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littleoneamanda · 5 months ago

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GF: Fiddleford Hadron Mcgucket

Alright, I think I'll just continue drawing in the original style. It's actually pretty fun xD The only difference is colored lines and maybe background. Hope you like it!

And here we go again to my thoughts on the book of bill, thisisnotawebsitedotcom and my thoughts on Fiddleford as a character. Or in this one is more like a summary of what information we have about him. Welcome to my second essay on 2D characters xD (SPOILERS)

Oh boy, where do I begin with this one? xD

Fiddleford, probably (imo) one of the most tragic character in this show. Going from once a brilliant inventor to a deranged hillbilly living at the dump. His life ruined by trauma, his fear of bad memories, and by his own invention.

College

Fidds is the first Mcgucket in the family to go to college. His first day starts off pretty rocky. The school's mascot "THE BMU B-", shoved him into a locker, got his mustache caught in a pencil sharperner (???) and getting laughed out by a whole class for trying to prove the universe was a giant hologram. While sitting in his room in tears, his room mate barge in the room. Confidently declared that his theory was plausible and was ready to not sleep until they have proved it accurate. Not only did they cracked it, but Fidds did something else that he thought was impossible: He made a friend, Stanford Pines.

This is pretty much (currently) the information we have about them in college. I really wish there were more. It seems both of them became friends very fast. Both being nerdy and outcasts for different things. Ford with his sixth finger and Fidds coming from a hog farm ( I relate so hard with Fidds on the farm background you have no idea I love it) However, while Ford is more of a socially awkward introvert, Fidds seems to be a little bit more extroverted.

After college

Fiddleford moved to Palo Alto, California. Around this time he met his wife Emma-May and they had their son Tate. He starts up his own computer buisness "Fiddleford Computermajigs". It's unclear how the relationship between Fidds and his wife were, but the fact that he doesn't seem to hesitate to leave them behind to help an old college friend he haven't talked to in 6 years is a little weird. Six years is how long Ford had been in Gravity Falls before he contacted Fidds. (Source: Journal 3). Sure, if the whole project was a positive thing, it could be have been their big break in science and fame. But Fiddleford had a life in California. He had a family, but how good was the marriage? Maybe Fidds didn't get any other friends after college. So when Ford called for help, he didn't seem to hesitate to say yes and join him.

"Success! He has agreed to join me! With his assistance, I am confident we can complete the machine. He has already made several suggestions over the phone that I intend to incorporate into my revised designs."

-Stanford, Journal 3

Gravity Falls, Fiddleford is now Stanfords assistant/partner.

Some things Fiddleford brought with him: A vase/pot when he chews tobacco, a photo of his family, the banjo, floppy disks , two laptops which one of them is special designed for Fords extra finger. The other one is Fidds which has Fords name as password. And a Cubic's Cube that Ford scrambles when Fidds is not looking. Fidds solves it without a problem tho.

When seeing the blueprints for the portal for the first time, he asked Ford if he had any help with these plans because of complex they are. Ford describes Fidds as a suspicious man (pretty ironic knowing how Ford will become later).

During his time in Gravity falls we learn early that Fidds seems to have some trouble handeling his anxiety. Especially after some of the things they encountered. His knee starts bouncing when he's agitated or he starts pulling out his hair. Being Fords assistant turned out to be adventurous and scary at the same time. Reading Journal 3 you kinda wonder why he even stayed for so long with Ford. There was times he really got traumatized. It is now where the we get into the speculations and the hints of Fidds having a bit of stronger feelings for Ford than just a friend.

The gifts. Already in Journal 3, he gives Ford a special designed laptop with extra keys for his extra finger. He buys a pumpkin at the fair because it reminded him of Ford.

"He pulled it out of a barrel of "reject gourds" because he said it reminded him of me! (Suppose I did inherit my dad's nose.)

-Stanford, Journal 3

From the thisisnotawebsitedotcom, if you type in Oroborous, you will get two pages of when Fidds gave Ford an axolotl that Ford named it Frilliam.

"F said it's frills reminded him of my sideburns and he thought it could keep me company the next time he's out."

-Stanford, thisisnotawebsitedotcom, Code: Oroborous

I'm still pretty traumatized after Frilliam...that damn dorito asshole demon. Also...Ford drew a heart over the "i" in friend instead of the dot??

In the TBOB, Fiddleford gives Stanford a snow globe that HE MADE. And not only that! He gives Ford knitted a pair of six-fingered gloves that HE has KNITTED.

Fiddleford flies back home to visit his family for the holidays, but the reunion have not been exactly happy. Fidds and his wife had got in a massive fight when she realized he'd forgotten to buy her a Christmas Present...man. Look. I mean...I honestly do not know what to say to that. My guy gave gifts that he had made to his bestfriend that he might have some certain feelings for and just happen to forget he had a wife...that's normal right? xD

Let's talk a little bit about Ford cause I forgot to mention some other things as well. In journal 3, Ford talks in a certain way. It's more sterile and stiff. Keeping distance from emotions pretty much. Especially before the 30 years on the other side of the portal. In TBOB+ the pages from the website, these pages are more personal. Which is a whole new view of Ford that we didn't see before. This time we get to see what Fidds and Ford did when they weren't focused on the project. When they had a winter break from it. When Fidds tells Ford he's leaving to visit his family, you can kinda read between the lines that Ford seems very sad about that. His fear of being alone again. On that page, there are some blue stains which some believe are tears... :(

"Sixer was a lot better at science than he was at making friends, and he tended to rip out journal pages that had anything to do with his issues with others..."

-Bill, TBOB

After the massive fight between Fidds and his wife, he decides to return to Gravity Falls as soon as possible. When he reurns, he sees Ford being in trouble and saves him from the Krampus by hitting him with his banjo. They embraced. Fidds explains why he's back and Ford asks him if there is anything he could do to cheer him up. But Fidds feel pretty defeated by everything that has happen.

That night, Ford calls Fidds to come down to the lab for a portal update.

"I'll admit that it wasn't the most efficient use of our electricity, but the smile on his face proved I'd made the right choice."

-Stanford, TBOB

Ford later tells that it was time to drink nog until they didn't remember what a Krampus was. And they spent the rest of the night building snowmen and reminiscing about old times.

This is wholesome asf. Also, Ford said himself he's not really a drinker, but after that kareoke drunk thing, I wonder if he kinda wanted have a similar experience? Perhaps a stretch, but interesting in my opinion.

But all good things comes to an end. In Fiddlefords case, in a very tragic way. After some traumatic encounters (especially after the Gremloblin), he invents the memory gun. He uses the gun multiple times on himself during his time with Ford. He have even used it on Ford at one point when Ford tries to talk him out of ever using it.

The night before the testing of the portal, Fiddleford expresses his concerns to Ford about the portal. He tries to talk him into publish his research as a thesis instead of the portal. Ford who has been ver manipulated at this point to believe Fiddleford has ill intentions, refused. And the next day...the portal incident that makes Fidds mental state go so south. Seeing the Nightmare realm and predicting apocalyptic catastrophe that was about to be the consequences of the portal.

Now here is a interesting thing about the portal scene (this could be a stretch once again). Something i did notice while rewatching s2. When Ford tells the story about the portal, it seems pretty cut and clear of what happen. Fidds get dragged into the portal, traumatized, warns Ford, stands up and leaves. And Ford calls Stan. Which makes it look like everything happened in a very short time period. But when Ford talks about the portal incident again with Dipper, Ford has different clothes, sitting down and have Fidds in his lap. Now this could just be a mistake or something they choose for more dramatic effect. But seeing the difference how Ford talks in Journal 3 and TBOB, it is a interesting choice for that scene. Like, when he has the white shirt and black tie, there is a more serious tone and stiffnes. When he has his blue shirt and brown sweater vest he is more personal. In TBOB, it takes like around 2 days before he finally decides to contact Stan. He decides to do that after he found the 5 failed knitted prototypes for the perfect 6-fingered gloves and the ripped photo. When he realized he had lost Fiddleford.

Fiddleford's mental health keept getting worse. After quitting the project, he found himself still very haunted by everything he has seen. He started to use the memory gun even more and created an organization, The Blind Eye Society. Hoping this would help other people in the town to forget bad memories. Ford found this out and suspected Fidds to be behind it. Unfortunaly, Fidds started to use it as soon as he had seen something scary. The more he used it, the more he started to lose his mind and forgetting words. 618 days. It took around 1 year, 8 months, 1 week and 6 days. That is not really a long time. He used it so frequently, and knowing he had some trouble handling his anxiety from the start…this hurts. His body aged so fast during this time as well. And he's suppose to be around the same age as Ford, around or in his 30s.

Fiddleford before the portal: a very smart, brilliant inventor, sensitive and a very kind person.

After the portal: An old deranged hillbilly who lived at the dump with no memory of his past, but still haunted by what he saw in the portal.

He does starts to regain his memories in S2: Society of the Blind Eye. Finding out after 30 years who he really was.

"After all these years I finally know who I am. Maybe I messed up in the past, but now that I've seen what happened, I can begin to put myself together again."

-Fiddleford, S2, "Society of the Blind Eye"

When Ford and Fidds reunite in Weirdmaggedon, he forgives Ford for everything that led up to this. After Weirdmaggedon, Ford visits Fiddleford. Fidds was overjoyed to see Ford and they spent hours talking. Ford is feeling guilty for the things leading to Fidds causing losing his memories, but Fidds dismisses his attempts to apologize.

"Not only is this man's mind superior to mine, but he has one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen."

"Before I left, Fiddleford insisted that I listen to him play the banjo. I could have sworn that as he joyfully played, i could see the age lift off his face, and see the the Fiddleford who had been my friend so many years ago."

-Stanford. Journal 3

I swear a tear dropped from my eye while writing this quote. And I have an idea for a drawing for just that one.

And that's where I wanna leave this. A happy ending after all :)

I'm very sorry again if there are any grammar errors in this one. I have to go back and forth on the sources a lot here. The show, books, website and the wiki just to try understand the timeline and if there were any details missed. I did not intend for this one to be as long (maybe even longer) about Stanford. But I kinda wanted to put Fiddlefords story together and give some of my thoughts on it as well. Fiddlefords story is so sad in so many ways. He and Ford, Best friends and room mates in college. Both of them having no other friends than each other. He sacrifices a lot when he leaves his family to help Ford in Gravity Falls, Returns to Ford when the family reunion goes south. The fact that he could have done anything else, but he decides to go back to Ford. Maybe because he felt he didn't feel welcome there anymore and only has Ford left. Tate is probably the one I mostly feel sorry for in this situation. His father coming home for the Holidays and then leaves again to not come back. Fidds trying and wanting to help Ford, but get his concerns about a real danger ignored. Then Fidds trauma and fear of remembering bad things takes over so much he invents a memory gun that becomes his addiction. Ruined by his own invention.

Now, I'm someone who has NEVER done shipping art or not really expressing any thoughts about it. I'm pretty careful with that honestly and I have been with Ford and Fidds as well. But this time feel so different from the other times of speculations of what happend between them. It feels like it's right there. Especially with Fiddleford reading TBOB what he did for Stanford. Or maybe I'm just another person hoping a little bit too much xD It's just...the possibility of them having some kind of stronger feelings is there. Again, Especially when it's from Fiddleford. Stanford is kinda bit harder to read when it comes to his feelings. Kinda what I said before, he talks in two different tones. Probably depends on who he trusts to talk to.

Alright, That's all folks! I promise I won't do a essay like this for the other drawings xD But I just needed it to get out of my system. And I haven't really seen a post like this that sums up the information we have atm. So I wanted to contribute xD

Thanks for reading!

Next up is actually going to be a GF video🍃

#gravity falls #fiddleford mcgucket #the book of bill #gf fanart #digitalart #fanart #digitalartist #2dart #artists on tumblr #young fiddleford

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merriway · 6 months ago

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Do you have any tips for how you developed your style? I want it to be like yours :3

OH my style has been developed over the course of many years through many different inspirations. I dont really have a name for it either per your other ask its more just like a hodge podge of all my favorite things. I can list some of my prominent inspirations for you to look up as well as list some of the things I focus on when arting!

For inspiration I'd have to go back to elementary school and say that my first creative inspo was probably the Nightmare before Christmas. I think that really encouraged a love of weird and whacky shapes in character design. Anime was obviously also a huge inspo and I love a lot of retro anime from the 80s/90s. Ranma, Moomins, Add in some PS1-PS2 era platformer mascots like sonic, spyro, crash, and klonoa. If we're talking video games too i gotta bring up pokemon cause thats been my obsession since the games first came out. From highschool through college I really studied a lot of art from classic disney and I'd say one of my favorite book series is "They drew as they pleased' I think studying that gave me a love for gesture drawing and acting. I think there was the show Wakfu which had a lot of art from Gobi and Bill Otomo and I loved how they pushed shapes in their character design. Takashi Nakamaru is a big inspo for me in how he stylizes and animates. He has such a level of volume and weight that what he animates feels so real but his style feels so cartoony and whimsical. Yuasa Masaaki headed one of my favorite anime, Kaiba. Which had a very stylized toony look but held a lot of darker heart wrenching themes. I really love cute/fun aesthetics mixed with heavier topics. Yoh Yoshinari is another major artist I reference a lot. Hes a major hitter at Trigger and I love the way he has blended both western and anime styles together. Also his extreme poses are so fun. I particularly love his book of sketches he did of Osamu Tezuka characters. Very toony but animated stuff. There is probably a lot more but I would say thats a erally good starting place to know where Im coming from. As for how I approach drawing. I will echo this as long as I live but gesture drawing gesture drawing gesture drawing. I took several life drawing classes in college and my favorite thing was to do short timed drawings of people and animals. There are so many videos for free on youtube about the Line of Action, about how to start gesture drawing as well as so many resources to find models/reference to draw from. Do 5 second gesture drawings where you can only get like three lines on the page, that helps you to focus most on the feeling and energy of a pose. Then 30 sec, 1 min, etc See how people do life drawing too. I really like Heinrich Kley and he was a huge inspo for many of the classic disney artists. You keep practicing that and it'll start to show up in your more stylized work. When you learn how to twist and bend shapes it starts to show in your personal art. For my personal art I tend to have a lot of mood boards, pinterest boards with artists I like and work that inspires me. I sometimes just spend 15min-30min looking at my favorite art, injecting the things I like about them into my brain and getting hyped to draw! Draw all sorts of styles, all sorts of things! Experiment with a variety of styles and eventually you'll start to create your own signature look. And dont be afraid to make a bad drawing!! I made so many! I drew on notes in class, on napkins, on post it notes, you name it. Just doodle and sketch bad things then try to figure out how to fix them through reference and learning. But remember to just stop and think about what you want! For example, what do you like about my art? is it the posing the shapes, the energy? Think about those things. Take a moment to ask yourself questions like 'what am I going for?" "why?" I think having a motivation, a drive, or something similar to that helps you want to draw and not get caught up with social media and trying to compete with your peers. Overall enjoy the journey! You're your own unique person and all your own personal experiences can feed into your work in a way others may not! And good luck with drawing, I hope it stays fun for you!!

