#and their colours are reversed/opposite of each other

[bread-is-my-life]

YES YES YES THEY ARE LITERALLY BOTH SKELETONS RAHHHH

Ever stop and think about the fact Stain and All Might make a full skull?

All Might has the sunken in eyes and defined cheekbones/teeth, and Stain has the missing nose 💀

[faithsoneluv]

i don't think people understand how hard it is not to ship tomarry / harrymort because what do you mean they're borderline canonically soulmates. what do you mean they're PROPHESIED to each other. what do you mean they're literal parallels, had the same childhood circumstances but turned out the exact opposite. what do you mean harry's the embodiment of the light side and tom's the embodiment of the dark even though they're so, so similar. what do you mean they both have common names even though they themselves are anything but common. what do you mean they have uncountable amount of bible references that apply strictly to them, what do you mean harry makes sure to mention tom's the handsomest in the room whenever he sees him and apparently likes their connection. what do you mean their wands share the core of the same phoenix and therefore literally can't kill each other even if they wanted to. what do you mean harry wanted to give him another chance despite everything he's done, what do you mean tom offered him his hand, what do you mean harry killed tom at the same age except the order of the numbers is reversed. what do you mean harry's eyes are the same colour as tom's favourite unforgivable (avada) AND the colour of his house, what do you mean TOM'S eyes are the colour of harry's favourite defence spell (expelliarmus) and the colour of his house. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY ARE EACH OTHER'S OTHER HALF. WHAT DO YOU MEAN HARRY IS LITERALLY TOM'S SOUL??? 😭

NOT TO MENTION THESE THINGS AREN'T EVEN FANON LIKE...? lmk if i missed something though.

[twistedwonderlandshenanigans]

Floyd's Only Fear

(Tw: Blood, (mild) gore, sibling angst)

Survival of the fittest. It was all the twins had known since they were little elvers, that ruthlessness was the greatest mercy they could grant themselves. It meant no enemy was left to enact revenge, it meant, theoretically, there was no motive to be had against them.

In theory, it made sense. But real life has all sorts of factors you have to be aware of, and the ocean and it's inhabitants rarely act on logic.

Floyd remembers what Jade was like before they had to learn that lesson the hard way. He looks at his brother now and wonders if the roles had been reversed, if he'd have ended up the same way he did.

They couldn't have been more than five. They had made it back home, the only two surviving elvers of the clutch. He remembered how proud their mother was of the two of them, but their father was rather detached still. They were loud, playful and rambunctious, constantly causing mischief to those who had the (dis)pleasure of meeting them. The only difference between the two of them when they were that young was which side of their face their black strand of hair was, and the shape and colour of their eyes.

Their mother's way of parenting at the time had been very laissez-faire, he understood now, was her balance between becoming too attached to them while also looking after them, two very opposite sides of her mind at war. He didn't blame her for it, at least not now that he was older. She had given them an area she deemed relatively safe to play, as well as an old shipwreck, not far from home.

Most days, he and Jade were fine to play in and amongst the wreckage, practicing their hunting, chasing each other and finding hidey holes to try and scare each other with.

Floyd remembered, neither he nor his brother could stay very quiet at that time, as they'd get too excited and giggle about the new spot they found to hide and wanted to show it to their other half. Even if they tried to stay quiet, usually they were the biggest creatures there, and the wiggles of trying to get deeper into their hiding place would cause disturbances in the water that made their twin find them.

Which was why the day Jade went silent, was the day Floyd learned what fear truly was.

His nightmare always started the same, a memory. He and Jade were excited as always to go play in the shipwreck. The sun was just starting to set, the light filtering through the water dappled red and orange - according to the humans, it was supposed to be a lovely day tomorrow.

Neither of them liked counting. It took away the surprise if you knew when someone was going to come looking for you. Not just that, but they were fast and honestly, waiting around was boring for both of them. Jade was a little smaller than Floyd, so Floyd would give him a five second head start, where Jade would give Floyd a three second head start.

Those five seconds always got Floyd excited, ready to hunt down his brother, tag him and then they could switch. He listened as Jade giggled, disappearing into the shipwreck they knew and loved.

Floyd wouldn't call it cheating, it was just a strategic means to an end if he peeked between his fingers. He knew exactly which way Jade went in, darting over to the hole in the hull of the ship, but freezing as he got to the opening.

The darkness felt...heavier than usual, and at first, Floyd couldn't place why. He felt his entire body go still for the first time in his life, the only thing moving was his hair in the gentle ebb and flow of the water. He could feel something watching him, something farther into the hole. He didn't know what it was. But he knew with certainty it wasn't Jade.

It felt like ages until it finally clicked to him that he couldn't feel Jade's movement, instead, at large intervals he felt water moving from side to side by something bigger than even their parents.

He felt a pit forming in his stomach the longer he looked into the hole. In his nightmares it felt like hours of just staring into the abyss, human clutter in the corners of his vision, but his eyes locked on something else much deeper. In reality, he knew mere seconds had passed. The smell of Jade's blood filling the water and the low growl that emanated from within the hole rattled Floyd to his core, his fear still locking him in place as he just tried to keep breathing properly. As his eyes finally adjusted to just how dark it was, he could see his brother's eyes bulging from the pressure the other mer was putting on his neck, the mers claws digging into his neck while his other hand had torn him open. The mer was licking his fingers clean, seemingly proud of himself before he would lunge at Floyd, and he would wake up.

