#I loved this parallel from Siobhan

[glassrooibos]

Everything stays right where you left it huh guys

#dimension 20 #fantasy high #adaine abernant #fantasy high junior year #I loved this parallel from Siobhan #none of these guys are getting a break huh #IM ABOUT TO LISTEN TO THE NEW EP TOO #Hope nothing upsetting or unsettling happens :0) #ps I have no idea what sauce you put with strudel #I would have thought custard #but the symbolism… #THE DRAMA of a red berry sauce #I dunno guys #should I do more freshman and junior year parallel pieces? #lmk #I love you bye

[chungledown-bimothy]

I have so many Thoughts about the ACOC backup charaters, especially in relation to the player's primary one.

Zac: Lapin and Cumulous are both socially reticent guys just on the periphery of the family. They both serve a higher power that is not the Bulb. Lapin was tricked into it, while Cumulous was created for it. Lapin hides it, Cumulous basks in it. Different perspectives on Fuck The Bulbian Church.

Emily: Neither Jet nor Saccharina wanted to rule. Jet would have envied Saccharina's freedom even more than she did Annabelle's, and Jet had everything Saccharina wanted most. Essays could be written about these two, so I'm gonna leave it there and move on.

Lou: We know very little about his backup character, but we do know that his name is Murdo Brer, and he's a necromancer (wizard) who lives way out in the far reaches of Candia. His extreme interest in the dark side of magic turned him into an oozing, slimy, legless molasses man. The exact opposite of Amethar, the illiterate pillar of a rock candy barbarian/fighter whose life is the center of everything.

Ally: Liam is an outsider, he doesn't really belong there. But Caramelinda went out of her way to check in with him about his well-being and suggest a way out of the castle, if he wanted one. He's the only person she was nothing but warm and kind to. (of course. her husband and daughters certainly didn't help that) And then Ally's backup character is Sir Amanda Maillard. The s'mores paladin having an affair with the queen. She belongs in the castle even less, and, of course, her relationship with Caramelinda is very, very close. These two spots of warmth and kindness in Caramelinda's otherwise extremely stressful and challenging life.

Murph: Saying that Theo loved Lazuli and that he is who he is because of her is an understatement. All we know about his backup character is that it was a Bubblegum Monster construct created by Lazuli. That obvious parallel aside, there's something there in the chewiness of gummy bears and bubblegum. It's candy that takes a wile and some effort to finish. They've got staying power. We see that in Swirlwarden's ability and really everything about Theo, and I think it's safe to assume that a construct that looks like that is also not easy to take down.

And then there's Siobhan. Where this started, for me.

Her backup character was Bitternight Darknibs, a warlock made of sugarless chocolate. She said that, if she were to have played her, she would have been Rococoa, having come back from the dead as a revenant to get revenge on Calroy.

Rococoa's need to avenge her murdered family being so strong it brought her back from the dead vs Ruby feeling like part of her died when Jet did and revenge being the only thing keeping her going. Jet being the one connected to Rococoa. If Ruby had died, Amethar would have lost his daughter and gotten back his sister, kind of.

We don't know how aware of her past Bitternight is, maybe it's just, like, a thing we know and will devastate Amethar to learn later, or if there is a more immediate recognition/reunion sort of thing. But no matter what, it would have been absolutely devastating.

#dimension 20 #a crown of candy #lapin cadbury #cumulous rocks #liam wilhelmina #amanda maillard #theobald gumbar #amethar rocks #ruby rocks #rococoa rocks #jet rocks #saccharina frostwhip #thanks for the reminders y'all <3

[allamericansbitch]

Hi everyone! Here’s the newest addition to my Creator Shoutout Series ( february 25 - march 3)! I want to appreciate editors and their creations that i love from the past week. To track this series or look at previous shoutouts, please check out the tag on my blog *creatorshoutouts.

paramore: brand new eyes redesign edit by @hidekomoon

abbott elementary: janine teagues gifset by @emziess

chappell roan gifset by @deedala

the bear: 1x02 gifset by @meyerlansky

abbott elementary gifset by @nessa007

olivia rodrigo: sun in pisces gifset by @antoniosvivaldi

nope 2022 gifset by @highwarlockkareena

chappell roan: birthday gifset by @heymacy

succession gifset by @tolerateit

heathers gifset by @andtosaturn

tangled gifset by @shauna-shipmans

sza: sos music videos gifset by @solanairowe

ferris bueller's day off gifset by @kitsebastianconnor

barbarian gifset by @stylezunderwrapz

ryan gosling: filmography gifset by @magnusedom

olivia rodrigo: guts tour gifset by @tay-swifts

taylor swift: 1989 (taylor's version) redesign edit by @taylora

the hunger games: johanna mason gifset by @bixcaleen

get out gifset by @chaoticroad

parks and recreation: april ludgate gifset by @trueloveistreacherous

taylor swift: lover redesign edit by @darkchocolateyoghurt

hayley williams: simmer gifset by @ignorancelive

laufey gifset by @antoniosvivaldi

taylor swift: eras tour gifset by @arwensundomiels

saltburn gifset by @siobhans-roy

friends: monica + chandler gifset by @leavingubehind

narcos: javier peña gifset by @perotovar

paramore: thick skull parallel gifset by @paramorefold

ready or not gifset by @torturedpoets

olivia rodrigo gifset by @swearphil

succession graphic by @doctorcurdlejr

gilmore girls: jess mariano + snoopy gifset by @deadpoets

paramore: thick skull music video gifset by @userparamore

friends: mondler + blue gifset by @chandler-monica

megan thee stallion icons by @petersthree

little women: jo march gifset by @henwilsons

#*creatorshoutouts

[thespoonisvictory]

Okay, I need to know what your thoughts are on whether the Ratgrinders (and which members if it's not all of them) will be redeemed or not.

***** pre warning that brennan has bamboozled me thoroughly and I have few coherent thoughts on the mystery at hand other than looking at theories and going "well that's dumb" which I recognize is unhelpful.

I think the Ratgrinders have a large sympathetic element to them as a group that is yet to be revealed. That could be a lot of things, but starting first with the fact that we don't have a clear motivation for why exactly they were xp grinders rather than truly adventuring, what's up with that? To me, it doesn't read as a malicious act against rats, lol. To me, it reads as the 11 year olds afraid to play Minecraft off of peaceful mode, OR the people who think that highschoolers risking their lives to get grades is unfair and scary, OR maybe people who just want to game the system to prove it's unbalanced. Either way, that feels to me like a pretty big piece of the puzzle we're missing, and would give us a better idea of the group.

Additionally, I think the Rat Grinders are, or at least were, friends the way the Bad Kids are, which is another big sympathetic element. Kipperlily points out that they are a parallel to them in the way that they are/were six very different people who found their way to each other. I think their friendship is going to be revealed to be in many ways Exactly like the Bad Kids, closeness and loyalty and all. Maybe Kipperlily isn't a part of that, or she's deceiving them, but how far would the Bad Kids let Riz go down a crazy plan? How much trouble would they have put up with from Kristen if she kept going down the path she was at the start of the year? How much would they do for each other?

All this to say, I don't think we've seen a full view of what the Rat Grinders look like yet. If Lucy was friends with them for almost two years after all, surely there's something more there. That makes all of them to me, again with the arguable exception of Kipperlily, plausible to be redeemed, or revealed to have had decent intentions and turning out to be an ally.

