#and i think this whole set in particular looks good all displayed together | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

hippolotamus · 21 days ago

Note

🎖️ 🎖️ 🎖️

Hi, Renee!!!!!!! I hope you don’t mind me combining multiple asks from you, @diazsdimples and @acesartemis. I just couldn’t bear to split these sentences up. This snippet is based on an idea I shared with James and Jamie a while back and can’t stop thinking about 🫶💖

CW for mentions of death, war, blood, etc (putting it under the cut for this reason)

Late morning finds them in the tenth arrondissement, uncharacteristically serene given the most recent events. For nearly a week the company has been sifting through chaotic, disorganized heaps that Eddie knows will haunt him for the rest of his life. Masses of limbs, toys, bricks, cookware, concrete. All mementos of lives rearranged like a sick jigsaw puzzle. Pieces shuffled and dumped on the streets for someone to reconnect.

Their task is to seek out any survivors, no matter how unlikely a scenario that is by now. He doesn’t know why any instructions are being sugar coated anymore. They all know they aren’t looking for heartbeats. Often they’re lucky to find whole bodies. Perhaps it’s more for the delicate ears of any nearby citizens, though he suspects their hope is down to embers as well.

Eddie takes what feels like his first full breath in days as he and Tommy come upon a section of Canal Saint Martin. The sight of flowing water, however repulsive its contents, is its own form of healing for him. If he doesn’t analyze it too closely, he can pretend that it’s only water. A historic landmark bringing a bit of tranquility in the face of destruction.

The street itself is relatively intact, as loosely defined as the term is at the moment. He doesn’t immediately pick out spots of reddish-brown and that’s good enough for him.

Neither one of them speaks just yet, content with listening to the faint sounds of the canal. Not quite midway down the street is what remains of a cafe. Tables and chairs mingle, overturned on the sidewalk, glittering in the sunlight from shards of glass blown out from the windows and doors. He peers into the darkened shop, curious to see what other bits he might find.

Tommy wordlessly follows him inside, chips of glass and porcelain crunching under their boots.

“What’s on your mind, kid?” Tommy asks, breaking the silence.

He surveys the fallen shelves, shattered cups and saucers, tablecloths and napkins, the register laying in the center of a display case. He runs his fingers across the nearest wall, swiping a pattern into the dirt and dust. It’s not even the first establishment like this they’ve come upon, so he’s not sure why this one in particular calls to him.

“I don’t know,” he answers honestly. “This place-” He scrubs at his chin, huffing out a humorless laugh before turning to face Tommy. “Maybe it’s a bit of sadness for something I’ll never know.”

Tommy cocks his head to the side, silently asking him to elaborate.

“I’ve never been anywhere like this at home. Sure, we have a few places in town, but it’s- they’re standard. Small town. Probably not all that different from another place a few miles over.”

“Can’t say my little speck on the map is rolling in Parisian eateries either.”

“That’s not-” Eddie shoots him a faux annoyed glare. “You already know I’ve never traveled before. Never went farther than the post office. Well, until I had to get interviewed by Uncle Sam. Anyway, my point is, these cities will be put back together. Eventually. Homes will be rebuilt, businesses will reopen. But- they’ll never be the same.” He pauses, turning in a slow circle to take it in again. “This was someone’s favorite place to stop on a Saturday. Someone’s preferred place to meet a friend and catch up.”

Eddie meets Tommy’s gaze, shrugging helplessly. “Maybe even a place for someone’s first date. But now, those memories will be ruined. Stained by all of this.”

Tommy nods thoughtfully, as if he’s turning this information over in his mind. “Perhaps.”

He sets a table upright and grabs one of the filthy cream colored tablecloths, spreading it out on the tabletop. Eddie watches as he gathers two of the least broken teacups and saucers, setting two places directly across from each other.

“The thing is, something I’ve learned from all of this mess, is that even the most damaged can be restored. It will never be like it was, but sometimes it’s- better. More complete than anyone thought possible.” Tommy reaches to take Eddie’s hand, pulling him closer. “New memories will be made.”

“Yeah?” Eddie rests his free hand on Tommy’s waist. “So, maybe one day in the future this memory could be replaced, too. You and me, we could come back here. When it’s rebuilt. Stay at one of those ritzy hotels.”

Tommy leans closer, nosing along Eddie’s cheek. “Yeah, we could. Wake up whenever we want. And we’ll come here everyday. Drink real coffee out of the fancy little cups and share a basket of warm croissants.”

“Mmhmm,” Eddie answers shakily, feeling a tear escape and roll down to his jaw.

“Sounds like a dream,” he whispers against Tommy’s lips.

“Just for now, kid,” Tommy assures him, even though they both know it’s a lie.

He closes whatever gap was left, needing to kiss Tommy, needing to feel him as close as they can be, decently and in broad daylight. A risk they both seem willing to take. The taste of salt splashes on his tongue as their kiss deepens, Tommy wrapping his hand around the back of Eddie’s neck.

For a speck of time, slim as any of the fragments laying at their feet, it’s all too easy to forget. To pretend that the world is the kind, understanding place they need it to be. That their words aren’t a spun up fantasy, no more plausible than a child’s fairytale.

“We should get back out there,” Eddie murmurs, reluctantly pulling away. “Before someone comes looking.”

“You’re right, we should.” Tommy agrees and gives him a quick peck on the corner of his mouth.

Eddie sighs, looking around one last time, eyes focusing where his fingers brushed through earlier. It gives him an idea, however ill advised it might be.

“Comin’, Diaz?” Tommy calls from the sidewalk.

“One sec.” Eddie pauses at the blank wall by their makeshift table, once again tracing into the dirt. He smiles at his creation, committing it to memory before he joins Tommy outside.

“What was that about?”

“Just wanted someone to know we were here.”

np tagging @diazheartsbuckley @swiftiefirefighters @travellingdragon @peppermintquartz @lemonzestywrites

@your-catfish-friend @thekristen999

#i love them a completely normal amount btw #i am trying to give them any pockets of joy possible #renee tag 💞#hippo writes #hippo gets mail #make me write #make me write teddie edition #teddie #teddie ww2 fic #cw blood #cw war mention #cw implied death

12 notes · View notes

cuprohastes · 4 months ago

Text

The planet of terrible choices

It took Dave a surprisingly long time to ask, “Why are we here”.

“Philosophically you mean?” Asked Phalanges Mitten.

Dave “The Human”, an Adult female Tsin said “Not really.”

Phalanges Mitten, adult Human male — But technically a seven-foot tall dusty purple dinosaur, for tax reasons, squinted a bit at his friend and pursed his lips.

“Well in the long term, to provide an environment for replication, because evolution doesn’t really care why or how as long as you do. Medium term, to make sure the toilets don’t back up and short term, because it’s Delicious Unexplained Crunchy Food Stick day, and we wanted lunch?”

Dave examined his all-species ‘It’s not chicken, but you can eat it’ finger. She dipped it in some Aumu sauce mixed with chives. “I mean, you’re not wrong…” she said.

Leaving comments open to see where the conversation went was always a fun game.

“But no, I mean the station. We’re orbiting this planet right, because there’s something down there that everyone’s interested in, but not urgently. But I don’t think I ever asked why?” She said, and snarfed down the breaded mycoprotein with a frankly adorable muzzle wiggle.

“Oh.” Said Phalanges. “Well, uh, it’s of special scientific… uh. Actually, that’s a good point.”

And at this point, let’s introduce Cat Fantastic: Cat is an actual Atrix, but currently they’re about the size of a chonky iguana. Cat’s issue is that he doesn’t have a patch of chromophores on his forehead, which is the very important non-verbal part of Atrix communication.

Frankly, not having the patch trips some really severe ‘uncanny valley’ responses, and the Atrix just got over their tendency to stamp on hatchlings who are missing their display patch.

Due to Phalanges (Prior name: Dave the Human, which an astute reader would also notice is the name the Tsin is using) hanging out in the Atrix section, someone arranged for Cat to team up with Phalanges. Who and how is currently a mystery, but now Phalanges has his own ‘Little Guy’.

Which is to say, they’re hanging out together and Cat is learning the fascinating subject of fixing the station’s sewerage and reclamation system, and officially they’re a team.

Cat in this instance peeks over the edge of the table from where he’s sitting on one of the chairs munching his own lunch and says “Graaaaaaak”.

Phalanges and Dave look at him with surprise. “Really? Well, I’m glad someone looked it up.” Says Dave. “Go on then…”

A tale of cultural incompetence.

So the way Cat Fantastic tells it is like this:

At some point in the history of the planet, the inhabitants had developed nations and a couple of religions.

One in particular did very well due to the leaves of a specific type of tree: It had very broad smooth leaves which were naturally coated with an antifungal, anti-biotic wax. Which made them ideal for washing down and using as plates, or for wrapping food. Or, indeed, boiling off and making an effective topical medicine.

This gave the nation a bit of a boost. They didn’t get sick as much from spoiled food, their first aid was a bit more effective, and so on. And so over time, the practice of using leaves from plate trees led to two important results:

First, there were more people, so more plate trees were cultivated to produce more leaves.

Second, the people developed a whole set of traditions, and beliefs which codified into a religion, who’s main theme was that the people were so good and perfect that the gods had gifted them with paper plates.

And anyone who didn’t use them, like those icky guys over by the coast, who insisted on using wood bowls smeared with leftovers, were extremely gross and obviously not in favour with the gods due to being somehow inferior.

OK, so the obvious solution is to grow more trees, clear out all this useless vegetation and only keep plants which you can eat.

And thus agriculture was born, followed shortly by the coast people being forcibly converted into leaf plate using or mysteriously all setting fire to their own huts and vanishing, what a mystery.

You should definitely not look into what’s being used as fertiliser for the plate trees.

Anyway. This nation, very pleased with their righteousness, took their brilliant way of life and slowly nibbled away at their neighbours, most of whom were still hunter-gatherers.

All was great, hail the plate tree.

And then because they’d planted a vast monoculture, and cleared out anything that wasn’t food or plate trees, they caused a massive environmental collapse.

Due to the insistence of e.g. introducing a fast-growing, water hungry plant to a biome that couldn’t really support it they caused desertification.

They wiped out many ‘pest’ species and flora that was pretty important to the smooth running of the ecosphere, causing further collapse.

“Ah.” Said Dave. “Yes, I can see where this is going.” She added and nodded to the planet, which was not a healthy colour.

“Speaking from experience, turning your planet to dust is a real embuggerance.”

Phalanges nodded sympathetically. The Tsin had discovered space robotic space flight and, within thirty years, developed orbital bombardment. Then someone had determined that those guys over there needed to be taught a lesson.

And that’s how the Tsin spent the last half millennium living in bunkers and trying to restore a working biosphere from whatever their ancestors had managed to preserve.

It’s also the reason the Tsin are having an issue with genetic bottlenecks.

Phalanges nodded in agreement. Humans had done a number on their biosphere, but the remediation had been more or less working, albeit slowly and fitfully when the Wallandernook showed up and sold them a janky old spacefolder, and it’s hyperefficient energy conversion engine.

“So they, what, tried to outrun their environmental collapse by invading more land?”

“Graaak”

“Ha, called it…”

The People had indeed pushed further to plant more plate trees and acquire more Prisoners-With-Jobs to look after the farms, temples and so on.

By the late stages they’d even begun to realise that the leaves were the issue and that one could make replacements out of pressed fibre, or eventually, basic plastics.

Which of course were both problematic in themselves, and also deeply heretical to traditionalists.

And now, the planet was a nutrient poor world with a massive monoculture, slowly speciating from the original plate trees, with massive deserts and dessicated plantations, and a crumbled array of civilisations.

The cities and towns abandoned by the people who’d slowly gone back to hunting and gathering and slowly fading away.

And above it all, a station filled with people from other worlds who’d banded together to discover what history was left, and document it.

“Wow.” Said Phalanges, lunch long since finished. “Sounds exactly like the sort of thing Humans would do.”

“And Tsin” said Dave.

“Graak.” Said Cat.

“OK, but Atrix are different.” Said Dave. “Everyone knows you guys don’t use plates.”

#Station Stories #Tsin #Atrix #HASO #dave the human #cat fantastic #phalanges mittens

12 notes · View notes

wagingmywarsbehindmyface · 9 months ago

Text

hi, I watched the series yesterday and thought I could share my little essay here. please, feel free to reach out if you saw it too, and want to talk 🥹

[I’m aware I’ve been quite loud about it in the past few weeks, but as the book’s fan, as a historic nerd, and also as Jonah and Anna’s fan, I felt the urge to write something after watching the series.] As we all know, the story of the Holocaust has been portrayed on screen many times, some of the most recognisable ones being Schindler's List (1993; Steven Spielberg), The Pianist (2001; Roman Polanski) or The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008; Mark Herman) I believe The Tattooist of Auschwitz will become one of them. I think it’s very unique to tell a story like this in a way it was done by its creators. It’s important to know that the inspiration was the book written by Heather Morris, who meet Lale Sokolov in early 2000s, who was a tattooist at Auschwitz II-Birkenau after he was sent to the camp in 1942. He decided to share his life story with her, and then with the whole world. After hearing it, and then writing it, it has become Heather’s mission to spread his words. Although it’s based on his own experience, it’s historical fiction novel, which the author herself emphasises. [She said: "The book does not claim to be an academic historical piece of nonfiction, I’ll leave that to the academics and historians.”] The six-episode series directed by Tali Shalom-Ezer inspired by the book under the same name unfolds the life of a young Slovakian man who in horrific circumstances finds something, which keeps him going. The love for the Slovakian girl, Gita. The main characters, excellently portrayed by Jonah Hauer-King and Anna Próchniak, give the audience hope to see the light in the darkest of places, and that’s the most important message of the story. To remain human in the most dehumanised situation, to give love and to receive it. You can see every emotion in Anna’s face even though she doesn’t say anything in a particular scene. Her portrayal of strength, optimism, and faith in the centre of hell, brings out a light. You can see the pain in Jonah’s eyes with every "I’m sorry”, he whispers to his fellow prisoners when he’s made to put the number on their arms. They’re both intuitive, sensitive, and just brilliant actors, who carry the series alongside with equally excellent Jonas Nay as SS officer Stefan Baretzki, Melanie Lynskey as Heather Morris herself, and Harvey Keitel as older Lale, in the centre. I must say I was terrified of seeing Jonas’ portrayal on his every pace or look, which only proves how incredible actor he is. It was said by the Jonah and Jonas that they first created a bond with each other in order to later enact some disturbing, uneasy scenes. It enabled them to trust each other on the set. It was amazing to see Lynskey and Keitel acting together in scenes. Their chemistry can be really felt through screen. The idea of Lale being haunted by the ghosts of the past was incredibly incorporated, even then giving us the feelings of uneasiness, tense, and fear. As the director of the series said herself: "One misconception I would want to debunk would be that when the camps were liberated that everyone lived happily ever after. Trauma is a lifelong burden to carry for the survivors. This isn't a history lesson from the past. This is something that's very much alive.” I couldn't finish without saying something about the wonderful music that was created by Hans Zimmer and Kara Talve. You know it is good when you get shivers all over your body, and the same happens when you hear the haunting melodies of violins in the very first track. The whole soundtrack is available to listen to on music streaming platforms. This series is a must watch for everyone who read the book. It is incredibly well acted, well written, well made. You can feel the sorrow, the grotesque. The Tattooist of Auschwitz depicts the duality of the human nature on full display, showing the possibility to find a light in such a hellish place, and also unfolds the monstrous, evil side of what hatred makes of people.