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sagemonsters · 1 year ago

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@that-dnd-life has a blind date with...

Honey the Werebear

Honey is a paunchy transmasc werebear who has curly hair that is constantly in disarray, a booming laugh, a chipped front tooth, and kind eyes. He dresses in comfortable clothes and always smells like cinnamon.

Honey is a warmly gregarious person by nature and collects friends the way other people collect Pokémon cards. He cherishes every single friend he makes, but you’re especially dear to him and he seeks you out above other friends. He texts you “good morning” every day and makes an effort to respond to all of your texts. He cares about the mundane happenings in your life and would never call you boring.

Honey loves to cook and bake—it’s how he got his name! He’s particularly fond of complex desserts, and often asks for your opinion on what recipe he should try out next. He’s working on writing a cookbook, and will test recipes over and over before presenting them to you for “the final seal of approval.” He truly values your input in his creative process.

Although he has an entire bookcase filled with cookbooks and culinary history nonfiction, Honey doesn’t read much outside of his comfort zone. Instead, he asks you what book you’re reading and lives vicariously through your descriptions and clear enjoyment of the stories you’re imbibing. He likes listening to people talk about things they care about.

Honey loves to make you laugh, and will do silly voices to represent various members of your stuffed animal collection while acting out conversations between them. He wholeheartedly approves of that collection (he feels the same way about good-quality cookware) and is a very understanding person overall. He isn’t one to judge people, and disapproves of mean-spirited humor.

“You’ve been eyeing that plushie display for at least ten minutes,” a voice said behind you. You jumped and turned around, and met the grin of a kind-looking, easygoing man. “Which ones are you the most torn between?”

You cocked your head to the side. The man wasn’t wearing a shop uniform, so it was highly unlikely he was an employee here. “How do you know it’s been ten minutes? …Or are you just making that up?”

His smile turned a trifle embarrassed. “I come here for the people-watching, to be honest. This shop sells a lot of vintage and handmade toys, and it’s always nice to see people find a new favorite thing, you know? You’ve got the look of a seasoned collector.”

A blush heated your face. “Thanks, I think. You’re right, I do have a few stuffies at home.”

“Excellent! I need some help finding a mascot for my new restaurant. A bear of some kind, but otherwise I don’t really have any preferences.”

You thought for a moment, looking past the displays of Squishmallows and Jellycats to the secondhand toys. Some of them were quite worn (or “well loved” as the sign said), while others looked as though they had time traveled right out of a display window from over a hundred years ago.

“Why a bear?” you asked eventually.

“Oh, it’s because I’m a werebear and the restaurant is called the Bearpaw Grill,” the werebear said, but he grimaced as he said the restaurant's name—as though it left a bad taste in his mouth—before continuing: “Call me Honey, by the way.”

“That’s a cute name—yours, I mean,” you said, and then introduced yourself. “Do you not like your restaurant?”

“I love it just fine. I love the building, I love the kitchen… I just don’t like the branding. It sounds like a sports bar, when really I want to run a family-oriented diner, you know? But my marketing manager is very insistent.”

“So? It’s your diner, isn’t it?” you pointed out. “You should follow your own dream, not someone else’s. What about this one?” You walked over to one of the bins of secondhand stuffed animals and pulled out a tattered-looking bear. It had blue button eyes and a little pink nose, with one green ear and a lopsided, stitched-on smile. “He looks like he’s been cuddled a lot.”

“He’s perfect,” Honey said, and then looked up at you. “And you’re right—I should stay true to my original vision. Come by sometime, okay? I want to treat you to lunch if that’s okay. Our grand opening is next month, and we’re right on the square by the clock tower.”

You smiled back at Honey. “That sounds really nice. It’s a date, then.”

Honey grinned back at you. “Yeah. I’m looking forward to it."

see here to get your own blind date with a monster!

#monster romance #monster lover #terato #monster x human #werebear #monster boyfriend #reader insert #x reader #gender neutral reader #sage's monster matches

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peppereddaze · 1 year ago

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OKAY- HOLD ON-

So I just had a really weird dream last night- a really weird one! I dreamed about how the newest Layton game came out- you know it- ‘World Of Stream.’

I dreamed that I got it for Christmas and that I played it!

I can’t even begin to explain what happened!?

So-

Luke is grown and a detective and friends with this older famous engineer- who made everything in the now highly steampunk-futuristic looking America!?

He was like half robot! Had a visor and everything that showed his little emotions! Gold and blue steampunk-style look with these epic steampunk gauntlet claws! He actually was disabled- an amputee only having his one leg and the rest of his limbs where missing after an incident and replaced with cool prosthetics! He was also half-blind. His name was Arlo! I can’t remember his full name but it was Arlo! It was probably something cooler- but I’m calling him Arlo!

A ‘comic relief’ and mascot character of this little robot character named Whim! They were small and blue and had these little pipes that went from their back to their head which steam came out of! They had a full-face visor that showed their expressions through icons and such! They were like Arlo’s first creation and they looked more janky, goofy but- Omigosh I loved them!?

They were witty and a lil sarcastic but in a funny way and just- helpful and they had character and a story! They were loyal as anything to Arlo and joined the little main cast perfectly.

So like usual- drama and mystery’s occur about some flip-flop book of memories, Arlo looking familiar to Layton-

Apparently Arlo was revealed to be Luke’s older and missing brother, something about how Arlo used to be Layton’s apprentice. They one day went exploring in a cave and Layton being a archaeologist- trying to find the magical book. They find it and stuff happens and the cave collapses and Layton or apparently someone used the book which erased any memory of Arlo’s existence!? Even to his parents, even to Hershel, even to himself??

Arlo was trapped and badly injured which eventually led him to be found by people and living a new life in making gadgets to better people’s lives, then Arlo becomes the tragic villian of the story who wants revenge on Layton and chases him around with a giant mechanical spider mecha. Like damn- petty much? Plus pretty big stretch for a motive… but whatever.

Layton tries to reason with Arlo and apologies- it seems to work as Arlo settles and seems to forgive him before he suddenly slashes Layton across the cheek in like a really cool cinematic moment!? Like in a real tense and real animated moment- even a Luke gasp. Layton does dramatic fall. Hits ground. Luke’s casual- nah crying out “Proffesah!”

Whim also being there and looking horrified.

Luke is angy and Arlo is sad about that and stuff.

Flora was in some scenes for some reason- I don’t know when but she suddenly appears and disappears at times!?

More stuff ensues!

The whole story in a nutshell is just meeting Luke, wanting to go on little mystery’s, learning about mystery book, Layton and Arlo slowly remembering each other and Luke being happy for his two friends to meet finally, Whim moments, Arlo realising and remembering and turning bitter and turning to revenge mid-way and just-

Whim realising their creator is not who they think they am and agreeing to help to hack Arlo’s robo army…?

And then trying to destroy Arlo- Whim is also infected by a dangerous glitch or virus?

Whim practically sacrifices themselves and that part I was crying about when I woke up!?

Like this isn’t even real and I was sobbing!

I don’t know what to do with this dream but it was so random and just so- vivid that I had to post it!

If anyone has questions about this plot I can try and answer them??

There’s a lot more to say I’m just trying to wrap my head around it all!

I am trying to write this before I forget it! D:

#professor layton #hershel layton #luke triton #layton series #dream #did I just have a lucid dream #lucid dreaming #dreams #i have no idea #what just happened #what is going on #world of steam #steampunk #random #random dream #professor hershel layton #pl #should i draw this

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james-is-here · 2 years ago

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I made myself sad thinking about it so I’m bringing you along for the ride. Also, where I live, is storm like crazy, thunder was so loud it set off a car alarm.

[This was my 100th post, wooo!! 🥳]

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Seeing all the boys with they’re counterparts made Kai happy, seeing them smile and play with them and laugh, It was sweet, really.

It also stung a little…

He had joined before the Five Star trailer was released, having been a mystery face throughout the trailer and sparking a lot of curiosity amongst the fans and tons of support was given to the mystery member, who was Choi KaiSeok.

Fans loved him in the comeback, they thought it was cool to have another deep voice join Felix’s and people love his visuals as well.

Kai loved being with the others, having got to know them and be around them way before Five Star started. It just stung a bit watching them have fun with the counterpart mascots.

He smiled weakly at all of them before walking backwards and off stage. The staff in the back were going to question him when he held up a hand and shook his head as he walked away to find a chair.

A few minutes later, Chan noticed that he was down one kid. Looking around, as they pass by, he asks the others if they’ve seen Kai which all have said no, not since the characters came out.

Chan sighs when he realizes why the male wasn’t on stage and feels bad. He continues on stage, not wanting to confuse the fans by suddenly leaving but he was tempted a few times, wanting to check on him.

When the characters leave, Kai walks back out shyly, his head hanging as he composed himself before looking up, making immediate eye contact with Chan who stood in front of him.

“You okay?” He asks gently, Kai can see it in his eyes that he knew why he left and gave a small smile. “I am, I promise.”

Chan pat his shoulder and the two walked over to the others, enjoying the rest of the night with fans.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

On the ride home, Kai curled into himself in the vehicle, a small sketch pad on his lap with a dim book light clipped to it.

He started with sketching random things. Graffiti of his members names, different styles of stars, small doodles, then he started sketching the skzoo characters in his cartoon-like style with sharp edges and cute eyes before starting to sketch them in a chibi style.

Flipping the page, he starts drawing them as they are made, zoning out to his music and just doodling before he’s brought back to reality by a bump in the road and his gripping his pad while collecting himself at the sudden jump then looking back down to see he drew nine animals.

He doodled them all huddled together with smiles on their faces, Quokka on WolfChan’s back and Bbokari sitting in front of Jiniret who has his paws resting on the chicks head are drawn in the center with the others on either side of them. Drawn standing slightly off to the side was another character, a duck, it’s head tilted in a cute manner as he waves with his legs together and other paw behind his back.

Kai stared at the other character for a moment before his hand moved and he wrote “DucKai” under it with a star and a heart. He stared at the drawing for a moment, it’s WolfChan like eyes, BbokAri face and a small Jiniret like smile on his beak suddenly have tears build up in Kai’s eyes before he blinks them away with a deep breath while putting his sketchbook away after ripping the page out, missing how a tear fell onto the page.

Exiting the car, he slowly followed behind the others, stopping when the members he’s staying with stopped to open the door before they walked in. He was like Hyunjin, the both of them having to deal with gym-racha, but at least Hyunjin wasn’t alone with gym-racha anymore.

Kai slept on a small air mattress in Hyunjin’s room but he always ends up in Hyunjin’s bed by morning. They made art together, at one point Hyunjin painted a small picture then came back to see it was inked with cute doodles following the paint strokes.

Kai walked into the room, throwing the balled up doodle near the trash can before deciding which bed to flop onto, choosing the dancers bed anyway.

Hyunjin had kicked the ball of paper when he returned, picking it up and un-crumpling it, it wasn’t the paper he used so he was curious, soon turning to shock when he looks over the drawing. He glances at the male dozing on his bed before walking out to find Chan, who was in the kitchen.

“Look what I found.” He says quietly as Chan turned to him and took the paper. “Aw…this is cute but…why is it all crumpled?” “I found it balled up, I think this is Kai’s.”

“DucKai…It looks so cute….” He whispers. “I wonder why he balled it up…” He questioned before giving it back to Hyunjin. “Did you know he left stage today?” “No, why?” The younger asked in concern. “Our skzoo were on stage…he doesn’t have one…” “W-We could get him one. He has a sketch of what he wants.”

After much conversation the next day, they agreed that they should help Kai have his own Skzoo character. They decided to take it up with their manager, the designer of the other skzoo’s and the people who created the plushies to create a new character based on Kai's sketch. The boys knew it wouldn't be an easy task, but they were determined.

In the meantime, they had to keep this a secret from Kai. They didn't want to get his hopes up in case things didn't work out. Kai was oblivious to all this, he just assumed that the others were busier than usual.

Finally, after several weeks of effort, they had the first prototype of the DucKai Skzoo character in their hands. It was perfect, exactly like Kai's sketch. The boys were overjoyed. They couldn't wait to show it to Kai.

They decided to surprise him during a group live. They all sat on a couch, reading comments and having fun. Kai fiddles with the Quokka in his hands, softly flicking his paws back and forth, his stupor being broken when someone read a comment. “Oh my gosh, they’re all holding a plushie!! Where did the other one come from?” Kai looked up at Felix who read the comment then looked around.

All of them were holding different plushies, one person should be left out but he was surprised to see that all of them actually had a plush. He looked at all of them, He had Quokka, Han had Leebit, Minho had Bbokari, Felix had Jiniret, Hyunjin had PuppyM, Seungmin had FoxI.Ny, I.N had Dweakki, and Changbin had WolfChan.