As for more specific, kind of meta-gamey guesses (minimal evidence just vibes):

Oisin feels like a potential good guy or absolutely irredeemable, leaning towards the former. Either he's a Hans, or he doesn't know quite what's going on as exemplified by Kipperlily keeping him out of the loop on the materials smuggling w Aewlyn. I just doubt Brennan would dangle a love interest like that as a villain for Adaine, when her character has had very little romance thus far. It feels both like he knew Siobhan was too smart of a player to take that as bait, and wouldn't want to punish socially anxious Adaine opening up to someone outside of the group. OR he's evil idk this most recent ep was pretty damning.

We've barely seen any of Ivy, but she gives me big "pulling away emotionally from the disaster that is this friend group and bracing for impact" energy. wild shot is that I bet she was one of the closer people to Lucy, and is detached from everything after her death, maybe just going along with KL's plans for the hell of it. Will maybe slink away unscathed but unredeemed.

Ruben is interesting, and I think after KL one of the more involved people in the plot given his involvement in the festival. Could see him being redeemed, think it's more likely he'll go out in a Wanda Childa themed blaze of glory.

Mary Ann I think just loves her friends and is loyal to them. Whether that means she's being manipulated or doesn't even need to be, unclear.

Buddy o7

Kipperlily? No fucking clue. I think we're missing a big piece of her and doubt that Brennan would this simply villify a 16 year old girl with so many clear issues. What we're missing? Simply not a clue. She's crazy to me and I love her

#fhjy #d20 #not tagging all these freaks but enjoy

[sparxemberflame]

Fuckin'... Aabria Iyengar.

I am... In awe. I am delerious. I am chomping at the bit. I just... Fuck!!

So. Past two weeks/episodes Especially. Watching/listening to Burrow's End and Worlds Beyond Number back to back is an Experience. Having 2 seperate shows that contain Brennan Lee Mulligan, Erika Ishii and Aabria, in my ears telling me different stories 2 eps at a time is an absolute blast (shoutout to Lou, Jasper, Isabella, Rashawn, Siobhan and rest of cast and crew on both shows too you're awesome! Not the focus of this little outburst.)

Anyway it's GREAT. Highly recommend both shows and there are parallels I'll get into elsewhere, elsewhen. But.

This is an Aabria Iyengar specifically fucking Stan post.

You have made me feel so many overwhelmingly cool, awesome and intimate emotions and ideas that I can hardly begin to explain them. For some reason the only fucking thing that comes close is this. Silly but sorta deep thing about my favorite snack (shout out to snack gang) a Ferrero Rocher:

Aabria,

Shall I compare thee intricate weaving of characters and narratives to a Ferrero Rocher?

I shall. For this is no poem or any such writing of iambic pentameter. It is at best a floundering simile.

You have a way of creating characters and stories which much like a certain confectionary treat when unwrapped contains such an immense blend of texture and flavor. Each instance containing a wholly unique configuration of features bound together in perfectly imperfect unity. Not wholly smooth round but spherical oozing with points of uniqueness sticking out all over.

But yet if you dig just a bit deeper. There's this. Shell. Not a Barrier as it might first seem. But an Obstacle. A Challenge of sorts. Put there not to deter you but to provoke a moment of reflection. I think of Suvi and her refusal to process or be truly vulnerable in most situations. I think of the intricate power-structures of Last Bast and the Hint of this Wall that something Richer. More interesting, more honest and lovingly crafted lies Just Beneath.

This shell. Which you'll find is litterally Wafer-Thin. Should you ask the right question. Follow the right narrative thread. Bite into it with your teeth.

That curiosity is. Always and forever rewarded. With a richness of flavour and care that feels like a hug, like understanding, like being, at last: Home.

It is easy to get lost in that and yet even in this sea of what I can only call love. You find it. The Core. The hazelnut. A moral. Or a question, or a consequence. Something to once again think about and bite into.

And you realise. Once you've finally reach it that this core. This secret. Was Always Obvious. It was Sprinkled. All atop the very first layer. Litterally poking out. Each and every goddamn feature sticking out. Every chopped up uniquely distinct feature.

Was made up of the same material. Was the Core The Whole Time. Visible to the naked eye. But now having experienced the whole show. The whole treat. It is gone.

But its nourished you. The treat nourishes my body. The way Aabria tells stories nourishes my very soul.

Thinking back on many stories told that core in plain sight is often about Family or Love and the relationships between. Far from an uncommon subject in stories. But something about it. Something about the unique way Aabria does it in not just one but seemingly every story and character she creates. Its fantastic, its familiar and it... I can't describe it any other way than that it fills me with elation, jubilation and a deep sense of belonging and the implications therein drives me absolutely insane.

It's with my hat off, eyes sparkling in adoration and my heart full that I say:

Thank you Aabria Iyengar for telling these stories, for bringing these characters to life. They have changed me and many others forever and have and continue to drive me to create my own stories and campaigns for many years to come.

#Aabria Iyengar #worlds beyond number #burrow's end #dimension 20 #dungeons and dragons #phew that was even longer than I thought it'd be #rant #AND SHE LOOKS SO HOT WHILE DOING IT I CAAAAN'T #no but seriously she's amazing. They all are and FUCK I really gotta make this BATTLEMAP FOR TOMORROW'S SESH #ADHD is hard y'all

[unsleepingtales]

Cursed out! What an ep!

Thinking about the Lucy/Gorgug parallels post and rotating them. In my head

Bakur art????

Aelwynnnnn

Ah they have leveled up!

Cottoncandy bitchfuck <3

Kipperlilly is independently wealthy ok

If Adaine could charge for her oracle duties that would be great

Adaine hates her SO much

I love the close up shot of Siobhan’s hand

I love Brennan glancing over at Ally to let them know that they need to pay attention to this next part before mentioning the divine stuff

The Abernant Sisters are everything to me <3

Even when you were being evil you were at least interesting and cool!

Aelwyn you gotta take care of yourself pls

HECTOR

And people are dying or something?

Loam Farm. Ok so the issue wasn’t with the faire, it was with the former venue?

Were they framed to get the faire to change venues?

Summoning a demon. Just another thing.

Riz is SO done

“You’re getting a+s and you’re killing all your extracurriculars so where is the stress coming from”???? Sklonda. Sklonda! Cmon. You had to have heard yourself say that.

Keep my name out of your mouth 💀💀💀 they are MARRIED

Sorry what

It’s called the moonar yulenear? That’s what the midwinter holiday in solace is called?

Ally ASCENDING

November (if that’s what month it is)

Brennan SO meant for Riz to be running

Lolaaaaa

Of course Riz is going to Loam Farm.

Maximum legend!

Ratgrinders group art!!

FIG HAS OFFICIALLY TAKEN TWO LEVELS OF PALADIN

Hallariel!!

Ally continues to be great at blending rp and mechanics

Hmmmm Kristen going to fallinel. Thoughts.

That’s so sad actually

Zac is SO smart

Your drama’s beautiful and I think it’s really gorgeous but I do think that Fig is fully cursed

God they’re insane I love them so much

Mazey!!

It’s just an orifice

I love that little hands moment with the friends <3 I could pick your hands out of a lineup they are calloused and freckled and I love you

I’m wearing a sports bra and a g string and I want to be closer to all of you!!

