#for context sallys dad just went

[sonknuxadow]

not archie sonic acknowledging that the freedom fighters are a bunch of teenagers just to use it as an excuse to give geoffrey more screentime

#on one hand i like that theyre actually mentioning the characters ages in archie sonic #because they dont mention it as often in the games #but on the other #I HATE GEOFFREY!!!!!! STOP PUTTING SO MUCH FOCUS ON HIM!!!! #for context sallys dad just went #''Ok we're not at war anymore we dont need children to do our jobs for us now. freedom fighters are disbanded'' #and then he sent geoffrey and his team to do . whatever the hell hes wanting them to do i honestly dont know whats going on LMAO #sonic isnt listening though he went on the mission anyway #archiesonicposting #also geoffrey just said 'youre just a kid' to sonic . exact words #i complained about this before but if sonic is a kid in geoffreys eyes then why is he acting like that with sally. #when sonic and sally are the same age. #it just makes the whole thing with geoffrey and sally even more weird than it already was

[posallys]

How do you feel about the implications from Medusa that Poseidon uh- kinda raped Sally? I'm personally staring in disbelief.

i 100% did not get that vibe at all? i rewatched the scene and i'm looking at the transcript and:

Athena was everything to me. I worshipped her, I prayed to her, I made offerings...she never answered. Not even an omen to suggest she appreciated my love. I wasn't like you, sweetheart. I was you. I would have worshipped her that way for a lifetime....in silence. But then one day, another god came, and he broke that silence. Your father. The Sea God told me that he loved me; I felt as though he saw me in a way I had never felt seen before. But then Athena declared that I had embarrassed her and I needed to be punished. Not him. Me. ... The gods want you to believe that, that they are infallible. But they only want what all bullies want. They want us to blame ourselves for their own shortcomings.

that's medusa's story monologue and the only thing there that implies the rape story is the "...i needed to be punished. not him. me" but nothing else she says implies that...and considering they went with a different iteration of the myth her, i don't think that's what she was implying in any way (and especially because it's disney). she was more so saying that athena should have punished poseidon if she was mad at anyone, because he esentially took the attention that medusa was willingly giving to athena, and that's why athena was mad. in this case, athena's shortcoming was not accepting the love medusa gave her willingly, and then getting angry and punishing medusa when she placed it somewhere else.

You're mother and I, we're like sisters in a way. Targeted by the same monster. So I find myself feeling protective of you. A monster? My mom never talked about my dad that way.

Even here, any implication of that you could gather is in the "targeted by the same monster" which. i don't think is what we're supposed to gather, especially with the line percy says. because he's right. if that's what happened, then sally wouldn't have talked about poseidon the way she did; she wouldn't have been crying in the car at montauk; she wouldn't be wearing the matching pearl necklace. i think, in this iteration, what medusa meant by monster is a god. her whole thing here is trying to convince the trio that the gods are the real monsters because they don't care about what happens to anyone other than themselves

and then there's this line

And you, you could have shown your father what it means to stand up for someone you love.

she's saying that poseidon should've stood up for her because he said he loved her...but he didn't, and let her take the punishment---which, yeah, it's completely shitty that poseidon would've just let that happen to medusa, but it doesn't lend itself to thinking that he raped sally in the context of the show. like at all.

the whole medusa interaction is her trying to teach the gods a lesson---that they shouldn't be above everyone just because they're gods, that the trio just sees monsters where they should maybe see people with a story, people that their parents made that way, people they shouldn't hate just because they're told to, because if they do then they're no better than their parents. i think the show is really playing into the whole "the gods are shitty" thing that luke has going on (which i kind of really enjoy im ngl....im SO interested to see it if we get to tlo) and not making them out to be these perfect beings, because they're not. they're corrupt and shitty, but unfortunately they're better than the alternative. and medusa is simply pointing out that just because someone is a monster doesn't mean they're a monster, and just because someone is a god doesn't mean they're good (@ sally in ep 1).

#uh maybe i completely misinterpreted all of this but??? i watched it multiple times and I still don't get it #like it seems they put specific words and phrases in there to make it known that that's exactly what DIDN'T happen. #even in the books they never used that version of the myth #they used the one where Poseidon and medusa got it on in athena's temple and that's why athena cursed her #which both ways we end up with medusa's story being the same #except in the book she wanted to kill annabeth and keep percy as a statue because she was still 'sweet on [his] dad' #so they really only changed the parts necessary for medusa to make the point about the gods not being inherently good #which obviously show percy is already on that page because well...all of episode 2

[thestarsarecool]

Who The Hell Does RINGO STARR Think He Is?

Tom Hibbert, Q, June 1992

He was The Lovable One who cracked his daft mop-top jokes for The Queen. The Fab With The Big Nose who you could take home to meet yer mum and yer dad. But no more. For he just experienced a nasty charm by-pass and suffered a sudden humourectomy when Tom Hibbert innocently enquired...

RINGO, WHY do you wear two rings on each hand?

"Because I can't fit them through my nose."

Beethoven figures in one of your songs. What do you think of Beethoven?

"He's great. Especially his poetry."

How did you find America?

"We went to Greenland and made a left turn."

But that was nearly 30 years ago, innocent times when the small one – Ringo, how tall are you? "Two feet, nine inches" – with the extended nose sat with the other three before the press of the world and cracked his mop-top jokes, playing the clown and acting the goat, The Lovable One, the one you could take home to meet yer mum and yer dad. In The Great Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, October 26, 1965, the Queen asked the "Fabs" how long they had been together and, quick as a flash, came Starkey's reply. "40 years!" The wag.

It is now much later, April 1992, but that "natural" Scouse "wit" of olden times remains intact: The Lovable One clambers aboard a podium at London's Dorchester Hotel and drily announces: "My name is Ringo Starr." The assembled members of the press laugh loudly at the pithy sally; a female reporter from Belgium, in the excitement of the moment, squeaks "Yah!" It is quite like old tunes...

We are gathered here today to hear exciting news. Ringo is about to release a new LP and it is called Time Takes Time. Furthermore, his new amusingly-named All-Starr Band – featuring Dave Edmunds and Joe Walsh and Todd Rundgren and diminutive trampoline champion Nils Lofgren – is touring Europe in the summer. Cameras clack and the PR woman sternly warns us to limit our questions to "the present and the future" (ie nothing about them – The Beatles – and nothing about alcoholism, if you please). And so the probing begins as a girl from Sweden asks the occasional drummer why he is starting his tour in Sweden: "Why not?" Uproarious laughter. And a girl from Italy asks him why he is finishing his tour in Italy: "Crazy question. It may be a surprise to you, lady, but I am a musician." Hoots. And a girl from somewhere equally foreign asks him if he is "reaching out to the new generation" – "You had zis Thomas Ze Tank Engine, no?" – and he says he's just playing his kit now because he is a musician and he likes to feel the "love" flowing from an audience because it's in his blood. Somewhere along the way we learn that Ringo has absolutely no intention whatsoever of playing with George Harrison at tonight's Albert Hall concert in aid of The Natural Law Party because what Ringo's doing now is promoting his album which is really jolly good and everything so everybody should buy it...

TWO HOURS later, upstairs in a hotel suite, Ringo Starr is staring at me through his darkened spectacles. The expression on his somewhat wizened face is somewhat sour. "This record deserves to be a Number 1," he is saying. "It's a fine album." The ready quips are not dropping from the lips of The Lovable One this afternoon. His impressive nose is twitching in irritation. I have made a dreadful mistake. I have dared to ask him about...them.

He had entered the room in seemingly stony mood. He had thrust himself down upon a sofa and had glowered. "Is this yer first time?" he had muttered. Er, come again, Mr Starkey? "Is this yer first time?" My first time what? My first time in a posh suite at The Dorchester Hotel or what? "Just joking," he had muttered bemusingly. My opening question had been designed to be one of the most psychologically challenging – nay, disturbing – ever to be posed within the context of a rock interview. It was this: Have you, Mr Starr, or have you not, felt a twinge of pity ever for Pete Best (The Good-Looking One who was booted out in favour of Ringo, of whom John Lennon was once heard to remark, "When I feel my head start to swell, I look at Ringo and know perfectly well we're not supermen")? There was a pause containing the faintest twist of menace. "Crazy question," The Nice One murmured, adding a withering stare for good measure.

"Did. I. Ever. Feel. Sorry. For. Pete. Best?" Yes, that was the enquiry. "No. Why should I? I was a better player than him. That's how I got the job. It wasn't on no personality. It was that I was a better drummer and I got the phone call. I never felt sorry for him. A lot of people have made careers out of knowing, er...The Beatles."

He has said it. He has uttered that word, that thing that we are not supposed to mention because Ringo has "moved on" and is living for today and for tomorrow and not for, in the word of his old mucker in the rhythm section, yesterday. He has said "Beatles". So can we talk about The Beatles, then? Ringo shrugs his shoulders. "Sure," he grunts. So tell me about your image. You were The Goofy One. Was this an imposed personality or was it the real Starkey or what?

"That's not how I am. That was how we were in the movie, in Help! and A Hard Day's Night. That was what people felt we were like."

But didn't you mind always being given the goony songs to sing, 'Octopus's Garden' and 'Yellow Submarine' and that awful one about "the greatest fool who ever made the big time"?

"They were writing a lot heavier songs than I was and the ones they wrote for me were never that heavy, either. That's what made the combination that we were. All completely different but together we were a mighty force."

Presumably this "difference" in personalities was what made the break-up of The Beatles particularly acrimonious and acid. Discuss.

"That's stupid. We'd changed. We didn't have the time to put in all that energy. We were all married then. Most of us were married. I had children. John had a kid. George got married. So it was a natural end to it. We finished. That's it."

At the morning's press conference, Ringo had been banging on about how you can't beat the feeling of playing live, of how he's "addicted" to it, the love teeming from the audience, the "buzz", the "vibe" etcetera. But if we examine the history (and leave out the Ringo Starr and his All-Star Band jaunt of '89), we see that since '66, he has played on stage hardly at all. This is not a criticism, I was just wondering whether...

"Look, playing live is how I started," he snaps. "That's where my blood is. We played live for four years as The Beatles but in the end it was impossible because the reaction we used to get was so loud that I was turning into a bad musician because I could only keep the off-beat, so we were deteriorating. How often do you want to play stadiums? We as The Beatles lost the contact. I want to feel the love from the audience and you don't get that in a stadium. Bruce Springsteen loses the love and the audience contact and Guns N' Roses and the Stones and Paul McCartney, they all lose the love and the contact. They just forget that it's a great privilege to play to an audience, so on my tour I'm playing Liverpool and I'm playing Hammersmith and..."

And so he goes on for several weeks about all the intimate sheds he's going to bash his drums and sing that one about "You're sixteen and you're beautiful and your mii-iine," or whatever it is, in.

So stadiums are useless. I had always imagined, in my simplicity, that The Beatles at Shea Stadium was just one of the most thrilling moments in all of popular music history. Am I entirely incorrect?

Ringo tuts and he crosses his arms, a huff-orientated posture.

"Shea Stadium was brilliant," he goes. "We were breaking new ground. Of course it was brilliant. But if you see the video on Shea Stadium, you see how crazy we all were, anyway. John wasn't playing it note-for-note. John went mad. It was a thrill."

Did Ringo go mad all those years ago, what with all those American girls saying he should be President and swooning at his shaking fringe?

"It wasn't only American girls, you know," he points out, helpfully. "It was English girls and Swedish girls. So, yeah. I went absolutely mad round about 1964. My head was just so swollen. I thought I was a God, a living God. And the other three looked at me and said. Excuse me, I am the God. We all went through a period of going mad."

Presumably drugs made a major contribution to the mental mayhem.

"The drugs came later. Well, there was always some element of alcohol and amphetamine and then several other substances came into play and then The Beatles was over."

And in '68, you all went to India to "groove" with Mr Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. That was mad...

"Well, I was in hospital with my ex-wife (Maureen) delivering Jason, my second son, and I got back and there was two messages on the answerphone, a message from John and a message from George, and they were saying. We've been to see this Maharishi guy. So I said. What's that all about? so they told me how great it all was and I met Maharishi and I fell in love with Transcendental Meditation and I got to India and I took two suitcases, one full of clothes and one full of baked beans because I don't eat curry, and it was high for a while and then I thought. 'That's the end of it for me, thank you very much'..."

By this time, the drummer of the Perky Personality had embarked upon his unlikely career as a screen actor, playing a gardener who has love on billiard tables in the hippy sex romp Candy (which featured Marlon Brando as a guru personage not a billion miles removed from Mr Maharishi), and then a foil for Peter Sellers in the simply awful The Magic Christian (and then being actually quite good as a teddy boy drummer in That'll Be The Day). Ringo doesn't think that talking about his Thespian pursuits is very interesting at all because he's moved on and music's the thing, like...

"We just decided we wanted to be an actor. I'm not interested in that acting anymore..."

In the mid '70s, Starr made (along with some really dud LPs) a couple of splendid pop singles: 'Photograph' and 'It Don't Come Easy'. The man who, in 1963, said "whenever I hear another drummer I know I'm no good" (and who sits here today peering at me with a certain chill and insisting "I am the best rock drummer on earth and it's not just me saying that, many fine musicians say that" when I have never even questioned his capabilities) comes over refreshingly modest for once when I say I liked those tunes.

"Well, I just decided to make some singles because The Beatles always took so long to make albums and so I started to write but I could never finish a song. I was great for two verses and a chorus but I could never finish a song so I'd have to ask George to finish it and we'd just have rows because George would always put in the 'God verse' and I don't sing about God, so after a few smashes it all went downhill because, er, well, yer know..."

I do know. It all went downhill because Ringo was hitting the sauce with alarming abandon.

"It was my addictive personality. Suddenly you're starting to drink at nine in the morning and I was procrastinating me balls off and I was just trapped as an alcoholic, a drunk."

He was too drunk even to pay any great attention to the shooting of John Lennon, he says.

"I wasn't well when he got murdered and I wasn't well after it. I was in such great pain that I hardly noticed..."

The voice of Thomas The Tank Engine and The Fat Controller was killing itself with booze. But then – hey presto! – Ringo booked into De-Tox Mansions, USA, and everything was all right again.