Looking to Chan he saw a new plushie, a duck, the same as his sketch. Kai’s mouth fell open as he moved his eyes to Chan’s, the older male smiling at Kai and handing it to him, taking the Quokka from him.

Kai was stunned. He couldn't believe his eyes. His own Skzoo character that he had doodled was now a reality. He looked at the other boys, their faces beaming with happiness and pride. They had done this for him. He was overwhelmed. He didn't know what to say. He just smiled at the boys, his eyes welling up with tears as he hid his face from the camera that was still live.

"Thank you," he whispered, his voice choked with emotion. "Thank you so much."

The boys smiled at each other. They had done it. They had made Kai's dream come true. And seeing the happiness on Kai's face, they knew that all their hard work had been worth it.

And thus, DucKai joined the Skzoo family, a testament to the boys' friendship and their love for Kai. From then on, Kai was never alone with the Skzoo family. And every time he looked at his Skzoo character, he was reminded of the boys' gesture and how much they cared for him and how much they loved him in the family. It was a moment that Kai would cherish forever.

Fans also fell in love with DucKai, happy to finally get merch for Kai and excited that the boys added Kai to the Skzoo family. Fans are more then excited to see what DucKai and the other Skzoo’s have for the future along with their human counterparts.

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commenter2 · 7 months ago

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"Apology Tour" review

While a surprise reveal, I’m glad this episode is out as I could use a laugh after watching “Full Moon”.

Let’s see if Blitzo and Verosika will have their “Oops” moment here.

The ticking at the disclaimer isn’t as serious as in the previous episodes.

Stolas in a new outfit near a pool. How come we never saw Stella near that pool :3

Damn Stolas is pissed at Blitzo’s arrival. I’ve stated before how I wish Stolas expressed more emotions to Blitzo then lust or “I want to be with you on a romantic level” but this isn’t the right time.

So this episode takes place the day after the ending of Full Moon. Nice to know.

Man the writers are really hammering in the fact season 2 Stolas isn’t the sex crazed Goetia from season 1.

So all of Hell does know about Blitzo and Stolas. At least they ended that mystery though it is kind of disappointing that in the end no one really cared OR worse no one has connection their relationship to any crimes and such, but more on that in comments if you are curious.

I question how much Verosika hates Blitzo to the point of throwing a party about hating him, but then I remember the times she challenged him over a parking spot and embarrassed him at a popular club. And yet I can’t help but think she still has feelings for him as anyone else would have moved on by now.

The note says its Halloween on Earth! This made me wonder why this isn’t the Halloween episode, till I realized the “Ghostfuckers” will likely be more on brand due to how scary it looks.

At first I was wondering “how did Verosika got Stolas’ address” but since Stolas lives in a giant walled off mansion, it likely wasn’t hard to find.

Love that Stolas compared Blitzo to Striker, since I pointed that out near the end of my “Full Moon” review.

Oh crap Stolas made a good point, why didn’t Blitzo and co. tell Stolas what was going on?

What was to stop Striker from coming back or Stella hiring someone else? Imagine if someone did kill Stolas in between “Harvest Moon” and “Western Energy”, that would have put IMP out of business either cause someone framed them or they no longer had access to his book.

I might make a pic about this topic, but I’m surprised we didn’t get a moment in this scene or at the end of Full Moon where Stolas brings up Stella. I mean I totally saw that look in Stolas’ eye when he realizes Stella has wanted him dead sine “Harvest Moon” yet isn’t bringing it or even her up on all his misery.

Blitzo is so stubborn its annoying!

HOLY CRAP ITS MARTHA! WHAT THE FUCK, MS. MAYBERRY!!! I think that has to be the most random thing in this series so far and I love it. Does this mean Ms. Mayberry is a cannibal now? I’m also surprised Blitzo remembered Martha’s name.

What is that creature in that meme on Blitzo’s phone supposed to be, a horse?

Liking all the references to past episodes like DHORKS, the bouncer (now solo), the Fizzbot and Loo Loo mascot, dead agents of DHORKS, and that director from “Seeing Stars”.

Keenie has a cone on XD.

Is that old guy a reference to someone? Also why do I feel like he is connected to the Leviathan theory. I just feel like it’s going to be revealed that Leviathan has been keeping an eye on Blitzo and co for quite some time now when they’ve been on Earth and is likely going to teach them a lesson in the next episode.

“character doing something they weren’t going to do” cliché.

Stolas being the odd one out. Also why do I feel like some of the people aren’t Blitzo’s exes, just people crashing. I’m surprised Stolas isn’t gathering much attention which again makes me wonder how serious people take royals that aren’t the sins and the Morningstars.

“Demons can visit Earth on Halloween” cliché.

Does Verosika’s design look different to anyone else? She looks less busty then before. I wonder if because she is a succubus (likely full blood in my theory) she can alter her physique in ways, in this case she didn’t feel like being too top heavy.

Verosika is drunk.

When she kisses Stolas, he is blushing a bit which though very small reminds me of my comment in my “The Circus” review about how I think Stolas could have likely been pan and wouldn’t have said no to being with a lady as long as she was nicer then Stella.

Stolas’ line about not getting invited out much makes me wonder if Hell’s hierarchy is already isolating him so they don’t associate with his Imp loving lifestyle, since again his hook up with Blitzo is apparently well known now.

I’m surprised Stolas didn’t stop that sacrifice from happening. I wonder if a sacrificed soul in Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel strengthens the demon it is going to, or if it is just a waste of time and the people there just go directly to Hell after they die if they had a change of heart since then.

Why does that demon in the cat suit (is she an actual cat demon?) look so much like Millie?!?! There is even one guy that looks like Moxxie. Is this why Blitzo really likes seeing M and M doing it? XD

Again someone big, or the reason for this party to exist is at the party and there isn’t a bigger reaction.

In that scene before it cuts to the demons playing darts, there is an Imp with red horns that looks A LOT like Blitzo when he made that smug face in the pilot. Also that pink demon next to her is pretty hot, hope she appears more :3

Heh they’re burning a real life Blitzo plushie.

Tex singing, didn’t see that coming. This is going to be awkward if he and Loona get together, which I personally hope they don’t as along with how underrated Tex and Bee is and deserves more fan art, I personally think Loona needs more friends than a love interest. It’d also be the perfect revenge for Vivzie for all the odd art people have made about Loona XD.

Of course Coco and Apple are dressed as Ivy and Harley. Also I think that female Imp is dressed up as Borderland’s Mad Moxxi.

Yeah not really liking the singing voice for Stolas here as you can really hear the difference.

Looks like Blitzo is having a breakthrough!

Oh uh Stolas is drinking heavily again. If what Blitzo said is true, then he wasn’t a heavy drinker when they were meeting up.

That goat demon has a snake like tail. Is it actually part of her costume or is she 2/3 of a Chimera, again supporting my idea of “Heaven and Hell inspiring other mythologies and religions in the HH/HB world”.

Again Stolas doesn’t bring up Stella in this conversation. Does Blitzo even know what she is like and what she put Stolas through? If not then maybe Stolas should as maybe then Blitzo would realize why Stolas was the way he is.

Nice to see Blitzo let Stolas dance with that incubus. Makes me lean more to the “Blitzo and Stolas should get together” side of things I mentioned in the last review.

Finally some Blitzo and Verosika interaction. Just like last time the story waits at the last minute to go over what we’ve been waiting for so long.

Just because you live in Hell, doesn’t mean you have to live up the stereotypes if it Blitzo. Several characters have shown that so why can’t you.

Interesting learning that Blitzo and Verosika broke up cause she said “I love you” to Blitzo, which given his past explains why he broke up with her. Still it was shitty of him to do it like that. You also think Blitzo seeing the tattoo she got would be a sign that she felt that strongly of him and prepare him for hearing her say those words.

It is nice to see that Verosika while still holding onto the pain in a immature way, is helping others who went through what she did. Also Stolas was right about how if someone throws a party about hating you, it means that had real feelings for you.

Nice to see Blitzo and Verosika get closure. I bet some thought they would end up like Blitzo and Fizz did in “Oops”, but this ending is the best outcome without being too cheesy.

The ending feels like a sadder ending of Truth Seekers with a bit of Ozzie’s, as while it hurts, I feel like Blitzo will actually try to change in the future, likely starting in the “Ghostfuckers” episode, as I’m starting to get some Silent Hill vibes from what will happen in it and this will be the final lesson before Blitzo changes for good.

There’s Wally XD.

An odd note to end on but I hope that Incubus guy won’t turn out to be another assassin. In the S2 trailer there is a line from Vassago asking where Stolas is, so I wonder if Andre and Stella (mostly Andrea) will get Stolas kidnap and keep him hidden during the trial episode as they need someone to win and he is a key witness.

Another meh, heavy Stolitz episode. It is nice seeing Blitzo and Stolas air out all their issues, but it’s just really annoying seeing Blitzo still be so defensive and being a jerk even after all he has been through recently AND Stolas giving him every chance to make things right.

I like that the episode wasn’t played out exactly like “Oops” as it felt right to have Blitzo and Verosika be on more mutual terms then completely make up. However it does remind me of a plot point that could have been if the writing was different for the season, but I’m saving that for my Helluva Boss rewrite.

As for any sad Stolitz fans out there, cheer up as there is still more episodes later in the season so there is still hope for Blitzo and Stolas getting together in the end, let’s just hope you like it as I feel like when they do there is going to be a big consequence for the two at the end of the season.

I think my favorite thing about the episode was the cameos of Martha and Ms. Mayberry as that was so random that it was hilarious.

Well the next episode won’t be out till Halloween, so that gives everyone time to take a break from the show, theorize and predict about stuff, and make some art. I do plan on getting back to working on my Helluva Boss rewrite soon, so stay tune for that as well as other Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel art I have in the works, 1 of which I just thought of while making these reviews today

I also hope we get some more of those Helluva Shorts over the next few months AND a few Hazbin Hotel shorts because why not. Some Helluva shorts I think they should do is one where we see some of the sins hanging out together. I feel like Ozzie would be friend with Belphor, the sin of sloth as maybe they bonded while working on Fizz’s prosthetic limbs and maybe they have a business contract where Fizz helps make medical equipment for her. Imagine him and Fizz giving prosthetics to other demons suffering from what Fizz went through. I also could see something similar with Mammon and Leviathan since Greed and Envy both involve a want for something. Maybe we can see what the Envy ring is like, as that is the only ring we haven’t seen yet. Throw in a reference to the von Eldritch family and it would be an entertaining episode.

There could one about Octavia like one about her want to go to a demon college and be a regular girl for a change, despite what her mom keeps telling her.

What were your thoughts on the episode. Is there anything I missed/didn’t write down that you want me to go over?

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doobnnoob-tf2 · 3 years ago

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Do you have any HCs about mercs adopting that bread tumor as a team mascot?

oh boy do I!

Scout: he was the one who BEGGED to keep it, everyone would assume it was Pyro but no it was him, he’s always wanted a dog and dammit this is as close as he’s gonna get, he spends literal hours whining about it and pleading and bargaining like a 8 year old for a puppy (”PLEASE, I swear I’ll look after it!!”), he has a dog bed in his bedroom for it to sleep in and literally treats it like a dog

Soldier: for the longest time he’s not allowed near it, not until he is sure he understands the “no more teleporting bread” rule, once he promises he won’t do it again - and especially not with that little guy - he’s actually just as excited to play with it, he just has to keep his raccoons from trying to eat it

Pyro: they help Scout look after it, the two of them play with it all day and even got it a collar and leash to walk it, Pyro was the one who discovered it enjoys eating very burnt toast while they were trying to help Scout figure out what it would eat

Demoman: he gets excited when Scout and Pyro declare they’ve taught it how to fetch and immediately sets to building a baseball cannon for them to use to launch the balls farther away since surprisingly it’s VERY fast and will zoom off and back and cough the ball back up, other than that he actually really likes it, it’s like their own little living cryptid, he actually stuck a loose page into his book on cryptids in there with details about their bread monster

Heavy: he’s the most hands-off of everyone, not because he dislikes it but because he finds it kinda creepy, it took him forever to start eating sandwiches again and he still has trouble eating one in front of the little guy because it makes him feel guilty, he’d still be one of the first ones to fight someone if they hurt it on purpose

Engineer: as expected, Scout didn’t actually clean up after it for long, and he picks up the slack.. no, not because it has bodily functions, it just won’t stop wrecking things and someone’s gotta fix it, he actually “bread proofs” certain areas of the base to stop it from getting in and tearing things up, namely the kitchen

Medic: he wanted to keep it anyway, but not as a pet, for experiments, everyone was very against this knowing no good could come of it, he was however talked into adding it to the respawn system like Medic had done for his doves by Spy, not because HE cared but.. well, we would all have to hear Scout whine if something happened, Medic knows better and that he was doing it as a precaution

Sniper: won’t ever admit it out loud but he actually thinks it’s kinda cute in a creepy way, he can turn on the laser on his rifle and it’ll chase the dot around on the floor, someone on the base snapped a photo of him sleeping in front of a campfire with it on his lap

Spy: he won’t go out of his way to hurt it or be mean, but he also won’t go out of his way to be nice, he’s indifferent, but it brings a smile to his face to see how much fun Scout is having with it

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 headcanons #tf2 scout #tf2 soldier #tf2 pyro #tf2 demoman #tf2 heavy #tf2 engineer #tf2 medic #tf2 sniper #tf2 spy #dad spy #sharing one braincell

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crystallizedday · 2 years ago

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SO FUN FACT

Y’ALL WANNA KNOW WHAT MY FAVORITE TYPE OF HORROR IS?

THE KIND WHERE EVEN THE MONSTER/ANTAGONIST IS IN ABSOLUTE PSYCHOLOGICAL AGONY BECAUSE I AM A TERRIBLE PERSON

Oh yeah, you know what time it is.