#the tattooist of auschwitz #ttoa #my ramblings #no spoilers #jonah hauer king #anna próchniak #lale sokolov #gita sokolov

12 notes · View notes

avatar-saiki · 2 years ago

Text

Greed's Possession

Mammon POV, 5.7k words

Warnings: ptsd, flashbacks, panic attack, spoilers for Nightbringer lessons 8-13 to 9-2 and information from the main Obey Me game

Summary: I just wanted to expand further on the premise of these lessons and information I learned from the main game. Seemed interesting to explore a defining moment in Mammon's life.

Ever since becoming one of the Seven Rulers of the Underworld, Mammon had taken a liking to wandering about the city nearest the House of Lamentation and checking out the shops along the street. There were so many things he’d never seen before, the Devildom was still a place he was getting used to, and with all the different gimmicks and gags it was like any day could be an adventure or opportunity to find something new.

He wasn’t about to try any new snacks though, not without someone else at his side. Winning one prize was enough to put him off the idea entirely.

But.

“Oh hello,” he stopped at the shop’s window and peered in closer. This shop seemed to specialize in jewelry and other little trinkets, bracelets and necklaces modeled on a few busts while rings glittered in glass cases nearest the window. So many jewels sparkling in a myriad of colors, but there was something in particular that caught his eye.

“Welcome,” a demon greeted him with a warm smile and raised a hand to beckon him inside, “I see you’ve a fine eye, would you care to come inside and admire our other wares?”

“O-Oh, uh…” He took a half step back, then caught himself. “Nah, I was just lookin’.”

The demon’s gaze drifted over him, her eyes sparkling not too unlike the jewelry he’d admired. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before, are you new to the area?”

“Ah… sorta…” He looked down the street, unsure what to-

Wait a second.

He turned to her again with a coy grin, “I’m surprised you haven’t heard of me already, I’m one of the Seven Rulers of the Underworld.”

“Oh… wow,” she mused, sufficiently impressed. “You mean you were among the demons that tamed the beast? I had no idea.”

“That’s right,” he said, placing a hand on his hip with pride. “I was the one who led the whole thing too, I’m known as the Great Mammon.”

“The Great Mammon,” she repeated in awe, clasping her hands together and gazing at him adoringly. “Wow~ it would be such an honor if you came in to admire some of my work. Would you please?”

“Ah…” He hesitated, but her eyes sparkled again. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to browse for a few minutes? “Yeah sure, I got time.”

“Oh thank you!” She said, stepping to his side and looping her arms around one of his. “Please do come in, I’d be happy to show you around. Do you have a preference in the jewelry you wear?”

“Not… really,” he said, following her inside and looking around at the pendants adorning the walls. Some of them felt… different. Some glittered, but others felt… darker.

“Whatever looks good,” he said, and she tittered.

“Understandable. Well~ come this way,” she said as she led him further in the back toward one of the display cases. Inside were a variety of smaller accessories: rings, arm bands, bracelets, and ear cuffs. “For those that prefer to adorn without being overly flashy, I recommend these.”

“Huh,” he leaned over the case, admiring the polished gold and silver. “Why’s this stuff in a case if it ain’t as fancy as the stuff out front?”

She giggled again and walked around to the other end, unlocking the back door and picking up the ring display to set it before him.

“Simple, these are my most prized works,” she said, picking up a golden ring. “You see, I had to pay a pretty penny for a demon of greed to curse these for me.”

“Curse?” he repeated, straightening immediately. “Wait, why’re you tryin’ to sell me something cursed? I don’t want any of that.”

She laughed and leaned on the display case, rolling the ring between her fingers to catch a glint of light. “Are you sure?”

“Very sure.”

“But you don’t even know what the curse is~”

“And I don’t need to know,” he said stubbornly. Last time he got chased by a giant snake from an ice cream stick, he didn’t even want to think about what sort of curses could be attached to rings. “Thanks anyway, but I’m gonna—”

“It’s cursed to boost your luck,” she said just as he’d turned to go, “when you wear it, you have a higher chance at success.”

That didn’t sound like a curse.

Skeptical, he said nothing but it hardly mattered, she was still admiring the ring as she spoke.

“But of course, as I’m sure you know nothing is free~ the luck has to come from somewhere.”

“So does it make me unlucky too?”

She laughed, “Oh of course not! The luck is stolen from those around you, isn’t that nice?”

He frowned, “No, not really.”

Her smile turned to his direction and she set the ring down on the glass. “You former angels are so amusing, you know?” He tensed, but she didn’t seem to notice as she picked up a silver ring and placed it next to the gold, “But if you’re so concerned, you could counter the curse with a second.”

Counter a curse? He hadn’t even considered that.

“What’s that one do?”

She tapped a manicured nail on the silver, “This curse redirects any negative effects of curses onto the wearer, so,” she shrugged, “in theory, if you were to wear both, rather than stealing luck from around you, you’d be stealing your own.”

“But then how would that make me lucky?”

She smiled and leaned further onto the display case, lacing her fingers together and gazing up at him through her lashes. “Well~ there’s no way to know which you is stolen from. It could be the you before me now, or the you from yesterday, or the you from tomorrow.” She closed her eyes, “It’s a mystery, but doesn’t that sound exciting?”

“Not…” He looked down at the rings, silver and gold sitting side by side.

“Not… really…”

“The curses only take effect when worn, and could be given to a foe if they don’t end up favoring you.”

But why would he want to give someone something cursed?

“I’d be happy to offer a deal if you want to purchase them together.”

Did he really need more luck? It wasn’t like… well… more luck could mean more good things happening in his future. Good things for him and his family.

“Can I take ‘em off if I don’t wanna wear them anymore?”

She seemed taken aback by the question, then nodded with an amused flick of her tail. “Of course~ I don’t enjoy the nasty curses others might, I prefer to use them like the accessories we already wear.”

Demons did have a lot of tricky ways of dealing with things…

“How much would you want for them?”

Her eyes sparkled again and she picked up the rings, “Mm… well, individually I’d sell the gold for 80,000 and the silver for 65,000, but if you bought them together…” She closed her eyes to do some quick math, then smiled at him. “I’d be willing to part with them for 140,000 Grimm.”

“140— I don’t have that kinda money!”

She looked surprised, then pouted. “But I thought you said you were one of the Rulers of the Underworld. Surely you have some money, don’t you?”

He shook his head and shrugged, “Even if I did, 5,000 isn’t much of a discount. That’s barely three percent off.”

Her mood soured a bit, and she began to put the rings away. “I didn’t realize the Great Mammon was such a cheapskate.”

“Now wait a second-” He reached for the case but she snapped it shut. “I ain’t a cheapskate!”

She gave him a dismissive nod and returned the rings to their display, locking the glass door once more. “Well, if you ever change your mind you’re always welcome back.”

“Not likely, your stuff’s way too expensive,” he muttered and she sighed, but the sweet smile returned once more.

“I can show you some of our uncursed items, they’re made with the same quality but allow a purchaser to imbue them with their own curses and spells instead.” She said, already walking around to lead him to another display.

That sounded better, but…

His eyes lingered on silver and gold.

“Make it twenty.”

“Pardon?”

Silver and gold.

“Twenty percent off, and I’ll take ‘em.”

She laughed, “Are you mad? I’m not giving you twenty off.”

“How about fifteen?”

She raised a brow, “You can’t be serious.”

“Well…” he tore his gaze away, making his way toward the door. “With prices that high I can’t imagine those kinds of rings go fast, do they? I’d be interested, but only if you knock it down a little more.”

She pursed her lips again, eyes sizing him up and not appearing as sparkly as before.

“I’ll give you twelve,” she finally said.

“Yeah?” Something about gaining the upper hand in this negotiation made him feel… good. “Well alright~ I’ll be back to—”

“But,” She stepped up to him and held up a finger, “the deal only lasts until the end of the month. If you can’t pay by then, I’ll find a new buyer.”

Something about that felt strange, like he didn’t want to lose out.

“Sure, that sounds fair,” he said easily, “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Her eyebrow raised again, but she stepped back with a small nod. “I look forward to it, Great Mammon.”

And with that, he was freed. The captivation of her gaze left him and he stepped back out into the street, puzzled but… motivated too. If those rings really could help him, why not buy them? And if he couldn’t get enough money to buy them, it wouldn’t be a total loss.

But…

“Twelve percent would save me…” He tapped on his fingers, counting in his head. He hadn’t seen a lot of cursed jewelry before, so it was hard to go off market rate but if what she was selling really was legit then twelve percent off was nothing to sneeze at. Even if he didn’t end up using the rings for himself, maybe they could be useful for something else. He could even sell them again. The House of Lamentation was all old and creaky, more money would mean he’d be able to buy—

“That was impressive.”

He stopped and turned around, another demon standing behind him cloaked in black. Were they… talking to him?

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone negotiate so easily with Cleo before,” they continued, “it was almost like her charms had no effect on you.”

“Charms? What charms?”

They chuckled, “Wow, you didn’t even notice? Your power must be vast.”

“I…” He looked around the streets, but other than this new guest no one seemed to pay him any mind. “Well yeah, of course it is. I’m the Great Mammon.”

“The Great Mammon?” They repeated, stopping to stand beside him. “One of the Seven Rulers of the Underworld? That Great Mammon?”

“Yeah,” he grinned, “Sounds like you’ve heard of me?”

They nodded, “Indeed I have, you’re making quite a name for yourself, you know. Not many were brave enough to even search for the beast let alone seek to tame it.”

“Ah… well…” This demon was suspicious, but if they knew of him how bad could they be? He put his hands on his hips, deciding to play coy. “It wasn’t really that big of a deal.”

“I disagree,” they said, “it takes great courage to face the ravenous beast of Cerberus. And to tame him so flawlessly? Remarkable.”

Okay, they definitely had their head on straight.

“Yeah? Well, y’know how it goes,” he flashed them a grin and pointed at himself with his thumb to his chest, “I gotta look out for my little brothers. Can’t let some overgrown pup mess with ‘em.”

They chuckled and nodded in agreement, “Indeed. I can’t help but wonder what the Devildom would be like with more demons like you around.”

That gave him pause.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh…” They shifted a bit, face still concealed within the cloak. “Well… you see, not many demons will go out of their way to aide another unless they benefit. It can be hard to find help if one isn’t strong enough to overcome a challenge on their own.”

Yeah, that was something he’d seen in the Celestial Realm too.

“S’there something you wanna ask me for?” He asked carefully.

They chuckled, “My, so shrewd. I can see why Cleo took a liking to you.”

“Wait,” He looked back toward the shop, “Cleo liked me?”

They laughed again, “Yes, of course she did.”

They’d said it so nonchalantly, like it was obvious, but why did it make him feel… good?

“It’s part of why I thought to approach you,” they continued, “I have a proposition for you.”

His guard went up, but he kept it cool. “Yeah? What do you have in mind?”

“Well…” They widened their stance a bit, “After striking such a deal, you’re in need of funds right? I have a job in mind that would be perfect for you.”

“A job huh?” he repeated, but his suspicion must’ve slipped out because they were quick to withdraw their D.D.D. from a hidden pocket.

“It’s not from me directly, but one I know will be difficult to fulfill,” they explained, showing him the listing on :D Jobs. “There’s been an evil spirit haunting the mausoleum in the graveyard just south of here, and the—”

“Wait, how much are they payin’ for that? What’s this thing?” He grabbed their D.D.D. to read. 100k Grimm just to go scare off some ghost? Easy! Easy money! He couldn’t help checking a few other listings, jobs lined up all offering Grimm for just about anything. He could make so much money so quick with this thing!

They cleared their throat and he realized his mistake. “Ah, my bad.” He handed them their D.D.D. with a sheepish smile. “Forgot myself there.”

“That’s alright,” they said, the device disappearing within their cloak. “I take it you’d be interested?”

“Yeah I’d be interested! Scarin’ off some ghost is nothin’ for me!”

They chuckled and nodded, “Yes, if you can tame Cerberus I imagine a mere spirit will be child’s play for you, Great Mammon.” They bowed their head and turned to depart. “If you’re truly interested, I suggest accepting the job on the app before another demon comes along to take it.”

Like hell he’d let that happen.

“Yeah, got it,” he said, already pulling out his own D.D.D. to download and accept the job. Easy money, and once he got a luck boost he could make even easier money. Then just imagine what sorts of things he could buy.

The little chime of a job accepted filled his heart with glee, and he turned on his heel to head back home. Casting out an evil spirit would be cake, but it might be good to prepare a bit before the job too seeing as how he didn’t know a whole lot about spirits to begin with.

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

The graveyard was easy enough to find, and not even that far of a walk from the House of Lamentation. It was hard for him to consider that place a home yet, but it was… getting more familiar. Still not as fun as staying in the castle had been, but not ticking off Barbatos had its perks too.

“You guys comin’ or what?” he asked once he’d reached the gate, placing a hand on his hip as he turned to watch his younger brothers and the attendant hoof it up the path. “We haven’t even gotten in and you’re already calling it quits or what?”

Levi was the first to join him, tired and a little out of breath. “Shut… up… Mammon. Do you know how far we had to walk? Why didn’t you just drive us here?”

“Huh? How would I do that? Y’all wouldn’t even fit unless I stuffed you in the trunk.”

Levi scowled, “Why would I have to be in the trunk? Why not you?”

“Because it’s my car and I’m drivin’, genius.”

“Genius?” Levi scoffed, “Mocking my intelligence now? You sure you want to do that?”

“Yeah? What’s that supposed to mean?” He sneered back, “You think you—”

“Oh wow,” the attendant cut in, walking between them with their eyes fixed on the graveyard. “This place is huge.”

He shot a look at Levi, who flicked his tongue in return, then he turned on his heel to follow their gaze. They weren’t wrong, this place was massive. Tombstones stretched across the grounds as far as the eye could see, surrounded by a twisted iron fence that bordered the grounds. Trees long since dead sprouted in haphazard spaces between tombs, crows watching from their branches with dark eyes shining in the moonlight.

Another thing he’d noticed about this place with it always being night, everything looked so washed out and gray.

“Mm…” Asmo was the next to arrive, holding out a pamphlet and using the moon to read. “It says here we’re on the east side, and the mausoleum where all the past demon kings are laid to rest is…” he tilted his head slightly, reading more closely while the twins came up behind him. “Oh!” He pointed to a hill further in the distance, “Just on the other side of that hill over there.”

“What?” Levi slouched forward with a groan. “Hills? No one said anything about hiking up hills.”

“They’re not that steep, I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” the attendant said with a small smile his way, making his brother sputter a bit.

“Yeah see, this’ll be a piece of cake,” he said, reaching out to unlock the gate. “We’ll just go in, get rid of the spirit, and get out.”

Beel hummed and stepped around him to push the gate open further, “Do you think we could stop for some cake after we’re done? I’ve heard of a few cafes that sound really good.”

“Cake sounds fun,” Belphie said, skirting around them to enter the graveyard first, “But if you think I’m going to walk around this place all night, sorry to disappoint,” he stopped at the first raised grave and climbed on top of it. “You can have your fun, just wake me up when you’re ready to leave.”

“Belphie-!”

His youngest brother curled up on the tomb with his tail draped over the side, crows cawing up above his head.

“You can’t just- that’s the cover of a TOMB, Belphie!”

He’d started to make his way toward him, but the attendant looked up at him in surprise.

“You’re really not scared?”

“No?” What kind of question was that? “Why would I be?”

One of the crows took flight and swooped down, diving toward Levi before rising up and flying off into the night.

Of which, of course, Levi did not appreciate.

“Th-this place gives me the creeps,” he said, slinking closer to the group while his eyes darted around. “Wh-Why don’t you go on without me a-and I’ll stay here and play games instead?”

“Tch,” he strode into the graveyard, feeling a little smug. “You guys worry too much, but you can relax, your big brother’ll protect ya.” He flashed the attendant a grin, “Just watch, I’ll take out that evil spirit like it’s nothing.”