He had blocked out most of what happened after. From what his father was so proud of boasting about now was the fact Floyd had gone in for the kill. He had lived up to the family name, acted on instinct and did as he was supposed to. His mother told him about how he had pleaded with the two of them to save Jade's life once he brought him home, nearly split in half, an act of brutality done for nothing, only for the other mer to feel powerful. His mother told him that if he hadn't killed the bastard that went after his brother, their father wouldn't have let her save his twin.

It may sound cold, but it wasn't the fact his brother had been harmed so badly that got to Floyd.

When it was just the two of them, Jade was the loud one. He was always talking, always giggling, always trying to scare him with 'boos' and growls and whatever other noise he could make up.

And Floyd would talk, laugh and be noisy in response. He always had. And he had adored it.

It was that unforgiving silence, that moment of uncertainty and terror, when everything in his body was screaming something was wrong, but his mind couldn't tell him what...besides the fact that Jade was quiet.

After Jade recovered, physically from the attack, Floyd remembered trying desperately to make him laugh. He remembered everything he did being met with little more than a small smile. He remembered how pissed off it made him that Jade wouldn't make noise, and at the time, being young as he was, he would do what he needed to warrant the reaction he wanted. He remembered how his brothers cries sounded when he prodded at his stitches, and how his mother ushered him out of the room, no longer trusted to be alone with Jade. Jade ended up being nursed back to health by their grandma, and Floyd spent most of his time with his parents.

By the time they were 12, Jade had become selectively mute. He refused to speak unless spoken to, would often seemingly appear from nowhere, and the only person he could speak directly to was Floyd, and even then, it was rarely above a whisper. Floyd wasn't entirely sure at the time if it was the result of their grandmother's 'training' for Jade or not, but he was old enough then that he finally understood.

Jade didn't want to be known.

He didn't want to be perceived, he didn't want to be the one caught off guard, he didn't want to be made silent by force again, he refused to fail as a Leech. His silence would let him be the predator rather than the prey.

Floyd understood it. He could get it, but it didn't change the fact that it bothered him, the sound that used to fill the space between them still bothered him now that it was gone, that it had been gone for so long. That noise and lack thereof would never be a liable way of knowing where his brother was, if he was even alive, not anymore.

While they still lived underwater, Floyd and Jade had their own methods of silent communication, the same tell tale movement in the water, subtle flicks of their fins, even just in the way they would meet each other's mismatched eyes.

On land it was harder, at least for Jade. Every step made noise, even as he practiced walking carefully, heel to toe, even with the best shoes he could get while at the boot camp, he couldn't be quiet. For Floyd it was reassuring, he didn't have any other way of telling when Jade was nearby, besides maybe smell, but outside of the water, his senses weren't as strong. Jade was still quiet, but Floyd could see behind his practiced mask, the mounting anxiety was getting to Jade as he unwillingly entertained theoreticals that would race through his mind.

Floyd remembered approaching a pensive Jade one evening, before curfew. He had just been looking out over the lake they had near the boot camp, sevens knew what was going through his mind. Floyd only realized just how jumpy Jade really was once he was within Jade's swinging range - only found out because the crack of branches beneath his feet had let Jade know somebody was walking up to him, though he admitted he didn't know who. It was only after Floyd's hand shot up to stop the bleeding from his nose and a dirty look shot at his twin that he saw tears streaming down Jade's face, his own expression changing immediately.

He kept holding his nose, mostly to try and stop the bleeding as he tried to power through the pain - at least underwater, his fist would have been slowed down, but that wasn't the point at the moment.

In that moment, their eyes were locked onto each other. One bleeding red blood for the first time, the other feeling real tears course down his face for the first time. There were no words to be said, not really. Floyd could see that this was not how Jade wanted to live...or could really continue to live, not on land. The hug that followed after the moment of silence was all the reassurance Jade needed to know his brother would help him, tears absorbing into the thin cloth of Floyd's top.

They never talk about what happened that night, but it was from that moment on that Floyd lived louder. From the way he walked to the skills he chose to develop.

He could keep the attention on him against every moray instinct he had, because the louder he lived, the louder Jade could live, even if it meant he had to scream just for Jade to whisper.

Because if Jade could finally live like a whisper, it meant that he was starting to heal...and it meant that if he went quiet, Floyd wouldn't fail him this time.

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

This post was inspired by a post I saw a While ago, please tag OP if you know who they are, (they mentioned Floyd's biggest fear being Jade's silence), also yes I'm a fan of EPIC shhhh

HAPPY MERMAY lskdjfhlksjdf

[coffee-kitty4090]

DC What if??

In this alternated universe, what if MAZAHS was a form William (Billy) Batson could be able to transform into?? Not just a form that belongs to Alexander (Lex) Luther from Earth Three. Who is that universe SHAZAM counterpart, all thanks to the Power of MAZAHS.

However, I’ll be twisting a few things to make this work.