He really tried to figure out a way to politely decline a bardic and he couldn’t

Mazey are you okay??

Oh god

The vice principal can’t leave a certain distance from the school??

There’s gotta be a way to get Ayda in on this

Awwwww

Wild that student government only has one elected position?? How are all the other positions chosen??? I was on student gov for six years and I had to run every time?

Brennan is thrilled with them

Shoutout to Zac for using proper over-under cable coiling technique while miming

Tragic this is devastating

She doesn’t need to die she’s gonna pass on the position at the end of the year??

Jealousy surrounds me. (The most serious she’s been all day)

FABIANNNNN

Stop bringing him UP

“When you think about me why do you always bring up the ball?” Onesided fabriz truthers are having a field day rn

Mazeyyyyyy you care so so much

He wanted to live with his family I’m gonna cry

Hmm. Convincing.

From the man who dabbed at a school assembly we now bring you the revival of pwned

Bro she likes you

Paperweight boggy!

It’s a whole thing

Oh god

Summer god domain changed to more fire stuff regarding rage?

Not my circus not my monkeys 😭😭

Five from 2d10 😭

Whyyyyyy are you giving a speech to the middle schoolers. WHY

Sandra Lynn and Jawbone’s art makes me so happy

This little bitch ass cat >:(

Lydia Barkrock I love you forever and ever

D&D is so cool D&D IS SO COOL

Also science :)

Paladin Fig!

No that’s the curse babes

Yeah

Fig is super fucking cursed

They literally tagged their notebooks with the ratgrinder sticker !

It’s not his place to feel wrathful. Oh my god he’s. Something.

Oh GOD

Yolanda WAS neutral though that was the whole POINT she gave up any relationship to a deity in order to better teach clerics!! The token she gave Kristen was all about divine power and relationships despite lack of a god!!

Stay the fuck away from her brother

(Ally mumbling threateningly)

Step off buddy. Step Away.

Oooh why is that dc that way

Oh yeah but that has nothing to do with Fig

FUCK YEAH OATH OF ANCESTORS I love paladin mechanics so fucking much guys

Ey?? Zara and Porter?

Fig how many fucking parents are you gonna get

THANK YOUUUUUUU I love paladin mechanics I love devotion to a friend I love getting literal magic from love and devotion and a promise

This is sooooo leading towards Fig becoming a paladin of Bakur’s deity.

Ally and Lou’s reactions 😭

GIRLYPOP WHATTTT

Murph face

Ruben seems genuinely upset about Lucy

Why is that your email address

Do you want me to get you a phone????????

A card that says thinking of you but fig signs it from gorgug 😭 I’m gonna cry

ITS SHAPED LIKE A LITTLE METAL BRIEFCASE 😭😭😭

You absolute sweetie 🥰

What a choice!

Ohhh Fabian. Fabian misses his dad. Ouch.

Wild art imitating life moment bc we were just talking about getting hit in the tattoo

Oh goddddddd rage tokens

They would do anything for each other

The gleam in Brennan’s eye……..

Oh nooooo

(Emily laughing sadistically)

You made that so terrible for yourself and you did not have to.

Oh my GOD

Ok chill out man

Ok next week looks fun. The return of Baron. That’s chill.

#fantasy high junior year #reactions #verbal component

[lonelier-version-of-you]

Okay, I don't really want to - I'm tired and miserable and triggered and all of that not very fun stuff - but I probably ought to write up Casualty thoughts. I'm going to try and come up with something positive to say tonight!

Rash was good.

There we go. I said something nice. Now on to more thoughts.

For the third week in a row: poor, poor Teddy. I hate that Hayley came back and I hate the fightclub. The former is blatant sensationalism, and extremely contrived. The latter is also contrived and out of character.

I also hate how every other character is basically not even trying to reach out to him, just so he can be more isolated! They know he's unhappy, but even Jan is just making half-bothered "are you alright" remarks every now and then. He's her treasured nephew, I'd expect more from her than that.

Hayley coming back makes no sense. Could she theoretically go to see her housemate and run into Teddy? Yeah. Is it contrived? Also yes. Hayley is a stranger to Teddy. He had never run into her before last week and would not be all that likely to see her again so soon. I can believe Teddy might see Hayley again in a year or two, but not now.

Hayley still reminds me of Gaynor, the way she put Teddy down, calling him pathetic etc. I still don't think the parallel is intentional.

And Teddy... what can I even say beyond "he wouldn't get involved in a fightclub"? He just wouldn't. I don't know why the show seems to be expecting me to think Teddy has all this anger. He doesn't really get angry more than most characters. Sah was the one with the anger problem, not Teddy. That was sort of the point of their friendship.

Teddy, realistically, would be more likely to emotionally turn inward. Even if he did get angry, okay, but he wouldn't be the type to express that by going to a fightclub.

I think something like a depression story for Teddy would have been very powerful. Why is he fighting people instead?? Milo Clarke's acting was good though.

Rash's mental health, however, is being handled brilliantly. Kudos to Casualty for that. Neet Mohan has been playing this so well, too.

I love Siobhan so much. What a great character.

I was sad there weren't any Jacob moments tonight. Also, am I right in thinking Hayley's housemate was named Tina? I didn't hear that wrongly? If so: again, that reminds me how I hope we get to see Jacob comfort Teddy.

Ngozi is wonderful. I adore her.

I don't have much else to say tonight. Next week, it looks like Teddy won't appear. Now he's in a fightclub for the drama of him being in one, I think that's for the best.

#BBC Casualty #Theodore Gowan #casualty spoilers

[good-realtor-bad-realtor-dynamic]

I finally caught up with Succession over the course of this week. In fact, I literally finished S3E9 a few hours ago and I'm still completely thunderstruck.

I actually started season one a few weeks ago but struggled getting past the first few episodes. I reckon it took the writers a few episodes to settle on the tone of the show, to hone in on the correct balance between comedy and drama, and to identify the strengths of their cast so they could write them into the characters.

Once I made it to S1E6 though, I was hooked, and by season two, I was laughing, sobbing, seething and getting my heart broken, all in equal measure, because somehow showrunner Jesse Armstrong had managed to elevate the stories, the dialogue and the characters, and somehow Jeremy Strong had found new and interesting ways to complicate his portrayal of Ken, the only financebro sonofabillionaire loser on tv to have ever broken me, before his brother Rome joined the club, by reaching heretofore undiscovered depths in Pathetic Failure acting...

I was so ready for season three to fall short of the standards set by its predecessor, but it didn't. It may have been slow going in the middle for a bit there, but by the end, all I can think is what a ride. I don't know how it matched them, perhaps even exceeded them, but it did. At the beginning of this season, "Relevant Donuts" planted the idea that what we really want is to see the siblings together on the same side, taking down their father. So when the season finale finally pays that off, and we start to feel hopeful even a little proud of our trio for overcoming their father's machinations, only to have the rug pulled out from under us all in that Godfather betrayal — I'm still reeling. It was not shocking that Tom would do that, given everything he'd been put through, but I'm still shocked. And that is some brilliant writing.