“Belphie, look at this,” Beel hadn’t listened to anything he’d said, more focused on his twin who was dozing atop the tomb while he knelt below to inspect the carvings along the side. “I don’t recognize this writing… maybe it’s not a Devildom script?”

“Mm… sounds great,” Belphie murmured without opening up his eyes.

“Yeah, real great. Now can we get back to—”

“Wait!” Levi pushed passed him, suddenly excited. “I know this! It’s an ancient Devildom writing style! It’s not in use anymore.”

“What?” Asmo looked at him in disbelief. “Levi, that’s amazing! When did you learn to recognize ancient Devildom writing?”

“Impressed?” Levi puffed out his chest and struck it with his fist, proud. “I studied pretty much every writing style that’s likely to show up in games and stuff like this! You know, so I’d be prepared!”

“Ooh!” Asmo cupped a hand on his cheek, smiling bright. “Levi, we’re so lucky you’re here!”

“Yeah! Except…” He deflated a little and glanced away, “I… can’t actually read any of it.”

“What?! Ugh, Levi you’re useless!”

Mammon rolled his eyes, “Alright, we’re gettin’ a little off track. Why don’t we head further in?”

“But aren’t you curious about what it says?” Asmo asked and he sighed.

“Well, I guess it means the tombs in this area are from way, way back when…” He looked at his brothers, even Belphie’d opened his eyes again to watch him. So they were curious about this place. He glanced at the markers, but couldn’t read any of the script either. Then he remembered they had a demon with them.

“Hey,” he looked to the attendant, “you should be able to read this, right?”

“Me?” They looked up at him in surprise.

“Right, yeah.” Beel stood up, “We’re new here, but you were born and raised in the Devildom. Surely you know what it says, right?”

“Yes… I’m so curious to know…” Belphie said, and if Mammon had to guess he almost sounded a little sarcastic.

“Um, well I can try…” they said, walking over to squat down near the tomb. “Some of it’s old and worn away, but…” They brushed away some debris, “Oh, I can read this!”

“Why do you sound surprised by that?” Belphie asked, and they gave him a sheepish smile.

“Just thought it’d be too worn down. Let’s see… it says…”

“Adam.”

Adam.

A…dam…

When?

Who?

‘I won’t take too much of your time.’

Where?

‘I have to find my lost love.’

Who?

‘Please don’t struggle, it makes it harder for both of us.’

Where-

Where… was…

Where was he?

Nothing.

He could see nothing.

But.

But he wasn’t-

Where had he been?

Where?

Belphie’s tired smile slid across his mind and he reached out to grab it but-

No hands.

Arms can’t move.

But…

They are.

Without him.

His body… was…

Asmo’s expression crossed his mind, his face twisted with a look of regret.

Not again.

Please-

Visions faded to black and he reached for his chest with arms that wouldn’t move, inhaling with lungs that wouldn’t breathe.

His body…

Wouldn’t respond…

Not mine.

It moved of its own accord, nonphysical sensations of the breeze in his hair and an embrace he couldn’t feel.

Were these… real?

Was he…?

Panic welled up in his chest, aching, crying, begging to be let out.

But there was no sound.

Please.

‘I can’t let you go, not until I’ve found my love.’

Please.

Love.

Lost… love…

Tears burned in eyes that could longer see, the darkness unyielding.

Lost…

Love…

Love.

Love?

She’d stood before them, so brave and unashamed.

For love, she’d said.

Nothing could be greater.

But…

Love hurt.

So much fighting.

So much anger.

So much regret.

He’d wanted… to help her.

To protect her.

Keep her safe.

Help her.

But he didn’t know, didn’t find out until it was too late.

He’d swooped in to protect her without fear, his regal white wings spread out to shield her. No fear, only protect.

Help.

His throat swelled and he cried out into the dark.

Scared.

He couldn’t move, couldn’t think.

Don’t take her.

This wasn’t what he wanted, why did Michael…?

Lucifer.

Help.

Terror seized his heart, squeezing tighter.

Take me with you.

This wasn’t right. Wasn’t what he wanted. What he wanted…

What he wanted…

Lilith.

Don’t go without me.

‘Don’t panic, if you panic I won’t be able to let you go.’

Let go.

Vertigo set in and he heaved a sickness that didn’t exist, the tightness in his chest coiling tighter. Nothing. There was nothing here. Nothing.

Alone.

Was this… all that was left?

He tried to call out, wanting to find comfort in the reverberations of his own voice in his throat but.

Nothing.

Silence.

Just like…

Weak.

‘Just hold on, I can’t focus on you. Finding my love is what matters to me.’

That word again.

Love.

Love…

Finding… love…

Love… hurts.

Don’t want… love.

Love is…

Pain.

Don’t want.

Pain.

Lucifer.

Help.

Scared.

Lucifer.

Help.

Hurts.

It hurts.

Why does it hurt.

Lucifer.

Help.

Don’t want to lose…

But… did it even matter what he wanted?

No one listened.

No one cared.

He couldn’t feel his body, wasn’t aware of if or when it moved. Head light, breath held he… followed… Lucifer…

Lucifer… would help… keep her safe…

Lucifer… would know… what to do…

It’d be okay, everything would be okay.

Lucifer knew. Just had to talk to Michael and Father, it’d be okay. Lilith, his family…

It’d be okay.

Okay.

Safe.

But… it-

Hurt.

Hurts.

Why does it hurt?

Can’t… breathe… hurts too… much.

Head… so dizzy…

Tired… so tired…

And… sad.

Grief plunged into his chest and gripped his heart, its subtle whispers tickling his ear, begging him to let go. Just let go… the pain would disappear… if he just…

Let…

Go…

He coughed, throat dry and tongue swollen. Thirsty. He was so thirsty. Someone…

Need…

Water…

A cup was touched to his lips, a liquid hot and bitter poured into his mouth. It scalded his tongue, the acrid taste making him wish he could vomit if only his body would respond. But the pain… eased…

Voices… were… somewhere…

Can’t… understand…

Can’t… see…

Fuzzy…

Wings… not like before… swallowing light, feathers tattered and frayed.

But those eyes… so red.

Lucifer.

Still… Lucifer…

But… confusing too…

Red eyes were… wet.

Tears?

Why?

Why crying?

Can’t… move.

Can’t… hug back…

Don’t cry, Lucifer.

It doesn’t hurt.

Not scared.

“I’m sorry, Mammon.”

Sorry? Why?

Why so broken?

“It’s all my fault.”

How?

“I wasn’t… I… I couldn’t…”

Tongue too thick.

Can’t speak.

Don’t cry.

“I wasn’t strong enough.”

Lucifer.

Touch his face.

Red.

Sorry.

Red.

Tried to… help…

Don’t want… to see cry…

More red.

Lucifer’s face was all he could see, his brother… saying something to him. What?

“Mammon, don’t you die on me now! Stay with us!”

Stay.

What does… that mean?

To stay…

Stay.

It’s a nice word. Feels nice.

Want to… stay.

Stay…

His heart seized again, jarring him.

No.

No no no.

Not again.

Losing feeling… again…

Don’t want to die.

Want to stay.

Lucifer.

Help.

Want to stay.

Don’t want to die.

But it’s dark.

So dark.

Can’t… feel…

Can’t… move…

Don’t want to die.

Want to stay.

The ache in his chest broke in a silent wail, the agony of his lost family crying out into the void.

Want to stay.

Please.

Stay.

Together.

Stay.

Want.

Together.

That’s all…

Please.

The air compressed further, squeezing every last breath from his lungs.

Fading.

Everything felt…

So far away…

Please.

Don’t want…

An abrupt rush of air filled his lungs and he doubled over, bracing his hands on his knees and gulping in a breath. His brothers voices filled his ears, only interrupted by the occasional caw of a distant crow. His shadow cast across the ground, stretched across the stony path with a menacing flair. The moonlight was… so bright…

“Wait… hold on… am I back to normal?” he said under his breath, too afraid to look at his hands and instead watching his arms move from his shadow.

“Oh, Mammon, good morning,” Levi leered.

He scowled and stood up straighter, only wobbling a little as lightheadedness lingered while Asmo tittered.

“Aww, so you’re back to your old self? Too bad… you were so much cuter as Adam…”

“Tch,” He shook his head, trying to get his thoughts to clear. What… what was that? “that sad wimp of a human thinks he can take over MY body? Son of a…”

“Hey, how about that!” Asmo turned to the group, “He actually remembers what happened!”

“Are you okay?” The attendant asked, coming to his side. “Are you hurt?”

“Dammit!” He kicked a stone, sending it skittering down the path. Anger. Frustration. Those were easier to latch onto right now.

Can’t show weakness.

“It was like no matter how loud I yelled, no one could hear me.” He said a little quieter, a little glad everyone else had already moved on, mostly making fun of him but at least the attendant was there to listen. He relaxed a little and put a hand on his hip, finding stability in the sensation of his own touch. “It felt… horrible…”

“I can imagine… do you want to head back now?” They asked, stepping a little closer, “Or do you need to sit for a minute?”

“RIP, looks like this night’s been a waste anyway. Way to go getting possessed, Mammon.”

“Ugh, I know right? And whatever the attendant did was cool but I’m so drained now.”

“I know what you mean, I feel a little less solid now. I’d better eat something to make up for what I lost.”

“My head just hurts.”

Mammon watched them all start to wander down the path, but he… couldn’t move.

They were all walking away.

“You sure you’re okay?” they asked again.

Leaving him behind.

“Wh… hey, wait!” Panic set in and he trotted after them, “You can’t walk away and leave me in a place like this!”

Asmo glanced back, “What? I thought you weren’t afraid?”

He stopped. Crap. He was their older brother. He was supposed to be brave, to protect them.

Don’t show weakness.

“‘C-Course I ain’t afraid!” He said, feeling an uneasy chill crawl up his back at the memory of Adam’s touch on his soul.

“Uh huh,” Levi gave him a disapproving look. “You say that, but everyone can see you’re holding their hand for dear life. Let go… now.”

Holding hands? Since when?

He looked down to see he was in fact holding hands with the attendant, and they looked up at him with a… soft smile, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

“It’s okay,” they whispered, “I don’t mind.”

Asmo gasped and turned to skip down the path, “I can’t believe it! You, a demon, are actually afraid of a graveyard?”

“Sh-Shaddup!”

Belphie chuckled, meandering after him. “I guess being possessed must’ve changed him? Looks like I’ve found something I can use against him now…”

Beel followed suit, glancing down at his twin. “Belphie, why do you look so evil…?”

“Mm?”

They were all… so happy.

Laughing.

Walking together.

Together.

Another squeeze of his hand snapped him back to reality.

“Ready to go?” They asked with a slight tilt of their head.

“Y… yeah,” He looked up at the sky and took in a deep breath, wishing his eyes would stop stinging.

This demon…

This demon was able to stop the possession and send the spirit away. How was that even possible? He didn’t even know spirits could possess his body.

The realization made him feel uneasy, and he squeezed their hand tight, the walk home nothing but a blur.

No control.

Just like before.

He’d had no control.

Only this time it was different.

But… was it?

He hadn’t been strong enough to do something… anything in the Celestial Realm. Now here in the Devildom, no one knew what to expect. What to do, how things could be. Most of what Diavolo and Lucifer were planning was discussed between them, a lot of conversations happening without his input.

Was it… because he wasn’t…?

“Well it’s been fun, but it’s time for me to take a nice hot shower to get all this grave dirt off my skin.” Asmo said with a cheerful hum, already heading up the stairs once they’d made it inside.

“My head still hurts,” Belphie said, holding his temple. “I’m just going to go to bed early.”

“I’ll join you in a bit,” Beel said, parting ways to head toward the kitchen. “I need a snack first.”

“Yeah well what I need is for Mammon to quit acting all clingy with the attendant.” Levi grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets and shooting a pointed look at the two of them.

“Why~?” Asmo stopped atop the stairs, “You jealous?”

“N-No!” Levi sputtered, “It’s just- It’s just weird okay?”

Hearing them all brought… comfort.

He felt himself slowly start to relax, the laughter and voices surrounding him making it easier to breathe. Making it feel… normal.

“I don’t mind holding his hand a little longer,” they said, looking up at him with eyes that… sparkled… so nice and pretty. “In fact… if you want, I do still have some free time if you want to hang out?”

He blinked, the warmth of the House of… home, finally settling in.

“Yeah…” he said a little dazedly, letting go of their hand to walk up the stairs. “Sure, I don’t mind. I know how much you enjoy hangin’ out with me.”

“Do you want to watch a movie or play a quick game of pool?”

“Whatever’s fine,” he said easily, so easily, his voice so level and calm. That, at least, was something he could do.

Until he was stronger.

Hide his weakness.

He turned on his heel and flashed them a grin, “You wanna play 8 ball or 9?”

“Either,” they said, meeting his smile with ease. “I’m not that good at either so you’ll probably win.”

“Ah, don’t say that,” he said, turning back to open the door to his room. “I’ll teach ya.”

“Really?” They sounded so excited, “Awesome! Thanks, Mammon!”

“Mm,” he hummed, shutting the door behind him and watching them set up the game without truly seeing.

This was… home now.

Home where-

Lilith.

He felt the tightness rise in his chest again, stealing his breath and making his knees weak. The attendant, either considerate or oblivious, busied themselves with racking the balls and putting the triangle away.

He could get stronger here.

He would get stronger here.

He couldn’t risk losing again.

Not again.

No matter what, he had to make sure.

Do everything and anything he had to to keep them.

Keep them and make sure they stayed alive.

#obey me mammon #obeymemammon #obey me shall we date #obey me nightbringer #obeymeshallwedate #fan fic #angst

54 notes · View notes

elvenbeard · 1 year ago

Text

2071

"Had to drive a thousand miles just to realize that this is where I belong... This is my home. I'm so fuckin' stupid."

"Some mistakes you gotta make, hermano. How else're you s'pposed to learn from them?"

Vince left Night City for a little less than a year in 2070. He'd burned too many bridges, in Charter Hill, in Kabuki... There seemed nothing left for him to gain, nowhere deeper to sink. Also, his mother had tracked him down two years into his hiding from her. Even though they parted ways somewhat amicably and Vince did not expect to see her again, a certain level of unrest had accompanied him ever since.

Together with someone he thought he was in love with at the time, he joined the backstage crew of a Korean lazrpop duo touring the NUSA. His actually quite extensive technical knowledge... did not land him the gig. It was mostly the good word put in by his acquaintance that was supposed to get him out of the city. But so, instead of working with the crew's techies, setting up the lights and sound for the impressive shows ahead, he ended up having to haul equipment cases most days.

Needless to say, the experience was underwhelming. Combined with his relationship turning sour halfway into the trip, Vince suffered from the worst homesickness ever - for Night City, of all places, the city and the people that had continued to wrong him so many times over, with their games and intrigues.

One thing though Night City had done very right: Jackie Welles. The first person who sincerely liked Vince for who he was, no ulterior motives. The first true friend whose intentions he no longer doubted, that would have his back no questions asked, and vice versa.

Bonding with him over their shared experiences with abusive parents, Jackie was to Vince the older brother he had never had. Naturally, Jackie was there to pick him up when Vince returned to Night City in 2071, disillusioned, alone, and uncertain about his future more than ever. But Jackie always seemed to know someone or something that could be done to get Vince back on his feet.

Night City had changed as much as Vince had during his short-lived, self-inflicted exile. The Unification War was over, Night City a free city. Most importantly though - unbeknownst to both Vince and Jackie still - the old, powerful corporation that had returned to the city's heart with its new, rebuilt headquarters, would forever change their lives just a few years down the line...

Vince through the years (3/9)

For today's behind the scenes ramblings: a few thoughts on something I've been noticing on my VP journey lately...