Firstly, Billy Batson will still be able to transform into SHAZAM, but MAZAHS is a secondary transformation he can undergo. This allows Billy to possess two immensely powerful and distinct forms, and each is capable of tapping into different facets of power, either magically or godly. Only having to utter the magical word, either SHAZAM or MAZAHS, for their respective transformations.

Secondly, these forms were either gifted or forced upon to by the magical Wizard from a rock.

Originally in this universe, the Wizard was going to gift two people, one for each role. One of those chosen individuals will have the title and powers of SHAZAM, the Champion of the Gods (who are the same). Then the other chosen individual will have the title and powers of MAZAHS, the Champion of Magic.

However, the Wizard hadn’t much time left since he was already pretty old. So, he gave Billy both of the titles and powers, because one, Billy passed the test, and two, he couldn’t find another champion. Then like most mentors (if you want to call him that), the Wizard then shortly died after transferring the titles and responsibilities over to Billy, with a brief explanation for how they work.

Thirdly, I made it so that SHAZAM and MAZAHS are each other opposites (since their names are literally the same but backwards). I made them to be from the same coin, but each with their own side. Certain things about them are the same, yet they’re not, and have their own differences.

Fourthly, SHAZAM is fundamentally the same in this universe, both in appearance and personality wise, while I have changed MAZAHS entirely. Because it’s not Alexander Luther who is in this form, it’s Billy Batson.

As MAZAHS, Billy will retain his true appearance that, by magic, is in a way altered to be less recognizable. And because I can, the outfit is more child-like and arcane, reflecting his unparalleled command over magic. Yet, in this form is still similar to SHAZAM’s in terms of colours, and their iconic lighting symbol.

I also have it that SHAZAM embodies Billy’s ambitions, mirroring the qualities that he sees from his deceased father, CC Batson, as well as other heroes. SHAZAM brings forth a peaceful personality, aligning with Billy’s innate kindness and what he thinks a hero is and should be. On the flip side, MAZAHS represents the reverse. MAZAHS embodies Billy’s natural personality, complete with a mischievous nature. Like SHAZAM, MAZAHS is still Billy, but he displays and exudes a more feral and untamed demeanor, acting more like a trickster.

Fifthly, I think that their powers and skills have been divided, yet not.

I have it that SHAZAM does still possess proficiencies for using magic. They’re, however, not anywhere near the same level as MAZAHS, whose mastery over magic is unparalleled. Similarly, the same applies to MAZAHS, who also acquired and connected to the powers of the Gods, but not to the extent of SHAZAM.

I think of it being split around 20/80 in terms of how Magically or Godly their abilities and roles are.

Sixthly, I want and need miscommunication.

SHAZAM is known and written about in a lot of cultures in the DC universes, but now that there’s also a MAZAHS in this universe. I think that SHAZAM and MAZAHS would be confused as the same being and there, because when they were spoken or written about, their names are interchangeable.

It either because, neither of them would be around each other outside. Or because there have been many individuals that have been gifted those titles. It also plays in with that now they are the same being. So, that is where the title SHAZAM, the Champion of Magic, probably comes from.

Finally, I think that Billy would likely stick to only one form. He uses SHAZAM’s form the most (obviously), and only tends to use the MAZAHS form if it’s needed. Reserving it for situations that demand a different kind of and an immense magical prowess. Where SHAZAM cannot win with brute force.

It's mainly because he doesn't want to be seen and treated like a kid, or because SHAZAM and amazing muscles.

I haven't thought much about this idea, but I thinks a fun concept.

[yooitsyorick]

The Division Book from Today's Short! (Featuring some very rushed doodles from me)

A NEW SYMBOL

At the beginning of this story are two symbols: addition and subtraction. For the longest time, that’s the only thing numbers knew. I’m not exactly sure how the numeral species took so long to discover anything outside of these two symbols. Maybe they were content with what they had discovered already – Maybe they were just stupid.

Anyway, back to the story at hand. Actually, no. We need to go a bit deeper here, I think. First graders learn about multiplication and division. How were they just unable to figure this out? It’s really not that hard. I’m just being honest here. Why should anyone be interested in this “tale” when it’s predicated on such an unbelievable premise? An entire population of sentient, powerful beings and not a single one of them could come up with an array? They’re literally numbers for crying out loud! I just feel like they could’ve figured this out earlier, I guess.

Whatever, quick recap, the numbers only know about addition and subtraction for a long while. They had a lot of fun adding into each other and all that. They really liked it.

Multiplication, which is really just doing addition multiple times in a row, (Think about it, four multiplied by three is just adding four together three times. Isn’t that cool), was discovered shortly after. There were some problems with it, and there are still problems with it. A lot of numbers don’t really mess with multiplication anymore. Every single time they try to, something ends up going wrong. It’s not fun! Addition is fun. Well, I find it quite boring, but they find it fun.

Division, however, stayed a mystery for the longest time. Which it bears repeating, is absolutely unbelievable. Division is literally just opposite multiplication.

Remember when I said multiplication is just addition multiple times in a row? Well, division is just subtraction multiple times in a row. Again, shocking that it took them so long to figure this out. I can imagine the moment now.

