#i’m glad he has some mysterious weird things going on because he would be such a flat character otherwise

[beauty-and-passion]

TMA - Chapters 21-30: Andorra is a beautiful place

Here I am, once again, back with 10 more TMA chapters.

Things are starting to get very, VERY interesting.

<< Main Masterlist < Previous post

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MAG 21 - Freefall

A statement all about skydiving and my mind flies to Ex Altiora. I’ll admit it: I kept wondering if the supernatural shit of this statement was related to this book in particular - or to any other book from my man Leutner.

But nope, today’s supernatural shit is something both weird and horrific at the same time: the sky itself, that ate a guy. The account is purposely left as vague as possible, with a clear emphasis on how difficult it is to describe the whole thing, but the image of the sky shifting and enveloping Robert is both beautiful and eldritch-esque. I really liked it.

And here we go again with the familiar names, this time it’s Simon Fairchild. Why is it so familiar? Why is every name so familiar?

But most importantly: how badass is he? Just think about this man, who decided to give Robert the scare of his life and not because he had something against him, but just because. And he did it, by saying the most harmless thing ever. He literally woke up and chose violence.

Also, what the heck happened in the end? Glad to know Martin is back, but what’s happening? Did he bring slugs with him? Worms? Jane Prentiss? Some other supernatural shit?

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MAG 22 - Colony

Holy shit, it really was Jane Prentiss again.

I wondered if we would’ve seen more of her victims, but I never wanted Martin to be one of them! Well, it is kind of his own fault - I mean, his zealousness is admirable, but was it really necessary to go twice into that scary basement? And he even tried to take a photo, to prove to his boss that he was not insane! Martin needs a vacation away from all this shit.

And he survived for 13 fucking days, with Jane Prentiss (who is officially a trypophobic’s nightmare) knocking at his door every now and then and one trillion worms trying to find their way inside his house - and possibly inside him too. Disgusting, draining, terrifying, hats off to him for surviving. 

So the famous stomach problems were not real: it was Jane Prentiss doing shit with Martin’s phone. And she even has the balls to write something like “Okay, sheesh, keep him”. Kind of a boss, I’ll admit it.

O-oh, what is the “Archivist’s crimson fate”? Is it a sort of “curse” placed on the Head Archivists of this Institute? Maybe that’s why Gertrude Robinson died: the man from MAG 11 tried to warn her, but it was too late and the “curse” activated before she could escape it. But considering that there are supernatural shits everywhere, is the “crimson fate” a curse or just another supernatural shit?

(Don’t you DARE to tell me any spoilers)

One last thing: John has been very understanding, which proves he’s a nice guy after all. Even if he always tells shit about Martin, this time he gave him a place in the Archives, reassured him and told him he would hire extra security too. He trusted his words. Finally, Jon is becoming a better person XD

He also mentioned a statement from Jane Prentiss herself, so if I’m getting this series right, I guess MAG 23 will be about that statement.

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MAG 23 - Schwartzwald

It wasn’t Jane Prentiss’ statement. Sad :(

But we got a statement given to Jonah Magnus - who I suppose is the founder of the Institute. Pretty cool.

Okay, so we have the tomb of this Johann von Württemberg guy, a man with no eyes, a disappeared coin, a mysterious book and a lot of eyes again. The book immediately made me think of my man Leutner, while the eyes are a constant reminder of MAG 11/all other MAGs before & after and I am 100% sure these eyes are part of some other supernatural shit we still have to see. Is it related to the “Archivist’s crimson fate”, maybe? Only time will tell.

Here we are, the most important part of the statement: Albrecht is ready to enter the mausoleum, even if a weird guy gave him a weirder warning. The tension builds, Albrecht is here, he lights his lantern… and then we have Martin, who is apparently walking around the Archives naked and I burst out laughing because I just had this wonderful image of Jon all focused on the statement, while Martin is chilling around wearing nothing but his boxers. Best way to build the tension and break it at the same time, 10/10, kudos to the author of this series for doing that, it was the funniest shit ever.

MY (WO)MAN MARY KEAY. Don’t be silly, Jon, of course it’s not a coincidence - there are no coincidences in this series. This woman is the mother of my man Gerard, I am 100% sure. And I love how the Keays have always been involved with supernatural shits, ever since their ancestor Albrecht. It kinda explains why Gerard is always around them. It’s not that he doesn’t have anything better to do: it's literally part of his DNA.

And it could also explain why he’s searching for Leutner’s books: maybe the one in Johann von Württemberg’s tomb really was a Leutner’s book and Gerard is searching for all others.

That's very, very interesting.

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MAG 24 - Strange Music

A weird calliope organ and some murderous clown dolls. Not the most exciting story ever but hey, at least there are a couple interesting things here:

We hear Sasha for the first time and she appears for the most useless speech ever. I hope she will be more useful in the future. And Jon is sarcastic with her too, which proves to me that he’s not an ass: just a typical British guy XD (my dear Brits, you had it coming XD Don’t take me seriously, we’re all bros here <3)

Someone “legitimate” took the calliope. And my mind flies to our favorite delivery company “Breekon and Hope Deliveries”.

The Circus of the Other. What the heck is the “Other”? My bet is another supernatural shit.

Holy shit the organ is in the Institute?! Was it the Breekon and Hope Deliveries to deliver it or did the Institute take it?

Is there something Elias knows for sure, or all he knows is that things are “maybe/probably somewhere”? This man is useless XD

Now that I think about it: Elias is the head of the Institute, right? So he bought it from some of Magnus’ successors, I suppose. Now, does he know about the “Archivist’s crimson fate”? If this “fate” is some sort of curse that takes all Head Archivists, it probably took more Head Archivists before Gertrude Robinson, right? And Elias never asked himself why all these Archivists were casually dying under his nose?

Or maybe I’m getting it all wrong and the “crimson fate” isn’t a curse that affects all Head Archivists. Well, then I have another unrelated question: how's it possible that the goddamn Head of the Institute knows nothing of his Institute? How involved is Elias in the Institute and its organization?

There are still many missing things and I can’t wait to connect them all.

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MAG 25 - Growing Dark

The statement itself isn’t very interesting, just “guy finds some random shit in a dark creepy place”, but there are a few details that caught my attention.

First of all, here we are again with a closed eye. I suppose that the People’s Church of the Divine Host and these Hither Green Dissenters are all part of the same gang, considering they both share closed eyes as their symbol. Also, now there’s Alesund mentioned too. Is this the birthplace of the supernatural shit they all worship? And are closed and open eyes related to the same supernatural shit or they're two different shits?

We also have the exact date in which Gertrude Robinson died: May 15th, 2015. And this is a problem for me, because I don’t remember any date and I suck with dates in general, unless I have a scheme/timeline/whatever. So tell me: should I do a timeline?

Fuck, I’ll do it anyway.

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MAG 26 - A Distortion

Holy shit. HOLY. SHIT.

*I think I’ve finally found my Michael. And it’s not Michael Getty, Michael Crew or Michael Whatever: it’s Michael the Supernatural Shit. And I love him. I mean, he is:

a chill guy, who buys flowers and drinks coffee

a poet, considering that when Sasha asked him what he is, he said: “How would a melody describe itself when asked?”. Best way to answer, he’s amazing, I’m in love

a cool boy who is creepy as fuck while not appearing creepy at all

probably the guy “with all the bones in his hands” mentioned in MAG 8

a good boyo who wants to help

*I wrote a timeline just in time, because as soon as I heard the name Timothy Hodge, I instantly remembered he was from MAG 6. The timeline is useful: I will keep updating it, then.

*Poor Martin is being stalked by the goddamn colony of silver worms. Martin, I think it's time for a vacation far away from all these supernatural shits. What about Andorra? Andorra is between the mountains, so good luck finding it. The population is less than 90k, so basically there are more people in my backyard than in the entire state. And it’s in the Pyrenees, so I’m pretty sure the nights are probably shorter than in Norway.

Think about it, Martin: no supernatural shits, no worms, long days. And spas. They have spas too.

I dream this for Martin.

*Two statements ago I asked for Sasha to be more useful and here she is. She is useful indeed! Thank you for your service, Sasha: you finally gave me my Michael and you’ve probably saved Jon’s life. Great job.

But you know how you can save everyone's life even more? Move to Andorra. They also have traditions related to fire and burning things, just in case some worms find you. Listen to me and run away from all this shit.

Andorra is a wonderful place.

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MAG 27 - A Sturdy Lock

Another not-very-interesting story, just “supernatural shit knocks at my door during the night”. Also, it comes after that bomb that was MAG 26, so the backlash is even stronger. I mean, after all the shit Sasha told him, Jon thought it was a great idea to record another statement. Seriously?!

Andorra, Jon. Andorra is a nice place to live.

Also, who the heck is Sarah Carpenter? Is she important too? Should I remember her too?

Even more important, what does that mean that Mr. McKenzie’s bedroom door “does not have a keyhole or a lock”? Was his door just a wood panel? Did it have only a handle? I’m kinda confused by this, honestly, but maybe it’s just me not being able to visualize it.

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MAG 28 - Skintight

The statement isn’t particularly captivating, but Sarah Baldwin peeling off her skin and putting it back is a bit creepy, I’ll accept it.

Also, since Jon said she was in some previous statements, I searched for her and here she was, among all the missing people mentioned in MAG 1: disappeared in August 2006, while this statement is from April 2016. So the girl here clearly isn’t Sarah Baldwin.

That kinda explains her weird words about trespassing: she (it?) was probably apologizing to another supernatural shit in the hospital for entering their territory. But if I’m right, that means every supernatural shit has a territory like mafia bosses and no one can invade them? Or maybe this applies to some supernatural shits and not others. Maybe there is a hierarchy or similar and the most powerful can do whatever they want and go whenever they want, while others control specific, limited territories. Can’t wait to find out.

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MAG 29 - Cheating Death

Oh, that was interesting! So, according to this statement, when you win death, you become death. Until someone else wins, then they become the new death and you turn back into a human, but you’re immortal. Very cool, a good variation to the topic of defeating death/cheating death/immortality.

Once again, the series listens to me and provides an answer to my questions: I wanted to know more about Elias and here we find out he was a filing clerk when Gertrude Robinson was still alive.

Well, this explains why Elias never cared about other Head Archivists before Getrude: he was just a clerk. Maybe he wasn’t even hired yet, when there was someone before her.

This also explains why he doesn’t know a lot of things: he was just a clerk, after all.

Still, it’s very weird that he managed to go from filing clerk to goddamn head of the Institute in the span of nothing. What happened to the previous head of the Institute? Did they die too, along with all the previous staff members? How? And only Elias survived this unexplained massacre? That’s very, very suspicious. If I were Jon, I would ask Elias a couple of things.

But if I were Jon, I would’ve already moved away from all this shit, so I wouldn’t ask anything anyway.

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MAG 30 - Killing Floor

I’ll quote Jon for this one: “Hmm. More meat. Interesting.”

Is meat part of another supernatural shit? Should I be scared by it? In this case, it kinda failed to do so. I mean, this isn't a bad statement… just a little meh. After all, it’s just an endless slaughterhouse featuring the Obligatory Dead Guy. Nothing truly amazing.

And it’s kinda sad, because we had MAG 26 and now this post ends not with a bang, but with a meh. Sad :(

But even more sad is that Jon, despite all of this, is still recording statements.

Listen to me, Jon. Andorra is a nice place to live.

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In conclusion

So, that's my theory for now:

There are a lot of different supernatural shits in this world. Some are more powerful and can do whatever they want, others are “minor” and they control smaller territories.

The Magnus Institute contains the worst/more powerful supernatural shit of them all. The Lukas family took/found this shit in Norway and decided it was very cool - but a little hungry too, so let’s close it in the Institute and let’s use the Institute as a huge “feeder” to feed it.

This supernatural shit is what Jane Prentiss referred to as the “Archivist’s crimson fate”. Every Head Archivist is somehow “cursed” to become food for this thing. That’s what happened to Gertrude Robinson, that’s what happened to her staff and that’s what happened to the staff before them.

Elias somehow survived and either 1) he turned into a supporter of the Lukas family or 2) he’s used as bait to find more people to feed to the supernatural shit.

How much of this is right? How much is wrong? Only time will tell me :D

Speaking of Jonathan: my man, I’m a skeptical person too, so I understand that you’re skeptical. But you literally have silver worms everywhere, someone threatened you via Martin’s phone, the most reasonable member of your staff told you she met a supernatural shit in real life and the supernatural shit confirmed something bad will happen to you. And after all of this, you are still recording statements as if it’s nothing?! My man, that’s not being skeptical, that’s not having any self-preservation instinct at all! First Martin threw himself into a basement that screamed “DANGER HERE”, now you're ignoring all red flags, wow you’re perfect for each other…

Wait... wait... are you two the homoerotic couple? Are you two gonna fall in love? I’ll admit it, it would be very funny if it’s you two. But, again, only time will tell.

So let’s wait and see what will happen: will my theories be correct? Will Michael the Supernatural Shit become Best Boyo of the series? Will my man Leutner still wreak havoc all over the world? Will Gerard come back to deal with this shit like he always does? How many more iconic weirdos will I find in the next 10 episodes? Will Jane Prentiss still haunt these poor people?

And most importantly: when will Jon and his staff finally listen to me and move to a better place?

>> Next post

(How about a coffee? ☕)

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TAGLIST:

@royalprinceroman @mudpuddlenl@allmycrushesaredead @aquatedia@whatishappeningrightnow  @effortiswhatmatters @bella-in-a-bag  @doydoune @forever-third-wheeling​ @payte @hypnossanders​  @idontreallyknow24​  @imcrushedbyarainbowoffical​ @patton-cake​  @hereissananxiousmess​  @purplebronzeandblue​  @cynicalandsarcastic​ ​@lost-in-thought-20​ @andtheyreonfire​ 

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#tma #the magnus archives #magnus archives #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #will these two develop some self-preservation? #again only time will tell

[princessamericachavez]

Breaking down the 6x11 promo

(because my brain is in overdrive)

((also, sorry in advance because this ‘analysis’ is mainly me going DiCaprioPointingMeme.jpg))

Eddie doing compressions!! It makes absolute sense tbh with Hen and Chim riding in the back, they both need to push the gurney so Eddie clearly takes over as soon as it touches ground because their main priority has to be to keep Buck’s heart beating. 

It’s also heartbreaking, though, because it means that in all this time it took them to get to the hospital they haven’t gotten it pumping on his own again

Judging by this two takes, it seems like it’s Eddie taking Buck’s pulse here. 

Why does that matter?? Well... 

Because the doctors aren’t doing compressions anymore here. They are only giving him oxygen. Could that mean that Buck’s heart just restarted right now? Will Eddie manage to restart Buck’s heart in the nick of time before handing him off to the doctors??? 

This is such a stupid thing to hyperfixate on here, especially given all of their heart-broken expressions... but at some point between arrival and handing buck off Eddie lost/took off his helmet and I’m dying to get context for it. Idek why. I’m just super intrigued

NGL I am surprised to see the Buckley parents here and deep down I don’t expect them to stay at the hospital for long. 

But with Bobby there, I would love for a little friction depending on their reaction. I mean, Philips is clearly still there while getting the news...

...but then we see Chim and Maddie alone and deep down I think we’ll see the Buckley’s just run off in an emotional fit. 

Love me some Bathena looking after their surrogate son, but if nothing else this confirms to me that Buck’s blood relatives (Maddie excluded, ofc) aren’t gonna stick around long

there’s a little girl behind Buck!!!!! I’m guessing she’s Maddie’s??? Though she couldn’t be Jee.

Ah, this fucker. With Daniel around or not, I’m guessing he isn’t any less of an abusive fucker. So Maddie just didn’t have where to run, uh? I hate it here. 

Oh Chim is back to his old apartment (glad they could get one last use out of that set!)

Is Buck gonna run through the hospital searching for his comatose body???????

Okay so I definitely think Buck talks dream!Howard into helping him because a) Buck’s subconscious knows Chim believes in weird stuff more than anyone else he knows, and b) where in the initial take of Chim’s appartment there’s a knife case behind him, here’s two beers. So my guess is this near-dead in the dream is after they tried and failed to back-to-the-future Buck into his body. 

This scene is definitely not the same as Buck coding, because Hen doesn’t look scared, she looks confused/intrigued by something or someone

Maddie looks so sad here. My two guesses is this is either her arguing with her parents before they bounce on them, oooooor she’s asking “what’s wrong” because something in Buck’s recovery isn’t working the way the doctors would want it to (because he’s failing at something in the coma dream)

she’s def not asking about the initial coma thing because she’s changed her clothes here

Love the idea of Buck collapsing in his dream before a Howard that barely knows him while in reality this Chim is doing all he can to save his brother

Read rumors of Aisha crying during Christopher’s scene and if this is it I’m gonna flung myself into the sun

Anyway: curious (and suspicious) lack of Eddie and Chris in this video. And also of Daniel’s mysterious actor. 

Hoping for more clues in new promos and clips!!

#911 fox #evan buck buckle #howard han #henrietta wilson #maddie buckley #bobbie nash #911 spoilers #911 spec #sofia's nonsense

[kinokoshoujoart]

Besides Jill/Pony, do you have any other ships for Rock that you enjoy?

oh boy i’m glad you asked ! i absolutely do

in no particular order…

rock x nami - at first i wanted them to be more sibling-coded, but i’m on board with a romantic ship now… they are such polar opposites but they each even the other out, nami is both tough and enough to withstand rock’s insanity while perceptive enough to break through his facade and throwing him off balance, and rock is weird enough to keep nami entertained while surprisingly being observant enough about people’s behavior to pick up on what she actually means. i don’t think rock’s more abrasive quirks would seriously bother nami (other than his loudness, but they seem fine at the goddess pond), and rock seems to prefer women like nami— he has a bunch of lines about cats in each versions of AWL where he says they’re irresistible for the same reasons that women are, because they’re aloof / mysterious / do whatever they want / defy his expectations, while nami for her part describes him like she’s talking about the family dog. dog and cat help each other to grow. cute.

rock x gordy - gosh, rock’s lines about gordy come across like a teenage girl with a crush… for his part, gordy has a bunch of lines implying he feels inadequate compared to more talkative people. if rock could learn to understand gordy i feel like they would get along well, but i still prefer gustafa or molly to be paired with gordy… still, i find rock’s one sided longing for gordy to notice him very cute especially since it continues after you marry him

rock x lumina - great especially in the remake, love the uptight/rapscallion combination and their heart events involve rock lifting lumina’s mood or genuinely helping her. the way he pulls her back from getting too caught up in digging up the past is really interesting, we learn about both of their mindsets about the past. and the more i learn about both of them, the more I’m surprised about how much they have in common… lumina’s just more honest about it, something which rock specifically praises her for while commenting that it’s not an easy thing to do when rock first moved from the city to the valley lumina was the only other kid there (if she was there before him, and it sounds like she was since she’s the only candidate who met MC’s dad. while rock says he learned about MC’s dad from Lou…), so it’s fun to imagine them as childhood friends. sebastian has some lines saying that lumina was quite a handful and not exactly well behaved as a child, and tei says the same thing about rock, so together i imagine they were havoc

matt x rock - most of my pairings involving matt are based on rivals to lovers… matt and rock have a lot of valid reasons to dislike the other, but they also have a ton in common— both come from the city, rock shares most of matt’s hobbies that i know of (matt even complains that there’s no one in the valley who likes swimming… go swim together!!), both are hiding their desire for marriage and kids behind a mask (if you don’t marry them, they both keep wondering what it’d be like to settle down… i think they’d get past their differences eventually if they spent enough time in the bluebird bar cafe together to discover the stuff they have in common and become drinking buddies

(i have a delusional hc that they worked at the same company in the city, but neither of them has realized it yet)

i also ship rock and molly but not in a romantic way. more like. like. uhhh

yea

#bunch of unorganized old scribbles to accompany this answer lmao #thanks so much for the ask!! i have so very many words i’m sorry for the length #sos awl #bokumono #ask #canonically no one wants to spend time with him except a player who pursues him but that won’t stop me #if i could pair my trash husband up with literally everyone i would. probably #not always romantic i just want to make everyone interact #rock (awl) #rock collection #my sketches #long post #uuuu….. #rock tumbling (sos)

[historicallyaccuratecheese]

I’ve finally started listening to Season 2 of The Magnus Archives, so as per usual, here are my thoughts on the first 10 episodes of the season, from 41 to 50! Already this season is shaping up to be a wild ride and I’ve really enjoyed it so far. But as always, here are some things to consider if you plan to read this post.