No matter where you go... I think in any scenic location near Night City, you can see the Arasaka logo somehwere in the background, and I think it's done very purposefully by the environment designers XD It's either the clover, or the whole word "arasaka" spelled out, glowing somewhere on the side of a building or an ad display. It is often there in important story scenes somewhere, too, subtle in the background, a constant, subconscious reminder to V (you know... apart from the constant, subconscious bickering at the hands of Johnny XD).

Arasaka Tower itself is also extremely prominent, unmistakeable with its shape, whenever I'm taking pics lately that are in slightly elevated locaions I look around to see if I can spot it XD And I chose this spot specifically because it's so nicely visible from there, too...

This was one of my very first shoots with AMM - don't think I ever shared these (and wanna recreate them badly now). Just Vince and Johnny pondering the next move, what they're gonna do and say during the meeting with Hanako, Arasaka Tower in clear view in the distance, almost as if it's taunting them.

This particular spot is very important to Vince... as mentioned, it's where Jackie picked him up after he returned to Night City in 2071, but it's more than that. Jackie showed him the place shortly after they became friends, to give Vince a "different perspective" on Night City he wasn't really aware of then, with his sheltered upbrining and the circles he moved in. It's by the dam, overlooking Rancho Coronado, and in few other places the extreme difference between poverty and wealth appears quite as jarring.

In the years to come after this first visit here, it develops into a favourite meeting spot of Vince and Jackie to discuss all manners of things in quiet and relative private... here is where, just a year later, Vince tells him that he's gonna take on a job at Arasaka 👀 And Vince is drawn back there over and over again, even when Jackie can no longer meet him there.

It's simply where he still feels closest to Jackie, due to so many important conversations they had here...

... and he takes Kerry here, later, too, to get away from the city for a little while, talk about the past and the future.

Sometimes he comes over on his own when he needs some quiet time to think, too. What would Jackie do now? What would he suggest? Does it all even matter in the grand scheme of things? What is really important right now, and what can wait for later?

It's the perfect spot to clear your mind, and gorgeous at every time of day <3

Also, I wrote above that Vince was homesick for Night City... but it was less Night City that he missed, but Jackie's presence.

#cyberpunk 2077 #male v cyberpunk #cyberpunk v #corpo v #jackie welles #cp2077 #cyberpunk vp #cp2077 vp #vincent ezaki #my vp #cyberpunk 2077 spoilers #vince through the years #I'm so soft for their friendship hhhhhh ;____;#still working out some details for them for my personal canon re: vince's time at arasaka #I wanna include all the known canon stuff as best as I can #also... in case you couldn't tell XD Vince definitely had a big old crush on Jackie #well... maybe not big old but if Jackie had ever said anything Vince wouldn't have turned him down #by 2077 it had faded to background noise - and also there was Misty now and Vince was really happy about how happy she made Jackie #so it's all good xD #but around the time these pics are set... he's not homesick for Night City #he's homesick for Jackie #even more so after his relationship then - his first serious relationship with another guy mind you - went to shit

32 notes · View notes

fordarkisthesuede · 1 year ago

Text

Batman the TellTale Series: Fangs of Ouroboros - Prologue

Over the years, Bruce has found that his life as Batman had a particular cycle. Like the ouroboros, his fight against crime would come to a head with a large, almost overwhelming and violent case before tapering out and starting anew. Batman, and his mission, would seemingly continue on ad infinitum. He’s at that point of the cycle again. He knows seemingly nothing will rest until a whole new row in each city cemetery is filled. Only this time, with his upcoming nuptials a mess, one too many foes roaming the streets, and his alter-ego being framed for murder by a ghost, he can feel it… The snake’s fangs are digging in, grating against the scales, threatening to cut off the tail for good.

[Read on Ao3] | <next>

Blood stains streaked over the walls and floor. Half the furniture sat toppled, scattering the remains of a small apartment. Two corpses could be seen; one by the dilapidated sofa and the other by the broken dining set.

Just another night in Gotham. Another crime scene for Batman to investigate. Another murder to solve.

Or it would have been, if the corpses weren’t so obviously mannequins.

Bruce heard broken glass crunch softly under his boot as he made his way towards the table. A rat scurried away, leaving crumbs behind on the wooden cutting board. The smell of roquefort cheese and stone-ground mustard was notable, even though the local rodents had clearly eaten what looked like ninety-percent of the charcuterie board.

The blood was fake, just a shade or two too red now that he looked closer under the dim lamp light. The face of the ‘corpse’ had a silly frown drawn on it, along with ‘x’s over the eyes. What looked like a heart monitor tag peeked out from the opening in the blouse. The sort they used on crash-test dummies.

There came a tiny fwhum like when an old television set turned on, and Bruce turned to look at the messy makeshift living room.

The dim black screen flickered to a face he knew all too well.

“Wellity-wellity-well - look at what the bat dragged in!” Joker grinned from the dark. “Hiya, sweetums! You’re a little later than I thought. Don’t tell me: I already know, courtesy of our dear, omniscient Oracle. So many crimes, so little time! Well, don’t worry,” he leaned back in his chair, the painted scales on his green vest gleaming in the shift of light. “You have pleeenty of time to investigate my little murder scene. I did make it for you, after all.”

Bruce shot a look at the glass he’d stepped on. He switched his cowl’s vision mode - sure enough, a thin red beam of light shot across the floor at too high a height for a rat to scurry over.

An infrared trip wire. Common security tactic. He should have thought to look first.

“Neat, right? I’m thinking about putting one around my little closet. Tiff’ almost opened it when we were hanging out the other day. And I reeeally don’t want to scar her for life. Ha, well, you know - again.”

Bruce stared at the fake scene in front of him. He wasn’t sure if he should really ask the gently-nagging question at the back of his head, but it came out anyway: “Why are you doing this?”

Joker’s grin faltered and shrunk into a disappointed pout. “Oh, Batsy - I know you read my card. It’s why you’re even here!” He flourished with a gesture at where Bruce was standing before the camera. “You know, we really don’t spend enough time together like this,” he added, leaning his cheek into his hand with a flirty little smile, “all…mano e mano. But don’t wait around on my account - I’m sure something else in here caught your undivided attention.”

Bruce took the hint and turned away from the television to look at the table. With Joker unable to see him, he took the opportunity to look at the picture he’d snapped of the card he’d received in the office mail, now displayed on his gauntlet.

It was one of the sample invitations the latest wedding planner had shown Bruce a little over a week ago, but with the lavender envelope unceremoniously stuffed with heart-shaped confetti and the location in the invite written as coordinates. Underneath the embossed cursive of ‘Join us for a very special day…’, scrawled in John’s unmistakable handwriting, was “Life’s a game, so let’s play! ♡ Love, Your Joker”.

He glanced at the ‘body’ slumped at the table. The joke was not lost on him.

He didn’t entirely understand why John was doing this, but the phrase mano e mano felt appropriate. He’d clearly have to play this one-versus-one game with Joker to get an answer.

The faux-bodies weren’t dressed in anything familiar. Just two very old and tired suits. Bruce had a nagging suspicion Joker had fished them out of the garbage. Probably along with the mannequins.

The nearest sat at the table, with chipped painted eyelashes and lipstick, sporting red paint dripping down from the neck into a once white collar and a fork stuck in one polished hand. Closer inspection showed many little dents and spots of red, like someone had stabbed it six times. Bruce set the miniature drone from his belt to scan the whole room for reference.

The other hand was tied tightly to the chair with a zip-tie, a gold line painted on the ring finger. A glance at the feet (only one of which wore a red stiletto heel) showed both tied in the same manner.

“Don’t keep your thoughts to yourself, detective,” Joker told him, “Go ahead, walk me through what you’re deducing.”

Impatient as always, Bruce thought to himself. “Clearly, this would-be-victim was tortured for information before they were ultimately killed,” Bruce answered. Bruce used the BatComputer connection on his gauntlet to scan the heart-monitor tag. “The ‘heart’ stopped at 12:15AM two days ago.”

“Ooh, very good, Batsy,” John said with a little round of applause. “Now you know what I was doing when I slipped away on patrol the other night, ha ha ha!”

For a moment, Bruce thought about asking just how he set the whole thing up. But the question died on his tongue before he had the chance to ask; the truth was that he didn’t really want to know. And he doubted John – Joker persona or no – would actually tell him. That was part of the game.

Bruce took one last look at the table setting. Both dinner knives were missing, as well as the other fork. The napkin by the empty seat was proper linen, still folded to show off an “S” embroidered in the corner. The wine glass was half-filled with white wine, which had a sweeter bouquet reminiscent of Moscato.

He cast his attention to the living room area, catching Joker’s eye on the television set. That red grin of his widened a bit more, too-green eyes lit up in the way they often did when Batman had one of his more violent cases. Or when he opposed him on the gym mat, ready to dodge and lunge and mirror his moves like they were dancing instead of practicing fighting.

Bruce tore his gaze away from him, heart thumping and trying not to think about the last time he’d pinned John to the vinyl, where sweat and primal urges had overtaken their senses.

He honed in on the second ‘body’, lying on the couch with a dinner knife stuck in the torso, where it would’ve gouged the lung but missed the heart outright. A matching line of gold was painted on the left hand, just like on the other ‘victim’. Purple and blue spots were painted on the face to show bruising; Bruce lifted the dress shirt to see more on the torso, indicating a fight had taken place.

The wine bottle was broken on the floor further away, a sticky stain gleaming on the carpet. The other utensils littered the floor, all likely thrown by the married partner at the table in an attempt to hit the ‘killer’.

The use of the dinner knife in place of a gunshot or one of Joker’s other knives indicated that the would-be-killer didn’t come there to kill him…

“Bat in your belfry?” Joker asked from the television.

“The stabbed victim must have known the killer,” he answered, “His place at the table was undisturbed, meaning he got up to answer the door; a fight broke out. The partner tried to save the victim by hurling the dinnerware and the wine – the victim was stabbed with the dinner knife, and bled out on the couch while the killer turned towards the partner and proceeded to try and torture the information out of them.”

“Bra-vo!” Joker clapped earnestly. “I didn’t make it too easy, did I? Hah, of course not – you don’t know the why yet.”

Bruce shifted through the dummy’s pockets. No wallet (of course), but there was a key hidden in his ticket pocket. The key to his heart, Bruce surmised, seeing the Joker-esque pun in the placement. Having learned to pick locks at the age of twelve, he knew the shape and size of the key indicated a simple locker. Like that of a gym or an indoor pool. Some place John would be able to walk into without a care…if he didn’t get someone else to do it for him, anyway.

So the makeshift crime was hiding something in a public locker, the location of which was kept secret from the partner tied to the table, or else the key would’ve been discovered. But they must have divulged something, or else there would be more wounds on the ‘body’ at the table…

The floor rocked underneath Bruce’s boots with the familiar crackling boom of an explosion somewhere underneath.

“Okay, before you ask, that wasn’t me,” Joker said in mock-defensiveness.

Bruce glimpsed the plume of smoke rising outside the window. Judging by the height of the smoke and the sound earlier, it was likely two floors underneath him. Something powerful enough to rattle the floor but not enough to break through more than one floor. He slid the pane open and leaned out - exactly as he thought. “I have -”

“- to go!” Joker quickly finished for him, “Yeah, obviously! Just fill me in later!”

Bruce grabbed his smoke-filtering mask from the back of his belt, clicked it into place with the rest of his helmet, and stuck the end of his grappling hook firmly to the window ledge before swinging himself out and down to the third floor.

The broken window led into what was once a used office now set ablaze. Bruce could feel the searing heat hit his face as if he’d walked into an oven.

Scorch marks stemmed from what was left of the cheap metal filing cabinet in the corner with the remains of a homemade explosive in the very center. Several feet away lied a very real corpse amongst burnt scraps of paper, the charred remains of an old laptop, and a broken whiskey bottle.

The face was too burnt from the intense heat of the explosion to tell him much. Male Caucasian, mid-thirties maybe, if not a little younger if the build and clothes were anything to go by. The digital clock face of the bomb timer, now fairly melted, lay near his head.

The old sprinkler system kicked on just as Bruce bent over the body to pick out the wallet from the man’s back pocket. Droplets rolled down the clear plastic of the ID showing the once-bushy eyebrows of one Mr. Rocky Hopper .

The door to the small office was still closed, the old letters someone had once painted on reading “Hartright Detective Agency”.

Bruce knew that name. Richard Hartright was once with the GCPD, going private about five years ago. And more importantly, up until her ‘disappearance’, he was one of Vicki Vale’s primary sources.

Bruce stared at the smoking body on the floor. The easiest explanation was that someone wanted to destroy Detective Hartright and his files and just mis-wired the bomb.

But as he was so often reminded, things in Gotham were never easy.

He re-enabled the earpiece in his cowl. “Oracle, I need information on Rocky Hopper.”

“On it,” Iman’s voice crackled through the comm-link. Bruce cast a look down at the body. “And send a cadaver alert to Gordon.”

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

Author Notes: We're here at last, my friends!!! SEASON FIIIIVVVEEEE!

It only took, like, two extra years to get here. But with a very good reason. Some of which I will divulge at a later, less spoilery date. But the short, short version is that a certain character I thought to include kept messing up everything so I couldn't write. So I pulled the lever, their chair dipped back, and they fell down a pit and died. It was for the best, really.

But that's okay. We're here to have fun. And boy oh boy, is it gonna be great! Hope you're looking forward to it!

Fun fact: By hilarious coincidence, one of the earliest detective novels, "The Woman in White" features a protagonist named Walter Hartright. Walter is credited as showing a lot of modern PI/detective techniques, despite not being a detective.

I have never read the story, much less hear of it until I decided to look up the surname while editing months ago just in case it linked to someone unsavory. (Season 4's title is unfortunately like that of a disgustingly racist film. At least now the phrase is linked to a gay murder mystery with two POC women in hero roles... But I didn't want to make the same mistake twice.) When I need to write a name, I either pick the first thing that pops in my head, or I put a place-marker like "XXX" and highlight it in red so I can't miss it during a reread. In this case, the name popped into my head - it sounds like a good detective name, right? I was delightfully weirded out that it worked so well.

#batman #batman the telltale series #telltale batman #telltale batjokes #batjokes #juce #the perseverance project #fangs of ouroboros #I'm a little late #(as usual)

22 notes · View notes

ciaossu-imagines · 3 months ago

Note

Day 14: Prompt 10 Questions 3, 5 and 6 for Haru (khr) pls? if that’s not a lot? 😊

It’s not too much at all, my lovely! Thank you so much for sending in this request, and I am sorry that it’s taken so long to get back to you. I hope you’ll enjoy the headcanons 😊

3) What’s your character’s favourite thing to shop for?

Haru is definitely someone who will enjoy occasional shopping days. There’s just something really exciting about them. You get to go out, sometimes alone but most often with friends, you get to see all kinds of new and interesting products, you get to have fun and mess around – trying samples for yummy new foods, playing pretend by dressing up in the silliest or most expensive clothes (even though you have no plans to buy them), getting free makeovers at certain beauty stores or getting free samples from them. And, of course, there’s always the dopamine hit she really does get when she buys something new she can take home. So overall, shopping? Pretty high up on her list of things that are amazing. She can even enjoy shopping for a wide variety of things. Shopping for food is best, in her opinion, during Haru self-care days, when she goes to her favourite bakery and peers inside it’s display cases, finding just the perfect cake or sweet that she wants. She loves shopping for hobby stuff. She definitely has her preferred vendors and stores for things like fabrics (which she must buy in person – she needs to be able to see the colours and feel the texture herself before she spends her money on it), needles, crafting supplies, and various cosplay accoutrements. She does enjoy clothes shopping, as long as she’s not doing that alone. Basically, shopping in most forms makes Haru a very happy person.