A lot of the time, the stupid people among us tend to have the best ideas. A lot of great ideas are unsaid just because they sound stupid. Like, imagine being all smart and educated in the 1500s and suggesting the idea of electricity. Oh, wow, magic beams from the sky can power gigantic and complex machines? Get out of here, man. But that’s actually how it works!

So I don’t really know what happened, but we can probably guess that someone stupid – 9 or 7 – brought up the idea of “reverse multiplication.” I’m not sure. Maybe those two weren’t even alive, I’m not exactly sure why I was the one chosen to pen this history into the annals of time. I really do not know a single thing about what actually happened.

Anyway, let’s just say all the numbers were just sitting around, having a lot of fun, and playing on the seesaw, 9 walks in after a visit to the local multiplication symbol. She has a weird thought in her head, and she confidently brings up the idea of division. She’s laughed at and made to feel very, very dumb. Little did they all know, however, that the idea of division is very, very real. It had just been forgotten about. More on that later.

THE POWER

The division symbol is theorised to be extremely powerful, giving its leftward user the power to split themselves into multiple parts. The amount of parts the leftward number splits into is equivalent to the value of the rightward number in the equation.

The graphic below displays the basic capabilities of the division symbol. 16 being four multiplied by four can get divided by 4 into four four. These fours are all 16, just split up in between four different bodies. They all act like 16 and share 16’s colours. This is because these four 4’s are 16. 16 has disappeared due to splitting themself up. Imagine if you were split into four identical bodies – that’s what ended [up] happening in it. Only in the graphic, of course. 16 is kind of a scaredy-cat, so I don’t think they would be keen to split themselves up like this. Which is frankly weird to me, I think of it the same way I think of people who chicken out of riding roller coasters. Like, you stand there for an hour and a half and watch thousands of people stream in and out of the coaster. Not a single person dies. When’s the last time you saw someone fly out of their roller coaster seat? It doesn’t happen! So, what is there to be afraid of? Do you think you’re special or something? You’re not. You’ll survive. Roller coasters are fun. Why are you robbing yourself of the experience?

Sorry about that rant, this book wasn’t really the place for it. I think I could just delete it, but, um, I really don’t feel like it. I got commissioned to write like at least 200 pages of this thing, and I’m kind of already running out of ideas. You saw it yourself, a couple dozen pages ago I went into a 2 page lecture about the history of devilled eggs. I literally just copied that from Wikipedia. I’m starting to think I’m not being paid for my writing ability, but just because someone was too lazy to do what I’m doing right now. Insane! This thing should be like a pamphlet at most.

Whatever, I should probably get back to the topic at hand. The division symbol is very powerful because it allows the user to split themselves up. This is beneficial for manual labour and especially fighting.

Imagine how much you could get done in a day if there was a clone of you around. That’s like, a basic sitcom plotline. It’s relatable! The numbers, lucky as they are, get to live in a reality where this is possible. You need to lift up a really heavy, wide object? Just divide yourself in two. Of course, you’d have to find 2 in order to divide yourself by them. That’s really the only downside of the symbol. A lot of the smaller numbers don’t like being “used” for division. They have their own lives!

But yeah, division is, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very powerful

THE LOSS

Those who ruled the numeric realm at the time were not pleased with the existence of the division symbol. You know how people say when you’re alone you’re weak, and when you’re united you stand. Well, yeah, extrapolate that concept to this. Do you think those who enjoy power over a population of powerful numbers like the idea of them splitting themselves into a million little equally-powerful pieces? No!

So those in power really did not like the division symbol at all. Like, they really, really did not like it. Like when you walk by a group in public and they start reciting jokes you swear you saw online six years ago to each other. Like, are you that unoriginal? You think you can impress your friends by stealing other people’s jokes? They aren’t even that good of jokes! It’s just sad, honestly. Just show them the joke on your phone, or something like that.

It just really grinds my gears, honestly. So I can really imagine how it feels to be whoever ruled the land of the numbers [was]. I don’t really think it was justified; in fact, it was kind of evil, honestly. But like, if I happened to have dominion over those idiots? Yeah, I probably would want to get rid of the self-destruct button they randomly found and learned how to use. Especially if there are 2 other self-destruct buttons out there for them to use. I say 2 because subtraction is kind of useless. Like… It doesn’t really help anyone. Multiplication and addition are pretty cool though!

So, yeah, one night the numbers were having fun, partying, and just generally enjoying themselves – as numbers are known to do. They generally liked to hang out around the division symbol, actually. They really liked it! It was probably one of their favourite things in the world. Of course, everyone had their own personal favourite thing. 9’s favourite thing was his sunglasses, the real retro ones. They had a rainbow gradient instead of a desert gradient. Doesn’t that sound cool? Meh. I don’t need your approval anyway. Who cares. 8’s favourite thing is when all of the other numbers are quiet. What a weirdo.

So the numbers partied all night. They sang songs and danced around. Blah blah blah. At the dead of night, the last number finally decided to go to bed. Numbers sleep, by the way. I don’t think they really need to? I’ll be honest I know almost nothing about these things. They’re kind of useless? They’re also annoying.

While they were asleep, however, the evil ruler of the realm took the division symbol and removed it from its place! It’s a pretty heavy symbol, so I’m actually kind of amazed that a group of people were able to just pick it up like that. As you’ll see later, 2 is also able to just pick it up on their own. Isn’t that insane? Like, 2, let me know your workout regimen or something. I could use a tip or two. Haha, two, 2.

