#Yeah Bori's a book nerd...

[fineprintedsunsets]

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐌𝐍 𝐀𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒

🎃 This Is For Haunted Hoedown Day 8! | My Haunted Hoedown Master-List 🎃

best friends-lovers au + "this fear you feel? it won't last."

Synopsis: Your heart has been broken, and your best friend Ransom has made it his mission to make you smile, with all your favorite things of course.

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: Throw on this ambiance and spend a day with Ransom as he attempts to cheer you up: tooth-rotting fluff. flirty friends. obvious friends with benefits. a cameo from all my favorite books. sweet!ransomdrysdale x nerd!reader. all the fall vibesss. like alot of fucking angst. Part 2 "We fell in love in October?" maybe?

Baby I'm A Project Lovin' Me's A Mistake.

“Hey sweetheart, How are you doing this morning?” You expected this. Your best friend called you every morning, asking about your plans, checking in, and seeing if you were alright. After, he hung up and went on with his day.

Ransom was like that.

But today, your only reply is a muffled sniffle. Your head is buried deep into your white pillow, both dry and wet tears staining the surface. “Sweetheart? You okay?”

“Yeaaaahhhh” You grog, putting the phone on speaker. You were in fact, not okay. Your boyfriend of 3 years decided to break up with you, he didn’t give a reason, but you're almost ninety percent sure it has to do with a girl you saw him flirting with weeks ago.

It was a red flag, but when you're in love you ignore them.

You wish you hadn’t.

“What happened?” Ransom asks urgently, the sound of his voice is comforting, to hear something then sniffing and silent sobs.

“Nothing, Ransom. I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound fine, sweet girl.” You never knew how much you missed his little nicknames until this moment

“I am-”

“I'm coming over.” Ransom rushes out, and embarrassment fills your aching body. He has seen you like this a dozen times, always comforting you, but this time you felt so stupid, How could you not see the signs?

“Please, no-”

The line goes dead, and Ransom disconnects his end. All you can do is scream into your pillow.

🍂

“Shortcake, you have to get out of bed sometime today.” Ransom stands over top of you, his sunglasses hanging by his shirt collar, an expensive-looking jacket on.

“Mmph!” A pillow goes hurdling across the room, heading right for Ransom. Unfortunately, he catches it, launching it on the opposite side of your bed.

“Shortcake.” He says seriously, Ransom's eyes look over your crumbled frame, the blanket covering your half-naked body.

“Ransom. Please. I’m fine.”

“Why don’t I take you out, just you and me? How does that sound?” Your head perches up at his offer, seeing the smile blooming on his smooth features. “Yeah? You like that idea?”

Finally moving your head away from the pillow you’ve been face to face for the last three hours, you nod your head in agreement. Spending a day with your best friend is exactly what you need.

“Get dressed, Shortcake.” He laughs, snatching the blanket off your body, you screech as the cool air caresses your thighs. You throw the blanket in his face, running towards the opposite end of the room to your closet.

“Sneaky little-” You crack a little smile, Your mood is lightning just a bit, but it’s going to be hard to fill the hole your ex left, Ransom would make you forget, for the moment at least.

He would make sure of it.

🍂

The weather was beautiful, auburn colors swirled inside the tree’s leaves, yellows and oranges and red collided to make bursts of colors. It was magical.

Autumn had always been your favorite time of year, the Halloween music, the movies, the pumpkin spice lattes. Everything about this season was extraordinary. Ransom’s car matched the leaves, a light orange, its convertible roof folded down.

It allowed you to smell the Autumn wind, feeling it flow through your hair, wiping it around your face. Ransom fingers find the radio, switching it to the nearest station.

The acoustic version of Boris Pickett's “Monster Mash” blares through the station, and Ransom would be damned if he missed the smile that blooms on your face. Although a weak one, he would take all you had to offer.

“Go ahead, I won’t judge. Sing it, shortcake.” Ransom offers, tapping his fingers against the wheel to the beat, turning left on G.R Drive, heading for town. You shrink back, embarrassment flooding your cheeks.

Ransom keeps one hand on the wheel as his other presses into your jaw jokingly. You rear back, “Stop it.”

“Sing it then.” He bargains, his finger poking at your chest. Ransom wanted so desperately to see a true smile from you, even if it meant forcing you to sing Monster Mash.

“Fine! Stop poking me!” Your buck against his hand, telling Ransom to keep his eyes on the road as you tune into the music, listening to the lyrics.

“He did the monster mash.” You start quietly, twirling your fingers in your lap. Your hoodie is drawn over your knees. Ransom is trying very hard not to burst out laughing, he keeps one eye on you, watching your mouth sync with the lyrics, and one eye on the road, going straight for a place he knows you’ll love.

“From my laboratory in the castle east…” You started again, tapping your foot to the beat, the wind settling your nerves for the moment.

“To the master bedroom, where the vampires feast.” You pick up now, moving in tune with the beat, moving your hands, joking with your body, swaying your hips against the seat belt.

“Sing it, baby!” Ransom laughs, his face was practically red from holding in, and with it you join him, listening to the rest of the song play out.

What is with the fall and happy memories?

🍂

“The bookstore? The fucking bookstore!” You squeal excitedly, watching Ransom’s own features bloom in enjoyment, seeing your cheeks puff. The bookstore's front was decorated with paper leaves, stringing a banner across the glass windows.

Its exterior was black and gold, the perfect place for a sad girl. Books heal all wounds. Ransom’s already by the door, pulling his scar tighter as he holds the frame open for you, urging you in.

“As much as I love seeing you toggle, we have books to buy, sweet girl.”

“I love you, you know that?” You say playfully, although not exactly a lie. Ransom had always been like this, ever since you met in college.

“I love you too.”

Books. So many books. It took all your energy not to scream right there and then.

“Good morning!” An employee greets you both with a small smile, and you return it with glee, going straight to the new release stand, not even bothering to wait for Ransom.

Every book released in the past month was here, you wanted to get all of them. You circle around the table, seeing authors ranging from Nicolas Sparks to Ana Huang. A hand grabs your shoulder, spinning you around. Ransom greets you with a smile, handing you a black basket.

“Go crazy, sweetheart.”

“Ransom…” Because he knew you were going to protest, you always do, he places a finger to your lips, cocking his lips in a grin. “I’d rather spend my money on my shortcake.”

Did you already say you love him?

Because you really do love him.

And you do exactly what Ransom tells you, you go crazy.

Your basket is almost filled to the brim. You had insisted on stopping at three books but Ransom wanted you to fill the whole basket. You wanted around now, taking in the spice scent of hair and the smell of freshly printed paper-backs.

It’s not until you see Ransom, a book in his hand, flipping through the pages, that you truly start to panic. The cover, although rather innocent looking, displayed woods, and the name “CREDENCE” sprawled over the cover.

You have never run faster in your life. You attempt to snatch the book out of his hands, surprising him with your speed, but he grips it nonetheless, laughing as you fail to stop him. Halting completely, you watch in terror as Ransom’s back faces you, blocking your sad attempt at receiving the book he begins to read…

Ransom's voice is extracted, dark and husky. “That’s it…Noah says in a strained voice…” Your thighs clench at his words, not because of Ransom in particular, but because you know exactly what scene he is reading.

Oh god.

“Ransom! Shut up-”

But he ignores you, continuing on.

“-Holding my face as he kisses my nose, and then my lips. Good girl”. Ransom doesn't stop despite your pleas, and the more he reads, the more your thighs clench, maybe it wasn’t the book or the scene, maybe it was-

“I feel his fingers slip under the waistband of my shorts, and he starts to pull them down.” He faces you now, reading the pages, his lips pursing to make his voice seem seductive. Ransom is doing it to piss you off, but you are far from it.

“I look at him, pleading” He looks up for dramatic effect, allowing you to hang onto his every word, “No.”

“Yes”.

“He pulls my shorts and panties-”

You snatch the book out of his hand, carefully trying not to crease the cover. “We're done, let’s go.”

“These are the types of books you read?” He whispers, clearly poking fun. He plops the book from your gripping hand, putting it back on its stand. You try to hide the blush forming on your cheeks, Your best friend or not, that was embarrassing.

“An innocent girl like you?” Ransom smiles, grabbing your basket and heading for check-out. Your lips are slightly parted, looking distraught in the middle of a bookstore.

“Ransom!”

“Come on, Shortcake. We have more places to be.”

What the hell just happened?

🍂

“That fear you feel? It won’t last.” Ransom states, his tone a bit more serious. You quirk your brows as you walk down the street, your books stashed in the back of Ransom's convertible.

“Fear?” You question, look to where he walks next to you on the cracked sidewalk. Leaves crunch unearth your feet as you lose your arms in your hoodie, letting the fabric hang.

“You're afraid to trust again, aren’t you shortcake?”

You closed your mouth quickly. Ransom wasn’t entirely wrong, it had only been a few hours, but you truly thought it would be the last time you would ever love again.

“I trust, Ransom.”

“Who?” He asks, stopping in front of a little coffee shop just around the corner of the bookstore. It looks fairly empty from what you can see in the window.

“I trust you.”

That’s all he’s ever wanted to hear.

You order the first pumpkin spice menu item you read. A latte with whipped cream and real pumpkin. Ransom ordered a black coffee, because… of course he did. You both find an orange booth to settle in, sitting across from each other. Candles are lit throughout the shop as baristas call out orders to the other customers.

You bring your lips to the steaming cup, not caring if it burns your tongue or not, you feel the whipped cream gather on your flesh, smelling the cinnamon rooted throughout the substance. Ransom laughs, reaching over the table, and swiping his thumb across your nose to wear the whip cream sets. “You're a messy girl, shortcake.”

“That’s what your dad said.” You joke, laughing as Ransom shakes his head.

“I’m taking the books back.”

“No!”

He tilts his head in a way that says “Now who’s laughing”.

Unfortunately, it was not you.

You two sat in the coffee shop and converse, ordering drink after drink and dessert after dessert, loud laughter could be heard from one source,

Your table.

🍂

It had been a long day. The night sky rose above you, the air now having a layer of coolness to it, enough to bite you if you went outside. As soon as you got into your apartment, Ransom started you a bath, fiddling with a lighter for a few minutes, trying to light your favorite fall-themed candle.

He poured a generous amount of bubble bath into the tub, watching the hot water steam, turning the liquid into white bubbles.

“Shortcake, Bath’s ready!” Ransom calls, and you put your books down, having about ready to organize them. Your stomach ached from all the pumpkin you practically inhaled today, and a warm bath was just the thing to relieve every taught muscle.

You lean against the door frame in nothing but a towel, smelling the bubble bath mixed with the scented candle. You smile, looking at Ransom, “Thank you.” It dissipates from your lips with more appreciation than you could imagine.

“Of course.” Ransom goes to exit, but your fingers wrap around his wrist, turning him around. “Are you going home?”

“I’ll still be here when you get out of your bath.” He whispers, leaning forward to place a soft kiss against your temple, you don’t think much about it, now when it makes you want to melt. “You're full of surprises today, huh?”

“Anything for you, sweetheart.”

Anything.

🍂

The feel of your best friend's lips against your temple, the sound of his flirty comments and funny resolve, you were starting to look at Ransom in a different way.

A way you both desired but pushed away.

“Ransom!” You call, and in an instant, he’s walking into the bathroom, shielding his eyes as he stops in front of the tub. You smile, heat blooming in your gut.

“Come here, silly.” The hesitation in his steps chips at your heart, but you pursue with it regardless. Ransom kneels by the tub, and carefully you unshield his eyes, holding onto his fingers.

“Shortcake, I don’t want to do anything you're uncomfortable with-” You grab his hand from where it rests in yours, and despite begging to be able to pull away, Ransom doesn't do it. He watches as you glide his hand, being held by the wrist, across your shoulder, bringing his fingers lower to slide down your breast, as your unoccupied hand splashes water upward, making the movement easier.

Ransom’s breath catches as his fingers meet a hardened peak, his eyes locking with your own. “Sweet girl-,

“You showed me what it was like to feel good again, Ransom.” A pained look blossomed on his cheeks, looking to where you sit in the bathtub.

“It was my pleasure.” You see clearly he’s fighting with himself, how far should he go with you? He didn’t want you to think he was using you. You and your ex just broke up.

Ransom also couldn’t deny the burning sensation that settled deep inside him, did he have feelings for his best friend? His best fucking friend of four years?

“It’s too soon-” He pulls away, unsure of his wariness, you sigh, feeling his fingers leave your chest. Perhaps it was for the better, it was so soon, and the last thing you wanted to do was use Ransom for pleasure.

If there was one thing you had known, the one thing that interaction did clarify, You loved him.

Maybe, you always had.

[underchargedau]

New sans, new sans! Who is this guy, you might ask (or might not)?

His name is Borealis, and he’s a Timeline Traveller (Kind of like TK!Sans, as an example). A good chunk of his traveling experience is in the pursuit of Magical Knowledge, and one of the resulting places he eventually found himself in was the UnderCharged AU (hence his art being posted here instead of on my main blog). He’s a bit of a nerd, and has a hell of a collection of books stored in a Tower that now sits in a timeline that’s not even his home AU!

He has a brother who is a rival for one of the guardians (Lyor, who I haven’t posted here yet), and he has a pair of mothers (Both of them are Gasters from separate timelines, so he may not have a particular home AU to speak of anyway. oops?)!

I do hope you guys like him!

Bonus stuff - You can probably guess what this implies when you see these:

(Yes, Bori and Sparky are a thing - This was established in a friend’s server and I’m rolling with it C:)

Oh and Sparky’s adopted multiple characters in this one timeline. Why? Because WHY NOT. He retains his dad instincts from previous events but doesn’t remember any of it (In the previous timeline, he had two kids canonically, hence the mention)!

Here’s a little something involving the kids mildly lol (Just Sparky here, but it’s relevant to Bori I promise)

and yeah these doodles are uncolored mostly, don’t worry about that either lol

Bori was originally created to ship with Sparky specifically as I’ve wanted to pair Sparky with another character again for a while, but had a hard time settling on how to go about that until a friend or two mentioned the idea of creating one instead (I wouldn’t normally do this, but they helped me with the creation process through and through!) - From there, I built up what brought him to meet Sparky in the first place and then how they got together! (You’ll find out the details later, this is already getting to be pretty lengthy lol)

[inga-don-studio]

Hhhhh the second day of Midsummer Scream kicked my butt and I’m exhausted, but it’s the good kind of exhausted!