5) How does your character feel about trying on clothes?

Conflicted is the best way I can think of to describe her feeling towards trying on clothes. On one hand, she loves being fully dressed up in a new outfit, with good mirrors to see herself, hopefully from all views. She loves getting to put together an outfit to show off to whomever she’s clothes shopping with or trying on some piece of clothing that probably costs more than her parent’s monthly house payment, just because she wanted to be enveloped in something so ungodly beautiful, delicate, and pleasant to the skin. She wants the experience that really comes with being dressed in the new thing. Getting there though? She’s got some hang-ups with that. For one thing, she kind of hates having to strip down to her underwear to try on her chosen clothing items. The store’s are typically always a little colder than she’d prefer, so she catches a chill that she finds hard to shake. She freaks herself out by remembering all the creepy stories she’s heard about people setting up cameras in fitting rooms and she has to look all around just to double-check that there’s nothing that looks like a camera in the fitting room she’s using. And then, of course, there’s always that moment of worry that something just isn’t going to fit her. What if she’s been having too many Haru appreciation days? What if she’s gained a whole different clothing size now and she’s just never really realized it? She forgets all about those worries the second she’s dressed, but they’re definitely huge in her head while she’s getting changed.

6) Whom would your character take with them when shopping for clothes?

As mentioned above, clothes shopping is not something that Haru likes to do alone. It’s just not as fun to shop for clothes by herself. It’s pretty boring when there’s no one there to help her put together the perfect outfit, to wait for her to model the new pieces of clothing or accessories or even those full outfits for them, with appropriate oohing and aahing afterwards. It makes it just feel less fun when there’s not someone else there to really both hype her up and have fun with her while on the shopping expedition. I do think that, for this particular type of shopping, she really does prefer the company of more feminine people. She’s always gone clothes shopping with her mother, and it’s still a pretty solid, happy bonding activity between mother and daughter. However, she also likes to go with female friends, such as Kyoko, Chrome, I-Pin, or Bianchi. I think the only male she really does want on any of her clothes shopping trips might be Tsuna and even that is pushing it just a little bit.

#replies #katekyo hitman reborn #khr #headcanons #haru miura #miura haru

4 notes · View notes

photon-bytez · 1 year ago

Text

Ultra's Ramblings- PHP 3 Speculation

Now, it should be no secret that I frankly adore Prehistoric Planet for what it is. I’ve already done a whole article going over what a possible 2nd season would be like, and now that it’s been months since the release of the actual Season 2, I’ve come to accept how it returned to the Maasrichtian of the Late Cretaceous.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for PHP to showcase animals and habitats from other time periods as much as the next guy, as I think a season based on the Oxfordian stage of the Late Jurassic would be great. However, with that said, I’m content with the show staying within the Maasrichtian for a good few reasons. The obvious being that we could be seeing an entire trilogy of seasons set within the same geological stage, but another being how this particular part in time still has plenty of creatures that could be neat to see onscreen, especially with not only how the Maasrichtian has plenty to work with, but how plenty of animals still have yet to appear in the show. This is essentially gonna be the same general idea as my hypothetical season 2 ideas article from a few months back, just with plenty more Maasrichtian goodness involved.

Another change included is the themes of the episodes. Given that we might not have that many comparable biomes from Planet Earth left for future episodes, I say we go with out-of-the-box ideas for these episodes, especially if they can showcase the more strange creatures, behaviors, and scenarios that people have come to expect and love from the series as a whole. This will make sense as we go into these episode ideas. Finally, special thanks to Zain Ahmed, Cryodrakon, pondicherryyy, Dinosaurus, and the other members of the Paleo Media Central Discord server for helping me with this project. Their ideas certainly helped with putting all of this together. With all of that cleared out, let’s get started with what I’d imagine a possible third (and possible last) season of Prehistoric Planet looking like.

Oddities

The theme of this first episode is about the more bizarre and weird animals that lived during the Maasrichtian. The main element driving everything home for this episode is the appearances of these animals in particular, but a few weird behaviors and traits are added in to keep things nice n’ diverse.

The episode (and by extension, the season, begins within the seas of the Ouled Abdoun Basin in North Africa. The main animal of the segment would be Ocepechleon, a rather large protostegid sea turtle that not only had a pipette-like snout, just like the beaked whales of modern times, but also likely fed in the same way as the latter. The main plot of this segment shows a male Ocepechleon trying to catch fish with his tube-like snout, as he’s found himself within a baitball chased by various other large marine predators. The other animals in this segment would include Zarafasaura, Squalicorax, a returning face (or beak?) in the form of Alcione, and even a lone Prognathodon. Similar to the Hesperonis segment from “Oceans”, the presence of a baitball would drive the central plot of this segment, allowing the show to showcase the weird feeding habits of Ocepechleon in action.

We then move away from the seas of Morocco, and into the swamps of Mongolia, where the animal of the next segment is the first major returnee from the previous two seasons; Deinocheirus. The segment shows a male Deinocheirus looking after 3 chicks. The male is shown as a caring and protective father, not only plucking out soft water plants and holding them with his beak to his young, he would also let them ride on the hump on his back when wandering through slightly deeper water. The male could even use his giant arms as a sort of threat display to scare off other animals that got too close, no matter if they were a carnivore or herbivore. The male would even hiss like an overgrown goose. For the sake of that last example, the animal in particular that could be spooked off by the father Deinocheirus would be a wandering Tarbosaurus that stumbled into the wrong area at the wrong time. The behavior of the Deinocheirus and his chicks would be inspired by cassowaries, giant anteaters, geese, and even a little bit by the Jacana, a species of bird with massive feet that it uses to traverse through wetlands.

The next segment involves an animal that I’ve actually mentioned back during my previous Season 2 ideas article; Armadillosuchus. For those not aware, this was a cousin of Simosuchus that lived in Brazil, and had armored osteoderm on its back that looked a bit like the bands of an armadillo, hence how it got its name (Armadillosuchus literally means “armadillo crocodile”). The segment involves a female Armadillosuchus wandering through her desert home, looking for a good place to dig a burrow. While it’s not as plot-heavy as the previous segments, it serves as a nice way to show off the creature in question.

The next segment then cuts to the swamps of Hell Creek, the home of a giant, 1.5 meter long amphibian; Habrosaurus. The segment sees these creatures engaging in the unique methods of mating that many salamanders have. Instead of internal sex, a male lays packets of sperm that females suck up with their cloacas. Just like how modern sirens do the same thing today, the segment shows Habrosaurus males doing this bizarre, yet effective way of reproduction.

The episode then cuts to what would become modern-day Chile, with the animal of this next segment being Stegouros, a small type of ankylosaur with a tail like a macuahuitl. The plot of this segment follows a male trying to court a female by showing off and displaying his tail club, only for a megaraptorian theropod (Based on yet to be named megaraptorian fossils found in the same formation as Stegouros) to show up and interrupt the courtship. It 's then where the second purpose of Stegouros’ tail comes into action. Thanks to the last few osteoderms on the animal’s tail being rigid and fused, the tail club of this dinosaur was more blade-like, which makes the male a formidable threat to deal with. After barely dodging the herbivore’s tail, the megaraptorian decides that it’s not worth the trouble, and leaves. The two Stegouros get back to their courtship, and soon mate.

The last segment of the episode shows a bunch of Bonnerichthys, huge, filter-feeding fish, feeding on a plankton bloom. While they’re different creatures respectively, the Bonnerichtys would be a bit similar to whale sharks, both being massive planktivorous fish that gather in huge numbers in response to rapid plankton growth. In keeping up with the episode’s theme, the weirdness comes from not only the Bonnerrichthys’ lifestyle, their huge maws also get some attention. The episode then ends from there.

Environments

The general theme of this episode revolves around the various environments and ecosystems present during the Maasrichtian, and how dinosaurs and other animals lived in said environments. While the other episodes are dedicated to showing off certain niches and features, this one would be reminiscent of the previous two seasons in how they themed their episodes.

The episode starts off with a segment about the polar winters that took place within the North Pole and Alaska, mainly the Prince Creek Formation. While this was mentioned in passing back in “Ice Worlds”, it would be the main theme of this segment. During this time, the northern parts of North America would experience long summers, where the sun wouldn't set. On the other end of the spectrum, the winters that followed would have the land go through months of total darkness, not a bit of warmth in sight. The segment generally shows how the dinosaurs that lived in this part of the world lived in such conditions. Not only would returnees like Pachyrhinosaurus, Nanuqsaurus, Edmontosaurus, and Cimolodon show up, so does Alaskacephale, which was a species of Alaskan pachycephalosaur. It would be a bit like the Nemegt watering hole scene from Season 1, only with much more snow and ice.

We then cut to a segment all about Hateg Island, showing how islands like it can change the fauna that live on it over countless generations. In this case, insular dwarfism, a phenomenon where animals living on islands grow smaller than their mainland relatives, is the main theme of the segment, with a herd of Paludititan (Which might be the identity of the dwarf sauropods seen at the end of “Forests” from Season 1) moving through their feeding grounds in search of fresh plant growth. Given how Hateg Island is the main location for this segment, we also see the return of Zalmoxes, Telmatosaurus, and Hatzegopteryx (With the latter being a lone male drinking from a lake and grooming himself after a long day of hunting for prey), alongside the introductions of Bradycneme (an island-dwelling relative of Mononykus), Struthiosaurus (A small nodosaur), and Eurazhdarcho (A much smaller cousin of Hatzegopteryx). Like many of the other segments in this episode, this serves as a general snapshot of both Hateg Island, and the creatures that call it home.

The episode then cuts to Antarctica for a segment focusing on flowering plants of the time, and how they’re pollinated by bees and butterflies. Morrosaurus, Antarctopelta, and the Antarctic hadrosaur all return as cameo appearances, feeding on and around some of the flowers and fruits of the trees. Loosely adapted from an idea by pondicherry (credit to him).

The next segment then cuts to the Nemegt Formation, where the focus is on a mixed-species nesting site of both Oksoko and Conchoraptor, both different species of oviraptorid theropod dinosaurs. While both species are different (Conchoraptor having frankly long arms and no crest, and Oksoko having large crests and freaky-looking hands with two fingers), they share the same group together. The segment in general serves as a way to show how oviraptorids can be different from each other in terms of species.

The episode then cuts to the deep seas of the Caribbean, where the focus of the segment is about reefs formed by shelled mollusks, of all things. Specifically rudist clams like Bournonia, who provide home to wide variety of other creatures that live amongst them, including sharks like Serratolamna and Scapanorhynchus, whole schools of lantern fish, deep-sea ammonites like Baculites, and even a bed of the fellow mollusk, Inoceramus. This ethereal, undersea wonderland would have an equally ethereal theme to it, similar to the ammonite scene from Season 2. Very similar to how deep sea clams gather around and near brine pools, the rudist reef would be near a huge methane seep, where not only schools of Baculites hang around them, the Inoceramus would be in clustered beds around the seeps, just like with mussels in similar environments

The final segment of the episode has an Ankylosaurus wander through a swamp in Hell Creek in search of water plants, very similar to how hippos move in water. As the am tired herbivore makes his way through the swamps of Hell Creek, with other, smaller creatures making appearances; Paleoswania, Didelphodon, Axestemys, Lonchidion, Habrosaurus, and even Acheroraptor all show up. To match the fierce nature of hippos, the Ankylosaurus would even spook off a passing Tyrannosaurus , who was just minding her own business.

Predators

An episode showcasing many predatory animals around the world of the Maasrichtian, and how they hunted and interacted with their prey. Think of this episode like if PHP And The Hunt had a baby.

The episode starts off with an animal that was originally planned for Season 2, but was ultimately cut; Mahajangasuchus. This large crocodyliform was believed to be a powerful predator, strong enough to even survive a dry spell. The segment shows a lone Mahajangasuchus lying still at a pool of water, the only source of water for miles around during the dry season. He would be seen trying to snack on multiple animals that got close to the water’s edge, some being a bit more successful than others, before it all culminates with him catching a juvenile Majungasaurus. The segment would also make note that the reason while the Mahajangasuchus’ watering hole is the only one for miles is because he dug out a portion of the river when it was still mud, so he wouldn't be forced to leave his own territory. This behavior is inspired by alligator holes, which are holes that American alligators make by digging into the limestone and mud of the Everglades, and fill with water. The gators do this as a way to survive the dry season. Species like Falcatakely, Sahonachelys, and Masiakasaurus would also make quick cameo appearances as well.

The second segment cuts to India, where the predator in question is Sanajeh, a relative of Madtsoia from nearby Madagascar. The segment serves to show how this creature hunted in the same way as modern-day boas and pythons, as a female Sanajeh ambushes and devours a lone Bharattherium. This entire process takes time, as the Sanajeh not only has to crush her prey to death, but also swallow her catch whole. It would also be noted that the Bharattherium is the first meal that the Sanajeh had in a while, as snakes of that nature tend to go a good while without having to hunt for prey.

An Avisaurus engages in its own hunt in the next segment. Taking alot of inspiration from birds of prey like falcons and hawks, a female Avisaurus goes on the hunt, looking for, and swooping down on an Alphadon. The best animal to compare the Avisaurus to would be a red-tailed hawk, with the Alphadon essentially being the vole in this situation. To further drive home the connection, the Avisaurus would have a plumage pattern very similar to not only red-tailed hawks, but also a peregrine falcon.

We then cut away to the seas of North America, where a lone Cretalamna wanders the open sea in search of food. In a very similar way to modern great white sharks, Cretalamna are warm-blooded animals, meaning they can raise their own internal body temperature above the temperature of the water that they’re swimming in. That, along with how they’re fast swimmers like the shortfin mako of day (Fittingly enough, both otodontids and the group of sharks that include the mako are part of the same family), helps the Cretalmna chase down a rather large Enchodus. The whole chase would have a similar feel to how shortfin mako sharks chase down prey, especially with the explosive speed.

A Phosphatodraco goes hunting for small animals during the night, only to run into an even bigger relative of it; the towering Arambourgiania. As the former comes across a bunch of baby Ocepechelon scrambling towards the ocean, he starts to gorge himself on as many babies as he can from nest to nest. However, this doesn’t last long, chasing one it bumps into the much larger Arambourgiania as it slumbers at the base of a sand dune. As much as the Phosphatodraco is an intimidating and powerful hunter, who’s used to being the biggest pterosaur on the block, he’s eventually chased in turn by his much larger rival, who isn’t going to deal with his aggressive nature.

A Carnotaurus stalking a herd of Secernosaurus serves as the final segment of the episode. While the latter wasn’t found in the same exact place as the former, they were both around at the same time and general area, so it works. The segment shows that the Secernosaurus herd has calves with them, with the Carnotaurus stalking them as they move from place to place. The predator tries to get closer to his prey by first hiding in a grove of trees, then chasing out a lone calf from the herd. After the first couple of tries end in failure, the Carnotaurus manages to catch a calf by surprise, and separates him from the rest of the herd by chasing him out onto open ground. The Carnotaurus, using his superior speed and agility, closes the deal by striking down onto the calf when he gets close enough, killing him in the process. It took him a few tries, but the Carnotaurus finally not only gets himself a hard-earned meal, but also a long deserved victory. The guy certainly earned it. The episode then ends from there.

Giants

An episode about some of the largest creatures of Maastrichtian Earth, and how they deal with day-to-day life. The main theme here is that the main species of each segment are the biggest of their kind at this time, along with how certain giant species start off small.