Ok back on track for real, now BFDI season 1 is the best season. Like, by a mile! It’s just so whimsical and fun and awesome. My favourite episode was episode 6, The Power of Three. What’s up with 3 anyway? Why aren't they in these things? We’re all thinking it, right? This is meta, lol.

For real this time, let’s get back on track. The numbers woke up the next morning to find their precious division symbol gone! All that remained was the discoloured patch of grass that lay under the symbol for so many years.

The numbers were shocked and horrified by the division symbol being taken. 9 cried for like, three days straight, I think. It would’ve been cute if it wasn’t so pathetic. Like, you’re an adult, man. Either way, it was still a tragedy, though. The symbol meant a lot to these freaks! And now it was gone! The fun was over! They got over it quite quickly, though. Like, I’m not kidding, they all forgot about it the literal next day. It was like it never existed. Isn’t that just crazy? These things are so weird, man. Like. Gosh. Just crazy.

THE SEARCH

Leading spots where experts think the division symbol might be hidden. It’s not clear why they think these spots have the most potential. But they’re experts! So listen to ‘em. Also, look, map! Go obsess over what this map means or something if that’s what you’re interested in. Go wild!

Why am I still writing this. How many pages are even left! Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

The typography on those “blahs” is really, really ugly. So I’m going to stop using them to fill space. The numbers embarked on an epic search for the division symbol, but were a little too stupid to end up finding it. Who would’ve guessed! This is partly why I said they just forgot about it earlier. They tried searching for it, got lost, and instantly gave up! What losers! Can’t commit to the simplest of tasks.

If I remember this correctly, 7, the genius he is, started climbing a tree to get a good vantage point. The only problem with that idea, though, was that the tree had like eight different hornet nests on them. He turned as red as 3! Because of the stings, of course. He was pretty embarrassed too, though. He tried really hard to play it off, making excuses. He said something about how the redness came from getting a sunburn… Which, like, isn’t that much less embarrassing than getting stung by thousands of hornets?

Imagine the contempt you feel whenever you see someone walking around with an ugly full-body sunburn. Like, what an idiot. You couldn’t take the basic precautions to avoid this? You couldn’t put in the 10 minutes of work it would’ve taken you to drive to the local pharmacy and buy a can of sunscreen? It’s so easy! And yet, here this dope is, fully sunburnt. Whatever, I went on a tangent again. What do you think the person who commissioned me to write this is going to think when they check my work. My guess is they’ll just see that there’s a lot of words and instantly give it their seal of approval. If you’re reading this, that is exactly what happened. There is almost zero to be actually gained from reading this book. I’ve gone on the same tirade about how little I care like 50 times now. In fact; all of this is just copied and pasted from 10 pages earlier. That last sentence was too! I’ve reused this same passage about three times now, I’m gonna do it again, too. I’m out of ideas.

Anyway, the numbers stopped searching pretty much immediately. I think Eight maybe looked for a day or two more, but he eventually gave up too. He tried to do this thing where he’d split up into four different grey 2’s… It was low-key a little weird but some people seemed to like it. I just made all of that up.

Last paragraph on this page, better make it count. Lalalalalalalala. Uhhh… Yeah I can’t make this one count. There’s really nothing to talk about with “The Search.” There literally basically wasn’t one. There’s no way anyone is reading this far down. Whatever. Bye.

[confusedkittensposts]

Adventures of Meowley (part 3)

so I have been holding this back beacuse @vaicomcas was on a break and also beacue I an not ready to let go. I left pockets in the story that I can fill on later.

Part 1 and 2

POV Castiel

Castiel watched the hellhounds play wrestle each other, mostly lost in his own thoughts.

It had been a week since Rowena turned Crowley into a cat. After the witch revealed that the spell couldn’t be reversed, they had gone back to the graveyard. 

While things were quiet for all of them, there still were beings who would be delighted to know the King of Hell was under a spell.

The demon had access to most of his powers but being a cat did make certain things difficult.

Castiel found himself moving into a cabin on the edge of the forest near a small town of northern Ireland, with a cat shaped King and his hellhounds. 

Though Crowley had told the seraph he could check in from time to time instead of staying. 

But he enjoyed spending time with Crowley and the hounds,  he also knew the reasons he wanted to be there ran slightly deeper than good company, it was enough of an excuse.

Castiel had fallen in love with the log cabin as soon as he landed near it. It was slightly elevated from the ground, with three stairs leading to a deck. There was a fairly large window beside the door. They spent half cleaning, warding and decorating the cabin according to their taste; which as it turned out was not always similar. 

A dark brown sofa was placed against the wall opposite to the door, two quilts draped over its back; the wooden floor was covered with a soft, cream coloured carpet. The curtains were eggshell white and sea green. There was a coffee table and two wing chairs. They almost forgot to add lights, as neither needed them to see in the dark. 

The second floor was a small single room, with a low bed and stacks of books under the triangular glass framed roof.

He had to take a little trip to a blood bank, some sigils were made stronger by angel blood, but some were rendered useless if drawn in anything but human blood.