Met yet another artist whose work I admire: Austin Pardun, who does a lot of cool vintage-with-an-edge-style Halloween art. I also finally got to meet -however briefly- imagineer & brain behind Disney’s Omnimover ride system (which includes the doom buggies from my beloved Haunted Mansion), Bob Gurr! He was lovely! Sadly my cryptid powers took over as soon as I was invited to take a selfie with him signing my merch and it’s a blurry mess, but there’s the legend himself back there! And me forgetting my mask covered the hammy smile I was making so I just have a terminal case of Them Scary Eyes & PALE:

Gotta share the most fabulous 12-foot Skeleton completely covered in tiny mirrors like a disco ball (proof disco really IS dead):

And since I’m an old-school horror movie nerd, another highlight was “The Original Monster Kids” panel & getting to see (left-to-right): Sara Karloff (Boris’ daughter who completely stole the show), Lynne Lugosi Sparks (Bella’s granddaughter), Ron Chaney (Lon Sr’s great grandson & Lon Jr’s grandson) & moderator Kirk Hammett (guitarist of Metallica & fellow Universal Horror nerd). I definitely empathize more with how tightly their relatives’ character likenesses are regulated now, and came out with a renewed respect for the actors & their families. Also that stage’s ‘decrepit mansion’ backdrop is flippin’ amazing.

So yeah, nearly 12 hours spent in the presence of artists whose work I’ve admired for a long time, buying too many prints (to go with yesterday’s too many books), fawning over costumes, finding a couple items off my ‘holy grail’ list, and just enjoying being among the very particular breed of geek who loves the spookier side of life. It was good. And the idea of another full day tomorrow fills me with dread and joy, but I’ll be ready for it (even if it involves a horrific amount of coffee to get through). Till then, signing off with rare proof that I’m not ALWAYS a blur in photos. ;)

[shirtlesssammy]

6x17: My Heart Will Go On

And this is all folks...

Then:

You never really die on Supernatural

Now:

Chester, Pennsylvania

In a Rube Goldberg-esque bit of murder mastery, a man fumbles his way around his garage, nearly dying several times, only to finally get taken out by his falling garage door. What a ride. 

Meanwhile, in Bobby’s neater than normal home, Sam and Dean watch him open another bottle of booze. They silently egg each other on to talk and finally decide on Rock-Paper-Scissors. Oop, it looks like you’re going to have to do the talking, Dean. 

Only, wait, Dean won! They think he should take some time and sleep, and process losing Rufus. Bobby’s DOING FINE. He just needs some Irish coffee. Sam suggests taking him on a hunt. Seems like different family members are dying in Chester, Pennsylvania. Bobby kicks them out of the house, so they decide to head out alone. 

They get in their trusty Mustang, and hit the road. 

...

Bobby keeps drinking until Ellen (!) shows up. 

…

She consoles him about Rufus and tells him to get ready for dinner. 

And she’s his wife. 

…

At the garage of horror, Sam finds a thread of gold. 

They split up. Dean interviews next of kin. He first meets with a Saul Goodman wannabe Shawn Russo. The guy isn’t too upset by his family members dying --he wasn’t too close with them. He also doesn’t have a lot of time for Dean’s genealogy questions. 

Dean tries sussing out any past family curse --poorly.  Shawn wants Dean to go, so Dean just comes out and tells him, “Your life is in danger.” Shawn thinks Dean’s threatening him. 

He connects with Sam who can’t find a single thing wrong with the family. 

At a travel agency, we watch Anne Witting chat on the phone, and time suddenly stops. Another woman, looking like Sam’s kind of librarian, takes Anne’s keys from her purse and throws them on the floor next to the copier. She leaves and time starts again. 

The woman gets off the phone and notices her keys are on the floor. Grabbing for them knocks a vase of flowers onto the copiers, which creates an electrical nightmare, which causes her to start slapping at it and finally reaching behind it to turn it off, which then causes her scarf to get stuck in the autofeeder, which the copier then tries to make a copy of, which strangles her. (Note to self: BE NICER TO THE COPY MACHINE.) 

The blonde woman comes back and marks a name off in a book, and drops a gold thread. 

The brothers check out the travel agency that night. It turns out that Anne isn’t part of the Russo family --so they’re not dealing with a family curse. Dean wonders what then. He then finds another gold thread. 

He calls Ellen, who reports there’s been about 75 deaths associated with this across the nation. The only thing Ellen has that connects the people is that their ancestors all immigrated to the US in the same year, on the same boat: The Titanic. Neither Dean nor Ellen had ever heard of it. 

Sam either. (And that’s when I call bull --unless this Sam isn’t a history nerd-- because the Titanic was a BIG deal before it became a BIGGER deal. It was the largest ship of its time. But as I typed this out, I feel like I should eat my words because there was another sister boat built with the Titanic, and I can’t for the life of me remember its name, so, yeah, chances are good it would have been lost to history for most people.) 

During their research, Sam notes that the ship almost hit an iceberg, but the First Mate, I.P. Freely saw it in time. 

Balthazar!

They summon Balthazar for answers about the boat. “It was meant to sink, and I saved it.” He hated the movie. (Boris is still one of the few and proud that’s never seen it --I cheered SO hard for Balthazar here.) (Natasha: I saw it six times in the theater! Two kinds of people.) He hated the Celine Dion song. Sam doesn’t even know who that is (HIS FAVORITE SINGER!) Sam points out that he thought that history can’t be changed. Balthazar points out that there’s no more rules. Anyway, only minor details have been changed --like no Impala. 

More importantly, Ellen and Jo are alive. They are supposed to be dead.

Dean and Sam focus on the here and now and point out that something is killing the descendants of the Titanic travelers. They need to find out who. Balthazar drops a truth bomb out of nowhere --pointing out that Cas is in love with Dean. Sigh. Also, he doesn’t care, and flaps away. 

They talk with Bobby on the phone and he thinks they’re dealing with Fate. How do they stop fate? Bobby suggests that they get Balthazar to re-sink the boat, but Dean nixes that idea instantly. Bobby wants to know what set him off --Dean tells him that if the boat sinks, Ellen and Jo die. Yeah, no way is that boat sinking. 

The boys lurk in their iconic, uh, Mustang to follow Russo. 

They follow Russo in an attempt to keep him safe from Fate’s machinations. They manage to save him from one deadly accident, only for the guy to die under the wheels of a bus seconds later. 

Sam notices a woman watching over the accident. She looked kind of like a librarian. “Your kind of librarian or my kind of librarian?” Dean asks. Oh, Dean, why does it have to be a binary choice? Eyebrow waggle. Dean decides to head over and confront Fate in a shadowy building. 

Inside the vacant restaurant the clock ticks menacingly, and then stops - even MORE menacingly. While the clock is stopped, Fate smugly turns on all the gas burners in the kitchen. When Dean’s flashlight starts to crap out on him, he asks Sam for a lighter. The lighter similarly fails until the very moment they open the doors to the kitchen. The flame kisses the cloud of gas and erupts into a massive fireball which--

Cas flaps in and saves the Winchesters. (I will never not be able to watch this scene without thinking of the gag reel and Misha stag leaping around the woods.) 

Cas reports that they’ve arrived safely in Belarus. He tells them that Fate has a beef with the Winchesters. Why? Well, he conveys this sarcastically - “Nothing of import – just the tiny matter of averting the Apocalypse and rendering her obsolete. I think maybe she's a little irritated about that.”

Fate won’t stop pursuing them until they’re dead (lol, like that’ll stick) so they’re better off killing her now. Cas comes up with a plan. They’re going to tempt fate.

Ellen tries to talk through the case with Bobby after Jo reports more and more dead on the West coast. Ellen suggests that the best solution would be to re-sink the Titanic, a suggestion towards which Bobby reacts...poorly. Bobby’s horrified at her casual suggestion. Ellen senses something is off with Bobby. Over drinks, Bobby spills everything to Ellen. He tells her that he needs her. 

After that solemn, emotional scene, we cut to Dean and Sam experiencing wacky near-misses. Cue the comic near-death montage! This montage has everything! Rogue teens! Angry dogs! (Extreme close of up Dean for extra sad jokes.) 

People juggling knives and hatchets! And fire! “Can’t avoid Fate,” Sam says before walking DIRECTLY THROUGH the jugglers with Dean. Lol, that sure is tempting fate!

They successfully make it through the flaming weapons and past a construction worker with a malfunctioning nail gun, only for a huge appliance to fall on them, Looney Tunes style. Or rather, it ALMOST fridges them. The world freezes and Castiel approaches like a character gently walking onstage to address the audience in a Shakespeare play. Fate - Atropos - confronts him.

For the Looney Tunes / Shakespeare Mashup That Lives in My Head Science

She’s angry with him and his two human buds for dismantling millennia of work. “God gave me a job,” she spits. “We all had a script.” But once the apocalypse was averted she was left purposeless.

“Freedom is more preferable,” Cas insists. Atropos hates it and nobody in Heaven has a plan anymore. She tells him the last straw for her was unsinking the Titanic. When Cas tries to fob it off on Balthazar being…Balthazar, she refutes it. Balthazar is operating under CAS’S ORDERS. 

She’ll make Cas a bargain: if the boat stays un-sunk, then she’ll kill his “two favorite pets.” She may not be strong enough to escape Cas’s retribution, but her sisters will take the Winchesters down after she dies. Cas contemplates Sam and Dean.

Balthazar shows up, ready to kill Atropos, when Cas stops him. 

Cas gives a nod to Balthazar and it’s all he needs to do - Balthazar understands his new orders and announces resignedly that he’s heading back in time to sink the Titanic. 

Sam and Dean wake to Celine Dion belting out “My heart will go on” - crucially, they’re again in the Impala. They were sleeping in the car at Bobby’s garage and realize they were dreaming the same thing.

Cas flaps in to greet them. He confirms that their dream was actually real - the Titanic DID cause some titanic problems for the Winchesters. Crucially, Cas tells them that he insisted Balthazar go back and fix it as though he was simply correcting a foolish prank. We don’t care about any of this right now, because Cas plainly tells them that sinking the Titanic was the ONLY WAY to be sure that the Winchesters were safe. 

Sam and Dean try to process the balancing equation Cas dealt with, where their lives were more important than 50,000 people (who were never born, Cas hastily points out). Dean asks about Ellen and Jo, and the answer is NOT GOOD. What could have been!

Dean asks if that whole alternate timeline was erased when the boat sank again. Cas indicates that the alternate timeline gets erased “more or less.” Lol, okay Season 15 Supernatural. Cas wanted Sam and Dean to remember what happened, so that they remember that fate is cruel and capricious. (As are television executives.) “You can make your own destiny. You don’t have to be ruled by fate. I still believe that’s something worth fighting for,” Cas tells them. Can I get a HELL YEAH? 

While it seems for a short while like Cas is edging towards telling them the truth of his war, he ultimately plays off the Titanic as only stemming from Balthazar’s hatred of the movie. “Titanic didn’t suck THAT bad,” Dean says. There’s my soft boy. Cas flaps out, and the Winchesters head inside to check on Bobby. His house is back to cluttered, gloomy chaos. Bobby’s asleep on the couch. Sam and Dean vow never to tell Bobby what he could have had.

Natasha: This episode has everything! Alternate timelines! Fate! Jensen Ackles’ most ridiculous expressions! Free will! Castiel! As soon as we got the season 15 news, we realized that the show would end before we could finish up our older recaps. This episode seemed like the perfect way to cap off the show from the remaining episodes, since it deals with themes of loss, what Castiel would sacrifice to save the Winchesters, alternate timelines, and the overarching exploration of fate/narrative versus free will.

Nice Quotestache:

Accidents don't just happen accidentally

No, no. I'm not threatening you. I'm just simply saying that if you don't watch your back, you're gonna die

"What's an Impala?" Trust me, it's not important

You have me confused with the other angel. You know, the one in the dirty trenchcoat who's in love with you

Can’t avoid fate

Who do we gotta kill to get killed around here?

 Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

[g-ioooart]

OC-tober 2021

In this part of the challenge I decided to show you Mary with the Heart Pirates (since she lives with them). Oh! And I named the 13 crew members who were unnamed.

PART 4

(from left to right)

1.Bud. He is the crew's cook but since Mary likes cooking and what she makes is good (especially desserts), they take turns in the kitchen.

2. Elvis (the one with lots of roses) and René (the other one). They fell for Mary when they saw her for the first time but she only likes them as friends.

3. Boris (the one with the dagger) and Sako (the guy with glasses). They are the artilleryman and the sniper respectively , with Mary they are the weapons nerd trio.

4. Bepo and Pando. The first is the official mascotte of the crew, loved by everyone while the second is Pandaman's less famous cousin. Mary and Bepo have recently discovered that Pando isn't a real panda, his face is just a super realistic mask.

5. Shachi, Penguin and Ikkaku. Ikkaku is Mary's best friend, they are the only two girls in the crew so I think it's normal that they get along from the beginning. The fact that Mary has the Penguin's penguin on her head is based on my theory according to which this little penguin is alive, not just a decoration on Penguin's hat.

6. Jose. He is the musician, the only one able to make Mary sing. Usually she doesn't sing but when Jose start playing certain shanties that remind her of her mother she start humming them.

7. Jean Bart. Despite the appearances he is kind and wants to be useful, for this often offers to accompany Mary doing her errands.

(I completly messed up Jean Bart's proportions, please forgive me😫)

8. Masky (the one with the mask...yeah, I have a lot of immagination) and Clione. With Mary they are the shortest of the crew and when they go out on their own people think they are lost kids .

9. Uni. Mary would like to talk to him, but he is very quiet, when she asks him something he responds in monosyllables.

10. Karim. I think he is kind, always ready to help his friends and since he sees Mary as a tiny and delicate girl (she may be tiny but she isn't delicate at all) he always helps her, even if she is stealing books or hoodies in the captain's room.

11. Timo. He and Mary love gardening, the only difference is that Timo grows medical plants while Mary prefers the poisonous ones.

12. Wilbur. He is the mechanic on the submarine but not only that, he can repair anything and most of the time he has to fix things that Mary had wanted to "repair" in her own way.