"One day I had a second, maybe half-a-second, of clarity and I was in so much pain and I knew that Barbara (Bach, second wife who he met on the set of the dismal Caveman film in '81) had mentioned a sort of re-hab situation. She had a problem, too. She found this place in Arizona. I haven't had a drink or a drug since and that was October '88 and I've given up smoking cigarettes, too."

Ringo was cured of his urges by the power of love.

"It was love. It's love. And the proof of the difference in my life-style is that I've put a band together, I've made this album and..."

Ringo takes this opportunity to tell me what a great musician he is and how his new LP is really jolly good and everything until I interrupt to suggest that however good his new LP is, it can hardly hope to top Abbey Road, can it? He looks at me as if I am deranged:

"What, as an album? My album can't beat the Abbey Road album as an album?" That is, in a nutshell, what I was driving at.

"Well, the so-called B-side of Abbey Road is one of my favourite sides, the one with 'Bathroom Window' and 'Polythene Pam', but just by chance I was re-listening to Sgt. Pepper the other day and that's a fine album too and it's a bloody marvellous album, it's a bloody fine album and The White Album was great because we were like a band after Pepper and all the craziness and Rubber Soul was great and the first album which took 12 hours to put down was an achievement...So I don't know what you're talking about. That was 30 years ago, man. I'm still making records and you can hear that I'm a great musician on the new record, Time Takes Time, if you can ever be bothered to mention it. This is an actual bloody legend in front of you. I'm not expecting you to comb the bloody legend's hair but you could mention the new LP and these other fine musicians I'm still playing with."

Ringo Starr is close to rage and I don't know quite why. I decide to placate him by talking about his All-Starr Band. This ploy is not a success. What is it like working with Todd Rundgren, I enquire? Todd Rundgren's a bit mad, isn't he?

Ringo lunges forward in the sofa, almost doing himself a mischief.

"What? What? Have you met him? Why would you say shit like that? You don't even know the man. How dare you say shit like that about a friend?"

I meant "mad" as in "genius". It is a compliment.

"You're talking shit. That's like saying Frank Zappa's mad. Frank Zappa's probably the nicest man I ever met in this business. I've been in the game too long for this shit! I've done my bit. I've made a record, I've made the thing and I hope it's a Number 1 because I've done my bit, I'm promoting the thing...or I am trying to promote the thing..."

What manner of umbrage is this? Ringo Starr seems to feel – and strongly – that my failure to spend this interview discussing his new LP and the brilliance of Tom Petty and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Harry "Schmilsson" Nilsson and everybody else who played on it – is impudence of the first order. But wouldn't such an interview be a trifle limiting and boring and...? I am unable to make this suggestion because The Clown, The Lovable One, seen here in his updated role of Pop's Mister Crosspatch, continues to rant away...

"If you bothered to listen to the single 'Weight Of The World' you'd hear this line in it which goes...er, er...well, it says that you can't live in the past and that sums it up. Because you're living in the past. As far as this interview has been going on, it's shit because it's been The Beatles interview and you haven't even mentioned Time Takes Time or Weight Of The World. But that's OK. You've got the time. That's what you asked. I've answered your questions. And..." Ringo rises from the sofa, two feet nine inches of unbridled anger ..."That is it!" And it is. He flounces from the room, a cry of "Thanks a lot!" that oozes with sarcasm, his cheery farewell. What this man needs, in my estimation, is a stiff drink, or a cig, or both...

THAT NIGHT, on stage at the Albert Hall, George Harrison played 'Taxman' and a lot of other aged songs and then announced "a blast from all our pasts" and on bounded Ringo. How could this be? Had not the man assured us earlier in the day that he would most definitely not be gracing this political rally thing with his presence? Well, there he was, anyway, and he played drums on 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' and 'Roll Over Beethoven', no doubt feeling all the love wafting up from the auditorium. Then, at the conclusion of this horrid old rock'n'roll novelty, up strode some representatives of the peculiar Natural Law Party to talk embarrassingly about this "night of magic" that the crowd had been privileged to witness. And as the spiritual oration continued, a lone cry of protest rang out from the back of the stage, a bellow of annoyance, a sharp "Shut up!" The culprit of this ill-mannered intrusion was identified only as a man with drumsticks and a great big nose…

#my articles #my quotes #ok so this is part of a whole series the interviewer did #called 'who does BLANK think he is?' #and I guess the whole point was to act insufferable and to get his interviewees to act out #thoroughly repugnant #anyway... #enjoy? #I guess? #ringo starr #the beatles #beatles

[gaymars97]

Well after long enough here’s part two of Eridian Overrun (borderlands 3 spoilers ahead)

EO part one

This episode’s topic is

*drumrolls*

The fight for sanctuary plant gas (ft. Salvador and Krieg) + some developpement on Sally boy and Mr. Meatman

The plant gas

So I’ll try to summarize as much as I can, but basically, EO adds interesting features to the gas. Ya see, the antidote doesn’t rid you of the gas. It simply slows it down ALOT. Also, every time you go in the gas, a small quantity of it stays in your organism.

Now if you take those things and merge ‘em together, you get what I call « overexposure » Basically, if you accumulate too much gas, yet are still immune, you will enter a state of slow mutation. It is caused by the contact of this absorbed gas with pandoran spores. Overexposure can only stop by leaving the pandoran atmosphere, and therefore cutting contact with those spores.

There can be some other conditions that make you develop overexposure:

Big, but non lethal contact with the gas without having the antidote in a short span of time (ex.: Vaungh)

Going trough the early phases of infection before getting the antidote (ex.: Mordecai)

Being exposed to a big quantity of the gas with a underdose of antidote (ex.: Hector boss fight)

At first, the only symptoms are a greener taint to the blood, amplified gas boost and increased muscular strength. At this stade, the mutations can be completely reversed by cutting off contact with the spores quickly enough. Staying long enough out of pandora will rid you completely of the gas, and therefore, of overexposure. An example of this state are the vh2 by the end of FFS.

However, if some time has passed since the beginning of the mutations and you’re still on Pandora, then that’s where the real stuff begins. First of all, later stages mutations cannot be reversed, as they are too significant. However, it is still possible to stop the progress by leaving Pandora. Those mutations are: Apparition of plant spikes on the body (mostly the arms), green hands with claws, pointy teeth and first stage symptoms being further increased. Examples of this are Salvador, Krieg and Vaungh

Eventually, on extreme cases, you might grow plant limbs, but so far the only known example is the Hector boss fight

Salvador

After FFS, Salvador stayed for a bit on pandora (around a year or two) to just, yaknow, keep killing bad guys. After that, he took a little break from pandora, on Tannis’s doctor order. Later, he went back to Pandora. At some point, like a few months before the EO present (3y after bl3), Vaungh found him and invited him to the sun smashers. I know it’s not much clear, but the little drawing on the left top corner is his SS logo. Yeah they have logos like B team now. Also, SS is in an alliance with the raiders.

Krieg

So for context, PKATFF still happens (because Maya isn’t dead, it’s a bit different but it still happens.) and yk there’s still the god tier ending. Krieg stays a few months in the cave starting to fix himself. After that, with pretty good progress done, he starts thinking of other ways to help himself. Thinking about the raiders makes him realize that he can’t be alone anymore. He goes back on SANC.-3 to see his friends (and pretty lady 🫶) again. Sane Krieg’s goal isn’t rlly to get rid of psycho Krieg anymore, but to get a more shared control over the system. P Krieg still has the most control, but S Krieg can front sometimes now. He even got to see his face really recently. It’s was a pretty moving moment. Also, he kinda becomes a dad to Ava because Maya is like a mom to Ava (hehe fambly)

Oh and I know the arm in the drawing doesn’t look like Sally’s or Krieg’s and that’s because it isn’t.

« Then whose arm is it? » Good question.

#this is my fav part of the au along with PL scars #i just think it would be funny if like Vaungh Salvador and Vic hung out on pandora #three stupid bandits who blow up heads togheter #and yes SS - Raiders alliance = Salvador being in contact with them #look that man was criminally left in the dust by the fandom #bring back the angry short man y’all ☹️ #also psyren canon #borderlands #krieg the psycho #salvador the gunzerker #borderlands au #borderlands rewrite au #au: eo #my post #au: Eridian Overrun

[alliluyevas]

3, 6, and 16 for the book asks?

What were your top five books of the year?

The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed (2008).

My parents and I went to Monticello about a month ago and I picked this up in the gift shop. My parents had visited in 1972 (my dad) and 1991 (my mom) and I had never been, and obviously a LOT has changed in how they talk about history at Monticello in the last 30-50 years. I think that the current exhibitions and tours at the site are really doing a good job of engaging with the stories of the enslaved people who lived at Monticello, both Sally Hemings and her children + the extended Hemings family and members of other families, but I definitely wanted to know more. (side note: for my Virginia/DMV followers or anyone who ever happens to be in the Charlottesville area, it is really worth visiting! Absolutely fascinating and they're doing great public history work.)

I literally could not put this book down, I read it in a week while working full time and finishing up graduate school applications. It's beautifully written and absolutely captivating. Gordon-Reed does fantastic work both with existing primary sources and fleshing out some of the things we will never know because no one wrote or spoke about them. It's a deeply sad story and left me feeling very raw, but also thinking about resilience and the eternal complexities of the human heart.

Sally in Three Worlds: An Indian Captive in the House of Brigham Young by Virginia Kerns (2021).

Copy-pasting my Goodreads review: This is an incredibly powerful book that tries to give voice to the story of a woman who was profoundly marginalized both in life and in history, and to the complex dynamics between peoples as Mormon settlers colonized Utah. Kerns does a magnificent job of weaving Sally's story out of source material that is rich in many respects and deeply limited in others. Her writing style is also really compelling: lyrical, poetic, and deeply felt. It also gave me a completely new frame of reference for the history of women in Mormonism and for the dynamics of the Young household. A deeply upsetting book but also one I could not recommend enough.

I actually posted about this last night, but there are a lot of interesting thematic similarities between this book and Hemingses of Monticello. Again, directly copy-pasting from last night's post: They're about very different cultural contexts but deal with similar subjects in many ways: race, gender, slavery, and very complicated familial dynamics...I think both books also do a really good job of portraying the life of a woman (poignantly, the two women actually share the same first name) who left nothing in her own words.

I used the word "painful intimacy" in my first post about Sally in Three Worlds, and I think it very much applies to the household dynamics portrayed in both books.

Like a Fiery Meteor: The Life of Joseph F. Smith by Stephen Taysom (2023).

Again, stealing from my own Goodreads review (I'm the only person who has reviewed this book on GR, rip): I think a non-hagiographical full-length biography of Joseph F. Smith was long overdue, and I was very excited to read this, but I did not expect to find it as emotionally compelling and thought-provoking as I did. Taysom does a fantastic job of telling the story not just of Joseph F., who comes off by turns as both deeply sympathetic and deeply unlikable, but of his expansive polygamist family and their environment. I think this was a very compassionate, nuanced portrait of someone who had deep and profound unaddressed trauma that affected his whole life, and who was capable of both overwhelming love and cruel, controlling and even violent behavior towards his loved ones. I think the book is very aware of that dichotomy and the factors that shaped Joseph F.'s life and choices and is full of really fantastic analysis. I thought the discussion of gender roles and how they related to Joseph F.'s struggles with both anger and anxiety and his interpretation of those feelings was particularly well-done.

These were definitely my top three books of the year, and honestly just fantastic works of historical/biographical storytelling period. I read Sally in Three Worlds in May, Fiery Meteor in June, and Hemingses of Monticello a month ago, and all three of the books have really stuck with me. They're all quite haunting, and very thought-provoking, even months later.

Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner (1942).

I read this much earlier in the year, but again it actually intersects really well as a fictional counterpart to The Hemingses of Monticello. Go Down, Moses is a novel formed out of seven interconnected short stories, centering on the black and white halves of the same family, unacknowledged cousins. I've loved Faulkner's writing since high school (well, really since I read A Rose for Emily in seventh grade, but I read The Sound and the Fury in high school) and I wanted to expand my exposure to his work. I have yet to read anything by Faulkner where I wasn't just blown away by the literary quality of his prose, and I think the interlocking stories setup of the book was very effective.

I did think back to this book and Southern Gothic in general several times while reading about the Hemings-Jefferson family--it's not like I wasn't aware of the historical context behind southern gothic as a genre but it really made it very explicit. Especially during the parts of the book talking about Jefferson's white family and their efforts to create a family legacy that explicitly left out the Hemings relatives, and then thinking about future generations of white southerners like Faulkner engaging--or not engaging--with this past. Like--this is the ghost haunting the house, this is the rot at the heart of the family tree.

Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland (2007).

This feels a bit odd thematically tacked on at the end here, because while it's not like this book is just totally light-hearted, it's not literally about intensely traumatic interpersonal relationships in the way that the previous four are. It is, however, a really great historical fiction novel! It's about the creation of the painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir that shares the same title, with several narrators--Renoir and some of the people who sat for the painting--telling an overlapping story. The prose is fantastic, which you don't see as often as I'd like in histfic, I really felt the rich sensory development of the historical world, and Vreeland does a great job of fleshing out complex and compelling characters and relationships.

Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

Oh, so much, lol. As well as long-term TBR stuff that will roll over to next year, there are a couple newly released books that I just picked up from the library that I hope to read in the next couple weeks before the year is over/before they go back to the library. (The Vaster Wilds and Master Slave Husband Wife. I can't renew them because they're "hot picks" and a bunch of other people have them on hold.)

What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

I already answered this one in a previous ask, and honestly I can't think of another book I read that I would call over-hyped per se.

#this is soooooo long sorry i got hype. lots going on this year

[overthinkingtaleblr]

and thats just his dads side. who the hell is his mom,,,

Maybe the real mom were the friends we made along the way…

Okay seriously in spite of his like 7+ possible dads, Ghost himself doesn’t really make claims as to who his mom is, and only one person has stepped forward claiming to be his mom, I think her name was Phasma... Unfortunately for our purposes here I think she was just saying what he would be willing to bear out because she never once mentions the Casket family or asks about why he changed his name. Those questions would definitely set off ghost, but considering Gregory was removed from his household so young there’s so possible way she’d be able to recognize him without some of that context, which Ghost doesn’t even have enough of to share.