Crowley was slowly getting over his annoyance at being a cat and starting to treat the whole thing as a vacation. He joined the hounds in their pile to soak sunlight and participated in their little games.. The seraph had seen him lunge at an unassuming bird for fun. He also learned that the demon had met cats from town in the few hours he had disappeared two days ago, from a very talkative Robin.

Oh and Castiel did get to sink his fingers in the silky dark fur, petting Crowley is not something he ever thought he would love so much. 

The hounds kept an eye on the workings of hell and brought in news everyday. Till now it was running smoothly.

“You coming?''He was pulled out of his head by Crowley. The cat was sitting on the railing of the deck surrounding the cabin, his tail curled neatly around the little feet. The early morning sun made all the shades of brown in his dark fur.

Castiel smiled, “of course.” He scooped the demon without a second thought, making his way towards the town. 

As days passed, the place turned into their little bubble of peace.

They explored the forest and the town, mostly keeping themselves invisible to the residents.

Castiel used the time to read to his heart's content, bringing books from all over the world and spending hours cozying up on the bed upstairs, often joined by Crowley. He started strolls in the forest, sometimes alone, but mostly with either the demon or with one or more hounds, Charlotte was his most frequent companion. He befriended animals, listened to their stories for hours. 

The seraph even met a water spirit near a well hidden creek, they were old and polite and he honored their wish of being left alone. 

He collected unusually shaped leaves and small, colourful flowers. Hid some of them among the pages of the books he liked the most.

Crowley befriended local cats, it was endearing and, as he later found out, dangerous. At least the Baker or anyone else in the town won't think of poisoning the strays again.

He and Crowley talked, shared stories, which turned out to be a mistake because now the demon thinks he isn’t just an idiot but also slightly insane. Maybe he is. 

After all, he was debating the messiest way to kill someone quickly with a cat shaped King of hell and three hellhounds. 

The amount of time he spent with hounds increased with each day. He got to know quirks and opinions of every hound, not just Juliet and Charlotte. He realized he had heard about most of them from Crowley at some point or the other, but it was still fun.

He stopped retreating to the second floor for reading, instead curling up on one of the chairs downstairs or even leaning against the pile of hellhounds and the cat demon on the carpet, sometimes reading out loud. 

Castiel learned, much to his delight, that Crowley purred if caught off guard. And that scratching him beneath his chin is a quick and sure way to get him to shut up. The seraph briefly wonders if that would work when the demon turns back, maybe he could try it when he is feeling more suicidal than usual.

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

It happened on the second day of the third week, by then Castiel could see the spell around the demon wearing away, and that should have been a warning.

The seraph was returning from a walk in the forest with Imogen. She was the oldest of Crowley’s pack and they got along really well. She was also the only hound who walked in silence. 

As they neared the cabin, he felt a wave of magic from it. Castiel flew the rest of the way, throwing open the cabin door.

Dark brown and not amber eyes met his, from a much higher point. 

The King of hell stood in the middle of the room, a very human shaped king, with two legs, two arms, all ten fingers, a scowl on his face and…

Castiel bit his lip, on the demon’s head were two furry cat ears, twitching from time to time. A long black tail whipped in the air behind him.

The Seraph moved towards Crowley, his fingers carefully grazed the ears, trailing down the side of his face. The demon, clad only in black pants and an untucked black shirt, raised a brow, but Castiel had no explanation for his actions, not one he wanted to look too closely in that moment anyway. He pulled his hand back, resisting the urge to fly away.  

“Sorry”, he whispered, and cleared his throat, “I- uh”

Crowley’s lips curved into a half smile, “Not something I thought you would like”

Castiel shook his head and let his wings carry him away.

It's foolish, he knows it's foolish and selfish and just unfair. He should never have stayed, not with selfish interests. Crowley had called him so he could help and here he was thinking about himself.

The sound of yapping and barks threw him out of his spiral. He was on the second floor of the cabin, he didn’t actually want to get away just to bring his emotions under control.

Castiel walked to the glass wall, and lowered himself against it.  

Crowley was standing in middle of his Hounds, his tail warped around one of his legs, showering them with affection. 

He let his head fall on the glass, the familiar sight loosening his chest. It was good to have Crowley back.

He just hadn’t realised how used to the weight of the cat he was, until he learned he would never hold him again and how much he had missed the demon even though he was right there.

Castiel opened the box with all his affection for Crowley, allowing himself to wonder what the demon would feel like in his arms.

The seraph had taken his time before coming down. Letting the hounds have some time with their Papa and calming himself. 

Crowley brushed off his apology, pulling his metaphorical tail, and Castiel pulled the demon’s literal one. 

He may not always accept it, but the Seraph did get hit by Crowley’s tail, multiple times. And for the record the one he had as a human hurt more.

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

Castiel watched the last of sunlight fade, and stars adorn the darkened sky, mostly lost in his thoughts.

It had been some three hours since Crowley and the hounds went back to Hell. The spell took two more days to disappear completely, and the Seraph spent them happier than he thought he would be. 

He returned the rest of the books he had laying around. And let the first and its inhabitants, like the little upset robin, know that even if they did leave, they could always come back and visit.  

Crowley paid a visit to the town cats, they didn’t seem thrilled about his human form but got used to it quickly.