13. Honaw (with the braids) and Xin ( with heart shaped hair). They are quiet people and Mary likes being with them especially when Honaw let her styling his hair.

14. Law. He and Mary always fight because both of them are proud and hate to admit when the other is right but it's only at the beginning, after two years together in the same place they start to get along and like each other.

PREVIOUS OC-TOBER PARTS

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

[elenatria]

What are your thoughts on chernobyl episode 3 ?

Bestest ep ever.

This episode starts with silent looks.

It’s so heart-warming to see Boris’ boyish smile of pride and relief as he claps and waves, like a kid watching national heroes parade right in front of him. He’d be waving a flag if he could.

Of course Valery has no time for smiles because he knows better, he knows this isn’t over. However they do exchange a glance, starting to appreciate what they’re both doing for the cause, starting to realize the power of their collaboration.

In the next scene they’re almost demolishing what they just built, the trust and respect. Valery lashes out at Boris about the evacuation zone. Boris gets defensive because he just won’t have his newly found partner blaming him. This is getting too personal.

And oh, here it comes, the revealing “Don’t use my name” moment of this episode but in reverse.

Boris is not just offended by Valery calling his peers apparatchiks. 

He’s deeply wounded. And he delivers his next line in the darkest, huskiest tone imaginable.

Because hey, Valery could be talking about him for all he knows. So yeah, watch your tongue because I’m one of the people you loathe and I DON’T want to be one of the people you loathe, I’m not one of them, do you understand?

Of course he’s quick to hide his hurt behind a wall of authoritativeness.

 But Valery knows the meaning behind Boris’ words. He stops and stares and blinks and drops his head not because he’s embarrassed for being rebuked but because he got to hurt Boris’ feelings again. He wants to  learn not to hurt him anymore, and fails.

Pikalov then comes to bring some good news about the reduction of iodine 131 and Boris grabs this opportunity (the first in a series of attempts to cheer up Valery) to help the scientist see the glass as half full, not half empty. He still needs Valery’s approval and to tell him he’s doing things right. 

Valery turns to face him because he really really wants to be on good terms with him and Boris looks away casually as if to say “We’re good, no harm done.” Or maybe he can’t face him just yet.

Next scene, Valery is being his usual blunt self to Gorbachev himself. This Nerd is getting more and more dangerous to himself, not to mention an embarrassment to Boris.

Naturally Gorbachev, offended by Valery’s aggressive tone, hangs up.

And then we have Boris asking to do something as intimate as taking a walk with him. Is that… the equivalent of a first date?… That’s… like… fanfic material right there.

And then… Valery blurts out the most common excuse in the book. Wait, “common”? Yeah it’s common but the way he utters it he sounds like Boris’ girlfriend “having a headache”, y’know. “Not tonight, love, it’s late and I’m tired.”

But see, Boris Shcherbina is Boris Shcherbina and he won’t take no for an answer. I don’t think he ever took no for an answer tbh.

Valery breathes out a sexy resigned exhale and stares back because yeah Boris is being his usual self with that hoarse authoritative tone, however this time they’re alone and Valery is probably having a massive boner right now, being ordered around. Ordered to have a walk. Anything else you want to order me, Boris?

Next they’re seen walking and Valery is starting to learn how he should act around people. Of course he’s resisting. “Yes I know I embarrassed you in front of Gorbachev but here, have my non-apology instead, it’s better than nothing, yes?” Yeah, Valery, like you care how Boris feels. Or do you?

Then Boris asks him about the effects of radiation. The description gets more and more gruesome but Boris is a big boy, he can take it. And he wants to learn. From Valery.

Now this “Continue” here is like a total plot bunny for any bottom!Boris smut fic because yeah, imagine Valery on top of him, hesitant, not sure if he should enter him or not but Boris, like the power bottom that he is, is ready for anything and urges him on. Because he wouldn’t let anyone top him but he would make an exception for Valery. Because who doesn’t want to let go once in a while and be fucked by a brilliant scientist, amirite?

Ok. Mind. Out of the gutter. NOW.

A-hem. Sorry for that, that was my evil smut-writing twin. Moving on.

And this is when things get even more intimate, this is every fangirl’s (or fanboy’s) dream. After listening to the horrible effects of radiation on a human body Boris wants to know how “lucky” he is compared to those doomed men. How lucky THEY are, and how much time they have on this planet.

Yeah, it sure is a friendly “we’re in this together” moment but there’s something more, right? The way Boris delivers that line is like they’re an item, they’re “us” now. He’s not alone. And Boris is not the only person Boris cares about.

Valery takes a step back, pauses and squints as if he’s thinking “not sure if Boris is just worried about his hide or if he’s genuinely concerned about me, about us, and… is that a glimpse of hope and lust in his husky tone?”

AND THEN WE GET THE BESTEST (ok one of two bestest) VALORIS MOMENT OF THE EPISODE.

That’s Boris seeing the glass half full once more, encouraging Valery, and practically telling him “You know what, I’m glad I’m not alone in this and it could have been worse and I’m glad we get to live a little longer and I’m glad YOU get to live a little longer. With me.” And I mean, look at his face when he says those words and LISTEN TO HIS VOICE  as he gradually reduces it to a tender whisper saying “Valery…” Is that the first time he calls Valery by his first name? I think it is. And it’s a payoff of the first time Valery called him “Boris”. Now Boris is finally apologizing for his tone in the helicopter and acknowledging the fact that using their first names gives him life.

Then we have the second time Boris asks about Valery’s feelings, the second “what?” scene.

Ooooh first names again. The boys are so getting used to each other and Valery is acting like an insecure lover, asking for support.

Next scene, the second best Valoris scene of the episode.

Boris staggers into Valery’s office like he’s had one cup of Vodka too many with the guys and obviously Valery didn’t want to join them because work, because Apocalypse, because Armageddon. So Boris will bring the party to him whether he likes it or not.

THEN WE GET THE SECOND GREATEST VALORIS MOMENT OF THIS EPISODE.

Boris calls Valery by his nickname (are we on a nickname basis now??). And to my uneducated western ears that still sounded a bit too intimate. If google is correct Valera is pronounced Va-LYE-ra or something but you get my drift.

What’s next, Valery calling him Borja or something?

Valery begrudgingly shakes his head in approval but basically ignores him.

Look at Boris being frustrated and hurt once more by Valery’s coldness.

But nooooo Boris won’t have anyone ignoring him, especially not Valery. Not when HE is happy. So Valery should be happy too. So he makes him drink. He demands it.

And to me btw that glass being dragged between Valery’s hands is the equivalent of Boris dragging himself between Valery’s knees and grabbing his face for a kiss. You can’t ignore me now, can you? 

Boris tries to cheer him up and uses the worst words he can.

The double (and fateful) meaning of that phrase doesn’t get lost on either of them.

And oooooh the naked miners’ scene. Look at their shocked faces lol. 

Valery witnesses Boris not acting all-knowing all-powerful in front of his inferiors for the first time. That’s progress. And he feels bad for him.

Later on, upon hearing the news of Ulana’s arrest Valery appeals to Boris as if asking his boyfriend for help. First name basis always.

Yes, Boris, Valery is a demanding boyfriend.

And oh, Boris won’t have his boyfriend embarrass him in front of the committee. 

When Valery storms out of the room to address the chief of the KGB in his usual blunt manner Boris  is scared shitless. “I didn’t bring you here to have you sent out to some gulag because you’re a STUPID, unceremonious and reckless nerd.”

And finally, one of the funniest yet tender moments of the episode. Valery is looking at Boris for approval. He knows he almost got himself arrested but still Boris’ opinion counts more than anything. 

And that’s Boris telling him “you scared me shitless, you idiot, did you know they could kill you for that? Don’t EVER do this to me again.”

[wishbonetea]

RULES: Your favourite characters are stuck in a horror movie! Put 7 characters (from books, movies, tv, whatever) into this randomizer and fill in the blanks to find out which archetype they represent!

i was tagged by @henriettia ty!

the jock!! neil josten (yeah)

the nerd!! david rose

the stoner!! boris pavlikovsky (i mean...)

the airhead!! lyra silvertongue

the nice one!! lila bard

the killer!! shay

the last one standing!! declan lynch

I’m tagging anyone who sees this and wants to do it

[aion-rsa]

The Weird History of Monsters vs Marvel Superheroes

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Dracula, Frankenstein, a Werewolf by Night, a Living Mummy have all taken on or teamed up with the heroes of the Marvel Universe.

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The Marvel Universe is known for superheroes but it's also home to some of the greatest classic monsters ever to shamble onto a comic book page. Beginning in the early 1970s, some scary residents moved in.

Marvel has its own Dracula, its own Frankenstein Monster, its own Mummy, its own werewolf (two actually) and even its own Manphibian (kind of like the Creature from the Black Lagoon...but not). These creepy residents lurked in their own little dark corner of the Marvel Universe, but the takeaway here is that they were IN the Marvel Universe and at times these vampires, lycanthropes, and corpses even met the famous heroes of the MU.

So join us my intrepid monster hunters as we recount the ultimate monster mashes and revisit a few special occasions where classic monsters met classic superheroes...

Dracula

Dracula Lives #3 (1973)

by Roy Thomas and Alan Weiss

We already recounted the many times Dracula has stalked the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe, but there was one team up we missed. Yeah, we know what you’re thinking: Conan and the other Robert E. Howard characters aren’t really part of the Marvel Universe, but listen, Spider-Man meet Kull and Red Sonja, and Spider-Man met Dracula, so this totally counts.

In Dracula Lives! #3 Roy Thomas and Alan Weiss gave us an ancient battle between Dracula and Howard’s famous demon hunter Solomon Kane. For those not familiar with Kane, imagine an Age of Imperialism Puritan Van Helsing that travels the world to spread the word of God while killing vampires and werewolves. Marvel published a bunch of Solomon Kane comics throughout the Bronze Age, and even though Kane had his following, the demon hunter never really caught on like Howard’s famous Cimmerian (probably because his adventures were always a wee bit racist).

read more: 13 Essential Dracula Performances

But in this one magnificent tale, Kane and Dracula clashed! In this Kane adventure, the chaste Kane must navigate the world of vampire seduction and then face off against the Lord of the Vampires his own damn self. Kane kind of kicks Drac’s ass (in Dracula’s own magazine no less), but readers also get a sense of Kane’s honor. You see, earlier in the issue, Dracula saves the Puritan's life. When Kane has Dracula on the ropes, the vampire reminds the honorable Kane that the demon hunter owes the vampire a boon. Kane lets Dracula go which pretty much dooms countless souls for like, the rest of eternity. So whenever Dracula needs a snack and kills some poor hapless soul, that victim can thank Kane for letting the fish off the hook when he was about to stake Dracula for good. Puritans, huh?

Anyway, this story remains a glorious Bronze Age oddity where two unlikely characters smack up against each other in glorious black-and-white.

Frankenstein’s Monster

The lumbering abomination of science known as Frankenstein’s Monster has a pretty long history in comics, one that predates the classic monster’s own comic at Marvel. Marvel’s The Monster of Frankenstein series premiered in 1973, but the bolt-necked behemoth stepped out of the late night picture shows and into the Marvel Universe a few times before it lived in its own feature.

X-Men #40 (1968)

By Roy Thomas and Don Heck

In X-Men #40, artist Don Heck and writer Roy Thomas (there’s that name again, it’s clear that Thomas is, was, and always will be the godfather of Marvel monsters) featured a clash between the X-Men and Frankenstein’s most famous creation.

Well, kinda.

The issue starts off with the X-Men enjoying a day of training in the Danger Room. Suddenly, they are summoned by Professor X who explains that he thinks he has located Frankenstein’s Monster. Professor X reveals that the monster is actually an android and furthermore, the android may have been built by a mutant. Holy Boris Karloff, that’s convoluted! The story would have been better served if Charles Xavier was all like, “I found Frankenstein, go beat him up,” and the X-Men were all like, “Yeah, sure,” and then they fight and stuff. But no, androids, mutants and aliens.

Wait aliens? Oh yah, it gets even more bonkers.

The X-Men attack the android and a big bad fight ensues. Iceman encases the monster in ice because he’s seen a movie or two and this defeats the Frankenstein android. Professor X then discovers that the monstrous android was built by aliens to act as an ambassador to Earth. The monster malfunctioned and went on a rampage thus creating the legend that inspired Mary Shelley to write her book. I like how Marvel took the elegantly simple tale of Frankenstein and made it intensely elaborate.

read more: Marvel's 31 Best Monsters

So there you go, Frankenstein’s first Marvel non-appearance in a tale where the monster was almost a mutant creation, almost a classic monster, and almost an alien ambassador.

The Silver Surfer #7 (1969)

By Stan Lee and John Buscema

After the monster’s almost appearance in X-Men, fans did not have to wait long for the real deal Universal and Shelley inspired Frankenstein top pop up, and this time it was for real. Wait...no it wasn’t.

Okay, so in this issue Ludwig Frankensein, descendant of legendary monster maker Victor Frankenstein, wants to renew Victor’s forbidden experiments. So, Ludwig and his hunchback assistant Borgo kidnap the Silver Surfer in order to siphon the Power Cosmic into their own creation. They succeed and the Surfer ends up fighting, not the Frankenstein Monster, put a Frankenstein created Silver Surfer doppelganger. But take note Frankenophiles, the famous monster does make an appearance.

read more: 13 Forgotten Frankenstein Movies

During the issue, Ludwig watches a film of Victor creating the world’s most famous monster. Yeah, we know movies weren't created until well after the mid-1800s, but shhh, you’re going to argue about something like that in a comic starring a naked silver guy that surfs in space? Rest assured that the Frankenstein Monster that appears in that film is the real deal, establishing that the Monster did indeed stalk the Marvel Universe.

Avengers #131 (1975)

By Steve Englehart and Sal Buscema

Frankenstein’s Monster is known for many famous cultural moments. It starred in what is considered one of the every first genre novels, it was the subject of one of the most famous horror films ever created, and it has appeared throughout media in every genre from pure horror to light comedy, but did you know that the Frankenstein Monster once served on a team with Wonder Man? Damn, that’s just oddly random.

read more: The Best Modern Horror Movies

Yup, as a plot to destroy the Avengers, the time traveling despot known as Kang plucked from the time stream some really haphazardly chosen heroes and villains just moments before their deaths, unified them, and sent them to destroy the Avengers. This ill-fated team consisted of the original android Human Torch, Wonder Man, erstwhile Iron Man baddie the Ghost, some dude named Midnight that once fought Shang-Chi, and Frankenstein’s Monster. That’s like creating a super team by randomly choosing Wikipedia pages.