We have to consider the requirements to have for Ghost’s biological mother. They have to be around twenty years older than Ghost minimum, for start, and they need to have lost a child at some point. If they’re still alive that means they either abandoned his family when he was young, or that when Gregory was taken they were never able to find him/they eventually chose to stop looking. If they’re dead… they’re dead, unless CBF brings them up we’re never hearing about them. However, with all the dads he has listed, if all of them were married to a singular mother-figure and no one else, the variety in his mother candidates would Shoot up. I think some interesting suggestions for Ghost’s mother would be Sally Betty Jessica (who is an older woman who has been around since before Ghost was born), Spooker’s sister (who takes awhile but eventually recognizes him as Gregory when they first meet. Seems to be undead, which would help explain why he’s so creature, but it would make him Spooker’s nephew), and that’s about it unless you want to bonk Katrina with the ‘ACTUALLY THATS HIS MOM NOW’ stick. There aren’t a lot of consistently reoccurring single fem characters with associations to ghosts in VT.

Now, if Casket’s ‘secrets’ are actually Ghost’s originally, then it’s likely Ghost never Had a mom, and was born to a transmasc dad instead. Alternatively, that could be casket saying he was created by a man— like The Housekeeper or Billy (who we know can both create like actual demons). If this is about specifically Ghost though his mother candidates just went way up. Congrats to Ghost and his mother; Bad Texture Bronson??? Idk man.

It’s this whole thing and at the end of the day if you want to properly give him a mom it might be smart to either go for a niche character or go BIG and start making claims for why random characters Could be his mom. I mean, Ghost doesn’t even know who Any of his possible moms are so he can’t really argue with you.

#taleblr #johnny ghost #taleblr character analysis #taleblr pie #WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DIDN’T POST THIS #/JJJ but still i meant to post this like last night

[4filen0tfound4]

OKOK!! So!

Context for House of Cards was that Sussy Civil War comic was doing MASSIVE numbers in the comic book box office! So Archie HQ saw it and then grabbed that hedgehog by the neck and went "Do that. NOW!" So then ppl were scrambling to find a way to make Sonic and Tails fight, since they were the two specifically requested to fight since they were from the games and also close friends and shit! So then they were like "oh hey we're trying to make this 'morally ambiguous' and shit just like the marvel bitches" so naturally. Politics YIPPEEEE!!! Since the Kingdom of Acorn was a monarchy. Easy. Introduce democracy. Boom. well how do we drive a wedge between besties/brothers?? Okay read through the previous issues any developments that can be taken advantage of?? (reminder this is still very sudden and had to be done in only a few issues, meaning the scope can't be too big or anything) Hey look Tails's parents from space. Okay from the sonic in space arc (that u didnt read like a LOSER!!!!) we know that the aliens from that planet are very logical and all that. So it must track that they have a democracy too! Okay lets say the Prowers want to establish a democracy for the Kingdom of Acorn too. Time is ripe since veryone has settled into New Mobotropolis and Elias is still a lil bit of a sussy king so far! And ofc Tails is gonna side with his newly accquired parents. Which means Sonic defaults to being a bootlicker horray! But why the fuck, you ask? Well you have to remember here that Archie Sonic and Normal Sonic are two very different beasts. WE know that Max is a little piece of shit, but in universe, the goal after defeating Robotnik has always been to get Sally's dad back from gay baby jail. And subsequently, this restores the rule of the Kingdom to its "rightful monarchs" or whatever. The people with the highest stake in this, and therefore the most supportive, are Sally and Sonic. Sally for. obvious reasons, and Sonic because his whole family worked for the Acorns, moreso than Tails or Antoine's parents did. The personal conflict between Sonic and Tails hinges on how Sonic T. Hedgehog has. maybe been treating Tails kinda like shit. Yeah the Fiona stuff is lame as hell, but apparently one of Sonic's motives in getting with her was so that Tails could play the hit video game Getting Over It (trademark). OBVIOUSLY that did jack shit, and only fucked up Tails more. But ALSO the Anti Sonic shit, along with Sonic literally being presumed dead as hell for a year, and the old writers not really writing Sonic very well all adds up to Tails not feeling like he can trust his bro, and Sonic being. pretty different than how he is in the games! So aside from all that, the arc was also a way to bring Sonic's character more in line with that of the games. Yeah even with all the context and shit I said it still does feel kinda ooc, but like. We already knew it was. Anyways cant believe i wrote a 500 word essay about an arc of a sonic comic <3 this better send or i will shit and scream and cry

Ily for this btw but ?????? Holy shit u rlly did write an essay. I was going to type a real response but I was listening to Barbie girl on repeat the entire time so my brain is mush rn. Anyways tysm for explaining this arc so much was happening all at once,,,,,marvel fucking ruins everything for me </3

#THEY MADE MY BOYS BOOTLICKERS !!!!!! #ty answers stuff

[melancholic-pigeon]

bonus wip #1

Because it’s mother’s day and I happen to be writing about Sally’s birthday (which I made up) in a multichapter of mine: a longer excerpt (same one I published last time, plus revisions) to show some appreciation to everyone’s favorite mom. (No context needed.)

In the morning, Paul makes coffee while Estelle helps unwrap. She's at the age where ripping paper makes her squeal with hysterical laughter, which worms its way into Percy's heart and melts it into pudding. 

Several of the presents are from Percy's friends, including a handbound book of original recipes from Leo, a lovely silver bracelet inset with mother-of-pearl that Beckendorf made himself, and a huge sheathed knife with a matching decorative handle from Clarisse. The last one makes his mom snort as she gets up to put it on the bookshelf, out of reach of curious toddler hands. 

"Decorative. Sure." 

"I bet she'd teach you how to use it if you asked." 

"I know how to use a bowie knife, dear. Your father and I used to catch and cook our own fish when we went camping."

"Which reminds me, he still hasn't taken me out," Paul cuts in, frowning. "We've got dad jokes and stories to swap, and you can't teach me to fillet a herring without a herring to fillet."

"I'll bug him about it the next time we talk," Percy promises. "It's probably the ADHD." 

"Do you want me to bug you about bugging him?" 

"If you haven't set something up by blueback season, yeah."

Percy and Paul went in on a pound of jasmine tea, which his mom reaches for next. She immediately asks for a cup— it's one of two days out of the entire year where she lets other people wait on her, for a change, and even that took a lot of cajoling. 

Paul makes the tea, since Percy usually scalds the leaves and it turns out tasting like grass. She probably wouldn't complain anyway, but it's her birthday, and she deserves to have the best tea that can be made in their kitchen. 

"Is the blue bag from Jason?" Paul sets the mug on a coaster in the middle of the coffee table, and Percy scoops the baby into his lap so she doesn't try to grab it. She mashes her toddler hand against his cheek.

"And Thalia. I'm not sure if they went in on stuff or he just packed them both in one bag to make it easy." 

Either is a possibility. He watches as his mom reaches in and pulls out a large frame, her eyes widening as Estelle rips away the paper.

"Please pass on that I am absolutely furious."

She turns the frame around. An autographed vinyl EP of Sign O' the Times by Prince— one of the albums Percy grew up on, though she skipped a few of the songs when he was little, most of which ended up in his library by high school anyway. Thalia must have spent a fortune on it. 

"That woman is incredible," Paul breathes, lightly touching the glass. "How does she even find this stuff?" 

"See!"

"Ebay genius, probably." Percy grins as Estelle reaches for the album, and holds her over the glass so she can touch it too. "She's also really good at barter chains."

His mother shakes her head as she puts the album aside and digs back into the bag. 

This frame is smaller and wrapped in the same paper, with Jason's careful print written out across it. The crinkling sound draws Estelle's attention, and she reaches over to do her job and tear it off.

Their mom gasps and puts a hand to her mouth, her eyes going bright.

It's a watercolor portrait of Percy and Estelle, laughing by the shoreline. She's dressed in a little bucket hat, a ruffled swimsuit patterned to look like a clownfish and the coolest shades in the world— sparkly blue frames shaped like seashells that he kind of wishes he could get in his size. He's in a wetsuit, having spent the morning of his birthday surfing, and he's holding onto her hands so she can jump at the waves. In the distant background is the Montauk lighthouse.

It's beautifully done, like everything else Jason's ever put to paper, but Percy's never choked up like this over one of them. 

"You remember that, Beluga? That was on my birthday, when you came and visited me and Jason at the beach."

"Beach?" she asks, expectant. Paul bursts into laughter. 

"You're your mother's daughter, sweet pea."

"Beach!" Estelle insists. Percy noses her pudgy cheek. 

"It's too cold to swim, baby." His mom's eyes are sparkling, still a little teary. He can see Estelle in the smile on her face. "But we could go for a walk and visit." 

"Brunch first." Paul kisses her— Percy averts his eyes, wrinkling his nose at his sister to make her giggle again— and gets up, heading back into the kitchen. 

It's a lovely way to spend a late morning. Pale blue araucana eggs, courtesy of Grover's new hens; a blueberry coffee cake from Nico by a fantastic hole in the wall in Hell's Kitchen; Paul's signature home fries, made from blue potatoes and seasoned to perfection; all of it delicious.

Jason calls while Percy's doing the dishes. After his deep, resonant performance of the happy birthday song, the five of them chat on speakerphone for a little while, though he has to excuse himself pretty quickly to keep banging through his reading. 

"Maybe next year," Percy sighs. His mom puts her hand on his hip, then crouches down to help Estelle with her light-up sneakers. 

"He's always welcome for a rain check." 

Percy ends up carrying his sister on his hip, snuggled into his jacket to block the chilly sea breeze. She points at seagulls, shouting triumphantly every time. 

"More bird!"

"That's right. A whole flock of 'em."

They watch for a while as the gulls fight over a discarded pizza crust. Then Percy feels an arm around his back and a head against his shoulder.

"I don't know how I got so lucky," his mother murmurs. "I have a wonderful husband, time for my passions and the best two kids in the world." 

Percy's eyes sting. 

For most of his life, her birthdays had been spent without fanfare. He was rarely actually there for them anyway, and Gabe complained so much it was easier to just ignore the day and focus on survival instead. 

She'd been triaging like that since before she even met Percy's dad, keeping herself afloat when nobody seemed to care if she drowned. It would have been easy to lie down and give up. Percy's pretty sure he would have.

He turns to hug her with the obligatory proclamation of a Stella Sandwich, leaning his cheek against the top of his mom's head while his sister wriggles with delight. 

"Luck's got nothing to do with it."

#sally jackson #i wrote this #background jercy #estelle blofis #paul blofis #you can barely keep up but you're learning a lot about coffee

[themadauthorshatter]

... I apologize in advance.

This is my personal idea for a sequel in The Nightmare Before Christmas, and I hope you all enjoy😄🙏. This whole thing will be TV perspective, like the Sanders Sides Beetlejuice AU. For better context, you might want to check out the OTP headcanons in my master post.

🎃🎃🎃

We begin the day after Halloween, in a meeting between Jack, The Mayor, and Jacob, who's here to take notes on how things are run.

He's a little bored, but he's still taking notes and doing well in dealing with The Mayor's whining.

The meeting wraps up and the Skellingtons leave the city hall.

Jack sighs that the meeting went well, at least better than he thought it would, but Jacob admits that he wasn't expecting much to begin with, save for the usual.

Regardless, Jacob still agrees, but asks if it's really necessary to have a meeting immediately after Halloween, because it seems tedious.

Jack gets the confusion, because this is the third meeting he's attended, and nods, saying that it can be tedious, but they need to be on top of everything, in case something happens, like an idea or something they can't do, and to keep The Mayor calm; he's the real workaholic, not Jack.

Jacob bursts into laughter and Jack, also laughing, tells him to be more subtle because who knows who heard that.

Turns out someone DID hear them.

It's Daemon, who is outside sitting against the fountain because he's bored and wanted to see his dad and brother.

Jack asks why he isn't with Sally or Luna, and Daemon explains they're out looking for herbs to restock. He was offered to go with, but he didn't go because he figured they'd want some mother-daughter time.

Jacob thinks to himself that girls are like that, but asks why Zero isn't with him, at least.

He followed Sally and Luna, and, looking back, Daemon doesn't know which would've been more unpleasant: making sure he stood far away enough for Sally and Luna to talk without losing them or having damn near everyone that walked past him say he looked so much like his father and was probably just as terrifying, and that Jack should watch out because Daemon might scare him under the table.

Jack lightly chides Daemon for the comment, but explains that he'll get used to being called the best as he helps him up.

Daemon humms as he stands and places himself next to Jacob, asking how the meeting went.

As they walk, Jack admits that while it was longer than he'd anticipated, the meeting went very well, so this year's Halloween should be pretty eventful.

Daemon echoes that word, eventful, and we focus in on Jacob as his face turns from relaxed joy to slight boredom and thoughtfulness at what Jack and Daemon said.

Eventful.

Does he want to do 'eventful?' Yes.

Does he know how?

Not yet. Because to him, eventful means whatever new idea his father comes up with.

He's pulled out of his thoughts when Daemon asks how he did, being the next Pumpkin King and all.

Jacob shrugs and says he did okay for his third neeting, but Jack corrects him: he did WONDERFUL, giving ideas that could only be gotten from an outsider, like finding a new way to use whatever was in surplus.

That excites Daemon and he asks if Jacob took notes, so he'd remember his ideas for the next meeting.

Jacob nodds and takes a piece of paper out of his pocket, handing it to Daemon.

Jack reads the notes as well, and his face falls a little as Daemon humms in contemplation.

We do not see what's written, but Daemin returns the note to Jacob, saying that he's written really good notes.

Jack isn't very enthused by what he read, will still agree that the notes themselves are really good.

Jacob notices, but doesn't question it.

They meet Sally, Luna, and Zero at home, glad to see the boys home.

Sally asks how the meeting went and Jack changes his answer from before as he and Sally give each other a peck on the lips, because they're married and love each other.

The meeting went great and this year's Halloween should also be great.

Sally's glad, and so is Luna, who's glad to see her brothers together, all things considered.

Jacob, when their parents' backs are turned, mouths, "Bite me," while Daemon returns the sentiment, asking how her time with Sally was.

Luna holds up a basket of herbs and smiles that she and their mother will have enough herbs to last until spring.

Daemon is very glad to hear it, though Jacob spaces out again, thinking back to the word 'eventful' and his notes.