The episode starts with a segment about Gargantuavis, which was the largest bird of the Mesozoic. While it’s not as big as most of the other species that get a focus in this episode, it's the largest of its kind during the Maasrichtian. The segment follows a pair of these huge, ground-dwelling birds, as they look after their eggs. Similar to how ostriches do the same thing, the pair both have respective times for laying on their clutch; The female looks after the eggs during the day, while the male takes over during the night. For a nice bit of comedic edge, the pair are very protective of their eggs, with one part showing the female getting aggressive when an Ampelosaurus wanders a bit too close for comfort while trying to find his herd. The incubation lasts for 42 days, just like ostriches, and by the end of the segment, the chicks start to hatch out. Admittingly, some of the ideas in this segment were taken from my original Gargantuavis segment idea, back during my article about my guesses for what Season 2 was gonna be. A good portion of that article’s ideas still work, and some of them even predicted aspects of the real Season 2 itself (The inclusion of Imperobator, Austroraptor, Globidens, and Diplomoceras, along with the mere idea of an episode being based on an entire continent coming true with “North America”).

The next segment takes place in Madagascar, where the giant frog Beelzebufo returns to the series yet again. This time, the story is set in two parts. The first part has a male Beelzebufo go up against a rival male, fighting on the flooded plains for his spot to attract a mate. After winning and securing a female, the segment cuts to a while later, while the male Beelzebufo is guarding after his young. First, they finally hatch, and after some time growing, they start to grow too big for the small pool of water that they were nursed in. This, in turn, leads to the male Beelzebufo having to dig out the pool for the tadpoles, which leads to a larger pond for them to grow and develop in. Sahonachelys, which was a suction-feeding turtle, also shows up in the segment, feeding on any strangling Beelzebufo tadpoles that stray away from their father. As a sort of way to evolve from the species’ last appearance back in Season 2, the scene adds in elements of African bullfrogs, both with rival males fighting for mates, and the males having to raise their young.

The next segment has the episode stay in Madagascar a bit more to focus on Vintana, a rather big mammal for its time. While Adalatherium from Season 2 (which was also a big Madagascarian mammal that was present at the same time) was big, this species was a bit bigger, making it the largest mammal of the Maasrichtian. The focus is on a female resting within her burrow. Outside, a large Rapetosaurus lies outside the burrow in the same spot that the animal died on, attaching scavengers. Some time later, during the night, the female Vintana comes out her burrow to find the carcass, with most of the meat having been gone. However, the mammal is after something else, and after some digging around, the scene shows the Vintata gnawing on one of the dead sauropod’s bones. This is based on how various mammals, rodents included, tend to gnaw on bone to acquire calcium.

The episode then cuts to the seas of Europe, where a female Mosasaurus serves as the focus. The female travels to a secluded bay in order to give birth, where she and her babies will be safe from predators. As the Mosasaurus and her young stay in the shallows a bit before the latter leaves, the segment shows how she, despite being a huge marine predator, is a caring mother, looking after and protecting her young. Eventually, the Mosasaurus had to leave the shallows, leaving the young behind to fend for themselves with no problem. As hard as it might sound, modern-day monitor lizards (The mosasaurs’ closest living relatives) are very intelligent and social animals, with some species living in groups. The idea of mosasaurs being caring towards their kin is a very good possibility.

From one predatory returnee to another, the next segment focuses on a female Hatzegopteryx looking after her eggs. While she takes great care to protect them from predators, she eventually leaves them behind just before they hatch. With their mother gone, the Hatzegopteryx flaplings are left to their own devices, and they start by hunting for themselves, while avoiding predators like Allodaposuchus and Eurazhdarcho. The theme of this segment is to show how many giant predators not only start out small, but have to deal with predation from other animals.

The last segment of the episode revolves around Dreadnoughtus, as the focus is on an old male on his last legs. A group of Orkoraptor waits as the herd steps into their territory. The predators stalk the herd, waiting for the right time for the old bull’s condition to worsen without having to deal with the threat of being crushed by the other titanosaurs in the herd due to how aggressive they can be. Eventually, due to a mix of old age, heat exhaustion, and his body failing him, the old Dreadnougthus lays down on the Patagonian ground for the last time, and the herd moves on. This is the opportunity that the Orkoraptor pack has been waiting for. With the titanosaurs gone, the predators step in to feast on the dead Dreadnoughtus, with other scavengers like Aerotitan and Niebla joining in. The whole scene is essentially a mix between the old Alamosaurus peacefully passing away in “North America”, and the speed lapse footage of the Mapusaurus feasting on an Argentinosaurus carcass from Planet Dinosaur, with the scene being a sort of homage to the latter. As the final segment of the episode, the general idea is how plenty of giant animals, even in death, can still have an important impact on an ecosystem. In this case, it’s providing plenty of food to other species.

Legacies

In this final, double length episode (Not just for the season, but probably the Maasrichtian trilogy and maybe even the whole series), the show shows how various animals raised their young, passing on the legacies of each species.

The first segment of the episode revolves around Maip macrothorax, a recently discovered megaraptorian theropod from South America. Specifically, two males that form a mated pair and raise chicks together, and are introduced by driving off a juvenile Nullotitan, who nearly crushes their chicks. This is an example of a monogamous pair, albeit not the usual male/female pair that’s more common, before comforting them and . As weird as it sounds for (most) humans to not be the only creatures to do this, there have been reports of many animals alive today being in same-sex couples, most prominently penguins and other birds included; given birds are dinosaurs, it’s unsurprising that non-avian dinosaurs would likely do so too.

The episode then cuts away to the second segment of the episode, which focuses on an age-segregated flock of Gallimimus. Thanks to fossil evidence of this exact behavior seen in Sinornithomimus (A closely related species), it’s entirely possible that these theropods shared the same behavior, with the segment showing a young flock of Gallimimus wandering the deserts of Mongolia, all trying to survive and find an adult group to rejoin before predators can catch up to them. An Alioramus makes a quick cameo appearance to highlight the dangers that the flock has to face.

The next segment then cuts to India, where the animal in question is the returning Bharattherium. Underneath the feet of the dinosaurs, mammals were still making a living at the time, with the female feeding on grass alongside some Isisaurus. After gorging herself on grass, the female then returns to her burrow, where her mate and young are waiting. After nuzzling up to her mate, the female Bharattherium then lays down and lets her young feed on her milk. While it’s a bit slower and calmer than the other scenes, this segment works to show how mammals raise their young during the time of the dinosaurs.

The next segment features the return of Mononykus, as the species, similar to Beelzebufo in the last episode, gets two new sides shown to it. The first half shows male Mononykus trying to win a mate. Their way of "fighting" (if you call it that) is trying to sit on each other. As strange as that sounds, anteaters have been known to do the same thing to fight over the right to mate. After the lead male wins the chance to court a mate, the segment then cuts to some time later, where the pair have constructed a nest together. This is where the second side comes in, as a lone Kuru kulla comes snooping around for an easy meal. The Mononykus pair then step in, with the female doing a sort of distraction display to the Kuru in order to lure her away from the nest, similar to how many birds do the same thing today. The goal for the female is to make herself look like an easier meal than her eggs in order to keep the predator away from the nest. Just as the female Mononykus gets the Kuru a far enough distance away from the nest, she then bolts out of there, leaving the raptor to eat her dust. After returning, the two Mononykus reunite, and resume their nesting duties.

The next segment then cuts to the waters of South America to focus on the rare occurrence of interspecies adoption, where a mother Aristonectes raises a baby Morturneria among her own pod. Despite the two being from different species, the two share a strong maternal bond that lasts for a few years. Sadly, by the time the calf is older, the maternal instincts of the mother Aristonectes wear off, and no longer recognizes the Morturneria as her own, forcing him to leave the pod. Despite how this is a somber moment for the marine reptile, the end shows that he’s capable of surviving on his own, and he leaves to find a pod of his own. Keeping up with the elasmosaurs of this show having behaviors seen in whales, the Aristonectes adopting the young Morturneria is based on various species of whales and dolphins adopting members from different species, like a group of sperm whales in Australia adopting a disabled bottlenose dolphin, an adult southern right whale being seen alongside a humpback whale calf, an orca adopting a pilot whale calf, and more.

The episode cuts to the open seas of North America where multiple Protosphyraena gather to reproduce. While these large, marlin-like fish aren’t related to true billfish, they not only hunt and look in a similar way, they also have a similar way of mating. The segment shows one of many females releasing her eggs out into the water, with multiple males all swarming to fertilize as many as possible. The segment also takes time to show off the speed and bills of these predatory fish, as they not only have a similar niche to modern day sailfish and marlins, but also have the same way of reproduction. This way of mating is referred to as “broadcast spawning”, where female marine animals release their eggs out into the open water, and the males take turns releasing sperm to fertilize them. The fertilized eggs then drift out into the current, acting like plankton. While a good portion of them are eaten on screen by a passing Bonnerichthys, the surviving eggs eventually hatch into minute versions of their parents, and they venture out to grow and develop into high-speed predators.

The final normal segment not only of the episode, but also the season, the possible Maasrichtian trilogy, and maybe even the series in general, takes place in Hell Creek, where not only various animals are seen living their lives, the main focus is on a mixed herd of both Edmontosaurus and Thescelosaurus. These two ornithopods have radically different lifestyles (One’s a migratory species, while the other is a sedentary burrower), but the scene shows that both use each other as protection and defense, and by extension, protect each other’s clutches. Even nearly being accidentally stepped on by the Edmontosaurus helps to teach the baby Thescelosaurus to avoid big animals, regardless of diet. All the while, as the herd moves through the coastal floodplains underneath a setting sky, many other residents of Hell Creek make cameo appearances as a sort of last hurrah; A herd of Triceratops, an Ankylosaurus lying near a large swampy pond while a pair of Didelphodon play with each like a couple of otters, a mated pair of Pectinodon and their chicks, a Quetzalcoatlus flying overhead below the full moon before landing down to preen himself on a rock, a group of Pachycephalosaurus feeding near a rotten log, and of course, Tyrannosaurus. As the mixed herd moves on, the scene, in a callback to the very beginning of the series, ends with a father T. Rex and his chicks standing near a large river leading to the beach, looking up at the stars. Just like at the start of Season 1, the T. Rex and his brood are peaceful animals, just minding their own business. The scene ends with a shot of the T. Rex and his chicks looking on at the night sky.

After the last normal segment ends, the camera cuts back to Sir David Attenborough walking around the Oxford University Museum of Natural History on a slow fade-in shot, until coming up on the skeleton of the T. Rex from the Season 1 intro. He then goes on about how the dinosaurs, along with the animals that shared their world, were some of the greatest creatures to have ever lived. David then brings up how this great era came to a somber era, with the KT extinction, and while it may seem tragic at first, David then explains that they've left behind their most incredible legacy. Not only things like fossils, but also their closest-living relatives; birds. This legacy can even be expanded to how the dinosaurs and their story have inspired people. As David walks around, the scenes with the animals are projected onto the walls next to their skeletons. While this plays in the background, holograms-like ghosts of the dinosaurs and other animals seen throughout the series phase in at the museum at first, before David looks through one of the museum windows to see that more of them are roaming the modern world; Herds of Dreadnoughtus and Edmontosaurus roaming on city roads, a Mononykus slinking and sneaking through trash bins, two Simosuchus frolicing on the streets, a Pachyrhinosaurus getting confused after bumping into some random car, a Hatzegopteryx flying overhead, a Mosasaurus breaching out of a city channel, while schools of ammonites swim below the giant, a male Barbaridactylus on the roof of a building trying to court what he thinks is a female (but is actually another male pretending to be a female), and more, all as a way to show that while the creatures of the past are forever gone, their memories still roam our imaginations. David then brings up a warning of the current extinction, and if mankind does everything they can to prevent the animals of today to go the way of the dinosaurs, perhaps someday, we might experience the greatest show in nature since the era of our Prehistoric Planet. As David walks past the skeleton of an ancient whale, in which the camera lingers on for a bit (Maybe to tease a possible future set of seasons based within the Cenozoic), he meets up with the ghost of the T. Rex from the very beginning of the series. (I.E. Hank). Hank calmly looks at David at the entrance of the museum for a bit, before deciding to walk out. As Hank exits the museum, he then scatters into a flock of birds that fly off into the distance, showing how the dinosaurs still live on as birds. The season then ends on a cut to black.

Overall, this final segment has plenty of inspiration from other forms of paleomedia; The ghost of Big Al wandering a museum at the start of The Ballad of Big Al, The Acrocanthosaurus leaving the museum that it was kept in back in Monsters Resurrected, the holograms of the animals in the live-action parts of Dinosaur Revolution, the entire feel and vibe of “The Last Tyrant” from David James Armsby’s Dinosauria, and even a dash of David Attenboruguh’s Natural History Museum Alive (Another paleontology-based project that he worked on). Not only does this finale serve as the ultimate send-off to the wonders of the Maasrichtian era, it’s also a huge love letter towards paleontology as a whole.

And that, dear readers, is how I imagine a possible third season of PHP. As much as I hope this series gets more and more seasons covering other periods throughout Earth’s history, it would make sense if it stayed in the Maastrichtian yet again. Due to not only the amount of well-known taxa are known to live at this time, along with how people know alot about it, it’d make sense to stay in the Maastrichtian. And if this became the final season of the show, at least making enough seasons to make an incredible trilogy would work well for people. Would I want more seasons after this? Yeah, I would. But if one more season came out of this series and set it in the same time and place for a whole Maasrichtian trilogy, I’d be cool with it. All without directly showing off the K-T extinction. As much as that's been an important part of this time in Earth's history, many people are tired of it appearing in every dinosaur documentary. And I have a feeling Darren Niash and his team are in the same boat.

This project was not only one of the biggest that I’ve made so far as an artist/writer, it was also one of the most fun that I ever had. This took me months to get done, and it’s so satisfying to finally have it finished. I wanna give a good shout-out to the folks from the Paleo Media Central Discord server that I spoke to and worked with on this project. Their ideas helped with getting this whole thing complete. And while I can understand that there are other ideas/suggestions for what people think a possible PHP season 3 could be like, we’ll just have to wait and see if it’ll come. As for now, thanks for reading!

#ultra ramblings #prehistoric planet #bbc #apple tv #david attenborough #dinosaurs

12 notes · View notes

dominickeating-source · 7 months ago

Text

Starburst Magazine (2003)

ENTERPRISING FUTURE Dominic Keating talks to David Waldon about the past, present and future of Enterprise.

If the Star Trek empire truly is on the precipice of collapse after more than 35 years, you couldn't tell it form Dominic Keating. On a warm July evening in Hollywood, the British actor is at ease with his present and future. His cheery disposition belies his Enterprise character, the taciturn armoury officer Lt Malcolm Reed. And it definitely doesn't fit into the firestorm that has raged around (t)his series as it enters its third season. In fact, asked bluntly whether Enterprise needed repairs, Keating gives an equally blunt answer.

'Personally, I didn't think that it needed great attention,' he says. 'I watch the show religiously, and I don't think that our show needed any particular revamping or attention. I think we make a good show.'

That being said, Keating has proven to be the good soldier when it comes to Enterprise's new mission, a trip into the mysterious Delphic Expanse in search of the Xindi, a multi-species race that seeks to destroy Earth and all its inhabitants. It's a story arc filled with danger and action, designed to pump some energy into what many see as a moribund series that needs a ratings injection. But one particular alteration has gotten Keating's attention and has given him insight on a great way to jump-start Enterprise's popularity.

'Put Jolene Blalock in a very tight cat suit and make her lips look plumper than before,' he says slyly. 'And that's just what we've done.' Yes, not surprisingly, Keating is a big fan of the sexy new look Blalock's character, the Vulcan science officer T'Pol, will display, even if it initially threw him for a loop. 'When I turned up on the first day this season, I actually didn't recognise her, she looked so different in her new costume and her new hairdo,' he says. Other adjustments are a bit more galling, at least to Lt Reed.

