. bb hiyori was literally like "why are you even talking to me so much?" in his sandbox. and bb kinjou is like, "well there's gotta be smth you like, right? what is it?" and hiyori's like "well i feel kinda happy when i'm swimming... :)" as images of ikuya flash into his mind, that gay ass

BUT KINJOU'S GAY ASS EYES START SPARKLING TOO AND THEN HE'S LIKE "I GOTTA LEARN WHAT THE BIG DEAL ABOUT SWIMMING IS" and he runs home, begs his brother to take him to the pool. but next time he brings his swimming stuff with him to the playground, hiyori isn't there anymore and apparently he left for america at that time (or smth). so poor baby basically got ghosted

but hiyori still knows him when they're older!!!! kinjou shows up when they're throwing out the trash after the uni festival and calls out to hiyori to taught him (which is where that bullying preview scene came from i guess) and alkfjeoiaejoaifj omfg it's like that estranged childhood friends (sorta) trope but it'll never go kinjou's way bc hiyori is and will always be in love with ikuya 😔

kinjou would make such a good yandere tho!!!! he has a feral expression on a few times throughout the movie, and during a race he gets super competitive mid-race and... ngl he was kinda sexy 😳 i'm actually kind of surprised by how taken i was with him in this movie. doesn't help that he's unfairly handsome and his hair looks fucking amazing. i MAY OR MAY NOT be exploring this man in the future..................

i also found the ending with haru pretty interesting!!!! it kind of hints at neurodivergence? smth along the lines of disassociation or multiple personalities? (guess 50% off was kinda right on that end lmfao).

he gets obsessed with beating albert wahlander, which is the most fired up i've ever seen him (to the point of almost hurting himself) and then the shadow or whatever effect albert has on haru kind of just overtakes him and pushes haru out of his own body in a way... it doesn't make sense to describe it this way, i know, but haru is literally watching himself say hurtful things to his friends while being overtaken by this... albert obsessed persona?

it's so interesting to see haru being the one obsessing over someone instead of the other way around for once!!! at the end of the movie (after all the credits) haru says the same thing he once said at the beginning of season 1? about how "at age 5, you're a prodigy. at age 15, you're a genius. at age 20(?), you're average." and this is def gonna be explored/concluded in the second part of the final stroke movie so i'm excited for that!!!! april 2022 come at me!!!!

there were SOOOOO many other things going on, plot wise and fanservice wise, and ofc kyoto animation was fucking TOP TIER SHIT. all the water effects... there was a shot where haru was looking at his reflection in the water and they make a drop fall and spread and shake his reflection in the waves and it was lafkjsefoiaeja fucking glorious. the soundtrack was lovely too. there was a RADWIMPS-esque beginning song and a sexy ass electric guitar buildup for kinjou (which may or may not be contributing to my growing obsession with him...)

AHHHH!!!! it was so good and everyone was so cute and handsome and gay and funny. we literally see every single character we've met before in some way, shape, or form lmfao. i might just go back to the theater and watch it again on one of the upcoming holidays this week.... SO GOOD. SO GOOD.

I LOVE ALL THESE GAY SWIMMING BOYS SO MUCH 😩😩😩

garrison "grady" oliver knox jr.

thirty two. podcast host. amateur sleuth. casey deidrick.

grady: [looks deeply into your eyes; pats your knee, sympathetically.] grady: “i don’t care.”

content warnings: mentions child neglect, parental abandonment, missing parent, (suspected) death of a parent, alcoholism.

dominant traits. opinionated, surface level arrogant, judgmental, creative, sarcastic, invasive, blunt/crass, antisocial, stubborn, self-aware, unyielding, grudge-holding, mouthy (read as: "brutally honest"), insensitive, protective, intuitive, reactive, self-reliant, observant, adaptable, impulsive.

fictional parallels. connor welsh (htgawm); jess mariano (gilmore girls); jughead jones (riverdale); stiles stilinski (teen wolf); nancy drew (cw nd); veronica mars (vm).