INK DEMON HEADCANON TIIIIME!!

& it’s an ACTUAL headcanon now, cause I got nothing to really back it up too much, at least in comparison to the alternatives to it.

Ever since the first chapter of the first game, one of the most popular interpretations of the Ink Demon was that this entity WAS Bendy, at least mentally.

That he thought like Bendy, maybe even had some of his memories…

Like he was ripped from his cartoon home & brought into the real world, but with a terrible consequence in the form of his body being fucked up.

Or something like that.

So…

I personally do not like that interpretation.

I’m fine with other people seeing it that way (hell, I find it really cool seeing other people’s different interpretations & reimaginings anyway), but if you want my thoughts on it…

I like to believe it’s a lot more… heartbreaking than that.

I mean, think about what it must be like to be just… living & having this weird body that was supposed to mirror a fucking cartoon character.

Imagine you’re just an entity brought to life with no prior memories or experiences, yet your body was molded to look like & represent a cute character, a MASCOT…

Imagine having to be locked up because you don’t look like that character enough…

Imagine trying to live your life with a face that doesn’t truly belong to you…

Imagine having to suffer the duality of wanting to have been perfect to get better treatment from your “creator”, but also not wanting such a face cause it’s not yours, & it’s not who you are.

Imagine having to deal with the fact that everyone around you will see you as a twisted version of that cartoon character you were SUPPOSED to be, something you had no say in to begin with.

Like…

I’m convinced my guy has MAJOR identity issues & doesn’t know who exactly he is.

Being Joey’s little antagonist in the cycle doesn’t help either, cause in THERE, he’s the enemy of the guy Joey was trying to torture, someone Inky’s never even MET before but was just… pinned against to please Joey.

Hell, perhaps we could get CHEESILY metaphorical & say Inky’s trapped in TWO prisons: the cycle (obviously) & his own body, forever stuck looking somewhat like the Bendy character, doomed to forever be associated with Bendy, even if he doesn’t want to be.

So even if he were to get out of the cycle or even the studio, his own body would keep him tied to that name, tied to Bendy, tied to the people who were behind the films for Bendy, tied to Joey Drew Studios…

Making it incredibly hard if not impossible to move on from those traumatic events…

So perhaps THAT could be another reason why he’d be too afraid to leave the cycle if given the opportunity…

Cause he’s afraid of having to deal with that impossible challenge…

…

I am so fucking cruel to this poor thing. HWDIWNDIKDOCKS

HE’S SUCH A FASCINATING CHARACTER TO WRITE FOR THOUGH

IM SO GLAD THE BOOKS & BATDR FLESHED HIM OUT

PROBABLY ONE OF IF NOT MY FAVORITE HORROR MONSTER NOW CAUSE OF IT

He’s deliciously complicated.

Yum.

HWIDWJDO I am a menace.

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kaypeace21 · 4 years ago

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"Rebel robin" easterggs

- Robin's friend is a horror movie fan whos fav movie is evil dead (jonathan has a poster of it in his room)

- Robin's parent's car is the " dodge dart" a ref to Dustin's demodog-dart

-robin and her friends make analogies to zombies (like Will- the zombie boy).

- robin faints. And her friend milton says "blink once for yes twice for no". A ref to what Joyce said to Will in s1.

- robin's other friend has a little sister named el-ie who pretends to be a squirrel. A ref to el killing a squirrel in s2. This is also reminiscent of a scene from the st prequel novel ' suspicious minds' where young-kali pretended to be a tiger (the Hawkins school mascot) & a rabbit (Jonathan's hunting story).

- robin reminds me alot of the byers: she is into photography and rock like jonathan and even worked at the movie theatre like jonathan did in the og pilot. They both like David bowie and cook for their families. She also is poor and wears hand-me down clothes from relatives (like Will). She also is into existential philosophers. Which is also similar to jonathan who had a poster of the poet rimbaud in his room.

- robin is almost run over by a car by a bully while riding her bike: similar to Mike, Dustin, and Lucas in s2

- robin says the best accessory for a girl is her middle finger. Cue max giving the middle finger to billy in s2 XD

- robin (before Will dissapears) sees the quarry and gets uncomfortable and thinks of metaphorical monsters

- similar to how billy had baseball references (along with Will). Robin wears a baseball shirt

- her fav flavor of pie is cherry (like alexi and cherry slurpies). She also gets pissed at a guy sipping a cherry flavored drink- similar to hopper in s3 with alexi

- she cuts her hair and she describes it as looking like a lion. El and Will owned lion plushies in s1.

- robin refs Chicago (kali lives there) and NYC (hopper used to live there), and California (where max and billy used to live).

-tammy's fav song is total eclipse of the heart: the song Robin and Steve sang in s3. Tammy would often sing the song in robin and Steve's class.

- they make references to the hellfire club: she describes a time where she dresses like a cross between a nerd and a rebel. And a mom yells at her appearance saying she looks "goddless' . And another of Robin's friend (kate) is told ' what demon is possessing you, kate?" (hinting at the satanic panic). Meanwhile someone describes Mike and his friends as "hellions' as another hint to this. We also see how alot of parents got paranoid and a bit crazy when Will and barb dissappeared- prob foreshadowing the chaos that will happen if more kids dissappear in s4. Along with the satanic panic

-Robin is visiting her friend Kate at her house. Kate wanted to listen to Madonna together. Max and el listened to Madonna at el's.

- Robin's friend (kate) says "I dumped his ass" in reference to her cheating bf. A little nod to the m*leven breakup

- robin (like Will) felt excluded during the summer cause her friends kate and dash (Kate's now ex bf) were always making out . Sound familiar- cough m*leven

- robin annoyed says " makeouts, breakups and declarations of love all in the span of a week". Wow if that ain't a diss to certain pairing we know in s3 XD

- kate (like mike) says to Robin dating the opposite sex is a part of growing up . Which scares Robin (and Will in s3).

- robin has a nightmare of running down the school hallway with short hair (like el in s2 via the upsidedown)

- robin contemplates shaving her head (like el)

- robin says she likes to sometimes dress androgynous . And found a cool suit. Which we saw in s4 bts pics I assume.

- robin watches a music video where there are duplicate indianna joneses (could be a ref to all the billy duplicates in s3?)

- robin says " I stare at the ceiling. The ceiling stares back. I'm stuck and don't know what to do" a ref to the s3 song with robin called "the ceiling is beautiful"

- a character named Sheena reminds me a bit of Will or el . She is very quiet, queercoded, and is often bullied. And she finds mean notes and other things in her locker- placed there by bullies. A bit like how Will found the zombieboy note in his locker. But sheena can be another name for Jane so ...maybe foreshadowing of el/jane being bullied in highscool?

- when robin hears a hom*phobic comment on tv- she describes the anxiety like a ' thundercloud in a big open sky' and a "chill". Which reminds me of the mf being associated with clouds, thunder, and lightning. And the mf liking it cold.

- robin constantly describes the monster or shadow in her life- whether it be her talking about conformity or the problems of consumerism while she is poor (themes of s3).

- robin before realizing she was gay/crushing on tammy just says " I don't get crushes' which reminds me a bit of Will saying " I'm not going to fall in love" (as the lyrics are " love thats new to you, you open up the door')

-robin on her bike hears something (demogorgan) and runs back to her house , locks the door, and calls her friend- and the phone gets electrocuted. The next day Will is said to be missing. (Another Will paralllel).

- i was right about robin being in theatre. So we most likely will see robin in theatre in s4 (she also auditioned with a friend in the book). So for s4 my guess is she may be in the drama club with dustin- cause in s1 he had a drama shirt

- one of her friends is named milton. Since the documentary 'paradise lost' was on the s4 movie list. Its prob a ref to John milton who wrote the fictional 'paradise lost'. The character Sheena may be a ref to the 80s film/movies *where sheena (jane) was psychic

-Robin's gal pal (kate) and Robin eat m&ms and candies together. Kate jokes m&ms and candy bars are 'foods of the gods'. El ate m&ms in s3. They joke how talking about plural gods (instead of 1) would get them in trouble. In case you are unaware- kali (is the name of a Hindu goddess) and el (is the name of a cannanite god) .

-Robin also mentions hopper's car smells like eggos.

- robin tries running away (like el in s2, max in her novel, and jonathan also wrongfully assumed Will ranaway in s1 too).

-robin tries to get a job at Joyce's, than Bob's, and later gets a job where jonathan used to work

-bob newby describes the byers family as his "home" . Similar to how El describes the Hawkins gang as "home".

- robin says she was friends with barb before nancy. Suspiciously right after she says this- barb grabs Robin's hallpass that says ' glitch in the time space continuim. " the teacher who wrote this called robin a "glitch". Which makes me wonder if my did theory is right- but ...that certain powers at be may also alter memories or things so people assume said people have always been around.Mentioning it cause it seemed suspicious.

-not an eastegg but robin can't believe how nice Bob is. And Bob says the byers filled a hole in his life 😭 . She also felt an instant connection with Will and saw alot of herself in him.And asked if Joyce ever thought of moving like everyone suggested . One of the reasons Robin didn't like steve was because Steve never mentioned how Jonathan took innapropriate photos of Nancy. So everyone at school just knew jonathan as the quiet kid who takes pictures. So to everyone it just seemed like- wow you're bullying the quiet kid who's brother is missing and take away the one thing still left in his life that makes him happy. Which is why everyone assumes jonathan beat up steve later. Interesting to know how general Hawkins (not in the loop) viewed things

- the book referenced alot of previously mentioned movies on the s4 list or from prior duffer interviews...along with a few NEW movies ,books, plays, singers, and songs that I have to analyze for another day ...

#robin buckley #rebel robin #jonathan byers #steve harrington #will byers #el hopper #mike wheeler #dustin henderson #barbara holland #max mayfield #jim hopper

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aishiteruuu · 4 years ago

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"I always knew you were mine, Angel."

Ryomen Sukuna x Fem! Reader.

➽───────────────❥

Sypnosis: You've been raising your and someone else's child. Ever since a accidental one night stand, you got a little tipsy one night, and had someone else's kid 9 months later.. But, when you enroll your kid in soccer practice.. You and the coach have a strange connection..

Warnings: Mentions of pregnancy, and breeding. NSFW (slightly), Pet names, such as "Bunny' or "Angel". "Sir" kink. Dom! Sukuna. (Slightly) Pre-named kid! And Dad-mentions. Size-kink. Car-session.

CW: All the characters are at the correct age to intervene or comply with the storyline!

Word count: 2.1k words!

➽───────────────❥

You were driving Yuto to soccer practice, looking back in the review mirror at him. "Don't worry munch! You'll do so well!" You tried cheering him on. You knew he was nervous, you could see it in his face. But you were always distracted by your kid's looks. He had bright hazel-pink hair, with your eye color, and shape. And the cutest little nose that looks just like yours. Topping it off with a cute little dimple on his left cheek. He looked back your eyes in the review mirror, and sighed.

"Mom.. What if I mess up? I don't know how to play soccer!" He whined into his hands, kicking the seat slightly. "Munch. That's why you're going to practice! I'm sure there are other kids there who don't know how to play! Nobody's born and becomes a soccer prodigy!" You tried lighting his mood again.

"Well, all my friends had a dad to teach them things, why don't I?" He asked, with his hands tugging at the seat-belt. You tried dodging the question, asking him short questions instead. But he wanted an answer, so there you were. "Well.. Munch, I Don't really know where your dad is." You gulped, hoping he wouldn't continue. You really wanted to tell him the truth, but you couldn't just lay it on the table, and say- "Sweetie, I have No clue where your dad is. We haven't talked at all, and We barely talked when we met. Well.. not with words, to be nice."

"Makes sense! Onodera's dad travels a lot too!" He smiled, with his dimple-cuteness activating. You smiled at him, finally pulling up to the gym. You always questioned why this place was so big when you came here as a child. It was a sky-blue, with silver and yellow Pillars. You thought that the Pillar colors represented something, but there wasn't a mascot. Not if you count the Peeling paint on the side making the deformed shape of a cresent. You softly grabbed Yuto's hand, asking him if he tied his cleets, or if he needed to pee.

"I'm fine, Mom. But I won't be if you keep making me nervous." He muttered slightly. You run your hands through his hair. Still leading him to the gym room doors. You see a slightly tall figure, with Hair that reminds you of snow. The figure had on a very slick red jacket, with words that read,

"Nekoma high graduate!" On it. It looked pretty worn out, with a rip on the bottom of the sleeve, And a cat with spots on it. He seemed so proud of it, doing some weird motion with his arms. He greeted you with a smile, tugging at the cloth over his eyesight. "Well.. How do you do, Madomoiselle?" He attempted, biting his lip slightly. You laughed nervously, and greeted him with a goofy-smile. "Hello there.. Mr Satoru?" You peeped at his colorful nametag before smiling back at him. "This is my little munch, Yuto!" You cheered slightly, giving Yuto a little nudge.

"Hey there, kiddo! You're the spitting image of your hot mom." Gojo smiled, giving him a little push. "You'll do great out there. Now go- I have to get your mom to sign me some papers. And maybe her number-"

You cut Gojo off, with a kiss to Yuto's forehead, and a few extra cheers. You smile at the sight of Yuto's feet scuffing the floors with his shadow, and tell him you'll be in there right after. Gojo looked at you, them gave a big smile. "Miss, you have the eyes of a woman that's trying to cope. What's the issue? If you don't mind me asking."

You sighed, reading the paper Gojo handed you. It metioned something about a new coach, and how they'll be games every other day. You signed your name, and replied.. "Well, Yuto is starting to ask more and more about his dad lately, and his dad isn't really.. Y'know-"

"Hm,, Sounds like someone got a little saucy, yeah?" Gojo joked, bumping your elbow with his arm. You gave him a smile, and muttered an insult that made him laugh. He grabbed the paper, and smiled. "Well, Ms Y/n! Even though I don't see your number on this paper, I'll accept it."