Speaking of which, Luna asks about the meeting, cause she loves seeing her brother be tormented.

Jacob, unfazed, says it actually went swimmingly, which must grind her gears.

Daemon stops them and suggests Luna get the herbs to the kitchen.

Jacob leaves and goes to his room the put the notepad on his desk. He goes back to his family, but we see what he wrote that got Jack uncomfortable:

Holiday Doors drawn in a circle, each of them with a question mark around them, save for Halloween, because he's already there.

Back with the family, they're eating some dinner, and Daemon's showing his crazy side by wanting to stab his meal to bits and pieces, but not doing it because his mother AND father are at the table.

Luna asks what ideas there are for this year's Halloween.

Jack explains some ideas regarding utilizing spiders and even using shadows a little more, but Jacob is zoning out.

Quick side note here, if we're going off the headcanon that Jack deals with depression or a form of it, then I'm adding that Jacob has some attention problems. He doesn't SEEK attention, he just struggles with staying focused after a while, he fidgets, he gets overwhelmed when his mind's getting off track and he's still trying to focus, he zones out, he fidgets, he gets TOO caught up in doing something after doing it for a while, and, if it's REALLY bad, he dissociates.

TL;DR: Jacob has something along the lines of ADHD and a little bit of Dissociation. Still happy, still healthy, just a little iffy on whether or not he wants the lights on or off upstairs, metaphorically speaking.

Back on track, Jack asks Jacob to explain his ideas, which gets him to pay attention and he obliges.

Turns out one of his ideas involves using the shade and finding a way to get all of the power turned off as to frighten the people even more.

It's an impressive idea, all the same Luna tells Jacob not to get too high on his horse, in case someone with problems gets hurt.

He nods and continues eating, saying he'll keep it in mind.

Sally asks if there was anything else that happened and Jacob denies it, saying Jack would probably remember it all better, anyway.

Luna and Daemon exchange a glance, not fully buying it.

Outside of a window, a centipede looking bug stares at the family before crawling away and transitioning us to the triplets' room, where Jacob is trying to even out his hair for the night before bed. Daemon is laying his pillows out so they form a coffin or a casket around him while Luna braids her hair so it doesn't get messy; have you ever tried brushing yarn out withoit ruining it?

Luna asks what ideas Jacob REALLY has, and Jacob feigns ignorance, that he doesn't really remember.

Daemon gives one of those 'not buying it' "mm-hm"s and Luna folds her arms, asking about the doors he keeps writing about.

Jacob turns to them, eyes asking how she knows about that.

Luna only states that he's just like Dad: the WORST at hiding things that he doesn't want people to see.

Jacob barks at her to drop it and goes to bed.

Luna does the same, muttering that when tbeir father found the doors, it didn't end well for him, so if he wants to be better, he'd better steer clear.

Jacob ignores her and we learn through some internal monologue that he doesn't want to just be better than Jack or his expectations, he wants to exceed him, the town, and everything else.

In their room, Sally spots Jack staring out a window and asks what he's thinking about.

Jack turns and asks if she had any visions on her walk with Luna.

She did, but she wants to know what's bothering Jack first.

Jacob drew the holiday doors while taking notes, and he needs to know that his son is not going to make the same mistake he did.

The two hug and Sally admits she did have a vision, but it just showed one of the doors, the stars exploding, and Jacob running into the woods while she heard nothing but laughter.

Jack holds her tighter and nonverbally promises himself and Sally that he will not let Jacob make the same mistakes as his father.

#the nightmare before christmas #jack skellington #sally skellington #sally ragdoll #jack x sally #oc children #sequel fanfic

[bullyyourgayuncle]

Bully Your Gay Uncle, A Series of Vignettes Concerning Steven Boxleitner, Becky Botsford, and the Ethics of Being a Jewish Man with a Mouse Brain Attached To Your Head

Becky isn’t quite sure how she’s related to Steven Boxleitner – her dad’s cousin’s wife’s brother, or something like that.  It doesn’t really matter how they’re related - all that matters is that he’s the closest family the Botsfords have in the city, and that he discovers her secret early on.  He becomes the only person she can trust with her secret for a long, long time.

Becky loves her Uncle Steven.  How many kids can brag about their multiple-doctorates uncle?  Some of her classmates don’t understand exactly how smart he is, but all Becky has to do is describe the contraptions in his lab to capture her friends’ attention.

Uncle Steven isn’t just smart – he’s also one of the nicest people Becky knows, and he cares about her as if she were his own daughter.  His one flaw is his airheadedness, and it’s a forgivable sin.  He’s Becky’s favorite uncle by far, and the Botsfords invite him over just as often as they drop Becky off at his lab when they have a date night or have to go shopping with T.J.  

Then, of course, the accident happens, and things change.

Becky can’t even look at her Uncle Steven after first putting him in jail, much less speak to him.  She doesn’t know what to think.  Her parents don’t know that he’s changed, and she feigns illnesses every time they discuss dropping her off at his home.  They don’t find out he’s been put in jail until he calls a month after and tells them he’s been released.

“So, yeah, feel free to drop Becky off whenever you need to,” he rambles in that strange, new, higher-pitched voice of his.  “Sorry about all this.”

Tim Botsford frowns, and calls his wife over to discuss the situation. 

“I don’t know about leaving Becky alone with a criminal,” he says in the same innocuous tone he says nearly everything in.  Becky pretends not to listen to the conversation, but she can’t help herself.  Her mom sighs.

“He’s not really a criminal,” she wheedles.  “He was arrested for cheese crime.  That’s about as criminal as a parking violation.”

 “I still don’t think it sets a very good example for the kids,” Tim says.  

Sally sighs.  “Let’s sleep on it.  I’m sure it’ll be easier to decide in the morning.”

Becky goes to sleep, hoping that the adults can solve the problems for once.

——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— 

Two-Brains regresses into a bad uncle before he becomes a good uncle again.  He knows he’s being a bad person, but he can’t bring himself to care for a while.  All that matters is cheese.

Becky captures him and hands him over to the sheriff, and he’s cognizant enough to realize she’s incredibly upset.  He sits behind bars for his given time before his release, and then he visits his rabbi. 

Rabbi Donenberg barely bats an eye when he strolls in.  “I had a feeling you’d be here soon enough.”

“No ‘welcome back?’” He grouses.  His mood is exponentially worse than it was as Steven, and the mouse brain is still aching for cheese.  Rabbi Donenberg shrugs.

“How are you, Steven?” she asks.

“Not Steven, Dr. Two-Brains,” he snaps.  “Steven’s not here right now.”

Rabbi Donenberg hums to herself.  “Alright, Dr. Two-Brains.  What do you need help with?”

Despite himself, he hesitates.  “I don’t think my niece likes me very much anymore.”

“Can you think of anything that may have caused this change?” Rabbi Donenberg asks dryly.

“I came to you for help,” he says, scowling.  

The rabbi shrugs.  “Have you talked to your niece since the incident?”

“...yes?”  It's not a lie.

“Are you not sure?” Rabbi Donenberg asks.

Two-Brains makes a “feh” noise and shrugs.  He’d been confronted by Wordgirl.  He wasn’t sure if that counted as talking it out with his niece.

Tell her Becky is Wordgirl! the mouse brain yells.  It had been a near-constant thought in Two-Brains’ mind since he acquired the pesky thing.

I will not do that, he thinks back crossly.  Be quiet.

Cheese!  Now!

Two-Brains pulls a piece of cheese out of his lab coat pocket and eats it.  Rabbi Donenberg watches him do so, her eyes flitting between the cheese and the mouse brain.

“So you have or have not spoken with your niece?” she asks.

“Sort of?” Two-Brains answers.  “We’ve met.  We haven’t really talked.”  Again, not quite a lie.

“You know, I may not have any PhDs, but I’m not an idiot.  You are a poor liar,” Rabbi Donenberg says.

“I’m decently wealthy, actually,” Dr. Two-Brains quips.  “You would think the college would fire me after the accident, but I’ve got tenure, and–”

“Now you’re just avoiding the subject,” Rabbi Donenberg sighs.  “My suggestion is that you actually talk to her.  She’s about ten, right?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s going to be going through a tough time soon enough anyway, and she doesn’t need to be worrying about you on top of that,” she says.  “Reassure her that you’re there for her, despite your – um, condition –”

“You’re referring to the evil mouse brain I fused to myself, correct?  Just to be clear.”

“Yes, Steven –”

“Dr. Two-Brains!”

“Dr. Two-Brains,” Rabbi Donenberg corrects, rubbing her temples.  “Just be there for her, the best you can.  Reassure her you won’t hurt her, and that you still love her, and that none of this is her fault.”

Two-Brains leaves feeling more guilty than he did when he arrived.

——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— 

Becky – Wordgirl, rather – pulls him into the hallway by his arm, and glares at him.  She says nothing, so he takes initiative and speaks first.

“Hey, Becky,” he says, smiling.  “How’s my favorite niece?”

“Two-Brains,” she replies shortly, and yeah, it may be true, but it hurts.  “What are you doing here?”

“What, in my synagogue?”  He rolls his eyes.  “What do you think?”

“What do I – what evil thing are you planning now?” she demands.  “Are you gonna turn the building into cheese?  The books?”

Two-Brains blinks at her.  “I have cheese with me,” he says frankly, pulling a small bit out of his pocket.  “To keep the mouse brain in check so I don’t cheesify the Torah.  I do this every Friday night?”

“No, Uncle Steven did this every Friday night!” she exclaims.  “Not, not you!”

“I have his brain, you know,” Two-Brains says.  He’s irritated, but he only lets mild annoyance creep into his voice.  “It wanted to go to temple, so we went to temple.”  He moves to walk back into the sanctuary, and Wordgirl – Becky – zips in front of him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” 

“I’m missing the service – can we do this after?” He asks, exasperated.  “I haven’t seen these people in two weeks because I was in jail.”

“You committed a crime!  You wouldn’t have been in jail if you hadn’t!” she says.  “And you broke out!  I should take you back to jail right now!”

“I haven’t done anything!” He says, and tries to move past her again.  She picks him up and zooms him to the end of the hallway.  “Becky –”

“It’s Wordgirl,” she says venomously.

Those two words shouldn’t hurt as much as they do.  Two-Brains grimaces.

“I just want to attend services,” he says.  “I dragged myself all the way here, out of a sense of tradition, or loyalty, or muscle memory, and now I just want to finish services.  No heist, no scheme.”  He raises his eyebrows.  “Is that alright with you, Becky?”

She scowls.  It’s always been strange to see Becky’s face twist in anger – he’s known her since she was a happy, super-powered baby– but it’s so much worse to have the scowl directed at him.  She looks so much older and angrier than she should.

“You can come in with me if you want,” he says.  He doesn’t really want to extend the offer, but he does want to get back to the service.  “Keep an eye on me, if it makes you feel better.”

Becky is still glaring, but she gives a sharp nod.  “Fine.”

They slip back inside, and Two-Brains knows everyone notices that Wordgirl is in their synagogue, but no one says anything to them.  He re-situates himself in his place in the back, and tries to figure out how much he missed. 

——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ———

“What are you saying?” Becky whispers.  Two-Brains is caught off guard, and he stumbles over the words.

“It’s Hebrew,” he whispers back, and Becky rolls her eyes.

“Duh. What does it mean?” She presses.

“Just, like, prayer stuff.  Hoping for peace and all that jazz,” he answers.  People have begun singing, and he jumps in.

“Sounds kind of hypocritical,” Becky mutters.  Two-Brains ignores her to finish the song.

“I can hope for peace and not be a hypocrite,” he objects quietly.  “I’m just of two minds.  One wants peace for people and the other wants a piece of cheese.  I’ve reconciled that within myself.”

“That’s a loophole!”

“Yes, it is,” Two-Brains agrees, and holds a finger to his lips.  “Now be quiet.  The grannies are going to give me an earful after this.”

——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ———

“God, it’s so much easier to keep Kosher now that I really only eat cheese.  Not that the mouse brain isn’t partly carnivorous – calm down, Squeaky, it’s just a fact – but man, I’d completely mix my meats and cheeses before, and eat all the good stuff the big man upstairs forbid.  This cheese-based diet is a life saver.”

Two-Brains is talking as he eats.  His temple is never short on cream cheese, and he’s able to put lox on the bagel without Squeaky throwing a fit.

“You used to say that religious dietary restrictions were scientifically foolish,” Becky says with complete confidence.  She’s thirteen - the world is still mostly black and white for her, and Two Brains doesn’t fault her for it.  She’s a kid.

“Yeah, well science schmience, Steven still felt guilty about it,” he responds.  “But now I’m home free.”

——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ———

“It’s not easy being a Jew with a mouse brain attached to your head,” Two-Brains says.  “Enough people think I’m a rat as is.”  He winces as Squeaky barrages him, offended at the word.  “The rat part because I’m Jewish, Squeaky, Jesus.  Learn to pick up context clues.  I know you’re not a rat.”

“That’s…” Becky starts, and trails off.  “Are you allowed to say that?”

“If anyone is allowed to, then I am,” he says.  “I don’t think anyone else in the world is in this situation.”  He gestures at his machine.  “So, what do you think?”

“I think you should keep your day job, stand-up just isn’t your calling,” Becky deadpans, and that startles a laugh out of Two-Brains.  “The machine is good, Uncle Steven.  Even if it is cheese technology.”

——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ———

“I hate church.  I feel like I’m going to burst into flames,” Two-Brains mutters, and Becky elbows him in the side. 

“Uncle Steven never complained,” she whispers back as the priest wraps up his homily.  “He just sat there happily.”

Two-Brains snorts.  “Becky, I still have his brain.  He wasn’t happy, believe you me.”

Becky scowls.  “Just be quiet.  It’s T.J.’s first communion, it’s important.”

Two-Brains rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t say anything else.  He earns another elbow in the ribs when he chooses to sit rather than kneel.

“Steven would –”

“Blah blah blah Steven, I’m not kneeling.  Absolutely not,” he says.  “End of discussion.”

This is something Steven’s brain has full agency over – Two-Brains despises church.  He has cheese in his pocket that he’s trying to discreetly eat, to sate Squeaky.  If Becky wasn’t right next to him, he wouldn’t even be discreet – but then again, he wouldn’t be there if Becky hadn’t asked him to be there.  T.J. is his nephew, he supposes, but T.J. never got along with him like Becky does.