1: This post is extremely long and in depth, the longest of these I’ve made so far in fact. Read it only in chunks or if you have enough time on your hands.

2: There’s obviously spoilers for everything in The Magnus Archives up to Episode 50, so please tread carefully if you haven’t gotten that far. Also, please do not spoil anything from future episodes for me.

3: I recommend you read my previous posts before this one, as I will be referring back to those older posts. I’ve made a link to the masterpost here for you to easily access them.

Anyways, enjoy my rambling! :)

- Episode 41, Too Deep ⬇️

Statement of Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, regarding exploration of the tunnels recently discovered below the archives. Statement taken direct from and recorded by subject.

That episode title is right, the show of going a bit too deep for my liking, I’m SCARED. You know what, I’m happy to say that Jon has blossomed into quite the relatable protagonist. He has an undying thirst for the truth, and is extremely paranoid and traumatized by the events of Season 1. He’s just like me fr! Anyways, thankfully the content of this episode was much simpler and easy to digest than I thought it would’ve been initially. It does feel like Rusty Quill wanted to ease listeners back in by giving us an episode that establishes the new status quo, but that being said, this one still gave me quite a bit to think about. Firstly, we have Jon’s mental state which is…yikes. Like, I know a month has passed an all, but I still feel like he needs a hug and a long nap. I know I joke about wanting to bash this guy’s head in like a piñata, or throw him off a skyscraper, or squeeze him like a squeaky toy…but now I’m genuinely concerned for him. Knowing how Jane scarred him physically and mentally is really upsetting, but hey! At least Martin seems to be taking good care of him, although considering what happened to him last season I still have to question if he’s ok as well, just…I want everyone to take care of themselves as well. Also, I know this sounds wrong, but I kind of hope that jar actually does have Jane’s ashes in it, because I miss her and it would be nice for her to still kind of be with us. Also I hope Tim gets back to work ok :(. Also Not!Sasha still terrifies me-OK! Back to Jon! It is really cool that the season begins with a statement directly written by the protagonist, and while I’m certainly concerned about his paranoia (which I’ll get to later), it’s nice to see him actively engaging in the mysteries and looking for answers. But with that out of the way, what about the tunnels? Well, firstly, I’m glad that this episode clarified that these tunnels are like…a new discovery? Because when Tim mentioned them in Episode 39, he spoke about them as if they were common knowledge, which was just…kind of weird to me? Now, it’s become a lot more apparent that the tunnels are quite a recent discovery, and they make for a very intriguing new mystery! I’m certain they’ll show up more throughout the season, but for now, they are just…really terrifying. Firstly, I’ll mention some of the things we discovered about them that were followed up on here, and then go on to the brand new information we got. …GOD DAMN POLICE! I WANTED TO LISTEN TO THOSE TAPES!!! Look, I get WHY they took them, it’s just…UUUGGGHH!!! Gertrude Robinson, WHAT ARE YOUR SECRETS?!! On top of that we have the matter of the weird circle of worms. I still think they were trying to open some sort of hidden passage, but the implications that…someone else was there are certainly concerning. I assume it’s whoever seems to be lurking around down here (who might also be the voice Jon heard), but…I really don’t know what to think of this. I really don’t know what to think of…ANY of this! But as for the new information provided, we obviously have the facts about Millbank Prison.

Firstly, it’s always a pleasure to see TMA incorporate obscure real-world history into its story, I just think it’s generally kind of neat whenever they do that. But outside of that, I don’t really know what to make of this information outside of a couple of things (like the institute being built on top of a prison being potential symbolism for Jon being stuck here now that he’s gotten wrapped up in the mystery). The two things that really caught my attention however, was that they make sure to bring up the panopticon format of Millbank. This kind of ties into the whole them of “being watched” that’s been coming up. Also, I guess now’s a better time than ever to mention the whole idea of Jon being watched. I honestly don’t know who or what is watching him, but my best guess is that it’s whatever is in the tunnels, or if I’m crazy, ME. (Although I’m technically listening so…idk. It still makes me feel kind of guilty though.) The other big takeaway is that Millbank, and likely the tunnels, we’re built by our beloved Robert Smirke. The tunnels already did remind me of Episode 35, so this isn’t all that surprising, but it’s nice to get further confirmation that these places are fucked up! It does make me wonder if he had a hand in building the institute itself though…hmmm… But after that lore drop, we get to the creepiest part of the episode. I’ll just say it: No, I do not know who is in the tunnels, my best guess is Gertrude’s killer but I don’t think that’s saying much. I also do not know what the wine bottle means, (although I literally just made a post about a wine bottle on a street that felt like the beginning of a TMA statement? That’s really weird?!) nor do I know who or what drew that arrow, or told Jon to leave. All I know is that, yes, this heavily reminds me of Episode 15. Like, not just this scene, but honestly the episode as a whole. This makes me think that maybe the thing in the tunnels is the same force behind Lost Johns’ Cave, and combine that with the fact I suspect said force to be the same as the darkness from Episodes 9 and 25, and that Jon’s torch apparently started to dim strangely quickly…I just feel like The People’s Church of The Divine Host might have some relevance here. Either way, this just makes me more and more concerned for the institute staff. It just goes to show that they have gone…well, too deep, and that even if he runs out of those tunnels, Jon is not truly safe from, say it with me everyone…✨the horrors✨. Oh Jane Prentiss’ Ashes, we’re really in for it now.

But of course, that’s not all, as the episode ends with a secret supplemental from Jon! …The fact that exists at all just makes me more concerned for his paranoia and mental health. So you know how I said I’d love it if Season 2 was a murder mystery? Well…be careful what you wish for I guess. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very excited by the plot point but…Jon can you please just calm down you’re scaring me. It’s interesting that he too is most suspicious of Elias though. I’m still very suspicious of him as well but..I don’t know, usually when a show tries to steer you in one direction like this, it ends up going the other way, so this oddly makes me like…2% less suspicious of Elias, simply because I feel like the show’s trying to bamboozle me. As for the other potential suspects, well, Sasha would be an interesting choice given that she’s…you know…although oddly enough I doubt Not!Sasha did it, since she probably wouldn’t have been at the institute when Gertrude was murdered. So congratulations Not!Sasha, I’m not suspicious of you for once! There’s a decent enough possibility for the killer to be Tim, but I’d genuinely be STUNNED if it was Martin. Like, it could be an excellent twist if done right but WOW. That would be genuinely insane. Overall I’m still most suspicious of Elias by a wide margin, but much like Jon, I’m keeping my suspects open just in case. The last thing I have to mention here is how this supplemental made me think about how…me as the listener fits into this. In canon, I feel like I’m supposed to be either Jon’s successor, his killer, some random shmuck who just came across the tapes, and MAYBE whoever Jon feels like is watching him although that seems a bit more unlikely. Anyways, that’s a wrap on this episode! In conclusion, it was a good episode, and I’m as scared as I’ve ever been, but hey, I’m also excited to listen to the rest of the season and see where the mysteries go! (Also ALEX READING THE END BIT? HELLO?! That’s the scariest part of the episode.)

Sorry if this one was also a bit incoherent (is this like a curse with Robert Smirke statements or something), like I said, this one kind of feels like one meant to ease you back in, so I don’t have too many coherent thoughts on the reveals of the episode just…a lot of emotions. I’m sure that’ll change as the season progresses though. Although, I did have one theory brewing in my head, it doesn’t really connect to anything in this episode that I’m aware of but I just thought I’d put it here. So, I was thinking about some of the cults from Season 1, namely The People’s Church of The Divine Host and the heat-based cult. I’ve assumed that they’re completely separate, since they seem to serve separate powers, but in retrospect, they actually had some very notable things in common, outside of just…being creepy cults. Namely, they both seem to be in opposition to both Gertrude Robinson and Gerard Keay. The PCOTDH performed a ritual on the supposed date of Gertrude’s death, while the heat cult contained pictures of her in their creepy bottles. Meanwhile, Gerard straight up kills the person who seeks to be a member of the heat cult, and his symbol seems to be an eye, while The PCOTDH has a closed eye as their symbol. So either these two groups are intrinsically linked at the hip, maybe even different sects of one larger cult, or Gertrude and Gerard just both had knacks for pissing cults off. Eh, food for thought.

- Episode 42, Grifter’s Bone 🎹

Statement of Jennifer Ling, regarding a live musical performance she attended in Soho.

This is literally just Killer Track from Nightmare Time lmao. I mean not really, but like…come on, they’re about songs that kill people, and also both contain instances of songs that cannot be remembered. This episode was MADE to fuel my hyperfixations. Also, fun fact, I recall seeing a post about tma before I started listening, where it mentioned how some episodes are deep looks into trauma while others are about a song so shit that it kills people. That post was actually one of the first things that got me to consider listening, so it’s cool to have finally come across that same episode! Although granted, I don’t think that’s the most accurate description, but I’ll get to that soon. Anyways, even if I didn’t find the episode super scary until the end, I’m more than willing to excuse it simply due to how creative it is. I know I just compared it to another piece of media, but all things considered I think this is a very fun one conceptually. Music journalism of all things isn’t something you’d expect to get tackled in tma, but it surprisingly worked really well. I actually quite liked Jennifer as the protagonist here, while she’s not nearly as shaken by the events as someone like the guy from Episode 37, I still got this…uneasy feeling from Jon’s narration, like from the beginning, you could tell something bad happened without it being TOO obvious. And…learning what happened to her after she gave her statement…yeah I can see why she’d be on edge! I thought Grifter’s Bone itself was really creepy and I do hope we learn more about them going forward, like, yeah, this was just a fun, kind of creepy, and very creative episode that I had a good time with. But then the post-statement investigation is revealed and…wow. Look, I think the jokes about the music being so shitty it kills people are funny, there’s some genuine gold about that in the YouTube comments. I mean hell, it’s a joke in-universe! But, part of me thinks that’s doing a disservice to what the episode is actually about. Because by the end, we see that it’s about a song so good that it causes people to harm and/or kill each other. I think there’s a good few ways you could interpret the meaning of this, but I personally see it as a metaphor for toxic fandom behavior. Look, I’ve BEEN in music fandoms before, I can say with certainty that this works as a metaphor. But, who knows? I’d love to hear other people’s takes on this as I think it can be seen in multiple ways. On top of that, there’s a few weird things about the circumstances i which Grifter’s Bone plays. Like, when it was just Alfred playing, Lee had no memory of the concert, and also survived. But when the entire band played, Jennifer remembered the concert, even if she wasn’t in the venue, and for some reason it triggered a…gathering between ghosts that killed each other again? I don’t know, there’s just some strange things going on here, and while it’s hard to really find anything that Grifter’s Bone might connect to right now, I hope some connections and answers pop up later. (Well, in retrospect, they do actually kind of remind me of The Piper from Episode 7, since that thing also played music and drove someone to bloodlust, but granted, the themes between the two episodes seem to be pretty different so I don’t know if that actually means anything.) However, one connection I found interesting was the presence of the crystal shop, which I really can’t see being anything other than the same one Jane was working at. This, along with the description of his expression, leads me to believe that the man who tried to warn Jennifer was the “Oliver” who Jane saw. And…I will concede that this could make the theory of him being Antonio Blake more plausible. Antonio is obviously important, and assuming this guy is Oliver, then he’s important as well. Also, someone in the comments pointed out that maybe he foresaw Jennifer’s death, which…yeah, I can see that! I still think I need more time and evidence before I’m fully sold on this theory but…I won’t deny it’s plausible.

So yeah, I had a really good time with this episode! Creative concept, fun execution, it’s up there with Anatomy Class as being…as “chill” as a an episode of tma can be. I’d really like to see this develop into a larger plot, but I’m also happy with just this statement (although some answers would be nice). But obviously, there is one thing that I have failed to mention. That is of course…the legendary supplement. Oh. My. God. Martin, you poor poor soul. You know, I had some joking suspicions after listening to one of the bonus shorts with his poetry on it (which I probably should’ve waited for, but like, I needed something to calm down with after the Season 1 finale), but…I actually can’t believe it. Martin has a genuine thing for Jon. And it is adorable, sad, and absolutely hilarious. Adorable in the sense that Martin’s crush is really cute and that I think they could make for a really cute couple, sad in the fact that Jon is the most dense human being in existence and that this is a horror series, so the relationship is probably doomed by default, and hilarious in the sense that Martin is trying his best to get Jon to fall in love with him, and not only does Jon not recognize it, but. But. He- he thinks he’s trying to SABOTAGE HIM. This. THIS PARANOID LITTLE FREAK I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very concerned for him right now, but I’d be lying if I said that this wasn’t the ship dynamic of the century. Damn you Rusty Quill, I can’t solve the overarching mystery now because I’ll be too busy thinking about THIS. (Also I find it both really funny and really sad that Jon’s so suspicious of Martin when Not!Sasha is. RIGHT. THERE. If there’s a single scene where he goes “Sasha is the only person here I can trust” or smth I will lose my mind.) There’s also the matter of his note which could mean…honestly anything. All it tells us is that Martin is lying about something, which could be anything from his crush on Jon to him actually being the killer (although I think the latter is unlikely since this is only the second episode of Season 2), and that his mother probably has…some sort of relevance. It could mean a lot of things but for now I’ll just put a pin in it. So yeah, really enjoyable episode with a fantastic supplemental.

Also, we have the million dollar question. What do I think Grifter’s Bone sounds like? Well, that’s easy:

- Episode 43, Section 31 🚔

Statement of Police Constable Basira Hussain, regarding her time investigating strange occurrences as part of Section 31. Statement taken direct from subject.

NOOOOOOO NOT THE COPS!!! WHO LET THEM GET INVOLVED???!!!! Nah I’m just kidding, Basira Hussain was actually pretty cool. So, this episode is quite the interesting one, as despite it technically being another statement, the way it’s structured makes it feel pretty unique. Obviously this episode has some very interesting reveals in terms of the overarching plot, but I feel like it’s purpose here was to establish the importance of the police force, namely Section 31, to the plot of Season 2. I mean, given what we learn about them here, and the fact that they’re in charge of a lot of matters related to Gertrude, I’m not surprised that they seem to be playing a decently significant role here. But uh..anyways let’s start off by talking about Basira. Yeah I like her :). She was chill, and I like how she’s very willing to help Jon out despite the fact that she probably shouldn’t. It’s a nice change of pace considering how I, and I assume many others, are used to cop characters being very stuck-up, and I think her seeming frustration with being sectioned was pretty endearing. I also kind of liked the buddy-cop dynamic she had with Jon as well, and I especially liked how this is really the first instance we have of Jon being very open to what the statement giver is saying. It really shows a lot of growth from his Season 1 denial, even if it comes at the cost of him going insane in this season. I’ll touch more on her deal with Jon at the end, but for now I’ll talk a bit about the experiences she describes. Obviously, the experience with the burning building was by far the most interesting one. I’ll start off by saying that as creepy as his death was, the sectioned officer Basira was working with has it coming. That’s what you get for being racist! Or misogynistic…Or, generally prejudice- Look. What I’m saying is that he probably deserved his fate. But who cares about that because OH MY GOD EPISODE 12. Obviously the episode has come back in multiple ways via stuff like Gerard and The Cult of Asag, but finally getting some confirmation on who the other burnt guy was is really cool! Diego Molina is quite the enigma, and the episode really got me thinking about his abilities, the book in red leather (which I struggle to see being anything other than another Leitner, although I have to question what Jon mean’s when he said he had a suspicion as to where Diego got the book. Like it was obviously in Jurgen’s library at some point but that doesn’t mean he got it directly from there. Maybe I missed something, IDK), and generally what the deal with The Cult of Asag is. Also, it seems Diego got burned and later killed by Gerard after the events of this episode, which makes me wonder about how he got burned there, since he was completely fine here. And also he has a zippo lighter, like Gerard and Jon? What does that mean? Is it the same as Gerard’s? But…his had an eye symbol, not a flame or whatever. I don’t know, I have a lot of questions regarding this guy and the cult he’s a part of. but I’ll just have to wait and see what pops up as time goes on.

Now, Basira’s second encounter with the paranormal doesn’t have as much going on, but I still find it very curious. The person she finds in the room is pretty interesting. The thing that really stuck out to me was that his house was in complete darkness. Given how this episode definitely deals with The Cult of Asag, I have to wonder if this is supposed to hint towards involvement from The People’s Church of The Divine Host. Someone in the YouTube comments also pointed out that the guy could’ve been one of the grim reaper people from Episode 29. I won’t deny the possibility, given the domino cases, attempt at suicide, and the fact that he was still alive after death, but I’ll keep other possibilities in mind as well just in case. However, something that obviously stuck out to me here was the presence of Daisy, Basira’s partner during this incident. She mentions having an encounter with vampires, and while Basira brushes it off as a joke…come on, there’s no way this doesn’t mean anything. And I actually have a small theory regarding this. You see, from Episode 36, we obviously know that Trevor Herbert, the vampire killer himself, is a relatively important character. We also know that he has a currently unnamed woman as his companion, so I’m wondering if that woman might be Daisy. This would probably mean that they departed from each other’s company at some point but…I just can’t shake the feeling that this is a possibility. The only potential hole I can see in this theory is that the woman had a scar on her eye, which seems like a pretty notable detail that would be weird for Basira to leave out, but it’s equally possible that she just didn’t find it worth mentioning. Either way, I am certainly interested by that line about vampires. One other line here that stood out to me was Basira’s mention of a spooky clown doll, which HAS to be a reference to Episode 24. We know that “weird” incidents are usually dealt with by Section 31, and that Section 31, is a rather small team, so it’s possible that Basira has been involved in police investigations of multiple statement, but I still felt it was a interesting thing to quote.

So overall, this was a pretty good episode. It’s not an all-time favorite for me if I’m being honest, but it set up some very interesting potential plot threads, I really liked Basira, and I thought it was cool to get a first look at what I assume will be a good amount of involvement from the police in the future. But of course…we have that supplemental. Oh thank fucking god we didn’t have to wait too long to get Gertrude’s tapes. Basira, you’re an absolute G, I hope to see more of these come through in the future (although I also hope she doesn’t get fired in the process lmao). I’m…probably not prepared for whatever will be on these tapes going forward but, hey! Let’s just appreciate the fact that we’re getting them at all! I…am getting more and more concerned for Jon though. Like, sweetheart, you REALLY need to lie down for a bit, I know it’s rich coming from me, but this constant search for the truth is going to bite you in the ass if you keep on going any further. You could also use some more help from Martin as well…no reason… Anyways, so far the season is going great, only three episodes in and it already feels like it’s going places. (I would like an update on Tim though, and…”Sasha”….ehhhhhh…)

Supplemental: “Martin just kissed me, I THINK THERE WAS POISON IN HIS MOUTH” - Jon, probably.

- Episode 44, Tightrope 🎪

Case 9790302. Yuri Utkin. Incident occurred in the village of Algosovo, Central Russia, November 1952.

