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gayuu-the-necromancer · 1 year

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Black Wedding ~ Part 1 Jude Jazza ~Story

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VIctor: "Hey Jude, what do you think about marriage?"

Jude: "Huh!? Marriage?"

(Can you please discuss this topic after I leave?)

One day, sometime after I had begun my work as a fairy tale master, writing about the sins of the Crown....

I happened to bump into Mr. Jude in the palace library.

I was choosing a book and was also trying to avoid eye contact with Mr. Jude, who was ignoring my entire existence.

Then Victor appeared and began to tangle with Mr. Jude.

(I'm sorry, Victor...but let's leave this place before I get sucked into their mess)

I was dimly aware that Mr. Jude has sadistic tendencies.

I begin to slowly crawl my way to the door, silencing my footsteps in an attempt to escape before Victor throws the fatal blow.

Victor: "Yes, marriage."

Jude: "A basic life contract that cannot be canceled in the middle before it expires."

Jude: "Honestly, I don't know who in their right mind would want to tie a knot."

Victor: "Mmhm, I see I see."

Victor: "So that's why, I have something for you...."

Victor: "Kate and Jude, I want you both to get married."

Jude: "Huh!?"

Kate: "What, me?!"

Victor: "Shhh, keep it down, this is a library."

According to Victor----

A marriage ceremony under the organisation called 'Amour' that can make love eternal....

Rumors are circulating amongst couples in London.

Half of the couples who go there, do not return.

Victor: "Amour is suspected of murdering their couples. Both William and I have done our research."

Victor: "But it's difficult to get the evidence out, and it's on private land belonging to an aristocrat, so the police can't get there easily."

Kate: "So the Crown was tasked to go undercover."

Victor: "That's why, I want you two to go there. This weekend!"

(With such a sense of errand running.....)

Victor: "All you have to do is capture and dismantle the head of the organization so that no more couples disappear."

Victor: "Oh and to avoid suspicion, I guess you both will have to act as a couple who wants to get married right now while you're there."

Kate: "Couple...?"

He added an outrageous element as an added bonus which leaves me speechless.

Jude: "No, thanks. There are plenty of other people out there who are good at delivering baseless lines."

Victor: "I knew Jude would refuse it instantly when I first ask him."

Jude: "So why even try?"

Victor: "If it was me, I would love to go out there and bask in the glory of playing Kate's fiance."

Victor: "But I thought, you could lure out the head of the organization, with your negotiation skills or your talk, and then deal with him in a jiffy."

Victor: "Her Majesty the Queen has personally asked for YOU to do it."

Jude: "That crazy woman...."

Kate: "D-Don't disrespect the Queen!"

Jude: "So noisy."

Victor: "I'll take care of the preparations from here, thank you."

I was stunned as Victor left with a brilliant wink.

(Undercover with Mr. Jude.....)

I have no right of veto if Her Majesty the Queen gives the order.

But to be honest, the person with the villainous face next to me is scarier than the mysterious organization.

Jude: "Tch....you need to learn to scream and cry more."

Kate: "Eh?"

Jude: "If you had resisted, that freak might have inclined to persuade the Queen."

Kate: "Nn....Don't blame me for not saying no....!"

Jude: "It's useless to resist now."

Thus began a challenging undercover mission.

Follower: "Welcome to Amour!"

As we stood in front of the organisation's base church in a town a short distance from London, I gulped.

(What do I do....)

Mr. Jude was silent throughout the journey, reading papers with a cigarette in his mouth.

We had no meetings at all to talk about how we would act as a couple.

(What do I do?....What do I say?)

Follower: "We will first test you to see if you two are in love with each other or not."

Kate: "Test...?"

Follower: "Yes. For example, we want to see you both hugging and kissing each other."

Kate: ".....!?"

Jude: ".........."

(Hug...and kiss....?)

The words which even my brain hesitates to repeat, momentarily blank out the mind.

But Mr. Jude, next to me, didn't falter.

Jude: "Ah, let me tell you one thing."

Jude: "I can't lay a finger on her until the wedding."

(Eh!?)

Follower: "Wh.....What are you saying....?"

Jude: "She likes to be left alone. She likes it better that way."

(Nn....?)

Jude: "Right?"

(He is asking me to 'go along with it'...right....?)

Jude: "Why are you so quiet? Ah....I almost forgot. You want to be teased by me for your impertinent attitude?"

Jude: "You enjoy being bullied by me, right?"

Kate: *gulps*

(I don't want to nod my head.....but)

(If I don't nod here, these people won't believe me...the mission must not fail because of me)

When I nodded my head, Mr. Jude laughed through his nose.

Jude: "You little pervert."

(What's with that line....!!)

Jude: "So, yeah. That's why."

Follower: "Ah? Umm...Well, it's the first time I've seen a couple like you...."

The follower is completely overwhelmed by Mr. Jude.

Jude: "I can understand that. But we're madly in love. It's simple."

Jude: "She likes to be bullied by me and I love to humiliate her. We're perfect for each other, right?"

Follower: "Ah...I-I see....?"

(Looks like he is almost convinced...)

The followers tilted their heads and whispered something to each other.

He then turned to us with a semi-convinced look on his face.

Follower: "You're allowed to enter. However, we will have to keep an eye on you both for a while."

Follower: "While you're here, prove to us that you two are genuinely in love with each other...."

We were taken by the followers to a room where we would be staying during our stay.

Kate: "What the hell was that....?"

I whispered to Mr. Jude so that the follower doesn't hear us.

Jude: "What? I thought we did good?"

Jude: "You should be thanking me for not wasting time flirting with you."

Kate: "Well....thank you for that...."

Jude: "Your welcome, little miss masochist pervert. I'll do my best."

(Nn....!)

Mr. Jude scoffed at my reluctance to thank him, then turned his cold eyes out of the window.

Jude: "Love, vows, are so disgusting. I wanna end this mission as soon as possible."

I followed Mr. Jude's gaze and saw a sunny courtyard outside the window.

There seem to be several other couples during our stay, all smiling at each other.

(.....They all look happy)

Kate: "They all came here because they love each other so much that they want to have their love last forever."

Kate: "I can't forgive those who wants to kill that...."

Jude: "Ha..that's a very noble sense of justice."

Jude: "I can't believe you're having sympathy for people who think that love and vows are eternal in someone else's hands."

Kate: "I'm sure people don't think that if you get married and say your vows to God and everyone around you, your love will just disappear forever."

Kate: "But...that's why we tell each other that we want to protect each other."

Kate: "If there were a memory of a vow made together and it seems impossible to keep."

Kate: "I would feel like not giving up, keep trying."

Jude: "Ha...what's with that beautiful thinking?"

Jude: "Those who break it will break it, and those who don't will never break, even if they die."

Jude: "That's the way it is."

Then there was a knocking sound and two followers turned up.

Follower: "I'll give you both a tour of our premises, this way please."

The follower urged us to follow her and I exited the room behind Mr. Jude....

Kate: "Kyaa!"

Something caught my foot and I fell down on the floor with a loud thud.

Kate: "Ouch...!"

(I just felt something caught in my foot...)

Looking back, I see the surprised face of the follower but...

Jude: "What are you doing there licking the floor? Get up."

Kate: "I..."

Follower: "Your girlfriend just fell down and you didn't even try to catch her. Are not worried about her getting hurt?"

Follower: "I don't think you two are actually in love with each other..."

Jude: "Didn't I tell you she likes pain?"

(Nn This man...!)

Jude: "Yeah. That frustrated look right there, is what I'm living for. Show me more of that, will you?"

(Even if this is an act, Mr. Jude, you're so unfair.....!?)

I stared up at him and his smiled deeper with increasing amusement, so I gave up and stood up by myself.

(But still something did caught my foot....don't tell me)

(Did the followers made me fall on purpose?)

When I looked up to ask Mr. Jude.

Jude: "..............."

I saw his amthyst eyes staring coldly at the follower's back.

It convinced me that we both were thinking the same thing.

(Looks like they are prepared to do whatever to test...if we're lovers of not)

(Surely there will be a next one coming soon)

.................

Kate: "Ahh!"

And my prediction was right.

The follower left us to enjoy our meal alone.

Then the waiter's hand 'stumbled' and the jug of water fell all over my head.

Waiter: "Ah, forgive me, Miss Kate. Please, use this towel."

Kate: ".......thank you."

(Ughh....and my shirt is sticking to my body. This is so uncomfortable)

Jude: "You look great."

Mr. Jude, who likes to see me in pain, smiled.

(I hate you and this organisation...!)

While I was glaring back resentfully...

Jude: "......!"

Another waiter serving Mr. Jude, stumbles and drops the glass of water over his head.

(Ah....)

The room fell silent, the only sounds are the glasses rolling on the floor and the dripping of drops from Mr. Jude's hair.

(To pour water over Mr. Jude....)

Waiter: "Ah! Please forgive me, sir! Please forgive me!"

We watched with bated breath to see how Mr. Jude would react to his fake apology.

However, contrary to our expectations, Mr. Jude smiled.

Jude: ".....That's fine? It's not like you did it on purpose."

Jude: "It's a mistake that can happen to anyone."

Wait: "T-Thank you....?"

The waiter backs away, perhaps creeped out because of his unexpectedly unconcerned face.

Jude: "....Also, what is your name?"

Waiter: "Eh?"

Jude: "I asked your name, sir? ...Won't you tell me?"

Jude: "In the future if we meet again, I might accidentally slip my hand too....at that time, you will forgive me too, right?"

Waiter: "Ah Ahh...I'm sorry!"

The waiter uttered a screeching apology and left the room in a hurry.

(....That poor thing)

I watched his back running away, as I prayed for his life in my heart.

(But still....)

Kate: ".....How does pouring water on us, prove that we love each other?"

When I tilted my head at the inexplicable situation where we were both soaking wet, Mr. Jude snickered.

Jude: "They're expecting us to do something erotic."

Kate: "Eh....?'

Feeling startled, I looked at Mr. Jude who was sitting next to me.

Jude: "Those guys wants to get us wet so that we would give into each other and listen to our bodies..."

My heart beats wildly, as Mr. Jude run his fingers through his hair which was dripping with drops.

(....? What am I thinking....?)

Jude: "Heh, why are you looking at me like that, idiot?"

Kate: "It's your fault....Mr. Jude says weird things...."

It's true that for a moment, my heart skipped a beat.

When I turned my face away, Mr. Jude comes closer.

Jude: "Are you turned on because you're so frustrated?"

Kate: "Nn..."

His breath touches my ear and my shoulder jumps.

Jude: "....Are you really the type who likes getting abused?"

Kate: "That's not true..."

Jude: "Really? Then why are you blushing?"

He huffed in my ear, as if he was mocking me.

Shame, confusion and something else.....sends shivers down my spine.

Jude: "Hehe....you're so natural at this."

Follower: "...Ahem!"

Kate: ....!?"

Suddenly, I heard a deliberate cough and noticed that the follower was standing in the doorway.

Follower: "Well...I'm here to let you proceed to the final test. This way."

Kate: "Mm?"

Jude: "Thank you."

(The exchange just now was like a bit of an acknowledgment?)

(Don't tell me, Mr. Jude knew they were watching us?)

Fearfully, I looked up at him, and sure enough, there was an arrogant sneer.

Jude: "Your erotic face did the trick. Good for you."

Kate: "Stop bullying me...!"

...........

Follower: "The final test is choosing the wedding dress."

(Wow....!)

Our room is lined with beautiful wedding gowns that are hard to resist.

(They all look so beautiful....)

Of all these, it was a jet-black wedding gown that attracted my attention.

Amongst all the white gowns, that one was different.....

(If Mr. Jude was the groom....this black wedding gown would be the most appropriate)

I imagined standing next to Mr. Jude in this dress and suddenly my heart made a funny sound.

(What the....?)

I became so nervous that I don't even know what to do with myself.

(I guess I'm getting nervous now....because something dangerous could happen during the ceremony. Yeah, I'm sure that's what it is)

Even if it's a formality for the mission, I actually imagined having a wedding with Mr. Jude.

My heart is pounding...but it's not possible.

Follower: "The bride must pick a card that has the number of the dress she likes and must not show it to anyone."

Kate: "....Okay."

From the basket held by the follower, I picked the card with the number 13, which was the jet-black gown.

Follower: "The groom has to guess the dress."

(Eh)

Follower: "You're forbidden to give hints or signals to each other."

Follower: "If you love each other, you will be able to know what your lover likes, right?"

(We're not)

Cold sweat runs down my back.

(Can Mr. Jude possibly know, what I like...!?)

Jude: "That one."

Kate: "Eh....!?"

Without any hesitation, Mr. Jude points at the jet-black gown.

Follower: "Bride, please reveal your card."

I slowly turned my card to reveal the number 13.

Kate: "How...How did you know?"

Jude: "Power of love, of course."

Mr. Jude said it like he was making a mockery of love itself.

(He read my eyes and facial expression...that's it)

I started calming down my raging heart beat.

Jude: "So? What are the results?"

Follower: ".....You two have passed. We grant you the permission to take the eternal vows in the presence of our Lord."

Follower: "Do you wish to have the ceremony tomorrow? Or..."

Jude: "Tonight."

Jude: "What about tonight?"

Jude: "I can't wait until tomorrow."