He can feel his eyes glazing over, and then everyone is standing again.  They sing another song – that’s the only non-miserable part of this whole service – and then the priest does something with the crackers and steps forward.  People begin to file out into the center aisle, hands folded together.

Becky pokes him.  “You shouldn’t have your hands folded,” she whispers.  “Cross them over your chest, so the priest knows not to give you communion.”

Two-Brains keeps his hands folded and ignores Becky.  She pokes him again.

“Uncle Steven, your arms,” she emphasizes, then demonstrates herself.  Two-Brains continues to ignore her.  Steven had always been curious about the cracker, but had never had the guts to try to get it.  Two-Brains is going to get that cracker.  

“You are unbelievable,” Becky hisses.

Two-Brains is able to get the cracker from the priest, and he triumphantly chomps down on it.  It’s dry and not very satisfying.  He foregoes the wine—the common cup has always grossed him out.

“That was terrible,” he says once they’re seated again.  Well, he’s seated.  Becky is kneeling.  “You know what church needs?  A cheese platter.  Crackers and wine and cheese.”

Becky ignores him.

——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ———

Becky throws herself onto Dr. Two-Brains’ couch as soon as he lets her in.  “I hate boys.”

Two-Brains snorts.  “You and me both.”

Becky sits up.  “Aren’t you going to ask what’s wrong?”

Two-Brains shrugs.  “Do you want me to?”

“Yes!  Jeez, why else would I be here except for some sympathy?”  Becky throws her hands in the air.  “I tried talking to my mom, but she just doesn’t get it.  You’re the only person I know who has worse relationships than me.”

“Relationships?  You’re twelve,” Two-Brains says.  “You’re not in relationships.”  His human brain seems to catch up with Becky’s words, and he scowls.  “Also, rude.  Rude, rude, rude.”

“It’s the truth,” she huffs.  “You haven’t dated someone since I was in elementary school.”

Two-Brains crosses his arms.  “That wasn’t too long ago, and may I remind you, I have a mouse brain attached to my head.  I look twenty years older than I am, and I’m not exactly young.”

Becky waves her hand dismissively.  “Whatever.”  She rolls over on the couch, looking at Two-Brains expectantly.  

“What’s wrong, then?” He asks, taking the hint.

“Tobey!  He’s unbearable; I don’t know why he can’t just talk to me like a normal person!” She exclaims.  

“Is that the kid with the giant robots?”  Two-Brains asks.  He vaguely remembers teaming up with him, but he’s never been great at remembering names.  Once you knew one twelve-year-old, you knew them all.

“Ugh, yes.  Giant robots and a giant pain in my side,” Becky groans.  “So, I was wondering, how do you get a boy to stop liking you?”

Two-Brains looks at his niece with his arms folded across his chest.  “And, again, you are asking me because…?”

“Well, no one but me really seems to like you all that much,” she says, brutally honest.  “Even your henchmen seem to be on the fritz most of the time.”

That stings.  Two-Brains keeps the look of genuine hurt of his face, pinching the bridge of his nose.  “Look, Becky, you shouldn’t want to not be liked.”

“I didn’t say that, I just want Tobey not to like me,” she says.  “I need you to focus whatever makes you unbearable to be around and tell me how to direct it at him.”

“Okay, okay, okay, can you lay off?” Two-Brains asks.  “I don’t need constant reminders that no one really likes me.”

“Except me and my family.”

“Except for you and your family,” Two-Brains amends.  “Family doesn’t count, though, because family’s required to love you no matter what.”

——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ———

“I don’t know if I want to go back to being just Steven,” Two-Brains says through gritted teeth.  “Becky, you’re very smart.  You must understand that I, as a person, should not exist.”

“But –”

“I’m not Steven.  I’m your uncle, and I love you, but I’m not Steven,” Two-Brains says.  “I’m not Steven or Squeaky, I’m a freak of nature, a combination of both of them, and I don’t know how I could possibly go back to being two separate entities.”  A stab of pain hits him hard, and he winces.  “Ow, ow, ow, Squeaky, I know, I was agreeing!”

Becky frowns at him.  Two-Brains has noticed she’s been doing that more and more.  “Don’t you want to be free, though?”

“This is freedom – what part of “shouldn’t exist” didn't you understand?” Two-Brains asks.  “And beyond that, being Steven wasn’t being free.  I had a set schedule, I had set hours, I worked for the school.  I lived and breathed research, mostly on the behalf of someone else.  So what if I have an obsession with cheese?  Better a –” He cuts himself off, because Becky looks so sad and shocked, and that’s his thirteen-year-old niece who doesn’t know how cruel the world can be.  He sighs.  “I’m happy like this, even if the mouse brain goes haywire sometimes.”

“Uncle Steven?” Becky asks, and Two-Brains hears the nerves in her voice.  “Why do you not think you’re Steven Boxleitner?”

It’s Two-Brains turn to frown.  “Because I’m not.”

“But you always talk to the mouse brain like it’s its own entity, and you never talk to the other brain.  You talk about his memories like they’re yours,” Becky points out. 

Two-Brains doesn’t have an answer for her.  “I used to fight with Steven.”

“No, Squeaky used to fight with him,” Becky says.  “And then you stabilized.”

“This isn’t stable, this is – I don’t know, I just learned how to deal with it!” Two-Brains says.  He realizes he’s raised his voice, and he takes a deep breath to bring himself back down.  “I’m the only person who can deal with this mess, because it’s my mental state.  I had to learn to deal with it.”

“And now you do?” Becky asks.

“For the most part.  I cope.  I manage.”  Two-Brains sighs, and allows a small grin.  “But I’m free.”

#wordgirl #becky botsford #dr two brains #steven boxleitner #bully.txt

[shadowofthelamp]

I’m slowly stretching myself back into reverse au and writing Timber again. Minor retcon for the reverse au: Sonic’s dimension wasn’t just conquered, it was destroyed from the inside out. When they went back to check it out, everything was roboticized- there were no signs of life left, not even Robotnik.

Some context: It’s semi-explained in the writing, but Timber moves into Devi’s dimension after they get married because he feels like he can do more there and he trusts the twins to take things back at home. They’re from entirely different universes (and different dimensions within those universes) but can traverse between them via the interdimensional highway. Timber’s universe is based on the M:XYL series where he’s a Shadow/Sally kid who was had a few years before Sonic and Sally got back together, and Devi’s is based on my ‘reverse au’ where Scourge is Sonic Prime and Sonic is anti-Sonic- she’s the daughter of their clone son. Got it? Good. Here we go.

Wordcount: 1050

Timber groaned, rolling his shoulders as Sonic settled down at the table across from him. His book was splayed open and forgotten mere inches away.

“Slept funny?”

“No, it’s the natural energy of this world.” Timber held up a hand, a yellow flame flaring from his fingers before it twisted around in midair as if someone had blown at it. The color flickered from yellow, to green, to red, then back to yellow. “My body just has to get used to it. It always happens when I’m here for longer than a day.”

“Oh, huh.” Sonic tilted his head to the side. “That sucks.”

“You got moved here from another dimension. How did you deal with it?”

Sonic shrugged, counting off on his fingers. “Between the starvation, the cold stone floors, the electroshocks, and Scourge generally being as much of an asshole as he could, I barely even noticed.”

Timber flinched. Genius move, Acorn. “Oh. Right.”

Sonic set a hand on Timber’s head, scratching a little between the fluffy ears. “It’s fine, that’s all long in the past. If you want, I’m sure the nurse can help- she’s dealt with Devi long enough that I’m sure she knows how to handle interdimensional jetlag.”

“Right…” Timber’s ear twitched before he pulled away from Sonic a little. “Maybe later- mostly it’s just kind of an uncomfortable tingling, nothing painful.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” Sonic nodded. ”Devi still wrapped up in the wedding plans?”

“She’s probably talking poor Annette’s ear off. I’m to go down and make sure that she actually eats in...” He pulled a pocket watch out of one of the pouches on his overcoat. “Half an hour, but she doesn’t want me to see the actual dress until the wedding, and I’ll oblige her that.” He looked back up at Sonic. “So, how is ‘Grandpa’?”

Sonic grinned. “Being kind of pissy you’re moving in, but I wouldn’t worry about it. You can take care of yourself, and you’re going to be family now- he respects that more than you’d think. He actually likes Krysta- she kind of grew on him.”

“It’s still weird to think we’re going to be in-laws.”

“He’ll live. He still adores Dev, and you’re a nice kid.” 

“He hates me. I’m pretty used to people making snap judgements, but I’d like to think I’ve gotten pretty good at bringing people around to at least tolerate me.” Timber slid one of his inhibitors off, rolling it around underneath his index finger. He’d taken to wearing fingerless gloves instead of nothing at all on his hands, and he could feel the energy within the bracelet shifting from the anarcym in the atmosphere. 

“He doesn’t hate you. If he hated you, you’d be dead.”

“Reassuring,” Timber replied dryly. 

“You know…” Sonic thought for a moment. “I think you remind him of his dad.”

“His dad?” Timber raised an eyebrow. “Grandpa Jules? He’s a nice guy, sure, but-”

“It’s a sore spot. This universe is all switched up from yours, remember?” As if Timber could forget, considering he was moving into an alternate version of the same castle he’d grown up in. “I don’t think he was that great to Scourge since he was obsessed with politics, and trying to make the whole world better meant he left his family behind.”

Timber sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Ah. But that’s not-” 

“You said that was part of why you came here, right? To try and help give us a better idea of what running a monarchy should be like, and helping the people?” He shrugged. “I’m not saying that’s the only thing that you’re here for, since I can tell you and Devi are genuinely tight. Honestly, though, you’re staying for the same reason I did.”

Timber jolted. “I thought you were-”

Sonic raised an eyebrow. “You think Scourge could keep me here for forty-five years without me wanting to stay?” Timber just blinked, and Sonic idly ran his fingers over the leather collar around his neck. “He took the shock collar off when we were twenty. There’s a starpost buried in the basement, and plenty of people didn’t like him when we were younger. I could have gotten out if I’d really wanted when he started giving me some more freedoms, but home was completely destroyed, and shoving aside some random Sonic would have probably caused more problems.” He paused. “Especially considering Scourge is the blueprint for what a Sonic should act like, so all his friends would probably be jerks anyway.” 

“Ouch.” Timber winced. “You-”

Sonic waved a hand, dismissing Timber’s concerns before they could even be voiced. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve gotten used to it. I like Scourge now- he really grows on you. Plus, I started helping to reshape things- having a partner that rules the world means I’ve got a lot of power by influencing him. Over the years he’s learned to listen to me- it cuts down on the coup attempts.”

Timber groaned. “I’m going to have to learn to deal with those too, aren’t I? Once the Dark Presence dissipated, we haven’t had too many problems with people grabbing for the throne.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t happen too often anymore, but we’ve got warning systems in place after the time with the knockout gas. You’re a good fighter, Devi says, so you’ll be fine.”

“Oh Chaos,” Timber muttered before straightening up. He’d slumped over at some point.

“We should try a sparring session at some point. If you can fight me, you can fight off any intruder, trust me.”

“It’s not that.” Timber said. “I know I can defend myself, it’s just- still weird realizing I’m going to be staying here long enough to deal with all of this.”

“Hopefully it’ll be forever, if you and Dev don’t drive each other nuts.” He grinned. “We don’t bite unless you ask.” At that, Sonic set a hand on Timber’s shoulder and squeezed. “Just relax. If you ever need somebody to talk to, I’m here, and Krysta is too. Most of the maids are really nice too. I know Scourge, Remy, and even Devi can be kind of a lot at times, but we love them.”

“Yeah, it’ll be worth it,” Timber said, nodding to himself as he stood up, chair grinding against the stone floor. “I’m off to pry my fiancée off her seamstress. Can you tell the cooks to start something?”

Sonic nodded. “Got it. See you later?”

Timber smiled back. “See you later.”

#timber #sonic writing #reverse au #sonic blogging #starway sweethearts #shadow writes stuff #sth

[watch-the-sun-burn-bright]

The Lightning Thief last show

I had the luck to get tickets to see The Lightning Thief’s last performance on Broadway. Here were some highlights. Spoiler warning.

We had the highest balcony in partially obscured view, but we could see everything, including the band.

Before the show there was seagulls and wave crashing and storms playing in the background.

THE THUNDER OH MY GODS. (Hehe pun)

I knew that it came but it never failed to surprise me.

When each chapter came out for their little solo in Prologue everyone cheered.

The YANK the curtain away and Chris nyooms our and sits like a French babe. The audience goes. BALLASTIC.

He sits there and looked around.

Holy shit was that guy Percy Jackson.

He sits there for around two minutes, meanwhile the audience is still cheering wildly.

He’s almost laughing when he goes “Look...........I didn’t wanna be a half-blood.

Kristen (Annabeth) I think was Nancy Bobofit, I’m not sure, but she and James (Luke) were cuddling the ENTIRE show.

Ryan Knowles Chiron was SO GOOD.

“Their father Kronos-“ “KROOOOONOOOOS!” “Ah. Thank you... Mrs. Dodd’s.”

“He tricked Kronos-“ “KROOONOOOS!” “...into eating a rock. So what did Kronos do?” Mrs. Doods gets real close to his face. “Anyone?...Any student?”

Grover baas. Amazing. Incredible. Inspiring.

Percy sounds so heartbroken when he gets kicked out. Like I’m 6 minutes into the show and I almost start crying. It’s insane.

James as Gabe was amazing.

“Hey Percy how was school?”

“Oh it was great, I went on a field trip, fought a monster, got expelled-Ooh lunch was pretty good.”

Percy throughout the entire show plays with the end of his sweatshirt

(He’s drinking blue Gatorade)

Strong was so pretty. Jayleen was amazing.

Percy cries in the Minotaur were heartbreaking.

“Percy was that a fury?!” “YOURE THE FURRY!”

Poseidon. That’s all.

Annabeth gets wheeled in.

“You drool when you sleep.”

“Augh what happened?” (I don’t remember exactly what she says but it’s something like this:) “you passed out and your friend Grover carried you back to camp and I gave you nectar and ambrosia , but not to much or else you’ll die.” She says that very fast.

You can tell thatLuke is poisoning percys mind from the beginning.