WOOOOOOOOO GERTRUDE!!!! FINALLY we get to hear her, and while she’s still obviously shrouded in mystery, I was very satisfied with what we got of her. Firstly, I absolutely love the fact that she’s voiced by Jonny Sims’ mother, I always find it really funny whenever the roles of characters reflect the relationship between the actors, so I just though that was really cool. And she did a great job in the role, honestly I felt like I was being read a bedtime story. Specifically a fucked up German bedtime story (or I guess Russian…technically…). Honestly she’s pretty in line with how I imagined her, although I kind of thought she’d be a lot more cold when she comes off as just…pretty chill in reality, at least in comparison to Jon. And that’s probably the element of her character that interests me the most, outside of what she was doing and what really happened to her. Compared to Jon, who is frantically searching for the truth with very little answers, Gertrude seems to be much more aware of what’s really going on. She’s SO familiar with The Other Circus that she’s able to read this extremely creepy story and be like “wow this guy got lucky.” Like…WHAT HAS THIS WOMAN SEEN?! Obviously there could’ve been a period in time where she, like Jon, was in a frenzied state looking for answers, but in the context of what we’re seeing, it provides for an interesting contrast between her and Jon that I really like. But it raises SO many questions. Like, what exactly would it take for Gertrude to react extremely to a statement when she’s this unbothered by what she’s reading? How much did she know? I mean, I think it would be safe to assume she died because she knew too much, but like…how many weirdos and cults did she piss off in the process? I’m really anticipating where they might go with her in the future, as there’s a lot of interesting routes they could take. But outside of our first look at Gertrude, we obviously have the statement itself, and FUCK YEAH IT’S THE OTHER CIRCUS!!! Even though it’s only shown up in a couple of episodes prior to this one, this circus has actually been one of the most intriguing plot threads for me personally. I’m just a sucker for creepy carnivals, so finally getting an episode with a big focus on it makes me very happy. Ultimately this episode confirms my suspicions that this thing is a cult, because like…come on. There’s no way it isn’t. However, I still don’t really know what power they might serve, and the ringmaster Gregor Orsinov remains shrouded in mystery. As do…ALL of the cult leaders now that I think about it. We really only know the names of two of them, those being Gregor and Maxwell Rayner, but that’s about it. Regardless, I do feel like this episode gave a better idea of what The Other Circus wishes to accomplish, or at least what their deal is. The tiger, the freaks, the people in the audience, and…maybe the Ivan we see on the tightrope (I haven’t made my mind up on that one), are all implied to be not entirely…real, or as Yuri says, impossible. I think they’re basically artificial copies of real people and animals, but with some minor differences like glassy eyes or impossible anatomy, hence why it’s called “Another Circus”. For what purpose other than creeping people out, I have no idea, but I feel like that’s what’s going on here. As for the bag…well, I think it probably did contain Ivan but…I don’t really know what’s up with it, although it did kind of remind me of Episode 5 with the trash bags, and I think that episode connects to Episode 34, and…now that I think about it, the slightly off people and animals here are kind of like the anatomy students. Yeah I think I’m going in insane circles now! Also I guess I haven’t really talked about the story here, truth be told it’s not the most interesting element of the episode but uh…yeah I liked it as always, I feel pretty bad for Yuri and Ivan. God, imagine having severe mental trauma as the best case scenario simply because Gregor and his circus are just that dangerous, that’s messed up!

Well, outside of all of that, I obviously have some connections to discuss, so what about those? Well, obviously this one connects to Episode 24 more than any other, most notably via the calliope organ. So…yeah, I guess Nikolai Denikin wasn’t that good of a person! My initial assumption was that he caught onto whatever messed up things The Other Circus wished to achieve, and then quit and hid the calliope (…I miss Sasha) to stop them. Now that could still be the case, but this episode suggests that Nikolai was aware of The Other Circus’ horrific tendencies, and gave them a lot of power, meaning that he’s not entirely without a bad streak, and very well could’ve still been affiliated with them even after he “left” in the 1970s. Secondly, we have the clown in purple and white with polka dots which…almost perfectly matched the description of the doll from Episode 24. From that episode, it seems that doll was capable of turning other people into dolls…but does this episode signify that the clown doll was also originally a person. Maybe they sacrificed themselves in order to turn other people into dolls, or they were turned into a doll as punishment and the curse goes to other people whenever the calliope plays…I don’t know but it’s suspicious, especially since Basira Hussain seemingly mentioned the doll in the previous episode. But most interesting to me is the presence of who it seems very likely are our beloveds, Breekon and Hope. This is the first time we’ve seen them affiliated with a faction other than their own (although I do think they connect to Mikaele Salesa but that’s a different topic), which is very interesting. I already suspected they were the guys who stole the calliope in Episode 24, (looking back they were also probably the “two strong men” in the picture Jon described) and I believe that even more now. However, this episode gave me two ideas as to why they might have stolen the calliope in the first place. The first idea is dictated by the idea that Nikolai Denikin was no longer affiliated with The Other Circus. If that were the case, then I believe that Breekon and Hope are still affiliated with The Other Circus, and tried to steal the calliope back, but then it ended up in the institute’s artifact storage through unknown means. More likely though, I think that Nikolai was still affiliated with The Other Circus, and Breekon and Hope left, explaining why they are shown with their own company in modern day. As for what reasons, I don’t know, but I believe that it gave them enough motivation to steal the calliope as revenge, and then deliver it to the institute. Either way, their presence here is very interesting, and it makes me wonder if there’s any connection between The Other Circus, and all of the items that Breekon and Hope have delivered. Specifically the table because…well, it’s implied there were fake people in the audience and…you know… How many episodes do you think it’ll take for my brain to explode now?

Overall this was a VERY intriguing episode, getting a first look at Gertrude and more on what is one of the most intriguing plot points so far for me was very satisfying, and I’m sure I’ll be spending a lot more time mulling this over. As for the supplemental…well that is certainly concerning. I feel like they want me to be suspicious of Martin due to that note, and I am to an extent but…this has Not!Sasha written all over it. I mean, it’s implied she already stole a few tapes so I wouldn’t be surprised if she was snooping around. (The irony of one of the tapes she stole being Episode 24’s as well, lmao.) Well…that’s about it. All in all I’m very intrigued, I hope Jon is able to take care of his supplemental and..uh…I don’t really know how to end this part so EPISODE 45!!!!!!

- Episode 45, Blood Bag 💉

Statement of Thomas Neill, regarding his experiences working in malarial research during the spring of 2010.

EW EW EW EW ICKY BLEGH. I…do not do well with mosquitoes. Worms I can handle, like, I can relate to that, but mosquitoes? No. Devil spawn. Even worse when they spread malaria. So suffice to say, considering that this IS a horror podcast, this episode did a pretty good job! Ultimately some of the plot details here are a little bit vague, and the episode itself doesn’t have as much to unpack as some of the others so far, but I’ll discuss what I can regardless. Firstly, I do really like the general setting of this statement. I’ve always found lab accidents to be very scary if done effectively, what with how fragile and dangerous that kind of environment can be. I also thought they handled it really well with the slow build of paranormal activity, up to the…extremely gruesome ending. Like, YIKES. Honestly I feel really bad for Neil, poor guy was just being silly in the workplace and needed some cash, yet he got SO screwed over. Why am I surprised though, reality just seems like a massive bitch in tma, maybe even more so than in our timeline! But hey, at least there was another theatre kid Jon moment when Thomas was describing Neil’s death, so that’s nice! Neil’s death also did kind of remind me of just…everything Jane, what with a whole bunch of creepy crawlies enveloping him, although worms aren’t really traditional insects so I don’t know if those similarities mean anything, especially since this episode lacks the theme of toxic love that was extremely present with The Flesh Hive. (Although there was fire extinguishers involved…hm…) Speaking of that though, I want to talk a bit about the syringe. I think the implication here was that the mosquitoes wished harm on Neil due to his attempts to work against them, which is…an absolutely horrific thought. Those things are already little assholes, but the idea of them having a PERSONAL GRUDGE…oh no no no no no. Anyways, I think the syringe protected him from them, so when he lost it, they went full ham, infecting the haemoglobish with a bajillion diseases, and later killing him. (And also Thomas later on, what a bunch of assholes!) But this idea, the concept of an insect ecosystem being sentient enough to wish harm on a human out of a personal grudge…yeah it’s very adjacent to The Flesh Hive. And considering that the syringe was last seen with someone as important as Mikaele Salesa, I feel that it might be important if the institute ever has to deal with something flesh hive-adjacent once again. Oh yeah, Mikaele was here too. Kind of surprising considering it hasn’t been that long since he last showed up in a statement. Ultimately this statement didn’t really tell us that much more about him, he just continues to be a mysterious guy who’s probably bad, but maybe not as bad as some other people. And while there are rumors of his death…I highly doubt he’s really gone. Either way, I’m interested to see where they go with him in the future. (Also Jon just starting his closing thoughts with “yeah I hate mosquitoes too”…he’s real for that honestly.) Um…what else? Well, I find a few small details curious. Firstly, the rising heat in the lab is VERY reminiscent of a lot of previous statements, such as Episode 12, 37, and the Hill Top Road cases. To me it signifies some sort of connection to The Cult of Asag, although I have no idea what said connection could be. A lot of people also pointed out that the only blood type mentioned so far in the entire series is 0-, which is kind of curious, although once again, I don’t what that might mean. And finally, we have the reveal that Thomas started working at King’s College, the same place where Dr. Lionel Elliot taught in Episode 34. Overall, the connection are pretty vague here and don’t reveal all that much new, so either this episode is setting up stuff that hasn’t shown up yet, or it’s less relevant than I think. But as always, I still enjoyed it! Neil’s death will probably give me nightmares but who cares? Still a very good episode!

So…the supplemental. You know, if I worked in the archives, I would find Mikaele, get the syringe, and provided it’s not some kind of cursed talisman, I’d use it to sedate Jon because SWEETHEART YOU NEED TO LIE DOWN. On one hand, seeing Jon slowly go insane has been very entertaining, on the other hand, it makes me terrified for literally everyone. This isn’t even a visual show and yet I can still clearly see him shaking violently and eating things from off the ground. I mean, just look at him. Martin has a crush on him and yet Jon thinks he’s secretly plotting a murder. (Also what a sweetheart he is giving his boss/crush tea during his moments of insane paranoia, very glad to hear him again.) “Sasha” is, as far as I know, the most objectively suspicious person in the archives, and yet she is the only one Jon hasn’t batted an eye at yet. And Tim…Jon’s LITERALLY just stalking him?! No?! I mean, I guess I’m also a little curious as to why he’s working at the institute despite no signs of prior interest in the paranormal but like…I wouldn’t go as far as to start taking pictures of his fucking house! (Although how come Martin knows what his house looks like…hm…) Also HOW could you even think that Tim “Joe Spooky” Stoker is capable of murder?! He would never! (…please let me be right when I say that) …Look, I know I’m the one writing insane analyses of this podcast, and I’m probably a massive hypocrite saying this since I am LITERALLY setting up a cork-board in my room for connecting the dots, but that doesn’t make Jon any more sane, okay? Maybe…maybe we should both just lie down…despite the truth being just out of reach...I’ll listen to Episode 46 tomorrow…uuugghhh…

- Episode 46, Literary Heights ⛈️

Statement of Herbert Knox, regarding a repeat customer to his bookshop in Chichester.

Stupid idiot mother fucking god damn fool Jurgen Leitner is lucky that this episode was so fantastic, or else his sad frail old man twig bones would’ve simply flaked apart under my epic huge meat fist. (Look, I have to quote it SOMEWHERE ok?) Anyways, this episode was…absolutely phenomenal? Like, I’ve really been enjoying the season so far, but this episode coming out of nowhere and worming it’s way into…I don’t know, at least my top six episodes, is kind of insane. There’s obviously quite a bit to unpack here, so I guess I’ll start with just a few basic observations. Firstly, this episode opens with one of the best examples of theatre kid Jon so far. Like, the shift in his voice is absolutely hilarious. Secondly, and I feel like I need to address this, there has a been a metric fuck-tonne of Micheals in the show so far, so being able to refer to one as Mike is an absolute blessing. …I have a theory surrounding that though, but I’ll get to it in a minute. But I guess that works as a good segue into the main topic of interest here, Mike Crew. Truth be told, as good as it is, I don’t have much more to say about the episode on its own, as I think most of the intrigue comes from the implications for the overarching narrative it brings, although just to be clear, I’ll say that the episode has a fantastic story to tell on its own. Anyways, enough preamble, MIKE CREW! It’s genuinely such a treat to get a better look at just…what this guy is even like. I’ve known that he’s important for a while, but that’s only because he was mentioned in two separate statements, and I never knew WHY he was important, but this episode comes with some really interesting reveals. Firstly, I have to say that this guy is absolutely one of my favorite characters from the statements so far. His whole vibe is just so intriguing, and you get the sense that he has a better understanding of ✨the horrors✨than most other characters so far, but that he’s also terrified by what he’s witnessed. Anyways, I think the most interesting element of his character is how he’s clearly…just a very haunted man. This episode definitely suggests that him getting struck by lightning as a child was a paranormal experience that…connected him to something. I think it would be cool if we maybe got a statement from him later on that talked about that more, but for now, it’s just very interesting to see those powers over storms and electricity he seems to possess, willingly or not. It also seems like maybe he was studying Leitners and other books on demonology in order to get a grip on whatever was haunting him, with The Boneturner’s Tale obviously being one of them. Oh yeah, there was also some interesting stuff about Jurgen Leitner here. I do have to wonder if all of those strange deaths that occurred in the old book trade were caused by either him or his fucked up books, although he supposedly went into hiding in 1994 so I’m not entirely sure what that means. I’ve also started to notice how the Leitners…compel people. Like, Dominic Swain just…decided to go on a wild goose chase in order to learn more about Ex Altiora, Sebastian Adekoya was adamant on getting The Boneturner’s Tale despite knowing that it was bad news, Jared Hopworth was lured in by the same book despite clearly not being much of a reader, and now we have both Mike Crew and Herbert Knox fighting desperately for Ex Altiora. It’s…just very odd how much these books draw people in. And I think this is another good segue into talking about the glorious return of Ex Altiora.

Firstly, I nearly screamed at the name drop, like oh my god that was so exciting. Secondly, it’s really cool to finally learn what the story in the book even was. If it wasn’t for the fact that I’d end up in a perilous situation if I did so, and that I don’t know Latin, I’d honestly read it, it sounds pretty cool. Either way, Mike’s possession of it is very interesting to me. Obviously it seems like it’s because of him that the Lichtenburg Figure showed up in the book, meaning that it’s unlikely that Mary Keay was trying to trigger Dominic’s childhood trauma, I guess. It’s also very curious how Mike somehow knew how to wield its power correctly from the looks of things, and I also have to wonder why it ended up in some random bookstore when it seemed to be so important to him. But I think the most interesting thing about it is how it connects to whatever was haunting Mike. Jon suggests that he was trying to use it as a ward, which I do agree with, but I wonder if it backfired in the end. Maybe Mike thought that its raw power could protect him, but in reality, the book was connected to the force pursuing him without his knowledge. I mean, Ex Altiora causes vertigo and is about a high mountaintop village being terrorized by a vast and unknowable massive monster, and Mike is connected to the sky, so I think it adds up in the end. (Also, if I didn’t already think so, I’m absolutely certain that the events of this and Episode 4 connect to the ones of Episode 21, meaning that yes, the fucking sky is an eldritch horror in this timeline, and chances are Ex Altiora and the skydiver guy are harbingers of it. What does this even mean for tma’s world structure, holy shit.) Anyways, I think this theory also works because of Mike’s fate. I mean, he says “I am yours” (which is very similar to Edwin Burroughs saying “I am not for you, I am marked btw), and then throws himself out of a window. I feel like in the end he submitted himself to the forces chasing him after Ex Altiora ironically drew him in further. Said force might also be called “Vertigo” or “The Vast” based on what he says during his chants. (Also I don’t really have any theories as to how the bell tower was opened up just so you know.) As for Mike’s fate, well…I honestly don’t really know, although I think the lack of a body and his clear significance to the plot mean that he’s not…entirely dead. Maybe the Lichtenburg Figure is supposed to suggest that he’s inside Ex Altiora? Maybe…the sky ate him? I can’t quite tell yet, but I’m sure this isn’t the last I’ll hear of him, he just seems too significant (and just…way too cool) to write off here. Although…I do have one more theory about this episode, one that I’d like to proclaim my crack theory (as if my other ones already aren’t cracked). Oh boy here we go…

So I mentioned that there’s a lot of Micheals in this show, so much so that from what little I’ve seen it’s a meme in the fandom. I mean, it makes decent sense, Micheal is an extremely common name after all…but what if this goes deeper. What if every major Micheal in this podcast actually has direct connections to each other? So far we have three Micheals that seem to hold plot relevance (please, PLEASE let it stay that way.) They are Mike Crew, obviously, Gerard’s grandfather Micheal Keay, and the mysterious “Micheal” that Sasha meant, who is presumably the person that was pursuing Ivo Lensik’s father. Keep in mind the word PURSUING. Because…you remember how bony-hand Micheal appeared all weird and distorted in the window of Sasha’s apartment building. Well, it’s probably just my imagination, but…it reminds me a hell of a lot of the thing chasing Mike. On top of that, I originally doubted that bony-hand Micheal was the same person as Mike Crew due to the lack of a Lichtenburg Figure on his body (although Mike does actually seem to be capable of hiding it based on Herbert’s description of him, but said description is notably different from that of Sasha’s Micheal anyways), but I did throw out the possibility of him actually being Micheal Keay. This could also explain why he had all of those strange attributes, as Mary Keay seemingly learned how to live beyond the grave, yet she came with a number of visual differences from when she was, like, actually alive, so maybe something similar happened to her father. (and then maybe Gerard…please…please let my favorite MCR reject guy be alive…) So, here’s the basic premise of my theory. Micheal Keay found some sort of way to live after death, becoming the strange distorted Micheal that Sasha saw. This new form of Micheal Keay would form a connection to fractals, terrorizing Ivo Lensik’s father, and also a connection to the sky/vertigo/the vast/whatever you want to call it, and then start terrorizing Mike Crew. (I mean, the fractals give off the same vibes as the Lichtenburg Figure right? RIGHT?!) And then, and I know this is a huge reach but like I said, it’s a crack theory, Mike was absorbed by the being that was pursuing him. Micheal Keay is alive, and absorbing people, one of whom just happens to have his name. If Ivo’s dad was named Micheal Lensik I might just go insane. Now, do I expect this theory to be true. Oh god no! Like I said, this is absolute crack, but I think it would be very funny if every Micheal in this podcast is actually just the same person. There’s a lot of other mysteries surrounding these guys, and I’m sure I’ll be satisfied with whatever they pull off.

So that’s Episode 46. Overall this was a phenomenal episode, it’s absolutely my favorite of Season 2 so far and at the very least one of my favorites in the entire podcast so far. It’s given me so many things to think about and I’m really excited to see where they go with the plot surrounding Mike in the future. As for the supplemental, well…you know what, Brian David Gilbert- I mean Jon (yes I finally made that connection) has every right to be concerned about this one. It is admittedly a little bit unnerving that there’s another person exploring the tunnels, my best guess is it’s Not!Sasha because…well, she’s just suspicious by nature, but it could easily be Martin, Tim, and especially Elias as well. Or worse…whatever’s down there is trying to get out. There’s also the matter of the spiders which is…very interesting. Episode 32 already separated the spiders from The Flesh Hive, but I didn’t think they would go as far as to kill the remaining worms. In fact, I suspected they were in some form of collaboration, since Jon smashing that one spider lead to the infestation of worms, and the worms were present in Episode 16. But no, they’re actively killing the worms. Maybe as like…a punishment for failure or something? I really don’t know what the deal with the spiders is, but it’s certainly interesting. Anyways, great episode, can’t wait to see what comes next.

Oh, one last thing. I have this copy of Dracula in my house, and it really reminds me of Ex Altiora. Like this is what I imagine it looking like. (Also STOKER? As in TIM STOKER? Ok I’ll stop.)

- Episode 47, The New Door 🚪

Statement of Helen Richardson, regarding a new door in the house she was selling. Statement taken direct from subject.

What what what what what what what what what what what what what in the everlasting FUCK?! I don’t…what do you MEAN? RIGHT AFTER MY FUCKING MICHEAL CRACKPOT THEORY YOU GIVE ME THIS?! I CAN’T…WHAT…THERE’S SO MUCH GOING ON I LITERALLY CANNOT HANDLE THIS UAAAGGGGHHHHHHHH. Ok…calm down calm down calm down calm down just CALM. THE FUCK. DOWN. You can do this. You are a TUMBLR. ENBY. You can coherently summarize this episode. Right? …right? Oh no….