I fully understand now why Charlie and Glenn were so in awe of Matthew Macfadyen's acting range and his seemless transitions from the most ridiculous comedy to most affecting drama (in a conversation from one of those early video episodes of the Sunny podcast). I've only known him from his fantastic performance as Mr Darcy in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice film, and Tom Wambsgans couldn't be further away from that role.

I have so many thoughts about how charming yet sneaky and two-faced Greg the Egg was all along, how that social climbing nature was developed, and how fascinating his dynamic with Tom is, especially as a parallel to the Tom/Shiv marriage. I despise everything that people like Shiv and Roman stand for and yet I can't help feeling so sorry for them as they stand before their father, looking for his love and approval, only to be ruthlessly dismissed, used and humiliated. I don't remember the last time I hated a character more than I do Logan Roy for his manipulative behaviour and the cruel ways he makes his children compete for his affection while claiming to act from a place of paternal benevolence. I can't say enough about Kendall, Siobhan, Roman, Tom, Greg, Logan, Gerri, Frank, Marcia, Hugo and just the whole bloody cast of characters and actors on this show.

As always, the "Jesse Armstrong and Armando Iannucci Uncomfortable Satirical Comedy Universe" of shows and films about fucked-up people, usually in positions of power, does not miss. I'm going to try not to be very annoying about this on my Sunny blog, but hey, it's my blog, so I might actually, at least in the near future since season four is nearly upon us. But I'm also a lazy bastard who hates hitting Post on their drafts. So who knows.

Anyway, I'm likely going to be the obnoxious friend who quotes this show like I do with Sunny and The Sopranos with my mates all the time now. It's already begun irl and I don't think I'll be able to stop anytime soon.

Excuse me while I go down a rabbit-hole of videos featuring the writers and cast of this show now. Maybe Jesse Armstrong will somewhere explain his brain to me.

#succession #succession hbo #jesse armstrong #jeremy strong #matthew macfadyen #not sunny #sur #sur rambles

[bongthedawntreader]

The Civil War Between Friends: Banshees of Inisherin

The Civil War Between Friends: Banshees of Inisherinon

At what cost does friendship come? Should friendships last even if it is holding you back at some point? And where do civility and niceness equate in relating to one another?

The Banshees of Inisherin is a masterpiece of tragi-comic proportion about two friends who had a falling out. Colm, played by Brendan Gleeson suddenly no longer wants to be friends with Padraic (Colin Farrell) who is simple and prefers tending to his cows, and his beloved donkey. Colm on the other hand wants to explore music and the arts and make more from life. Set on a remote island in Ireland in the 1920s where the Irish civil war was going on. The hostilities on the mainland parallel the tension between former friends. A simple premise but soon enough we discover the layers of complexity that touch on important points regarding change, civility, the meaning of life, significance, and contribution amidst the onslaught of time. Colm says, "I do worry sometimes I might just be entertaining myself while staving off the inevitable."

The tension betwee the simple, obstinate Padraic who refuses to acknowledge the world can and is changing, and Colm's agressive and abrupt way of embracing new things is emblematic of how our world can be diametrically poles apart, and therefore civil wars of some sort take place all around us. For Colm it was easy to give up a friendship for a greater purpose of seeking out new things, and of making a contribution. He would even go to extreme measures just to prove his resolve. Padraic however pines for harmony, and letting things go by quietly and simply. Both noble endeavors, both equally important and thus makes for profound tragedy.

I love the way cinematography captures the bewildering beauty and expanse of Ireland, and but also the walls along the fields to better contrast the seeming vastness but constricting structures built to illustrate how closed-off society and people can be. In a tiny, close-knit society where conventions and interrelations can become claustrophobic, is "niceness" a necessary ingredient to sustain it? There's a lot of ugliness in the world, even in a gorgeous island of haunting beauty. Siobhan (Kerry Condon) feels constricted in a world where intellect is not given premium. Dominic's (played brilliantly by Barry Keoghan) plight poignantly underscores humanity's capacity for monstrosity. How can we relate to one another as we look into our own ugliness?

The reunion of Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and writer/director Martin McDonagh is much-anticipated. It’s been a long time since “In Bruges,” and yes, the wait is worth it. The acting is flawless the actors get lost in the characters and become them. You no longer see Colin or Brendan or the rest of the excellent cast as actors playing the role, but the people inhabiting that story. You get drawn in and get invested in the tensions and the way the community relates to one another on the island. While Brendan Fraser is the popular choice for top acting trophies this season of award-giving

for his role in “The Whale,” I daresay Colin is a very strong contender. I hope he gets the Oscar nod. I love the delicate balance of warmth, humanity and humor in the film. There are terribly dark moments in the film, but also laugh out loud moments. Hefty but light, dark but also enlighteniing, this is a beautiful film worth discussing and having long conversation with. Over a pint in a cozy Irish pub set on a beautiful coast, mayhaps?

Wish I can revisit Ireland 😃

#filmreview bansheesofinisherin colinfarrell oscarworthy bestactor

[weirdandnerdyinlasvegas]

“Did you seriously injure yourself carving a pumpkin?”- Autumn Dialogue Prompt

Thought I’d give this a try. This is my first attempt at any sort of fan fic. Not beta’d.  I used a dialogue prompt from forever-rogue’s Autumn Dialogue Prompts. 

“Did you seriously injure yourself carving a pumpkin?”

Warnings (I suppose): Mentions of injury, blood, anxiety related to potential work hazards, lots of fluff...  

"Hun, I'm home!" you call into the house. Tossing your keys into the bowl that had been designated as a catch-all for the contents of your pockets, you notice that he hadn’t responded yet. A quick peek outside the bay window facing the street confirmed that Marcus had beat you home. His car was parked in the usual spot, parallel to the sidewalk running in front of the house.

"Hun?" You called again, unable to keep the worry from your tone, "Babe, I’m home. Where are..."

That’s when you see it. Deep red drops of various sizes were scattered across the hardwood floor. A steady line of crimson trailed from the kitchen and down the narrow hallway. You can feel the knots forming in your stomach as you follow the trail with your eyes. Marcus’ job wasn’t necessarily the most dangerous within the Bureau, but the possibility of him crossing the wrong person was always present. A grunt from the bathroom startled you from your thoughts. You could see a shadow moving in the bathroom through the space under the door.

"Marcus? Babe? " Your voice was shaky and weak. "Marcus, are you okay?" "Honey, please answer me." You pause for a moment, your hand on the door, waiting for any sort of acknowledgement behind the oak door. You’re met with more grunts and soft cursing. Just as you're about to turn the handle, Marcus throws open the door. A teal bathroom towel was wrapped around his hand. Several other hand towels litter the floor, each one stained a deep crimson. You gasp, eyes wide as you stare at the hand he’s holding close to his body.

"I can explain," he blurted out, "First and foremost, I'm an idiot."

"What did you do, my love? Where did all this blood..."

"I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, consider me surprised. But Marcus, this is a lot of blood. "

"I went to the grocery store after work today because I used the last of your creamer. And I saw that they had pumpkins on sale. And I remember you talking about how your grandma would roast the seeds, and this is the first fall since she passed away, and I knew you were missing her. So I bought one of the pumpkins, but when I started to carve it, my hand slipped."

He took a deep breath, his deep brown eyes searching yours. Your stomach clinched again, but this time with the butterflies associated with how much you loved this always considerate and occasionally clumsy man. You reached for his injured hand, but stopped when he winced.