Bitter END // Premium END // Epilogue

#ikemen series #ikemen villain #ikemen villains #ikemen villains jude #otome #cybird #cybird ikemen #cybird otome #ikemen mc

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12pt-times-new-roman · 10 months

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c3e65

Y'know, it only came up because I saw them in the art reel, but the Judicators do sound alarmingly like Cybermen.

"We... we spent every waking hour of every waking day trying to get back to you. And you came back with -- you have a boyfriend now? You had a little tryst? And you (Imogen) -- you have a new best friend, apparently? I thought about you every moment, and I thought you might've been dead... we didn't have downtime, we didn't have fun moments, we didn't go shopping, we didn't have threesomes -- we went to the middle of nowhere, we saved a fucked up town, and we almost had one of the Ruby Vanguard murder all of us. That was our fun time."

"We're not angry that you didn't suffer -- but it's going to take a while for us to recover." If you told me that, by episode 60, Ashton would be the Bells Hells' voice of reason, I'd laugh at you. But here we are.

Ashton says that he's feeling weirdly okay, Orym is frustrated and wants to move, and Laudna is... withdrawn? Angry? There are a lot of emotions going on, most of them conflicting.

They agree to split up for a day to go investigate different lines of inquiry -- Ashton and FCG want to visit Milo, Chetney wants to meet with Ajit Dyal. Afterwards, they plan to teleport to Zephrah to talk to Keyleth.

I feel like it needs to be restated that the temple of the Dawnfather in Hearthdale was built 30+ years ago because they were given permission to do so by wealthy landowners who bought a chunk of land and let them use it. They increased their presence in response to the solstice, yes, but in the end their prolonged presence there was the result of capitalism and wealth disparity.

We go first to the Krook House. Milo's workshop is in complete disarray -- most of their creations and projects have been disassembled because a lot of it just stopped working. "Wait, were your meds arcane?" ashton--

Ashton hands Milo a mystery note and a bag with some stuff in it. "How quickly can you do that?" "A day and a half." He hands over his hammer. "What are you plotting?" "I think I'm getting a real job. I think we're gonna save the world somehow, fuck it. I think we're gonna be some fuckin' heroes."

Ashton had a lot of time to think over the past few days. They thought about their life, everything that's happened. And they've decided that now is not the time to be worthless, now is not the time to be useless. He doesn't like having things to lose, but now he does, their time apart made him realize that, and he knows he can either risk losing them or he can go all-in with this new family.

They also call FCG out, gently, on their self-destructive tendencies. FCG agrees that if they start taking care of themselves more, the rest of the group will spend less time taking care of them (i.e. they won't have to stop them from sacrificing themselves at every turn), and that they -- between Frida and their newfound faith -- have found a reason to live.

Sometimes, caring for other people is the most punk thing you can do. Or whatever that one post said.

We go next to Imogen and Laudna. They go to visit Xhudanna, who has taken up painting.

"You don't need to listen in to hear my thoughts. I'll share them with you." "...can I kiss you?"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I don't think you realize, you're such an anchor for me, and when you weren't here, I did such horrible things -- I'm worried I'm a bad person --" "I've heard everything inside you, Laudna, and you are not a bad person. I said you were my tether. Whatever you did, you can tell me." She recounts what happened with Bor'dor, that she was literally hanging on by a thread when she did it. His betrayal broke her, and she couldn't let him live. She says that she lost control, even though her inner monologue in that moment told her that she was holding on to control.

"He attacked you, first of all. Fuck him. And whatever happened with [Delilah]... we'll make it right again, okay?" "Can I be honest with you? There's part of me that thinks we shouldn't. We're about to face the greatest challenge of our lives." Delilah can make her stronger, and she thinks she can use Delilah.

Meanwhile, Imogen doesn't know whether she wants to get rid of the moon's tether. Power is tempting, alluring -- maybe it's their destiny to harness it, maybe it's to challenge and reject it, but only time will tell.

There's something happening in the marketplace. People gathered around in a circle. A familiar voice. "We were never meant to be bound by their laws. We were always meant to rise above them." A hologram-like image of Ludinus hovers above the fountain, speaking of finally rising past the imposed destiny, of no longer being the "beasts of burden" to the gods but the driving force of future and fate.

Guards rush through -- "fuck, another one!" -- and pull a silver disk from the water. When they smash it, the illusion fades. In the crowd, there's mostly fear and confusion, this is adding to their anxiety -- a handful seem to be absorbing the words, but the wardens are hastily dispersing the crowd.

Lastly, Chetney, Fearne, and Orym go to visit Ajit Dyal.

Leading up to the solstice, ships from the north docked in Jrusar before heading south, but after it, there has been a steady stream of new skyships and soldiers.

When they ask about rumors, Ajit says that the people of Jrusar are afraid more than anything. The Quorum calls for calm, but it's hard to ignore the soldiers, and the "big red sign of impending doom." There's an alliance between Issylran militaries, the leader of Ank'harel (J'man Sa'ord), the Clovis Concord, and the Stratos Throne, and all of them are sending forces to the Hellcatch Valley.

There are rumors that everything has been organized by the Stratos Throne and that this is the start of a second Apex War; meanwhile, doomsayers are saying that this is the start of a second Calamity.

As far as enchantments go, many of the automatons running the gondolas have broken down, and multiple prisoners who had been bound by magic have escaped. This is mostly why Jrusar's local guards are on high-alert. The leader of the Ivory Syndicate was among those who were broken out.

The temples have been more reluctant than usual to open their doors.

They ask Ajit to point them toward someone who might know something about Old MagicTM, and he immediately returns from inside the hall with Deremon, a very elderly man who once tutored Ajit.

Chetney pulls out the El Crusty Vest de Ludinus (TM) and shows it to the pair. "This is very peculiar; I have no idea."

Because Ajit didn't hear Ludinus during the solstice either, they gather that hearing that message was related to one's proximity to the leyline nexuses. People who were close to nexus points heard the voice and had a chance of being teleported, it seems, which also means that there is a leyline nexus over both Emon and wherever Deni$e found Dariax.

From the Dyal Hall, the trio starts to head toward the Smoulder Spire to visit the temple of the Matron of Ravens. On their way, a scent catches Chetney's nose -- the most savory meat pie he's ever smelled. To Orym and Fearne, it's more of a stale grain smell. Following it, it becomes an overwhelming hunger, a bestial drive toward the source, like fresh blood on a hunt. Chet makes a WIS save and fails with a 16, sprints toward the source -- in a dark alleyway, there's a short man in a hood, and he tosses a pouch to Chetney -- he catches it, it's a herby, medicinal texture, and the moment he bites it the figure throws a silver net over him.

"Stay away, miss, this is official business!" Fearne immediately throws a spell at him for 31 damage. "It's just business--" "This is my business."

god, the fact that they're going for lethal force immediately and asking zero questions of this normal, leather-clad, dwarven dude they know nothing about is so incredibly telling. especially for Orym, who specifically goes for a gut shot first before tripping him.

"This is a problematic, cursed beast, and I'm going to bring him in." "I mean, you're not wrong, but he's our problematic beast." There's a bounty on Chetney's head, and this guy is intent on bringing him in, but notably he is not making any damaging attacks against Orym (who's blocking his path) -- he's just trying to push past.

Fearne approaches, asks if she can give Chetney a kiss with a 28 persuasion check, and casts stoneskin on him. Interestingly enough, she ignores the 100gp material component for the spell -- so I wonder if Matt is being more lenient with valued components this campaign.

Mister runs up to Chetney and uses fiery teleportation for the first time, which gets him out of the net.

"Tuyen sends her regards." This guy was hired by Tuyen Otwana, the shopkeeper of Prism Emporium -- the shop that overcharged him for a wood chisel, that he subsequently attacked.

As Chetney casts invisibility, I am reminded that we still have no idea why Chetney has the Shadow-Touched feat, nor why Imogen has the Fey-Touched feat. (If there's a narrative reason for either, which I have to assume there is.)

The dwarf picks up the net and misty steps away.

The trio continues to the Smoulder Spire, and climbs almost to its apex. There, they find the temple to the Matron of Ravens, made of a darker material and cleaner than anything else here. The doors are closed, but not locked. Inside, there is a singular figure who opens their arms to the trio. Orym leads them in. "What brings you to the Duskmaven's sight this day, little one?"

"I'm sorry -- I don't have anyone else to turn to right now. I'm having major questions of my faith, and the changes I see above have me worried." "You are not alone." "I am no stranger to death, and I have heard tales of fate. But the things I'm seeing frighten me. What's happening?" "The skein is tangled; the threads are not. The fear that you feel is felt by all... there is much sewn (sown?) -- confusion, distraction. They are doing what we all are doing: what we must do to survive. And our fates are intertwined; if they, if she, can see this through, they will see us through it with them. [How do you know that?] Faith."

The priest can still feel the Matron's influence, but that presence is different than it was before the solstice. She feels a "human vulnerability," and finds it both strange and comforting to feel that in something so grand. "She was like us once, so perhaps she has that vulnerability uniquely." "Do you know what her name was?" "There are none who live that do."

"She may not have the answers you seek, as we are in both a period of mourning and a period of preparation." "How much time you think we've all got?" "Come drink of the waters with me."

The priest leads Orym -- to pulls Fearne along -- toward the interior waterfall. Along the way, they notice that some of the interior lights are dark. She fills a steel pan with water, and offers it to Orym to drink. He leans down, closes his eyes, and drinks the (very cold, but refreshing) water.

The cold spreads through him as he drinks -- not uncomfortable, but cold. Fearne, Chetney, and the priest do the same; as the priest kneels, Orym thinks that he "is just looking for answers," while Fearne thinks loudly that she is "just feeding the root."

"Away from the warming light of the sun--" Is the Matron being portrayed as the opposite of Pelor? Is that what's happening here?

They all spend an indeterminate amount of time kneeling by the water, disassociating, listening to the sound of the water, the cold, the still, and they wonder if this is a piece of death herself. They feel cold, content, at peace.

When they emerge from this state, Chetney is visible, and the priest is gone. They open the front door to a crimson sky, a familiar crater, a beam of noxious energy firing into the sky -- inside the beam they see an orb, hear a scream that doesn't stop, a scream that encompasses the entirety of Exandria and beyond --

and they see a flash of a white porcelain mask, they emerge from their trance state. The priest stands before them -- "we are in a period of mourning for one of our own." That's why the temple's torches are low, why their doors are closed: they are mourning Vax'ildan, the Champion of the Matron of Ravens.

"How do we help? How do we help in the fight? How do we turn the tide?" "Faith."

Orym stoops down, takes a bit of the water from the pool, and smears it across the front of his shield.

The Bells Hells reconvene and share their stories. Laudna is visibly much happier than when they last saw her. Imogen gives Ashton an orange.

Orym would've heard things about "the Champion of the Matron" just as he would've heard about historical figures, and he'd know that the Champion had a tie to Keyleth, but Keyleth herself never mentioned him in front of Orym.

the Bells Hells don't even knows who the gods are. They don't know the difference between the Change Bringer and the Moon Weaver. Fearne doesn't now that Morri isn't a god. They don't know the difference between the Dawnfather and the Matron of Ravens.

And suddenly, the Bells Hells are debating whether they're trying to save the gods or trying to save humanity. Orym argues that those two causes are the same thing, but Laudna disagrees, and FCG agrees to too far of an extent. Imogen conflates a signal from a god to worship. Laudna equates leveling a block of a city to intervention of the gods. \

Ashton -- the most sensible one here at the moment -- says that there's a lot of conjecture about things that just happen. "I watched my parents get ripped to bits in a maelstrom of gods-know-what, I got thrown into a desert and picked up by shitty people and thrown into a fucking orphanage where I stayed -- more or less, what you'd expect. I fought a lot, I made friends, we did what we fucking could, and I fell out a window and woke up in a pain that has never stopped. And there were little sections ot my life where I prayed, and I begged, anything to all of them, any of them, and the only time they've ever spoken to me was the one who tried to fucking kill me less than a week ago. So, I'm here to save us, I'm here to save the people who live here, hell, I've had one fucking word I spoke to a fucking pile of earth that was more responsive and made me feel better and more connected to anything in my fucking life, that grounded itself more -- and you know what? I'm all for faith. I'm not gonna pick a god, they can pick me, they can pray to me, they can choose me more than I ever did to them."

I lied, Orym is the most sensible one. "History is littered with their positive influence here; but none of you would suggest wiping out every living being on earth because some of them are shitty. Some of them have done good, and I think that thinking black-and-white is comforting -- but it's a little more nuanced than that."

"Why can't i have faith in you all? Faith in Exandria, faith in you all, faith in those that came before the gods? The eidolons, the earth, the titans?"

There's a lot going on here, and Team Issylra is (deliciously) misinterpreting the eidolons and the Dawnfather's temple. They all have different opinions, and they're all hung up on the definition of "faith" -- but in the end, they agree that regardless of whether the gods are worthy of saving, Ludinus needs to fucking die. And that's something I can get behind.

I've said it before and I'll say it again -- the discussion of whether or not the gods should exist, of whether the should or shouldn't exhibit their power over mortal-kind, of whether mortal faith gives them life and power, of whether they are in control of fate -- all of it doesn't fucking matter right now. Those questions are ones that can be asked once this is all over. Because the Bells Hells know that, objectively, Ludinus' plan is evil, he is not the one who should fill that power vacuum, he needs to be stopped.