They took a walk on the day before Crowley left, walking mostly in silence, and letting their hands brush against each other the whole time.

The seraph closed his eyes, enjoying the gentle breeze playing around him. He was sitting on the steps of the cabin, it had a beautiful view of the stars. 

Castiel remembers the first time he had created one, he had been so excited, he almost killed his first star. 

The Seraph didn’t open his eyes when he felt a demonic presence behind him. Or when he sat beside him, their sides pressed against each other. 

The demon placed his head on Castiel’s shoulder, and the angel relaxed making the position more comfortable for him. 

“Hello feathers”

“Hello Crowley”

And if you have the misfortune of irritating the King of Hell, you will find he is prone to hissing at times. 

[dinosaur-mayonnaise]

OK I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT A VERY SPECIFIC FUKUFUKU DETAIL OF THIS EPISODE (spoilers for bsd s5 ep8)

so there's this bit directly after the sakura blossoms sequence:

(after the Fukuchi scene the text reads "...where he became a demon of carnage")

and these are just SO interesting to me.

First off, the colours - in the present, it's well established that green is Fukuchi's colour while red is Fukuchi and the Hunting Dogs' (another reason why the anime colour change was a great idea in my opinion).

Here, though, they're reversed. In these very formative moments of their lives, they are both the opposite of their present selves, and the opposite of each other.

Fukazawa will soon stop working as an assassin, meet Ranpo, and form the ADA. Instead of killing, he will save people; instead of being 'the lone wolf', he will be a leader.

Meanwhile, although Fukuchi is still seen by the world as a hero, we know the horrible things going on behind the scene - which may be why the frame telling us that he's become a 'demon of carnage' is on the next frame, more hidden.

Plus, the language is interesting (going off the translation) - firstly, where it says Fukazawa was 'nudging' the war to end. I feel like, despite his actual role, that implies a certain grace and gentleness. He brings an end to the war (even if that's through more violence) - meanwhile, Fukuchi brings 'carnage'. Violence. Brutality. Horror on top of the trauma from the war.

But something else fascinating is the description of 'lone' and 'heroic'. While they are opposites in many ways, here, they're strikingly similar. In this moment, you'd expect Fukuchi to be joyful, celebrated, standing proud - 'heroic'.

Yet being a hero doesn't save him from being 'lone', just like Fukazawa is. Instead, he's kneeling on the ground, cradling a dead comrade and surrounded by many more.

Having chosen completely opposite paths, they still somehow, in this moment, manage to be in the exact same place as one another. Where they differ is in where they will go next.

[dumplingsjinson]

List of “Secret Santa but you draw the name of someone you’re not the biggest fan of” prompts

“I drew their name! AGAIN. It’s been the third year in a row! What the fuck.” 

“I’m going to make sure to get the best gift out there. I’m going to beat their ass by a fucking mile in this.” “…Secret Santa isn’t a competition.” “Well, it is now.” 

“I’m going to buy them the worst gift known to mankind.”

“You mean I have to spend money on them? That should be illegal!” 

“Suddenly, Secret Santa has become the worst tradition out there. Not that it was good to begin with.”  

“You got the exact opposite of what I wanted, you dickhead!”

“I actually put effort into their gift, so they’d better like it or God better give me strength so I don’t end up strangling them on the spot.” 

“I really hope they didn’t get my name.” 

“Did you just…. Did you just throw my gift into the trash right in front of me?” “You would have done the same if the positions were reversed.” “Not true! At least I’m a decent person unlike you!” 

“Are you sure you bought this from the store or did you crochet this yourself? Because it’s really ugly. And I hate the colour blue.” 

“…How’d you know I wanted this?” “Because I heard you talking about it on several occasions.” “I didn’t know you paid this much attention to me.” “I—I don’t. You just happen to talk really loudly.” 

“I actually kind of like this?” 

“You seem to know my taste better than anyone else, which is funny since you claim to anyone who would listen that you never pay attention to me.” 

“Aww, you even got me a Christmas Card? Wait, is that a scribbled out ‘Love, [name]?’” “You’re clearly wrong about that. Get glasses.” (Bonus: “But I already have glasses? Literally wearing them as we speak.”)

“I thought you wanted to ruin Christmas for me.” “Turns out I’m something of a liar and wanted this Christmas to be a good one for you, even with a limited budget.”

“…I actually had a lot of fun picking out your Christmas gift.” 

“You know what, maybe your taste isn’t that bad after all.”

“This looks like you went way over budget.” “Well, I had to get you something you wouldn’t throw in the trash.” 

“…I hate that I like what you got me.” 

“So apparently you asked everyone what I liked so you could get me something nice?” “Uh, that’s bullshit. Why would I do that? I have better things to do with my time.” 

“I’ve looked at your wish list and apparently we have the same taste in most things and I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about that.” 

“Why does it seem like you know what I like better than myself?”

“So you’re telling me we drew each other’s names?” “Unfortunately.”

“I’m the Christmas gift!” “…Somebody murder me and bury my body six feet under.”

“You look so excited about your gift it’s almost endearing.” “Am not.”