Enterprise's new mission means new crew members - commandos, referred to as MACOs (Military Assault Command Operations), assigned to take on the Xindi by any means necessary. One would think that Reed, who's the closest to pure warrior than anyone else on the regular crew, would be stoked by the new additions. One would think.

'Malcolm is feeling that he's been thrown over or undermined,' Keating says about how he's playing the situation, at least so far. 'Malcolm understands their purpose, but there might be some sense of reticence that his team is not enough. I'm going to give a couple of looks here and there, like "Are these guys really up to it? We have spent two-and-a half years in deep outer space, where these guys have spent only two weeks in Jupiter Moon doing simulation tests on gravity plating and whatever else. Are they really experienced enough to encounter what it is we're going to encounter?"'

The tension that will be obvious in the new episodes of Enterprise has not trickled down onto the real-life actors, according to Keating. What is there is a drive to do the brand proud, in part because of what is potentially on the line. 'There is a determination, certainly in the sense that we've really got to make this work this year. We all want to be locked into the package. But other than that, we are a cost that has been together for two-and-a-half years now, so we have a complicity with one another. There's an ease on set where we don't have to be talking to each other the whole time - a cursory nod of the head. But, still, I have to say that the buoyancy is there, the fun is there.'

The nexus of that buoyancy, says Keating, is none other than Scott Bakula. As Captain Archer, he's in charge of the fictional crew, but the leadership goes further than that. 'He's the head of our team. He is such a great herald and such a great captain, and I mean that way apart from being a Starship captain. And it's great fun going to a set where he walks on and brings everything he brings with him. He's an actor's actor.' Though they had worked together for a year previously, Keating got his first real taste of Bakula's talent and friendship while working on the second-season episode Minefield, in which Reed and Archer attempt to remove a Romulan mine from Enterprise's hull.

'We never really had actually bonded in that way as actors,' says Keating. 'Beyond a cursory exchange on the bridge or in the situation room, we really hadn't done much. I was quite nervous about starting that week with him because I didn't know him that well, and it really bonded us as actors, and consequently as friends. And we've become really good chums since then.'

Keating counts the entire cast as pals; in fact, he lives right around the corner from Connor Trinneer (Commander Tucker) and is often visiting him. Keating says that when it comes to where the actors hang out with each other, 'It's houses, really, now that we've got 'em. It's a beautiful thing. When I became an actor, I resigned myself to rented accommodation for the rest of my days. And, my God [Enterprise] been good to me.'

And that may be the bottom line for Keating. After years of struggling as an actor both in the US and the UK, he realizes what a good thing he and the others have with Enterprise. And he's in no hurry to give it up, willingly or otherwise. Pressed again about his feelings regarding Enterprise's future, whether Trek's popularity can be salvaged, and he remembers a few weeks earlier, when TV Guide placed a 'can this show be saved?' headline on its cover.

'The strange thing about the TV Guide thing is that whenever they put us on their cover and tell us it's our last year, that's their best-selling magazine,' Keating says cheekily. 'When Star Trek is on the front cover of TV Guide, they sell the most. So go figure.'

Convention Corner

After more than two years on the crew of Enterprise, has Dominic Keating become used to the extracurricular activity that's known as the convention circuit? "The first ones I did were nerve-racking", says Keating. "Now I'm in a stride with it". Still, hitting the convention stages can count as hazardous duty. "Sometimes I wonder if my stories aren't getting a little tired, and occasionally I wonder, "Boy, I've really got to work this act up a bit", he says with a laugh. "So I'm looking for new stories on the set right now just so that I go to every convention, cause the first thing I always ask is, Who's heard my schtick before?".

Keating may have a new story after him most recent convention swing, which took him to Australia for a few weeks this past summer. "I met a girl who had me tattooed on her back", he recounts. "I had had a couple of glasses of the red stuff, so I wasn't too thrown when I met her. But the following morning when I woke up, I was, like, Oh my God".

New Direction

Besides such traditions as the Prime Directive (and violating it) and playing fast and loose with the Space-Time continuum, Star Trek has become known as a pretty successful directors farm. From Leonard Nimoy to Johathan Frakes to LeVar Burton, Trek actors have used their time in the franchise to make the successful transition to behind the camera. Soon, you can add Dominic Keating to those ranks.

Even before letting Rick Berman and Brannon Braga know what was up, Keating had completed a course at the Los Angeles Film School. And recently he got his first taste of direction by helming a segment of a local public-access show, The Heartbreak Kid, on which Voyager alumni Tim Rus and Roxann Dawson also got their starts.

Next for Keating is a short film, The Big Hand, which will be based on a story told by Scott Bakula about one of his own kids. His boy Will had just learned to tell the time, and it's a wonderful story about a boy who just got his first watch. Keating will drop this hint: "It's a truly beautiful story with an amazing, only-the-kid-could-say-that ending, all about Time and the passage that we all enjoy therein". And not a warp field in sight.

Source: www.dominickeating.com

#dominic keating #the keating cult #star trek enterprise

3 notes · View notes

westadventure24 · 4 months ago

Text

Day 7 - Oh Brother!

We were thrilled to have our own personal tour guide drive over 2 1/2 hours from Belgrade, MT, to spend the day (and night!) educating us about all of the best places the top loop of Yellowstone has to offer.

For those of you who don’t know, Todd’s brother, Ryan, spent many years working at Yellowstone and living in Montana.

So, we started our day visiting Tower Falls…aptly named for a cascading waterfall running between two enormous rock towers. Every time you think you have seen it all, the next thing you see is just as unexpected!

Ryan and Todd both are also very good at spotting wildlife, even in the most camouflaged situations. As we piled back in the RV after Tower Falls, Ryan quickly pointed out these two female big horned sheep and their young. A species we had been hoping to see! We looked for big daddy, but no luck. He was likely watching over his family from high above the rocks, where our viewpoint was blocked.

Next stop was the Petrified Tree. Now, I may have this wrong because I am certainly no paleobotanist, but it is my understanding that a tree can become petrified, or stone like, when it is covered in volcanic ash, remains undisturbed, and the wood is replaced by minerals over millions of years. In this particular spot, there used to be 3 trees. Sadly, only one remains in this particular area that is an easy, short walk for park visitors.

Mom’s favorite place of the day was Mammoth Hot Springs. This quaint little town is the home of the park offices, a lodge, post office, restaurant, and much more. Herds of Elk like to call this home and spend much time grazing on the well manicured green spaces in the town. Evidently, they heard we were coming and chose to remain in the nearby mountains. I can attest to the fact they spend time there by the amount of droppings left behind!

The visitors center there was quite educational and well organized. There were displays about the history of the creation of Yellowstone as a national park, the mistakes that nearly destroyed the bison herds, a full wildlife taxidermy display of the those animals calling the park home, and, of course, a gift shop. Here we learned there were no geysers, but rather underground hot springs that do not erupt. This made Dad much more comfortable about seeing the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces.

Before seeing the terraces in person though, we stopped for a bite of lunch in the restaurant. This just happened to be the exact same restaurant of Ryan’s first experience as a chef. He was not surprised to discover the menu had changed, but the building had not. He told us of how he and his colleagues would spend time off, and showed us the dormitory where he lived. Interestingly, our waitress said the staff still spends their free time in many of the same places as Ryan did in the early 90’s.

After a selfie of the whole crew, our tour took us to Sheepeater Cliffs. This area was named after the Shoshone Indians who lived in the area and made full use of big horn sheep. Let’s just say it is a good thing the sheep we saw earlier chose to live elsewhere. Yikes!🐏

The crew was getting tired so we headed back toward camp by way of the Virginia cascades. Gorgeous!

Once we had camp all set up, Mom and Dad opted to spend a little quiet time doing crosswords together while Todd, Ryan and I made one more trip to the nearby Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. My husband is a truly special and thoughtful human being. You see, when looking through family photos recently, he loved this picture of Mom and Dad Hohenstein when they were roughly our age and on one of their visits to see Ryan. What I didn’t realize was that Todd wanted us to have a forever memory and in that same location, and we had missed seeing the Upper Falls the day before. At this point I don’t think either of us quite have a grasp on which falls were the Upper or Lower and I am not sure we got the exact spot, but no doubt we’re in the right vicinity. 🥰

We spent the rest of the evening sitting around the campfire before and after the rain. Ryan, being the true outdoorsman that he is, chose to stay in his tent the entire night through the rumbling thunder and pouring rain and yet still woke up happy and smiling. We are so thankful for the time we spent together, the stories he shared, and the kindness in his heart. It was awesome to see him in the place he loves so much! What an unforgettable day!!!

3 notes · View notes

stardustndreamsofsilver · 2 years ago

Text

Almost

Part Nine

Jake x Reader (f)

Warnings: none

Find All Parts Here

Jake opens the door to the shop and steps in. The bell on the door grabs the attention of one of the employees and she looks over at Jake and smiles. She walks over to him and asks if he’s looking for anything in particular and Jake shakes his head no. She nods and tells him to have a look around and to let her know if he needs any assistance. He gives a half smile and nods. As she walks away, he takes a deep breath and he nervously starts to take a look around.

Walking slowly, he peers into each display case. Rings, necklaces and all sorts of jewelry fill each one. Putting his hands behind his back, he leans closer to the case and examines the rings in it. Not seeing something that spoke to him, he moves on. Row after row, he looks at each ring, trying to find the perfect one. Becoming overwhelmed, he takes out his phone and texts Josh asking him to come help him.

It’s not long before the sound of the door opening has Jake looking over and seeing his twin walk in. Josh smiles brightly at Jake and walks over to him.

Clapping his hand on Jake's back, Josh whispers, “So you’re finally going to do it, huh?”

Jake nods his head and says, “Yeah. I mean I’ve known that she was the one since the beginning. But, she wanted to take things slow and I wanted to respect that.” Running his hand through his hair, he continues, “But it’s been a little over two years now and we’ve been living together practically the whole time. I think it’s time.”

Josh smiles and says, “I think so too. So, let’s find her the perfect ring.”

Jake and Josh browse the store but find nothing that fits you. Josh tells Jake that he knows a place a few minutes away that he thinks will have what Jake’s looking for. So, they leave and drive over.

When they enter the store, Jake takes two steps before seeing it. It catches his eye and he immediately makes a beeline toward it. Leaning over the case, he looks closer. It’s a marquise cut emerald ring with a halo of smaller diamonds surrounding it and set in a gold band. It was gorgeous and exactly what Jake envisioned.

Josh walks up behind him and puts his hand on his shoulder. “I think you just found the one.” He says with a grin.

Jake smiles and looks up in search of one of the employees. Catching their attention, he points to the ring and says he’d like to purchase it. The jeweler smiles and takes it out of the case from in and places it infront of him. Jake nods and says, “That’s the one.”

The employee nods and tells him that it comes with a matching band if he’d be interested in seeing it. Jake says he would and they go to get it for him. Bringing it from the back, they walk over and place it with the engagement ring. Jake stares at them in awe. They're perfect.

Looking over at Josh, he gives him a look asking what he thinks. Josh nods his head in agreement. Looking back at the jeweler, he says he’ll take both. After paying and saying what size rings he needs, he watches as they take the rings to the back.

Turning to Josh he lets out a deep breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Do you think she’ll like it?” He asks nervously.

Josh chuckles and says, “Of course she will. Honestly, I think she’d like anything you got her. But, that is perfect. It just radiates her energy and beauty. You did good.”

They wait for the person to come back out with the rings and when they do, they’ve wrapped the rings separately. Placing the boxes in a bag, they tie the handles closed with a ribbon and hand it over to Jake. He gingerly takes it and thanks them for all of their help and leaves the store with Josh.

Once outside, Jake turns to Josh and says, “Thanks for coming and helping. And thanks for telling me about this place, I never would have thought to come here.”

Josh chuckles and says, “It’s no problem, I’m glad I could help.” Titling his head to the side, he asks, “So when are you thinking about asking her?”

Jake shrugs and says, “I don’t really know. With the new album coming out soon, we’ll be really busy leading up to it. So maybe sometime after that?”

“Well, don’t wait too long. You know how the press junkets are. We’ll be just as busy after it’s out too.” Josh mentions.

“That’s true. I don’t know, I’ll do it when it feels right.” Jake says.

Josh nods and gives Jake a hug. “Well I better be going. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

Jake says goodbye and waves his brother off. Heading to his own car, he gets in, placing the bag in the passenger's seat. Turning on the car, he glances over and smiles. He can’t help but to picture your face when you see the ring and when he asks you to marry him. Shaking his head and grinning to himself, he puts the car into drive and heads home.

When he gets back home, he goes straight to the closet in your room and hides the rings. As he walks out of the closet, he hears you come in the front door. Surprised, he didn’t expect you back so soon. He smiles and folds the bag that held the rings and shoves it under the mattress before heading down the stairs to find you.

Walking down the stairs, he hears you shuffling around in the kitchen. As he walks through the doorway, he sees you sitting on the table and eating from a bag of chips, swinging your legs back and forth. Chuckling, he walks over to you. Putting his hands on each side of you, he leans in and kisses you. As he pulls away, he smiles and grabs a handful of chips.

“What are you doing home so early?” He questions before eating a chip.

“Well–” You start to say with your mouth full. Finishing chewing and swallowing, you continue, “I finished all the things I needed to get done today early, so I came home.”

“Mm–” Jake hums and nods his head. “Well I’m glad you’re home. I missed you.”

You smirk and say, “Did you now?”

“Oh yeah. You left without saying goodbye this morning, so yeah I missed you.” He replies.

Your face falls slightly. “I’m sorry. You were just sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake you.” You say before hopping off the table and sitting the bag of chips down. Stepping closer to Jake, you wrap your arms around his neck. “Plus you’ve been working so hard at the studio finishing the album, I wanted you to let you rest.”

Jake sighs and puts his hands on your hips, pulling you flush against him. “I appreciate the thought, but I’d rather be a little tired than miss out on giving you a kiss goodbye.”

You grin and say, “Okay. It won’t happen again. I’ll always wake you up to say goodbye from now on.”

He smiles at this and leans in for a kiss. “Thank you very much. I ask for so little.” He jokes.

“You do. You ask for so little, how could I ever say no?” You tease.

“That’s right.” He chuckles. Kissing you again, he grins and says, “So, since you’re home early, how about I make you dinner and you go pick out something to watch together.”

Your face lights up and you ask, “Really? Would you make me that soup that you made the other day? Zoop– Zup–”

Jake laughs and says, “Zuppa? Yeah I can make that for you.”

“Thank you, love.” You say. “What would you want to watch? Something scary? Something funny?”

“Whatever you want to watch babe.” Jake replies, pulling away.

“Okay. But don’t say I didn’t give you a chance to choose later. I don’t want to hear you complaining one bit.” You tease.

“Okay babe.” Jake laughs.

Walking away, you head to the sitting room turned living room. Turning on the tv, you browse through each streaming service until you stumble upon a movie that catches your eye. It’s a Jane Fonda movie also starring Robert Redford called Barefoot in the Park. Selecting it, you let it play for a few seconds before pausing it for you and Jake to watch.

Deciding to change out of your work clothes, you head up stairs. Walking into your bedroom, you see the bed sheets and comforter ruffled on Jake’s side. Rolling your eyes, you walk over and straighten it. Having no idea that if you’d reached just half an inch further under the mattress, you would have found the bag from the jewelers. Straightening back up, you walk to the closet in search of something to change into.

Once changed, you head back down stairs and to the kitchen. Jake finishes making the soup for you and dishes it out for the two of you. Carrying your bowls to the living room, you sit on the couch and hit play. You and Jake eat and watch the movie. The soup was amazing and you and Jake both loved the movie.

When the movie ends, you stretch and yawn. Jake looks over at you and says he’ll get the dishes so you can head on up to bed. You thank him and start the journey upstairs. Walking into the bedroom, you head over to the bed and climb in. It doesn’t take long for you to be fast asleep.