Ok so…let’s just start from the top with the things that are easy to summarize. Firstly, this is a statement recorded live from subject, so we obviously need to talk about Helen Richardson. Oh god….what a poor soul. I REALLY feel for her, compared to every other statement giver, at least the ones who gave their statements live, she was absolutely the most distraught by her experiences. Her VA did a fantastic job portraying her fright, I liked how she was frantically drawing a map at the beginning, and overall it’s just really not hard to feel for her, especially given her…fate, but we’ll get to that later. It was also extremely gratifying to finally have an instance where Jon fully believes the person he’s talking to, he was decent with Lionel and Basira, as well as his coworkers, but after his interactions with Naomi and Melanie, seeing him fully believe Helen was honestly really nice, just shows how much he’s developed since most of Season 1…although it has come with him being extremely traumatized and erratic but hey! It’s still cool that he was genuinely trying to help Helen out, because if this was Season 1 he would have not believed her. Anyways, what about her actual statement? Well…that’s absolutely terrifying. Like, I am never going to be able to look at doors the same way ever again, am I? This is already a terrifying experience on its own, but the fact that Helen is an ESTATE AGENT of all things makes this so much worse, like you could just tell that this was her personal hell. And then we have the backrooms themselves which-yeah I’m going to call the corridors the backrooms until further notice because god damnit sometimes you just need to be annoying. Anyways, everything about that place(?) makes me uncomfortable. Firstly, the opening of the door reminded me a little bit of the coffin from Episode 2, and the corridors especially reminded me of Episode 30 with the slaughter house. But outside of those interesting yet admittedly tangential connections, there’s so many terrifying aspects of the backrooms that are just so extremely terrifying in their own right. The way the door just shows up out of nowhere and lures you in, the way Helen’s face looked like it had been crying for hours when she looked in the mirror, the repeated paintings, the temperatures that don’t make sense, Micheal just…lurking there waiting to kill her, how she ended up somewhere entirely new when she finally “escaped”, and of course, the fact that it functions like a Cthulhu city with how it just DOESN’T. MAKE. SENSE. That seems to be the main theme here, just…everything not adding up, confusing people, nearly making them go insane, that is the nature of these corridors, and Micheal himself. And you know what, I think it’s about time we talk about the end of the episode. While the statement is fantastically written and viscerally terrifying, it is overall very short, and I’d say the true meat of the episode comes from the ending. Because Oh. My. God. I have some thoughts.

I’m just going to start off by saying that the drawn-out door noises that played when Helen left initially just came as a “haha funny trauma noise” moment from Rusty Quill, and nothing more. …Oh how naive I once was. Anyways, before I talk about tall blonde and Handsome, I guess I should address the glorious(?) return of Not!Sasha! …Oh no. I don’t know if it’s more or less unnerving that she’s actually speaking like a somewhat normal person now. That…that is very very bad. But she still sounds so noticeably different from the real Sasha, so much colder…I…I really do not like her! The way that she avoids re-recording Sasha’s statement because she doesn’t remember the whole thing, and the funky audio distortion that plays in the room it’s…no! No no no no no! Well at least someone seems to know what’s really going on, and that is of course, the man who speaks in hands (woah reference), Micheal…something! Apparently there’s no such thing as a real name so I’m going to assume he just doesn’t have a last name for the time being. Anyways, ever since Episode 26, this guy…thing…door has been haunting me for ages. He’s never quite at the center of my mind, that honor goes to people like the worm wife, god damn fool book-collecting dust-eating rat old bastard shithead idiot avatar of the whore, my goth son, and Jon and Martin but only if they are holding hands. But still, the way he was so enigmatic with his motivations, where he stood morality wise, his generally creepy vibe that makes me imagine him as a guy that’s always smiling, his big-ass hands, and the sense that he was so above everything and everyone in this entire story, it always kept me terrified and intrigued. And now that we’ve finally met him…yeah, he absolutely lived up to the hype. I’m sorry Jane, but I think I’ve found a new obsession. I want this thing and his gender carnally. His VA does such a phenomenal job, like I know it’s somewhat filtered but still, the tone and especially the laugh, like HOLY SHIT that is a creepy laugh, it’s all fantastic. And I mean, yeah, it still feels like he’s so above everything else, like everything connects back to him, but also like he’s so vastly beyond everything that it doesn’t connect at all. All of his dialogue is so confusing but also interesting and…well, I guess I should discuss his dialogue, because there is actually quite a lot to unpack from a good amount of his sentences.

So, when Micheal first shows up, the strange pitch that started playing when Not!Sasha entered the room changes, suggesting that Micheal and Not!Sasha are either very different from one another, or very similar. (Also, I’m assuming that the pitch playing when Not!Sasha was around is a different one from Micheal’s, because it sounds really similar to the sound that played when Sasha came across the table in artifact storage.) Either way, his first line “Do you even know they’re lying to you” seems to confirm that Micheal knows the truth about what happened to Sasha, showing how powerful he really is. Now granted, when you consider his naturally maddening personality I doubt he’s going to reveal the truth anytime soon, but it’s worth keeping in mind. (Especially since it’s implied that Elias knows what’s going on, or at least has a hunch so….hm….) Going forward, Micheal refuses to elaborate on how he got in, like the silly king he is, and then says his name is "a real name." This is interesting, as he later contradicts this by saying there's no such thing as a real name. Obviously that last quote ties into themes of inhumanity and lack of identity that seem to follow him, but I'm just going to assume the contradictions are a result of him just, once again, not making sense. I'm sure there's a deeper meaning, I just don't quite know what said deeper meaning is yet. Also I love how when Micheal said he wasn't going to kill Jon, Jon was like "oh :/". Just like...end his suffering I guess. That seems to be another prevalent theme with Micheal. He's not exactly...good, but he's also not really a major antagonistic force...yet, at least. Regardless, it's next that we learn why he's here and...oh...oh no. That's genuinely really off-putting. So yeah, Helen got trapped in the backrooms AGAIN, right after she gave her statement. I...I don't think her chances are all that good if I'm being honest. Damn. DAMN. Also, the part where Jon realizes that the door she left from was never there...that was absolutely chilling. (Although isn't it like...a yellow door? Wouldn't Jon have noticed that? Unless the doors in the archives are already yellow?) But like, imagine if this was a common occurrence. Like, what if Jon just read, I don't know, Jason North's statement from Episode 37, and then immediately got set on fire? Because that's what this feels like. Interestingly, when Jon questions if Micheal is the owner of the backrooms, he responds with "does your hand, in any way, own your stomach?" This seems to suggest that Micheal and the backrooms are one and the same which is...not confusing and terrifying at all! I'll take a bit more about what I think Micheal even is in a second but for now just keep in mind that this information is...very concerning. Also "let her go!" followed by "no :)" was kind of funny. After all that, Micheal...stabs Jon? I mean, that's absolutely not a good thing, but it didn't seem that major or painful all things considered. I'm just going to assume he used his big-ass knife hands to stab Jon in an ultimately non-vital place, because that's what the audio seems to suggest. Now, I'll touch a bit more on Micheal's comments about his own identity in a second, but for now, the last things he says correspond with his motivations. Apparently he helped Sasha learn about The Flesh Hive because he did not want the institute to disappear too early, as it would have "unbalanced the struggle." Jon believes that this implies the existence of a war, and given how I've been speculating that all of the horrors and their servants are at each other's throats...I have to agree. It also suggests that Micheal is a lot more aware of how things are going to pan out in the future than Jon, which is...interesting. Anyways, he then mysteriously vanishes, and Jon ends the recording. It's so serious that we don't even get a supplemental. So with all of this in mind...what are my overall thoughts on Micheal?

Let's just run through everything we know. Micheal is a weird tall blonde guy who has an uncanny laugh and massive hands. He is connected to some sort of maddening pocket dimension that is accessed through a teleporting yellow door. He lured Helen Richardson into there twice, and she is still stuck there. He also probably got rid of Ms. Richardson's actual clients, and he's implied to have some sort of connection to fractals (which admittedly to line up with how maddening he is), meaning there's a good likelihood he was the being chasing down Ivo Lensik's father, and he maybe had some sort of encounter with Jane given how she also mentions fractals. He seems to be antagonistic and has bad intentions, but wants the archival team to stay alive since he views them as important, and believes the loss of the institute would "unbalance the struggle" implying the existence of a war. (my theories are being validated kind of!) Despite this he chooses to stab Jon anyways, and his whole character seems to be built around insanity, doubt of one’s own mind, and contradictions. So…who or what do I think he is? Well, I think our best hints come from the one major piece of dialogue from him I neglected to mention. That being when he calls himself a “what” instead of a “who”, saying that a “who” represents a level of identity he “can’t ever retain”, and how he isn’t used to talking about himself. This all suggests that Micheal is obviously not human, but also can’t function under the human understanding of identity. However, he also says that his identity is something he can’t “retain” rather than “obtain”. This suggests that he might have actually been something more human than what he is now in the past. And…funnily enough, this kind of lines up with the theory about Micheal Keay and Mike Crew I just made. (And, yes, hearing him in this episode immediately after writing that down was indeed very exciting.) I mean, in the slim chance that theory is correct, then..yeah, a guy who lived beyond his natural lifespan and then absorbed another guy, possibly even more people, would not really be all that human. They’d have multiple identities conflicting with each other. But granted, this theory is pretty cracked in my opinion, so maybe something more logical would be…something like the anatomy students! They also kind of had this lack of identity and weird way of speaking, so it could line up very well. Also, they contorted their bones at one point (which is admittedly more similar to The Boneturner’s Tale but still), and you know how they were all functioning under the basic bitch names of different cultures? Well…Micheal is one of the most common names in the west so, who knows? And this might connect back to Not!Sasha! After all, I’ve already made comparisons between her and the anatomy students, and Micheal is aware of her true identity, and he plays a different yet still pretty similar pitch to her when he’s in the room, and the hypnotic pattern on the table might be similar to FRACTALS? Look…I’m basically saying that Micheal is an enigma, and there are a lot of opportunities for what he could be. But what I do know…is that this thing is so far above everyone else like holy shit. He just…I don’t know what it is, I feel like he’s basically god. Everything connects back to Micheal, but it also doesn’t because he couldn’t care less about all this shit. It feels like almost everything has at the very least a small connection to him. I don’t know why I think this it’s JUST. THE. VIBE.

Wow. That was certainly quite the episode. While the statement itself was very short, and while I am confused out of my goddamned mind, this was another phenomenal episode. It should be a crime to put this right after Literary Heights, I’m just saying. It had a really well-written main character, a terrifying scenario, dozens upon dozens of implications, and…Micheal. Just Micheal. There is probably so much that I didn’t even touch on here, but that’s just because my brain is so scrambled trying to figure this all out! Which you know, given the themes of the episode, I feel like that’s by design, and I’m ok with that. I’m very excited to see…whenever and however this all pans out, but for now, I’m going to take a three day-nap. Honk shoo mimimi or whatever the kids say.

I said “Micheal” like…26 times in this section alone…Fuuuuuuuccckkk. Am I really about to ditch the worm wife for the hallway husband? (Update: No, but that’s only because I realized I have two hands.)

- Episode 48, Lost in the Crowd 🧳

Statement of Andrea Nunis, regarding a series of encounters in the streets of Genoa, Italy.

Ok, so thankfully after Micheal’s Marvelous Maze of Madness ft. Micheal, this episode was a bit of a more standard affair, and a lot easier to digest and process. That being said, this one kind of fucked me up! Generally I’m a pretty introverted person, so I’ve found it kind of interesting how the couple of statements where the idea is “character who likes being alone gets karma” are some of the scariest for me personally. Also, I will mention that while there is a common theme between this and Episode 13, I don’t necessarily think they’re connected for a couple of reasons. Firstly is the lack of any tangible signs of The Lukas Family, and secondly is the fact that Naomi’s experience manifested in the form of a wide open field with nearly nothing in it, while Andrea’s was in the form of a crushing crowd. Granted there was a gray sky in the alleyway she went into, which could connect to Naomi’s fog but…eh, I’m not too sure. I personally think the one thing that connects this statement to the rest of the series is Gerard’s presence, which I’ll get to later, but still, those similar themes of one’s own introverted tendencies being turned against them felt worth mentioning. But outside of that recurring theme calling me out a second time, there were quite a few other things that really spooked me. Ethan’s fate was genuinely pretty sad as he seemed like a nice guy, the mentions of heat popping up once again were unnerving as usual, and…the crowd itself. This…this genuinely had me curled up in a ball. I hear people say that you will inevitably find at least one tma episode that feels like it’s targeting you specifically, and while I can’t confirm if this is that episode for me, I…wouldn’t be surprised if it was by the time I’ve finished listening. I have a very bad relationship with crowds so…yeah, this one hit very close to home. The description was…so, so visceral. The blanked out faces, the garbage noise, the constant shoving…I think it put how I subconsciously view crowds into words perfectly, and…yeah, I don’t really have that much more to say about the statement other than it was sad and terrifying for me. Needless to say I don’t think I have any desire to go traveling any time soon lmao. But hey, that all just means it’s doing a damn good job as an episode of a horror podcast!

But outside of the core story, we obviously have the very intriguing return of who is presumably…MY GOTH SON HELL YEAH! GERARD KEAY NATION LET’S FUCKING GO!!! Honestly, considering that he has to live a life of fighting the horrors (and maybe…spreading them…), and also seems to have a fucked up family history, I genuinely hope that he was just on vacation here, whether he’s good or bad or morally gray, I think he deserves a break. Anyways his appearance here is certainly pretty intriguing. Not only is this the first statement he appears in that seems to be completely unrelated to any Leitners, but he also mentions that Andrea had been “marked”. Marked by…what exactly? If I had to guess, I would assume that it would be the entity possessing Hill Top Road. When it fully took over Edwin Burroughs, he said “I am marked”, and on top of that, it also has connections to heat and distorting the world around people until they snap back to reality, both of which are things that Andrea experiences. Honestly, this being seems to pop up all over the place, as it seemingly has some level of ties to The Cult of Asag and maybe even Micheal (though that’s probably just the brain rot talking), and while it definitely seems to be at its strongest on Hill Top Road, it’s implied that it possessed the girl who Edwin Burroughs attempted to perform and exorcism on, so I think it can still appear in other places. Thankfully Andrea seems to have been able to fend it off by thinking of her mother, but that just makes me more intrigued as to how Gerard knew that would help fend off some sort of eldritch heat god. On top of that, this is like…the one statement so far where he shows up and doesn’t do anything that is potentially morally questionable, outside of Pageturner in retrospect I guess, so…yeah, even though this episode was a lot more easy-going than the last one, it’s still given me a lot more to think about. Gerard’s presence and actions, whatever marked Andrea and caused all the bad stuff to happen…it is certainly all very intriguing. Overall, while this isn’t an all time favorite episode for me or anything, I still thought it was a very good one and…genuinely really unsettling for me personally. I’m glad we got to see another look at Gerard and, yeah, there’s not much more to say, just another good episode. Well…there’s not much more to say outside of the supplemental at least.

Oh god fucking damnit Jon. He has clearly not heeded my advice to lie down because what the fuuucckkk. I understand if he’s a little bit shaken after the encounter with Micheal, and obviously watching a real-estate agent basically die without you knowing would probably fuck you up but OH. GOD. Ok well, it’s at the very least a good thing that he finally realized that something’s up with “Sasha” but…did he really need the god of confusion or whatever he is to tell him that?! You are an ARCHIVIST. An ACADEMIC. YOU SHOULD BE BETTER THAN THIS!!! He’s all like “I didn’t suspect her because she’s handled the Prentiss attack better than anyone else”…AS IF THAT’S SOMEHOW NOT CONCERNING?! IF I WAS HIM, I WOULD BE EXTREMELY CREEPED OUT IF SOMONE WAS JUST…CONTINUING AS NORMAL AFTER ALL OF THAT! God, what an absolute dumbass. His density knows no bounds. I love him dearly. Still though…it’s a good thing he caught on at least. And then we have his conversation with Elias, and yeah, that doesn’t do him any favors! Don’t get me wrong, the entire scene is absolutely hilarious, I love how he questions if Dr. Elliott or Micheal were filing complaints, how he chocks up being a fucking stalker to being “worried about Tim and Martin’s mental health” (oh god Martin’s crush is going to end up being so fucked I can already tell), and I love to envision him just standing outside Tim’s house with binoculars in a very easy-to-see location. But..wow! You know, when I said it would be nice to see him grow out of being a skeptic, I DIDN’T MEAN IT LIKE THIS! And then he finishes the supplemental by saying he’s most suspicious of Elias which like…yeah, me too, but I don’t think it’s for the same reasons! If anything, this is the least suspicious Elias has ever been, honestly hai requests of Jon seem pretty reasonable. Well…at least Jon knows who to be the most suspicious of now…I guess. Someone please just knock him out with a frying pan, he really needs it (affectionately)….

- Episode 49, The Butcher’s Window 💪

Statement of Gregory Pryor, regarding his investigations into one Hector Lorado during the summer of 2007.

I’m going to start off by saying that for some reason, on the YouTube upload, the little title card didn’t fully load for this episode. What was up with that? Is “butcher” or “window” some sort of British swear I’m unaware of? Well, regardless….EW EW EW EW EW EW EW EW!!!! Yet another episode that makes me feel really uneasy like…wow! I expected some body horror or meat related stuff given the title, but…I did NOT think it was going to go like…that. But outside of my sheer terror, this was another really great episode! It was terrifying, but it also built on some things that I…honestly kind of forgot about, helped fill in some gaps, and also came with some very fun reveals at the end. (oh my god I can’t wait to talk about that) As per usual I’ll start off with just some fun and interesting things about the episode that are easy to talk about. Firstly, I actually really liked Gregory Pryor as a protagonist here. I’ve always kind of had a fondness for the statement givers that are just…honestly pretty big dicks, as I think it adds a good level of realism to the world and helps to shake things up. Honestly the whole vibe of the statement was so gloriously shitty, I just got the sense that no one involved with what happened was particularly likable. I also was a little bit curious about the presence of the Ukrainian mafia here, initially I thought the guys who were bargaining with Hector were supposed to be Breekon and Hope but I think that was just me going insane. If I had to make one minor complaint about this episode, it’s that I felt like it took a while to get into the weird horror aspects. I mean, most episodes don’t get into the real meat until later on, but they usually add intrigue with just…little oddities here and there. For example, Episode 46 doesn’t get truly freaky until later on, but the mentions of the weird smells and lightbulbs whenever Mike entered the room helped in making me feel uneasy, while this episode doesn’t really have much of that. But this is overall a very small and meaningless complaint, because when we do get into the actual horror…oh my god. I have some things to say.

So…yikes. Before we discuss the return of the big beefy bully boy, I’ll just talk a little bit about how FUCKING GRUESOME this part is. Like…I was very disturbed. Gregory hiding in the locker, Hector turning out to be alive, all of the shit that Jared did, the teeth hole underneath the floorboards, the discarded clothes and the body of the original owner that was later found, the general atmosphere of a morgue inside a butcher’s shop, the fact this went on for four fucking hours, and Gregory’s escape attempt which led to…the arm. I initially thought it got chopped off, which would have been terrible already, but then…then we learn that Jared FUCKING RIPPED THE BONE OUT THE SOCKET AND EW EW EW. All of this was tense and horrible and I absolutely loved it. Happy that Gregory got a prosthetic though, even if I just said he was kind of a dick. But anyways uh…Jared Hopworth is back! Honestly I kind of forgot about him, but it is really cool to see that he’s a more prominent recurring antagonist, given that his whereabouts were kind of a loose end at the end of Episode 17. And…I mean, I do not know how to feel about where he’s been. On one hand it’s..good for him(?) that he was able to capitalize his abilities (especially alongside the fucking mafia of all people), but on the other hand, he’s clearly a terrifying meat bone monster thing that is no longer human and is dismembering people in order to morph himself even further. So…yeah, overall I’d say his return isn’t exactly a good thing. I mean, he could change the medical world with these abilities but instead he does this. What an ass! But in all seriousness, I’m absolutely terrified of this man. Just the knowledge that this…thing is STILL out there, still turning people’s bones, is…not exactly a pleasant thought. Like, obviously this is fiction, but I LIVE in England, I still feel like Hulk: Bone Edition could come at me and that’s not a good thing. It’s also interesting that Jared is not seen using The Boneturner’s Tale to…you know, turn bones anymore. I’ve seen someone suggest that maybe he also put the book inside his body, which could definitely be the case, but Mike Crew still seemed to have some sort of connection to Ex Altiora even before he found the book so…I just get the feeling that a single encounter with a Leitner is enough to give someone some weird abilities, although it does make me question where the time might be now…yikes. (Also, if he opened the book at one point, does that mean that Mike could also turn bones? Or did the book specifically choose Jared as if it’s sentient? Honestly I’m just starting to get the vibe that this old-ass bibliophile is responsible for every little bad thing that happens in this podcast.) One other thing about Jared is that now that I think about it, his weird shape is very similar to that of the anatomy students and Micheal. There very well might be some connections there, but I’ll just have to wait and see where they might go. What’s also very curious to me is that…interesting hole that Jared started throwing the bones into. For some reason, it kind of reminded me of that part in Episode 30, where David Laylow was nearly fed to a massive meat grinder. I only say this because Jon straight up says that this statement reminds him of other meat-centric ones, such as Episode 30, but also others like Episode 18, probably. In fact, I wonder if this butcher’s shop is where Toby Carlisle from Episode 18 was getting the meat, maybe he knew Jared. Now, I can’t say how all of these episodes connect perfectly, I just know that there’s a connection. What I do find interesting however is that this episode is home to both meat and bones and…that got me thinking about a theory I had on ✨the horrors✨.