The Avengers didn't have a really hard time with this group of almost corpses, but hey, listen, it’s a super team with Frankenstein’s Monster, that’s just odd enough to be awesome in our book.

Marvel Team-Up #36-37 (1975)

By Gerry Conway and Sal Buscema

True story, Marvel Team-Up #37 was one of the first comics I ever owned, and it blew my little mind that Spider-Man could actually team up with Frankenstein! How could Spider-Man team up with that monster that scared the poop out of me whenever Frankenstein aired on local TV? Not only did Spidey and Frankie appear in the same comic, they were helping each other! I think my love for superheroes and classic monsters may have sprung from my fevered re-readings of this very issue. So thanks Conway and Buscema, thanks for showing me the path.

read more: Spider-Man's Greatest Marvel Team-Ups

Anyway, so in this odd duck team up Spidey and Frankenstein’s Monster join forces to take on the menace of the monster maker: Baron Von Shtupf! Who? Von Shtupf, that’s who. Man, for a comic so integral to my development as a nerd, it’s pretty darn trivial. Anyway, Spidey and Frankie meet as Spidey accepts the whole corpse regeneration thing at face value because he recently ran into a clone of Gwen Stacy (comics!). Eventually, Man-Wolf (who is actually the son of Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson) joins the fray and things get even more Bronze Age-ier and crazier as Man-beast, man-wolf, and man-spider all battle man-Shtupf. Glorious, I tells you!

Iron Man #101-102 (1977)

By Bill Mantlo and George Tuska

And then there was the time Frankenstein met Robert Downey Jr. Yup, in Iron Man #101-102, Tony Stark finds himself in the Swiss Alps where he stops for repairs after fighting godless commies in Yugoslavia. There, he is ambushed by a group of diminuitive misshapen creatures known as the Children of the Damned (no, they were not Trump supporters, stop it). Frankenstein and Iron Man battle it out in a clash of billion dollar film superstars.

read more: Upcoming Horror Movies Heading Your Way

Then, some armored dude with a giant lance blasts Iron Man and golden super hero and shambling corpse must team up to face the Dreadknight! By the way, Dreadknight’s real name is Bram Velsing, so there you go. To be honest, these issues are filled with atmospheric coolness and just seeing the classic monster and Golden Avenger on the same comic page together is just so out of place that it transcends cheese and becomes awesome

Invaders #31 (1978)

By Don Glut and Chic Stone

You guys, this issue is called “Heil Frankenstein!” This is going to be so cool.

Hey, remember before when I said that the first mention of Frankenstein in a Marvel Comic was in X-Men #40, yeah, I lied. Way the hell back in USA Comics #13 (1944), Captain America and Bucky run afoul of the creation of the Frankensteins. In this forgotten Golden Age classic, Anna Frankenstein builds a new monster in hopes of selling an army of monsters to Hitler. Yes folks, Franken-Nazis! Cap foils the plan, but years later, in the pages of Invaders, Marvel decided to revisit this story and re-introduces those Franken-clones.

read more: The Best Horror Movies on Netflix

In this issue, Basil Frankenstein continues Anna’s work and tries to build that undead army for Hitler (that’s the oddest sentence I’ve ever typed). The Invaders (Cap, Bucky, Sub-Mariner, Human Torch, and Toro) arrive to take care of business and battle a swastika emblazoned version of the Frankenstein Monster. I know I make this sound crazy...guys, it’s crazier and ends with the poor monster killing itself so it can’t be used by the Nazis.

Nick Fury’s Howling Commandos #1 (2005)

By Keith Giffen and Eduardo Francisco

So we already discussed Frankenstein’s Monster as part of the Legion of the Unliving in the Avengers, but that doesn’t really count as a for real super hero team does it? I mean, Frankie was plucked for the past to join a non-team of not really dead dead people. Well, the Howling Commandos counts because it consists of a group of classic Marvel monsters conscripted by SHIELD to go on insane missions to bringsdown other monstrous threats. So this is the classic Frankenstein’s Monster, heavily armed and given a license to kill by Nick Fury, going on missions to keep the world safe from supernatural threats. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.

read more: The Best Horror Movies on HBO Go

It’s like if Freddy and Jason joined the Expendables. GASP! I think I might have just stumbled on a billion dollar idea. Crap man, half the Expendables already look like walking corpses. Anyway, yeah, Frankenstein’s Monster once joined SHIELD.

Fear Itself: Fearsome Four #1-4 (2011)

By Brandon Montclare, Michael Wm Kaluta, Ryan Bodenheim, and Simon Bisley

So now we have three super teams that Frankie called his own, but the Fearsome Four was by far the strangest. Yes, the strangest team amongst a squad of time lost corpses and a team of monster soldiers. Because get this, the Fearsome Four consisted of She-Hulk, the Defender known as Nighthawk, Frankenstein’s Monster, and Howard the Duck. Yeah, beat that!

read more: The Best Horror Movies on Hulu

During Fear Itself, these four incongruous teammates must join together to face a mutated Man-Thing and the Psycho Man. That’s a lot of menacing hyphens right there. But somehow this team that shouldn’t have worked, did just that and four heroes that couldn’t be any more different found the unity to save the world. Frankenstein and a duck, teaming up and kicking ass. This is why we love comics.

Wolverine and the X-Men #19, 21-23 (2012)

By Jason Aaron and Nick Bradshaw

We’ve recounted the times the Monster has stalked the Marvel Universe, but the descendants of the creature’s creator has also caused trouble for the heroes. We’ve covered Ludwig Frankenstein in Silver Surfer, Anna and Basil Frankenstein in Invaders, and Victoria Frankenstein has even aided some Marvel heroes over the years. But here we have the evil works of Baron Maximilian von Katzenelnbogen, a contemporary descendant of the Frankenstein clan.

read more: 31 Best Streaming Horror Movies

Von Katzenelnbogen may have just been barely a teenager but when he joined a youthful version of the Hellfire Club (it was like the Muppet Babies, but with more S&M and death), he and his vile pals send an army of Frankenstein Monster clones against the X-Men. Yes, an army of Frankensteins. But when the real Frankenstein finds out that his creator’s work is once again being used for evil, well, let’s just say the classic monster doesn’t take it well.

Werewolf by Night

Marvel Team-Up #12 (1973)

By Gerry Conway, Len Wein, and Ross Andru

We already covered the meeting of Frankenstein’s Monster and Man-Wolf in the pages of Marvel Team-Up. In addition to this creature feature, there was also another Spider-Man monster mash as Spidey teamed with Marvel’s leading lycanthrope, Werewolf by Night. We’re kind of going to gloss over Man-Wolf because, while the character is awesome, he’s more of a sci-fi character than a classic horror beastie.  

In this issue, the first meeting between Spidey and Jack Russell (and yes folks, Werewolf by Night is named Jack Russell), Spidey and Wolfy team up to take on the evil wizard Moondark. Really, the issue consists of Werewolf by Night popping up and Spidey punching the poor were-beast into the middle of next week, and then defeating Moondark single handedly.  

read more: 13 Essential Werewolf Movies

Spider-Man and Werewolf by Night don’t really spend much time together, but if they did, what were they supposed to do? Go for a long walk together? Play fetch? Punching is pretty much the order of the day when werewolf and classic superhero get together, and punch they did in the first meeting between hero and werewolf.

Spider-Woman #19 (1979)

By Steven Grant, Mark Gruenwald, and Carmine Infantino

So Werewolf by Night is pretty much the classic Wolfman character, just younger. Poor Jack Russell must battle his savage instincts when he turns into the Werewolf by Night and survive in a world that views him as a monster. But there have been times in the character’s long history where Russell has complete control of the werewolf. At these times, Werewolf by Night is kind of like a really hairy Spider-Man type, what with the crime fighting and the humorous quips. It can be said the Werewolf by Night is a perfect amalgamation of Marvel superhero and Marvel horror icon all wrapped up in a really fuzzy, fanged package.

read more: The Best Horror Movies on Amazon Prime

The heroic Werewolf was on full display in Spider-Woman #19 as the costumed hero and altruistic lycanthrope take on the heavily armed mercenary known as Enforcer. This issue, Spider-Woman and Russell strike up a friendship that would be revisited a number of times over the decades. I guess every woman needs a werewolf pal to confide in? No? Well, how about we leave it at that this is a pretty killer atmospheric issue that fully utilizes all the heroic aspects of Werewolf by Night.

Spider-Woman #32 (1980)

By Michael Fleisher and Steve Leialoha

Look at that Frank Miller and Klaus Janson cover. Look at those perfectly rendered drawings of Spider-Woman and Werewolf by Night framed by posters of some of Hollywood’s most famous monsters. Is that not the most glorious Halloween looking comic cover you’ve ever seen? The insides of this issue ain’t bad either as Spider-Woman and Werewolf by Night renew their heroic bond by teaming up to bring down the evil Doctor Karl Malus and the mysterious villain known as the Hornet. During the course of this issue, Malus controls Russell’s hairy alter ego, but Spider-Woman is able to free her monster pal and take the fight to the villains.

But for real man, I can stare at the glorious Frank Miller cover until next Halloween.

Marvel Team-Up #93 (1980)

Man, Werewolf by Night teamed up with a lot of Spider people, huh? Well, in this spider/wolf throw down, Jack Russell and Spidey join together to face the Tatterdemalion. What is Tatterdemalion’s deal you ask (other than being impossible to spell)? Well, he is really strong and he really, really smells.

Tatterdemalion hates wealth and fancy things and dresses in a suit of horribly dirty rags and attacks the rich. He also sticks to things, so he has that going for him. The Tatterdemalion first appeared in Werewolf by Night’s own solo title and that conflict leaks over into the werewolf’s second team up with Spider-Man.

read more: The 25 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen

Think about it, Tatterdemalion is sticky and smells really bad, and Werewolf by Night is covered in hair. That can’t be an easy post-fight clean up. But Tatterdemalion is a perfect horror/super villain type of rogue. He’s a sewer lurker that is really unsettling and is right at home fighting super hero or monster, and he does a little bit of both in this monstrous team up comic.

West Coast Avengers #5 (1986)

By Steve Englehart and Al Milgrom

Here’s a fun fact. Two pretty important Marvel super heroes were introduced in books starring Werewolf by Night. First, the great Moon Knight was introduced in Werewolf by Night #32 (1975) and one time Avenger, Tigra the Were-Woman was introduced in Giant Size Creatures Featuring Werewolf by Night #1 (1974). Moon Knight went on to become one of Marvel’s most popular street level heroes (and inevitable Netflix star, you know it’s going to happen and the series better freakin’ feature Werewolf by Night) and Tigra went on to star in many Marvel team books.

read more: 25 Awesome Spooky Movies

In this issue of West Coast Avengers, the Westies believe that Tigra, who was transformed into a were-cat by a race known as the Cat People (well, what would you call them?) may have a link to Jack Russell. So the Avengers track down the Werewolf by Night and jump him. That’s not cool. It was a brief Werewolf by Night appearance but it was nice to see him reunite with Tigra. After all, she was introduced in a Werewolf by Night feature.

That’s our Wolfie, launching superhero careers like nobody’s business. Hey man, it just goes to show you that Werewolf by Night was a big deal once...and will be again when he get his own Netflix series (it’s going to happen, Den of Geek mastermind Mike Cecchini is currently willing it to).

Iron Man #209 (1986)

By Dennis Mallonee and Rick Hoberg

Hey check this out, Iron Man was a bit of a monster magnet himself, teaming up with Frankenstein’s Monster and now Werewolf by Night. In this issue, Werewolf by Night’s sister gets possessed by the evil magic of Morgan Le Fay. Tony Stark must team with the Werewolf to battle Le Fay and free Russell’s beloved sibling.

So you have a Universal Pictures inspired monster hero teaming up with a classic Marvel icon to take on a fatale ripped from Arthurian folklore. What’s not to love about this? Technology meets classic monster goodness meets ancient legend. Get thee to a back issue bin!

Captain America #330 (1987)

By Mark Gruenwald and Tom Morgan

Do you know that Werewolf by Night was a member of a superhero team? Huh, didja? Well, he was and they were a unique bunch of bananas, I’ll tell you that.

In Captain America #330, Marvel introduced Night Shift, a group of horror themed characters that were pretty much all the supporting characters and villains left over from the defunct Spider-Woman title. The team consisted of Werewolf by Night, Brothers Grimm, Gypsy Moth, Tick Tock, Digger, Needle, and Tatterdemalion and was led by the Shroud. The team fought crime by pretending to be a gang of criminals, but were in fact a team of strange heroes dedicated to taking the underworld down from the inside. Most of the team were reformed Spider-Woman villains, but the Shroud’s right hand man was Werewolf by Night.

read more: The Underrated Horror Movies of the 1990s

Night Shift was such a weird concept that it really needs to be brought back. Think about it, the ranks of this strange team could be home to many of Marvel’s almost forgotten horror heroes.

X-Factor #222-224 (2011)

By Peter David and Emanuela Lupacchino

In these issues of X-Factor, the mutant known as Wolfsbane was about to give birth to a half lycanthrope mutant and half Asgardian baby. In honor of this event, many of Marvel’s wolf characters gathered to welcome this part mutant part werewolf part god to the world. Included in the gathering was Werewolf by Night. It was like a werewolf nativity scene and I’m just going to leave that sitting there.

read more: 13 Brilliant Horror Movies Under 90 Minutes Long

Listen though, anything Peter David writes is worth reading and he really crafted a very interesting Werewolf by Night and I would read the heck out of a Jack Russell series penned by David.