"I'm sure I'll see you again, Mr Satoru." You smiled. "But- It won't involve my digits in your hotline, Mister." Gojo laughed, and gave you another smile. "Fair, Fair. But I'll always be here for the party, purrrrincess~" He made a pun, motioning to the cat on his jacket. You gave him an "Mmhm." and laughed a little.

You walk into the gymnasium practice room, seeing Yuto talking to a very tall man. The man was very slender, with slight broad shoulders. His figure was dream-made, with long, gentle bu slightly big looking arms, and very long legs that moved up to his sized torso, and shaped face. Tracing to his hazel-pink hair, with a messy hairstyle. "Christ- What does this man do for a living to be looking like a full course?" You thought to yourself, trying not to stare. You sat yourself on the bleachers, looking at how Yuto looking kicking the ball straight into the goal, avoiding all the blocks and built-up tension of his teamates. You laughed to yourself. "All that talk about not being good, and look at you go. Kicking that thing with no mercy." You felt a presence on the side of you, as you looked over.

The man had sat bedside you, looking at the sight you were only just gazing on seconds ago. "Good evening, Miss." He said holding out his hand.

Why so formal? It's just soccer. "Good evening, sir! How do you do?" You asked, taking Gojo's line. Sukuna chuckled a little, and gave you a little smile. "That's that idiot Satoru's line, isn't it?" He asked, shaking his head jokingly. You laughed, making his eyes widen slightly. He had noticed your familar laugh, wondering where he heard it from. He shook the lingering thoughts in his head, and tried to break the sem-comfortable silence. "Is that your boy?"

You shifted your vision back to Yuto on the field. "Yeah, he's mine." You replied. Sukuna admired your features, your hair that blew from the air circulation, your eyes that sparkled in any angle the light shone in.. His eyes moved their way to your legs.. then your waist, which he wanted to touch, then your chest- Which he paused on. He fastly took his eyes off of you, blushing.

You look over at him, and ask if he's okay, because you see that his cheeks are a little red. "Yes, Yes. I'm fine.. Just a little hot." He responded. You got up, telling him you were going to get ice. He pulled you back down gently, and gave you "It's okay's". He wanted you to stay, so he could admire you some more. He had felt this before.. Like Deja Vu. He knew he'd seen you up close like this somewhere, but it felt closer. Sukuna was tempted to ask "Have me met somewhere before?" But didn't want to sound strange.

You smile, as he told you not to worry, and slipped off his coat. You still worried for him a bit, feeling his face to make sure it wasn't too hot. He flinched at the feel of your touch.. He swore he felt your soft hands on him once. And he finally came to ask. "Miss.. Y/n, do we know eachother?" He asked, adjusting his glasses.

You didn't know whether you did or not. You did know that his cologne scent was so mesmerizing, yet familar. You had smelled it somewhere.. And it was really comforting. "I'm not sure, Sir." He gave you a smile, showing a dimple on his left cheek, that looked just like Yuto's. "Call me crazy, but.. You look like my Little Yuto over there, Sir." Sukuna cleared his throat, and looked away. "You think? I think we look similar aswell."

You both realized the sense. With Sukuna's looks.. And your Genes, you both were inmates. Partners. Maybe.. Lovers. You refused to believe that your 6 year old kid's dad was his new soccer coach. "If you don't mind me asking.. How long has it been since you've engaged in those.. Activites Ms?" He asked you, trying not to be weird.

"Well, since I got fucked, and pregnant? Maybe a few years." You wanted to say. "Well, It's been a few years. Since 7 years ago?" You gave him an answer. "It wasn't really.. A official thing."

"Maybe we can make it official, Angel? I already know who you are." Sukuna asked himself, rotating his fingers. "I understand. My last encounter was also about 7 years ago."

"My next will be soon.. Angel~" He smirked to himself. "There's always a right time for everything." He smiled, patting your shoulder. "Maybe we can talk after practice?" He said, walking off. You took off your serious face, and started flushing. The scent of his cologne made you a little aroused, which you found strange. You wanted to smell it more and more, until you couldn't anymore.

Practice was finally over, and you went over to collect Yuto, who was talking to another boy. Yuto looked back at you, and gave a flustered smile, before returning to the boy. You always knew Yuto had some type of affection for boys. So you'd let him have that friendship. You went to go give him his tennis shoes, when Sukuna pulled you aside.

"Gojo will take care of the kids. Please, wait for me at the door." He told you, patting your shoulder. You listened, walking to the door. You saw Gojo doing some silly walk leading the kids outside, Yuto's new friend waved at you. And you waved back, winking at Yuto. You felt a hand on your shoulder, and you jumped.

"Don't worry, It's only me, Angel." Sukuna calmly said.

Angel. Angel. Angel. Angel. It finally hit you. That name that you were called so long ago. The name you were obsessed with that one night of your life. The name you had written down in your book. "Who are you? Sukuna?" You asked, backing away slowly.

"..Hm, I'd perfer If you'd call me Sir like you were." He smiled, tucking your hair behind your ear. "Go on.. Your baby daddy is waiting, Angel." He teased, loosening his tie.

"You can't just- This is wrong. I haven't seen you in years, and you want to just come on me like this?" You said, trying to push him away.

"No Angel, I'm trying to make up for it.. You know how lonely It's been for 7 years? Without the sweet, small little Angel that I love?" Sukuna asked, thumbing your lips. "Then if you love me, why'd you leave me laying in a inn? Not even an explanation. And you missed 7 whole years of your child's life." You shot back.

"Well, there's the rest of it to make up for lost time, No?" He whispered in your ear, nibbling it slightly. You flushed, and your breathing got heavy by the scent of his cologne coming back to you. "We're in a gym, Suku- Sir.." You whispered, getting nervous by the second.

In the car, wasn't maybe the right choice. You had forgotten how big Sukuna was. He was huge. You didn't think you could take him at all. "Don't be scared, I'll go slow. Get loose Angel, we're making up for lost time." Sukuna whispered in your ear, touching your bare waist. "Now won't you be a good little angel, and spread those legs for me?"

#jjk x fem!reader #jjk x reader #sukuna x reader #sukuna x fem! reader

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mymegumi · 4 years ago

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10:47PM

pairing: miya atsumu x gn!reader

genre: fluff

word count: 1.0k words

warnings: implied sexual content, & drinking

notes: my submission for @kyotarou ‘s 24hr collab!! honestly such a fun piece to write and i’m sososo happy i get to be a part of it hehe. hope y’all like it mwah

Miya Atsumu was trouble.

That’s what all of the ladies at the office said, at least. You knew him only because he insisted on bothering your department when he had a spare moment from his own work, wiggling his way to your side of the offices with only a simple smile. He was charismatic, charming and apparently a heartbreaker, since he flirted with all the ladies at the office, but never took any of them on a date.

You weren’t exactly sure if the ladies were right, or if they were just over exaggerating since they were in love with him, and he didn’t put in the same effort in for them, but you weren’t one to question it. He was kind to you, didn’t make your job harder, and his flirting was easy to deflect when you knew what to look for.

The women were right though, he was trouble.

Somehow, despite all the warnings and listening to your coworkers complain about his lack of commitment, he still made your heart pound when he walked into the room. There was always something about his smile that made your world tilt on its axis, not completely off-set, but somehow still a bit different than before.

His smile was crooked, you remember noting that the first time you’d met. There was a boyish charm surrounding him, already, in the way he tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, and the twang of his accent that seemed to differentiate him from the city vernacular you’d been so used to hearing.

Atsumu, who insisted you called him by his first name since he was a twin and was used to it, had sidled up to your side of the desks, lips curling into a smile as he noted your work. You don’t even remember what you had been working on, the only memory of that day was the way your name rolled off of his lips, watching the way his mouth formed around each letter as if he wanted to savor it.

Office life with Atsumu around was, in short, terribly dreamy, and you didn’t know if you wanted him in your life more or less. You could probably get through the stacks of papers on your desk faster if he weren’t in your life, and yet, you couldn’t ever turn him down when he offered to get dinner.

Like tonight, he’d offered to pay for your dinner if you left the office right when you were allowed to leave, and when his bottom stuck out like that, how were you going to deny him? The conversation had flowed so easily, and you didn’t want to leave when he had mentioned a brand of beer he enjoyed, something about how they were coming out with a new flavor only sold in convenience stores.

That was how you ended up back at your apartment, the night life of the city beginning to awaken as you settled down on your couch.

A beer in your hand, a cute man on your couch, and a heat in your cheeks that wasn’t from the alcohol, your night had definitely been one for the books.

The conversation was so smooth with him, it felt like the conversations about his brother and his family that lasted for at least a few hours passed by in only a couple of minutes. What was supposed to be only a singular shared beer ended up turning into finishing the whole six pack, the bottles haphazardly strewn across the coffee table.

“Y’know,” his words are a bit slurred on the edges, the ‘w’ drawing out as he tilts his head towards you, “I haven’t had this much fun in the city in a while.”

“I bet you say that to all the girls, Atsumu,” your eyes are rolling before you even know what’s happening, and you have to resist laughing at his look of indignation, “I’m not falling for your southern charm anytime soon, promise you.”

“Not like there’re a lot of other girls to be impressing.” He makes a noise at the back of his throat, something akin to protest as he leans closer to you, his hand on the outside of your thigh. “Y’think I have southern charm?”

You curse the way his mouth rolls over the r’s, as if they were falling down a hill without any hope of stopping. It stops you in your tracks as you let your eyes track to the clock on the wall above your door, hoping to find something—anything—to change the conversation away from the fact that you think your handsome coworker was charming.

“It’s past ten, Atsumu, you have to go if you don’t wanna miss the last train.” You try to avoid the way his eyes slide to your lips as you say it, something about the way his cheeks flush red from the beer makes your heart pound in your chest a bit.

He doesn’t say anything for a minute, instead letting his tongue poke out to wet his lips before speaking up, “I’m pretty sure I already missed the train headin’ towards my house. Think you could spare some housin’ for a man without a place to stay the night?”

“Depends,” you mutter, eyes trailing after his hand as it slides along the seam of the couch, “what’s the man got to offer me?”

“Somethin’ you’ve never experienced before.” His smile is sharp around the edges, fox-like and predatory and you remember him mentioning once that his alma mater’s mascot was a fox, now seeing it come to fruition in front of you.

You have to make sure you’re still breathing, because Miya Atsumu has stolen all the breath from your chest with a single phrase.

“Only if,” you start saying, watching the way he leans in, and you have to wonder if he’s leaning in or if you are, “you sleep on the couch.”

“If that means I can get into yer bed sooner, then that’s fine by me.”

The ladies at the office were right, Miya Atsumu is trouble. You like a little rule breaking, though, you discover on a night with a pack of beers emptied on your living room table, and a satisfied southerner that ends up sleeping in your bed.

#hqcorenet #24hrhq #miya atsumu #miya atsumu x reader #miya atsumu x you #miya atsumu x y/n #atsumu x y/n #atsumu x you #atsumu x reader #haikyuu!! atsumu #hq atsumu #grind for the wealth

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moonlightreal · 4 years ago

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The Fairy Animals: folklore roundup!

Season seven brought us a new cast of cute mascot characters: the fairy animals! These are creatures that live in Magix, unlike season four’s “fairy pets” that Flora created by bringing a bunch of plushies to life. Most of the fairy animals are combination creatures, maybe inspired by Airbender’s turtleducks. The deerbeetle, pandabat, and rabdor (rabbit/condor?) and swerret (swan ferret?) are all minor fairy animals.

The Winx’s fairy animals though, are based on folklore. And strangely enough some of the folklore that Rainbow was inspired by was… American lumberjack tales! Which is kind of amazing to me. They’re over there in Italy and instead of going for your basic unicorn/dragon/griffin/pegasus and instead of just creating original creatures, someone at Rainbow looked up obscure folklore from a totally different time period and continent and decided to go with it. Weird, but cool. So let’s hit the books and see what lore we can find on these creatures!

Lumberjack folklore creatures are not exactly cryptids; I don’t think people have sightings of cactus cats and squonks. I get the impression that they’re more like campfire stories, something to tell the newcomers about to scare them and make them more careful, and also to laugh at what you can get the noob to believe!

Aisha’s fairy animal Squonk is called a cry-cry, he’s an ancient creature from dinosaur times and his magic is to cry so much he can create a tidal wave and wash everybody away.

In folklore “squonk” is the species of creature, and they’re a tragic breed. The few drawings I’ve seen look warthog-ish but one of my books says squonks are flightless birds. The main feature of the species, though, is ugliness. Squonks have warty flaps of skin, ugly yellow teeth, and clumsy legs. And the creature is smart enough to know it’s ugly and be terribly self-conscious. Day and night squonks weep because they’re so ashamed of their looks. A squonk that is seen by any living thing will cry so hard that it literally dissolves in tears, leaving nothing but a tragic puddle to mark its passing.

Flora’s fairy animal is a magiwolf named Amarok. Magiwolves seem to be a native species on Lynphea.

Wolves are legendary in every land that has wolves, but usually in a negative context. In modern times we know that wolves are an important part of nature and their hunting keeps prey populations healthy, but back in the day when wolves were coming for the sheep you needed to make your living it was a different story. The Amarok is a creature from Inuit myth, a ghostly wolf that will chase down anyone who goes outside at night.

Musa’s fairy animal Critty is a quillcat the gang picks up in medieval times on earth. Critty was inspired by the cowboy legend of the cactus cat, and it is a wild legend.

Cactus cats are cats that have cactus spines instead of fur, branching tails, and blades on its forelegs. Unlike normal cats which are obligate carnivores, cactus cats eat only cactus sap which they get by cutting into cacti with their arm-blades. But cactus sap ferments so if a cactus cat returns to the same cactus a second time it may get drunk on the fermented sap. And cactus cats are mean drunks! A drunk cactus cat will rampage around the desert attacking everyone it meets with its spiky tail.