When I wrote about Episode 35, I listed out what I thought the driving forces behind all things spooky in the timeline were, and I mentioned something associated with meat, and something associated with bones as two of them. However, given what we have here, I now think that these “two” are actually the same being. Rather than one being meat and the other being bones, I think there is one singular being with command over bodies in general, and that’s what has been witnessed in every episode with either concept involved so far. This revelation doesn’t really give much, as I still don’t know…what the hell this thing even is, but it has made me want to revisit my list of ✨the horrors✨ with a new coat of paint. So, here it is: Eldritch Gods 2.0!

- The Anglerfish (1, 28)

- Vertigo/The Vast (4, 21, 46)

- The Flesh Hive (6, 22, 26, 32, 36?, 39, 40, 45?)

- The Piper (7, 42?)

- Asag (8, 12, 19, 20, 37, 43, 48?)

- Devouring Darkness (9, 15, 25, 41)

- Eyes (12, 20, 23)

- Isolation (13, 33, 48?)

- Body Horror (14, 17, 18, 30, 35, 49)

- Spiders (16, 32, 38, 48)

- Whatever The Other Circus deals with (24, 44)

- Micheal :-) (8, 26, 47)

And then like…maybe one or two more if the passages Robert Smirke designed do indeed represent ✨the horrors✨. I also guess I should mention the remark I made about these things representing different fears, since I said that one of the reasons I scrapped that theory was because “bones” were just too specific. Now granted, I am not fully reviving this theory, as just because something is scary does not mean it represents fear (even though I still think fear is a core theme of the podcast(, but I will concede it makes the theory…slightly more plausible, but I’m still kind of on the fence about it. So um…yeah! That’s about it for the content of the statement! Overall another great one, a bit of a slow start but it more than made up for it with what happened later on! But of course, I can’t neglect to mention the follow-up and the supplemental because…oh my god this is absolute gold.

“Come on down to The Magnus Institute. We have Jonathan “Ex-theatre kid turned crazed conspiracy theorist” Sims, Martin “pines after his emotionally constipated boss that either hates him or suspects him of murder and steals tape recorders to write poetry” Blackwoood, Sasha “she is totally normal” James, Tim “bisexual icon otherwise known as Joe Spooky” Stoker, and Elias “smokes weed” Bouchard! Simply sell your soul to ✨the horrors✨ of academia, and start your work now!”

So…there’s certainly some interesting things to talk about here. There’s nothing about the statement that really sticks out, or that I haven’t already mentioned, but most of the interest comes from information on the institute staff. Firstly…hell yeah Tim you fucking get it. The man comes back from a horrific worm infestation and gets back to his hobbies of being silly and seducing cops for information. What an absolute legend, I wish he ran the institute, nay, the country. Also find it interesting that Basira has “refused to compromise her position any further”. Hopefully that just means that she doesn’t want to anything outside of sneaking in Gertrude’s tapes, as it would be a shame if those stopped coming in, given how interesting the first one was. It is very funny to me however that Jon says he doesn’t want to get involved in “personal drama”….when he is literally outside Tim’s house stalking him. Never change Jon. Actually please do change. Actually I don’t know. Also we have Not!Sasha, and while I can see why some might interpret her computer troubles as relating to the ones that force Jon to record statements on tape…I personally think she’s just really fucking weird. It also made me realize that doing I.T. in a place like this must seriously suck ass. (Oh god…imagine being in H.R. though…how would you manage the worms…HOW WOULD YOU MANAGE JON OH GOD.) So (almost, looking at you Not!Sasha) all of that is fine and dandy, but things get very interesting when we start to look at Jon’s investigations into Elias. Finally some substantial lore on this guy! (Sure, Jon should probably be looking into Not!Sasha but…he’s still suspicious as well so I won’t hold this one against him, even if his reasoning for suspicion from last episode is dumb as all hell.) So, we learn here that the institute was previously ran by a man named James Wright, who ran from 1973 to 1996. Not only does this mean that Episode 44 was recorded not too long after Elias took over, but it also means that…James Wright probably ran for an unusually short amount of time. I mean, I doubt you’d start running an institute like this in old age, and while he could’ve died in an accident or due to medical complications…I can’t just shake the feeling that he was murdered, despite the lack of information on him. Like, if Elias is being set up as antagonistic, which I feel like he is, then I could see him killing James just to gain his position. But on top of that lore, we learn that Elias joined in 1991, and worked in artifact storage, becoming head of the institute unusually quickly. But more importantly…HE CANONICALLY SMOKES WEED FUCK YEAH!!!! I don’t CARE if the implication is that he doesn’t do so anymore, I will forever believe that he still does it in secret because the amount of hilarious scenarios that could come from that are too good to pass up. But…yeah, this information on his past is weird. Like, you would not expect a stoner with a lackluster university degree to become the head of an eclectic academic institution so easily, let alone to have the personality of the Elias we see here. I saw someone suggest that maybe the real Elias was taken and replaced by one of the things that took and replaced Sasha, since he worked in artifact storage. I personally think it’s unlikely, since that event only transpired due to the table, which was only delivered to the institute fairly recently, but it’s a fun theory nonetheless, and it could explain why Elias seemingly knows that Not!Sasha isn’t who she says she is…and for some reason chooses not to tell Jon and the others. And hey, the table has definitely moved around before given it’s presence in Graham’s house, and maybe Hill Top Road, so it’s technically possible that it’s been to the institute before and was just temporarily moved to victimize someone. But as cool as this idea is, I have a bit of a different theory. It’s looser, but it makes more sense in my head.

You see, I think that Elias Bouchard has done some bad things and that he isn’t entirely moral, but I don’t think he has the worst intentions at heart. Based on all of the information, and the vibes he’s giving off, I think that he has likely witnessed the horrors first hand. This would explain his possible change in demeanor, perspective and personality after joining the institute, his supposed great knowledge on the paranormal, and why he was able to recognize Not!Sasha, without him being some horrific monster. I don’t think he was impersonated, but..he could’ve definitely seen something in artifact storage, or maybe even before then, as it would explain why he started work at the institute in the first place. And…I personally think he wants to avoid ✨the horrors✨as much as possible. He’s seen them first hand, and he wishes to keep them far away. This would explain a multitude of things. It would explain why he’s quite discouraging towards Jon’s attempts at investigation, why he was willing to sacrifice Jon and Martin to deadly C02 if it meant killing Jane, why he’s so quiet about details surrounding Gertrude. And mentioning Gertrude, if we assume that Elias did indeed kill her (which I still think is the most likely course of action, even with the potential of him being a red herring) then this potential worldview of his would explain why he would’ve killed her. Gertrude clearly knew quite a lot about ✨the horrors✨, much more than Jon at least, given how she talks about The Other Circus with such familiarity. And given how it seems that at least two cults have something against her, it’s safe to assume that she made an enemy of eldritch forces. So, Elias killed her out of fear for what she could’ve caused. And that’s why he’s trying to keep Jon calm (and desperately failing, might I add), as he does not wish to kill him as well. I know all of this is a huge claim to make but honestly…I could see it working out. I feel like Elias will end up being a very morally compromised character, one that has good yet potentially misguided intentions at heart, and had to do some terrible things to keep ✨the horrors✨ at bay. …I’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.

So yeah…that’s Episode 49. Another great episode as always, it definitely went some interesting places, and I’m very intrigued by the information on both Jared and Elias. Also, I hope that Tim’s polycule ends up successful (I’m just going to go on that assumption because it’s more fun.) I…once again don’t really know how to end this so uh…here’s a wacky link I found!

http://paypal.com/IFuckingHateJurgenLeitner

- Episode 50, Foundations 🏛️

Statement of Sampson Kempthorne, regarding the workhouse architecture of George Gilbert Scott.

And here we are! I’m now 25% of the way through The Magnus Archives, woohoo! So, did this episode conclude the first quarter of the series in a satisfying way? Well…I mean I guess yeah? Overall, I think the general concept of the episode makes it more than worthy, as having another statement given directly to the guy who founded the institute here does feel very totally fitting. But…I don’t know, it isn’t exactly a favorite for me. Not due to any particular flaws, as always it’s still very enjoyable and far from bad, but I guess I just don’t have that much to say about it, especially in comparison to some of the other episodes from this first quarter of the season. Regardless, there’s still definitely quite a few things worth talking about so uh…how about I get into that?

I’ll start off by saying that this episode does immediately get points for incorporating real-world history into it, which I’ve already said is something I really like in this podcast. As it turns out, Sampson Kempthorne, George Gilbert Scott, and Henry Roberts were all real people, along with the returning Robert Smirke, so it’s cool to see them get incorporated into the plot here. Although, I did find it funny how the case number was “8141206” as that error makes it seem as if the statement was given in 1814…and all of these guys would’ve been children at that point in time. This episode also thankfully gives a bit more information on Jonah Magnus, the founder of the institute. At this point in time he would’ve actually founded the place, unlike in Episode 23, and honestly, I think he would’ve had a lot in common with Jon. I mean, both of them probably talk like the haunted protagonists of Victorian gothic horror novels, and also need some rest, I can see some similarities there. I’ll touch a bit more on Jonah later, but for now I’ll just say that…yeah, those letters are a little…not all that heterosexual sounding. I mean, most old letters between two rich guys do feel kind of fruity by modern standards but…you get what I mean right? But as for the statement, well, I’ve got to say I love how we now have multiple instances of people leaving to New Zealand for the sake of escaping ✨the horrors✨ of England. I don’t know I just think that’s kind of funny. But when we get into the paranormal stuff that happens here…well, it’s pretty vague, but I think I can make some sense of what’s happening here. Obviously the person behind all of this is “The Governor”, someone with the ability to make buildings compress and kill people. My current assumption is that this “Governor” is indeed George Gilbert Scott. Both of them are…well firstly, they’re both really weird, but there’s some other things worth noting here as well. They both have some sort of interest in compressing architecture, we’re nearby the sites of The Governor’s actions, and on top of that, George’s plans were found in Sampson’s house after it started to close in on him. If they are not the same person, then they are at the very least strongly related and working together. However, the existence of The Governor does bring up some interesting ideas. You see, I initially assumed that the darkness worshipped by The People’s Church of The Divine Host was the same thing that appeared in Episode 15 and Episode 41, having the ability to morph rooms in order to trap and kill people. Now, that darkness could’ve still been there in those episodes but…honestly, aside from Sampson’s incident taking place at night, this darkness doesn’t really seem to be present here. This actually makes me think that the darkness and the compression are the results of two different eldritch horrors, and if we go back to the theory on what I think ✨the horrors✨ are, that brings us to a total of thirteen. Now, I still think that there’s actually fourteen eldritch beings at that the death number is meant to throw me off, as the passage that led to the central room in Episode 35 also had weird properties. In fact, that specific passage might actually be meant to represent the compressing horror. So, I still think I’m missing something here if my theory is in the right place, but I feel like I might have made a step in the right direction here. So, uh… Eldritch Gods 3.0!

- The Anglerfish (1, 28)

- Vertigo / The Vast (4, 21, 46)

- The Flesh Hive (6, 22, 26, 32, 36?, 39, 40, 45?)

- The Piper (7, 42?)

- Asag (8, 12, 19, 20, 37, 43, 48?)

- Darkness (9, 15?, 25, 41?)

- Eyes (12, 20, 23)

- Isolation (13, 33)

- Body Horror (14, 17, 18, 30, 35, 49)

- Compression (15, 41, 50)

- Spiders (16, 32, 38, 48)

- Whatever The Other Circus deals with (24, 44)

- Micheal :-) (8, 26, 47)

So there you go! This is my current list until further notice! One last thing I feel is worth mentioning is that Smirke suggests that George had a “patron”, but I have to wonder what that actually means. It could definitely mean The Governor, if he’s a different person, but if George is The Governor…then you could maybe take more a D&D Warlock approach to the term “patron”. Also, I fee I should address why I view ✨the horrors✨ as “eldritch”. Simply put, some spoiler-free content on tma I saw called it eldritch horror, so I’m just going on the assumption that’s what’s being dealt here. I only say this because there is still some good evidence for all of this to be the work of demons, or something along those lines, so I wanted to explain why I have this interpretation. Anyways uh…back to the statement! So, the other main thing of intrigue that came from this episode was of course the return of Robert Smirke, which also acts as our first look at him as a character. And…he’s pretty confusing to me. You see, with the way that he talks about George’s architecture, how he bashed it and says that Sampson was lucky to not have to work with him much longer, you’d assume he stands in opposition to whatever George / The Governor is doing. But then again, HE built the passages underneath the reform club, as well as the ones beneath the institute, so he’s not entirely resolved of making creepy architecture either. Now granted, I have suggested that you can serve one horror and be against others. For example, I believe Gerard serves whatever horror connects to eyes, but that he’s against Vertigo/The Vast and Asag given his actions. The problem however is that Smirke built the tunnels which I believe reflect ✨the horrors✨, so…that would mean he doesn’t really have a side in this conflict (which I assume to be the conflict Micheal talks about). Overall Smirke’s motivations and morality are very enigmatic at the moment. But what’s even more interesting here is that based on Sampson’s words, it seems that while the institute was founded in concept by this point, the actual building might not have been, since Jonah was working at Edinburgh Townhouse. This makes it possible that Jonah built the institute over the tunnels even though he had knowledge of Smirke’s strange designs. Which like, I get it, if you have an interest in the paranormal that’s fair enough of a move to make but…it just makes me worry about the purpose of the institute a lot more, and also makes me concerned for Jonah’s fate. I feel like an overarching theme of the story is that if you dig too deep, you’ find something you wish you hadn’t found, which makes me very fearful for the history of the institute, everyone currently working there…and myself, now that I think about it. (And if the institute has a stake in the “struggle” Micheal mentions…are they aligned with the compression horror?) Overall, while this episode isn’t an all-time favorite for me, it’s given me enough to think about going forward. The history of the institute, The Governor and the…odd themes of poverty abuse that follow him now that I think about it, and Smirke’s architecture are all very interesting topics that I would love to see get expanded further. While it’s not my favorite episode, I think it certainly works as a finale to the first quarter of the podcast.

Oh yeah, the supplemental. Uh….I mean, this one is fairly brief but that’s fine because it’s funny as fuck. Oh Tim…you have no idea do you? I mean, that’s not me saying that Jon reciprocates Martin’s feelings at the moment, because have you SEEN the man? What I am saying is that…Tim really is a bestie ignoring the plot isn’t he? Like, I love him, but he has NO idea where the romantic subplot is going. But outside of that, it’s nice to know Basira is still trying to give out the tapes, and it’s also good to see that Jon is finally in…some form of therapy. Hooray for marginal improvement!

Well, that’s a wrap on the first quarter of season two, as well as the first quarter of the entire podcast! In conclusion, season two has been absolutely fantastic so far. So many great episodes like Grifter’s Bone, Tightrope, Literary Heights and The New Door have already blown me away, and it makes me even more excited to see what the rest of the season will dish out. The supplementals are a great way to advance the plot, and the directions all of the characters and storylines are taking are extremely satisfying and/or interesting. Looking back it’s…kind of insane that I’ve gotten this into the podcast. I initially started listening because I wanted to write my own horror, and thought something to have in the background for inspiration would be nice. But then I listened to the first two episodes while doing mundane busywork in a class and…it absolutely hooked me. And here I am, writing ass-long posts about them. I still intend to write my own works in the future someday, and I’m working on it as we speak, but I’ve just got to say it’s been such a delight getting deep into this, and everyone who worked on this podcast has my highest respect. And as always, thank you for reading of you’ve made it this far, I consider you an absolutely legend of perseverance if you’re able to listen to someone ramble for this long. In conclusion, Jon needs a nap, Martin needs a happy relationship, Tim needs all of the riches in the world, Not!Sasha needs to die, Elias needs to explain himself, Gertrude needs to explain herself, Basira needs to be careful, Helen needs to GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE, and Micheal needs to get in my life right now. See you next time :).

#the magnus archives #tma #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #gertrude robinson #robert smirke #elias bouchard #gerard keay #jennifer ling #alfred grifter #diego molina #nikolai denikin #breekon and hope #jane prentiss #mikaele salesa #tim stoker #not!sasha #jurgen leitner #mike crew #micheal keay #micheal the doorman #helen richardson #jared hopworth #james wright #jonah magnus #the governor

[luminnara]

Your Cranium? Enourmous. Your Fics? Delectable. Hotel? Trivago.

I like me a good Feyd fic, but I really love how the Harpies interact with the reader in yours, and their relationship with Feyd is fantastic. Neither Feyd or the Harpies are soft but they show love (in their fucked up ways but still) in such fascinating ways to the newest concubine. Yarina and Issa were ready to destroy their fellow concubine's former house at the drop of a hat. No Hesitation in them beady little eyes.

The affection they show for each other, the touching and holding is *muah*, chefs kiss. I want more. I need more fics to take notes from yours. I need more fics to incorporate the Harpies, and them having a relationship with the reader and Feyd. (Also how Feyd and reader interact, also fantastic)

When part 3 drops I will go feral.

Yeeee thank you! I’ve really enjoyed writing this fic and I’m glad my weird concubine story is turning out okay! I have so many random HCs for the harpies that I want to sprinkle in and I just really really love them ok phew

Writing their relationships and how they show the affection that they DO HAVE for each other and the reader has been SO much fun. It’s so interesting to come up with the ways in which they might express that love and almost worship they have for feyd, because he really is the center of their world for so many reasons. I especially love figuring out his side of things, and tip toeing along what I think is a reasonable amount of affection from him for this fic. I know I write him a little softer, and I do love fics that have him go even SOFTER than this, but I also like exploring what his affection can be like when he’s given the opportunity to show it behind closed doors, with people who exist within this vacuum with him. Like yeah, he’s a murderous rampaging party boy, BUT when he’s alone with these people who have been perfected and MADE to cater to his very specific tastes, and who see an entirely different side to him and yet never judge him and in fact RELY on his brutality for their snacksies, what might he be like?? It’s just so fun to come at his character from these different angles.

I would also love to read more fics with them involved, I just think they’re SO neat and mysterious!! Love me some industrial cyber fetish goth girls. Part 3 is coming soon!

[schro4444]

Ohhh boy chaper 1120 coming in with the Conan movie plot (disdain). Have you checked it out yet? Kid and Hakuba get done so dirty in wildly opposite ways...

(oh, so are we now pretending DetectivesTM are the Only Observant People that Exist, Ever? Is that what we're doing now??? Sure, different skillsets, but like NOTICING A BLOODSTAIN AND THAT A SUICIDE WOULDN'T NEED A SILENCER AIN'T ROCKET SCIENCE)

LOL YEAH,,,, I’ve Been Keeping Up With It. I’m trying to avoid thinking too critically until it finishes up this plotline and for now just enjoy the ride of “haha character interaction funny” ajdjfhdjdjdhd

they do sure like to keep kid’s skills a liiiiittle inconsistent…. uh, I’m glad I finished writing ditto before this chapter came out, lol. there are,,, ok. there are a lot of ways that this could, in theory, go fine, while staying mostly in-character. plenty of theoretical plot twists or scenarios. kid could actually be right, but for different reasons. he also could be like “lol just testing ur skills as a fellow detective” and then the problem is solved. hakuba could ask kid to prove that he’s a genius detective, or challenge him to some kind of competition, to which kid “deducts” everything about hakuba (using everything kaito knows about him lol).

idk, like,,, the current situation feels a little bit to me like a set-up for something, though I’m not sure what. but it’s been too simple so far, lol. something’s gotta come up in 1121 that upsets the whole thing.

from the pov of a writer that’s kinda bad at figuring out mysteries, I’d say there are lots of reasons why a gun used for a suicide could have a silencer. framing a suicide as a murder could have all sorts of motives, from getting kaitou kid arrested/accused/defamed to insurance claims to both to anywhere in-between. maybe kichida used something in the room to fix the issue of the silencer making the gun too long. at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if the body turned out to be fake or weird somehow—how was it affected by the humidity? are there any related clues in the body’s first stages of rigor mortis? honestly I almost think he was dead way before this and got replaced by somebody or something, because of the coughing in the beginning and how he wouldn’t talk. or maybe he was poisoned or sick, and decided he only had one way out? idk. just… rarely are detco cases this cut-and-dry with the clues.

and as for the movie plot… lol. yeah. uh. oops. kid-dressing-up-as-shinichi-all-the-time trope is Hilarious, but my biggest issue with it is that,,, like,,, now that shinichi has kid pinned down as One Of the Guys That Look Like Him, all it would take is seeing kaito randomly on the street somewhere to put 2 and 2 together. it’s a Big big risk to his identity, which will now more or less rely on shinichi’s honor code to stay secret. rip.