The Living Mummy

Marvel Two-in-One #95 (1983)

By David Kraft and Alan Kupperberg

Yes, Marvel has a mummy to call its very own. N’Kantu the Living Mummy was once an African king who was imprisoned and cursed to walk the Earth as an unholy monstrosity. The Living Mummy starred in his own short lived series in the pages of Supernatural Thrillers and then appeared sporadically around the fringes of the Marvel Universe. Unlike the many Universal mummies, N’Kantu is a heroic if tragic figure. But he’s a dude that shambles around in dusty bandages so he hasn’t had the impact of Marvel monsters like Dracula and Werewolf by Night. But that hasn’t stopped the Living Mummy from getting around now and again.

read more: 13 Essential Mummy Movies

Take this issue of Marvel Two-in-One. Ben Grimm’s best gal Alicia is possessed by an ancient spirit, the Thing and the Living Mummy must team up in order to free Alicia and defeat the evil Nephrus. Well, they don’t so much as team up but appear on a few pages together before the Mummy shambles off into the desert. But it counts, the Living Mummy and the Thing, fighting the good fight together, kinda, almost.

Captain America #361 (1989)

By Mark Gruenwald and Kieron Dwyer

The late, great writer Mark Gruenwald was never one to leave any obscure character unexplored, and he found a way to incorporate the Living Mummy into the bright and shiny world of Captain America. When Cap and his partner and lover Diamondback were hunting down the fabled bloodstones, they convince the Living Mummy to hand over the Bloodgem in a story completely unrelated to Infinity Gauntlet.

read more: 28 Alternative Horror Movies Worth Watching

But there was something incongruously awesome about seeing a guy dressed as the American flag team with a dude dressed up like Boris Karloff’s second most famous monster.

Quasar #46 (1993)

By Mark Gruenwald and Andy Smith

Has everyone been a member of a super team at one point or another? Get this motley crew. Doctor Druid, Shadowoman, the Blazing Skull, and the Living Mummy- otherwise known as Shock Troop! This team of also-rans and never was-es helped Quasar take on the villain known as Quagmire (giggity).

read more: The 31 Best Segments From Horror Anthology Movies

I guess this team quietly disbanded soon afterwards because what else were they supposed to do? Marvel, bring back the Shock Troop. I mean, you’re leaving at least $2.13 on the table here.

Civil War #7 (2007)

By Mark Millar and Steve McNiven

You might think that Living Mummy is small potatoes as far as Marvel monsters goes but he actually took part in the biggest Marvel event of all time. N’Kantu can be seen as part of the anti-registration forces in the climactic battle between Iron Man and Captain America in the first Civil War. Now, imagine how cool it would be if Cap had a mummy on his side (no explanation, just a mummy) in the Civil War film.

The Living Mummy was present during Civil War because like Frankenstein, N’Kantu was a member of the Howling Commandos of SHIELD. The Mummy felt like he was being forced into servitude and not wanting to live the life (or unlife) of a slave, the Living Mummy rebelled. This led to imprisonment and the eventual riot that became the inciting event of the conclusion of Civil War. In the worlds of Ulysses S. Grant, “t’aint a proper Civil War ‘til a Mummy gets involved!” Or something.

Currently, the Living Mummy is a member of the Legion of Monsters and as such has met and fought with and against Deadpool (Deadpool Team-Up #894) and the Red Hulk (Hulk Vol 2 #52) but we just wanted to focus on the Living Mummy as a solo act.

Zombie

Daredevil Annual #9 (1993)

Yup, Marvel has a zombie and his name is Zombie. Well, his name used to be Simon Garth until a voodoo curse transformed poor Garth into the Zombie.

Before zombies were really a thing in comics, Garth starred in the Bronze Age black and white magazine Tales of the Zombie. Unlike the zombies that are turned into jelly by Rick and Michonne in The Walking Dead, Garth maintained his free will. So basically, he’s a rotting, shambling, fresh hungry walking corpse, but he’s fully aware of this situation. That sucks for him.

Garth’s free will was on full display when he helped Daredevil defeat the voodoo queen and sometimes groupie of Kraven the Hunter, the evil Calypso. With all that Walking Dead money floating around, it’s a wonder that Marvel doesn’t do more with its Zombie. But hey, Garth met Daredevil once in this ultra-esoteric annual, so that’s something.

Manphibian

Uncanny Avengers Annual #1 (2014)

By Rick Remender and Paul Renaud

And we conclude with Marvel’s version of the Creature from the Black Lagoon: Manphibian! Man is that fun to say, Manphibian, Manphibian, Manphibian!

Anyway, Manphibian (Manphibian!) is actually an alien being that crash landed on Earth while pursuing the murderer of his mate across the cosmos. Both murderer and Manphibian were tapped on Earth and became monsters of myth and legend. Manphibian appeared in the Frankencastle saga (don't ask) and also joined the Howling Commandos.

read more: A Brief History of the Creature From the Black Lagoon Franchise

But for a very brief moment, Manphibian was a member of his own team of Avengers. In Uncanny Avengers Annual #1, Manphibian joined with Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange, Blade, Satana, and Man-Thing to become the Avengers of the Supernatural. This group of monstrous Avengers teams with the Uncanny Avengers against Mojo and then disbands five minutes later, which is a shame because I would spend good cash money to read about this team on a regular basis.

So there you have it, some classic monsters joining forces with the super heroes that share their world. We’re sure many more monstrous adventure are on the way to the Marvel Universe, so remember, sometimes the things that go bump in the night are just as brave and selfless as the bright and shiny super heroes that get all the press. So be kind to the shambling, snarling creatures of darkness, they deserve love too. Excelsior!

Read and download the Den of Geek NYCC 2019 Special Edition Magazine right here!

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Feature Marc Buxton

Oct 14, 2019

Marvel

Dracula

Frankenstein

31 Days of Horror

from Books https://ift.tt/2SpjPBf

[dr-gene-ray]

I was tagged by @thedesertgod to list ten books I would like to finish this year. Saddle up.

Red Doc> - Anne Carson

Autobiography of Red (and Eros the Bittersweet..and more..) had a huge impact on me many years ago. I found the sequel at HPB and have yet to actually read it

Roadside Picnic - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

Soviet Sci-Fi novel, given big ups by Ursula K Le Guin. It's the jumping off point for Tarkovsky's Stalker, which is a favorite film of mine. So far though it seems like he took it in a very different direction. Totally stoked

The Complete Dykes to Watch Out For - Alison Bechdel

I picked up "the new and improved dykes to watch out for" collection recently and was blown away. The characters are so vivid and developed, dealing with issues that are considered wildly progressive even by today's standards. Plus the drawings are gorgeous. I want to read all of it.

Elements of Eloquence - I forget

Me want learn write good

The Magic Mountain - Thomas Mann

It's been sitting on my shelf for years. I loved his short stories, but this one is especially challenging.

Faust - Goethe

I'm currently about 1/3rd of the way through this, and it is briiilllllllliiiaaannnttttt

Goya - Robert Hughes

A biography on one of my favorite artists by one of the most verbose, eloquent, and bitter art historians to ever roam the earth. His voice caresses your ears with the velveteen touch of a dandy fop, but like he hates you.

Max Ernst and Alchemy: A Magician in Search of Myth

Uh, you see the title?

Dialectic of Enlightenment - Horkheimer and Adorno

Someone loaned it to me and I gotta at some point

A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving

my mom sent me a copy and wants me to read it soon so yep

Comics and Idealogy - Various essays

Uh, nerds being obscenely intellectual wrt comics? Yeah I'll give it a spin

I'll tag (supposed to be 10 but I'm not that cool):

@skogs-fru

@buddyblanc

@indecisiveaction

@deadr1ingers

@tinybows

@higherorderchaoswizard2

@therearepeoplewho

@iawai

You?

Yay!

[franzieonfilms]

Ancient Images: Lost Films and Curses No One Remembers

I have never read a Ramsey Campbell book in my life. Well, until now. I have another one of his books, but I hope it's better than this one.

While this is a movie blog, this is also a novel concerning a (fictional) lost film, so I think it's appropriate to review it here.

Ancient Images takes place in England in 1988. Our heroine is Sandy Allen, a 27-year-old film editor working at a TV station and living with her two adorable kitties. Sandy is friends with an older gay gentleman, Graham Nolan, who is also a gigantic film nerd.

One day, Graham invites Sandy over to his apartment to watch his latest aquisition, a lost Bela Lugosi/Boris Karloff film from 1938 called Tower of Fear. When Sandy goes to Graham's apartment later that night, she finds the apartment a wreck, the film reels missing, and Graham jumping to his death from the building next door.

Things get more aggravating when Sandy has to deal with homophobic cops, snooty passive-aggressive film critics, and a tabloid not leaving a traveller cult called Enoch's Army alone. Sandy eventually gets Graham's notebook from his boyfriend, listing everyone Graham spoke with to track down the film. Sandy first calls Roger Stone, an American film scholar and her love interest.

As Sandy keeps looking through the notebook, she has this feeling that someone, or something, is following and/or watching her. But that's ridiculous because it's just shadows! And the cats are acting weird, but it must be the cat food.

So after the snooty film critic makes fun of Sandy for going after the film and her cats destroy the notebook (then get hit by a truck), Sandy decides to travel the country to track the film down.

That's the first quarter of the book. But I'm gonna spoil the rest here, so here we go!

Ancient Images has problems.

1) The story becomes repetitive for the next 50% of the book. Sandy meets a person, they tell her a nugget of info, she might get a useful item, she drives to a new place. This goes on until she gets to the town of Redfield, where creepy shit actually starts to happen.

2) Some of the exposition is handled weirdly. For example: Sandy goes to talk to a comedy actor named Tommy Hoddle. Hoddle is in a seaside resort town performing in a play. Sandy watches the play, but can't talk to Hoddle after he runs away after seeing something scary. Sandy instead talks to his fellow actors, who Hoddle conviently told the whole story of his history with Tower of Fear after getting too drunk. And the actors remember everything he said verbatim. Just a little too convenient.

By the way, Hoddle jumped off a cliff to his death, so...yeah.

3) The monsters are ignored for way too long. Even when the monsters beat up Roger, to the point where he's hospitalized, everyone just goes "oh huh that's weird must of been an accident". It's not until toward the very end where we finally see them. And we get this description:

I admit, I was giggling way too hard at the plant-man having genetalia.

4) It's kinda judgey. So at one point, Sandy meets a group of fanzine creators who are portrayed as gross weirdos who are obsessed with gore and live in filth. It's implied that fans of splatter and slasher movies are just two steps away from being domestic abusers.

Later, she "shocks" a woman reading a splatter novel by being *frank and up front* about her sex life.

To be fair, it also judges moral guardians, homophobes, xenophobes, and horror comedies, so I guess it's not too awful.

5) The twist from almost nowhere.

Okay, so. We find out that the reason Tower of Fear is lost is because it was critical of a noble family, the Redfields. The Redfields bought the rights to the film and destroyed the negative. As Sandy investigates more, it turns out the town of Redfield, where they reside, is cursed to need a blood sacrifice every 50 years to keep the land fertile. The Redfield family is also cursed to turn into the aformentioned plant monsters when they die. This last bit is revealed in the last couple pages of the book. And there's only one hint that is only in one chapter.

You would think if this is a big swereve, that there would be more building up to it. But because the monsters aren't actually seen until towards the end and we only get one little hint, it just made me go "...what?".

6) It's an idea mish-mash that doesn't entirely come together.

I think Ramsey Campbell wanted to write about a lost film with a curse and about a town with a curse and instead of writing two short stories, decided to combine them. There were times when I thought that the connection between the film and the town was just...coincidental. The film even gets forgotten for chapters on end. I understand what Campbell was trying to do, but it doesn't entirely work.

Good things:

I liked the description of the cringey vampire play and the tension of Sandy's viewing of the film, not knowing what's real and what's in her imagination. The cat death was handled well and Sandy's mourning for them was realistic (as someone who has lost pets over the years). The idea of a cursed town where no one remembers or realizes they're cursed is really good. Cursed lost movies are always a good idea.

Overall: I wish this book could have been better, but it's an unfortunate mess that just doesn't know what it wants. It's 46 chapters, but they're all pretty short, so it's not too long of a read. But I will be putting this in my donation pile.

I have no idea if this book is still in print, as I got my copy at a used book store. But it does have an embossed, die-cut cover, so at least it has that going for it.

[karthara]

I went from being illiterate in grade two, (because kids books are boring) to having a grade 12 reading level in grade four because I found a book on my parents bookshelf that had a character with a name similar to mine who was riding a dragon on the cover and I wanted to read her story. Hey, it's almost like finding characters you can relate to is important for gaining interest. The book itself touched on murder, rape, and torture, and even the people the girl escaped too... let's just say that was dubious consent. Thankfully my parents were the kind of people who I felt like I could go and talk to if I had questions about 'adult things'. I had an older brother who had porn mags hidden in his room. My dad had Boris Vallejo art books. I also had access to the internet (before any of my friends did because my parents were computer nerds) and yes, I did get up in the middle of the night so I could go on the computer unsupervised. I also would sneak out of my room in the middle of the night to watch late night cartoons (I saw Ninja Scroll before age ten). But I could go to my parents and ask questions and get only slightly sanitized information. Because yeah, I was still a kid and didn't need all of the details of all of the bad things that exist. And yes, I was allowed to run around a library unsupervised for probably an hour once every couple of weeks. I was told 'this is the section of books aimed at people your age, here is the section aimed at people a little older then you, you probably won't be interested in the rest of the books in the library because you might find them boring or they might have bad things in them'. Kids are going to find access to things they are curious about no matter what you do. Raising kids is work. It takes effort.

So, was it my parents fault for having adult art books in their bedroom that I saw sex related stuff before I was a teen? Nope. I made the choice myself to look at those books that were not on the bookshelf I had been told I could take things off of.

Was it my brothers fault for being a teenage boy with a sex drive? Nope. I chose to go and sneak into his room and look at those magazines. I had a very basic sex talk before that even happened, the 'Sometimes older people who love each other want to play certain kinds of games with each other, this is probably something you are not ready for yet, but when you are you can come ask questions' kind of basic. I was aware of what I was getting into and went looking.

Was it the library's fault that I found books that covered adult topics? Nope. I was drawn by visually interesting and pretty book covers. Books on Greek, Roman, and other cultures myths often have covers with very pretty art or armour. And yes, there are myths that have incest, there are myths that have rape, there are myths that have cannibalism.