"Oh, sweetheart.  Did you seriously injure yourself carving a pumpkin?" you coo. He nods slowly, "I think I’m going to need stitches. It’s not big, but it’s pretty deep. I tried to get it to stop bleeding, but not before I ruined half of our, your bath towels.” You shook your head with a chuckle. Gently leaning forward you placed a soft kiss on his forehead. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll need more towels when we move into the new place.” Marcus’s brow furrowed for a moment in confusion. “We, we got the house? They accepted our offer?”

“Yep, Siobhan called me as I was heading out of my office today. They accepted our offer. It’s ours. Our first home.” 

Marcus goes to throw his arms around you, but yelps cradling the injured hand to his chest. “Let’s get you to the doctor and stitched up, Marcus. Then we can start looking at new bath towels for our home.” 

#baby's first fan fic #marcus pike #autumn writing prompts #marcus pike/reader #mentalist #marcus pike/you #first fanfic #my therapist has encouraged me to work on starting and finishing writing projects

[life-and-love-in-a-myst]

How is this possible?

Just added 'chapter 64'* to my CM-episode fic in draft form. My OC has gone back to Boston for the last big trial from her time in that city. But the ending has parallels to that of the season 9 episode 'Bully'. *subject to change

When everyone was back at the station, Hotch told them that he had spoken to the pilot and that they would be flying back to DC late in the afternoon. Which meant that Kez could show them a little of the Boston she knew and loved, including drinks at Finnegan’s.

“I was thinking that I could show you a little bit of Boston that most people don’t get to see,” Kez said. “I mean, most people tend to do the touristy stuff, but I know this great pub in Southie. You need to experience it to believe it.”

With everyone agreeing to go, Kez texted Lawlor to gather the old gang together at Finnegan’s. It was a little before noon when they got to Finnegan’s. As soon as she had stepped through the door, she was greeted by Seamus Finnegan himself. “If my eyes are not deceiving me,” he said as he hugged Kez. “Your friends are in the back room already.”

Kez introduced Seamus to the team. “This fine rogue of a gentleman is Seamus Finnegan, owner of this fine establishment. Native of the fair city of Cork,” she said. “Don’t know how Siobhan has put up with you, Seamus, for all these years.”

Laughing, Seamus led them through to the room at the back of the pub used for private functions. Kez introduced her old friends in Boston to the team. “My worlds are colliding,” she said, as she watched everyone mingle.

Hotch looked at her. “Can't celebrate unless the whole family’s here,” he said.

“I can’t argue with that,” she said agreeing with that sentiment, as she leaned against him.

#aaron hotchner #original character #bau team #criminal minds fic

[magicaltimelady44]

rules: tag 9 people you want to get to know better.

tagged by: @thirteenastankova

favourite time of year: Autumn. I can’t do heat or cold, and my springtime allergies make the spring not great. 

comfort food: spaghetti. and soup - i love making soup. 

do you collect something: books. books books books. novels and notebooks. >.> also stuffed animals.

favourite drink: coffee and tea. and fall drink - if you’ve seen that post floating around tumblr. i normally reblog it every fall xD

favourite song: i can’t pick just one. it honestly depends on my mood. i can’t even pick an all time fav. ummmm.... anything from the spice world album, or avril lavigne’s let go album. ‘your song’, ‘can you feel the love tonight’, ‘circle of life’ by elton john, ‘shut up and dance’ will always get me singing. 

current favourite song: currently obsessed with The Amazing Devil. Their entire Ruin and The Horror and the Wild albums own my soul. i cannot pick just one, they all make me cry because holy hell that music punches me in the feelings. 

favourite fic: hahahahahaha you want me to pick ONE? i’ve been reading fic for a loooong time, i have MANY, and it completely depends on the fandom. Most of my favs are old. Early fav is The Mellon Chronicles, an old lotr series by Cassia and Siobhan. it’s one of those series that had its own website, which, sadly, died years and years ago. someone archived it on ao3 though, and i HIGHLY recommend it. it was probably one of the first fic series i ever read. i will never get over the loss of the fanfics of the mellon chronicles that were also on that site, and weren’t part of what got archived. With Starlight In Their Wake by Wintermoth. it’s a whole series and i love it, it’s one of my go-tos to reread when i’m really feeling that need for a good doctor-rose fic. Parallel Symphony and Parallel Hearts by Firebird-X. absolutely fantastic zelda/smash brothers fic. the first picks up where Ocarina of Time left off, and the sequel does the same with Twilight Princess.  Time Cannot Erase/Among the Ashes/The Last Door by CallistoHime. another zelda/smash bros fic series, and it’s actually what first got me interested in fire emblem. the most complete form is on deviantART, but she hasnt updated in around a decade.  Fortitude by Ingie. one of the first fics i ever read. i need to reread it because there’s a sequel. it’s another one on FFN and deviantART - dA is the better place to read it though since there’s art of it. you want zelink angst? this gives you ANGST :) Poison Pen by GenkaiFan - old but good. the Saving Connor series by Lighting on the Wave. Family Bonds by xXDesertRoseXx - another abandoned one. The Rigel Black Chronicles by murkybluematter - infrequently updated but oh god it’s one of the best crossovers i’ve ever read. 

tagging: anyone who wants to. i never know who to tag

#don't come for me for the fics #i have old taste in fics #there's so many more that i cant even remember rn #stuff i barely remember from other archives #a teaspoon and an open mind #and an old af lotr archive that may or may not have died in the decade or so it's been since i was last on there #lots of old favs have been lost in the old purges too

[medianaranja]

succession 2018 -

#succession #parallels #mirror image #.txt #ok to rb #yes the quality if awful i have dorm room wifi what do u want from me #anyway something something we learn how to love from our parents #siobhan roy #tom wambsgans

[unsleepingtales]

The one gift daylight savings has given me is that for one week, burrow’s end comes out at 11 pm instead of midnight. Onwards!

Ooh what’s the group name gonna be

(tense yet whimsical music)

Spectacular

Ooh yay puppet show again

God they’re so creepy

OOOOOOH it’s so good it’s so good

AVA

Her charisma is SO low 😭

BABE why would you say that

Brennan and Siobhan my HEART that was beautiful

Beautifully done

Oh they’re all so insane <3

Brennan is so good at cutting right to the core of Daughter Experiences

The worldbuilding here is incredible Aabria I am in awe

Girl I saw you almost say weapons 👀

This is so fucking funny

Human remains??

Oh the rehearsed propaganda is so much

(Erika lets loose a savage battle cry)

The new yorker analogy <3

They’re all so In It

GIRL

W h a t

Babe that’s radiation poisoning

REAL

You JUST met clothes

Aabria & twins that are impossible to tell apart 2 for 2

Them <3

He’s so good at this actually

Rogues ftwwwww

I’m so excited to see how Izzy handles Arcane Trickster things bc I will be taking notes

Oh these children are going to have to go to school

I’ve never seen anything 💀

Such a ten year old asshole moment <3

That little smug flipping off

She just has an aneurysm or something

So it is some version of human language

SO GOOD SO COOL

But also how have none of them noticed the thing on the back of their clipboards

Biting the walls rn.

Couples that game together destroy erasers together <3

Saving throw??