Fearne attempts to scry on Ludinus. As her consciousness extends toward him, she drifts in a liminal space with nothing to tether to, and she realizes that she is unable to scry on him. He has and is attuned to an amulet of proof against detection and location, the same item that shielded Caleb from Trent's eyes.

FCG attempts to scry on Liliana Temult. He focuses on the coin and sees its metal first become strands of hair, then become darker metal; his vision pushes through the coin and into darkness, which turns to redness. He finds himself in the familiar red dust storm that fills almost all the space around him -- but he sees Liliana walking, her hair and coat billowing in the wind. To her left is Ludinus Da'leth, and on the horizon, there are shapes -- structures, buildings... in the sky, a round body of a faint bluish-green coloration -- Exandria looms just beyond the dust storm above." That's all they receive.

They're on the SURFACE OF THE FUCKING MOON, on the SURFACE of RUIDUS ITSELF

It was like they were walking through a street. There is no distinction between home and building here -- it's just a street.

Laudna and Chetney think that this city was on the continent that got scooped up to form Exandria.

FCG asks the Changebringer whether Exandria is round, and she responds, yes.

The Bells Hells deduce that they need to figure out "how to ride [the beam]," that they need to find out how to get to the surface of Ruidus. Spelljammer, here we come!

FCG casts identify on the harness. "The funnel goes to the base of the neck, between the shoulder blades. It is designed, though it does not currently function, to take the essence of some sort of magic and funnel it to some sort of place on the wearer's body -- between the shoulder blades, on the neck."

Orym assumes that the device was designed to prolong Ludinus' life, because fey creatures are generally more long-lived than Exandrians.

Ashton finally asks the question of where Ira and Xandis are.

By sunset, Milo has finished the modifications on Ashton's hammer -- they have installed the immovable rod into the handle. "I'm not entirely sure what the properties of this are, aside from the fact that it's very unique, there's a refractory aspect of the crystal itself." Inside the sack was some amount of the refractory crystal they took from the Verdant Tomb, and incorporating it into the hammer has had some...... unforeseen implications.

Orym tries Caleb's sending stone. "Caleb Widogast. Bells Hells here. We survived -- where are you? Do you know what happened out there?" There's static fuzz, and no response. There is no indicator on the Treshi scry ball, and the Drixlich sensor points toward Uthodurn.

Imogen tries to cast sending on Ira. "Ira? Can you hear me, is this working?" With a 53, a familiar static of the "arcane forces in the sky."

FCG scries on Ira, but he makes his save. Ira exists, he lives out there somewhere, but he made his save.

Fearne scries on Ira. She focuses, and connects to "the pulse of life around Exandria" -- Ira is deep within a clustered, red-dust storm, not among structures or others but alone, pushing through a maelstrom, a stronger storm than they've said, trudging through an intense red. A dark shape arrives and he presses up against it, leans against a massive, smoothed boulder, and ducks into an alcove. Outside the storm, he blinks, pushes dust out of the corner of his eyes. Another figure approaches -- thick, partially patchworkly-armored torso, a muscular humanoid figure of deep red skin, oddly textured face-- features sallow and smooth, one of the Reilora. They gesture, and Ira follows. Their features are different than the figure they saw Imogen summon, and different than the gith body Team Issylra found.

Using Orym's shield as a focus, Imogen invokes the staff, and teleports the Bells Hells to Zephrah. "It's... mid-day, a beautiful cloud-dappled sky. A beautiful horizon among brown and red stones, clusters of trees, pathways that lead through the mountains, grass fields, the mountains to the east... a precipice of a cliff that is woven through the peaks of these mountains, pastels, bridges and ledges that encompass the rustic homesteads that make up this community like the existence of this village is a gift from the land itself... a tall cherry tree sits on the precipice to your right."

#critical role #note watches c3 #critical role spoilers #critical role campaign 3 #critical role c3 #critical role liveblog #long post

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linagram · 1 year

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[ 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚋𝚊 𝚗𝚊𝚘𝚖𝚒'𝚜 𝚝𝟷 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚊 ] 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚞𝚎𝚕𝚝𝚢

naomi's vd is here! i think this one is a little shorter than the other ones? at least it definitely feels like a short one to me.

well, naomi's crime was basically solved on my other blog, so i felt like it wouldn't make sense to try and make it sound more mysterious than it actually is, haha. she's still a very interesting character to me though and i'm excited to see how her trial goes.

(divider link)

(door opens)

(sounds of footsteps)

Miki: I hope we didn't keep you waiting too long..

Naomi: No, no, everything is fine, don't worry about it.

Naomi: I understand that you two are quite busy today, haha. If I recall correctly, you have to extract everyone's songs today, right?

Miki: Y-yes..

Naomi: And I'm only the fourth prisoner. You still have a lot of people to talk to today.

Miki: *nods*

Naomi: Well, do your best then. I'm sure everything will be fine.

Miki: T-thank you so much!

Eiji: *clears his throat*

Eiji: I'm also here, just so you know.

Naomi: Of course. Hello, um..

Naomi: Is it okay if I call you both by your first names? You both are guards, so calling you both "Guard-san" is kind of..

Eiji: Hey, who do you think you are to-

Miki: Yes, that would be so much better!

Naomi: Great. Hello, Eiji-san.

Eiji: (to Miki) What are you doing? She has no right to call us by our first names like that, she's just a prisoner!

Miki: Well, I'm tired of being called "Guard 002" or "Guard-san's assistant" all the time. So yes, I prefer my name better.

Eiji: .. What happened to you?

Miki: Maybe I'm just trying to act more like a guard?

Miki: You can still say her prisoner number and name though. It's your thing, after all.

Eiji: I-I know that..

Naomi: Haha, you two get along so well.

Eiji: So, Prisoner 004, Chiba Naomi.

Eiji: Oh, you also were a teacher before arriving to Milgram.

Naomi: .. Yes, that's right. I was an elementary school teacher, to be more exact.

Miki: That's so cute! To be honest, I can definitely imagine you being a type of person who's good with children.

Naomi: !..

Naomi: Y-yes, a lot of people have told me that..

Eiji: So, an elementary school teacher..

Eiji: Even someone who spent so much time with children still ended up becoming a murderer.

Eiji: There's really no hope for all of you.

Naomi: Yes, I won't deny that I really did murder someone.

Miki: U-um, before we discuss that..

Miki: How about we talk about your life in Milgram?

Naomi: Well.. Sure, why not?

Miki: Do you get along well with other prisoners?

Naomi: Hm, let me think..

Naomi: Other prisoners are very.. interesting people.

Eiji: You mean they're all insane.

Naomi: *laughs* I don't really have a right to judge them for their behavior and for what they've done. I'm just like them, after all.

Naomi: I can't imagine some of them being criminals at all though..

Naomi: Like Yurika-san. She's so kind and gentle!

Naomi: And Aimi-chan. She's such a sweet and polite girl!

Eiji: You haven't mentioned Asahi though.

Eiji: Don't you think it's weird that he's here, since, you know, he's a child?

Naomi: ...

Naomi: Kids can be very cruel too, Eiji-san.

Naomi: Of course, a lot of prisoners here are children. Akio-kun, Aimi-chan, Riku-kun..

Naomi: But.. um.. Asahi-kun definitely seems like the type of child who is not as pure and innocent as you'd expect a child to be.

Eiji: It's like you had to deal with kids like that in the past.

Naomi: You're right.

Naomi: I love kids, I really do, but some of them..

Naomi: .. Can be more evil than any adults.

Naomi: And yes, usually people say that it's okay for children to do horrible things, because again, they're children, they don't understand what they're doing!

Naomi: But that's exactly what makes them so evil.

Naomi: We always say that adults are responsible for what they've done even if they didn't know better, but why do we go easy on children?

Miki: Um.. because they're children?

Naomi: Miki-san, were you ever hurt by a child?

Naomi: And what about you, Eiji-san?

Miki: ...

Eiji: ...

Naomi: Think about it. Refusing to play with someone just because they're "different", making fun of someone for some stupid reason they've just made up, hurting someone and then blaming that person for everything..

Naomi: Children are capable of all those things.

Naomi: I can tell that you two have met children like that before.

Miki: H-how do you know that?..

Naomi: You two are still children in my eyes. I know that a child had to go through something horrible when I look at them.

Naomi: I had to help a lot of my students. Some of them were abused by their own family, some of them were bullied by their classmates, some of them were simply ignored by everyone.

Naomi: And I can tell that you were just like them when you were younger.

Naomi: I'll tell you more, I feel like one of you is still really angry at that child who hurt them in the past, meanwhile the other one..

Naomi: Feels like they were that child who hurt someone very badly when they were younger.

Miki: ...

Eiji: .. Stop it. Let's just talk about your crime already.

Naomi: You're right. Sorry.

Naomi: But before we talk about that.. Can I ask you something?

Naomi: Eiji-san, you want to vote everyone here guilty, right?

Eiji: Haha, how did you know? Was that so obvious?

Eiji: Of course. I hate every single Milgram prisoner.

Naomi: I see. In that case..

Naomi: Can you promise to vote me guilty no matter what?

Miki: .. Huh??

Eiji: Sure, I'd love to!

Miki: No, wait, Chiba-san, what does that mean? Why do you want to be voted guilty?

Naomi: Well.. Because I want someone to tell me that they don't forgive me.

Naomi: I'm sick of it. I know that my crime is unforgivable, but..

Naomi: I've never got punished for it.

Eiji: .. What do you mean by that?

Naomi: My crime.. was seen as something good.

Naomi: Well, not exactly good, but not exactly bad either.

Naomi: Sure, I've never actually told anyone that I was the one who did it, but I just know that people wouldn't say that I'm evil for doing that.

Naomi: They would be okay with that. Even my victim's family would be okay with that.

Naomi: So, please.. Tell me I'm guilty.

Naomi: I will tell you everything you want to know about my crime. Just promise that you won't forgive me like everyone else did.

Eiji: Oh, you don't have to worry about that.

Eiji: Now, about your crime-

(bell rings, machinery sounds)

Miki: No, no, wait! We need more time! We finally can talk to a prisoner who actually wants to tell us everything about their crime, we can't lose that chance!

Eiji: It's okay, we'll learn everything we want to know very soon.

Naomi: But.. Are you sure that video will be enough to judge me properly?

Naomi: What if you decide that I'm innocent after watching it?

Eiji: Well, if that video makes you look sympathetic..

Eiji: It simply means that you actually want to be forgiven.

Naomi: I..

Naomi: I DON'T WANT TO BE FORGIVEN! I DESERVE TO BE PUNISHED! I LITERALLY KILLED A CHILD-

Eiji: Prisoner 004, Naomi, sing your sins!

═════════•°• ⚠ •°•═════════

#tbh naomi is probably one of my favorite prisoners? i think i did a good job with her character #like sure maybe she's similar to shidou but she also literally said “hey it's okay to like kids and still want to choke the annoying ones”#i have no idea what will happen to prisoners 003 and 004 like i can guess most characters' verdicts but these two?? idk..#i think it's also because their theme doesn't really show up? like you can see how everyone's themes are related to their murders but #i've never mentioned how other people's expectations from 003 and 004 were an important part of their motives #but they were. trust me #also. can we talk about the fact that naomi spent the whole vd basically going “fuck them kids” but when eiji was like #“haha what if you actually want to be voted inno” she suddenly used the “i'm literally a child murderer you can't forgive me” card #says a lot about her character haha :)#🎤 voice dramas! 🎤#🗡️guard 001: sanada eiji 🗡️#🌼guard 002: andou miki 🌼#🌿prisoner 004: chiba naomi🌿#milgram #milgram oc #milgram project

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wolves-etc · 1 year

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thoughts on The Last Of Us episode three, just yelled at the friend who recced it to me, now edited to remove most of the yelling:

[thoughts on: 1.1 | 1.2 | X | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.9]

— starting off strong with a) ANGST ABOUT HANDS (MY BELOVED) and b) a moment just appreciating the peace and the view. hey, it's the apocalypse, and there's still natural beauty around <3

— (obligatory "don't move rocks, things live under 'em" PSA but I'm not gonna be the one to ruin his lovely moment)

— I'm impressed with ellie for the… I want to call it boundary setting but it might not be, exactly. the "you made a choice, you needed a truck battery or whatever, don't blame me for something that wasn't my fault" bit. that was brave, especially with how scary joel can be. yes she's had a little time to get to know him, yes she's valuable cargo and she knows it, but he's grieving in a big way and he could make things unpleasant for her if he wanted, so yeah, brave.

— and it's nice that joel just listens and nods - it's not exactly treating her like an adult but it IS acknowledging her as someone who has a point and has a right to be treated fairly, and it's not exactly commonplace for adults to treat kids and teens like that. (though it looked like he had a good relationship with sarah, so I'm not surprised.)

— green <3

— ELLIE ROASTING HIM RELENTLESSLY FOR HIS SCAR AND HIS SHOOTING ABILTIES. I love her I love this

— "there's this one character named mileena who takes off her mask and she has monster teeth and then she swallows you whole and barfs out your bones! oh, man." <3

— "is there anything bad in here?" "just you." "ah, getting funnier." GOOD

— I do not like the dark mystery cellar I am putting socks on again, for fuck's sake. ellie could also do with more anxiety slash survival instincts but kudos to her upper body strength!

— WAS IT WORTH IT FOR TAMPONS, ELLIE. WAS IT WORTH IT

— ellie these things call other things. ellie this is deeply grim. I may have underestimated how much of a murder child she is.