Was it the fault of the tv network for putting adult content on at night? Nope. I wanted to watch more cartoons and I went looking for them. And yes, I got in trouble for getting out of bed to watch cartoons at night. Didn't stop me from doing it because I made my own choices. Honestly I wanted to watch more She-ra, but that wasn't what was on. If I could have just hidden under the covers with a tablet and had access to the cartoons I wanted to watch then I would have gone for that before something that made me feel a little uncomfortable while I was watching it. Just the same way I would read after my bed time when I wasn't tired yet.

Children are curious and are going to go looking for things they think are interesting. I'm not saying don't put obstacles in their way for getting at things that are probably too old for them, I'm saying when they get into stuff they probably shouldn't have, it is the responsibility of the adults raising them to talk that stuff over with them.

I hardly ever swore as a kid or teen because I had that talk with my parents about how to use language to get across my point. The info I received? Swear words are words you don't use in polite company because it is rude and are used to emphasis something with strong emotions. They also lose effectiveness if you constantly use them. I decided that when I swore, it was going to hit people like a sack of bricks.

The sex talk I got when I asked for it was something along the lines of you can do what -you- want, -when you- want, with yourself or someone your own age, but there are some possible consequences, like getting pregnant or getting very sick, so use protection, and try things yourself first to figure out what you like. My mom showed me where she would keep a box of condoms under the bathroom sink just in case I ever needed them, that she would replace no questions asked. My parents were honest with me that they got married due to a pregnancy scare, had a miscarriage before the actual marriage so the pressure was off, and then decided that they wanted to go through with it anyway.

Yes, little kid me was capable of understanding that. My point is just, those kids need adults they can talk to and ask questions of without the fear that they are going to get in trouble for asking. You can't control every last thing your kid interacts with, so just be the person they can go to when they have questions? Doesn't even have to be your kid, if they are your niece/nephew/whatever you can be the cool aunt/uncle/whatever they can go to for help. Or the cool youth pastor, or teacher, grandparent, or adult authority figure of any kind.

It is not the responsibility of people providing content for other adults to not provide that content to anyone just because kids -might- find it. You can't pretend things don't exist just because you don't like them. Just talk to your kids and listen to what they have to say when they speak and answer their questions. If you don't know the answers, you're an adult who can use google or any other search engine you want. Is it really that difficult of a concept? Let adults read adult stuff, let teenagers be able to explore sexual themes without actually having to go out and have sex, just stop trying to tell people they can't have something just because you don't like it.

Listen. I lived through the pre-AO3 era of fanfiction, and I want to make one thing clear for the people who didn’t:

A world without AO3 is not a world where there is no fanfic about rape, abuse, incest, or child molestation.

It is, on the other hand, a world where that rape, abuse, incest, and/or child molestation comes completely the fuck out of nowhere because there’s no culture of putting content warnings on the stuff you publish.

[thatsnotcanonpodcasts]

Russians, Komodo & Apps

Welcome back, we have another fun episode for you all this week. First up we have an absolute idiot in Russia insulting adult comic book readers. Now, we must apologise for the response to this segment, we Nerds love our comics and really enjoy reading them. As fans we love the artwork, the complexity of the stories, the downright fun of it all, and the insane gadgets that end up becoming a reality. Although we are still waiting to see the Fantastic 4’s flying car. Now things get heated in this as you might expect, but wow, you will love this. Would you like to learn more?

Next up we have Australian Dragons and their last surviving cousins living overseas. For all those people who have decided to live abroad after they finish university you aren’t the first. Oh no, not even close. You are a few thousand years behind these guys. Now as typical Aussies they like to relax over a nice steak; enjoy a bit of time in the sun, and when they get angry fighting like a legend. Just in case you are wondering who we are talking about it is the, yeah nah. You will need to listen in to find out.

Do you wish you could go play certain games you had on an old phone but are having trouble finding it? Perhaps it is a game on a friend’s phone and no matter how hard you look you just never seem to know where they got it from. Well things are about to get worse, because Infinity Blade are no longer supporting some of their games. So, better check out what this means for that bundle of games you have in your library and read those acknowledged agreements and game licences. Are you freaking out? Well listen in to find out what is happening before it is too late.

As usual we have the shout outs, remembrances, birthdays and special events of interest. We would like to say thank you to all the awesome fire fighters battling the numerous bush fires raging around Australia. For all those people who have lost homes, businesses, jobs and all those things that make a life we hope you are safe. As always, stay safe, look out for each other and stay hydrated.

EPISODE NOTES:

Russian Politician vs adult comic book reader - https://www.bleedingcool.com/2019/09/08/russian-minister-of-culture-vladimir-medinsky-calls-adult-comic-book-readers-morons/

Komodo Dragons - https://www.insidescience.org/news/how-last-dragons-survived-extinction

App Archiving

- https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/d1eys0/are_infinity_blade_games_no_longer_available_to/

- https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT208436

Games currently playing

DJ

- Warframe - https://store.steampowered.com/app/230410/Warframe/

Professor

– Space Run - https://store.steampowered.com/app/275670/Space_Run/

Buck

– The Orville Interactive Fan Experience - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1096200/The_Orville__Interactive_Fan_Experience/

Other topics discussed

Disney Vs Disney Debates (TNC Podcast)

- https://thatsnotcanon.com/disneyvsdisneypodcast

James Oliver Rigney Jr. aka Robert Jordan (American author of epic fantasy. He is best known for the Wheel of Time series, which comprises 14 books and a prequel novel.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Jordan

George Raymond Richard Martin aka George R. R. Martin (American novelist and short story writer in the fantasy,horror, and science fiction genres, screenwriter, and television producer. He is best known for his series of epic fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire, which was adapted into the HBO series Game of Thrones)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_R._R._Martin

Berserk (Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berserk_(manga)

Ouran High Host Club (manga series by Bisco Hatori.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouran_High_School_Host_Club

The Phantom (American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phantom

Wynonna Earp (weird West comic book miniseries created and owned by Beau Smith.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynonna_Earp

The Boys (American comic book series, written by Garth Ennis and co-created, designed, and illustrated by Darick Robertson)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boys_(comics)

Hack/Slash (comic book series, launched from several one shots of the same name, published by Image Comics. The series was created by writer and sometime penciller Tim Seeley.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack/Slash

The Punisher (fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punisher

Joker star Marc Maron blasts outraged Marvel fans

- https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2478614/joker-star-marc-maron-blasts-outraged-marvel-fans-after-superhero-movie-backlash

Parthenogenesis (natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenogenesis

QUT joins top 200 universities worldwide

- https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/qut-joins-global-elite-universities-in-new-rankings-20190911-p52qdd.html

Swedish scientist suggests cannibalism as a solution to climate change

- https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientist-cannibalism-climate-change

Komodo Dragons (also known as the Komodo monitor, is a species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon

Can cats live on a vegan diet

- https://www.petmd.com/blogs/thedailyvet/lorieahuston/2014/june/vegan-diets-cats-31822

What happens to feeding your pet a vegan diet

- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-07/can-your-pet-become-vegan/10969616

Komodo Dragon facts

- https://www.livescience.com/27402-komodo-dragons.html

Nintendo sues RomUniverse for copyright infringement

- https://www.businessinsider.com.au/nintendo-sues-romuniverse-copyright-infringement-claims-2019-9?r=US&IR=T

How to play iPod games on PC

- https://itstillworks.com/play-ipod-games-pc-7715671.html

Flappy Bird (mobile game developed by Vietnamese video game artist and programmer Dong Nguyen under his game development company dotGears.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flappy_Bird

Prince of Persia (1989 fantasy cinematic platformer originally developed and published by Brøderbund and designed by Jordan Mechner for the Apple II.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Persia_(1989_video_game)

Accursed Farms (YouTube channel)

- Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ6KZTTnkE-s2XFJJmoTAkw

- Games as a service is a fraud - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUAX0gnZ3Nw

Fallout 76 charging $7 for a fridge and people are not happy

- https://www.gamesradar.com/fallout-76-players-arent-happy-about-being-charged-dollar7-for-a-fridge/

Warframe market

- https://warframe.fandom.com/wiki/Market

Replicator (In Star Trek a replicator is a machine that can create (and recycle) things.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replicator_(Star_Trek)

CBS kills Star Trek fan project

- https://www.pcmag.com/news/364042/cbs-kills-star-trek-stage-9-fan-project

Girl gives birthday cake to Queensland Firefighters

- https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/499154903701389312/621667655765721089/70147954_10157763711869669_3177814528142344192_n.png

Bardot (Australian girl group which formed in 1999 on the Australian reality television series Popstars.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardot_(Australian_band)

The Nomad Soul (adventure game developed by Quantic Dream and published by Eidos Interactive.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nomad_Soul

Dr Zhivago (novel by Boris Pasternak, first published in 1957 in Italy.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Zhivago_(novel)

Indian lunar lander falls silent

- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/09/india-chandrayaan-2-landing-attempt-moon-lunar-south-pole/

You, Me, and a Poltergeist (TNC Podcast)

- https://thatsnotcanon.com/ymaappodcast

Shoutouts

8 Sept 1965 – The Monkees were born, a small ad in New York’s Daily Variety on this day attracted 437 young men interested in forming the world’s first "manufactured" boy band –The Monkees. It happened after young movie and TV director Bob Rafelson, looking for his big break, dreamt up a show about a struggling rock band. He ran a production company called Raybert with his business partner Bert Schneider, whose father was the head of Columbia Pictures. The TV division of Columbia agreed in 1965 to go ahead with the project. All that was then needed was a band – or, at least, “four insane boys” who could literally play the part. - https://www.onthisday.com/articles/hey-hey-were-the-monkees

9 Sept 1999 – Sega Dreamcast was released in America, it was the first in the sixth generation of video game consoles, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nintendo's GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox. The Dreamcast was Sega's final home console, marking the end of the company's 18 years in the console market. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamcast

9 Sept 1839 - English scientist and astronomer John Herschel takes 1st glass plate photograph, which still exists, and experimented with some colour reproduction, noting that rays of different parts of the spectrum tended to impart their own colour to a photographic paper. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Herschel

11 Sept 2019 - Tribute to the firefighters - https://10daily.com.au/news/australia/a190911uqndh/a-tribute-to-our-amazing-firies-in-10-incredible-photos-20190911

Remembrances

7 Sept 2019 - Robert Axelrod also credited as Axel Roberts and Myron Mensah, American actor. He was primarily known for his voice work, which included Digimon, Cowboy Bebop and Space Pirate Captain Harlock, having started voice acting for the English-language versions of anime in 1980; providing the voice of Lord Zedd, the main antagonist of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers; and Finster, the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers monster maker. He also portrayed a Paul McCartney look-alike on the popular sitcom Family Matters, and later in his career appeared in several productions by comedy duo Tim & Eric. He died at the age of 70 in Los Angeles,California - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Axelrod_(actor)

9 Sept 1976 - Mao Zedong, also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who became the founding father of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which he ruled as the Chairman of the Communist Party of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976. Idelogically a Marxist–Leninist, his theories, military strategies, and political policies are collectively known as Maoism. A controversial figure, Mao is regarded as one of the most important and influential individuals in modern world history. He is also known as a political intellect, theorist, military strategist, poet, and visionary. Supporters credit him with driving imperialism out of China, modernising the nation and building it into a world power, promoting the status of women, improving education and health care, as well as increasing life expectancy as China's population grew from around 550 million to over 900 million under his leadership. Conversely, his regime has been called autocratic and totalitarian, and condemned for bringing about mass repression and destroying religious and cultural artifacts and sites. It was additionally responsible for vast numbers of deaths with estimates ranging from 30 to 70 million victims through starvation, prison labour and mass executions. He died from a heart attack at the age of 82 in Beijing - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_Zedong

9 Sept 1997 - Burgess Meredith, American actor, director, producer, and writer. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "one of the most accomplished actors of the century". A lifetime member of the Actors Studio by invitation, he won several Emmys, was the first male actor to win the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, and was nominated for two Academy Awards. He established himself as a leading man in Hollywood with critically acclaimed performances as George Milton in Of Mice and Men, Ernie Pyle in The Story of G.I. Joe, and the narrator ofA Walk in the Sun. Meredith was known later in his career for his appearances on The Twilight Zone and for portraying arch-villain The Penguin on the 1960s TV series Batman and boxing trainer Mickey Goldmill in the Rocky film series. For his performances in The Day of the Locust and Rocky, he received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He later starred in the comedy Foul Play and the fantasy film Clash of the Titans. He narrated numerous films and documentaries during his long career, including Twilight Zone: The Movie. He died from complications of Alzheimer's disease and melanoma at the age of 89 in Malibu, California - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgess_Meredith

Famous Birthdays

9 Sept 1828 - Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. He received multiple nominations for Nobel Prize in Literature every year from 1902 to 1906, and nominations for Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902 and 1910, and his miss of the prize is a major Nobel prize controversy. he is best known for the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, often cited as pinnacles of realist fiction. He first achieved literary acclaim in his twenties with his semi-autobiographical trilogy, Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth, and Sevastopol Sketches, based upon his experiences in the Crimean War. Tolstoy's fiction includes dozens of short stories and several novellas such as The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Family Happiness, and Hadji Murad. He also wrote plays and numerous philosophical essays. In the 1870s Tolstoy experienced a profound moral crisis, followed by what he regarded as an equally profound spiritual awakening, as outlined in his non-fiction work A Confession. His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him to become a fervent Christian anarchist and pacifist. Tolstoy's ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal 20th-century figures as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Tolstoy also became a dedicated advocate of Georgism, the economic philosophy of Henry George, which he incorporated into his writing, particularly Resurrection. He was born in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula Governorate - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy

9 Sept 1890 - Colonel Harland David Sanders, American businessman, best known for founding fast food chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (also known as KFC) and later acting as the company's brand ambassador and symbol. His name and image are still symbols of the company. The title 'colonel' was honorary – a Kentucky Colonel – not the military rank. Sanders held a number of jobs in his early life, such as steam engine stoker, insurance salesman and filling station operator. He began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant inNorth Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. During that time Sanders developed his "secret recipe" and his patented method of cooking chicken in a pressure fryer. Sanders recognized the potential of the restaurant franchising concept, and the first KFC franchise opened in South Salt Lake, Utah in 1952. When his original restaurant closed, he devoted himself full-time to franchising his fried chicken throughout the country. The company's rapid expansion across the United States and overseas became overwhelming for Sanders. In 1964, then 73 years old, he sold the company to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown Jr. and Jack C. Massey for $2 million ($16.2 million today). However, he retained control of operations in Canada, and he became a salaried brand ambassador for Kentucky Fried Chicken. He was born in Henryville, Indiana - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Sanders