#to everyone I haven’t answered yet #SOON #I promise #exam season is simply upon us #help #schrasks #dcmk #dc #mk #file 1120 spoilers #detective conan spoilers

[lettersnorth]

Lend a Hand

In light of Heartwood’s…unfortunate state of affairs, the workshop had become a de facto hub for anything that might need some sort of power source. The bank of generators and aetheric cells were designed to resist a lengthy outage, redundant systems left in place by a paranoid Florus once upon a time. Now a myriad of cables ran this way and that across the shop floor, a veritable rabbit warren resisting any of Aislinn’s attempts to corral them into order.

Sergius currently leans idly against the workshop’s large terminal, his synthetic gaze silently following Aislinn around the room as she steps over cables, ducks under wiring in a weird, complicated dance as she goes about trying to get things ready. She’s not speaking but she’s obviously thinking because she bites her lip and squinches up in her eyes in a way that said whatever had crossed her mind had her suppressing an emotion.

He logs the expression but doesn’t ask her what caused it.

N'yami came stomping through the halls of the Heartwood estate, more or so walking so fast to the point it looked like running. It was project time! Once the door was in sight the Seeker kicked it open, and gave a small salute to the two in the room already. "Heyo! I'm ready to start bulidin' and blow som--little too early for that nevermind." She paused once noticing Linn was pacing. "Yer goin' to carve out a path with all that pacin'. Do ya need a snack? Or did ya drop somethin'?"

Yayaji Yaji absolutely was running in order to keep up with the hyperactive Miqo'te, though she would be lying if she said she wasn't also feeling the excitement. Building robot arms was her favourite! So many cool knickknacks that can be shoved up in there, and Yaji was planning on shoving them all. "Hello hello! What a wonderful day to be back in the Heartwood estate!" Yaji cheers, despite the wreckage they had just passed. "It is wonderful to meet you both! Quite wonderful!"

Professor Meowitzer putts in the air behind her, examining the room carefully with mechanical eyes that eventually fall on Sergius... and stay there. It's mouth opens and a gutteral <ME-OW> is released, prompting Yaji to pat it on its head happily

Sergius and his ever present drones seem to swivel as one to the door as it’s kicked open and N’yami announces herself. Aislinn is weaving her way back to the drawing board and doesn’t appear startled by the noise, she only flicks her gaze at Yami with a slight smile as she leaves her thoughts. “Hmm? No. No, just…trying to clear things up. Mind the cables. And the wires. Just…be careful.” She says as she wipes down the drawing board. Best to start with a clean slate for this. Her motions do halt, however, at the sound of the new voice. “Ah. Good to meet you, miss…” She trails off but then shakes her head. “I’m Aislinn. Glad to have another head in on this project.”

Sergius doesn’t feel the need to add anything. As far as he was concerned, Aislinn had the social exchanges covered.

"Yayaji Yaji, enchante! My wonderful friend slash boss has told me much about you Miss Aislinn, though she did not mention you had beauty to match the brains!" Yaji says, flashing her best business lady smile, then turns to Sergius. "And you as well good sir! You have an air of mystery about you, perfect for the debonair type that I'm positive you must be. The Professor seems quite taken with you! Do you like cats?"

N'yami made a beeline for Sergius. "Boop." She said while reaching up to boop him on the nose then going straight to Linn at the drawing board. "So what's goin' through that brain of yers? Are we puttin' a gun in it? A hidden blade!?! Wait...maybe we should start with the metal that we're usin'. I heard this guy is havin' a kid so we gotta figure out the part of havin' the metal mimic his body temperature. Oh! Gotta worry about rustin' too!" Some of Yami's ideas spewed out in a word vomit. She was talking so fast, and no she didn't have coffee or sweets before this. "Should we make it so it can detach? Man, I'd pay to see him pull his arm off and beat the shit out of someone with it."

Aislinn blinks at Yaji’s silver-tongued flattery. Aside from a certain roguish pirate, it wasn’t something that had often been turned in her direction. “Um. Yes. Well, thank you?” Sergius, for his part, stares blankly at Yaji. “I don’t have an opinion on them.” He tells her, cutting through her chatter and addressing the question. He does this while swiping an arm out, seeking to guide N’yami’s boop off to the side before it can reach him. 

“Right.” Aislinn steps back from the board and takes a breath. She tilts her head at Yami’s ideas. “Knife. That’s interesting. Maybe? Probably not a gun.” She stops and clears her throat. “As I’m sure you all know, we’re here to see what we can do to create a prosthetic for Yakih’ra. One that will allow, as much as possible, for him to regain sensation, which means connections to the nervous system. And…if possible something waterproof that will resist rusting.” She glances at Yami, her lips quirking up in a smile. “Then. We can see what we can do about weapons. You all have various experience with this kind of thing so I’m thinkin’ that putting all our heads together will be Yakih’ra’s best shot.”

N'yami’s tail whipped with excitement behind her. "Buildin' the arm is a different thing for me but actually settin' up the wirin' with the nerves is somethin' I won't know too much about, what wires would we use for that? I assume you and Ma will be doin' the attachin' of that?" She asked with a raise of a brow towards Linn. "Don't think ya want me in the surgery room. We should also make a piece that covers the part where he lost his arm, little detatchment part. Plus if a wire needs to be replaced pop that bad boy off and take a look under the hatch see what's goin' on. Hm...gotta worry about water gettin' in there."

Yayaji Yaji: "You're all in luck! As a matter of fact, I have built a prosthetic arm before for a fierce pirate during my time in the roguish city of Limsa Lominsa! Of course, that arm exploded a few weeks into use, but that was on purpose and I was long gone by then! I'm sure the fundamentals remain the same!" Yaji explains proudly, meanwhile Professor Meowitzer putts on over to Sergius and begins rubbing its cheek against his leg. The sound of grinding gears can be heard from inside its metallic frame, vaguely reminiscent of purring

Something flits across Sergius’ expression, barely noticeable before the blank wall smoothes back into place. “Connecting a prosthetic into whatever nerve endings remain is painful. They have to be awake to facilitate alignment between the biological and mechanical systems.” At least, that had been his experience with Rhua. Aislinn shoots Sergius a troubled look at hearing that particular bit of news, but then nods to Yami “Aye, we should try and make any maintenance or repair issues easy to navigate.” 

She begins drawing a rough schematic on the board. Sergius stares down at the mechanical cat but curiously, doesn’t stop it from doing what it’s doing. “Hell if I know about waterproofing. It’s better to start out with a water resistant metal and figure shit out from there. You’re going to want Allagan wootz and that’s not cheap.”

“Right. Well. No built in explosions, this time.” Aislinn says in reply to Yaji, without halting her drawing as she speaks. “That would be…counterintuitive.”

N'yami Synch: "Well let's hope this arm doesn't blow up! That would fuckin' hurt like hell. Just think yer walkin' along one day and BAM. Arm blows up!" Her ears perked up at Sergius' comment. "Never fear! I know where to get allagan wootz from! Well, gotta see if the old man will allow me to have some of his supply but in this type of situation I don't think he'll say no. I'll use the puppy dog face on him, then have Yaji steal it while he's distracted."

Yayaji Yaji gives N'yami a thumbs up before addressing Aislinn again. "Come now, I would *never* give an exploding arm to a friend! However, what are the patient's opinion on gadgets? Any weapons of choice? I've been tinkering with this flamethrower device you see, and..." Yaji is cut off as Meowitzer lets out another <ME-OW> as it looks up towards Sergius. "Oh ho! The Professor really likes you! Careful now, it has a habit of spontaneously combusting when it gets too excited!"

Sergius studies Yami as if he can’t decide if she’s serious or not. His drone drifts towards Aislinn and circles around to check her expression but no, she didn’t look like she was laughing at anything Yami said. Instead, she looked relieved. “Oh good.” She breathes. “That should shorten the timeline up if we already have the metal on hand. If he’s upset, tell him we’ll replace it. It’ll just take some time for my source to make a run.”

Sergius’ attention returns to the cat as he attempts an exploratory ping. Did the creation even have that functionality?

Aislinn passes Yaji a subdued look, recalling Yakih’ra’s explosive rants in the midst of his turmoil. “He…wouldn’t be opposed to weaponry. I question how healthy that might be in the long run but…” Aislinn trails off. Because wasn’t that just the pot calling the kettle black? There had never been a moment she had regretted what she had done in vengeance. 

N'yami was 100% serious about stealing the wootz from her old man. "No worries, I'll take the fall for anythin' related to that so if he asks none of ya had anythin' to do with it." Her ears perked. "Flamethrower would be a nice touch!" Yami took an extra marker and started writing off in the corner a list of supplies they'd need, and features that came to mind to be added. "Alright, gonna start makin' a shoppin' list. What else we needin'?"

Professor Meowitzer is absolutely not designed for spontaneous combustion, however the sheer amount of explosives and weaponry that had been stuffed inside the small cat chassis was definitely a fire hazard. The bot seems to reply to the ping as well, starting to fly circles around Sergius excitedly. Yaji however was too busy thinking up what cool new weapons could be placed into a robotic arm. "Ah, revenge! The perfect motivator for innovation! Now, ah, perhaps we should talk finances? Who will be paying for all this work, and how much exactly?"

“He’s angry right now. He has a right to be. Cultists attacked his home and took his arm. I’m thinkin’ he’s dealing with a lot right now.” It was an understatement and Aislinn knew it. A lot of guilt. A lot of wanting to do something about it. A lot of wanting to get even. And damned if she didn’t understand that perfectly. At Yaji’s assumption of payment, Aislinn tilts her head to Yami. “This was trauma dealt on the job. Your boss will send an invoice to Heartwood.”

"Wonderful!" Yaji declares with a grin and clasps her hands together. "Judging by the impressive stature of your estate, that must mean your boss will only want the very best! Yami and I shall deliver exactly that, have no fear, young Yakih'ra will be most definitely get all the revenge his wonderful heart desires!"

"Never fear Yaji! It'll be a nice Starlight bonus for the Synch forge!" She grinned at the lalafell. "From the damage I've seen around the estate I can imagine that he's out for blood. Revenge does crazy things to ya, hopefully he doesn't fall too far into it." She thought it over for a moment as if thinking about shit she's done in the past related to revenge. "Annnnyyywwaaayyysss." Her ears flicked as her brain went back to focusing on the arm that needed to be made. "We'll get this all sorted for him, with us four workin' on it Yakih'ra will be back to normal in no time. He'll just be 15% metal is all." She shrugged like it was a normal thing.

Sergius’ system makes a handshake with cat-bot’s own and begins to make an ID query. “That’s not what Aislinn meant.” He stated right on the heels of Aislinn’s own sigh of “That’s not what I meant. Don’t load this arm up with all the bells and whistles he needs to go and get himself killed. He’s a desperate hand looking for a gun.” She turns her gaze to Yami. “I can do the intricate biometric wiring that’ll need to feed into his nerve endings. The connectors are going to be touchy.” 

She cut a glance to Sergius. “No need to reinvent the wheel, can you get me schematics for the connectors on Rhua’s arm?” There was a fraction of silence before Aislinn’s terminal on the bench beeped. “Sent.” He told her. Aislinn turned back to Yami and nodded. Then, because she thought it might bear repeating. “No flamethrowers. Not yet. We can always modify it after Yakih’ra’s in a better headspace.”

N'yami looked between Aislinn and Sergius then she heard the beep. How did he do that? "Hold on, are we not gonna talk about how Sergius sent you files without movin'? How in the hells did he do that?" Her gaze locked onto Sergius. "Aislinn's right though, should wait on the weapons till everythin' is settled. Don't need him settin' off one of the weapons when he doesn't even know how to function the arm yet." She said all this without shifting her gaze.

Yayaji Yaji sighs and shrugs. "Fine, fine, the customer is always right I suppose! We will defer to your expertise, my lady!" Yaji says with a polite and sweeping bow. Meowitzer meanwhile pings Sergius back. <Designation: Robon|\|//PROFESSOR MEOWITZER COPYRIGHT YAYAJI YAJI DO NOT STEAL|//\?yan>. It then curiously pings Atreus back for his ID

Sergius shifted his gaze to somewhere in N’yami’s vicinity. “All this aether magic shit people do around here and -that’s- the thing that trips you up?” he returns. Through his feed with Professor Meowitzer, he shoots a reply //Sergius-IV.// It seemed anything else about copyright wouldn’t be forthcoming. “That’s another good point.” Aislinn said, moving along as if Sergius wasn’t the oddity in the room. “It’s going to take time for Yakih’ra to learn his new arm. If we do our job right, physically, the arm should sync with the body quickly after the connection is made but mentally, it’s going to be an adjustment.”

Yayaji Yaji: "Aside from working hard to ensure the tactile sensors are properly attuned, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do to help in that regard. The boy will need someone to talk to for certain, perhaps someone with experience of wearing a prosthetic. I am sure that won't be too difficult to find amidst this rabble of adventurers though!"

N'yami: "Sure is!" Even with his grumpy attitude it didn't stop the Seeker from wanting to befriend the grumpy man. "You'd be surprised at the amount of weird ass aether I've run into." She made a disgusted face at past memories of people she's run into. "Yyeeeppp." And back to focusing on Linn. "We'll have to do some physical therapy with him, well, whatever you want to call it. Might have to make adjustments when it's attached so it feels comfortable." She thought for a moment. "Only person I've known with a prosthetic is Nys but that's just her eye. So I'm out of options for ya."

Aislinn hums in thought as she studies the board, turning Yaji and Yami’s words over in her mind. “I don’t know of anyone with a prosthetic either.” She frowns. Sergius may have been a machine but there wasn’t anything biological about him. But he did know someone like that. The viera that had dropped in while Aislinn was repairing him out in Garlemald. Even as she carefully edged her attention his way she could feel the foreboding rolling off him in waves like he had already pegged her intention. So that was a ‘no’. She sighed. “I know you both will put it through its paces before you bring it here but the sooner we get this going, the sooner we might soothe a bit of Yakih’ra’s mind. We’ll just have to help him figure it out in lieu of anyone with any real experience being where he is.”

Aislinn turns one of her barely-there smiles on Yami and Yaji. “G’lewra and I can handle that. If you can both handle the engineering part.”

Professor Meowitzer suddenly stops its rushing around, bringing its little arms up to its neck like its choking. Horrible noises arise from its throat, coughing and retching before finally tilting forward and barfing up a... grenade. There is a moment's pause, but thankfully the pin remains inside and Yaji walks over with a sigh. "I told you, if you rush too much you'll cough up a hairball! You never listen to me!" She sighs as she plucks the grenade up and pops it into her pocket.

"Whatcha say Yaji? Time to pull our famous all nighters? And totally not steal somethin' before headin' home." She watched Meowitzer cough up the grenade as if it was a normal every day thing. "Don't worry, Linn! We'll handle the engineering part! We may call with questions though but other than that we'll let ya know what we come up with."

Sergius watches the exchange as Yaji pockets the grenade and he backburns the alert that went off in his systems. “That seems like a design flaw.” He states.

"You must really like this one to be so riled up." Yaji gives the cat a pat on the cheek, earning herself a <ME-OW> before something more is output from the robot's mouth, this time appearing to be a small slip of paper. "Hmm?" Yaji accepts this, reads it over for a moment, then pauses... "...Hmm." She repeats again, but in a different tone, and looks up to Sergius. "My dear... Has anyone told you how beautiful you are..?" She speaks, sounding actually genuine in her compliments for once.

The little lalafell barely cleared Sergius’ knees but that didn’t stop his proximity protocols from threatening to go off as she approached him. There was a tonal shift in her voice he couldn’t identify. Her question appeared to stymie him. He immediately shifts to Aislinn for assistance but she’s already lost in designing the delicate wiring roadmap that will be needed to make contact with what remained of Yakih’ra’s nerve endings. “I’m going to go with no.” He tells Yaji, unable to make eye contact with her. To be fair, he didn’t make eye contact with anyone really. “I’m going to get back to repairing the clinic.” He states. Aloud. In case anyone was wondering.

Yayaji Yaji: "Oh my... My dear... This is truly a crime, for your beauty has truly swept my heart into an uproar... Please, allow me to assist with your efforts to repair the clinic! I am... er, certain the Professor would like to spend more time with you!" She insists, the robotcat giving an approving <ME-OW> from behind her

N'yami’s gaze shifted to Aislinn and then back to the two in front of her. She was finding this rather amusing.

Oh hell no. There’s a measurable spike as his systems plot an escape from having to deal with any more interaction he didn’t have the bandwidth to parse. This time, Aislinn does seem to pause long enough to attempt to intercede on the poor A.I.’s behalf. “Yaji, I think we need your talents with building this prosthetic. This is a tight deadline.”

"Hm? Oh. Well. I suppose that is why I'm here." Yaji says, sounding saddened. The soot-covered Lalafell offers one more bow for Sergius, "Until next we meet then, my dear. It was truly a wonder meeting you." She says, then begrudgingly rejoins Aislinn and N'yami's brainstorming session

Aislinn cuts a meaningful glance to Serigus. He was free to go. And go he does, making a rapid exit out the door. “He’s a touch anti-social.” Aislinn murmurs as she turns back to the board. That might have been the largest understatement Aislinn had ever made. And she made them in droves.

N'yami: "What a nice fellow."

Aislinn snorts as if N'Yami had just made a joke

Yayaji Yaji nods a few times absent-mindedly, then leans in to N'yami only after Sergius had left for the clinic. "Er... Yami, I may have need for your advice when we get home. I appear to be in love."

N'yami: "I will give you all the advice you need!"

Aislinn's marker streaks wildly off course on the board. "Wait...what?"

#ffxiv rp #balmung rp #rp snippets #Hubris of Peace #These four crack me up #Right off the rails #N'yami Synch #Yayaji Yaji #Aislinn North #Atreus Sergius

[ellvsun]

Haunting Adeline Review

Where do I even begin? I feel like I’m going to be crucified for posting this review as it seems like a lot of people are big fans of this book. Please remember that this is my opinion only and i wish to not be executed for this.

To start off with, nothing was relatable. Adeline’s weird mum was relatable, I can definitely say i’m in the same shoes BUT it just goes downhill from there. I can’t lie and say her manor isn’t cool as fuck, I want a house like that. She’s living my gothic dream. Nothing really stood out to me in the first chapter.

I’m going to be honest, this review was written a while ago so my memory about where the plot goes is hazy but her discovering her great grandmothers diary hidden somewhere in the attic? Or in the walls like and seeing ghosts? Why do the ghosts never appear again, honestly I wanted to see more of them. I love ghosts.

THEN the stalker appears. Oohhhh so mysterious, so scary so- oh no he was JUST revealed!!! I felt like I hardly had any time to really feel any unease because Zade was revealed so early on. Leaving roses and whiskey glasses on the countertops or places she wouldn’t have expected them, I liked that. A sense of danger but it was all revealed just way too soon and it kind of ruined it for me. I just really wish this was stretched on for longer because I was highly disappointed over this.

And then she becomes hell bent on trying to solve her great grandmother’s affair like girl jUST LEAVE IT ALONE IT DOESN’T MATTER. I could be the insensitive one here but it felt like such a REACH trying to tie her great grandmother’s story to her. She had an affair with a stalker and now Adeline fancies her like history repeats itself but not like this!!! Definitely not Iike this. H. D. Carlton really didn’t give Adeline a fighting chance to begin with.

It also just felt like everything between Adeline and Zade was moving way too fast. One moment, he’s this mysterious stalker who leaves things around, next he’s just being weird and gross and it’s so FRUSTRATING that Adeline just accepts it and her fight against Zade is pretty pathetic. I never rooted for Adeline especially how she didn’t have more inner turmoils when Zade did the things he did to her. Like the gun and always forcing sex on her? It wasn’t consensual but don’t forget my guys she just is into it man I don’t know.

What was also frustrating was her weird sense of “bravery”. I don’t think that Adeline has any common sense at all. I it were a horror movie, she’d be most likely to die first. It always stuck with me how she would just use to danger and then immediately goes “hey god, why did you make me like this?” Like hello?? Miss ma’am? It genuinely was just so hard to read instead of thinking she was funny and cool.