Grover runs on in the middle of Thier Sign half sobbing going “Percy I’m so sorry I’m so sorry”

“Are you ever gonna wear pants again?” “Nope.”

“Heyyyy I’m the smartest girl you know.” Annabeth is play fighting with Luke. “You’re also the toughest girl I know.” “You think I’m tough?”

“Sexist much?” “No, I love girls-.......uh within reason.”

“Wow she’s intense.” “You think she’s intese?” “AAAAAAAAAUGH!” Clairrise bolts on stage.

Toilet paper as the toilet water.

“My dad is Poseidon?...SWEEEEEEEEEEET!”

“Luke. Hermes kids are fast-“ “actually that’s a stereotype... flibergate got it.”

The battle sequences are amazing.

“THAT SOUNDS LIKE A LINE FROM A CLOSING BROADWAY MUSICAL!”

“Not... turning him into a dolphin!”

The Campfire Song is really sweet they’re all just playing around like friends.

The Oracle is AMAZING.

Annabeth sounds so angry when Percy gets a quest.

GoodKid HOLY SHIT. He sounded so angry and sad and malcontented. It was incredible.

More Luke poison.

Killer quest was so upbeat.

She says “Six long years stuck at camp!” Instead of five because that’s how long she’s been playing Annabeth and 😭

“I’ve got mad battle strategy, my mom’ll be impressed. I’m comin on your killer QUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEST!!!”

Out of context they’re speeding down the freeway getting attacked by fury’s and then BOOSH!! Red confetti rains down. I was too high up to get any.

Annabeth goddamn loses it at the nuts joke i don’t even know if it was on purpose.

Katie Garder plays The SquirrelTM.

Medusa was so cool.

“What Interesting eyes you have dear... would you mind if I took your picture?”

Annabeth fixes her hair in her knife

Meanwhile Grover keeps poking Uncle Ferdinand.

The staues hold maracas

“Well Athens got mad at Medusa so she tsudncnwkkwlslrkk.” (She starts drinking from her water bottle)

The little scene before my grand plan is so sweet.

“Since you hate me-“ “I...don’t hate you?” “Well...” Percy turned away stubbornly. “You seem to criticize me a lot.”

“Here hold it this way.” “I don’t need a new way to-oh no this is much better.”

MY GRAND PLAN OH SWEET CEREAL IT WAS AMAZING. AND YES I WILL SPEAK IN ALL CAPS TO EMPHASIZE HOW AMAZING IT WAS. HER VOCALS WERE AMAZING. GOLDEN LIGHT GLITTERS DOWN ON HER AND THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE F L I P P E D. THERE WAS APPLAUSE FOR AROUND FIVE MINUTES. IT PUT THE SHOW ON PAUSE.

“To... Mount Olympus...courtesy of Percy Jackson... and Annabeth Chase-“ “no!! The god’ll think we’re impertinent!”

“Oh. We are impertinent.”

Drive was nice.

Bianca diAngalo’s little cameo was awesome.

The voice in The Weirdest dream reprise was so goddamn incredible.

“You do drool when you sleep!”

The Tree On The Hill was so SO heartbreaking. Jorrel Javier was sobbing.

Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth Re-enacted the battle, and Luke and Annabeth had to pull each other back and then Annabethstarted crying in Luke’s shoulder.

“You know, I dabble in music myself. You wanna hear a demo?” “Not really” “No” “Not at all-“ “IM SORRY I CANT HEAR YOU OVER MY SWEET ASS RIFFS”

And holy shit were her riffs sweet ass.

They controlled them like puppets it was amazing.

Cerberus.

When she says “You ain’t never gonna be remembered” Annabeth shouts “no!”

HADES HAD ON A GLITTER JACKET.

“He thinks he’s so cooool with his trident and his Hawaiian shirt and how hE nEVeR ViSIts HiS bRotHeR...”

Percy almost getting dragged into Taturus.

Mmm foreshadowing

Now normally Son of Posiden is my least favorite song but this was really uplifting.

Again. Battle sequence. Cool as hell.

When Percy sees his mom he throws his arm around her.

Then Poseidon comes.

“My my Sally, you look just as gorgeous as the day we met on that beach.” “And you haven’t changed a bit.”

“Oooookay.”

“That’s my dad?”

“That’s your dad!”

“Here mom something for your first sculpture!” She begins to open the box-“Ooohhh you see its uh, Medusa’s head.”

During The Last Day of Summer like sounds so ANGRY and it’s so sad.

Annabeth really did trick luke. (Sorry man no spoilers here)

Percy gets s t a b b e d, no scorpion just plain ol stabbed.

He wakes up

“Wise Girl?...” “Seaweed brain.” I think she cried and hugs him but from my point on view it looked like they kissed.

They were all sobbing in Bring on the Monsters, especially Jorrel Javier.

Like seriously he was going “DRivE jUst DriIiiIiVE”

Rob Rokicki came out oh my god I was crying it was amazing.

I met a good half of the cast, Kristen signed my playbill twice, oops.

If you want a video of the bows, DM me!

#the lightning thief #percy jackon and the olympians #tlt musical #percy jackson #annabeth chase #grover underwood #many more that i dont feel like putting in

[mobius-prime]

180. Sonic the Hedgehog #112

Welcome to a very special issue! Nearly every page is packed with really interesting and relevant information, dealing with the emotional issues of a few important characters, and also containing not one, not two, three, or four, but FIVE different character profiles! This is a really meaty one, so let's get busy!

Mistaken Identity Crisis!

Writer: Benny Lee Pencils: Art Mawhinney Colors: Josh & Aimee Ray

So we got a little bit of a hint about it last issue, but ever since his free will has been restored, General D'Coolette and Antoine have been spending a lot of time together, making up for lost time as father and son. They're strolling through Knothole one day when out of nowhere, a dimensional portal begins to crackle above their heads, and Sonic, recognizing the look of the portal, rushes over just in time to catch Zonic as he falls from it.

Aww, don't feel bad, Antoine! Weirdly enough, for most of this issue, the artists seem to have forgotten that Zonic is supposed to be affected by sideways gravity, and so when Sonic rushes him off to the hospital he's just lying down in an ordinary bed without any problems. It's honestly not too big of a deal, but it is weird, especially given that later issues that go further into the concept of the No Zone actually incorporate this idea of sideways gravity into the story in some quite fascinating and unique ways. Dr. Quack begins looking after the injured Zonic, but until he wakes up from his stupor, they'll be unable to find out who attacked him, so for now Sonic heads back out of the hospital to go talk to Antoine and his father once again. The general is clearly very impressed at Sonic's heroism and valor, but while Sonic is initially happy to receive the praise, he notices Antoine is looking troubled behind his father's back, and, realizing that he's feeling unappreciated, decides to help him out.

I mean, while I disagree that Antoine isn't a hero, it's incredibly sweet of Sonic to go out of his way to ensure that Antoine can look good in front of his father. I would actually say that Antoine is the definition of brave, as bravery isn't just feeling unafraid in the face of danger, it's actually being afraid, but stepping up anyway, which is exactly what Antoine always does when he's faced with something terrifying. Sonic strolls away after explaining his plan, and Antoine goes back to his father feeling confident and excited about whatever Sonic might be cooking up, but as soon as Sonic is out of earshot he's called back to the hospital to speak to Zonic, who is waking up.

So one of Sonic's "worst enemies" is hanging around here, huh? Meanwhile, Antoine is giddily describing a somewhat-embellished fight between him and Robotnik to his father when none other than, who else, Evil Sonic shows up to ruin their day! Antoine is certain that this is in fact Sonic Prime, merely dressed up and putting on a performance to give Antoine the chance to show off by beating him up in front of his dad, and thus immediately karate chops him on the head, knocking him out. Sonic and Zonic exit the hospital and come racing up, pleased and amused to see Evil Sonic already out cold, and Sonic knowingly congratulates an oblivious Antoine on his victory…

See, Antoine? You're a courageous hero after all!

All right, now before we dive into the backup story for this issue, we've got a lot of character info to cover! Our first character to look at is Sonic himself. Since he's what I used to get my measurement ratios, his height and weight are the same as those from the games. He's 100 cm or 3'3" tall, and weighs 35 kg or 77 lbs. We already know he's sixteen, though by now I'd imagine he's a little closer to seventeen as it's been a while since he celebrated his last birthday. But when is his birthday, exactly? Well, it's actually not the same as his birthday in the games - in the Archieverse, his birthday is on June 11. Now, remember how I said several issues ago to keep in mind the date of Robotnik's death during Endgame? That date was June 13… and Endgame took place over the course of three days. Which means that, yes, the mission where Sally supposedly died took place on Sonic's birthday.

This changes goddamn everything. Can you imagine? Sonic isn't so bigheaded that he would expect all operations against Robotnik to cease just to celebrate his own birthday, so of course he wouldn't be too fazed over having to infiltrate Robotropolis on his big day. He probably expected a successful mission and a happy return to Knothole, where he and his friends would have a little celebration of both the mission and his birthday. Instead, he was abandoned at the city, and returned on his own to Knothole to the news that his childhood best friend was dead and he was suspect numero uno. What was supposed to be a day of celebration turned into his worst goddamn nightmare. Two days later, of course, everything was resolved and Robotnik was dead, but still, what a horrible thing to deal with while it was all still going on! I will also note that this gives a little more perspective to the amount of time he and Tails were away from Mobotropolis while in search of Naugus. They returned (and Elias was brought back from the Floating Island) on his sixteenth birthday, meaning that in between defeating Robotnik and returning to Mobotropolis after defeating Naugus, an entire year had passed. The comics are finally starting to really solidify the timeline of events and pay more attention to the passing of time, and we can see it all coming together by the inclusion of these dates.

Apart from all of that, the rest of the page doesn't tell us much that we don't already know. It hasn't been mentioned in a long time, but yes, Sonic's middle name is still officially Maurice. His real first name is listed as being "unknown," but luckily, I have the power of internet research on my side! He never got a chance to include it before he stopped working on the comic, but Kenders originally intended to eventually reveal that Sonic's birth name was in fact Ogilvie, which is a real-world surname that is Scottish in origin. Apparently, he was named after one of his grandfathers, but quickly picked up the nickname Sonic due to his running everywhere as a small child, and eventually legally changed it to such, because no one wants to be stuck with the first name Ogilvie. I mean, come on! Ogilvie Maurice Hedgehog? That's the worst name I've ever heard in my goddamn life! Actually no offense to Kenders on this one though, I'm not meaning to imply that I disagree with this idea on his part, as the entire point of it is obviously meant to be that Sonic was born with a horrendous name and was eager to change it to something better as soon as he grew old enough to choose for himself. With that context, it's downright hilarious.

But Sonic isn't our only character file to look at! Next up, we have Knuckles, who actually gets two whole pages to himself due to how much content there is within his own backstory. First, his measurements. He's 103 cm or 3'5" tall, which is a little bit shorter than his game counterpart, and he weighs 37.4 kg or 82.3 lbs. He's also sixteen, though with a birthday of September 8 he's a few months younger than Sonic, as we already know. His actual file, though it mostly again just covers info we have already received through past issues, gives us some more context for how his earliest years of life went. He was in fact taken out to the Floating Island for Guardian training at the age of only three years old, and his father essentially homeschooled him in basic things like math and science while also training him in his inherited duties. We also find out that in fact he was only ten years old when his father left for Haven through the wall of fire, which even given his accelerated development as a child is still quite young to be left with the impression that one has been abandoned by the only parent one has ever known. Over the five or so years before he met Sonic, Knuckles became quite sour and bitter in attitude, seeing as he knew nothing of why he was abandoned and why he was even here, and his only friend on the island was Catweazle, who as we know isn't exactly the kindest or most reliable of friends. Of course, once Sonic and Robotnik showed up, and he met the other members of the Chaotix, he began to lighten up more and enjoy life, as well as learn everything about his race's history and as his own personal destiny, but it's honestly quite sad just imagining this lonely, near-friendless ten year old Knuckles wandering the island, listlessly doing his duties because that's all he's ever known while believing himself to essentially be an orphan. Even in the games, Knuckles at the very least knows nothing of his own past, so there's nothing for him to feel sad about, no real sense of personal loss - he's just alone. I'd say it's worse for preboot Archie Knuckles, as he does have those memories of loving parents and a sense of purpose - he just doesn't have those things anymore. Again, he did eventually get back everything that could make him happy, but still, it's sad to think about.

Okay, onto the next one! This time we're looking at Miles "Tails" Prower. He's 80 cm or 2'7" tall, and weighs 30.6 kg or 67.3 lbs. His height is actually exactly the same as his game counterpart's, but he weighs significantly more - about 50% more, in fact. I'm going to attribute that to his older age, as in the games he's only eight, while in the comics he's currently eleven years old, with his birthday being on October 24. His original backstory explained that his father was roboticized the same day he was born, but we find out here too that at some point after Robotnik's coup, his mother mysteriously disappeared as well - not roboticized, mind you, as otherwise she and Tails would have reunited after the sword restored all the Robians' free will. For whatever reason, neither of his parents have shown up at all ever since their disappearances. Most of the rest of the info is, again, stuff we already know, but we actually run into a bit of a discrepancy with the reiteration that the Tails we've currently been following in the comics is actually a false duplicate, with the real Tails missing somewhere. The initial issue that revealed that he was a duplicate made it seem like he was replaced somehow when he was in transit with Athair from Knothole's public school to Knuckles' location, but this page claims that instead the switcheroo happened all the way back in freaking StH#56, which was the very first time he ever transformed into Turbo Tails. If this was true, then we wouldn't have seen the real Tails since very shortly after Robotnik was first defeated all the way back in Endgame! It would mean that the entire, nearly-year-long adventure with Sonic around the world in search of Naugus never happened with the real Tails, and that for all intents and purposes the real Tails would not even be aware of the renewed war against Eggman. This is definitely a mistake, as every other issue that acknowledges his replacement with the duplicate indicates that he was indeed replaced when Athair teleported him away, but it's still such a bizarre mistake to make given how much time has passed since the first Turbo Tails incident.