9 Sept 1953 - Janet Fielding, Australian actress, known for her role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who as companion of the Fourth Doctor, and later of the Fifth Doctor,Tegan Jovanka. She made a guest appearance on Jim'll Fix It in a Doctor Who-related sketch alongside Colin Baker'sDoctor in 1985 (A Fix with Sontarans). She played Mel during Sylvester McCoy's audition for the part of the Seventh Doctor. She was born in Brisbane, Queensland - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Fielding

Events of Interest

9 Sept 1983 - Vitas Gerulaitis bets his house that Martina Navratilova can't beat 100th ranked male tennis player

- https://www.onthisday.com/people/martina-navratilova

- http://www.mertovstennisdesk.com/2013/10/14/the-most-famous-100-player-in-atp-history/

9 Sept 2012 – The Indian space agency puts into orbit its heaviest foreign satellite yet, in a streak of 21 consecutive successful PSLV launches. The satellite known as SPOT 6 along with SPOT 7 form a constellation of Earth-imaging satellites designed to provide continuity of high-resolution, wide-swath data up to 2024. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPOT_(satellite)#SPOT_6_and_SPOT_7

11 Sept 1940 - The American Mathematical Society met at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, a few hundred miles north of the building of Bell Labs in New York, where was the Complex Number Computer. George Stibitz arranged to have the computer connected by telephone lines (28-wire teletype cable) to a teletype unit installed there. The Complex Number Computer worked well, and there is no doubt it impressed those who used it. The meeting was attended by many of America's most prominent mathematicians, as well as individuals who later led important computing projects. The Dartmouth demonstration foreshadowed the modern era of remote computing, but remote access of this type was not repeated for another ten years. - https://history-computer.com/ModernComputer/Relays/Stibitz.html

Intro

Artist – Goblins from Mars

Song Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)

Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJ

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[basketballandbs-blog]

Western Conference First Round Playoff Preview

We made it y’all. After a regular season that gave us two of the greatest single season performances of all time, provided us with quite possibly one of the most surprising regular season bodies of work in some years and marked as the coming out party for a team that has given us another reason to believe in the power of defense first basketball we have made it to one of the most exhilarating postseason events in all of professional sports. The NBA Western Conference Playoffs.

Warriors and Spurs and Rockets OH MY! AND at least three other REALLY interesting teams that will most likely manage to make life much harder for the frontrunners than they expect. In terms of the first round we have some super intriguing matchups and a few pairings that we should expect to be more or less decided by this time next week. Anywho let’s strap in and get down to the nitty gritty of this hateful eight.

  #1. Golden State Warriors vs. #8. Portland TrailBlazers

In this rematch of last season Western Conference semi-final matchup we see the Dubs coming off of another historically dominant regular season cruising into the playoffs just as they are getting their full cadre of weapons back while Portland had a much more arduous path to the postseason overcoming a slow start to reel off a 17-8 mark post All-Star break including 7-3 in the last 10 to secure the final spot by one game over the Denver Nuggets.

Warriors will win if they………

Start strong. As mentioned up top Portland is a team coming into the playoffs with a full head of steam and despite not being able to match them evenly on paper they’re possibly the team that is least afraid of the Dubs in the West. To help extinguish this they should look to take control early preferably through a convincing opening win at home. And as per usual they have the tools to do it. The old gang is back with Steph doing Steph things (25-4-6 and 41% from 3), Klay in the running to officially steal the moniker The Silent Killer away from cancer (22 & 4 also going for 41% from 3) and the anything but silent killer Draymond Green (10-8-7 and 2 steals per contest). But as many has though the addition of Kevin Durant may be the factor that can make this series a cakewalk. Sure his 25-8-5 on 54% shooting (yes, that’s not transposed) is probably enough to bolster the Dubs to an easy ticket to round 2 it’s his defense that especially when in concert with Green and Thompson stands to do a great job in stifling any progress the Blazers may be working towards. And the bench is still pretty damned good too.

Blazers will win if they…………

KEEP THE FIRE BURNING!!! Yeah, technical prognostications won’t work here because they are technically inferior by just about every measure. Their only hope in having a rat’s ass of a chance at getting this done is if they play with reckless abandon while still achieving near perfection on the court. No biggie. They have the dudes to spearhead this as you all know in Dame Lillard 27-5-6 and C.J. McCollum 23-4-4 on 42% from 3 and a very game set of complimentary guys in Moe Harkless, Al-Farouq Aminu, Allen Crabbe (who should be back for Game 1). The addition of Jusef Nurkic has been great for them but is recovering from a leg injury that has sidelined him for at least the first game of the series. Simple and plain, what they will have to do in order to pull this off will have to exceed what can be seen on paper but it would look great on paper also.

H.B. says…………..Dubs in 5 

 #4. Los Angeles Clippers vs. #5. Utah Jazz

Ah, the basketball nerds pick for best series this round. On one hand we have the as effective as they are unlikeable Clips against the basketball nerd community new darling team (myself included) Utah Jazz. It may not yield the excitement of say and OKC x Houston series but believe me we’re going to get some very interesting meetings out of this one. I’m just happy this one wasn’t relegated to NBATV.

Clips will win if they………

Win the each individual match up. Okay, let me explain. Utah is a good team, a very good team actually but what they doing isn’t rocket surgery. They shoot the ball well, the defend the ever loving shit out of anything not donning their colors and they play a brand of uncomplicated yet very efficient and cohesive basketball. But what L.A. has to break that up is superior talent in spots. Paul is better than Hill (although Hill has had a wonderful season), Redick is better than Hood (may be vice versa in two season but for now…..) and Blake is better than Favors (well…..yeah). If they exploit these matchups and find a way to win the toss-up between Rudy “The Stifle Tower” Gobert and Deandre Jordan as well as patch enough defense to slow Gordon Hayward down this may be the key to pulling this out.

Jazz will win if they………

Have Gordon Hayward answer the challenge issued by this being his (and most of the Jazz for that fact) first playoff appearance. This is actually a pretty good introductory series to the postseason since Utah has a rabid fanbase and the Clips…….well we’re not sure if the Clips like themselves so no one’s really buying the whole homecourt advantage thing. The Jazz also feature a bench that matches up really well will LA. Through the progression of guys like Trey Lyles, Shelvin Mack and Dante Exum paired with the contributions of trusted vets Boris Diaw and Joe Johnson they may be able to gain a considerable edge over the Clips in this department.

H.B. says…………….Jazz in 6

 #3. Houston Rockets vs. #6 Oklahoma City Thunder

First round matchup featuring the top 2 MVP candidates? Yeah, this may turn a few heads. So, if you’re not downright fanatical and only have a finite amount of time to watch playoff ball this is the series to watch. Houston clearly the surprise of the season against Oklahoma City powered by not only the little engine that not only could but have rewritten the record books. And there’s a lot of other stuff to unpack here also.

Rockets will win if they………

Do what got them here. It’s really that easy. Let James Harden powering the Rockets through a 29-8-11 (yeah you read that right) line set the pace, let your shooters Eric Gordon 37% from 3, Pat Beverly 38%, Ryan Anderson 40% and Lou Williams (if he can find some consistency) do their thing and let your defenders Beverly again, Trevor Ariza and Clint Capela go to work trying to keep up with Brody and Co. A+B+C=W. If the Beard can facilitate as well as get to the hole with ease (which is totally his thing), then he can create numerous open looks for his guys and if they can control the pace and successfully throw different looks at Westbrook and anyone else that can create for the Thunder they can grab the upper hand here and make OKC play from behind. Simple equation, no so simple to execute.

Thunder will win if they……….

Surprise surprise, Russy has to go full Russy on em’ from start to finish. They’re going to need every bit of his 31-10-10 (yeah you read that right) and even more. Unfortunately for OKC a lot more will be needed to take out the Rockets. Between Victor Oladipo, Andre Roberson, Taj Gibson and Stephen Adams the Thunder actually present a formidable defensive front to challenge Houston. What the Thunder need more than our Tangerine in Chief needs Twitter is someone else to create. Oladipo is their second leading scorer at 16 per night but his consistency in doing so has been categorized best as fits and starts. Honestly, this will be the perfect time for one of the many warm bodies that round out the OKC roster to show signs of life on the offensive end. Kanter provides a punch in the post but if Abrines, McDermott, Sabonis, hell even if A Rob can let it fly or prove to be effective at getting to the rack that will make Westbrook’s impact even more terrifying.

H.B. says……………Thunder in 7

 #2. San Antonio Spurs vs. #7 Memphis Grizzlies

Another year, another playoff appearance we all know will end up being ill-fated for the Grit n’ Grind Grizzlies. Also in this case they have the pleasure of getting a rematch with the team that bounced them out of the playoffs with ease last year. And to be honest the San Antonio Spurs couldn’t be happier. The Spurs cruising to a Spursy 61 wins in the Spursiest way possible have looked a bit flat as of late going .500 in their last ten but remember these are the Spurs. Essentially, this appears to be a five game exercise for Pop to figure out how in the hell he’s going to deal with whatever comes out of the Rockets x Thunder battle. But Memphis being Memphis ain’t gonna lay down that easily.

Spurs will win if they………

Don’t let the science experiment get out of hand. Sure they may be slumping a bit (and it speaks a lot to the Spurs’ organization that you can legitimately consider going .500 over the final 10 a slump) but they always turn it on in the playoffs. Kawhi Leonard emerging as the clear cut alpha dog this year as well as throwing his hat in the MVP race bag behind 25-6-4 and 2 steals while nailing almost 40% of his threes is going to really flex his muscles here to rush himself into shape in hopes of being prepared for next round. Sure he’s ready but this looks to be a big series for Danny Green and the dual point guard attack in Tony Parker and Patty Mills. San Antonio will do just fine here making use of their extended rotation. But with all of that said they should be careful not to get so caught up in playing chess that they neglect the checkers match right in front of them.

Grizzlies will win if………..

Spurs play way down and the Grizzlies play way up.  However, this is pretty unlikely given that Memphis slumped their way into the playoffs also. The Grizz are 9-15 since the All-Star break and hasn’t shown any real signs whipping themselves into shape anytime soon. Mike and Marc will give it everything they got. Conley coming off of a 20 points and 6 dimes per night campaign while Gasol went for 19 and 6 boards. Z-Bo and JaMychal Green stand to dominate the post with Marc. But as has been the problem with Memphis for seems like a decade now they have to figure out who’s going to shoot. Conley has hit from deep with 38% accuracy but with him being the primary ball handler complicates this. Daniels has been good for them but his deficiencies on the other end keeps him from seeing extended minutes. Gasol is good for one or two a game but his hardly provides the volume or consistency needed to swing the series. It’ll take a pretty big implosion for this one to happen.

H.B. says……………Spurs in 5

 -H.B.

[shirtlesssammy]

6x17: My Heart Will Go On

Then:

You never really die on Supernatural

Now:

Chester, Pennsylvania

In a Rube Goldberg-esque bit of murder mastery, a man fumbles his way around his garage, nearly dying several times, only to finally get taken out by his falling garage door. What a ride. 

Meanwhile, in Bobby’s neater than normal home, Sam and Dean watch him open another bottle of booze. They silently egg each other on to talk and finally decide on Rock-Paper-Scissors. Oop, it looks like you’re going to have to do the talking, Dean. 

Only, wait, Dean won! They think he should take some time and sleep, and process losing Rufus. Bobby’s DOING FINE. He just needs some Irish coffee. Sam suggests taking him on a hunt. Seems like different family members are dying in Chester, Pennsylvania. Bobby kicks them out of the house, so they decide to head out alone. 

They get in their trusty Mustang, and hit the road. 

...

Bobby keeps drinking until Ellen (!) shows up. 

…

She consoles him about Rufus and tells him to get ready for dinner. 

And she’s his wife. 

…

At the garage of horror, Sam finds a thread of gold. 

They split up. Dean interviews next of kin. He first meets with a Saul Goodman wannabe Shawn Russo. The guy isn’t too upset by his family members dying --he wasn’t too close with them. He also doesn’t have a lot of time for Dean’s genealogy questions. 

Dean tries sussing out any past family curse --poorly.  Shawn wants Dean to go, so Dean just comes out and tells him, “Your life is in danger.” Shawn thinks Dean’s threatening him. 

He connects with Sam who can’t find a single thing wrong with the family. 

At a travel agency, we watch Anne Witting chat on the phone, and time suddenly stops. Another woman, looking like Sam’s kind of librarian, takes Anne’s keys from her purse and throws them on the floor next to the copier. She leaves and time starts again. 

The woman gets off the phone and notices her keys are on the floor. Grabbing for them knocks a vase of flowers onto the copiers, which creates an electrical nightmare, which causes her to start slapping at it and finally reaching behind it to turn it off, which then causes her scarf to get stuck in the autofeeder, which the copier then tries to make a copy of, which strangles her. (Note to self: BE NICER TO THE COPY MACHINE.) 

The blonde woman comes back and marks a name off in a book, and drops a gold thread. 

The brothers check out the travel agency that night. It turns out that Anne isn’t part of the Russo family --so they’re not dealing with a family curse. Dean wonders what then. He then finds another gold thread. 

He calls Ellen, who reports there’s been about 75 deaths associated with this across the nation. The only thing Ellen has that connects the people is that their ancestors all immigrated to the US in the same year, on the same boat: The Titanic. Neither Dean nor Ellen had ever heard of it. 

…

Sam either. (And that’s when I call bull --unless this Sam isn’t a history nerd-- because the Titanic was a BIG deal before it became a BIGGER deal. It was the largest ship of its time. But as I typed this out, I feel like I should eat my words because there was another sister boat built with the Titanic, and I can’t for the life of me remember its name, so, yeah, chances are good it would have been lost to history for most people.) 

During their research, Sam notes that the ship almost hit an iceberg, but the First Mate, I.P. Freely saw it in time. 

Balthazar!