— cordyceps in the food supply is a grim idea. and it does explain how it happened so everywhere and so quickly. (and it means the mycologist's advice to bomb the city might or might not have been enough, if anything had already been sent out.)

— joel answered a question with more than a sentence and ellie said thanks!! I'M SO PROUD OF THEM.

— "there's stuff up there you shouldn't see." "you're too honest, man. should've said axe murderer."

what's NICE about this is it sets a precedent and establishes him as a trustworthy adult, at least in that he tells her stuff and he can be believed. because she's in that transitional age where you kinda have to start treating teenagers like adults with some things - just, adults who are much more fragile and have minimal life experience - and that means giving them freedom to see stuff that might be hard for them. like. um. mass graves. okay I'm adjusting this to fit a zombie apocalypse setting and that's making it a little intense. sorry about that.

— this is a flashback I Did Not Want but also HI IS THAT NICK OFFERMAN. HELLO <3

— nobody told me he was a deranged survivalist with a gas mask I love him already

— nick offerman is resource grinding like there's no tomorrow and I love that for him

— nick offerman you fucking weirdo bastard you booby-trapped the place.

— he's WATCHING THEM ON CAMERA FOR FUN. oh I adore him.

— look at him nick he's pathetic he's funny he has no home, you have room for a stray dog guest don't you

— it's been four years since the outbreak and nick is only just causing someone else happiness (frank having a truly amazing time in the shower) and I'm just struck by that, how nourishing each other lifts us up too, and how nick kept himself starved of that.

— (at this point my friend came online and accidentally let slip that nick offerman's character is called bill)

— (WAIT. BILL AS IN BILL AND FRANK OF "JOEL MENTIONED THESE DUDES" FAME. I'm so proud of them.)

— the view of frank sitting at the table alone, in clean clothes, delighted and bewildered by all the finery, was when my brain drew a Beauty And The Beast comparison and I had to sit back and laugh for several minutes

— bill absolutely deer-in-the-headlights when he comes in to see frank standing up <3 kinda stumbling through the door because two plates and a bottle is more than he normally has to carry <3 adjusting frank's plate until it's Just Right <3 I LOVE BILL

— "I know I don't seem like the type." "no, you do." here we reach the moment that (in gifset form) persuaded me to watch this, and gosh, it's even sweeter in person.

— I don't know if frank was just elbowing in and rifling through the music sheets to get a reaction from bill or not. he could just be kinda oblivious and rude, which is fair enough, given the Extenuating Circumstances. him "accidentally" insisting on bill playing was some kind of deliberate though.

— bill playing the piano and frank looking down at him like oh, oh this is a treasure.

— I've never cried at an on-screen kiss before but oh fuck. the desperation and loneliness of it, holding each other as close as possible. the desperation and loneliness of the lives they've both been living the past four years.

— and what it extends to in the bedroom, the caution on frank's front and the almost-shame on bill's, I don't have words for it but it's thick enough to slice and butter for afternoon tea and it feels so real it hurts.

— three years later and they're having relationship talks, I'm SO proud of them

— frank making friends and making bill's life infinitely harder <3 <3 <3

— the small but significant shift in joel when he says "we can help each other and get that gun out of my face." I almost didn't recognise him until that.

— I've never been happier to see two grown men eating strawberries

— yes, I'm tearing up again

— (at this point I started to cotton on to where this was going and paused to accuse my friend of having recommended the show to me largely for this episode. turns out he did! the mortifying ordeal of being known by your friends.)

— (I also stopped making notes. 'cos it got hard to talk about. the scenes we get with them are all so intimate and the last one, at the dinner table, was so real it felt almost voyeuristic to me - and I didn't want to make any kind of judgement about their decisions. it's a lot. they had sixteen years together, and that part's pretty fucking great, considering. I'm leaving it at that.)

— "I'm guessing you found this, Joel, because anyone else would've been electrocuted or blown up by one of my traps. Hehehehehehehehe." bastard I love him

— "there was one person worth saving. that's what I did. I saved him, and I protected him." oh this is absolutely about joel too.

— "we have a job to do. and god help any motherfuckers who stand in our way." <3 <3 <3

— "I leave you all of my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep [tess safe]." ...well, fuck.

(it's an awful thought, but at least joel didn't love her as much as she loved him.)

— love to see joel being honest about his plans with ellie!

— bewildered to see bill and frank still had TOILET PAPER. bill, buddy, how much did you even STASH

— joel and ellie looking totally like a dad and daughter going on a trip except he says "seatbelt" and she doesn't know what he means and it's not 2003 after all, it's 2023 and they're living in a different world, and that world's gone for good. heck.

yeah so my friend recommended the show to me largely for this episode (bastard <3) and he was Right to. that's my takeaway.

#I don't talk about the tough stuff in any detail below the cut #the last of us hbo #the last of us spoilers #tlou spoilers #angst tag #orig #I really dragged my feet on getting this one together and in the meantime I kinda sorta watched the rest of the series #(and took notes/did yelling along the way. fully planning to tidy that up too. if only 'cos I really want to reach the last two eps.)#my apologies for things that are ouch with context from further eps #I can't edit that kind of thing or I'm not being honest <3

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wtchwtch · 2 years

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TT009_Transcript

TT009: Donny Sums

This is a fanmade transcript, please let me know if you see any errors.

TT009

(Intro music)

(Tape recorder sounds)

Cole: So?

D: So what?

Cole: Well, it's, it's your last chance to bail.

Mark: Listen, mate. I'll be honest with you, I'm not happy with you right now. You should have told us sooner. We could have just, I don't know, not done the podcast?

Look best to stick together, and I'll be damned if I'm the odd man out on this one. So I'm staying right where I am.

D: Yeah, that, that just about sums up my feelings as well, so,

Cole: Okay. Still friends though?

D: Dog house, but still friends.

Mark: Big time Dog house. But yeah, still friends.

Cole: I, I really am sorry that I didn't tell you guys sooner. I, I thought I could fix this mess myself.

Mark: All right. Okay. You're gonna keep going on about it or, or tell us what you called us here for?

Cole: Oh, yeah. Right. So as part of my creepy murder cassette slash letter investigation, I, I went to a book signing at Creepy Con.

D: What? Wait. Hold on. You went without us?

Jesse: What's Creepy Con?

D: Cree-Creepy Con happens like every year and it, it's a, it's a horror convention for everything like creepy and cursed and weird, you know, kind of our jam.

Jesse: Oh, makes sense. Uh, hence, podcast.

Cole: I know I went without you, but I, I feel like I should get a pass on this one cuz of, you know, crazy potential murderer after me.

D: We'll chill that one, but only temporarily.

Mark: I really can't believe you went without us.

Cole: Okay. Jesus. I'm sorry, but I went to meet Donny Sums. The only other name on the list who isn't dead apart from me.

D: Oh my God. You met Donny Sums.

Mark: Oh, mate. You aren't getting out of that dog house anytime soon.

Cole: Okay, I, I give up. I'll just play you the recording.

Jesse: Who's Donny Sums?

Con Worker: Next in line, please. Up to the line, one at a time. When Donnie's done signing, please proceed to the table. No, hey! Toes on the line. Yes, thank you.

Cole: I'm currently waiting the line at Creepy Con to confront Donny about his connection to the Tiny Terrors-

Con Worker: Sir.

Cole: Oh, sorry. Are you talking to me?

Con Worker: Sir? If you want, Donny Sums to record a personalised message that'll be an extra twenty five.

Cole: I don't know what you're... oh, oh, right. Yeah. Um, yeah, just. Sorry, just one second.

All right. Here's a, uh, a 20 and a...

Yeah, there we go. There's a five.

Con Worker: All right. Up you go. Okay... One. At. A. Time. Toes on the line, ma'am. What did I just say? Toes on the line. Thank you.

Cole: Hello, sir. Um, I mean, hmm. Sorry, I'm nervous. Donny Sums. I, uh, I just wanted to say I am a massive fan of yours.

Donny Sums: Lovely. Now, who should I make it out to?

Cole: Um, c could you make it out to, uh, to Cole, please?

Donny Sums: Sure. C O L E, right?

Cole: Yeah. And, could the message say, uh, "Long lived Tiny Terrors"?

Donny Sums: Long live tiny...

Cole: I'm sorry. Is is there a problem?

Donny Sums: I don't think I heard you. What was the message you'd like written?

Cole: Um, "Long Live the Tiny Terrors Exchange"?

Donny Sums: Who are you?

Cole: Oh, I'm, uh, I'm just,

Donny Sums: What the hell is that?

Cole: This, this, it's, uh,

Donny Sums: Are you recording? What the hell do you want?

Cole: Um, a couple weeks ago I received a letter with a list of, um, names on them, and one of them was yours.

Donny Sums: So?

Cole: I looked up the other names on the list and,

Donny Sums: All right. I don't see what this has to do with me. We're done here.

Cole: All the rest of the other people named are dead, save for you and one other person. Most of them died under mysterious circumstances and I'm just trying to figure out who the hell sent the letter.

Donny Sums: Okay. Who was the other person?

Cole: It was, it was me.

(Taper recorder sounds)

Donny Sums: I'd been a member of the Tiny Terrors Exchange for six odd years by the time I got my first publishing contract. It was a straight to paperback publishing run on a very limited printing, but as you probably know, seeing as how you are now here harassing me, the 'Morgue Choir' quickly became an underground success, and then eventually landed on just about every best sellers list you could imagine.

That was 1992. Right around the time the members were starting to abandon the bulletin board system in favor of the second iteration of the Tiny Terrors Exchange through the mail system. It made sense enough at the time, I suppose, to do it that way. The technology just wasn't there yet, and yes, the bulletin board system worked for sharing a short story, but anything over 1200 words took forever to load. Traditional means of sending mail to one another was just more efficient, no matter how enthusiastic we were. Compared to nowadays with the internet, you'd laugh, but back then the feedback on a story was nearly instant. I'd post a story before going to sleep and wake up the next day, go to work, and when I got home, I'd have two or three comments waiting for me.

In fact, I don't think I'd ever have written the Morgue Choir if I hadn't been a member of the exchange. Those comments really gave me the courage to begin writing in earnest. Actually, I know I wouldn't have written the Morgue Choir if I hadn't been active on the exchange because it's actually based on a story I wrote for the Tiny Terrors Exchange.

It was the first story I wrote and submitted that ever made it big time. It was also the story that really convinced me abandoning the bulletin board system was a good idea. The stories just spread in a way that seemed special. Like getting a good story was a cherished parcel from a loved one. Anyway, I titled the story Corpse Singer.

I printed out a handful of copies with my full name and the title proudly printed in bolder and bigger font and figured I'd play the numbers game, send them all to a handful of exchange members I knew would pass it on and hope one of those copies gained traction. But it seemed I had over-planned and underprepared because within a month I was receiving more mail than I could conceivably read all by my lonesome.

Long story short, I adapted the short story and based my first novel on it. Most folks were happy for me. I got a lot of letters from exchange members looking for me to sign one of those original copies, which frankly felt out of order. Of course, I didn't and just removed as many copies as I could from circulation.

I had a book coming out and figured it would improve sales if there weren't free copies that were shorter in length and ruined the plot twist. Anyways, it's important to note that most folk were happy for me, but not everyone. There were purists sending me scolding letters for cashing out, a a healthy supply of death threats, solicitations... and a few letters I would call odd.

None of them stood out at the time. You just get letters from less well adjusted people when you find fame and fortune. It starts early and never stops. You can't let it bother you of course. All you can do is laugh. That's why I keep 'em. I look back on him for inspiration when I'm feeling burned out and looking for a creative use of the English language to spur on inspiration.

A year or two after I published the Morgue Choir, I was on a press junket going from late night show to late night show when what I assumed was a fan approached me on the street, as I was walking back to my hotel. He stuck out his hand, as if to shake mine but said nothing to accompany the friendly gesture.

So I took his hand, thinking it was going to be a quick and painless encounter where someone a little more awkward than the average individual wanted to let me know they appreciated my work. But as I went in gingerly to lightly shake his hand, he grabbed me and pulled me in close. My heart was pounding outta my chest.

Was he a stalker and assassin looking for infamy? I began tearing my arm away, trying to shake loose the grip he had on my hand, but he pulled me in closer. I could hear his heavy breath like a hurricane in my ear.

God, I can still smell his breath. It was rancid, like spoiled wine, mumbling. He said, Nathan Lansdown, Jamie Pete, Marlon Gunter.

It was nonsense. For all I knew they were his imaginary friends for goodness sake. And then, as I was finding it hard to hold back a little laugh, he said my name.

"Why did you feed the beast?"

Absolute fear grip me in that moment as if I'd been dunked in ice water. My skin pricked and I felt danger in his tone, like static electricity that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I tried to cry out for help, but my tongue was too dry and stuck to the roof of my mouth. I swallowed hard and tried once more to yell for help. All the while he held me tight, and mumbled more random names that meant nothing to me, and then more clearly whispered my name in my ear.

"Why did you feed the beast?"

And he just let me go. The reason I'm telling you this now is because those words stuck with me, the rest of the press junket. Why were those words so familiar? Why did I feed the beast? A week after I got home it hit me though why the question had seemed so familiar. It was like that feeling of having the name of a movie star on the tip of your tongue, but thinking of every other name except the one you're looking for.