Oh ok she’s Actually having a thing

“This is a safe space-” “Deception Check!!” The immediate cutoff 💀

What’s the point of me anymore 😭😭

OH LORD

Why I oughttaaa

Tonic immobility! Neat!

Parenting!

I too hold my collarbone when I get nervous

Oh Tula’s gonna love that…

He was so sure he wanted to keep the kids with him for the day and so quickly regretted that

They’re so good!!

Bryan Cranston

Thank you Brennan for highlighting that joke

Love the split screen moment

Girl

OK IM GLAD ITS NOT JUST ME WHO THINKS THE BRITISH GRADING SYSTEM IS BIZARRE I’m currently studying here and the idea that I could get a 50 on the essay I turned in yesterday and that would be a pretty good mark is batshit to me

Also how are we up to #42? Will there be a complete list somewhere at the end of the season?

Oh god Tula’s so real for that

The immediate emotional and physical crash after prolonged stress once there’s safety

They’ve immediately started calling it population control instead of population support lmao

You’ve been here less than a day you can chill a Bit

In neverafter we were on the road to shoeberg, now we’re on the road to hats :)

Erika has SO many werthers

The tonal shift from Tula talking to her family to Tula talking in a diplomatic sense is fascinating

Ohohohohoh girl

Babe

That’s a teenager

Sweetheart

What is Brennan planning why am I nervous

That is so not how that works

Honey oh god

Memory check <3

Oh Erika handled that so well

Why is D20 dealing so much with grief rn. I didn’t need this.

(I did need this I didn’t want it I know that’s the point but god)

I love character choices

What is happening

YES rocky horror ref and YES Brennan’s Tim Curry impression

Oh god the new student anxiety is so real

Oh ok it straight up is real world radiation I thought maybe it would be like. Fictional parallel or allegory situation but nope straight up this is nuclear radiation

My name is Normal Size Jaysohn and my sister can read

The most sidekick-y kid 😭 PLEASE

Siobhan <3

Bi jaysohn

They’re teenagers now and it SHOWS

When’re the bnei mitzvot?

I love our little fourth wall stunts

Siobhan looks so cool like legitimately I know she’s doing a bit as a student trying to look cool but she looks great

Aabria and her consequences <3

What the fuck is happening

What

Why have they started a GANG

Ok well at least he not congested anymore

Never mind

He grows up and becomes one of those guys always chewing tobacco but it’s mint

Troubling. This is incredibly troubling.

Jaysohn-

Siobhan has had her leg up this whole time <3

Thorn 😭

Jesus Christ

Aaaand the party’s back together :)

Help her out here man

She’s so seventeen years old

Keep it together-

Oh god

AVA

She’s so eldest daughter

We gotta get through the series.

BARBARA STOATSAND

Oh yeah because leaving the kids with Thorn went so incredibly well an hour ago

The emotional manipulation involved in every aspect of this

Checkitoutcheckitoutcheckitout

Real tears at the table 💜

What a rollercoaster

Plus NINETEEN

Avaaaa

BOX OF DOOM MY FRIEND

Brennan and Siobhan sitting next to each other is so fun

HELL YEAH BABE

Chill this is all chill

WHAT

He’s unfairly good looking

This is so cool Aabria oh my god

What the fuck man

YEAH NO SHIT

Horrifying. Truly? Legitimately? Horrifying.

Well maybe they know something about the blue

I don’t think anyone ever hid that from you? Maybe I’m having trouble distinguishing in game vs above game conversation but I thought that had already been brought up

Ok so they did already know this. Glad I’m not losing it

Oh shit

Clover. Like the crushed clover from the story. God.

Good for her getting the breakdown and rant she deserves

The tears at the table today

Oh that one hurt coming out huh

Terrifying! Good god!

Augh

A lie oh god oh fuck

WHAT

ARE YOU KIDDING ME

Oh the theater kid energy is palpable

hell.

next week looks insane oh god.

ANYWAY this was fun see you next week I guess <3

#burrow’s end #reactions #verbal component #burrow's end

[creacherkeeper]

im getting a little too in my family feels today and so INSTEAD of feeling those im just going to ramble for a second about why i fucking love paladin!aelwyn because. im. just like this i guess im coping leave me alone

cw for discussions of child abuse, maladaptive coping, drugs and alcohol, self harm, destructive tendencies, basically everything we see in canon and the implications

aelwyn is ... SO interesting to me because for as much of her interiority as we see, as much of her as we think we understand, as much as i could ramble about her character for hours, we know ALMOST NOTHING about her in actuality?? (besides ... one key thing)

(this is like 2k and probably incoherent someone please stop me)

okay. listen. almost everything we see aelwyn do in s1 is maladaptive rebellion against her parents and home life. the drinking, the drugs, the partying, perhaps some of kalvaxus (though i dont think we fully understand how much of that was forced on her as well, kalina WAS watching her when she was talking to adaine about it). you can say like, oh aelwyn is a party animal, she's impulsive, she makes risky decisions, she's bitchy and rude, and its like. okay but IS SHE ACTUALLY. because under her parents thumb she had an EXTREMELY limited amount of freedom, and usually when people are suffering from very little control over their life, they WILL act destructively over the tiny bit they can, either harming themselves or their environment or people lower than them in the pecking order, because in a way, that feels like a reclamation of autonomy. saying "you have so much power over me but can you stop me from hurting myself and destroying what you havent managed to claim yet?". its just like, kind of what human brains do and frequently has little to do with a persons actual personality or impulses, its just. desperate brains trying to control SOMETHING because autonomy is a fundamental human need and when thats taken away we get. very bad off. (this is one big reason eating disorders are SO common with abused kids.) so i think a lot of the s1 aelwyn we see is like. this is a very desperate, abused teenager "acting out" in the only way it is possibly somewhat safe for her to do so because, on a psychological level, the self destruction is weirdly the only emotional tether and its either this or just dissociate all the time (something we do see she has problems with in canon)

and yes, she did treat adaine horribly in s1. she fully did. obviously what we get in canon is what happens but a moment thats interesting to me is in episode 1 where adaine has attacked aelwyn several times, who either does nothing or just bounces it back, when she says "i never cast spells at you" and siobhan immediately retcons it and says "yes you do, all the time" (i havent gone back and watched this bit so i might be wording this wrong). obviously its an improv show and the canon is built between performers as they go, but that was interesting to me. that brennan hadnt intended for her to have fought back in that way. she definitely feeds into the emotional abuse from their parents and participates in all the toxicity there, but we know in canon that she did that because of overwhelming fear and self preservation. and that her self hatred because of it just fed back into the cycle and made her feel like she wasnt good enough to even try to break free from it. this is very common in golden child/scapegoat sibling relationships where the golden child SEES what the parents are capable of and becomes a participant in the abuse out of fear for their own standing. in any way siding with the scapegoat child not only directs abuse at themselves as well, but frequently makes things WORSE for the scapegoat because the parents will take out the challenge to their power on them even more. so, if aelwyn DID ever try to defend or help adaine when they were small, she would have VERY QUICKLY learned that made things worse for everyone. and just. sectioned that part of her brain off, as she's done with so many other things. (and i dont think im reading too much into the forest scene with the abernants to say their parents were VERY QUICK to turn abuse towards aelwyn if she stepped out of line even a little. like, you dont flinch when a hand moves unless. you know. dont need to say it just something to think about. as far as we saw in canon, she had done everything they asked of her leading up to the forest, and we DONT KNOW what happened in it but we do know brennan specifically called out how in broken spirits she was when adaine was summoned, even though they did the ritual to avoid all of the nightmare bullshit)