They summon Balthazar for answers about the boat. “It was meant to sink, and I saved it.” He hated the movie. (Boris is still one of the few and proud that’s never seen it --I cheered SO hard for Balthazar here.) He hated the Celine Dion song. Sam doesn’t even know who that is (HIS FAVORITE SINGER!) Sam points out that he thought that history can’t be changed. Balthazar points out that there’s no more rules. Anyway, only minor details have been changed --like no Impala. 

More importantly, Ellen and Jo are alive. They are supposed to be dead.

Dean and Sam focus on the here and now and point out that something is killing the descendants of the Titanic travelers. They need to find out who. Balthazar drops a truth bomb out of nowhere --pointing out that Cas is in love with Dean. Sigh. Also, he doesn’t care, and flaps away. 

They talk with Bobby on the phone and he thinks they’re dealing with Fate. How do they stop fate? Bobby suggests that they get Balthazar to re-sink the boat, but Dean nixes that idea instantly. Bobby wants to know what set him off --Dean tells him that if the boat sinks, Ellen and Jo die. Yeah, no way is that boat sinking.

The boys lurk in their iconic, uh, Mustang to follow Russo. 

They follow Russo in an attempt to keep him safe from Fate’s machinations. They manage to save him from one deadly accident, only for the guy to die under the wheels of a bus seconds later. Sam notices a woman watching over the accident. She looked kind of like a librarian. “Your kind of librarian or my kind of librarian?” Dean asks. Oh, Dean, why does it have to be a binary choice? Eyebrow waggle. Dean decides to head over and confront Fate in a shadowy building. 

Fate, meanwhile, is up to nefarious deeds. She turns burner knobs, releasing gas into the building as time stops around the Winchesters. When time starts up again, Dean’s flashlight flickers out in the dark. Sam suggests using a lighter and....

Just as the room starts to ignite, the Winchesters get yanked out of there! Cas saved them! He’s pulled them to Belarus. I will never not be able to watch this scene without thinking of the gag reel and Misha stag leaping around the woods. 

“[Fate] harbors a certain degree of rage towards you,” Castiel explains. Since the Winchesters foiled their apocalyptic fate, they’ve made it into Fate’s bad books. Cas suggests the best solution is for the Winchesters to kill fate. And they can use themselves as bait!

For CAAAAAAAS! Science:

Ellen tries to talk through the case with Bobby after Jo reports more and more dead on the West coast. Ellen suggests that the best solution would be to re-sink the Titanic, a suggestion towards which Bobby reacts...poorly. Bobby’s horrified at her casual suggestion. Ellen senses something is off with Bobby. Over drinks, Bobby spills everything to Ellen. He tells her that he needs her. 

After that solemn, emotional scene, we cut to Dean and Sam experiencing wacky near-misses. A skateboarder almost takes them out. Then a jumping BMX rider. Now a pair of aggressive dogs on leashes. (Extreme close of up Dean for extra sad jokes.)

They walk past a pair of jugglers tossing HATCHETS and KNIVES who proceed to LIGHT THEM ON FIRE - and I do love it when this show gets ridiculous. After several near-misses, a falling air conditioner finally plummets towards them. This looks like the end for our heroes!

For Looney Tunes Quality Science:

Time freezes the Winchesters under the air conditioner, and Castiel approaches. He greets Atropos, the Fate who’s after the Winchesters. She complains about the fallout of the recently averted apocalypse. 

Cas tries to argue for freedom. It’s a bold new world! But Atropos isn’t buying what he’s selling. The last straw for her was the unsinking of the Titanic. Cas tries to shift the blame to Balthazar, but Atropos calls him on that too. That wasn’t Balthazar following a whim. Cas needed more souls for his war machine, and sent Balthazar back to unsink the ship. She’ll make Cas a bargain: if the boat stays unsunk, then she’ll kill his “two favorite pets.” She may not be strong enough to escape Cas’s retribution, but her sisters will take the Winchesters down after she dies. Cas contemplates Sam and Dean.

Balthazar shows up, ready to kill Atropos, when Cas stops him. Cas is ready to take the deal. Balthazar gets Cas’s new order: it’s time to save Sam and Dean! I mean, it’s time to sink the Titanic. 

Sam and Dean wake up to Sam’s favorite singer belting “My heart will go on” on the radio. They talk about their weird, shared dream. Cas flaps in to greet them. He tells them that he had Balthazar re-sink the ship to ensure Sam and Dean’s safety. 

Sam and Dean try to process the balancing equation Cas dealt with, where their lives were more important than 50,000 people (who were never born, Cas hastily points out). Dean asks about Ellen and Jo, and the answer is NOT GOOD. What could have been! 

Dean asks if that whole alternate timeline was erased when the boat sank again. “More or less,” Cas says. EYEBALLS EMOJI. Cas wants the Winchesters to remember the alternate timeline. “You can make your own destiny. You don’t have to be ruled by fate. I still believe that’s something worth fighting for,” Cas tells them. Can I get a HELL YEAH? 

While it seems for a short while like Cas is edging towards telling them the truth of his war, he ultimately plays off the Titanic as only stemming from Balthazar’s hatred of the movie. “Titanic didn’t suck THAT bad,” Dean says. There’s my soft boy. Cas flaps out, and the Winchesters head inside to check on Bobby. His house is back to cluttered, gloomy chaos. Bobby’s asleep on the couch. Sam and Dean vow never to tell Bobby what he could have had.

It is Your Quotedany:

Accidents don't just happen accidentally

"What's an Impala?" Trust me, it's not important

You have me confused with the other angel. You know, the one in the dirty trenchcoat who's in love with you

Can’t avoid fate

Who do we gotta kill to get killed around here?

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

[book-of-thieves]

hi this is anon:) I'll try not to spoil anything very important!! But here is, in short, my opinion on The Secret History, a short The Goldfinch digression, and - shortly - why I like IWWV better: My main problem with The Secret History is that I felt it was too wordy and slow too many times throughout the book, especially the whole part about Richard being alone in the winter which just seemed unnecessary? Like what was that trying to convey - the fact that Henry and the gang are Rich Kids, and our poor, little Dick is not? That was obvious from the beginning and is the whole premise of why Richard seeks the friendship (if you can call it that) of the mysterious, pretentious group. I love the prose, don't get me wrong, but I felt that it was just so complex at times and too numerous in its description; perhaps even in subplots and long, winding word-roads that could've been shortened. Yeah it was good for character building and to get a feel of how Bunny, especially, really is as a person and why his actions lead to his murder. It was fun to see how everything that happened led to that pivotal moment, but I felt a lot of it could be skipped or shortened with barely any consequences both on plot and character building... The part that is most referenced imo (apart from the "beauty is terror" quote) is the Bacchanal, and while it was good to get an establishment for where it happens and why it happens, I feel like it was a chore to get to it. Like, I think I spent at least a month reading the second half or so, when I'd read the first half in just a week or two.

However, and this is a digression and a contradicting note, I absolutely loooooved the same writing style in Tartt's The Goldfinch. I never wanted it to end and I got so sad when things started to happen towards the last 200 pages. It was inevitable - the story is, after all, how Theodore both obtained but also lost the painting - but I wanted to stay in his child- and teenhood so bad. I didn't want his life to go on, perhaps because I was just as attached to the painting at that point as he was. And the workshop, and the nights with Boris, etc etc. But I know he loses the painting and goes to Amsterdam - it says so on the first page (Alternative title of this rant: Donna Tartt and Spoiling the Plot On the First Page). However, quite unlike TSH, I couldn't put The Goldfinch down and read all the 800 pages way quicker than I thought I would. But when I read it, I just kept devouring and devouring the words - as while reading TSH I had to read it out loud to myself at times just to focus on what was even happening during the last 200 pages (the book is around 600).

I've been writing this for a while now so I'll try to be short! I just connected more with the plot and characters of IWWV - perhaps because I was studying Drama at the time, and not Classics like I will be next year (and maybe then I'll have to give TSH a reread), or just because I really like M. L. Rio's tumblr blog (sadly deactivated 2022). I felt it was more like a murder mystery than TSH was, especially in that the cast doesn't even know who did it. But in TSH it is more clear who will murder Bunny - and even the fact that he dies is said literally right on the first page - while IWWV opens with Oliver being interrogated for the 10000th time in prison. I liked the subplots, I liked the exploration of sexuality and romance, I liked being a part of the rehearsals and the cast's late nights in their tower. I liked the wordbuilding - like who tf lives in a tower? How cool isn't that?! Wish that was me, ya know. But living in a dorm in a school in Vermont isn't all that special. TLDR; TSH was too long and dry in parts, and I wish some of it could just be cut out or shortened to make more room for the actual plotline. I like IWWV more because I related more to the characters and it's way of exploring the dark academia/murder mystery genre. I also just was a big ass drama nerd when I first read it in 2017. I read TSH the same or next year believe, and will give it a reread when I'm even more of a classics nerd next year in uni. Ironically enough I loved everything I hated about TSH, in Tartt's The Goldfinch. Devoured the book like I was Kronos and it were my divine children.

have you read the secret history? if yes, what are your thoughts on this dark academica staple? personally i wasnt all too much a fan but i really loved Tartt’s The Goldfinch. I also like M.L.Rio’s If We were Villains better than TSH, its rival *gasp*

unfortunately i haven't read it yet, but i'd love to know what ur opinion is. it's a great book from what i see

[imsoftokay]

emoji tag

I’m tagging @paddingtonthegiraffe and @here-and-now9 :*

😍 celebrity crush

Robert Carlyle, Jared Padalecki and Ulrikke Falch

😘 irl crush

i’m not sure of anything right now

😖 something that makes you anxious

stupidity, rudeness, when people don’t listen to what I am saying, when they don’t close the door, talking to strangers (irl or on he phone or in general), talking to a lot of people ( a presentation in front of the entire class  -  i lose my shit)

😑 pet peeve

again not closing the fuckin’ door, non-simmetrical things, things that get dirty easly, when people just don’t get i don’t want to interact with them (talking, hugging, touching), is it so hard to put the ribbon marker in every hard-covered book?

😒 person you hate

I don’t hate people, but I strongly dislike some of them

😱 biggest fear

 death, life, darkness, bodybuilders

🤐 tell us a secret

I smell every book that I get/buy/read

😡 something that makes you mad

When I am beeing ignored or not taken seriously 

😈 turn on

good taste in music, nice arms and hands, firmness, passion, good smell

👿 turn off

not showering, bad breath, rudeness, duplicity

🙌🏻 something you can’t live without

books, the Internet (tv shows, tumblr, instagram), air, food (sweets, chocolate, pasta, pizza, good hot drinks)

👽 ever seen a ufo?

Well even if I had I don’t remember any of it

👄 first kiss story

sometime when I was in primary school, so I don’t remember any details but not like it matters to me

🤘 first concert you went to

not sure, I don’t really leave the house, but the first that I went to on my own was a couple of yrs ago with @here-and-now9

👀 eye color

hazel i guess

💇 hair length

almost mermaid hair (you know, when it covers the boobs)

💁 hair color

gingerllightblondeish

👯 best friend

a nerd thet doesn’t have tumblr, @meetmyinnerdemons and @here-and-now9 <3

👑 favorite Disney princess

Belle (mah spirit animal)

🐱 have any pets?

yeah, a dumbass dog ( i love her, though)

☘ are you superstitious?

maybe a bit, I know it’s dumb but I can’t help it

🌸 favorite flower

forget me not, daisy, lily of the valley

🌿 favorite season

what show, m8?

(jk autumn)

🌎 where you want to live

Norway or England

🌝 day or night

night

☄ seen a shooting star?

yes

🌈 favorite color

litterally anything covered in sunlight

❄️ favorite winter sport

not going outside

🌊 ocean or pool

ocean

☂ rainy or sunny?

rainy and sunny is the best combination

🍎 favorite fruit

lately mango

🎤 favorite singer

Dawid Podsiadło, Agnes Obel and Amy Winehouse

🎧 favorite band

The Neighbourhood, Arctic Monkeys

🎭 favorite play

Macbeth, but I don’t read much of them

🎹 play any instruments?

i fucking rock at playing silent night on mah flute

🎬 favorite movie

Cloud Atlas, it leaves me depressed, though (but I am not into movies at all lately, they bore me. I prefer tv series)

🎮 favorite video game

Assassin’s Creed

🚲 preferred type of transportation

my plane (but I don’t have the money yet, so I  usually take a bus)

✈️ place you want to travel

Scotland, India, Norway, America (both, all of them)

🏠 where you currently live

Poland

📞 last person you talked on the phone with

thet nerd that doesn’t have a tumblr so I can’t tag her

📺 favorite tv show

Sherlock, Supernatural, Shadowhunters, Skam, Parks & Rec, Modern Family

🚬 ever smoked/drank/done drugs

yeah, I’m the kid my parents warned me about when I was small (don’t get me wrong, I don’t do drugs and stuff)

🔮 where do you see yourself in 5 years

hopefully with my shit together and happy

🎁 best gift you’ve ever gotten

my own room

🎉 favorite holiday

Christmas, bc it’s cold outside and I don’t have to go out and do stuff

💌 ever received a love letter?

nope, still wating, bro

📚 a book you are currently reading

The Cirkle by  Mats Strandberg

📖 favorite book

Yall know it’s an impossible question

Twilight (always in my heart), the hunger games, The Raven Cycle, The mortal Instruments + Infernal Devices, Eleanor and Park

💗 sexuality

Bi

✝ religion

catholic

♌️ zodiac

virgo

✅ something you’ve checked off your bucket list

Well I’m gonna go to England and Scotland this year, so that counts, right?

#️⃣ lucky number

dont have one but 7 and 9 are satisfying

🎶 top 5 favorite songs

for now

back to blak - Amy Winehouse

5 fine frøkner - Gabrielle

Way down we go - Kaleo

Want it all - Boris Nonte

Fuel to fire - Agnes Obel

✖️ 5 things you hate

the hiatus (wating for tv series to come back to me)

not being able to understand or get something while trying hard

not being taken seriously 

forsing people to do things out of their comfort zone while knowing it’s hard for them and not completelly nessesary

like, I’m drinking that green coffe and I’m still fat, what’s the secret?

🕒 time you go to bed 

between 11PM and 3AM 

Tag whoever you want to or do it anyways

And sorry for any mistakes I’ve made , it’s like 2:47 a.m.