I had my assistant bring up my collection of letters, and after a quick search, it was there, a letter I'd received shortly after submitting Corpse Singer to the exchange, before I ever published the Morgue Choir. A lined piece of paper with the words, "Why did you feed the beast? Why did you feed the beast? Why did you feed the beast?" It was written over and over and in the creases and in every available space until the letters were too small to read.

It was the same person.

They'd found me, they'd followed me. They'd stalked me. They'd found me and grabbed me, whispered those same words into my ear all those years later.

(Sigh)

Donny Sums: I'll tell you what my psychiatrist told me. It was likely a super fan, naming off his favorite Tiny Terrors authors. So congratulations. Guess you made the list.

Cole: I, um, Can I, can I show you something?

Donny Sums: All right. What is it?

(Paper unfolding)

Cole: Here. That's the list of names I got in the mail. And by mail I mean it just sort of appeared on my desk. Um, I've looked up every name and they're all either missing, murdered, or just plain dead except for you and me.

Donny Sums: All right. Listen mate. Very funny. Who put you up to this? My agent, Janet? Bet it was Janet.

Cole: Honest to God. This isn't a prank. It's, it's right there. "Why did you feed the beast?" just like in your story and the list of names, just like in your story, I promise. I promise this isn't a prank. Just look into it yourself and you'll see I'm telling the truth.

Donny Sums: Nathan Lansdown, Jamie Pete, Marlin Gunter. Oh, piss off.

Cole: There, right there. Just there. It's right there. Just like in your story. You need to listen.

Donny Sums: No, I need to go back to signing books and you need to go crawling back to Janet and tell the old witch to try harder next time.

Cole: What?

Donny Sums: Where'd she find you? Some street corner doing Cheap Walmart knockoff David Blaine mind tricks?

Cole: No, that's, no, that's not it at all. How, How would I know you'd tell me that story. How many insane little factors would have to align for this to work out the way you are imagining it?

Donny Sums: That's the trick though, isn't it? Social engineering or some other mumbo jumbo.

Cole: Oh, you've got to be kidding me.

Donny Sums: Wish I could say it was pleasure, but I'd rather look a live wire than have you pull one over on me.

Cole: I really don't know what else to say. I guess it's true. After all, never meet your heroes.

(Tape recorder sounds)

D: Okay. I, I know there's a lot to unpack there, but I still just can't believe you went and met Donny sums without me.

Mark: Right?

Cole: I know. I'm sorry. But Jesus, did you hear what he told me?

Mark: Yep. Same creepy guy. Stopped both of you.

D: Okay. Yeah. But like why you, Donny Sums wrote Morgue Choir, one of the most famous stories in the exchange, but like what have you done?

Mark: In fact, it seems like everyone on that list you got sent was prolific on the exchange.

Cole: Okay, well back up. I've had a little success here and there, okay?

D: I, I mean, not Donny Sums success though.

Cole: Yeah. Okay. Okay. I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the podcast. You know, they, they don't like that I'm taking the exchange back online maybe?

Jesse: What would be so bad about bringing the exchange back online?

Cole: Nothing, I don't think.

D: Sure it isn't some like unwritten rule that you can't post it online?

Cole: I'm sure someone somewhere might think it is.

Mark: Well maybe it's just a super fan who really liked one of your mediocre stories.

Cole: Okay. I do in fact have feelings, you know that right?

Mark: Look, I'm sorry. I don't mean it, but Dog house.

D: Dog house.

Cole: Right, okay. Yeah. Fine. Fair.

Mark: Okay. Where do we go from here?

D: Hmm. Maybe we try and find out more about the exchange?

Cole: What's that gonna do?

D: Okay, so like when I was in university, we had folks come and guest lecture about the most random stuff. We're talking about folks with PhDs talking about dog breeding in middle aged Spain, or like patriarchal roots of the aerobics craze in the late seventies and eighties.

Wild stuff. There has to be like, I don't know, what do you wanna call it uhhhh? Scholar of the Tiny Terrors Exchange? You know, someone who's tried to put together the pieces or at least document some of the more notable events orbiting the exchange. Maybe there's like a history of... I don't know, a less dark way to put this, but like a history of murder here?

Mark: Tiny Terrors is an anthology horror podcast produced by Pulp Audio and licensed under a creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharealike 4.0 international license.

D: This episode was directed by Cole Weavers with sound production and editing by Mike LeBeau.

Mark: To find additional information or to join our Patreon for additional content and ad free episodes, visit our website, www.tinyterrorspod.com.

D: Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at Tiny Terrors Pod,

Mark: Or join the Pulp Audio discord by clicking the link in the description below.

D: Rate and review us on Spotify and Apple.

Mark: And finally, thanks for listening.

#tiny terrors #tiny terrors podcast #tt transcript

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mermaidsirennikita · 11 months

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ARC Review: Bad Things Feel Best by Ivy Smoak

3/5. Releases 8/8/2023.

For when you're vibing with... a chaste romantic thriller, a readalike for Colleen Hoover's Verity, and "my boss is maybe a murderer but like.... he's single...".

When Hazel Fox takes an assistant job on a private island, she looks forward to working with famous author Athena Quinn. But it turns out she's actually working for Athena's mysterious right hand--Mr. Remington. Mr. Remington doesn't want to be known by anyone, let alone Hazel; and the more she attempts to understand him, the more he resists her.

This book wasn't a match for me--and I think that's partly because of how it was marketed. But I think it possibly a good option for those who seek an entryway to romantic suspense... without quite as much murder and sex.

Quick Takes:

--Here's the thing. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm not a big fan of reading something you know you won't be into and then giving it a low rating. I like romantic suspense, though it's been a while since I've read it. I'd never read Ivy Smoak before, and I assumed based the descriptions of and reviews for her other books that this would have some heat to it. I may not have done my research well enough there. I also assumed based on the marketing for this book that it would be a) both mystery-forward and romance-forward b) kind of mysterious and sexy.

I would not personally call this romance-forward. There is a romance plot, it is prominent. I do not think it was prominent enough for this to be categorized as genre romance. It's a side quest, in a sense, for Hazel. It's not super woven into the mystery itself, the way it might be in a romantic suspense novel. One of the reasons why I suggested it as a readalike for Verity (a book I didn't enjoy, but I know others have) is that the romance feels about as central to that novel as it does to this one.

--I love the island atmosphere in the novel, and the general sense of isolation is what built the eeriness up the most (though that's perhaps broken by the presence of Hazel's friend Kehlani; while I didn't dislike her character, she very much felt like the obligatory best friend versus a character Smoak put a lot of thought into, and she didn't really need to be there).

I just feel that the style of Hazel's narration, her POV, her personality... Kind of fucked with this book's ability to be a proper thriller. Before I began reading primarily romance, I went through a period wherein I read primarily thrillers. This book didn't commit to being a thriller any more than it committed to being a romance, to be honest. If you are newer to both genres, you may be satisfied with the light touch. I don't like a light touch. With anything.

--Hazel wasn't super believable to me as a protagonist. Yes, it's typical for thriller girls to be kind of nosy, to get into shit they should really leave alone. But there was something about the way she went about it that suggested a lack of connection to reality--and not in an intentional, "unreliable narrator/mentally ill protagonist" kind of way. It felt like she didn't get how this job was a move forward in her career, and didn't value it? Which seems like a petty thing to critique about a thriller-ish romance-ish novel, but like I said, this book has something of an identity crisis, so it felt more prominent to me.

--The reality is that as interesting as Mr. Remington could be in theory... He never actually becomes a truly fleshed out character. And if only one character feels actually prominent (and she never even seems to 100% like this man) you cannot connect to the romance plot. Or at least, I can't.

The Sex Stuff:

This book is closed door, and to be honest, that seems oddly soft for a book that's meant to be dark? Definitely doesn't gel with the title or the way it's being marketed.

I feel like this was hard for me to come to an opinion on--because I'm really not the reader for this subgenre. It's not quite a thriller, not quite a romance. It's difficult for me to critique it, because I don't really know what standards I'm judging it by...? But again, I imagine that Colleen Hoover readers (or at least Verity readers) may like it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Montlake for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#romance novel blogging #arc reviews #netgalley #book reviews #books

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stedewards · 1 year

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wip tag meme

tagged by @181230 and @ulfie-by-osmosis thanks for the tag bestie <3

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it.

okay so i opened quotev after a while for this and here's what i found!

my main wips (aka the ones i think about most / have most focus on)

the price of war: this is a riordanverse fic. to sum it up briefly, it's got an overpowered mc who passes out as much as hearthstone, and not a lot of happy stuff

shattered: this is literally just a feel-good fic about a bunch of queer friends and overcomplicated storylines. (it's set in marauders era - i will address this under the cut if for some reason u want to know about fandom stuff)

goldfish (aka heather): the lily rosier fic, no description needed bc she is world famous actually

demons: a marauders/pjoverse murder mystery

????: set in the star wars universe, it follows one of my ocs who's present in every fic i write and i view as a personification of the timeline. it's a bunch of angst and just super fun for me

trans gwen au: @ulfie-by-osmosis beloved, title says it all

fate and time: a mattfoggy fic inspired by the themes of the starless sea. i love mattfoggy sm they are gay ok goodnight

the ones i am not as focused on / other wips include the following. some of them have 0 written fic content

broken world: this is literally my mcu brainchild fic. it's mcu-universe compliant except aos was canon and my oc exists. she's desi btw and married to daisy and i love them

whatever it takes: to be honest, i forgot this existed. it's set in the shadowhunters universe and spans like. all the shit to be honest. it's a universe at this point

broken blades: it's set in the same multiverse as broken world is, but it's set in the fox x-men universe and follows a different oc. (for eye ra, her name is cas)

broken space: this is the timeline lady from ???? except make it mcu. yes there is a theme i am aware. yes the stories overlap. no they are incredibly different and quirky and unique

unbroken: this is my game of thrones fic! that takes place mainly in my head! it has three main ocs of mine. one is the timeline lady (re: ???? above) and struggles between keeping a promise to a dead friend and her present loyalties, one is hellbent on revenge for her brother's death, and the last is trying to escape the war

saving grace (title is under works): four best friends. chaos. absolutely no content available. hp era

oh my god we're all gonna die (title is under works): four best friends. chaos. absolutely no content available. pjo/hoo era

roses of summer: this is marauders again and loosely based off august by taylor swift

the lucky one: this is set in the mcu (mine maybe, maybe not) and it. doesn't really have a plot tbh; still a wip

i'm pretty sure i missed a bunch of fics but this is all my brain could come up with so YEAH

tags: @dishaashitposts and anyone else interested!

RE hp fics - i do not support jkr and the things she's said about the trans community. at the same time, i acknowledge that the harry potter books and universe have been so important in my personal life and i do not want to separate that. i have had fanfics before the onslaught of transphobia, and to be honest, i don't really need to sit and justify my writing of fics to strangers on the internet. a shit ton of these fics are purely for my personal enjoyment. they are my brainchildren. they make me happy. if u read this for whatever reason, i hope u have a lovely day and take care <3

#my fic list #my wips

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stars-inhereyes · 2 years

Note

Hi Dids :)

Would love to read about your top 5 series you could rewatch any time :)

Have a lovely day/night/morning/evening!

Josi dearest, so nice to see you, thank you so much for the ask! ❤️❤️

This is mostly going to be incoherent nonsense because I am more melting goo than a person due to this heat but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway.

BESIDES KINNPORSCHE because as you know, that's my current hyperfixation and so it's just cheating at this point here's the list:

1- The Untamed/ Cql: Dude, dudeeeee. This one broke me like sure, Wangxian, amazing, iconic, spectacular but it's so much more than that. This show is so full of tragedy and could-haves and yearning like you can turn every which way and there is something to cry about. In the end, I think CQL is a story about love, all that we do for the people that we love, even though we can't say it, even if they will never know the sacrifices we made. Head in hands, truly, head in fucking hands.

2- The Umbrella Academy: Look, this show is a clusterfuck but still very endearing because it is aware of it. The writers do make some terrible decisions about the characters sometimes but on the other hand, you have Five which is such. a. character. You have the sibling relationships that makes me wanna roll on the floor, bawling. But the most importantly: Klaus. Especially the whole him and Dave thing in Season 1, jfc, the parts (ep 8 or 9, I think?) where Klaus talks about Dave live in my head rent free.

3- Bad Buddy: Thing about me is, I don't like cutesy teenager shows (I know they're in university but like still teenagers). I didn't like them even when I was a teenager but this one, yeah, this one is special. THE CHEMISTRY IS OF THE FUCKING CHARTS, first of all but also the longing??? You know that sleepover scene, Pran watching Pat and the tear? I watched that once and I was sold, I will carry this show in my heart forever.

4- The Devil Judge: I know it's not BL but there is no heterosexual explanation for any of the things that are happening in this. I am just a sucker for violent morally grey characters falling in love, turning to simps and leaving murder and mayhem in their wake and this show gives me just that. Queerbaiting? Yes. But that's why we have fanfiction lol.

5- Shadow and Bone: Six of Crows books are among my favourites so naturally the series has me in a headlock. It's a really fun show with good storyline that has humor, mystery, action etc but the main thing is characters. I truly truly love all the characters in this and the acting is chef's kiss so yes.

Two (dis) honourable mentions: Firstly let me apologize for putting these comphet shit in your ask like it is truly despicable but I like to be honest with you about my guilty pleasures.