(the house party is literally a whole separate post but i think its fair to point out that 1) she was super under the influence when that was happening which DEFINITELY is in no way an excuse for her behavior but worth remembering when trying to analyze that 2) her losing that fight did canonically have DRASTIC consequences for her and even if she didnt know exactly how that was going to turn out, i think she knew how bad it might be. and she did not know adaine or any of the bad kids were going to be there in the first place)

all that said, it feels in some ways counterproductive to say that aelwyn is an extremely devoted and protective person (yes we're getting to the paladin shit i know i've been rambling a while) but i think that thats strangely ALL WE ACTUALLY KNOW ABOUT HER. because we've established that her self-destructive and abusive behavior in s1 is almost entirely psychologically scripted for her by her parents, we dont know how much of her villain shit in s1 was LITERALLY UNDER THREAT OF DEATH because we know at least killing the oracle was and we dont know how much of the rest of it was mandated by either her parents or kalina other than that she probably was under orders not to tell adaine the truth, and we know participating in all of this caused extreme self loathing in her that she refused to show to anybody and was too terrified to act on in any way

so, like. what does that actually leave us?

here's what we do know about aelwyn:

- of all the schools of magic, she went into abjuration

- the entire bbeg plan from season 1 hinged on aelwyn's complete faith that her level 1 sister was the most prodigious diviner in the world

- right after (?) the house party, she locked her memories where only adaine could find it with a note basically saying "theres so much bad blood between us but i know only you could find this"

- she desperately wanted to protect adaine and the fact that she was too afraid to do so made her hate herself (and her knowing that adaine now knows this is the turning point in their relationship)

- despite everything, even in the nmk forest, she still loved her parents

- the SECOND she is shown genuine love and affection and care from adaine, and adaine says whatever you do, i am here with you, all her actions from there forward are just about protecting adaine from their father, very nearly at the cost of her own life

- with what she probably thought were her last words (and would have been if adaine hadnt given her the tincture), all she wanted to communicate was how to help adaine and the bad kids, and how despite everything she had always believed in her

- at five levels of exhaustion, unconscious, she used her first spell slot after nine months of torture to build a shield around adaine

NOW we get to paladin!aelwyn. because, once everything is stripped away, the abuse and the control and the maladaption and the threats and the torture, EVERYTHING we ACTUALLY can glean about aelwyn's personality and inner core is that she's protective and devoted. and of course classes arent locked by personality, but that just screams paladin to me. its her WHOLE THING. adaine even says "wizards dont have heals, we dont care about other people" and of COURSE that isnt true for either of them, but? mechanically? aelwyn chose the wizard school that DID let her protect, and DID let her help, but i dont think, at this point, going forward, thats really going to be enough for her (and we could also talk about the parallels between them, how often adaine uses her portents to help other people)

i think a lot of the different reads on aelwyn come from this fundamental disconnect between her actions and displayed personality vs who she actually is and what she actually wants. and i think there are very different interpretations of what thats going to look like for her going forward. but i think, for a girl who's most hated characteristic about herself was her self preservation at the detriment of others, her perceived selfishness, and her fear ... isn't choosing to be braver and more selfless and more protective and shedding that self-preserving instinct for the betterment of others ... and MECHANICALLY being able to act on all those things ... the logical next step? i think its going to be a LONG TIME before aelwyn can love herself, but what other way is there to try? if adaine loves her, and adaine believes she can be better, isnt being better because she trusts adaine kind of a form of self love? saying, i dont believe in myself, but i believe in the person who believes in me, and maybe, in a roundabout way, thats the same thing. she was never able to TRY to be better before, because trying to improve even a little, even when people arent watching, when a harmful force has so much power over you and your actions ... like, the mental dissonance is honestly TOO much to even try, thats WAY more terrifying than letting yourself be bad, to the point where thats psychologically impossible for a lot of people. but now she actually has space and freedom and CHOICE and she CAN embrace the instincts she always had to shove down, she CAN be the person she knows her sister needed her to be

i dont know, i think theres an inherent love letter to yourself in wanting to be better and wanting to improve, even if you justify it by saying its for someone else. and now aelwyn actually CAN improve, and thats probably going to be extremely awkward and scary and there will be set backs and backslides for sure. but. i dont know. i think she wants to make up for lost time. because she never wanted the time to be lost in the first place. and if a protector is who she always wanted to be, whats stopping her from being that now?

#fantasy high #dimension 20 #aelwyn abernant #WHO LET ME WRITE ALL THIS #does this even. fucking. make sense. who knows. #THE BRAINROT THE BRAINROT THE BRAINROT

[billiewena]

for the 100k fic celebration, here a portion of the “what if 10x05 had a sastiel agenda?” AKA lil shit sam/jealous dean destiel fic I first shared a while back! been having a lot of fun basically rewriting and expanding on the entire musical episode with new songs (and lots of cute kristen & siobhan moments because OF COURSE they’re still a couple.) it was really encouraging to see the positive response to it back then and it's been taking forever because of work/other writing but I’m so excited to have this one be the first full-length fics I ever post.

It starts with costumed teenagers locked in a tight embrace with absolutely no room for Jesus.

“What are they doing?”

Marie glances over her shoulder for only a brief second.

“Kids these days call it hugging,” she says slowly. Geez, it would’ve been less insulting for her to just outright say Wow, you’re old.

Except it’s not just any of the show’s stars hugging over there. One of them is the “Dean” who’d been mid-rehearsal when they arrived and looked more like Bieber than him with the blonde wig. And the other? Well, he would recognize that Columbo coat anywhere.

“Is that in the show?” he asks, pointing their way.

Marie quickly shakes her head at the accusation. “Oh, no. Siobhan and Kristen are a couple in a real life.”

He nods and lower his hand. Got it. That’s all it was. Everything’s fine. Nothing to worry about—

“No, my play explores the nature of Sastiel.”

“The — wait, what?” he says, confused at once.

“Sastiel?” Marie pauses, giving him a second to figure it out. He doesn’t. “You know, the relationship between Sam and Castiel?”

Dean blinks.

“Sam and…C-Cas?”

“I know, I know. Edlund’s series never finished. I’m lucky I got these drafts. Ugh, it’s Midnight Sun all over again. But the love story is all in the subtext,” she says with confidence. “Can you believe there are people who still think Destiel is endgame? After everything that happened after the angels fell? After Gadreel? Please.”

He silently sounds out the word. Des-tiel? Wait…

“Ever since Cas came back from the dead and took on Sam’s pain, I knew. I just knew. Every one of their arcs had been parallel to each other’s from their fall from grace to the trials. And now with Dean gone, all they have…is each other.”

Marie sighs. “Besides, you can’t spell subtext without S-E-X.”

He coughs and nearly chokes on an asteroid-sized lump in his throat.

“I…uh. Yeah, th-that’s not…you know, I think I’ve seen enough,” Dean says with a forced smile. “Thank you for your, ah, time. I’ll, uh, we’ll follow up if we have questions about the missing persons case. I—alright.”