Okay, next up, we have Amy Rose! She's 92 cm tall or 3 feet exactly, and weighs 28.7 kg or 63.1 lbs, which is actually less than Tails despite being a good bit taller than him. As we know, she's a bit of a special case in terms of age - mentally she's ten years old, while the Ring of Acorns aged her physically to about the equivalent of a sixteen year old. Interestingly, her birthday is on July 5, which if you'll remember is also Sally's birthday! I kind of like that two characters share a birthday, honestly. Amy's page actually does give us quite a bit of background info on her that we've never heard before, unlike many of the others'. Apparently, she actually lived in Mercia her whole life, which is why she was merely Sonic's pen pal in StH#25 - she lived overseas. She was born to Mercian nobility, but her extremely rich parents became overwhelmed with sympathy after witnessing the plight of so many of those less fortunate during the two back-to-back wars, and decided to give up the entirety of their wealth to charity, officially making them the coolest rich people that have ever existed. However, unfortunately, soon afterward both of them were lost in the fighting against General D'Coolette and Robotnik's other agents in the area. She was taken in by Rob - who weirdly enough is described as her "father's brother" here despite every other source saying they're cousins - and once she had recovered somewhat from the loss, he sent her to live in Knothole with the hope that it would be safer for her there, apparently not being aware of the extremely close proximity the village had to the literal center of the war. From there, we basically know the rest, including her sudden age-up from wishing on the ring. Apparently she still has plans to marry Sonic someday, but unlike her game counterpart she keeps these intentions strictly hidden, understanding that Sonic isn't the mushy type and hoping to wait for the right chance to win his heart in the future. Man, it actually kind of seems like she understands exactly what I was talking about last issue about his lack of romantic attitude, huh?

Okay, last off we have a file for not a single character, but the entirety of the Brotherhood of Guardians! Unfortunately for this post, it really doesn't tell us anything new. We do get a look at a picture of every Guardian in their prime all lined up together, and a brief history of the formation of the organization, all the way from scientist Kayla-La's discovery of the incoming comet bearing down on their city, down to Knuckles today in the middle of his evolution into a living Chaos Emerald. Athair is included in the lineup, as even though he ultimately rejected his role as a Guardian, he still was part of the bloodline beginning with Edmund. Other than that, we really got nothing new from this, so it's time to finally end our journey through this issue's numerous profiles and move on to our backup story!

Forgiven

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Art Mawhinney Colors: Josh D. Ray

So we haven't actually heard anything about Lupe and her pack for some time, but with every Robian's free will restored, she and her family are back to normal, albeit still roboticized. They've been staying in Knothole for the past few days, but now everyone is throwing them a going-away party as they plan to head back to their own homeland once more. Sonic goes into Uncle Chuck's lab to invite him to the party, but Chuck, seeming uncomfortable, uses the excuse that he's too busy to go right now. Sonic leaves, but a few minutes later returns… having brought the party with him. He seems pleased by his own genius, obviously not having noticed Chuck's mood, and while Chuck tries to smile for his nephew's benefit he's actually torn up inside at seeing everyone so happy.

Lupe notices his mood and follows him, claiming that she's noticed that he's been avoiding her and her entire family ever since they regained their free will. At first he attempts to deny it, but it becomes apparent that he's actually wracked with horrible guilt over it being he who roboticized them in the first place.

It's honestly so sad to see Chuck like this. He's a genuinely good person and a great character whose past decisions inadvertently led to some of the worst tragedies this world has seen, and he clearly blames himself for all of it, despite having no way of knowing how things would have turned out. He quietly says that all he truly wants is to be forgiven by those he's wronged… but while he and Lupe were talking, everyone else in the party has come out as well and overheard his last statement. Sally says to him that they can't do that unless he's willing to forgive himself first, and Lupe, determined to show him that no one blames him, announces that the celebration is no longer just about her family, but about honoring Chuck as well. He becomes overwhelmed with emotion and embraces her, thanking her profusely, as everyone cheers. Hopefully, this encounter will allow him to finally put some of that guilt to rest, poor guy. He's suffered enough.

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #sth 112 #writer: benny lee #writer: karl bollers #pencils: art mawhinney #colors: joshua d ray #colors: aimee r ray

[melancholic-pigeon]

WIP Wednesday #12

Set shortly after Percy and Jason meet in freshman year of high school (14/15 years old). Content warnings for domestic violence, child neglect and abuse, alcoholism and food insecurity.

"That's horrifying. You know that's horrifying, right? Please tell me you know that's horrifying." 

Sally hears Percy's voice before she gets to the kitchen. She's heard it like that before, and it never means anything good. 

She makes her footfalls heavier so that the boys aren't startled by her approach. She's ready to appear in the doorway and smile like she didn't hear a thing and ask them how their studying is going and if they'd like a snack— but Percy cuts her off before she can even open her mouth. 

"Can Jason borrow you for a second? I'm trying to prove a point." 

She looks at the two of them, textbooks and notepads and mechanical pencils spread out on the table. From the work on the paper, they haven't done much more than they had the last time she checked in, an hour or so ago. 

Percy's frenetic, though he's trying to hide it. She doesn't know Jason all that well yet, but he's sitting very still, and she gets the feeling he's holding something in, too.

"If he'd like to, certainly." She rinses out her mug and puts on the kettle, her back to them so that Jason has a second to think about it. "Hot cocoa or tea?" 

When she turns around, his face has changed. Not by much, but she can see a tiny shade of nervousness. 

"Cocoa, please. Thank you." 

He's almost painfully polite, much more so than a fourteen year old boy should be in such a casual setting. She keeps hearing her son in her head, and tries not to speculate on what he found horrifying. 

"It really wasn't that bad." 

"I'm gonna make the cocoa." Percy gets up from the table in an explosive movement. "Because otherwise, I'm just gonna interrupt you every two seconds to tell you that it was worse than you're making it out to be."

Jason rolls his eyes, but it makes him relax a little, too. 

"I never said the whole thing wasn't bad, just that I didn't suffer. All of the really terrible parts happened to Thalia, not me. She made sure of that." 

Percy makes an indignant noise. There's a picture starting to form in Sally's head, patchworking together from the pieces she already has, and she doesn't like it. 

"You don't have to say anything until you're ready, sweetheart." 

She doesn't even think about it. It's second nature with Percy's friends by now. Jason, she reminds herself, has only been around for four months; his eyes widen, like it's the first time anyone has ever called him that. 

Maybe it is. Maybe that's why he's so nervous. 

Percy clatters around behind them. She can hear the kettle starting to rumble and the soft exhalation from across the table. 

"It seriously wasn't," Jason repeats, like he's trying to assure himself more than Sally. 

She can remember thinking the same thing, going through the same process, telling herself that at least her first husband only used his fists. 

"Tell her what you told me," Percy insists over the clinking of the spoon as he stirs the cocoa. 

Jason meets Sally's eyes, with a vulnerability she hasn't seen him wear so plainly.

"I don't know how much Thalia's said about it. I'd assume not a whole lot. There's stuff she still won't tell me, either." 

"She's trying to protect you." Percy puts Jason's mug across from him and takes his seat again. "And she's allergic to sharing her anxieties, for a much better reason than I thought." 

"It's a habit. She was maybe nine years old, tops, when she started shoving it all down." Jason frowns, running his fingers over the handle of his mug. "I didn't have a clue how bad it actually was, because she hid it from me. All I knew was that when Mom was gone for a while, we'd play a game where we'd hunt for all of her empty bottles and cans, and Thalia would let me win and take us to the gas station and buy me a snack as a prize so I wouldn't whine at her while she was getting the rest of our groceries." 

There aren't really any good possibilities in a situation like this, but Sally's heart still plummets into her gut. 

"He thought it was fun," Percy mutters darkly. "Like a field trip where he got treats, instead of his third-grade sister stealing, skipping meals and collecting booze receptacles to exchange for coin deposits because their mom was too busy getting plastered to feed them and their dad cared more about his reputation than the welfare of his children."

There are a million things she could say, including every word that's come out of Percy's mouth so far. He's looking at her, weighed down by the same helpless rage he often carries when they talk about things like this. She feels it too, just as bitterly, though she's no longer apt to show it on her face like that.

"That's awfully young to be left on your own," she tells Jason, taking his hand. She can feel her eyes stinging as he squeezes back, hard, his jaw held tense. "And kids notice. It was hard on you, too, even if you didn't know why." 

She feels Percy grab her free hand under the table. She'd tried everything she could think of to shelter him— and all he learned from it was how to keep his own secrets from her. 

If she hadn't found his stash of concealer and powder, she'd never have known he'd somehow learned the same trick she used. If he hadn't walked in on her with the palettes in her hands and tears streaming down her face, he never would have known it wasn't just him.

They don't keep secrets anymore. It's terrifying, but it's worth it; with honesty comes trust, and now Percy doesn't try to hide when something's wrong. At least not with her. 

"Sometimes I wonder if that's why she's so tiny." Jason stares into his cocoa, still holding onto Sally's hand. "I don't think I went to bed hungry more than once or twice. Thalia used to do it all the time. She'd tell me she ate while I was asleep, and since I was, like, two, I didn't know any better but to believe her." 

Suddenly, Sally understands why Thalia was crying so hard.

("He's gotten so tall— I couldn't feel his ribs—")

She can still vividly remember staring at the cupboards while her little boy clawed at her leg, realizing there wasn't enough for them both and she was still two days away from getting paid. She went that long once, and only broke her fast because she fainted at work. 

Her manager— one of the rare good ones she'd had— had kept her clocked in, hauled ass across the street to buy her a peanut butter milkshake and made her sit in his office and rest for the remainder of her shift. After that, he worked hard to push through the promotion that the store manager kept finding excuses to avoid, and with it came enough of a pay raise that she didn't have to do it more than once or twice a month. 

She'd been twenty-four at the time. Thalia wasn't even in double digits, apparently.

"I'm okay, Ms. Jackson. It was a long time ago." 

She realizes she's tearing up only when Jason cuts through her thoughts. He's smiling, and he really does look healthy and cared for, if a little coltish.

"Honey." She lets go of his hand to grip his shoulder, her grip almost as tight as her throat. "I'm not your teacher. I'm a friend who wishes she could go back in time and adopt you. Please call me Sally." 

It lightens the mood like a match illuminating total darkness. Jason slumps in the chair with a breathless laugh, glancing nervously at her. 

"It's a hard habit to break, but I'll try." 

She wants nothing more than to pull him into a hug, but she doesn't want to spook him. She smiles back at him instead, as warmly as she can possibly manage.

"Trying at all is something to be proud of." 

-Untitled WIP from Sally's POV! stellarverse AU, shortly after Jason and Percy meet freshman year of high school. Some additional excerpts of published fics for context below the cut.

On the one hand, it makes him giddy to expose Jason to unconditional parental support, but on the other, the fact that he has to go to Percy's parents for that support because he can't get it from his own is spittle-frothingly rage-inducing. 

When they're at home, the only thing they have to worry about is not getting too handsy in front of the baby or scarring Percy's parents for life, or at most, doing the dishes because Jason felt it was his duty as guest. He'd vehemently insist, saying it was the only way he could think of to express his gratitude, which would make Percy's mom tear up and hug him tight and tell him that being good to her firstborn was all the thanks she needed. 

She's always liked Jason, and she's always worried about him, too. She's certainly heard enough of Percy's ranting to stay on top of the situation, and was already known for remembering everything she's ever been told about someone's tragic backstory. Jason, like most of Percy's friends, was desperately lacking that energy in his life, and by the third visit he'd given her a rundown of his entire life history. 

I feel like I can tell her anything, he'd said to Percy later, thrown off his game by a particularly raw word-vomit. Every bit of it is massively unfair–that Jason's stepmother takes out her anger over her spouse's infidelity on the children who'd had no choice in being born, that his father didn't care enough about him to do anything more than show up once or twice a month and give him a blistering, vaguely threatening lecture, that his mother had barely even remembered he existed, and only by enough to make herself look more pitiable. 

Most upsetting of all was that his sister–seven or eight years old then–had essentially been forced to parent him through toddlerhood by herself, because no one else was paying enough attention to stop a two-year-old from trying to give himself a lip piercing with a stapler. Half the time, nobody else was paying enough attention to feed him, either.

It makes Percy want to throw something out a window. Fortunately for everyone, while she's in agreement, his mom has a lot more experience in channeling her anger productively than he does, and isn't prone to agitating herself into letting it boil over. She focuses instead on making her apartment the coziest, homiest place she possibly can, on showering Jason with all of the maternal adoration and pride he'd been missing out on, and letting him know he could show up on her doorstep at three in the morning without notice and she'd welcome him inside with open arms and a mug of hot tea. 

- I Guess You're Just What I Needed

Thalia had made a game out of collecting the recyclables strewn over the floor, which just meant that she'd cheer him on and make a huge celebratory fuss when he found something plastic. The glass and aluminum were 'big-kid stuff', so she didn't have to worry about him hurting himself on sharp edges or hard surfaces; she diverted his desire to be just like her by pretending his contributions were heavier, so he could feel like he was helping. 

She'd gather them all up in a little red wagon and take Jason to the convenience store down the street to exchange their loot for deposits. His job had been putting the plastic in the machine, one at a time, while she held him up so he could reach. They'd put the change in a coffee can, already rattling with whatever bills and coins she'd found in the mess of the apartment, and use it to re-load the wagon with as much prepackaged, shelf-stable food as it would get them. 

Sometimes, they'd get someone nice behind the counter who asked where their parents were and went thin-lipped when she tried to deflect it by lying that their mother had a migraine, and they'd end up with twice as much food as they had money for. Those trips always made Thalia more nervous, and she'd tended to startle every time the doorbell rang for at least a week afterwards. 

Back then, the routine felt normal, even pleasant; he learned quickly to associate it with a full belly and a feeling of safety. Like so many of his scars, he hadn't realized how deep it was until he related the story in the Jackson-Blofis kitchen, Sally's eyes filling with tears as she took his hand and squeezed until it hurt.

-We Should Have Each Other With Cream, chapter 11

See also my "thundersibs" tag.

#wip wednesday #sally jackson #i wrote this #stellarverse #team mom and team mom's team mom #let jason grace be cuddly dammit #long post

[the-kings-tail-fin]

A humanized fanfic where Cruz and Jackson have a one night stand, then Cruz finds out she's pregnant and she tells Jackson

Did someone say ‘drama’? This sounds like the start of a race track soap opera.