○ his name is grady. no one calls him garrison, not anymore. not since his mother was around. i say around, and not alive, because she isn't dead. just missing. a town native who moved away when she was pregnant with him, but brought a lot of the darker parts of miriam's well with her. he was raised on unfinished stories and embellished half truths about the place his mother grew up in─the place he eventually called home at fourteen─and, ultimately, is probably responsible for his interest in all things unexplained. and his father, well... his father is around georgia, somewhere, he supposes. they haven't spoken for a while. believe it of not, a relationship with your son doesn't cure at the bottom of a bottle.

○ his life pretty much always baseline sucks and his attitude and demeanor mirrors that. which is fine since grads is the type of guy who makes more acquaintances than he does friends. and even more enemies than that. he will casually put his nose in your business because "that’s my job" and he makes no apologies for who he is.

○ when he was younger he wanted to be a journalist, a photographer, and novelist and you can tell. too curious for his own good and heavily believes in not only checking his sources, but questioning everything. he's not afraid to stand up for the things he believes in or for the people he finds deserving of it, and has very little issue or care to what what consequences these actions might breed. he also may or may not be a coffee addict.

the corner booth at the local diner; twilight zone background noise; the smell of coffee seeping from moist skin; sweeping honesty; not only is the truth out there, but it also probably sucks; ring around the rosie was about the black plague; anti-social social club; dry sarcasm over milkshakes; swear jar that has his name on it; the company misery loves; mean nerd aesthetic; late nights in the studio with great music and a constant opinion.

plot hooks.

○ his family. well, his mother's family. the people she left behind, whatever's left of them. possibly an aunt (preferably his mother's twin, who he had no idea existed, so imagine that shock) who took him in when she went missing at fourteen and any potential children she might have? because cousin relationships are great and no one has your back or will kick your ass quite like family. can't imagine them being well off, more like town trash and maybe this aunt was the best of them. ○ veronica mars needs clients. ACAB indeed, but sometimes people need solutions to problems that a corrupted small-town government isn't capable (or willing) to get them. what does that mean? for the low price of [insert negotiation here] this knox boy will go out of his way to find the answers you need. husband fucking the secretary? photos will hold up nicely in divorce court─not to mention i'm a ~fantastic photographer. you get the idea. sure, it's not the prettiest (or cleanest) job, but it's easier to make money off liars, thieves, and cheating spouses than you might realize. especially in a small town with such an ugly history. ○ the unlucky barista/cashier/counter girl. it'd be nice to have a little back-and-forth relationship with someone who might work for his aunt? i imagined [his aunt] owns a coffee shop or cafe (or something of the sort) and he's always in there helping himself to free coffee and snacks and likes to poke and prod this person when he's bored via asking a million intrusive questions or just being his curious, obnoxious self. taken by noor ♡ ○ co-hosts of the night shift. well, it's not the doomsday podcast, certainly not with their following, but like a lot of people who find their way to miriam's well, they share the same basic general interest (unsolved mysteries, serial killers/true crime, paranormal/ghost hunting, lore, extraterrestrial, etc.) except, grady also likes to use his platform to bitch and moan about other things that happen in town. some topics more pointed than others, and often about public officials he has no business putting on the air and his fellow casters probably hate him doing. no one likes a target on their back. ○ pizza buddy + longtime friend. someone (preferably someone he considers close/from when he first moved to mw) who will go with him to flying saucers at two am for "out of stock" garlic knots (and/or an employee he bribes with🍃for said knots 👀) because he's an actual human garbage disposal and he hates himself just enough to like the aesthetic and that entire plot sounds fucking awesome?? bonus points if they both used to work there when they were younger, and now this shit is habit/a bastard tradition at this point. ○ doomsday descendants. characters who are part of the families who have abduction histories that he can interview and broadcast on his podcast─also pick their brain about every little detail and absolutely get on their nerves in some way or another.