I get with Zane being in his business, Adeline would’ve gotten mixed up in it too but like so soon? I feel like there was a lot during the first book where I just felt so confused about everything. The plot felt like it was moving way too quickly and there was barely anything enjoyable to read and the sex scenes? I get it, it’s a dark book about morally corrupt things and maybe a lot of things we’ve p r o b a b l y thought of but have never ventured into it but like… the book felt like more weird sex scenes over anything actually interesting.

Finding out Zade was taking down pedo rings was pretty cool. Having to become friends and pretend he is also into minors was something that could’ve gone without but I think it was necessary if he needed to retrieve the information he needed. Mark was a sick son of a bitch. I guess all of them are. And then Mark finds an interest in Adeline and just ugh. Human trafficking is honestly so scary to think about especially when it’s real but man, some sick and twisted shit honestly. Sorry, I’m getting off track but Mark sucks and I’m glad he died.

Skipping through everything that didn’t really stand out to me, the last couple of chapters I really enjoyed. I liked that we got more of an in depth look into what Zade does and his mission on infiltrating the Society (spoilers it was a set up)

It also just felt like Zade had too much luck on his side but I guess that’s something you can manipulate in a book. I’m glad that shit went out of his control, if I’m being completely honest here.

Overall, my rating of this book is probably a solid 3.5/10 and I think I’m being generous. The book felt cringe worthy at the best of times, Zade was revealed too early, plot moved too quickly and Adeline’s weird bravery which I didn’t like was off putting. Can I even call it bravery? Anyways I probably would recommend this book to others but I’m on the second book now (promise a review will come through) but yeah, Haunting Adeline was a weird book to read, I probably wouldn’t pick it up again.

#haunting adeline #book review #books and reading #spicy books #bookblr #h. d. carlton

[mochidreambubble]

From Golden Grove, Love Sunset Bird

Ao3 version here

previous - next

Two: Now and Forever Step 1 Prologue ~ Pretty Smiles, Pretty Words

Dear Mermaid of Sunset Bird,

Sorry for making you wait so long for my letter. I really miss getting letters from you too, so know one of the first things I’m doing is writing to you. 

<A polaroid photo of Golden Grove, stuck to the letter with small maple leaf stickers>

It’s pretty right? I was nervous, since Mama said it’s so different from our last home in the city, but everything here feels like it’s right out of a storybook. I’m still just a tiny bit nervous. I left all my friends behind. I still have Mama, but…

Kids my age already have friend groups right? What if no one wants me to play with them…

I’m glad I have you at least. I wish you were here. I wish I could go to Sunset Bird! I want to meet you! I want to meet Cove! I know so much about him, but it’s different when you meet face to face! 

Mama says I should think of this as an adventure, like in my favourite books, but

-

“Sweetie! Come over and take a look.”

You stop writing and stand back up from your crouch, clipboard securely in your arms again, your camera dangling from your neck, and you rush over to Mama’s side. You place your clipboard, the half written letter securely collapsed, and gently place it atop one of the carry on bags on the porch. Good thing too, as Mama starts insisting you explore. Tempting of course, as you’d bet you’d take some pretty nifty pictures. Mama also always has good reasons for suggesting things. 

Maybe Mama just had magic, or could see the future. For it led to a mystery of a paper plane thrown your way. Gave you a bit of a shock. Mama considered it a mystery, one you were obviously up to ask for. It was just like your Stony Girls or Herlock Sholmes mystery novels! 

You take snapshots of the forest path, the beautiful colours of fall. A crossroad, a choice to make. 

A boy named like the season, the prettiest person you’ve seen.

A sparkly surprise from a very pretty girl!

You think there has to be some kind of record for meeting very pretty people back to back.

The boy, Qiu or Autumn - he said both were fine right? - was a funny kid but he was also a bit… Airheaded? No, not quite right. Scatterbrained? Who’s to say? 

“Next time I’m not gonna tell you about it…”

Definitely. You were so totally not gonna tell him about lost pages. (A lie, of course. Not that you would know it just yet.)

Qiu smiles, in the way only someone who breathed and lived confidence could. Smug even?

“I don’t know about that,” He grins, hands casually supporting the back of his head. “You seem really nice. You’d help me out again. Thanks.”

The girl - with such a pretty name!! - Tamarack, made you really curious. She lived with her Omi and Opa - her grandparents. You never know what it was like to live without your Mama…

But she was so sparkly and bright you couldn't help but feel drawn to her. And she said she liked the earmuffs your Mama got for you! So she was a certified good bean in your book~

You tell your Mermaid Friend as much, as you huddle in your sleeping bag. You hesitate, for a moment, to tell them about the weird butterflies you get when you see Qiu. It’s different from the sparkling joy you know you have when you think Tamarack may be your first gal pal in Golden Grove. 

It’s kind of confusing I guess. Maybe you have words of wisdom, oh Mermaid of the Sunset Seas.

(You decide to tell them after all.)

Anywhoosies ;3 

Write to me soon! I miss hearing from you. Let me know if you want me to send you a postcard next time instead. I think I may find some pretty ones.

Love,

Golden Grove~ (Because yay!!! Mama and I officially moved in!!)

#our life beginnings & always #my fic #my writing #our life now and forever #qiu lin #tamarack baumann #From Golden Grove Love Sunset Bird fic #We're still friends even if we're miles apart fic series

[clunelover]

Okay wow, My Dark Vanessa is so intense, and I’m glad it was recommended to me. It is definitely a darker (ha) version of some stuff I was working through in some recent writing. (Oh and I did finally get to where you find out that the title comes from Pale Fire - so maybe a lot of people know that, but I haven’t read that and did not know).

I had a teacher in high school who I had a mega crush on. He was younger and very funny and IMO hot. I was on the rowing team, and I knew he was a rower too. It’s a small community, so I heard from other team members that he used to be a coach for my team, IIRC when he was just getting out of college. He got together with a girl on the team. It was a whole big thing, he got fired and everyone was very upset, except for the girl’s parents who didn’t think it was that big a deal (I’m thinking like, 17 and 22. That realm). I don’t have much opinion on that. I know they’re married and have kids. I see him around town sometimes. He brings one of his kids to watch roller derby and my sister does that.

I was very dorky and weird in hs. I had this misguided notion that since this teacher had hooked up with a younger girl at one point (btw I did know he was still with her, maybe engaged, at this time), that maybe I had a chance with him. I stalked him and found all kinds of reasons to hang out late after class and was overall very cringey.

I found out he lived right by school so I would also stop by his house, often with my high school BFF who also had a crush on him, albeit less intense I think. He one time did invite us in, and showed us the “all your base are belong to us” video on YouTube.

At some point, I said something mean to him in class and then we had a 1:1 meeting to discuss it and he said I had hurt his feelings - somehow then we ended up discussing the fact that my dad was in the hospital with some then-mysterious issue that was causing his respiratory system to shut down…I was all messed up from it and acting out. I think the teacher also had something going on with his dad, maybe he had recently died. He quoted some Dar Williams lyrics to me? (More cringe - although I did, and still do, love her, it’s just not a normal thing for a teacher to do!) This made me feel like we were bonding and had some kind of connection.

I definitely don’t think he was ever attracted to me, and nothing happened. However, with the benefit of age I’m now like “wtf was he doing having us come in to his house, and having that emo talk with me?” It definitely did not help matters re: my crush. I remember being on winter break and visiting family in Washington not long after, and just feeling this LONGING for him. I was miserable. Ugh.

Anyway. As to my story - I did this cool writing exercise that was called “shape shifting the autobiographical.” It was a multi step thing where you start with an anecdote about something interesting that happened to you. I picked a time when bff and I got pirate costumes and drove to his house and talked to him like pirates (yes…) and it was very dumb but also very funny to us and fun to reminisce about. We got the idea because the pirates of the carribean movie had just come out, and the ad campaign included these banner ads online that just said “PIRATES!” And we thought that was so weird and funny.

For the next step of the exercise, you retell it from a different POV. I picked his wife. Then you change the time period, so I moved it to present day. Then you write it in a whole other style, like a letter or something - I chose a r/AITA post in which she wonders whether she’s the asshole for being upset with how her husband is handling these students with a crush - with lots of edits and updates as the stalking and her distress escalate (at this point, it veered into fiction, I think she was maybe annoyed by us but not distressed, and I wrote the stalking much worse than in real life). Then you change the genre so I tried to make it more like horror.

Anyway, I think I was trying to get at this idea of a woman who got together with her husband in a dubious age gap/power differential situation, but doesn’t think much about it, until she sees him maybe almost crossing lines with girls who are the same age as she was when it happened, and she sees how much they are just children, and she was a child too, and that realization is the horror in the story. I doubt the real life wife actually feels that way (I mean, I’d have no idea obv), but it was an interesting idea to play with. I also really liked the AITA form cause so many of those letters take the tone of “my male partner is basically a monster…is it possible that it is in fact my fault?” and that’s a fun thing to play with too.

I’m realizing now that I didn’t quite get deep enough into that theme (ahem, why that editor I sent it to said it seemed surface level). And it’s kind of a bummer* but also good to see it done much better (and pushed much further/an actual Wrong relationship is part of it) in this book.

*bummer as in, it always kind of sucks to read something you wish you could write. But is also inspiring and interesting.

[found--family]

i finally finished Bridgewater season 2!

(i know i'm way behind but i was listening on my drive to and from work but then i lost my job and suddenly listening at home felt weird but i binged the last handful of eps this long weekend so now i wanna share some thoughts..) 

best finale bits: 

- realising francine was spn alumn/battlestar galactica's tricia helfer (wish I'd realised this sooner bc i think i would've enjoyed her character more) 

- jeremy becoming an unexpected father to a time travelling kid he spent the whole season vocally not giving a shit about (serious s13!grieving!dean vibes here) 

- the setup for season 3! would love to get some pov from folks in the fae realm! 

best s2 bits: 

- aside from misha, soni has been my fave thing about this series (his voice acting is So Good) and this season we got more vippin and more of him interacting with other characters! 

- learning more about jeremy: he visited fairyland as a kid! he was a teen wiccan! he just wants a friend! he's happy without a partner and kids! (the phonecall to his british colleague was a fave scene) 

- peyton! wish we'd gotten more of her, hope she returns next season. 

- more hillary! she's not in it much but we got a few long scenes with her and it was great to hear her flex her voice acting chops. 

- tudyk! i was sceptical at first (i'd really been looking forward to fillion) but he was stellar. his distinct voice is perfect for voice acting and his vocal control and timing was really superb. his and misha's scenes were a highlight but there were also a few delightful and emotional scenes with other characters (including a makeover!) 

- MONSTERS. one of the huge draws of this podcast for me was the supernatural element. this season had a bunch of different creatures appear and there were mentions of way more that had me googling and learning so much (yay fic fodder!) 

a few s2 cons (imho): 

- this season is a lot compared to season 1. more characters, more plot, more at stake. it was hard to keep up with what was going on specifically with all the fae stuff. i had to relisten to numerous scenes multiple times to grasp what was happening.

- it kinda feels like season 1 was written not knowing how everything would play out bc all the fae stuff feels shoehorned into the relevant parts of the s1 narrative. they make it work but some explanations seemed like a bit of a stretch. 

- as much as i love her on-screen, i didn't really enjoy helfer in this. i don't know whether it's because i found her character annoying from the jump or if it was her vocal style being a little too overdramatic and on the nose (that could've been a director's decision in which case it makes sense, but i really didn't enjoy her personality as the legend tripper or her almost comical portrayal as fae) 

- the finale was a lot of exposition, and it got very convoluted with different characters wanting to sacrifice themselves over each other, and the whole fae deal thing was still unclear and confusing despite being explained. tbh i was bored for most of it. 

- the first 19 minutes of the finale was an uninterrupted convo between jeremy and francine. that's too long, it's half the damn episode. and francine was doing most of the talking (almost monologuing) and since she's the badguy of the season it felt like a poor choice (or maybe that's just my bias for not liking her portrayal?) 

- anne and thomas going through the portal made total sense and I'm glad that's what happened bc thomas was sick and anne had missed her life BUT that made all the arguments over who should go that much more pointless. the arguments felt like filler, going round in circles with people ignoring each other's sound reasoning. 

- there were quite a few noticeable editing mistakes this season: chopped dialogue poorly stitched together, misspoken words, and dead air that did nothing to set the tone but instead felt like they hadn't bothered fixing. 

closing thoughts: 

i preferred the mystery of season 1. this season was a lot of focus on the how's and why's of all the monster and fae stuff with character studies crammed between, whereas season 1 was more concise in the investigation and character focus and there was always room to wonder what was going on (i preferred that) but there was also room for the narrative to breathe; season 2 is crowded. it's a lot of fast dialogue and info dumping, a lot of characters - some interesting, some annoying, a few pointless. I'd listen again for clarity and enjoyment of particular scenes and dynamics, but more often than not i found myself confused, left with more questions than answers, and therefore not being able to enjoy the journey. there were definite high points, including the many monster cameos, but it lost that eery feel that season 1 did so well; this season felt like multiple genres rolled into one with all of them fighting for dominance - horror, fantasy, drama, mystery - whereas season 1 melded themes and genres effortlessly. season 2 also didn't have the emotional chords that season 1 played so beautifully (I'm looking at you, emotional jeremy realising his whole life was a lie) the finale should've been a tear-jerker, it wasn't. 

it's always hard to follow the success of a first season, especially when the second decides to explain all the mysteries season 1 set up - and given how season 1 ended there was a lot that needed explaining. unfortunately (for me) the story felt caught up in the details and yet it explained things without explaining things leaving me wanting for clarity that never came. often it didn't bother setting the tone (or an intriguing tone) and more characters meant less misha which is always disheartening. 

i'm looking forward to season 3 with papa!jeremy(?) and fae realm content (I'd love more fae) i just hope they can recapture the thematic feel of season 1 (it can be a different vibe but it has to permeate the narrative) and refocus on our main folk (jeremy, vippin, anne, thomas, olivia) instead of introducing too many new characters and elements that will steal more scene time. 

#Bridgewater #thoughts #spoilers #honest review

[slippersmoo]

Top Gun Maverick is for the girlies

I saw a guy on TikTok post that we should notice how “all the body positivity, female gaze, only likes skinny guys” types of girls have mysteriously gone missing since Top Gun came out. And the RESPONSE was insane! people in the comments agreeing with him, saying women are liars at their core (... oh my god) etc etc

I just thought that was a really weird sentiment because my immediate reaction was... top gun TOTALLY DOES fall into the female gaze! at least for me it does. 

now, i know its one of the most ‘alpha male’ films in a franchise thats widely known for its fanbase of dads but hear me out! this film showed the new pilots in a totally different light than the first one! 

not only were the pilots all sporting the himbo gene in some way (a sure fire female gaze thing). even though the characters are all highly intelligent, we can all agree himbos come in different forms. 

even with the hangman/ rooster scenes i totally saw that masculine energy that never veered into toxic territory which i was especially excited to see. maverick, the main hero of the story is genuinely one of the most impulsive headstrong characters that has a strong sense of goodness and that to me makes a wonderful himbo. I love the scene between him and rooster just after he’s been rescued (”you told me not to think!”) because it shows that these characters are just all heart and i LOVE that. i havent seen a mainstream, action movie this devoid of cynicism in a long time and it made me so fucking happy. I think thats the reason why people subconsciously like it so much and why I predict the rewatch value of the film will be immense. 

They also happened to exist in a reality where they all drank ‘respect women juice’ where Penny and Phoenix were given the same  treating Phoenix just like one of them and not showing the struggles that women actually go through in the military was a genuine piece of escapist realism and even though they might delve into that in the future, I’m glad they didn’t mention it here as a half baked plot point.

even with the beach scene which outwardly displays everyone’s bodies, i saw the underlying theme of teamwork and camaraderie. Of course I would be lying if i said their physique wasn’t the best part of the sequence but thats a staple of the franchise and it makes sense for them to include the montage. 

i think its interesting that in the original, Goose had his shirt on in the volleyball scene and so did Bob in this instalment. I feel like in both instances the characters had an archetype of not being the ‘alpha’ type so to speak but I think that was honestly a misstep as both characters ended up being major fan favourites among men and women alike, some of which see them as the biggest crush-worthy characters of their movies. then again, having their shirts on doesn’t make them any less desirable and if the actors did that to prioritise their own comfort levels then i can completely respect and admire that. 

all in all, i just wanted to ramble a bit about this as it turns out i have a lot of thoughts i wanted to let out. i don’t think it’s fair to shame women for liking what was presented in the movie and framing us as hypocrites when all of our likes are completely valid. who wouldn’t wanna see a well developed action movie with beautiful movie stars? doesn’t make us villains imo. 

ok i’m done with my rant now! 

#top gun #top gun maverick #rooster #hangman #maverick #phoenix

[imbonewary]

Shifting Sans Chapter 2 "In Which, Sans is Very Confused"

~

Chapter 1 - Chapter 3

~

I flinched hard at a knock on the door. I must've blacked out for a minute.

"We heard something fall," a hesitant voice called through the door. "Is everything alright in there?"

Ah, that must've been me that fell, seeing as I'm on the floor, curled up in a rattling ball.

"'m fine,” hopped out of my mouth before I'd decided to respond. I’m not sure I’ve ever been "fine" but whatever. If that really is my brother than I don't want him to worry, and if it's not... show no weakness or it'll be used against you. I decided to stay on the floor as I went over what I knew; no sense wasting precious energy sitting up. 

So. 

I really did absorb a piece of the human's soul. 

A piece of that thing is inside me now. 

I don't think there's any way to un-absorb a soul.

I'll never be free of it. 

...

Welp.

I'll just have to get used to that. 

What else do I know.

I guess I still have full control because I only absorbed a piece of the human’s soul, not the whole thing, so there’s that. Small blessings. Not sure what I’d do if I could hear that little demon in my head all the time. 

I moved one of the wings into my view to examine it more closely. 

While I'm not 100% certain, I'm pretty sure the wings are coming from that soul piece; they are the same color, after all, and seem to be more like conjured flesh than feathers. Human souls are powerful so it would make sense that a monster who absorbs one would have to accommodate for the influx of magic somehow. Did anything else change besides the wings? I didn't notice anything different while getting dressed, so maybe not. In that case, I guess I'm glad the only change was the addition of wings. Coulda been worse. 

And apparently I can fly now, but I’ll think about that later. 

Grabbing the soul piece must've interrupted the reset; that could be why everything is so weird, but resets only affect time, and they only go back to when the human first fell. At least, ever since they took the power from Flowey anyways, and even then, he technically only had it for a few months. There wouldn't have been enough time, let alone need, to convert the closet into a bathroom. Besides, it was clean but obviously used and definitely not a new feature. 

That skeleton out there... He hadn't corrected me when I called him "Papyrus" but he’s so different than my brother. He could speak softly, not only knew about Gaster Blasters but could summon his own, he was wearing jeans and a white shirt instead of his Battle Body, and he'd called me "buddy" instead of "brother" earlier... I hadn't caught it at the time but now that I think about it, that's even more weird than the rest of it!

I don't... I don't think that skeleton is my brother. Not unless a lot more has changed than just time can account for.

I need more information. I could spin my wheels for hours getting nowhere unless I ask my "hosts" some potentially awkward questions. I just hope they're willing to humor me. 

I sat up, taking a deep breath before standing, once again using the sink for support. As I reached for the door a sudden fear of the unknown washed over me. After such a long time dealing with predictability how well am I gonna handle not knowing what comes next? I wonder how rusty my people-reading skills have gotten...

I shook my head, no more stalling. Swallowing my trepidation, I opened the door a crack, as quietly as I could. "Alphys" was sitting on the far side of the sofa with her tail curled around her, jacket gone leaving just the black dress, as she held the bundled up blanket I'd probably been using earlier, She had darker stripes on her forearms and markings around her eyes but no glasses. That didn't quite account for how much younger she looked. No sign of "Papyrus", though I could hear cooking sounds from the kitchen, solving that mystery. The door creaked and I instinctively pulled back as "Alphys" glanced at me, smiled, and turned her attention back to the low volume TV. I squared my shoulders; now or never time.

I was filled with DETERMI-

OH MY GOD, WHAT IS THIS FEELING?!

I retched, falling forward against the door, onto my knees, as waves of strength, power, and resolve coursed through my entire being. It wasn't painful, per se, but the phantom burning memory of molten magic lancing through my bones was plenty real to me. I hadn't felt anything like that since...

The Labs.