And with that he purses his lips, turns on his heel and walks away — nearly tripping over one of the stage chords as he does. Why are there are so many of them anyways? This is just some all-girls school production, not the goddamn West End.

He finds Sam in his natural nerd habitat (the tech booth) sifting through all the bins of A/V supplies.

“Yeah, not to interrupt the blast from the past here but it’s time for us to go,” he says, patting the door.

His brother shoots him an annoyed look but packs up and follows him out all the same. Not that Dean bothers to wait for him; no, he makes a beeline for the car as soon as he leaves the booth.

“Hey, what’s with the rush?” Sam calls after him as he runs to catch up with him at the school entrance.

“No rush,” he says shortly. “Just wanted to see what you found out before you got too lost in the nerd sauce over there.”

He doesn’t need to look back to know he’s on the receiving end of a Classic Sam Bitchface right now and continues to stomp his way through the parking lot.

“Well, no EMF, no hex bags. None of their props are remotely hinky. Talked to Maeve and all those extras in the auditorium.” Sam finally catches up and walks side-by-side with him now. “You have any more luck?”

“Nah. Ms. Chandler's office is just a pile of empty bottles and regret. She's probably just face down in a bar somewhere. Or a ditch. I did get to hear all about the director’s, ah, creative vision though,” Dean says, teeth gritted. “Apparently we go into space, I become a woman, and there’s even ninjas and robots!”

“Robots. Huh. Well, that’d definitely be a new one.”

“There’s no robots in Supernatural—”

“I-I know that,” Sam says in exasperation. “I just mean it’s, y’know, innovative. And Dean we’ve fought weirder. Remember the teddy bear? The fairies? The ballet shoes?”

“Well, you just wait until you hear about what she in store for you, Lover Boy,” he says.

And that makes Sam do an instant double-take.

“Uh, Lover Boy?”

“Yeah, your number one fan back there —” he says, gesturing back towards the school, “— was telling me all about the play’s, uh, love story between you and Cas. You got something you’ve been meaning to tell me or what?”

“The love story? Wait, what do you mean me and Cas?”

Dean scoffs, already in utter disbelief of the words he was about to say. “Like you and Cas, together. Together together? Romance of the ages the way she made it sound. Apparently it’s all in her play!”

To his surprise though, Sam just… laughs. “Well, I mean hey, that’s an improvement from the ones who wrote about me and you.”

“You got that right,” he agrees with a shudder. Meeting one Becky the Stalker was bad enough. Knowing she wasn’t alone and that she had an audience made it even worse. “She even had a portmanteau for you, dude. Like you’re some celebrities in a grocery store tabloid. Sass-tiel.”

“Sass-tiel?” He seems to seriously consider it but shrugs. “I don’t know. What about… Samstiel? CasSam? Cam? Mmm, maybe not that…”

Dean groans. “Really? That’s your issue with this?”

“Of course it’s not my issue,” Sam says. He stays pensive for a few more seconds until chuckling again to himself this time, as if he’s the only one in on a private joke. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, Cas is great but…”

“Not your type?”

“Yeah, sure,” Sam says. No, it’s definitely more than that and he’s doing a piss-poor job of hiding his amused expression.

Dean turns and stares him down. “What?”

“I dunno,” he says, his smirk fully visible now. “I just think it’s funny they’re pairing me up with Cas when the one with the ‘profound bond’ with him is right there.”

“Oh, haha. You’re hilarious,” Dean retorts at once.

“Hey man, I’m not the one who stayed in Purgatory for a year to find him.”

His glare takes on a murderous edge.

“Okay. You know what? You’re going to do that thing where you just shut the hell up! Forever!”

Sam holds up his hands in either what’s either a show of innocence or surrender.

“Alright, alright. Well, other than the Charlie Kaufman of it all I got nothing.”

“So…what?” Dean says. “This-this all... This whole musical thing, everything, it's... it's all a coincidence? There is no case?”

“Unless you're seeing something I'm not, no, Dean. There's no case here,” he says sincerely this time.

“Come on. This has classic Trickster vibes all over it.” He almost wants to turn around and start yelling, Come on out Gabriel you bastard!

“Trickster’s dead, man. And he wasn’t just a trickster, he was an archangel. And they’re all gone too.”

“Could be a lower-rank angel?” Dean tries. “I mean, Zachariah pulled off an entire apocalypse world. And that place where we were both corporate drones. Before you know it, this’ll get all Buffy and it’ll be me and you singin’ and dancin’—“

“Dean…I think it’s just fans. Look, as long as they’re not putting another love spell on one of us I couldn’t really care less what they’re doing,” Sam says with some bitterness, clearly not looking back at that particular memory with any fondness. “Just writing some songs? I mean, it’s innocent enough.”

“Oh yeah, so innocent,” he scoffs. “They’re singing about our dead parents, your demon blood bender, the apocalypse, all of it! This is just…it’s make-believe for them! But it’s our lives!”

Sam runs a tired hand through his hair. “Look, I don’t get it either man. I wasn’t exactly thinking about the books’ entertainment value while Chuck was describing my sex life in vivid detail—“

“Don’t remind me,” he says, holding up a hand in disgust.  

“—but I dunno. There’s obviously something about it they connected to, right? Something they related to, something that moved them, inspired them? And I guess…I mean, what’s wrong with that?”

There is so, so much wrong with that.

“I don’t know what story they’re reading and what Sam and Dean they’re ‘connecting’ to here. But it sure as hell ain’t us. I mean…they even made me blonde, dude.”

“It’s a high school play, what can you expect?” Sam laughs. “It was probably the closest wig they could find at Party City.”

Dean ignores him, muttering aloud as he makes his way to the driver’s seat.

“The hair…the singing…the robots… the love story…”

“You really were bothered by that, weren’t you?” Sam gives his brother a curious look.

“SUPERNATURAL ISN’T A ROMANCE!” Dean snaps. “Look, these girls obviously don’t know what they’re talking about—“

“I dunno, Dean,” Sam said in a clearly taunting voice now. “Maybe you’re just jealous of what me and Cas have.”

He flushes. “W-what? I-I’m not—“

“We could give you two a name too, y’know? So you don’t feel left out? What about…Dee-stiel? CasDean?”

And he refuses to entertain this conversation any longer.

“Shut your face! Get in the car!”

Thankfully Sam notices the shift in tone and obliges at once.

Dean, meanwhile, takes a moment outside the car to glance around — almost as if checking to see if anyone overheard that comment. Not that it mattered. Who could overhear? No one even knew they were THE Sam and THE Dean. Who cared? He certainly didn’t care. He didn’t care at all...

(to be continued)

#if you were one of the people who offered to beta read back in march know I WILL be reaching out to because I need it lol #destiel #destiel fanfic #destiel fanfiction #fanfic #spn 10x05 #also this is a given but if you did want to be tagged when this is posted hmu! #been having so much fun with this especially with writing the new songs #also tbh the musical itself is the closet I will get to writing a sam & cas fic so that's been fun too lol #ESPECIALLY because then I can immediately add dean's reaction to it which is typically 'time to walk straight off the stage' #it's also fun to write a s10 fic since I'm a 'dean's been in love since s8 at least' truther #anyways new to this and my untreated adhd means I make a gazillion typos/take forever to work on things/get distracted by new ideas but #literally every positive comment on that first post is the reason why I'm still workin' at it