But Sefirin Kızı (just the first season though) and Son Yaz are two Turkish series I go back to a lot (I'm not from Turkey but I know the language since I spent majority of my childhood there). The thing about Turkish TV is that the episodes are long, like 2 hours long. So there is no way in hell I'll rewatch these in full but damn do I not watch some scenes over and over again on YT. Seriously, ain't nobody doing angst like the Turkish, those bitches will make you cry like a baby.

Okkkay, I'm done now. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS, I hope it has been fun to read!!! Ily, bye ❤️

#im so sorry this is like too long #but you know i got excited #i hope you enjoyed reading it????#dids what are you saying?

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libraryofloveletters · 3 years

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Love Delivered To Your Doorstep

Evan Buckley x Reader

Warnings: fem!reader, mentions of cheating, break ups and killing/serial killers. (<in a joking context)

Category: fluff for the most part.

Word Count: 3.9k

Author’s Note: Doesn’t follow canon, it has a little of buck begins in there but it doesn't follow a strict timeline. It also is written like Buck moves to LA and has his apartment from the moment he moves there while trying to figure out what he wants to do.

-----

Texting and calling was never your choice method of communication.

Letters had always been more of your thing.

Truthfully, they hadn't been your thing until your boyfriend moved halfway across the country for university. The two of you met in high school, freshman year and became inseparable since. Growing together and promising to always love each other no matter what -you always knew that couldn't be true but it never stopped you from telling him.

When he told you that he was going to be applying to UCLA during your senior year of high school, it came as a bit of a shock to you. The plan was always going to college together, get engaged when you were done school and then married with a house by 30.

You held out the hope of that being possible until the day he showed you his acceptance letter.

You were incredibly proud of him but it was real now, he was leaving.

You watched him pack up his entire life and uproot himself from New York and moved across the country. You sent the first letter to him at what was supposed to be his apartment.

September 30th.

‘Hi baby!

Just writing to see how you're settling in. How’s UCLA ? Have you gotten a chance to go around and get to see the place ? I know you’re there for school but you've got to live a little too. Hope your neighbours are sweet, your mom told me it’s a pretty nice place and it’s got a good view, sounds like your type of place. Hopefully I can come visit you soon.

I started my classes last week. My chem professor is a pain in my ass already, he expects us to read an entire textbook in a week - well not exactly an entire textbook but you get the point. My biology professor is a sweetheart, she showed us pictures of her kids and talked about them for an hour, I didn't realize being a mother was so interesting but she was cool. Also showed us a video of an appendectomy that one of her colleagues performed last week. How are your classes and professors ?

Did I mention I bumped into Sam at the grocery store ? Yeah, he’s back and he’s not fine to tell you the truth. He seemed like he was ready to snap but that might just be my judgment. He said to tell you hello if I spoke to you so- hello :)

I’m going to sign off here, I know this one is short but I don’t have much to update you on. Life’s been pretty dull without you. Hope you’re having fun out there, soaking up the sun for me.

Write me back soon, I love you.

Yours always, y/n’

You mailed the letter the next day, a few weeks had passed before you received a letter back. Except this letter had a different sender name but the same address.

October 22nd.

‘Hi y/n,

This isn't your boyfriend. (I'm assuming that’s who you're writing too based on the context of the letter) I’m Evan, I live in the apartment you thought belonged to your boyfriend or maybe you got the address wrong, I’m not sure. I know you were waiting for an update on all these exciting things that are happening at UCLA. I do not go to UCLA nor can I update you in anything exciting that’s happening there, sorry.

Anyways, the reason I'm writing you back is because I figured you’d want to know that this isn't the correct address and the person you were looking for isn't here before you send another letter and get no response. I was debating if I should have even written you back, but here I am, writing you back.

Your professor for chem seems like an ass to be honest (hope that’s not rude) and your biology professor sounds great, is she hot by the way ? because bonus points for that. Anyways, are you studying medicine ? I'm guessing yes because of the classes you're taking. I'm thinking of signing up to become a first responder but I haven’t decided yet on what yet or if I'm actually going to do it. Anyways, good luck on your classes and the shitty chem professor.

Hope you find your boyfriend (again, assuming)

Peace out,

Evan.’

To say you were shocked would be an understatement. How could the letter you sent to your boyfriend’s apartment belong to someone else ? Why was there someone else living in his apartment ? You dug through your apartment, searching for the paper he left you with the address, you finally found it buried in a drawer.

The address on the paper was identical to the one that Evan sent to you and to the one you sent prior to that. Either your boyfriend was lying or you were losing your mind.

November 4th.

‘Dear Evan,

I'm sorry that I sent the first letter to you and as you guessed, I was looking for my boyfriend who seems to be a bit MIA right now. His mother says that’s the right address and the place that she helped him move into. So I'm not really sure what’s happening there. Anyways, sorry for unloading all of that on you.

To answer your question, yes, I am studying medicine and no, she isn't hot. My bio professor is a 65 year old woman who loves her college aged kids very much. If that’s your definition of hot, then yes - she's got milf status

Have you decided yet if you’re going to sign up to be a first responder ? That’d be pretty cool. Imagine all the girls swoon over you and how many girls you’d pick up just for being a paramedic or a firefighter.

Wait, are you into girls ? Or guys ? You know, whoever you're into, just imagine how many of them you’d pick up.

Also, you’re not a murderer or anything right ? because I rather not answer questions when the police come asking about why I've been sending letters to a serial killer.

Anyways, signing off for now.

Yours always, y/n.

ps. if you do end up bumping into or meeting a guy that looks like my boyfriend, (tall, brown hair, brown eyes. he’s got a pierced ear and a little butterfly tattoo by his collarbone- though not sure why or how you'd see his collarbone) let me know or tell him that his girlfriend is looking for him.

Double ps, what size shirt do you wear ?’

Buck laughed at your absurd question. A person he didn’t even know was asking what size shirt he wore. The letter was set on the coffee table with the rest of the mail, getting buried under all of the stuff he had on there. It was almost the end of December when he realized that he hadn't written you back yet.

December 21st.

‘Hey y/n,

Sorry I've taken so long to get back to you. Things have been hectic over here. I’ve been doing some ‘soul-searching’ - I guess you could call it that and honestly, I don’t think if this whole first responders thing is for me.

I tried out bartending or well, the technical term is mixologist and I’m liking it so far, I think i’m going to stick with it for now.

How have you been ? How’s school ? Surely, you’re on break for the holidays right about now or at least when you get this letter. I hope that you're spending the break doing something fun.

I’m not going to make this very long, I’m sure you’ve been busy with whatever you’re doing right now.

Also, I’ve been meaning to ask. Have you located the mysteriously disappearing boyfriend yet ? I haven't seen anyone that fit your description.

well, that’s not true- I did and just to be sure I asked to see his collarbone, he looked at me like I was a mad man so I guess it wasn't him ?

Anyways, I hope you have a good holiday and you're probably gonna get this sometime between holidays, so merry belated (?) Christmas and happy New Years y/n.

Peace out,

Evan.

ps. medium or large, depending on what it is. Hopefully that answers your question weirdo.’

January 13th.

The morning of the 13th, he went down to check his mail. A box was there with his name on it, the return address was one he had only seen on an envelope. The box returned upstairs with him, setting it on the counter before opening it.

Upon opening it, there was a letter and some colourful tissue paper with what seemed like a sweater under it. He opened the letter first.

‘Dear Evan,

Happy New Years! How was your holiday going ? Did you do anything fun ?

I’ve been good and school is good too, I'm almost done my first year, isn't that crazy ? Just a few more months to go.

How’s your job as mr. mixologist going ? I'm sure you’ve met some wild people and heard some interesting stories.

As for the boyfriend situation, that's over. I’m not surprised to tell you the truth but it still kinda sucks. Anyways, so what happened was that his older brother had come home from college last year and brought a friend with him. She went to the same school as his brother but transferred to UCLA- anyways long story short, they hooked up while he and I were still together and he moved in with her after his mom helped him move into the apartment I thought he had.

But! I’m single and chilling now so it’s all good. (bonus, she cheated on him and left him so yeah)

I got you a little something for Christmas and as a “sorry for unloading all my boyfriend drama on you” present. I was in the gift shop and it made me think of you. Do you celebrate Christmas? I forgot to check oops. If you don't, count it as a just a “sorry for unloading all my boyfriend drama on you” present?

I got a large because I wasn't sure if it would fit. I hope you like it. That’s all for now.

Yours always, y/n.’

He unwrapped the tissue paper to see a blue sweater with the letters NYU on it. He smiled, he assumed that’s where you went. It was sweet that you took the time to get him something, even if it was a by the way thing. Not a lot of people would send something to a person they had been talking to via letters and halfway across the country.

February 12th.

2 days before Valentine's Day, your least favourite holiday of the year. You weren't looking forward to watching all your friends going on with their boyfriends and girlfriends. The mail had arrived while you were out, you picked it up and headed in. There were two envelopes with your name on it, a plain white one and a red one. The red envelope was more squared than rectangular, you assumed it was a card- both had the same sender name.

‘Hey y/n!

Thank you for the sweater, it was nice of you to think of me and get me something. I didn’t know we were doing gifts or I would have sent you something as well and yes, I do celebrate Christmas.

My job as ‘mr. mixologist’ was going well until I quit. It just didn’t feel like the right fit for me you know ? I'm going to see what else is out there for me.

Sorry to hear about your boyfriend, he seems like a douche. Who would cheat on you ? You seem great I mean at least you are on paper (did you get my joke, it’s hard to tell)

Also, remember how I was thinking I might actually give that first responder thing a try? Imagine me as a firefighter, that’s pretty cool right ?

So I kinda did a thing and signed up and then I got in. I started two weeks ago and it was kicking my ass at first but I've gotten a hang of it and things are going pretty well. There's three other Evans in my class so everyone calls me Buck-I kind of like it.

The other envelope, hopefully you opened this one first, is a little something for you for valentines. Hope you like it.

Peace out,

Buck’

The red envelope was on your lap, you pulled the edges carefully not wanting to rip it. Inside was a plain white card with bright red letters that made you laugh. The cover read ‘I’m not sick of you yet!” Opening the card, a $20 fell onto your lap. There was a little message inside that went along with the cash.

‘Since we aren't together and can’t spend valentines together, there’s some cash to get yourself a box of chocolates and a teddy bear. Happy Valentines Day y/n

Love, Buck.’

You smile, this was the first time that Buck had signed with ‘love, buck’ it had always been ‘peace out, buck.’ You tucked the card into the drawer, one you didn’t use very often so you knew it’d be safe there.

*4 years later*

A few weeks had passed since Buck had last heard from y/n. His last letter to her was at the end of June, telling her all about the day he had spent at Hen and Karen’s. He always described every little detail so vividly that it made her feel like she was there with him- but it was now July, end of actually and moving into August.

4 years had blown like nothing.

It felt like just yesterday he got the first letter in the mail. 4 years and they still had no idea what each other looked like but they knew every intricate and intimate detail about each other, their lives and the people in it.

Y/n and Buck had grown rather close over the last few months- more than they already were. Y/n just went through a pretty shitty break up and Buck wasn't exactly big on relationships as of right now.

He had just gotten home from work, his keys set on the counter when he realized that he forgot to check his mail. Stepping back out, there was a woman in the hallway and boxes scattered across her, leading into the apartment down the hall.

She must be his new neighbour.

He wanted to go over and introduce himself but she was busy telling the movers where to set her couch so he decided that he would check the mail and then introduce himself when he returned so he did just that.

Except, she was still busy.

She leaned against the wall, watching the movers move what looked like a coffee table. She glanced up to see Buck walking by, she smiled and he returned the smile.

Buck reaches his apartment, the mail in hand and steps in. He sorts through the pile, bills, ads, coupons and no letter from y/n.

---

Your new apartment was a mess. You decided it was time for a change. You applied to a few hospitals after your break up and the one in LA hired you. So you dropped everything and moved- no family, no ties.

A fresh start.

It was a nice neighbourhood and the building was quiet. The neighbours you met were pleasant and welcoming. When you were having the furniture moved in, there was a blonde man who smiled at you and you assumed he lived in the unit down the hall because that’s where he stepped into.

It was almost 11pm when you finally sat down. You had been on your feet all day and just wanted to eat something. The box with the dishes was beside the couch, you pulled the tape off and opened it. There was an envelope sitting on top of the stack of plates.

Buck’s last letter to you.

You must have tossed it into the boxes while packing and you forgot to write him back. Tumbling through the boxes, you find a sheet of paper and a pen from your bag. Sitting on the floor, the paper resting on an unopened box, you begin writing.

‘Dear Buck,

I’m sorry I've taken so long to get back to you. I quit my job, and uprooted my entire life. The break up sucked major ass as you know, so I decided it was time for a change.

Guess where I decided to go ?

Did you guess yet?

No, not Canada, why would you guess Canada ?

LA!

Yeah, isn't that crazy that I ended up here of all places? Maybe we could get together one day (if you haven’t turned into a crazy serial killer that is.)

Anyways, that’s why I've taken so long to write. I was packing when I got your letter and I tossed it in a box and just found it again. Anyways, I hope you’ve been good, how have things been at the station ?

I promise I'll write again with more details soon, I just have to get settled in first.

Yours always, y/n.’

Folding the paper, you slipped into an envelope. The address being scribbled into the back of the envelope. You were about to seal it when the building number caught your eye.

It was the same number as the place you moved into. The same address, the building number, the same floor.