My mind was flooded with old memories I thought I'd buried long before the resets ever started. I saw the sadistic glee in his smile as he held a syringe filled with a sickly green substance; he said it was green healing magic mixed with the barest hint of red DT but the whole thing looked tainted as he injected it into the mana lines in my chest. As close to my soul as he dared get without actually piercing it. It wasn't the first time and sure as hell wasn't the last. 

I whimpered into my hands as I let the memories wash over me. 

It was a well practiced mental exercise I'd developed over the subjective years spent repeating the same goddamn days over and over. Let the mangled memories run their course, acknowledge their presence, send them on their way; and pray that I make it to the other side without losing the rest of my tattered sanity.

If you're goin' through Hell, don't stop.

Several torturous minutes later, the pain filled visions of needles, restraints, rough hands, and strange substances, faded. 

I knelt on the floor, breathing ragged as I let my fluttering soul calm back into a steady rhythm.

I struggled to my feet, leaning heavily against the wall, and didn't give myself time to think before opening the door, trudging over and plopping onto the couch opposite Alphys. I didn't look at her but I could practically feel her smile... Wait a sec, I could feel it, like a warmth radiating from her but not one I could feel on my bones; one I could feel on my actual soul. Flowing into me from behind, right where the wings were attached to my back. 

Put that on my growing list of weird things to think about later.

Something else I could feel with the wings was every fiber of the couch cushion I was leaning back against. That was an uncomfortable amount of sensory input, especially from new limbs I wasn't used to yet. Or maybe they were just hyper sensitive to touch. Or both, I didn’t conjure flesh often. Either way, that's really annoying. I tried to subtly find a more comfortable position but my fidgeting became less and less subtle the more frustrated I got with the over stimulation before giving up, flopping over the side of the arm rest with a groan of resignation. 

A throat cleared and I flinched hard.

I turned with an easy smile, pretending I hadn't just jumped out of my nonexistent skin, to find "Papyrus" with an amused grin and two bowls of food. Schooling his expression to carefully neutral, he handed one bowl to "Alphys" before offering the other to me. I could still feel his amusement, just like I could feel Alphys' smile earlier. I took the bowl with a quiet thanks, leaning forward to avoid letting the wings touch the couch again. It would be easier to avoid making a mess like this anyways.

A sob caught in my throat as I looked down at the bowl of spaghetti.

Maybe he was my brother after all. 

Swallowing the tears that pricked at the corners of my sockets, I shoved a forkful of noodles in my mouth and, as much as I love my brother, I could admit his spaghetti never tasted as good as this did. I ignored the confusing mix of emotions as I continued to shovel food in my face. It tasted good, sure, but I didn't realize how hungry I was until I... was out of food. I blinked at my suddenly empty bowl.

"Nyeh heh," Papyrus chuckled, holding out another bowl. "Would you like some more? I made plenty."

I grabbed it greedily, trading him for the empty one as he got up from his chair. I hadn't noticed him sit down next to Alphys; where did the chair even come from?

"Oh my g-god, that was adorable," Alphys snickered behind her hand. 

I blushed, looking away. My eyelights had definitely blown wide at the taste; I really hope they didn't turn into stars or, god forbid, hearts. I wiped off my sauce covered face with the back of my hand; guess I made a mess of myself anyways. I debated for a moment before licking it off; shouldn't let it go to waste. I started eating at a more reasonable pace and Papyrus soon sat down with another bowl. Alphys had barely started her own bowl. So where had the bowl he just gave me come from?

Papyrus gave me his own god damn bowl of food, didn't he? I am such a terrible house guest.

We ate in silence a bit longer.

"Thanks for making dinner," Alphys said. "I-it tastes great."

"As great as the skeleton who made it!" Papyrus preened at the praise, hand on his puffed out chest. 

Another lump caught in my throat. This is getting ridiculous, are you my brother or not? You're so like him in some ways but in others you're the complete opposite. It's giving me emotional whiplash! 

"I suppose we should introduce ourselves, now that everything has calmed down a bit," he continued. Now that I've calmed down, you mean. "My name is Papyrus, though you seemed to already know that."

He hid it well but I could feel the undercurrent of suspicion coming from him.

The fact he felt the need to introduce himself means he doesn't know who I am. Which means he can't be my brother. I tried not to wilt visibly. 

"And this is my sister, Alphys."

I choked on my spaghetti. 

SISTER?! The FUCK?!

"That seems to surprise you." His suspicion was leaking out from behind his carefully neutral mask.

"Yeah, it does surprise me," I finally spoke. "You're supposed to be my brother."

#undertale #jumbletale #alternate universe #oc #serif #shifting sans #lucky papyrus #amber alphys

[radiantlyrey]

Thoughts on Uprising ep13 “The Stranger”

- cold open: welp, it wouldn’t be an episode of Uprising if Beck didn’t make a Bad Decision, now would it? (also I’m more interested in the city names than the actual beats of the cold open!!! my basic go-to for Grid city names has been using the noble gases; in my fic The Outpost a Xenon City is mentioned, for instance. interesting that they decided to use other elements as well. love the choice of Gallium, tho; it’s a cool metal with a low melting point—if you hold it in your hand, it’ll start to melt from a solid!!) (new headcanon: all the big cities—excepting Tron City—are named after noble gases; maybe the smaller cities are named after other elements?)

- and then under the energy whirlpool Beck finds a weird mirror that HE SHOULD HAVE LEFT ALONE. like, if I found my hand was able to go into a weird mirror I found in the middle of nowhere, I would simply pull my hand out and walk the opposite direction. that is what I would do, but Beck does not! and he gets fucking choked out and dragged away by a mysterious figure!! THAT’S NOT HORRIFIC AT ALL.

- meanwhile in the B plot: Tron is basically the Batman of the Grid, I’m calling it now. But like… the older Batman from Batman Beyond, kind of? it’s not a 1:1 fit, okay? ANYWAY. he freaks the fuck out of Able, who is worried about Beck, and they have another Dad fight about Beck, that Able wins again. anyway. apparently Dyson is back in town and up to no fucking good, as usual, and Tron needs someone to look into it. so Able volunteers. cos that won’t go badly at all!!!!!!

- okay, I will say this about Cyrus’s domain: it’s weird as shit and I’m glad the designers and animators were able to sort of go off with it! it’s got more color than most of Argon, and it’s just plan WEIRD and I love it a little bit??? like Cryus makes the whole thing creepy as FUCK, but whatever??? it’s really neat design stuff going on, with gears and clocks and all that, and kind of reminds me of the inside of a computer or watch. it’s quite neat, and I love it.

- that aside: BECK HAS FUCKED THE FUCK UP. DUDE GOT HIS DISC STOLE AND HIS SECRET FOUND OUT AND JUST. FUCK. I’M SORRY KIDDO.

- meanwhile in the B plot, Able’s going undercover at some secret government work project! and there’s Dyson and fuck this isn’t going to end well at all fuck FUCk FUCK FUCK

- meanwhile Cyrus (who I don’t think identifies himself in this episode at all???? I could be wrong; the captions didn’t shy away from his name, tho) is being a goddamn A-grade CREEPAZOID and I DO NOT LIKE HIM. like he is trying so hard to play the “we’re not so different, you and I” card and it’s not really working on Beck at all, which GOOD, but STILL. HE MAKES MY SKIN CRAWL. FUCK.

- and the Able goes snooping and DYSON FINDS HIM FUCK FUCK FUCK thankfully Able’s supervisor catches him just in time because god fucking DAMN I WAS ABOUT TO FAINT DEAD AWAY FUCKKKKKKK

- I mean. my experience of this episode is perhaps best summed up as “FUCK FUCK FUCK DO NOT WANT STOP STOP PLEASE STOP HOLY GOD FUCKKKKKKKKKKKK” this was both a delight and a terror, ngl

- and then it turns out Cyrus has a plan! a grand plan to free everyone—from the burden of existence, it turns out!!!!! (tho now I’m suddenly wondering—if his device HAD worked and taken the grid offline…….. what the fuck would have happened to Flynn???????? would the Portal have spat him out even tho it’s not open? would he have just died??? I’m suddenly extremely curious about this!!!!) Cyrus is a bona fide omnicidal maniac, and he thinks he’s figured out fate and all that and he’s gonna use Beck to power his device and “free” everyone by destroying the Grid!!! THAT’S NOT CREEPY AT ALL. FUCK.

- in the B plot, Able gets caught snooping AGAIN and then it turns out he was expecting Tron this whole time, and they beat up a whole bunch of Black Guards while Dyson makes his escape…. in a giant-ass Recognizer??? that apparently Tesler is NOT supposed to know about ???? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE. that said, I love that the show is taking on a slightly more serialized storytelling style, where some things are not fully answered by the end of each episode

- in the main plot, Cyrus and Beck break free of the compressed space and Beck nearly passes out but sees Tron (and Clu??!!? WHAT THE FUCK, SERIOUSLY, WHAT IS GOING ON?!?!?) and snaps out of it and manages to escape and stop Cyrus’s plan and apparently* trap Cyrus back in his little dimension with the creepy mirror now broken. and then Beck sometime later shows up at Tron’s and SAYS NOTHING ABOUT CYRUS BECAUSE OF COURSE NOT. (I know, I know, there wouldn’t be a show if they just talked about it, but STILL.) also I am MAJORLY freaked out by the circuits still visible on Beck’s wrist(s) when he applies pressure. that’s not creepy at all. holy SHIT.

- * and of course, the broken mirror DIDN’T FUCKING TAKE and Cyrus has escaped and FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCKKKKKKKKKK this is gonna end BADLY I just KNOW IT

- also Cyrus’s whole thing about fate and things being set in stone and all that got me thinking about a short story I read back in uni called “The Algorithms for Love” by Ken Liu, which is basically about a programmer who creates a speech algorithm for a line of talking dolls. The programmer eventually comes to the (perhaps erroneous) conclusion that human behavior is just an algorithm: “ “What if,” I said, struggling to find the words, “we are just following some algorithm from day to day? What if our brain cells are just looking up signals from other signals? What if we are not thinking at all? What if what I’m saying to you now is just a predetermined response, the result of mindless physics?” “ like, Cyrus seems to be set on the idea that there’s no point in trying to change things or make things better for anyone, because it’s fate that it’s like this, and the best way to deal with a tyrant is to simply destroy the whole world. (the short story is really creepy and really good, btw, highly recommend it)

- all in all: GOOD EP. as I said in my previous post, I haven’t cussed that much at the TV since Hannibal Season One!!

#tronblr #tron #tron: uprising #skye liveblogs things

[late-to-the-magnus-archives]

Broken - a Malevolent Fanfic

I will not let you poison your own fucking daughter against you.

But it wasn’t poisoning if it was the truth. Was it?

Part of the Surrogate series. The first of three parts in this mini-arc.

Warning for mention of Greek oympic foreskins.

AO3

------------

The day is hot, and Arthur is confused.

He’s been chewing on what John said. Chewing on it, tonguing it, trying very hard to figure out its flavor and shape.

I will not let you poison your own fucking daughter against you.

Arthur doesn’t understand.

I will not let you poison your own fucking daughter against you.

But it wasn’t poisoning if it was the truth. Was it?

Watch it. Rock. Don’t know who the fuck left that right in the path.

Arthur shifts to the right and keeps walking.

We’ve discussed how it’s bullshit!

They… they had, hadn’t they?

There’s something… weird, here, Arthur considers, still trying to get the flavor of John’s words. Something he can’t mentally see, like it’s underneath a sheet.

Or hidden in rubble, the barest shape of it hinted at beneath other, sharp-edged shapes.

Hold on. Something’s different today.

Arthur stops. “What?”

Faroe isn’t here. Dis has some kind of… big stick? Javelin? I don’t know.

Arthur sighs. “Great. I guess she’s finally decided to impale me.”

The phrasing is awkward, sure, but John’s reaction makes it worthwhile as the god in his head sputters, sort of chokes, and fails to come up with any kind of response.

Arthur even manages a tiny smile as he approaches Dis and her mysterious big stick. “Morning.”

“Composer.”

She’s tossing the—

Arthur doesn’t get his hand up in time, but John manages, catching the surprisingly heavy wood. It absolutely would have hit him without John. “The fuck, Dis?”

Ass, John mutters.

“We have a lot of work to do.”

Arthur scowls. “Why? Where is Faroe?”

“She’s got special princess lessons today. Has to learn new greetings for some of the fuckwads they’ll be smiling at through this.”

One thing about Dis—she always shot straight. “Fuckwads? Who?”

Her eyebrows just shot to the top of her forehead, practically.

“You don’t know about the games?” she says.

“I’m composing music for them, but I don’t know anything else.”

Dis sighs. “So I take it nobody’s told you you’re competing.”

Arthur can’t stare, but he sure feels like he’s doing it.

The fuck he is. He can barely stand.

“John, I’m not that bad,” Arthur mutters.

“No choice about it, I’m afraid,” says Dis. “Anybody who’s anybody is coming. This thing happens every thousand years or so. It’s a big deal.”

“Sure,” says Arthur, cautious. “But… why would I be competing in a game meant for gods?”

“You’re gonna have to ask your sugar daddy that one,” says Dis.

It is Arthur’s turn to sputter.

John just growls.

“Come on,” says Dis, a touch gentler. “Nobody expects you to win anything. You just have to show up, throw a stick, leave.” She leans in. “But I’ll be damned if you throw the stick like a twerp.” And then she’s behind him, hands on his arms, his shoulders, his hips, turning him.

Aiming him.

“See how you line him up?” she says.

“What?” says Arthur.

What? says John.

“Throw.”

He tries.

Naturally, he sucks. So she makes him do it again.

#

By evening, his arm and shoulder feel a little like one of those fuckwad gods tried to twist it off.

“This is going to be humiliating,” Arthur mutters.

Glad you think so, says John.

“What? Why?”

Because when you’re at your worst, you don’t care if you’re embarrassed or not.

Arthur is still struggling with all of this. “I guess.”

It matters. It makes me happy to… damn it, not to see you uncomfortable, but to see you actually care. Okay?

“Okay.” Arthur chews his tongue a little. “John?”

Yeah?

But then, Arthur’s not sure how to ask.

How was telling the truth to his daughter poisoning her?

Wasn’t hiding it far worse?

Why did—

Then it hits him: John didn’t think that was the truth.

Arthur’s eyes widen.

Arthur?

“I need a minute.”

How could he think it wasn’t true?

It added up, though. Nothing else made sense. Not… not right now. “Ow,” he says, rolling his shoulder again.

John’s hand comes around to rub it. Maybe we should get some of that ointment.

“And be purple for who knows how many monsters to leer at? No, thank you.”

They wouldn’t even see it.

“I don’t know that for sure. I’ll have you know that ancient Greece’s Olympics were done in the nude.”

John needs a moment this time. When he replies, it’s with a vaguely disgusted awe. Why?

Arthur snorts. “Showing off? I honestly don’t know.”

I, uh… For whatever reason, this concept is weirding John out.

Arthur finds that deeply funny. “You think that’s weird? They would tie themselves up by the foreskin, too. There were stylized ways to do it, and everything.”

John makes a choked sound.

Arthur is trying so hard not to  laugh at him. He plays a few chords. “I’m not making this up, you know.”

No, I know, it just… John takes a deep breath. It would all be so jiggly.

And Arthur laughs.

It’s a real laugh, almost a belly-laugh, and his whole body shakes with it as he leans against the piano.

It would! John protests.

 “Oh, gods,” Arthur finally says, wiping his face. “Jiggly.”

Arthur!

Something about the chiding tone sets him off again.

It doesn’t take long for John to join him.

#

He’s in a better mood than usual as he heads to train with Dis.

Sure, he’s still sore, and sure, they’re working on something sixteen months away (an amount of time he can’t even comprehend), but he’s still feeling good from that laugh.

She sends him running.

He hates running. He’s really bad at it (whether being chased or not). Still, his good mood remains until he gets back from his first lap, and finds someone waiting for him.

A cultist. A motherfucking cultist. A…

A girl named Sadie.

Just a girl.

Her age didn’t matter. She was just a girl, and she was…

Broken, Arthur thinks, because he’s been chewing on that word all day, and now…

This is what he was?

#

Arthur has a lot to process.

How John reacted to her, for one, which… no, maybe he can’t process that at all.

But that word. Broken.

The implication. The comparison.

Was this how he came across to people?

It was the same word.

And Arthur was… having trouble. He could see that.

Feel it.

He knew he was a burden. That was just…how things were now, but this…

“John?” he finally manages.

What? John still sounds distracted. He keeps looking at the drawing, held in his left hand.

“What… do you think happened the night my daughter died?”

John’s hand clenches, slightly wrinkling the paper.

It takes him a while to reply.

#malevolent #malevolent fic #surrogate series #arthur lester #john malevolent #malevolent pod #malevolent fanfic

[lutawolf]

Hi Luta!

It’s me, the one who asked the question about Payu loving Rain last week. I’m thinking on referring myself from now on as Anonymous-Shy or Vanilla Anonymous when I sent you a message, LOL.

Some people ask:

Why don’t I use my account to send you a question like I normally do? Because I’m I want to be able to ask freely without being judged from close-minded people from my side. And why do I care if I’m asking anonymously? Well, because for me it’s all about what I put out there and you knowing me or not doesn’t make a difference. But I like you knowing it’s me, a vanilla follower asking.

I re-watched Love in The Air from a different point of view and now things make more sense; it’s like I’m watching a different show and I enjoy it even more. I like to binge watch on shows so I’m thinking to continue watching on episode 8 when PrapaiSky story starts but I might not be able to make it because of my curiosity. My favoritism in PrapaiSky is all coming from the trailer and teasers; I LOVE Prapai way of flirting and that smile of his make anyone day. And Sky past love life is a mystery for me since I couldn’t find Love Sky novel in English.

And yes, if I’m something I’m definitely a soft submissive. 

I’m reaching out today to ask for your favorite BL shows if you don’t mind telling me. The first BL show I watched was KinnPorsche and I loved it. I liked KimPorchay but didn’t like how they ended because I hate open-endings unless I know there’s a future season. There's one or two other things but I won’t get into it because as previously stated you don’t take sexual assault questions and I respect that. Then I tried to find the 3rd one to binge-watch and that was Unforgotten Night which I just couldn’t get into it at all. If you want to know how I feel about it, well the later ask on your blog about the show cover it. I’m told all the time that I have to give a show more time, but if a show doesn’t catch me in the first 3 episodes it just losses me.

Thanks and if you’re able to watch, enjoy Love In the Air today.

Hey shy nonnie!!!

I'm glad you decided to come back. Most subs feel more comfortable being anon. It's why I keep the feature even though I get hate mail that way. I can understand why people use it. I'm a very blunt and forward person but I get it.

I'm glad you are starting to enjoy the show! I love binge watching shows too. I'm waiting on Eclipse and few others. I couldn't wait on this one though. Same with Not Me and Kinnporshe. I'm really excited about Prapai and Sky, though be prepared for just as much No Kink. Sky is very much a gay boy and yes Rain knows. He knows about the ex as well and the ex was very abusive.

Okay so verbiage can be different in the kink community. The term soft is one of them. When I say soft D/s, I'm saying that the couple or person wouldn't include themselves as kinkster but has tendencies. In which case, yeah, you now come off as a soft sub. You didn't in the first ask but in the second and now third, yes. Had you not said vanilla, I would have labeled you sub in my head and proceeded to treat you as such.

Yeah sorry about the SA. I'm a SA survivor with PTSD and IIH. When triggered I will have brutal anxiety attacks that have been known to effect my heart. The panic attacks are a fight or flight reaction which can usually be handled by going to a safe space and breathing through. I've walked many a survivor through it. I on the other hand, with the IIH am weird, my body thinks we're in a medical emergency. Generally speaking, talking about being a survivor doesn't bother me, mentoring others and hearing their story while disheartening doesn't bother me. It's the surprise aspect of it that triggers me. Which you can't get away from when it's done in an Ask.

As for my favorite BLs, I'm all over the place.

Here is my watch list on Drama List. Kinnporsche absolutely makes my top along with Not Me and Long Time No See but then I'll cascade into softer stuff like Blueming, History: Making the Days Count (warning do not go past the rooftop make out scene, stop there and watch alternate ending on youtube. It's produced by a Japanese director and is a much better ending.) I fucking love Nitiman and Mr. Unlucky. Nope, I can't choose, lol. You can see what I like from the star reviews though. Hope you find this helpful.

Thank you so much! I really enjoyed last nights episode! Hope you find something you like!!!