Stella’s animal Shiny is called a “shinygreed” and since Shiny shows up in Kalshara’s cave we don’t know what their native habitat might be.

Shiny can only have been inspired by the phoenix legend, which began in ancient Greece and Egypt. I swear I remember reading that phoenixes eat jewels, as Shiny does in the show, but I can’t find the reference now. One of my books says the Russian firebird drops pearls from its mouth when it sings, but that’s the closest reference.

Flitter is a techsquirrel from the distant past of Zenith. He’s named after the flitterick, a creature from lumberjack folklore. Flittericks are flying squirrels that can fly at any sped and have very hard heads. If a flitterick beans you in the head at high speed you’re in trouble. So wear your helmet, kids!

And Bloom just gets a unicorn. There’s enough unicorn lore out there I’ll only mention two weird things about Elas. First, his weird weird butting in on Bloom and Sky’s date, demanding to know if Sky is good enough for Bloom. In the lore unicorns only befriend virgins, but since virginity is kinda just a social construct every writer has to decide what their unicorns mean by virgin and why they care. Did Rainbow’s writers decide that their unicorns just want to make sure their bonded people make good romantic choices? Second… why is Elas’ name Elas? What does his name mean? I hit the books, I came up empty. The only possibility I can think of is that he’s named after the elasmotherium, an extinct shaggy rhino with one horn.

#winx club #winx club season 7

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leaderintitleonly · 3 years ago

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Anonymous asked:

Question for the mun: What do you think is the best or least bad Disney Live-Action Remake?

Haha you came for me too. Other than 101 Dalmatians in ‘96 which I hold to be the standard of Disney remakes... Here’s what you have to realize is my low bar of remakes: Do what you couldn’t do originally. Add something to embellish. Do not do a complete remake that’s word for word. Fix technical errors. Add for runtime if the original was very short. Alright so... Let’s start with what remakes I think are the most dumpster fire. That would be Cruella, Maleficent, and The Jungle Book. BUT GASP. Everyone loves that one. And okay. Okay I hear you. ...The remake removes all of the intentionally placed gay subtext between Baloo and Bagheera. Because you gotta remember, The Jungle Book is actually racist bs that Rudyard Kipling wrote so that white people would be encouraged to keep races separate. The idea is a metaphor to keep the jungle to the jungle and the civilized people to the civilized people. Yes, this is racist metaphor. BTW there’s a bag company called Kipling named after Rudyard Kipling and they use a gorilla as a mascot. Just... think about that for a second. ANYWAY!

Disney... knew this and turned this into an adoption story that is more relevant to the 70s. Instead of that crap, it is “Mowgli is an interracial adoptee and he has a right to know where he came from.” This was a hot topic in the 70s and is still a hot topic today. I would know. I am adopted. My parents saw this film and it convinced them they should become adoptive parents and did not care where that baby came from so... here I am. Rock you like a hurricane. Walt did something decent before he died when he touched this. He didn’t touch it hard and remember, Disney’s black animators (yes they exist holy crap) worked on this film. So. Yeah it’s garbage. That’s all garbage. The remakes either remove queer subtext (looking at you Lion King you took it out) that has been there for years or it adds things that tend to become really offensive when you actually sit down and take a breath (Maleficent sweetie really). A’ight so. So shoving that out of the way. Grudgingly, I pick Aladdin. And I know what happened. What you don’t know is... people are racist and needed Middle Eastern actors to tan because “that’s not dark enough for a majority white audience” so enjoy the colorism that is rampant in the Disney fandom. We could honestly talk about the discourse that happened and the harassment that followed all the actors but... let’s not. And I don’t like the movie because GASP I MUST WHITE KNIGHT. I like it because it’s a dull stick in the eye compared to a sharp one.

Jafar isn’t a pedophile. Rejoice.

Jafar wasn’t woobified. Get wrecked, Cruella. I hope the real Cruella rips out your hair.

Jasmine gets the bare minimal of explanation I needed. She wants to be Sultana. Sultan is too afraid because her mother was literally murdered. Historically, sultanas existed but right now he’s too scared.

Speaking of the Sultan, he’s not an idiot. He’s just afraid. When we’re afraid we can do foolish things and I deeply appreciated it. Like I could have gone for “oh this is why he collects toys” but hey, I got an explanation. Two seconds was all it took.

Speechless is relatable. Beyond relatable. And the scene is very beautiful.

Mena Massoud is an excellent Aladdin. I do love Brad Kane, but at this point I prefer Mena Massoud’s performance. He’s great. There’s an innocence to his voice and yet a very matter-of-fact when he’s living that Street Rat life. Brad Kane just Broadway’s it and while that’s still great since that’s the Aladdin we all grew up with, Mena takes me there slowly.

The first version of Friend Like Me is horrific and feels stiff. The credits version feels much better and as if Will Smith finally makes the character his own. Why we didn’t get that and a Bollywood style dance in the Cave of Wonders BEFORE the credits, IDK! But that’s a better performance.

Will Smith does have scenes where Genie feels like the actual Genie. Problem is... it’s inconsistent. And that’s upsetting because it looks like Will Smith knows what he’s doing so I want to “talk” to the director.

JAMS. STOP TALKING. ABOUT THE JAMS.

Arabian Nights has a much better rewrite. God like that’s such a bop and I don’t feel unclean like the first one always made me feel like that. Also the visuals of the ship coming into the port? Uuuugh. drooling.

I actually didn’t miss Iago. But is it because they didn’t use Gilbert Gottfried for the squawking or...? Hey, I didn’t miss him. You will not miss him at all. Turns out... Unless it’s Return of Jafar, you don’t need Iago at all. Which surprised me.

A little bitter it’s not Eden with Genie but hey, he’s happy and that makes me happy.

Okay but when you mix BOTH A Friend Like Me together it is ear candy having that duet.

And I know that’s the hottest take ever. These reasons are such a hot take... But I consider it a dull stick in my eye compared to a sharp stick. Cause nah really, all the remakes are accepting a stick in your eye.

#disney remake discourse #mun speaks #long post #you got an essay anon are you happy

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bookandcranny · 4 years ago

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Shortwave Radio

Why he decided to leave behind a perfectly good astral cluster and go sight-seeing on a spinning ball of dirt in this great cosmic nothing of a solar system is a mystery to the entire family, but it’s been almost ten years now and so they’ve all had no choice but to conclude that he’s not coming back any time soon.

The right thing to do is to support him in it, so says tender-hearted big brother Hercules, and if that means jumping through a few hoops to attend some strange human ceremony in this hot and lifeless wasteland, then that’s simply what they’ll do.

summary: Five siblings from the stars come to earth by invitation of their estranged little brother, who’s only request to them is that they take a road trip across the American southwest and try to learn to see this planet the way he sees it.

content warnings: dysfunctional families, carsickness, strong language, fear of abandonment, and accidental misgendering of a nonbinary character

length: about 7k words

also, have a playlist!

🛸🛸🛸

On a particularly sticky day in late July, a black minivan rolls up outside Gruber’s Convenience somewhere in the vague liminal world of the i-110 out of El Paso. Shimmering like a mirage the vehicle comes to a stop and five figures shuffle into the station. Working the counter is a greasy-faced teenager who calls himself Benj, though according to his nametag he’s Benjamin until the end of his shift.

If he weren’t intentionally ignoring the group that just walked in, resenting the loss of quiet and the cool air that just escaped with the chime of the door, Benj would notice a few things about them. For one thing, while they all look quite different, all five of them are wearing the exact same clothes: pale blue t-shirt, gray jeans, plain white sneakers, not a toe scuffed or sullied by the dust they kicked up coming in. They’re perfectly inconspicuous outfits, but too new, too deliberate in their banality.

The people in the clothes have much the same effect. They’re collections of ordinary, aesthetically pleasing parts assembled as if at random, almost uncanny at the wrong angle. Not supermodel pretty, but perhaps stock photo passable. One of them keeps touching things. Just, touching them. He trails his fingers over snack cakes and little pouches of corn nuts with an unreadable expression. Three of them are clustered together in front of the drinks fridge speaking in hushed tones.

The last one of the bunch is hovering in the corner making eyes at the shop’s resident mascot, Garfield, an uncreatively named tabby cat who’s taken to sleeping on a box underneath the AC unit. The cashier does notice her (he thinks she’s a her) if only because she’s kind of cute, in a straight-laced camp counselor kinda way. He’s already building up an idea of her in his head, every atom of it more false than he realizes.

The Christine or Sydney or whoever reaches down and gives the cat a poke, which turns into an experimental stroke.

“Mrph?” says Garfield, like cats do.

“Mrph?” parrots the... Liz maybe? No, not quite, he thinks. Garfield blinks at her, yawns. She withdraws, looking half offended by his indifference.

“Don’t take it personal,” Benj says. “He’s not very social.”

She looks at him for the first time and he reevaluates his earlier assessment. Eyes too pale, too far apart-- not ugly per se but definitely not worth the possible write-up he’d get for flirting with a customer.

“He’s the owner’s cat,” he babbles, scratching his chin and looking anywhere but at her. “Or so they say. Honestly I think he just showed up here one day and no one could get him to leave.”

Before she can reply, one of her matching buddies comes up to the register and dumps an assortment of snacks onto the counter. It’s a baffling, eclectic pile, but like any good retail worker Benj has long since learned not to examine anything too closely.

“Road trip, huh? Where are you guys headed?”

The radio behind the counter has gone all staticky. He fiddles with the antenna.

“Visiting family,” says snacks guy. His voice is soft and monotonous, a stark contrast as the guy’s built like a US SEAL.

Benj looks from face to face. “All of you?” He’s having a hard time believing any two of them are related.

He nods, once. A stiff, decisive shake of the head. The crackling of the radio is getting worse. Benj turns it off.

“Will that be everything, sir?”

Another nod.

“Herc, wait!” One of the man’s supposed relatives comes up behind him and shakes him by the shoulders. “Hercules, look at this.”

He slams a book down on the counter, one of the cheap paperbacks Gruber’s pedals between the condoms and the first-aid kit stuffings. The cover reads, “The Chest from The West” and features a heavily airbrushed model in a cowboy hat and unbuttoned flannel shirt.

“What am I looking at?” Herc asks.

“Get this too. I want to read it.”

“Why?”

He opens his mouth but whatever he’s about to say, Benj doesn’t really want to be present for it. He quickly scans the book and throws it cover-side-down into the bag. Let them work this one out on their own, hopefully somewhere else.

“Your total’s $29.75” He spins around to shake the radio, which is somehow now back on and blaring louder. When he turns back, the register is telling him everything’s been bought and paid for. Guy must be lightning quick with a credit card, he thinks.

“Huh. Guess you’re all set, man-- sir.” He hands them their bags. “Have fun at your family thing.”

He flashes the big guy a thumbs up. He looks strangely staggered by the gesture and replies haltingly, “Thank you. You also, have fun.”

“Come on, sibs,” the more energetic one chirps. “Cass? Cass, come on.” He drags his sister away from the cat, who’s just starting to warm up to her. “That’s you, remember? Let’s go.”

They don’t get any gas from the pumps outside. Benj is pretty sure he saw the testy looking one with the ponytail shoplift a bottle of off-brand cola, but he isn’t paid nearly enough to care. At least after they’re gone the radio starts working normally again.

Hercules drives, though it’s not so much driving as sitting in the driver’s seat and telling the van to go. Earth machines are simplistic and easy to manipulate. Slow though. Cass is riding “shotgun”, as is apparently customary for the navigator. Andromeda, Zeta, and Camelopardalis share the backseat, where the formermost is rehashing the same tired debate with the latter.

“We need to work out a better earth name for you,” he insists. “Myself, I’ve been doing some research and I’m thinking about going by ‘Andy’ from now on.”

“I’m not calling you that,” says Zeta.

Camelopardalis asks, “What’s wrong with the name I have?”

“It is a bit long,” Cassiopeia agrees. “A shorter one would help you fit in better.”

“Speaking of fitting in, something else has been bothering me. What’s your gender supposed to be?”

“My what?”

“You know, your gender. We all picked one.”

“It’s almost like you didn’t read the brief,” Zeta says, instigator that she is.

“It’s almost like none of you read the brief, that I took the time to write specifically to help you all acclimate to earth culture.”

“Zeta, don’t upset Cass,” Herc scolds.

“I’m not upset.” She turns in her seat to stare pointedly out the window. There isn’t much to look at, just miles upon miles of rolling desert interrupted by the occasional billboard or truck stop, all crawling by at a snail’s pace compared to the sort of travel they’re used to. Not that she’d recognize the analogy. She misses the cat.

Camelopardalis fiddles with their seatbelt. “Which one are you again?”

“I’m a ‘man’,” Andromeda recites. “Earth men are known for their physical prowess and carnivorous diet, they live in cave environments, and often congregate in packs called ‘fraternities’.” He waves the gas-station novel in the air. “I’m going to research their habits and perfect my persona. By the time I’m done with this I’ll practically be a local.”

“I don’t know… Zeta, what made you decide to be the other one?”

“Flipped a coin.”

“Women,” Cass informs them. “Can be most commonly identified by their long hair, fastidious hygiene habits, the use of traditional face paints to accentuate the eyes and lips, and by fleshy protrusions of the upper torso. Any of these traits can indicate an earth woman, though none are necessarily required.”

They throw up their hands. “How is that helpful at all then! Zeta?”

“What do you want me to do about it? I didn’t invent them. Hercules, are you sure these ‘snacks’ are safe to eat? They have a strange texture.”

“If you don’t like it, don’t eat it.” He punctuates the point by reaching back and grabbing a cream-filled cupcake off the pile. He tears the plastic with his teeth and eats half of it in a single bite. He barely tastes the thing, but he’s hoping if his siblings follow his lead their mouths will be too full to whine at him.