The unit number was the only difference.

There was no way you moved into the building that Buck lived in.

You knew the address felt familiar when you saw the listing but you didn’t think anything of it nor did it occur to you that you knew the address.

Stepping out of your apartment, looking at the number on the room and back down at the envelope in your hand. Buck’s apartment was down the hall.

Part of you just wanted to mail it and keep things as it was but another part of you wanted to meet him, to see what he was really like in person. So there you were walking down the hallway at a quarter past 11 in the dead of the night to meet a man you had been sending letters to for the last 4 years.

The end of the hallway, you stared at the black wooden door in front of you. Your brain weighing the options right now: he’s a sweetheart and welcoming and makes you feel comfortable or he’s a weird guy who’s been lying to you this whole time and you told him everything about you and now he’s going to kill you.

Before you could register what you were doing, you knocked on the door.

Glancing down at yourself, you were wearing a pair of old shorts and a t-shirt from high school that you found in a drawer while packing. Not an ideal outfit, maybe he’s sleeping and you can go home and change- the door opened, a man wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt stood there. He looked like he had just woken up.

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

“It's alright,” he yawned, his hand covering his mouth as he blinked away a few tears. “What can I do for you ?” he leaned against the door.

“Um, this is an odd question-” you shifted, glancing down at the envelope in your hand. “Are you Buck ?”

“I am, who are you ?”

“Y/n.”

You had never seen a man wake up that fast, he seemed surprised, confused and concerned all in one. “How- uh, are you- What ?” he mumbled.

“I found your letter in the box after I moved, I moved into the apartment down the hall” you point to your left, Buck sticks his head out of the doorway and looks at the door you were pointing to. You were the woman in the hallway that he saw earlier, he knew you looked familiar.

“I just wrote your letter and I noticed that the addresses were the same, just a different unit number so I decided to come check. Sorry if I bothered you, we can talk another day- it’s late and you probably have work” “Would you like to come in?” he opens the door a bit more, looking to you for an answer.

“Um, okay sure.” stepping in, you can’t help but glance around. The apartment was similar to yours, the layout was a bit different though. “Can I get you something to drink ? Coffee, water ? A beer ?” he rounded the kitchen counter, you took a seat on one of the chairs by the counter.

“Water’s fine, thanks”

He reached for a bottle from the fridge, sliding it over to you. You gave him a smile, he leaned against the counter and was now looking- studying you.

“I know we’ve talked to each other for 4 years but this is kinda strange” you chuckled awkwardly, Buck can't help but smile.

“Yeah, it is, isn't it? but can I ask why you moved to LA?”

“Well all of that was in the letter” you slide the envelope across the counter and he picks it up, opening it. Giving him a few moments to read, you watch his expression like you were hoping for some insight as to how he was feeling or what he was thinking. He let out a laugh, “how’d you know I'd guess Canada ?” you smiled at him, a small wave of relief washing over you for some reason. “Lucky guess I suppose”

“Do you-” “What are-” the sentences cutting each other off, the two of you awkwardly smiling at each other. “You first” looking at him, he hums.

“Do you have work tomorrow or are you busy ?” His eyes meet yours, you found yourself leaning forwards towards the counter- towards him. He made you feel comfortable, you’d go as far as to say safe, in a way you’ve never felt before.

“No, I don't start until the 21st. Why ?”

“I was thinking - if you're not busy and if you want to, of course. Maybe I could take you out for breakfast and I could show you around ? Or lunch or dinner ? Whatever works for you actually” he rambles, fiddling with his fingers to avoid eye contact.

A small laugh slips past your lips causing him to look up, his brows furrowed as he studies your face, looking for an answer.

“Breakfast sounds good, what time should I be ready for ?”

“Uh, is 10 okay ?” he asks, you nod. “I’ll be ready for 10 then.”

“Okay, I'll pick you up” he smiles.

“Buck, we live in the same building.”

“Oh right,” he chuckles, “well I'll be by yours at 10 then” the two of you smiling at each other.

“Okay.”

----

taglist: @advicefromnixxxx @dralexreid @keenmarvellover @beth-winchester21 @fernandaweasley2 @yikesyikesyikes95 @hotchsdarling @duhbar1975 @hailsstormthings @averyhotchner @captainxholmes @venusrosepetal @luke-alvez @looney-literature @caitsymichelle13 @artemishunter18 @anxiousblanketqueen

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riley-phoenix · 2 years

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My Review On The Woman In The House Across The Street From The Girl In The Window (Spoilers)

(I'm gonna leave a small bias rant over here and then the rest of my thoughts will be fair) right off the bat, I have to admit that I'm bias because my favourite actress is Shelley Hennig and I'm in love with her and this fucking show made me look at her dead severed body which I was not emotionally prepared for, I spent so much time just hoping Anna was crazy and Lisa wasn't actually dead and UGHHH NETFLIX JUST BROKE MY HEART...ok I'm done

Anyway, the 8-episode S1 was surprisingly good, I thought the only thing that would keep me on this show would be Shelley Hennig (see the rant above) but the entire show, especially for what was intended to be a "dark comedy spoof of horror classics" really had me hooked. The show had its comedy moments but the story itself was, to my surprise, kept serious. The murder mystery aspect really kept me guessing, the killer wasn't obvious, and the season finale really did Justice to the story. I especially love how the show keeps hinting that None of this is real and Anna is crazy because of things like the handyman trying to fix the mailbox everyday, Anna drinking a bottle of wine and dropping a casserole everyday and, things that make it seem like she's "re-living" the same day over and over only for us to find out all these things are actually happening. Would I have preferred Anna to end up with Neil? Let's be honest, I wasn't watching the show for that. I didn't really care about that; but I do like the story arch between her and her former-ex-husband (yes, you read that correctly) and I'm quite happy with them ending up together and having a second shot at parenthood. That's really my main thoughts on the show but if I had to look for other things to give my opinion on... The kid? Idk if her being the killer was supposed to be serious or funny but I was laughing hysterically, did Neil deserve better? Ofc, he did nothing wrong except (try) to protect his kid, and in all fairness how was he supposed to know she's a 9-year-old-psycopath? Did Lisa deserve better?... Well... I think you already know my answer to that 😂😂🙃😭💔

The "teaser" for a second season was intriguing, lets hope Netflix Renews it for S2 because as much as I'm pissed about Lisa, I actually am interested to see what happened to that old lady on the plane.

#TWITHATSFTGITW #the woman in the house spoilers #the woman in the house fandom #the woman in the house #the woman in the house across the street from the girl in the window #TWITH #Kristen Bell #Shelley Hennig

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bridoesotherjunk · 3 years

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Well, it's officially been a week since I first saw Venom 2. I'm going to start posting spoilers.

!!!!! As a reminder, I am tagging all my spoilers with these tags::

# Venom Spoilers

# Venom Let There Be Carnage Spoilers

# Venom 2 Spoilers

# Venom ltbc spoilers

------- Now, I'm going to start my spoilers with my honest review of the movie under the cut here. SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

I talk about several scenes in the movie in depth. Please don't blame me if I spoil things for you. I tried to warn you.

First opinions?

This one was not as coherent as the first Venom. It went very very fast and could have used an extra 20 to 30 minutes to pad some scenes and slow a couple things down. That post that describes Venom 2 as "venom with the brakes off" is accurate because it goes from 0 to 100 instantly. It needed to just slow down a little bit and have some moments for the audience to breathe.

That being said?

Absolute blast of a movie. Super fun, super silly. Incredibly gay. Venom is a hopeless romantic and an absolute moron. It was so fucking funny. I was laughing during almost the entire movie. The first chunk of the movie felt like me on a bad day in quarantine, stuck in a house with my mother and brother for weeks on end. Ready to kill something off the slightest provocation. (Tom Hardy managed to get the "pandemic locked in the house" stress perfectly right before the pandemic even started.)

Venom gets hit on by a girl at the rave and he gets scared and runs away while saying, "No, no, sorry, not my type" - CUZ HES GAY and LOVES EDDIE.

Venom's speech at the LGBT rave basically boils down to ""I'm totally fine, I don't need Eddie. Eddie was wrong. Eddie is a big mean poopyhead. I don't even miss Eddie at all." And then Venom immediately collapses and talks about missing Eddie. - Hopeless. In love. Gay as fuck. Just go kiss him already, you loser.

I really appreciated that this movie kept up with the cliche dodging in some aspects. --- Cletus tries to do the stereotypical "mysterious killer" thing that all these movies and shows do where he tries to give Eddie tiny clue and tiny hints just to get Eddie to keep printing his name in the paper and get attention. Venom completely fucks up his plan. Cletus gets PISSED about it, but it's so fucking funny in hindsight. Venom just went ""Nah, fuck you. You don't get the spotlight. Exposed, bitch."" And I loved that. I went in expecting to get the big scary, half riddle, killer speech from Cletus. And they just went "YEah no"

I LOVED SHRIEK. SHE WAS SO MENACING AND SO WEIRD. Her first comment upon meeting Carnage- ""That is so HOT"" -- HELL YES, GIRL. Hell yes! Monsterfucker queen in the movie herself.

Didn't like that Red wasn't a girl, but I guess maybe they were worried audiences wouldn't understand it. Carnage was Evil Baby (tm) the entire movie. So young and so full or Murder. 10/10

There's a scene with Venom and Anne that honestly? Really did not like. It was uncomfortable and I know it was played for laughs, but I just... No. Just no.

I was fucking celebrating in my seat after Eddie and Cletus's altercation in the prison. When Cletus just fucking stared and shouted, "Eddie!!??!!"" -- EXACTLY what I wanted. Oh my god, I wanted that so bad. Just a moment for the scary serial killer to finally be thrown off his game. He thinks he's so big and tough and can hurt Eddie however he wants and then suddenly his whole world kind of tilts after he bites him. I LOVE moments like that.

DAN WAS BACK. I LOVE DAN SO MUCH. MY BEAUTIFUL BABY BOY, I'M SO GLAD THEY DIDN'T KILL YOU. DAAAAAAANNNNNNN

The ending was fucking beautiful. Venom tries to sound all smart and philosophical while confessing their love to Eddie and Eddie teases them about it and gets all smiley and happy while they sit on a fucking tropical island and watch a god damn sunset together and their bodies sit in the shape of a fucking heart. Andy Serkis, Kelly Marcel, and Tom Hardy, I thank you for your service. Now give me a bunch of sappy/horny kisses in the third one and I will love you all forever.

The end credit scene? Yeah, I knew it was coming for like... a month or more. I already knew what they were going to do. I'm not stupid. I could see it. ... I have to wonder what the plan here is, exactly... Tom Hardy's Venom really doesn't seem like a villain to me. He's trying so hard to be a hero, he's just super bad at it. I would enjoy it more if they had Eddie be like the weird hobo uncle to Peter. -- I enjoyed the hidden pregnancy innuendo in the credits, though. They knew their audience. (Also Venom's fear of towel swans. Relatable.)

Also did a little celebration dance when we got Venom and Mrs. Chen together. This movie fulfilled two of my biggest wants and I am so happy about it.

Rating - 8.8/10. Very enjoyable. But still had some problems.

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ssa-baby-outlaw · 3 years

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9-1-1: Lone Star S1 EP1

for context, it has been an exhausting day and I'm up to date with 9-1-1 which is what I would usually watch now and I need to treat myself so I am officially starting 9-1-1 lone star.

as with all shows, I have seen almost every clip of this show on YouTube (mostly following the tarlos storyline let's be honest) so I know some shit that happens but I've never seen a full episode, so yall can read / watch along with me while I find out some much needed context.

also rob lowes son wrote this show?? And his middle name is owen. Let's just take a minute to think about that.

• For anyone who's read my unsolicited opinions on 9-1-1 then yall know how much I love Buck... I think my love for the Strand boys will be worse. You have been warned

• It started with the phone call beepy thing too!

• I kinda hoped the Texas accents would be stronger

• Oh nevermind judd is here, full texas

• Did this whole fire start with a burrito?

• JUDD SAYS Y'ALL TOO

• Storing ammonia is much more worthy of the explosion than a burrito

• THEYRE SO CUTE I've had to pause it on the first shot of owen and tk because they make my cold dead heart feel something

• We're like 5 minutes in and mans already has cancer. Also why is this doctor acting like a life coach

• That's a sparkly fucking ring tk

• My God I want him to hug me like that and nuzzle his cute lil face into my neck

• "A bit of an inclusivity issue" so we're gonna hire an old straight white cis man to be in charge

• No no please dont tell me this is when tk overdoses

• Oh fuck it is

• This set up is really good and I'm liking it more than the first ep of 911

• Tk's existence is gonna send me into another gender crisis

• He's so pretty😭

• These character intros are amazing

• OWEN SAYING "OR THEY" PRONOUNS 👏👏👏

• Please do not let judd back just because he threw a tantrum

• Also that hand tattoo placement is so weird I hope for his sake it's not real

• Oh shit what is this murder mystery going on I'm into it

• I like michelle but her voice is not vibing with me

• Well hello carlos👀

• I thought Michelle was a police officer for a minute but turns out everyones uniforms look the same in this, am not a fan of that

• "I'm more of a visual learner"

• Judd and the 911 operator from the accident are together!? Were they together when it happened or after? After would be kinda weird

• This man is sitting on the floor between two sofas...💅

• Owen and his skincare!!!!!