Also, since I’ve already done a set of fairly descriptive headcanons about a one night stand between these two, I’ll pick up this fic a little while after that (ignore the last bullet point if you go back to read those hcs. It’s irrelevant in this context).

Oh, Chrysler, no. Please, no.

The two years flashed before her eyes. Her entrance into the racing scene was nothing short of fabulous, and she’d kept up the hard work ever since. She had the most sought after sponsorship, the greatest team, and the best mentor she could ask for. But now it all suddenly felt very fragile.

She sat huddled up in a blanket on her couch, staring at the calendar on the wall next to her. She recounted the number of days for the seventh or eighth time, and again, it was too many. In fact, it was nearly double what it should have been. Life had just gotten too hectic for her to have noticed sooner.

What am I going to do? I can’t race carrying a kid. My career is over. You done screwed up, Cruz. All that hard work, your life’s dream, gone, just like that. One stupid, effing mistake and it’s gone.

The season was about to end, with only one more race left to go. As much as she loved racing, she’d been looking forward to the off season ever since the paparazzi snapped that picture of her running from Storm’s trailer and started making up stories. Neither her or Storm ever told anyone outside their personal confidants that they had in fact done the deed, but the papers and tabloids acted like it was fact. Things had only recently just started to calm down from the incident. 

There was a knock at the door, and Cruz jumped. 

“Cruz! You ready to hit the road?”

It was Mack. She scrambled to her feet and peeked through the blinds to see her car already loaded in the trailer with the crew ready to go. How had all that time slipped by her so quickly? She looked down at her Dinoco branded pajamas and realized she’d wasted the entire morning crying on the sofa.

“Uh, give me just a minute!” she yelled back.

She dashed into the bathroom and washed her face, thinking it was going to wash away the redness in her eyes as well. When it didn’t, it at least made her feel a little better. She brushed all the rats out of her hair real quick, threw on some clothes that had been sitting in the dryer for a few days, and ran out the door, stopping to return only for her keys, purse, and a bottle of water.

‘Okay!” she announced with fake excitement. “Ready to go!”

Her voice was gravely, and anyone who looked her in the face saw all too clearly that she’d been crying. She didn’t look anyone in the eye before climbing into the trailer for the short trip to Los Angeles, but it was so out of character for her to not directly talk to anyone, Lightning automatically wondered what was wrong. He followed her.

“Cruz, you okay?” he climbed in the trailer behind her and took a seat on the edge of the cot she used as a bed while on the road. “You sound upset.”

She whipped around from hanging her firesuit up on the opposing wall, and felt him stare straight through her.

It’s okay, he doesn’t have a clue. Just because you think he might know, doesn’t mean he knows. You haven’t told anyone. You don’t intend to until after the race. Just make it through the day after tomorrow. Be strong, Cruz.

“Uh, oh hey. I, uh-” she stuttered, trying to think of a good excuse. “I’m just- just having one of those days, you know. It’s a woman thing. We have weepy days.”

“Ah.” he’d seen Sally have such days before. He didn’t understand it completely, but he knew it had to be a real thing. “Okay. Well I hope you feel better before the race.”

“Oh, I’ll be fine. Promise.”

The race was alright. She didn’t win, but neither did Jackson, so that was satisfying enough. Turns out Bubba had shown them all up, completely out of the blue. She was happy for him and thought he deserved the championship after the season he’d had, and was right there in Victory Lane celebrating with him and several of the other next gens.

They were playing recaps of the race on the big screens as she walked back to her trailer, and she cringed a little. It was glaringly obvious to her that every time she’d gotten near Storm, she faltered. She just couldn’t look at him and not think about the fact that within the next several months, she was going to have his kid. It’d cost her the race, but she couldn’t be mad at herself, not with everything else going on.

As she passed the garages, she saw Storm and his team getting ready to leave. She knew she had to tell him before she told anyone else. He had the right to know. Feeling braver than she had all week, she marched right up to his empty trailer and crawled up into the same space where this whole show had started, and waited.

Luckily she didn’t have to wait long enough to start second guessing herself. She heard him talking outside as the crew loaded up the racecar, and then the door opened. He nearly tripped into the small room as he caught side of her, and swore a string of expletives.

“What the- What are you doing here? You need to leave.” he was threatening, clearly angry. The harassment from the media had drained him as much, if not more, than it did her.

“Good evening to you, too.” she sat up from her relaxed position and placed her elbows on her knees, her chin resting on her hands. “So tell me, how’re your parenting skills?”

The anger on face face gave way to pure horror after a moment of hesitation. He stared at her with wide eyes and gaping mouth, suddenly scared. Did he hear her right? Was she really asking this question?

“Oh, no. No, no, no.” he shook his head, denying it, and went like he was going to walk away.

“Oh, yes, Storm.” Cruz corrected him. “It’s too late. We done effed up. So I’ll ask again- you ready to be a parent?”

“No!” he exclaimed, running his hands through his hair in exasperation. He wanted to scream, shout, punch something. He was angry, but surprisingly more at himself than at her. His mind started racing.

He’d gone and accidentally knocked up another racer. At most any other time in the history of racing, that never would have been possible. There’d been what, two female racers before Cruz? She was one of three to ever, in the history of Piston Cup racing, set tire on these tracks, and he’d gone and slept with her and got her pregnant. He didn’t even consider himself promiscuous. It was one time!

But wait. He realized a few other implications. She can’t race if she’s pregnant. They’d never allow it, and she’s not stupid enough to try. This. This was her last race!

Huh. Okay, so it wasn’t all bad. He’d get his run of the place back. And kids weren’t that terrible. Not if they’re raised right. He thought back on his own childhood and thought maybe he could give something better to his own offspring. No kid deserved a deadbeat dad, and he was going to make sure he never had that label attached to his name. It was daunting to think about, but he had the motivation to make it a reality.

“Okay, okay.” he sighed loudly and shook his head before speaking in a slightly calmer voice. “Listen. We both know we don’t get along. We never did. I’m not going to be there for you in this, but at the same time, I’m not going to abandon my own kid. I’ll be there for them. We can switch custody or something later on, I don’t know, but I’m going to give it the life it deserves.”

“That’s all I needed to know.” Cruz said, standing up and hopping out of the trailer. “I’ll keep you updated if anything comes up. In the meantime, you know how to contact me.”

Jackson grunted, watching as she confidently walked back toward her own trailer. The type to always have the last word, he shouted a farewell at her.

“Have fun explaining this to your sponsor! You had a good run. All two years of it!”

#jackson storm #Cruz Ramirez #humanized

[imaginedilestrade]

An English Blizzard- Part 3

Warnings: None!

A/N: So this is the third part and the last part you’ll get until tomorrow 😉 Enjoy!’

—————————— Chapter 3 ——————

“At least it’s warmer in here than outside,” you whispered to a glasses-free Greg as the two of you looked up to the ceiling filled with stars.

Greg looked down you to, you were lying back further in your seat so it meant he could gaze down at you without noticing.

You somehow managed to catch him almost every time he looked at you.

“How beautiful is this?” You whispered full of awe “I feel like too many people take stars for granted. I mean how lucky are we? We can look up and just be blessed with them. They don’t ask for anything from us but the least we could do is appreciate them a bit more.”

Greg couldn’t help but admire you more. He was completely infatuated with everything about you from your voice, your smile, the way you’d talk so passionately about things, your laugh…oh he loved making you laugh. That sound was like music to his ears.

You went wide eyed feeling something warm take hold of your hand. Greg had subconsciously slipped his hand into your own and was about to pull it away after he realised what he had done but you laced your fingers with his with a small smile on your face.

You shifted yourself up a bit and placed your head on his shoulder “It’s only been like three days since I met you,” you smirked “But it feels like I’ve known you for a lifetime…in a good way!”

“Good,” Greg chortled “Because I feel the exact same way…incredible isn’t it?”

“A whirlwind…” you whispered.

—

After the stargazing experience you and Greg agreed on a nightcap at the pub before parting ways.

Greg got in the drinks and you told him stories of your experiences at university. “So I argued with this girl until I was blue in the face about Romeo and Juliet. She genuinely thought it was an incredible love story and that they were ‘so in love’” you rolled your eyes and made inverted comma marks with your fingers. “So I told her it was a tragedy and that Romeo and Juliet were stupid, rebellious, horny teenagers. I mean Romeo isn’t exactly a romantic…he said ‘Juliet is the sun’. What man compares a woman to a huge burning ball of hydrogen and helium!” You laughed with Greg as you both took a sip of your drinks.

You held your hand up in defence and swallowed your drink “Now I know Romeo, in that context, is saying she’s inspirational and what not but still…you think of the sun and the first thing you think of is the star in our sky.”

Greg scooted forward slightly, bumping knees with you “So how did you get into law?” You asked him.

“Well,” Greg lightly shrugged “I was always interested in it and when I studied it at Oxford I realised I was more interested in sharing what I had learned and passing it on to others. I want them to be just as passionate as I was when I was a student.”

“Oxford?” You went wide eyed “Very impressive! Almost puts me to shame!” You jokingly laughed.

“Oh don’t say that,” Greg placed his hand on top of yours making your laughter hitch slightly at the sudden contact “I’m sure you’re great at what you do.” The warmth from his hands spread through your body and even though you had felt his hands interlocked with yours a mere hour ago, it felt as if each time he touched you was the first. “I should take you home,” Greg pulled out his phone to check the time “It’s getting late.”

You involuntary gasped seeing the most adorable picture on his phone screen “Is that your dog?”

Greg turned on is phone again to show you “Yeah that’s Cooper my border collie. I adopted him a few years ago.”

“My god he’s adorable!”

“Who’s more adorable? Me or Cooper?” Greg asked.

“Cooper wins, hands down!” You laughed and Greg let out a small groan while rolling his eyes. “But you’re still pretty adorable…” you bit down on your lip and you could see Greg’s tinge a light colour of pink.

He took you out to the cold, only now it was snowing and a stillness flooded the streets of London. An unpredicted blizzard. You walked home in a comfortable silence, the only sound coming from your feet crushing the fresh snow, with your hand wrapped around Greg’s. It soon began to get heavier, luckily you were almost home and Greg could get a cab back to his before the weather got worse. “I’ll wait with you until it comes,” you insisted and huddled closer to him like you were two penguins.

“You’ll catch a cold,” Greg shifted and sheltered the both of you with his scarf, only bringing the two of you closer. You looked up, you were both hidden from the world and more importantly, the windows of your flat. Greg turned his head slightly just as you moved yours, your noses almost bumping.

“Should we be doing this…?” You asked in the quietest whisper to ever leave your mouth.

Greg gazed into your eyes as if they held the secrets to the universe “Well,” he whispered just as quiet as you did “It is our second date.”

You smirked as you closed your eyes and gingerly pressed your lips to his, just applying enough pressure to feel warmth spread though your body. You pulled back, but barely. Greg’s hand found itself on the back of your neck, it was the catalyst that brought your lips together again only this time with much more force and passion. He tasted like beer and honey and it made your heart flutter.

He slowly removed his hand and pulled away “That’s my cab,” his warm breath danced over your face, it fought with the cold air circulating around you. “Can I see you tomorrow?”

“Yes…” you replied with your eyes still shut. Greg pecked your lips once more before leaving you for the night. You turned your back to the can with a smile, it was only then you realised you still had his scarf. You turned on your heel but by that point the taxi had already gone.

You walked back to your flat with it in your hands, constantly feeling the soft material between your fingers. You could smell his cologne as you brought the scarf to your nose and hugged it tightly against your chest.

The flat was silent, everyone was asleep. You carefully made your way to your room and changed into your pyjamas before climbing into bed. As you got comfortable your phone vibrated with a message you opened it and the biggest smile overtook your whole face. It was a photo of Greg with his dog with the words 'Cooper and I say goodnight x’

You bit down on your lip to refrain your mouth getting sore from smiling so much and held his scarf closer to you. 'How did I get so lucky in just a matter of days?’ You asked yourself. You had completely fallen for the brown eyed lecturer. How could one man be so incredibly perfect?

—

Mary and Molly both wolf whistled as you walked into the living room wearing a black dress with lace all over it and black tights underneath to protect your legs from the cold. You felt your face burn and waved off their whistling “Very nice! Where are you off too?” Mary asked.

“Y/N will be seeing her fancy man she’s been out with all week,” Sherlock smirked and you narrowed your eyes.

“I’m not Sherlock!” You gritted your teeth in embarrassment “I told you I have dinner tonight with dad and Seb and a few of their friends.”

Sherlock, Mary, John and Molly shared unconvinced glances. The day after your second date with Greg they found out you were seeing someone, but didn’t know who. They had been tirelessly guessing all week.

“Sure…” John drawled out with a grin.

“Don’t you start, Watson! I’ll be back late or I’ll stay over at dads. Depends how bad the weather gets.” You glanced outside and were thankful that the snow had melted over the last few days. “See you all later!” The flat filled with 'goodbye’ as you grabbed your coat and bag and left.

Your dad was a five minute was down the road. He lived in a townhouse split over three levels on the bottom there was the kitchen, dining room and living room, on the second floor was your room, guest room and the bathroom and on the top floor was your dads and Sebastian’s room.

You let yourself in and the heat smacked you in the face as soon as you walked in “Only me!” You called out and slipped off your heels by the door, instantly changing into your novelty slippers that were always waiting for you by the doorframe. As soon as you slipped them on you were home. You smirked at them every time, bright green slippers that were like dinosaur feet, they had brown claws sticking out them and everything.

“Hello you!” Sebastian peered his head around the corner and walked over to you to give you a hug. He engulfed you in his muscular arms and pecked your temple.

“Where’s dad?” You asked pulling away.

“Right here,” he walked forward with a large smile on his face “Trust you to be the last one to turn up. We’re all waiting for you!” He brought you in for a hug before pulling away, he still held your arms “Square root of 3721?”

“Jim stop pestering her with math questions!” Sebastian groaned.

“61 dad,” you smirked and Jim pecked your forehead with a proud smile.

“Come on I’ll take you through, dinner’s almost ready.” Your dad took you through, still holding your shoulders “Got some friends over tonight did I tell you?” You nodded as a response “Well there’s Mycroft, Sally Donovan and-”

The last name you already knew. Greg’s eyes were almost as wide as yours.

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