“Yeah, Zeta, don’t be a bitch.” Andromeda opens a pack of mini donuts, albeit more gingerly, and pops one into his mouth.

Cass whips her head around. “Where did you learn that word?”

He holds open the paperback and points to a page.

Austin hesitated. “I’ve never ridden a horse before. What if I fall?”

Derek chuckled manfully. “Don’t be a bitch, city boy,” he teased. Then he placed his large, calloused hand upon the small of Austin’s back. He leaned in and whispered, “Don’t worry, I won’t ever let you fall.”

The navigator leans over the center console and tries to snatch the book away but he dodges swiftly, clutching it to his chest.

“That’s foul language, Andromeda Alpheratz.”

“Earthers use this kind of speech with each other all the time. It’s a sign of familiarity and affection. You guys need to be less formal if you want to blend in.”

“If it’s meant to be an insult,” Camelopardalis wonders. “Why would they use it to convey affection.”

“Because they’re brutish, unevolved lifeforms,” Zeta sneers. “‘Blend in, blend in’. The rest of you can worry about blending in with the apes. I’m only doing this for Perseus.”

“We’re all doing this for Percy,” Hercules says in a chastising voice that makes even Zeta shrink down in her seat. “So can we please agree to be somewhat civil and not make this trip more painful than it needs to be?”

There’s a murmur of general agreement and peace is restored, however temporarily. Camelopardalis clears their throat.

“I still don’t really understand why we couldn’t land directly at Perseus Nine’s coordinates.”

Cass huffs, blowing a dark curl out of her face. “For the last time, Percy specifically requested we partake in the human ritual of the ‘road-trip’ for this last portion of our journey. It’s the same route he traveled the first time he came to earth, and apparently holds some sort of sentimental significance. It’s important to him we experience the same pilgrimage. For some reason.”

She adds the last part under her breath, knowing full well the others will still hear her. They can hear one another when separated by countless miles of empty space, their voices resonating from star to star, clear as a bell. Compared to that, the close proximity of a rented minivan is stifling. There’s an uncomfortable intimacy to it, these crudely assembled physical forms pressed together, bloated and heavy with all the trappings of humanity. Sweat and road dust and gravity cling to Cass like an over-warm coat and she longs for the cool estrangement that comes so easily in the void of space. It’s tough to be a star-dweller away from her star.

“The reasons don’t matter,” Herc declares, and his word is as good as law here. He is the eldest of them, though the concept of seniority is abstracted somewhat by the literal millennia they’ve all lived through.

Percy is the baby, as well as the black sheep of the family, so to speak. (His actual moniker among their kinfolk roughly translates to “the dissonant note”, a scathing insult for those who knew what it meant.) Why he decided to leave behind a perfectly good astral cluster and go sight-seeing on a spinning ball of dirt in this great cosmic nothing of a solar system is a mystery to the entire family, but it’s been almost ten years now and so they’ve all had no choice but to conclude that he’s not coming back any time soon.

“At least we can check one more stop off the list,” Zeta quips. “What’s next?”

Cass checks her itinerary. “We are to visit one national historic landmark, one ‘tourist trap’-- whatever that means-- followed by a stop at ‘Diane’s Diner’, home of the world’s best pie. After that, we can head straight to the meet-up location.” She glances at the clock on the dashboard. “We’re a little behind schedule but we should make it right on time as long as there are no unexpected delays.”

An hour and a half of driving later, Andromeda throws up corn chips and mini donuts all over the back of Herc’s seat.

They pull over on the side of the road. The desert sand is just beginning to give way to sparse yellow grass, brittle from the sun. Herc steadies Andromeda, looking viscerally displeased as he finishes emptying out his recently manifested stomach.

Camelopardalis frets through the whole episode. “We’ve all been eating the same food, except for Zeta. If it’s poisonous, one of us will be next.”

“It’s not poison, it’s carsickness,” Cass sighs. “Honestly, I’m starting to think none of you even looked at the brief.”

“Zeta, look in the back for something to clean up with.”

“Why me?”

“We’re going to lose so much time…”

“Would you rather hold him?”

Andromeda retches.

“Do you think Percy would care if we skipped a couple stops?”

“Cassiopeia Sigma,” Hercules begins sternly.

“Alright, alright. I’ll figure something out.”

Fortunately they’ve happened to stop within walking distance of something called The Trinity Site, according to the map. Camelopardalis and Cass go ahead to check another stop off the list while Zeta and Herc clean up the van and make sure Andromeda isn’t actually dying. (How embarrassing, to be a quasi-immortal astral being only to perish at the hands of a tainted twinkie.)

They wander from the roadside, following the map and occasional signposts, and shortly find themselves standing in front of an ominous looking stone obelisk with a bronze placard affixed to one side.

Trinity Site: Where the world’s first nuclear device was exploded on July 16th, 1945

There’s more but Cass stops reading. Camelopardalis asks her to explain what the plaque means by nuclear device-- they’re familiar with nuclear power as a concept, fission and fusion, ideas not far departed from the system of energy exchange that sustains their natural bodies in the heart of their stars-- but goes pale when she goes into the relevant applications of said devices.

“Wonderful,” she grumbles to herself as she snaps a few photos of the monument with a disposable camera. “I’m sure Percy will be thrilled.”

“Excuse me.”

The pair turn to see a man in a colorful button-up and khakis and a woman with a day-old sunburn peeling off beneath the straps of her tank top.

“Boy are we happy t’see the two of yous. Couldja take our picture real quick?”

The woman holds out a camera, a significantly more professional piece of equipment than the one Cass is holding.

“Oh, sure,” Cass replies. She’s nervous as she takes it from her hands. She’s never encountered this sub-species of human in her research before, and finds it difficult to parse the woman’s peculiar dialect. Both of them are smiling, but they’re also showing a lot more teeth (and a fair bit of gum) than she thinks is normal. A subtle threat?

Nevertheless, she fumbles with the camera for a moment before managing to take a decent snapshot. The man wraps an arm around his wife’s waist and she slots herself in against his side.

“Ope, wait, let’s do a silly one to send to Marsha and the kids. Were my eyes closed? No? Perfect, you’re a doll. We’ll leave you kids alone now.”

“Sure,” she says again, feeling out of pace.

“My nephew wears his hair like that,” the man says without segway. He’s talking to Camelopardalis, they realize. “It’s very… hip.”

They touch their hair. They hadn’t given it much thought before, might not ever have if he hadn’t pointed it out. It’s nice, they think.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

His expression flinches into a puzzled frown. Cass smacks their arm.

“Sir! Thank you, sir.”

After they’ve walked away Cass gives him another jab for good measure.

“His hair was longer than the other one’s,” they complain. “And the chest was sort of fleshy. How was I supposed to know?”

“We’re lucky you didn’t cause an incident. Earthers carry weapons in this part of the world.”

They rub their arm. “I don’t know, they seemed nice.”

Still they give a fleeting glance at the plaque behind them and argue no more.

They return to the van, now blessedly puke-free. Andromeda is looking better too. They all pile in and almost immediately Camelopardalis misses the freedom of being able to move without touching somebody. It may be their imagination, but the car seems to be moving slower than ever.

“How was it?” Zeta asks, despite her obvious disinterest.

“Uninspiring,” is Cass’ reply.

The other nods and doesn’t force her to elaborate. “I wish I knew what Perseus intended for us with this… chore list.”

“It’s not important, we just do it.”

Herc is always a steady presence, but even he is starting to sound annoyed with repeating himself. Zeta, of course, can’t leave well enough alone.

“If we just knew what he wanted us to do or say we could do it and go back to how we were before.”

Cass snaps. “Maybe you should stop complaining and make an effort for once.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

The car erupts into a heated four-way argument. Only Hercules resolutely abstains from comment, though his hands tighten into fists on the steering wheel. The fight doesn’t end in resolution so much as exhaustion. Everyone’s too miserable to keep hurling accusations and insults for the next hundred miles, and at length they lapse back into tense silence.

Zeta rests her head against the window, taking the arythmic rattle into herself, breathing it out in silent, frenetic melodies. She dislikes fighting with her siblings, no matter what they might claim to the contrary. It doesn’t happen often, or didn’t, but things have been different since Percy left home. The littlest star-child had a natural soothing presence to him, one that she’d long taken for granted. Earth is so noisy, she thinks. She strains to listen but she can’t hear a trace of him anywhere.

She tries to imagine what he’d say, if he were here.

“What are we even doing?”

Probably not that, but she already has everyone’s attention now so she figures she might as well keep going.

“I mean, we’re still behind schedule, we can’t stop bickering, Andromeda can’t even eat right apparently, and I’m pretty sure half of us didn’t even look at Cassiopeia’s brief.”

“Are you getting to a point?” Cass asks irritably.

“I’m just saying we’re all… bitches.”

“Zeta!”

“Get comfortable with it! We’re all bad at this. Me, you, all of us. So can we just stop blaming each other and have a truce in the interest of getting this over with?”

Cass opens her mouth, then lets it fall shut, sinking back into her seat. For a moment it seems they’re heading for another long awkward silence, when Andromeda sits up and points out the window with a sudden urgency.

“Look!”

Herc slows down and they see a billboard lit up in eerie green neon light, directing them to the next off-ramp.

Must see attraction! Visit the one of a kind Ancient Aliens Exhibit!

The star-folk look at one another.

“Is this what they call a tourist trap?”

“It seems likely.”

Andromeda is glowing-- in a very literal sense-- with excitement. “It’s an exhibit about us.”

“‘Ancient’? Speak for yourself, I’m still only in my six-thousands.”

Needless to say, they do stop at the roadside museum. Cass takes pictures aplenty and, to her surprise, actually enjoys it. Andromeda is disappointed to find there isn’t actually a display dedicated to their kind. Instead there are a lot of grainy photos of some squat, bug-eyed species called “greys” and diagrams of the Egyptian pyramids for some reason. He gets over it by the time they get to the gift shop.

By unanimous decision, they do not buy anymore snacks, though Zeta’s eye does linger on a cooler in the corner advertising “the ice cream of the future!”. Herc does however buy a number of souvenirs. (Rather, he convinces the automated register to record a purchase that didn’t technically take place, and bumps up the number in the bank account of one very nice tour guide while he’s at it.)

They leave with a mood ring, a handful of polished stones in a small velvet bag, a “gravity defying” purple yo-yo shaped like a UFO, and Camelopardalis sheepishly lays claim to a friendly looking martian figurine with bendable limbs. Overall, spirits are much higher by the time they make it back to the van.

“Hercules,” his meek younger sibling ventures. “Could I try driving? I’ve been curious about it.”

Feeling generous and more than a little tired of staring out at the road for hours at a time, he agrees. He shows Camelopardalis the basics and makes sure they know how not to veer off the road or into other drivers and then he climbs into the middle backseat and stretches out his arms so the siblings on either side of him can tuck in against him and rest. Eventually even the diligent navigator Cassiopeia begins to doze. It’s been a long day and none of them are quite accustomed to the burden of having earthbound bodies.

When Andromeda wakes up the first thing he registers is that it’s getting dark, the day reduced to a slim red band sinking over the horizon. The second thing is the yelling.

“What do you mean you don’t know!”

“I thought I could read the map myself--”

“What about you, navigator? What were you doing?”

“--didn’t mean to--”

“As if you’re one to talk! I can’t believe--”

“--and you were the one who--”

“Shut up!”

Hercules’ normally subdued baritone booms through the van. The windshield wipers begin swinging as if in indignation, while the passengers wince and cover their ears. Andromeda can’t remember a time when his brother’s frequency had felt so violent. The shivering resonance it leaves behind makes his teeth ache.

There’s a pregnant pause, then Cass slams open the door and begins to pace.

“Shit!” she yells at the empty air. They’re parked in a field somewhere, no sign of life save for the buzzing of insects and the rumble of a train somewhere off in the distance. Cass kicks at the ground and screams again. “Shit fuck bitch hell! We are so fucking lost! And so fucking late!”

Andromeda winces again and gets out to try and calm her. “Hey, it’s okay.”

“It is not! We’re probably missing the ceremony right now. Percy will never forgive me for this.”

“It wasn’t your fault…”

“I’m supposed to be the navigator!”

“Well, yes, but…” The words come out strangled. He touches his chest and realizes he’s breathing rapidly. His eyes are beginning to water as well. “I should’ve… I didn’t…”

Zeta hurries over to him. “What’s wrong? Are you going to be sick again?”

Without warning he doubles over and begins bawling.

“Hercules, do something! Something’s wrong with him!”

“Don’t… don’t… don’t…” he gasps and stammers.

Herc clutches his brother. “Don’t what? Talk to me.”

“Don’t fight,” he finally chokes out. “I don’t want to lose anybody else.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Percy,” he sniffles miserably. “He doesn’t care about us anymore. He has earth now, and all his new earth friends, and we can’t even do this one thing for him. It’s my fault. I knew he hated when I called him a dissonant note and made fun of his earth music but I did it anyway. Now he probably hates me and all of us and this whole thing has been for nothing.”

The eldest braces his arms on Andromeda’s slumped shoulders. “Percy doesn’t hate us. He invited us here because he wanted to see us.”

“Herc’s right, Andromeda. Percy doesn’t have it in him to hate anyone.”

“It’s not easy, but he chose this. He chose earth. We have to respect that.”

Zeta grumbles, “And just what is so special about this stupid planet anyway?”

“It has cats,” Cassiopeia says quietly. Her sister glares but she stays firm. “Well it does. And… people.”

“Strange, silly earth people,” Camelopardalis adds, nervously fussing with their hair. “Confusing and contradictory and fascinating.”

“People who hurt each other for no good reason.”

“People who are kind for no good reason too.”

Andromeda wipes phosphorous tears from his eyes and takes out the rumpled gas-station paperback. “In this book Austin leaves his job as a big city lawyer to follow the cowboy he’s in love with.”

“You think Perseus traveled to earth for cowboy love?”