• "This is very precious to me" oh to be owen strands moisturizer

• Okay let's be real if a 10 month old got flipped in a car it would be smushed not sitting in a tree

• The fact that tk calls him dad at work and not captain

• FIRST TARLOS INTERACTION

• Are owen and michelle flirting?

• Ooooh yes they are

• Synchronised dancing in cowboy hats is exactly what I signed up for

• Tarlos heart eyes!!!!

• Owen please tell someone you're sick

• He just told judd!?

• Okay why was Judds breakdown so bad? Like....that was so fake?

• That kids accent is strong enough for the whole cast

• Yes Marjan praying!!!!!

• Why is judd suddenly working? Did I miss something? Do I just have to cry in front of people then I can get whatever i want?

• They really just said fuck it and ended this episode with old town road

Favourite moment of episode 1

(Gif of TK and captain strand hugging)

#9 1 1 lone star #hendersnoots 9 1 1 lone star watch party #lone star season 1 #owen strand #tk strand #tarlos

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4ragon · 3 years

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I'm not the original anonymous but I would extremely want to see that essay about Apollo's trust issues.

Also since I just finished Spirit of Justice, do you think Lamiroir ever told Trucy/Apollo about her and if so what would be their reactions?

Let’s see if I can write this up without crying again like I did on twitter.

So a while ago a friend of mine asked me why I liked Apollo, and I really couldn’t put my finger on it. I knew he was my favorite, but unlike Simon Blackquill, I hadn’t done that deep dive into figuring out why. I’d always just sort of loved him, and was never able to pinpoint the part that made me care about him so much. It drove me crazy, too, I love rambling about characters that I love, and I love writing from Apollo’s perspective more than anything. So why did I love him? Why did I care about him?

Well. I figured it out. I figured out my answer.

I think there are two things that characterize Apollo more than anything. One: He has trust issues. He genuinely believes that the people around him don’t give a shit about him. Especially after being betrayed multiple times in that first trial, he truly and deeply believes that the people around him are only trying to hurt him and is too scared to really believe that they care about him.

And two: He cares so much about the people around him that he constantly helps them anyway.

So like. And I won’t tag her because I don’t think she’d appreciate it, but I was watching the laquilasse AA4 stream last night, and the entire opening of Turnabout Corner is so striking to me, especially right after the end of Turnabout Trump. At the end of Turnabout Trump, Apollo’s trust and belief in Phoenix is finally and thoroughly shattered, and Apollo lashes out, punching Phoenix in the face. And for good reason! That was a huge breach of trust! Apollo literally did the exact thing that got Phoenix disbarred, namely present evidence that wasn’t real. Sure, they never exactly claimed it was the real deal, but Apollo didn’t even know it was faked, he just trusted Phoenix and this new piece of evidence and it almost fucked him over. It did sort of fuck him over, he did lose his job and his Mentor.

And then, Phoenix calls him and says that they’re in trouble, and Apollo doesn’t even question it, of course he shows up to help.

Like. You can feel how much he mistrusts Trucy on their first meeting, in everything he does and says. Especially when Trucy and Phoenix are in the same room, he’s actively thinking about how he doesn’t ‘buy their act’ when Phoenix is calling Trucy daughter-ly nicknames. And then, in a way, he’s kind of right? They guilt him into essentially being their errand boy, and I feel like they’re constantly and loudly using him throughout so much of the game.

And Apollo was there anyway. Apollo doesn’t even trust them and he’s still there the first instant Phoenix says he needs his help.

Like you can loudly do and say whatever you want and crush his dreams and betray his trust, and despite everything, there’s always that part of Apollo that desperately needs to help anyone who asks him. He can’t even bring himself to trust them, and he’s still crawling back the moment someone needs him, ready to let them disappoint him over again.

Like this struck me about Apollo from the moment I played AA4, but he’s so lonely? And desperate for connection? He cares so much about a world that has always and consistently never cared about him, and he just keeps caring and keeps caring even as that starry-eyed naivete is ripped away. And I feel like he just wants someone to care about him back, but never really able to believe that they do, because they never really seem to, because every time he allows himself to trust it’s just thrown back in his face so horribly.

Here’s an interesting thing I noticed: in Turnabout Trump, there’s a really interesting line. Phoenix has accused Kristoph of being the murderer, the extra person in the room. Kristoph takes the stand and claims to have witnessed the moment Phoenix committed the murder. And this exchange happens:

Apollo: There must have been someone else there at the moment of the crime!

Kristoph: Justice... I just said I saw no one. Not a soul.

Apollo: B-But, that goes against what Mr. Wright said!

Kristoph: Ah yes, this mysterious "fourth person"... ...who would conveniently be the "real killer", I suppose.

And this is well past the point where Phoenix has accused Kristoph of being that person. There’s no possibility at this point that they’re both innocent, it’s either one or the other. And Apollo is still so desperately trying to find a way for them both to be innocent, basically saying, “Just give me a fourth person and I’ll believe you.” And then Kristoph turned out to be a monster, and then Phoenix turned out to have betrayed Apollo from the start, and as far as Apollo is ever aware, none of the care from either of these men was ever real. He trusted, and he suffered the consequences.

But again. He’s still there. Someone pointed out a while ago, but Apollo stays. Apollo shows up to the Wright Talent Agency under false pretenses, and he complains and hems and haws, and he still stays. Why?

Phoenix and Trucy loudly manipulate him into working their case. They’re perfectly happy to flaunt that they’re basically tricking him. And he stays. Why?

Because Apollo can’t trust them, but he wants to so fucking bad. He doesn’t even seem to like Phoenix that much, but he wants that connection so fucking bad. He cares about them so much and he doesn’t believe for a second that they extend that feeling back at him, and he’s compelled to stay anyway.

He knows Trucy is practically using him, and he’s a sobbing mess when he thinks she was kidnapped for a few minutes. He’s cynical and mean and it’s all just to cover up the fact that he loves all these people around him with all his heart and they never once pay it back. And he comes back anyway. He’s like a fucking loyal dog that is never given enough affection and so he’s constantly trying harder and harder to earn that love while never believing he’ll ever really get it.

(Shit nope crying again)

It’s just so sad. And this is all without adding anything from the 3D games. The 3D games do build on this theme in one way or another, but from the get go, this is who Apollo is. A caring young man who is constantly punished for caring and yet can’t stop caring anyway.

We see it again in the 3D games. And I think part of why I don’t enjoy DD as much as SoJ is that DD doesn’t capture this mistrust the same way. It’s so surface level, that sense of betrayal and mistrust and anger he gets consumed by in that final case. And the worst part is it doesn’t have to be! There’s already that foundation! Apollo has been hurt already a million times. The only person he’s ever been able to trust, the only lifeline that’s kept him above water since he was a child, was Clay Terran, and now that was taken from him because he DARED to trust someone new. That’s so fucking compelling! But we never get that! We never get to see how Apollo is feeling. We get that he’s convinced Athena did the murder, but never really get into the Why, into the What This Means for Apollo.

It’s a bit better in SoJ. We see how far he’s come in terms of trusting people when he trusts in Trucy wholly and immediately in case two. And then, conversely, we see his mistrust and hurt when they introduce Dhurke into the mix. Apollo refuses point blank to believe that Dhurke had come to visit him, that Dhurke cared about him. Apollo demands to know why Dhurke was there, what Dhurke wanted, how Dhurke was going to use him. He’s been able to slowly start building that trust with people like Trucy, but he still cannot let himself trust again when Dhurke had already betrayed that trust.

I said it before, but as much as I hate the slapdash ways in which Capcom keeps throwing backstory at this boy, I love what the backstories are, because they build on this angry, cynical, lonely young man I care about so much. He’s been hurt and abandoned and used and betrayed since he was young, and being good never truly paid off for so long, but he kept doing it, he kept being good, he kept caring about people because he couldn’t help it, and kept hoping that maybe they could care back. And eventually I think it does start paying off for him. People do start caring about him. And I feel like it takes until around SoJ for him to start really believing that the people around him might care about him too.

Also congrats on finishing SoJ! Since there’s a very good chance that they might be announcing AA7 soon, I...hope? fear? expect? that they’ll touch on this then. However, I also worry that they’re going to botch it up so hard.

I know what I want to happen. I want Trucy to be angry. I want her to be angry at Lamiroir and Phoenix. She is constantly putting on a mask to try to make the people she loves happy, and I feel like this is a reasonable breaking point. After all, this is kind of the one thing that Phoenix hasn’t been honest with her about. She had a brother right there, and knew the whole time?! She had a mother there the whole time?! And no one bothered to tell her?! I think she’d be heartbroken, and I think she deserves to be angry. She’s been through so much, and they never give her time to really grieve or be upset.

I think Apollo would be ecstatic and angry at the same time. All he’s ever wanted was family, and now he does! He already loved Trucy, and thought Lamiroir was amazing, so I think he would be so happy to have that family back in his life. On the flip side, I do think he’d be angry at Phoenix, particularly for keeping it to himself before Lamiroir came into the picture, but I think if they talked it out, Apollo would come around to it and be able to forgive Phoenix.

#ace attorney #apollo justice #it's time to cry about apollo again god help me #spoilers #ace attorney spoilers #aa4-6spoilers #i love this boy so much I don't know if this does it justice #meta

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16ruedelaverrerie · 3 years

Text

The nonsensically recursive formatting now present in tumblr askbox messages is a bane for people who tend to let things pile up before getting to them, i.e. ME, IT IS A BANE FOR ME, but in this as in all things, we must make do. Anon I'm so happy that you enjoy that particular piece of art! ~Psycho-religious Catholic kink~ is a mainstay of the way that I exist in fandom, and it's a delight to have the two of us join hands as we skip through this apse. At this precise moment I'm physically running around a bit doing errands, but I will put it up on Twitter very soon, keep an eye out!

Truly, anon, I have never deserved a blessing such as you :'((((( First of all, you absolutely should not feel compelled to come up with any kind of reason for why you have not done a thing yet, when you would only do the thing at all out of the incredible goodness of your heart! You never had to put a well-organized comment together, and you never have to do it in the future! I know that I make a big whiny fuss out of how much I love comments -- and it's also true that part of why I put off answering this askbox message is because I needed to hang on to it in order to let it motivate me to meet my word counts as I wrote this last chapter of Fata Morgana (AND IT WORKED, I THOUGHT ABOUT YOUR MESSAGE AND I MET MY WORD COUNTS EVERY SINGLE DAY) -- but, like... If I understand anything, it is that a thing only becomes exponentially more stressful as you expect more and more out of it. Whatever it is that you want to say doesn't have to be huge, or magisterial in any way (though I'm certain that your thoughts are brilliant and thoughtful beyond anything I could offer in return)-- it's honestly just wild that you've already put so much of your time into staying with these stories!

Sorry that I've snuck your messages in behind the cut, but you know, it is very embarrassing to be unworthy. Thank you for KEEPING ME GOING, no hyperbole. Even though I think I tend to consume and enjoy fanworks about Gavin and Nines across a pretty wide range of interpretations, I am PAROCHIAL IN MY PRODUCED OUTPUT AND SOMEHOW ALWAYS END UP WRITING THEM INTO FAIRLY SIMILAR PSYCHOLOGICAL STANCES..................................... is it that I am a big fucking sap at heart... anyway what I mean to say is, I wish I had more range but mAYBE I DON'T WISH THAT AT ALL, if you enjoy what I am doing I'M JUST HAPPY TO BE HERE. As best as I can tell, the mysterious comment in your notes is probably in reference to the fact that OJ Simpson is mentioned multiple times in Fata Morgana for absolutely no reason at all, because "What? Yes. What? No." is precisely the reaction I had when I realized that I was incapable of steering A FICTIONAL CONVERSATION THAT I HAD COMPLETE CONTROL OVER away from the subject of, once again, just to stress the absurdity of this, OJ SIMPSON

I'm endlessly grateful for you. Thank you for writing this note v v v

Oh this is a public Food Network shindig cook-off, is it not? I have more respect for Gordon Ramsay than I do for a lot of other celebrity chefs (and to be honest, I love the restaurant industry so much that I love even the celebrity chefs I hate)-- and even if I too want Chef Gavin to do Les Mignardises proud in this battle, it's probably also true that he doesn't necessarily have the experience that Gordon Ramsay does in navigating spaces and occasions like these! BUT THAT HAVING BEEN SAID, I'm 100% fully convinced that what ends up happening is that right in the middle of this Iron Chef spin-off match-up, just as the tension and chaos in the kitchen are building towards the climactic final few minutes before the buzzer goes off, Gordon Ramsay happens to look up and sees, in the stands, Nines sitting with his arms crossed, glaring an absolutely MURDEROUS glare of daggers right into Gordon Ramsay's very soul. He doesn't rattle for nothing, Gordon Ramsay, but... in that moment, he knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that this android is ready and willing to leap down from the audience and throttle him to death on tape, and he is TERRIFIED. He burns a gratin, fails to plate one of his courses, and narrowly loses the competition.

"Nines!" Gavin yells, leaping into his arms. "We did it!"

"Yes, Chef," says Nines. "Congratulations." Over Gavin's head, his eyes meet Gordon Ramsay's from across the kitchen. Today, he says without a word, you walk away with your life.

WHAT A PROMISING YET OMINOUS MESSAGE, ANON... OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN NEVER ASKED FOR THIS

#askbox #let me hear your fandom talk #this isn't writing #les mignardises

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