Finishing up the dishes, Jake heads up to bed. When he walks in, he sees you fast asleep. Chuckling softy, he turns out the light and changes into a pair of pajama pants. Climbing into bed with you, he scoots up next to you and drapes his arm across your side. Kissing your temple, he settles in and closes his eyes. As he starts to drift to sleep, he dreams of seeing you in white and walking down the aisle toward him. Smiling in his sleep, he sighs content and happy.

taglist: @demolitionndann, @ichoosetheroad-gvf, @gvfjakesjooty, @gretavanloverleaver, @lolipopsandgumdrops, @lightmylove-gvf, @positivegvfthings, @myfavsstuff-blog, @gretavangroupie, @sunfl0wer-power, @writingcold

45 notes · View notes

eldritchaccident · 1 year ago

Text

Timing: Before the gooening Location: The Morgue Feat: @kadavernagh & @eldritchaccident Warnings: descriptions of x-rays tw Summary: Regan meets the most interesting person('s bones) in Wicked's Rest

The x-ray machine that probably cost the Medical Examiner’s Office over $40,000 had, as far as Regan knew, never been used on a live person before. Even as the morgue seemed to have developed a rotating door of patients who could walk themselves in and out (albeit sometimes with a limp), no one had requested or needed this yet. Radiology was limited to the dead. And here was Teddy. Perfectly fine, by all accounts – no fractures or skeletal abnormalities Regan could see in the x-rays – but possessing some of the strangest bones Regan had ever seen in her bone-filled life. She hadn’t studied them clearly yet, but even without holding the films up to the light, she could see strange markings defiling Teddy’s perfectly good bones. She itched with urgency to get a better look.

After Teddy had been a willing patient in an autopsy suite, she was tempted to bring them into her office to discuss what she saw, but the illumination displays were in here. So in here they would stay. “One moment. Here, you may sit.” She gestured to the rolling chair by the histology desk. Regan paced for a moment, buying herself some time to think. She anxiously flipped the corners of the x-ray films against her gloved fingers, careful to only touch the margins. Teddy knew about this. So, Regan suspected, only one of them was going to be surprised. That made things easier. She could clamp down her own reaction without needing to concern herself with someone else’s fragile emotional state. “Okay. You told me… you had an anomaly. That is a generous term to use to describe what I saw.” She waited, fishing for something that might not come. They knew something was strange, but how much did they know? “Let’s take a look together, shall we? I’ll admit I’ve already peeked. But the light helps, substantially.”

A hushed sort of calm kept the 'patient' a lot more… passive than they might have been if the circumstances were different. Less excitable. Probably a good thing considering Doctor No-Nonsense likely wouldn't have appreciated the constant quips and jokes. Nor the whole 'I know something you don't know' schtick. Teddy left that behind, pretty much the moment they had started on the long road of research. Nothing they had found so far did much to change the likely outcome, only to put a damper on their spirits. On their usual ability to find the good in just about any situation. The silver lining they always looked for wasn't missing, exactly. The gravity of the situation just had a way of adding a heavy patina to it. Making the shine seem a lot like effort that they just didn't have the energy for.

Still, they were curious.

Teddy obviously knew about the writing, knew the way it sometimes glowed bright enough to cast an eerie blue hue from beneath their skin. But they had never seen it. Not directly. Something that had carried with them almost all their life. It shaped them. Probably went as far as to change the very fabric of their DNA. But that particular mystery required a whole different lab set up. At least they thought it might. Science, while incredibly interesting to the demon, wasn't something they'd put much discipline into. They could make educated guesses at a lot of things, but they were shooting in the dark just as often.

This intersection of the two arts, magic and science was one they would've spent a heck of a lot more time with if they didn't think they were going to just…die during the ritual. But who knew, maybe there was something in the first connection Teddy ever shared with Levi that would help its sever go smoothly.

"You've been more than patient with me so far Doc. Let's have a look."

The x-ray didn't disappoint. Crystal clear and incredibly detailed. An ancient language scrawled across the bones, familiar to Teddy but almost certainly unlike anything the good doctor had ever encountered. Some other…anomalies were hidden amongst the spellwork. Things Regan would absolutely notice even if Teddy wouldn't. Evidence of stress on nearly every joint. Bones that looked like they had been shattered and reconstructed hundreds of times. Some things weren't quite where they were supposed to be. A product of them literally re-building themself since they were a teen, and knowing very, very little as to what actually went where. The magic always did a good enough job putting pieces together, even if it was based on the ideas of what a kid thought a human body was supposed to look like.

Regan set the films against the illuminator and looked at Teddy out of the side of her eye, before turning her attention back to the films. Already, against the white background, the markings were stark, covering almost every inch of bone. Her hands were growing sweaty inside her gloves. What was this? Even to a layperson, someone who had never seen x-ray imaging before, the oddity would be immediately obvious. Regan swallowed thickly and flicked on the light, though it was hardly necessary. The one thing it made obvious was that the markings were almost like a written language, or a series of tiny images; they were not random.

That wasn’t all. The light revealed other abnormalities. The contours of Teddy’s bones were jagged; there were processes where there ought to be fossae, and a couple of their phalanges actually appeared to be flipped, not that they ever would have noticed. It was as if someone pulled them out and stuck them in the wrong way, a puzzle piece forcibly jammed into a spot where it would have fit flush if only it had been rotated. Her first thought: This was one of the strangest skeletons she had ever seen. Second thought: When Teddy died, she would like to have it.

And then, third, and the only one that was appropriate: What exactly was she looking at?

Two possibilities filled her mind. One seemed all but impossible unless Teddy had some horrific scars on their flesh to show for it. The other, she did not believe – this was more than strange, osteological birthmarks. Regan met Teddy’s gaze with a mix of curiosity and expertly suppressed shock. “You knew we would see this. Do you know what scrimshawing is?”

"Yeah, generally something done very post-mortem, if I recall." A quiet chuckle managed to escape before Teddy offered a… sympathetic-ish smile to the so far wonderfully helpful woman. "I have a feeling you wouldn't exactly believe me if I tried to explain where it's from, but–" A pause, a short consideration. Their eyes trailed back over the writing. Tracing the careful word choices that went into the ritual, despite the impulsive nature of the decision to perform it.

It really was a sight to behold. They couldn't help but view the artistry with a strange mix of wonder and delight. Quite the odd mix amidst the morose dread they'd been carrying the last few weeks. Teddy hadn't actually ever had an x-ray before. Hadn't actually visited any doctors since their… parental exchange. Couldn't remember the last doc they had visited. There really hadn't ever been a need for Leviathan to take them to one. While they were with Levi, they were immortal. The kid never even got sick growing up. Not really. Even with the aches and pains Teddy felt all too often these days, they had always just assumed that was normal. Whatever normal meant to a human slowly turning into a demon or whatever. Something they'd grow to get used to over the course of eternity.

"–is there any way I could get a copy of that?" They gestured, politely as possible, at the x-ray. Copying the exact phrasing from the first ritual would be a lot easier than just trying to remember as much as they could. Especially given how spotty their memory could be.

“It should be, but there’s no reason why it couldn’t be done on the living. The primary problem is access. And, um, ethics.” Regan shuddered. She was able to tolerate great amounts of pain, but even she would scream if someone sliced her open and carved up her bones, pink and thick with capillaries. Was it possible Teddy had survived such an ordeal? “Any noteworthy scars? A lot of them… there would be many.” It was a foolish line of questioning, and they both knew it, but she needed to grasp for something that was in the proximity of sense. But sense came to Wicked’s Rest to die, and she could not autopsy it right now. “Forget it. It sounds like you know this isn’t scrimshawing…” Regan’s tongue pressed against her teeth. As much as a good medical mystery reinvigorated something inside of her, the ones this town presented were sometimes beyond comprehension, and that was unpleasant.

Regrettably, Teddy was not dead. So her asfís bháis would provide no help. “You’re right, I probably wouldn’t believe you. I don’t believe half the things people in this town tell me. More than half. Closer to three quarters, by my estimation. Vampires, giant shrimp falling from trees, faces being stolen in the mines…” Regan frowned, her eyes glued to the hieroglyph-like scrawling decorating Teddy’s bones. It was beautiful, in its own way. Artistry only the chosen few could ever see. But if someone did this to Teddy, that was… different. “Tell me when this happened and how you knew about it, if you’d like.” Regan offered, her curiosity just slightly edging out the anxiety she was constantly trying to quash.

Regan blinked. That wasn’t exactly the question she anticipated. Her instinct was to just give them the only existing films, but when they asked for a copy, her mind filled with potential. She could keep a copy for herself. Teddy had given her permission without realizing it. Regan nodded eagerly, her hesitation turning almost to excitement. “Yes, I will print out copies for you. Of course.” Meanwhile, she had a goldmine. She just wasn’t sure what to do with it yet. Regan made a beeline for the x-ray printer and neatly stacked the films between her fingers, before handing them to Teddy. “You might just be one of my strangest patients. Even beside the fact you’re alive. Your bones are… I haven’t seen anything like them.” Once more, she glanced over at her own set of films, the densely packed symbols shining brightly under the harsh light. “Do not be offended when I ask this of you. Please die here, soon, and under suspicious circumstances. I would like to have you back here someday.”

"Only scars I have are these." Teddy swiveled back and forth in the chair as a bit more energy returned to the surface. They pointed at the blotchy pink shape that took up much of the left side of their forehead, cheek, and neck. A few more smaller splotches dotted their hand and chest. At first glance they could appear to be a port wine birthmark or something similar. But like most things with Teddy, it wasn't that simple.

There was a moment of silence as Regan looked at the images, and Teddy looked at her. Tried to study, to gauge where her reaction might fall. While she wasn't completely nonplussed about the whole ordeal, she still was fairly reserved. Effects of working in the morgue of the world's weirdest small town? Maybe. There weren't any obvious signs of Dr. Kavanaugh being in-human. But that wasn't always obvious either. Hell, Teddy passed for people most of the time. And that was saying something. Either way, she'd asked.

"Well." They responded. It'd be rude not to at this point. "As far as I know, and as far as my…adopted guardian… knows– I'm the only one of my kind." Teddy curled their legs up, sitting criss-cross-apple-sauce in the chair that absolutely was not built with that in mind. Made their limbs kind of stick out at odd angles. A perfect reflection of the tale they were about to weave. "I may have… misled you about a few things online. Figured you would write me off as crazy if I led with…magic. Cause that's what this was. Is? Yeah I guess it's still ongoing, so is… is probably right." They nodded, satisfied. "Started when I was five, that part is true. But it's a result of a ritual. No scalpels required. I imagine that might've been a bit too messy. Probably not the best toddler care either."

Teddy had a specific kind of laugh, any time they cracked a joke that verged on self deprecation. It was raspy, airy. Like wind being knocked out of an old broken bagpipe. "The details are–" A family secret. Not the tight lipped kind that came with a deal or a contract, but it wasn't exactly the best idea to go around spilling the demon beans, so to speak. Even if Leviathan was leaving, and Teddy was probably dying, it didn't sound like a good idea. "Hard to parse. But basically this–" they gestured to the prints Regan had handed them, then in a grander motion over to the illuminated ones up on the board. "Is a tether. Anchors me to a big source of power." but it wouldn't be much longer. "Believe it or not, that's the truth." They shrugged. Not really knowing what else to do.

At least until Regan spoke up again. Teddy burst into a much more genuine bout of mirth. The barks of laughter weren't mean or derogatory. It was just pure delight at the concept she proposed. "Yeah well, you may get that sooner rather than later. If it goes that way I really won't even have any next of kin soooo, if you wanted to you could take and articulate my skeleton after I'm gone." Their smile split their face wider than any had in a few days.

"All I could ask is that you at least make it a fun pose. Maybe save a bone or two for some friends. Something to remember me by." Emilio would hate it, Nora would love it. Good. The idea of sticking around as a glorified Halloween decoration was more than Teddy could ever have asked for.

"Ooh, what if you put me in a lab coat and sunglasses. I could hold a tray or something, I'll help you out around the morgue. One last temp job." Gallows humor. It'd been creeping into Ted's lexicon more and more since the big talk. Since the idea of dying young, empty, and at the hands of their own father had entered their mind. It was like they couldn't stop the jokes once they started pouring out. That being said, they were completely earnest. Teddy had always liked helping people, and they'd definitely always had a love for the…odder things in life. If their bones could bring people happiness after they were gone? Well that'd be amazing.

“So those are scars,” Regan said, raising a brow at what she had hastily assumed were birthmarks. What exactly had this person been through? Something that marked their flesh and carved their bones and churned them out both possessing answers and knowing nothing at all. Teddy’s disfigurement was beautiful, in its own captivating way, but she felt for their scramble for answers. It seemed urgent. They did not think they would be around much longer. And while part of Regan grew giddy at the thought of claiming the bones – lit up in front of her with the real things hidden under layers of Teddy’s skin she wished she could peel back – the more rational part of her did not want anyone to die an early death. But what was early, anyway? Who decided that? Who decided when to intervene? Sometimes, being a physician clashed with what Cliodhna had drilled into her skull.

“I’m going to write you off as crazy now, so don’t feel as though you made a mistake not telling me sooner.” Regan flicked her eyes away from the illuminated bones and looked at Teddy. They really were quite boring in comparison. She tried to cling to the thought of what lied underneath. “Whatever occurred when you were young must have been incredibly traumatic, and you have my sympathies.” Even if they were using ‘magic’ as an explanation to cope with reality… whatever that was. “You are not going to die within the next week or so,” she said, not really caring if Teddy questioned her knowledge. She was a doctor; she studied death, and they were making claims about magic. “You have at least that long to settle your affairs. Please think of me when you write your will. Put it in writing. You wish for me to have your bones.”

They probably thought they were being funny. But while some banshees were simply tickled by the idea of using human remains in such a manner (even displaying them), Regan found it terribly distasteful. “You will not find that work here,” Regan said with a scowl, “but you can be assured I’ll take excellent care of them.” She looked toward the door. The most exciting thing about Teddy was their bones. And she wanted some time alone with the imaging. “For now, though… well, you have a few days. So drink some milk and make them big and strong for me.”

There was a lot to digest. And a hell of a lot to do. They collected the films, stood from the swiveling chair and stood. “I appreciate this Doc–” Teddy paused the very slightest of pauses. Realizing the informality wasn’t this particular medical professional’s style. “–tor Kavanaugh. Even if you think I’m crazy.” Not only was it incredibly interesting to see something that had been literally inside them all along, having these images was sure to help them crack the next step of figuring out this damn ritual. If there was something in the wording they could parallel, something that would open up the connection on a more literal level, maybe they could get in there and do some editing. Get Teddy out of the line of fire, get Leviathan all its strength back. That was the goal right? A long shot by far, but this made the target just a wee bit wider.

“I’ll write it up and send you copies, I’m a stickler for wording so don’t worry. Regan’s your first name right?” Teddy didn’t often look it, or act like it, but they were incredibly observant. Details stuck out to them, often more than the big picture. There wasn’t a name placard or anything, but there was a degree and a license to practice. Both names in clear black ink. They somehow doubted there were two Doctor Kavanaugh’s that worked in the morgue, but hey, that distinction was the exact kind of thing that needed to be explicitly written into something like a will, right?

Demons loved contracts. Teddy too, though their tenure wasn’t quite as robust as almost every other demon out there. What would that skill be good for, they wondered, if they did survive. However unlikely that was. “Hope you have a nice rest of your day though. And who knows, maybe I’ll see you in two weeks. Three or four tops.” With a wink, Ted headed out. Clutching close the metaphorical pieces of gold she’d given him.

#wickedswriting #kadavernagh #eldritchaccident #descriptions of x-rays tw

8 notes · View notes