“It’s a possibility!”

Cass scoffs. “I honestly don’t think he was thinking that far ahead. You know Percy. He probably crash-landed without any plan whatsoever. Or, he probably thought he knew what he was doing, and then when he actually got there he was terrified. And then he probably didn’t want to say anything because he was afraid his siblings would think less of him once they realized he was actually just as clueless about earth stuff as they were. That would probably be really, really stressful for him.”

“Are we still talking about Percy?”

She makes a wordless noise of frustration and kicks up another patch of grass.

Andromeda puts an arm around her. “If… Percy was worried about that, I’d tell her-- him! I’d tell him that he shouldn’t be, because there’s nothing he could do that would make us stop believing in him.”

She exhales. “Thanks.”

“I was talking about you, Cass,” he whispers. “It’s you I believe in.”

“Thank you, I got that.”

“I just… miss him, I guess.”

Herc hums in agreement. “Barely a millennium old and he’s already grown up and gone completely terrestrial. This past century has been the longest of my existence.”

“Hercules, it’s only been ten years.”

That news causes him to make such a face that Zeta starts laughing. It’s the first time she’s so much as cracked a smile the entire trip.

“So… what do we do now?” Camelopardalis asks.

After a moment, Cass grabs the map off the dashboard and holds it open.

“A little more light please?”

They step up behind her and hold a glowing hand over the paper. Her brow creases in concentration.

“Alright, I think we’re somewhere around here,” She gestures. “And we need to be here. There’s no way we’re going to show up on time, but we can still show up. We owe him that much.”

They get in their seats, Herc back at the helm, and begin trying to reclaim the distance they lost with the unplanned detour. Cass breathes a sigh of relief when road signs start to reappear. A driver honks at them as they pick up speed and Herc steers closer and makes their radio start playing at top volume. Zeta opens the window and a cool night breeze tickles her skin. The stars are bright and beautiful above them, and looking up, suddenly home doesn’t feel so far away.

All at once they slow to a near stop.

“What’s going on? Why are we stopping?”

“Traffic,” Herc says like it’s a curse. “Looks like there was an accident.”

“Take this exit,” Cass commands. “We can cut through the next town and get ahead of it.”

So he does and soon they find themselves driving through the quiet streets of Kismet, Nevada. That is, quiet until Zeta catches sight of something out the window and yells, “Pull over!”

“What! What is it now!”

She points, and they see. The sign ahead reads, “Diane’s Diner: Home of the World’s Best Pie”. They pull in so fast they nearly end up colliding with a stout aproned woman who’s pushing a teetering hand cart across the lot.

“What do you maniacs think you’re doing?” she demands as they clambour out of the van.

“I’m very sorry, ma’am,” Cass says in a rush. “It is just very important to my siblings and I that we get to this establishment.”

The woman huffs. “You’re a mite late then, I’m afraid. We’re closing up early tonight. Got a big catering order I have to deliver.”

Herc asks, “Are you Diane, of the diner?”

She laughs. “Close. I’m Maddie Finkle of the diner. Diane’s my mother’s name. It’s a family business. But what brings you folks here looking for Diane at this time of night? I don’t think I’ve seen your faces around town before, and I always remember a customer.”

“Do you remember a customer named Percy? It would’ve been years ago, but this place was very important to him. He’s our brother.”

Maddie’s eyes light up. “Why didn’t you say so! Of course I know Percy. And if you rowdy lot are his siblings, then I’ve got a message for you.”

“A message?” Percy hadn’t said anything to them about a message. Maybe this was his way of ensuring they actually made it to the last stop on his list.

“Well, sort of. Come, come, help me load up all this grub and I’ll tell you everything.”

Herc and Zeta go to either side of her and help push the wobbly cart to a truck with the diner’s logo emblazoned on the side. As they load the boxes, Maddie speaks.

“I first met your Percy when I was just a waitress, mama still working the kitchen. One day this kid walks in, looking as lost as can be, comes straight up to the counter and tells me he’s just fallen from outer space and could use some assistance.” She barks a laugh. “I didn’t go for the whole alien thing but that second part was a lot more believable. He looked a mess. I asked if he needed something to eat but he just said he needed a safe place to rest for a moment. He’d been on his feet all day, walking and hitchhiking his way clear across the desert.

“Of course I wanted to know where he was going that was so important, but he said he didn’t know for sure yet. Said he was following a melody, a song he’d heard from very far away that had drawn him to this place. I told him I couldn’t help him there. The only music we had in the diner was this old stereo system mama had put in when she first opened the place and it was long broken. Mama was too sentimental to get rid of the old thing and the repairman couldn’t do anything for it so broken it stayed.

“He asked me to show him so I did, figuring it couldn’t hurt anything. Then that kid walked up to the busted speaker and just like that it started playing again like it was new. I told him, ‘For that, I owe you more than a place to rest your legs. Stay in town for a while, let us put you up and get you back on your feet, or at least let me drive you to the train station so you can get where you’re going.’ But he refused, and before long he was gone again.

“Then, not a couple days later, spaceboy comes back traveling with this other kid, heading in the opposite direction. I ask him what happened and he says he was going one way but he changed his mind and turned around. He leans in like he’s sharing a great big secret, like we’ve been friends all our lives, and says, ‘I found it, Maddie. I found the song.’ Weirdest kid I’ve ever met! But they make a cute couple, him and that boy, and they’re some of my best customers to this day.”

They finish packing up the truck, Maddie leaning leisurely against the fender as she reminisces. Herc frowns, confused.

“Was that the message?”

“Yup.” She pops the P. “He just told me to tell you the story. Not sure why. I mean, it’s a good story, I think. But you already know all about it, right? You’re his family after all.”

“No, he never told us,” he admits softly.

“Huh. Weird. But then, he’s kind of a weird kid, yeah? I always wondered, is it all you aliens who talk in riddles like that, or just him?”

“I thought you said you didn’t believe his claims.”

“I didn’t the first time, but if your Percy’s one thing it’s… Perc-istent.” When no one laughs, she pushes onward. “Well, that’s all of it. We’d better get a move on, huh?”

“‘We’?”

“Sure, aren’t you folks on your way to Percy’s place too? I figured you’d be staying over, and I gotta get everything set up for the wedding tomorrow.”

A palpable shock ripples through the star-folk. “Tomorrow?”

“‘Course, what did you think all this was for?” She pats the truck. “I wanted to get everything ready ahead of time so we’re good to go in the morning. It’s not easy being the caterer and providing my lovely self as a guest on the same day, but I couldn’t let those sweet boys down.”

Andromeda slumps over, leaning on Herc for support. “Percy told us the wedding was tonight.”

The chef raises an eyebrow. “Sounds like someone’s been having a little fun with you. Nah, they’re doing some sort of get-together tonight since neither one of the bachelors wanted a bachelor party, but the actual wedding ceremony’s definitely not until tomorrow.”

“I’m going to end him,” Cass mutters under her breath.

“Hurry up now,” she says. “I’m sure the groom-to-be’s expecting you.”

The five follow Maddie’s truck away from the main drags, away from the buildings, the scenery becoming gradually greener as the road turns from asphalt to gravel. At last they find themselves pulling up in front of the house that Percy has come to call home. It’s a raised ranch, flanked by evergreens and patchwork plots of small white and yellow flowers that Percy’s fiance must have planted, and a tower of plastic chairs and tables covered by a tarp.

It’s a nice place, large and somewhat secluded, set apart from the noise of traffic or threat of nosy human neighbors. Percy’s sensitive to loud noise and, after all, still an alien living in secret amongst humanity. Yet as they get out and follow the caterer where she’s cutting around back through the garden, they’re struck by the sounds of laughter and music and lively chatter.

A group of earthers are gathered on the patio, smiling faces lit by a string of twinkling lights. A man with a guitar strums along with the music coming from inside.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Andromeda whispers.

“You think there’s a second Perseus Nine about to be married in this town?” Cass shoots back.

Zeta hisses, “Quiet, I can hear him.”

To his surprise, Herc can too. Above the noise, laced into everything he touches, there is a resonance, his baby brother’s unique personal frequency. To describe it as sound alone would perhaps be inaccurate; it’s a vibration, an echo. Percy is everywhere in this place: his whispers and his shouts, his twinkling laugh, but also the part of him that no human being can detect, the part of him that is still, and will always be, of the stars.

He must sense them too, because in that moment he appears standing in the doorway, bathed in its yellow light. His face breaks out in a glowing grin and he runs to greet them, bolting like a comet being pulled into his siblings’ orbit.

“You made it!” he exclaims.

Zeta snorts and allows him to throw his arms around her. “No thanks to you and your list of demands.”

“You brat,” Cass accuses. “You told us the ceremony was tonight.”

Percy tilts his head to look at her, his expression not half as guilty as it should be. For a moment she reels at the sight of him; the body he’s constructed for himself has aged since the last time they crossed paths. It’s subtle, the way his dimples have deepened into true laugh lines, and his hair has grown ever longer, though it also isn’t as tangled as she remembers. He is still himself, underneath, the light of his true being faintly visible beneath the skin.

“I was worried if I told you the real date you wouldn’t make it in time. You’re not used to traveling the human way. It can be messy.”

She grimaces. “You’re not wrong.”

“You’re actually here way earlier than I thought you’d be.” His smile falters, only slightly. “This is… everyone?”

Herc swallows. “The others…” he begins, but quickly finds he doesn’t have the words that should follow.

“Well, it’s not like I had enough chairs for all two-hundred-ninety-seven of them anyway.” He reaches out and squeezes his brothers tightly. “Hercules, Andromeda, It’s so wonderful to see you. Camelopardalis, Cassiopeia, it means so much to me that you came. I know it probably wasn’t easy. Zeta…”

She scoffs. “The only hard part was putting up with these bitches.”

Hercules interjects, “We shouldn’t keep you from your party. Go on, I need to get some things from the van.”

“You didn’t bring presents, did you?”

“It’s customary for weddings, is it not?”

Percy grins. “You’re becoming a real expert on earth customs.”

He shrugs and looks at Cass. “I just read the brief.”

Percy invites his family in, along with Maddie, who is perfectly tickled by the siblings’ awkward affection. After helping her bring in the food, Percy beckons over the man with the guitar.

“Adam!”

The man looks up. He has a boyish, freckled face and a head of dark curls that spill over his brow. He sets down the instrument and comes to slot himself against Percy’s side, thoughtlessly, as if that was always where he was meant to be.

“I’d like to formally introduce you to my fiance, Adam. And Adam, this is my family.”

His smile broadens. “Hey, great to finally really meet you guys. Percy talks about you all the time. Did you have a long trip?”

They look at one another for a moment until finally Herc shrugs and says, “Only about twenty-five trillion miles, give or take.”

The happy couple linger for a moment longer, sharing stories and talking about honeymoon plans. Adam is especially thrilled when Andromeda and Zeta begin to co-narrate an embarrassing tale from Percy’s childhood in the Alpha Persei Cluster. Eventually though the pair wander off together, leaving the star-folk to their most harrowing challenge yet: mingling.

“Sorry, what did you say your name was?”

“Camelopardalis.”

The guest, one of the couple’s mutual friends, goes a bit bug-eyed. “Wow, okay, that’s really cool. Kind of a mouthful though. Got a nickname?”

“Nick… name?”

“Like, something that your friends call you for short. My friends call me Dee, but my highschool nickname was Dent.” They point to a scar on the side of their head, just above their left ear. Their fair hair is buzzed short, making it easy to see. “Long story. What if for now I called you ‘Cam’?”

They consider it. “I think I’d like that.”

“Cool, nice to meet you, Cam.”

“Nice to meet you, Dee.” They hesitate. “Would you say you’re a man or a woman?”

Dee frowns.

“Nevermind! I’m so sorry, I just don’t understand the earth gender binary at all. Everything about it just seems so arbitrary and senseless.”

Oddly enough, their new friend perks back up at this.

“Honestly, same,” they laugh.

Andromeda joins shortly, having struck up a conversation with Dee’s partner who is deeply intrigued by his review of “The Chest from The West”. The three of them spend a while swapping book recommendations. Meanwhile, Zeta gets hit on by a slightly intoxicated young woman with an undercut and an eyebrow ring, although the star-dweller vastly misinterprets her none-too-subtle questioning about alien biology. Cass meets Adam and Percy’s pet dog, Chowder, and deems him as good a companion as the convenience store cat.

Herc catches Percy alone in the kitchen and the two have a long overdue talk. It’s clumsy but earnest, and when Herc mumbles something out about possible future family visits, Percy throws himself into his brother with such vigor that he momentarily forgets about gravity and starts to float off the ground.

“I’m sorry too, by the way, for the whole thing with the list,” he sighs. “It probably seems pretty stupid, I just kind of hoped I could get you to see this world the way I see it. Full of life and love and adventure.”

“And music,” he finishes, catching the way his gaze flits back to the patio. To Adam, singing softly and dancing with one of their friends.

He nods. “I thought maybe then you’d understand why this is so important to me.”

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to see earth the way you do,” Hercules confesses. “But I don’t think it was stupid of you to try either, and I don’t think it was for nothing.”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the mood ring. The friendly prismatic face of a cartoon alien glints up at him. Perseus takes the gift with an understanding chuckle and slips it onto his pinky finger.

“No, not for nothing.”

Tomorrow, there will be a wedding. Percy and Adam will stand in front of their friends and family and exchange their vows. Adam’s mother will complain about them not booking a proper venue for just short of an annoying amount of time, Maddie will bring out a ridiculously tall tier cake that will taste almost as good as one of her mother’s pies, and for once Percy will not be the worst one on the dance floor.

Tomorrow, there will be a bright silver band around Percy’s fourth finger, neighbored by a smaller ring in the shape of an inside joke, and with all the weight of a promise.

#aliens #original fiction #writeblr #short story #original writing #road trip #me? posting my writing again? its more likely than u think #lgbt #my writing

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