[nerves-nebula]

sorry if this is corny i just want to compliment ur art

i dunno if this is intentional or not but theres something specific about how these moments parallel each other in the way you coloured around them that i really love. it feels very similar but opposite. the big outlines feel overwhelming thoughts or sounds, and to contrast the blackness feels like suddenly only hearing ringing in your ears, and i love that these happen in reverse because theyre hearing the worst thing leo said, and the worst thing to happen to leo. also because of how opposite your donnie and raph are with their feelings about their own trauma.

idk just. i love your work and how you show emotion.

no ur right i did that on purpose. my general thought is that simplifying the bg makes you focus more on the characters reaction, plus it creates this sudden stark absence that makes you notice how much stuff is going on in the background of the the other panels, even if its just wavey color. its one of my favorite forms of creating sudden contrast, just stripping away everything thats less important. fun times.

[middenway]

The colour of Turning Red – Part 4

Here's a link to Part 1.

As Ming tells Sun Yee's story, it begins with green dominant and shifts to reds and ends on peaceful pinks.

And then Ming tells Mei about how this side of herself can be sealed away and the film draws our attention to the one bit of red on Ming, the object with that side of herself sealed away. There is no teal. It's completely crimson.

At this point in the film, we haven't seen any other of these pendants, so the colour makes sense. It seals away the red panda, therefore it is red, right? But as we see others, you'll note that none of them are completely red. This is an extremely important part of Ming's character.

OK, back to Mei as her room is emptied of anything she might damage until the panda is able to be sealed away. The pinks are almost completely gone now, the lighting is high contrast, and it's really going hard on the werewolf imagery.

And here's where we are reintroduced to something right from the beginning of the film. Mei, as a child all in red. This isn't just a new development, it's just a part of her expressing itself in a new way. It has always been a part of who she is. Really young Mei is always red.

And of course she's all in red as a very young child! She hasn't learnt to filter herself yet! This is why when I hear people talking about this film purely as a lens to discuss puberty, I feel like they're missing the bigger picture. Puberty is just part of a larger idea.

God, I feel Mei so much in this scene, feeling trapped in her own home... and then her friends come along and look at the colour they bring with them! Look at the light they bring to Mei's room!

And Mei comes apart in front of her friends and they just let her feel it, no shame, and accept her.

Look at the light spilling in from the window—it's pink. And that pink consumes the teal on the walls. And when they see the new Mei with red hair, they love her. They make her feel happy to be her.

When Mei hears her mum coming, she makes her friends leave, and here we get another hint as to why Miriam is green. Even her curated self doesn't meet Ming's standards.

Here, Mei's parents are testing her. I love little Mei in a moment when she did not want to be her restrained self absolutely surrounded by green, while she is an island of pink and red.

This scene really shows the flexibility of the home location. Mei is being herself, and she's in control, so the camera is tilted down so that the pink of the table dominates the space. By making the pink an object in the scene, the reverse shot on Ming and Jin can have a different colour identity.

And, of course, Mei's calming space is calming, powdery pinks.

I've just gotta say, someone working on this scene clearly watched Seven.

What's in the box?

What's in the box?!!

Look how warm Mei's mother's acceptance feels here...

...and look how cold her rejection is.

Notice how the props here are selected to heighten the contrast in the lighting in the second scene. Visually Mei and Ming are on opposite sides, their shots contrasting strongly with each other.

To be continued in Part 5.

[synobun]

Maize, pumpkin, cocoa for autumn asks 🍂

hewwo erin tank u

maize - share the weirdest encounter you’ve had with a stranger on the street.

A shirtless guy screaming at nobody in particular caught sight of me, stopped, shouted at me, and then asked if I knew where he could buy nail clippers. I tell him where. He angrily mutters to himself and then asks if I think he's stupid. I say no. We stare at each other in silence for a while. I tell him about a second place he could go. He says he has too much money to shop there. I say nothing and stare at him. He tells me the store's owner is a communist. I say okay. He asks if I like communists. I say sure. He calls me a [slur]. I say okay and stare at him. He noticeably chews on his lip for a few seconds, then lies down and closes his eyes. I leave. He was bald and his entire head was beet red that entire engagement.

pumpkin - do you think that humans are inherently good or bad?

Neither. The way we're born makes it so we're not inherently anything. We're entirely dependent on being raised. I think it is easier to be raised to be bad than it is to be good. The compounding and inertial effects are much easier to reinforce.

That isn't to say that people are incapable of having tendencies and inclinations. We absolutely are! But by and large, the person we become is dependent on those around us and the conditions we're raised in. You can't expect a person to be good if everything around them encourages the opposite. You might get lucky, but that's exactly what you'll be: lucky. It's why better parenting and social nets are key components of creating healthier adults and societies.

Allow people the opportunity to thrive and feel secure and you will have better people. But this is why I don't think people are inherently good: The same applies in reverse. Create an environment that is repressive and hostile and you will have angry, destructive people. You have to create the conditions for the kind of person you want to exist.

cocoa - if you could have any type of hair, what colour and cut would you have?

I have no idea! I was forced to buzz my hair up until the age of 12, and then teenage rebellion set in and I started growing it out. This was peak scene kid era, so I just had shaggy hair that was in my eyes. Then I got sick and started losing my hair, so I was bald (yes, bald) for a year. When it grew back in, I would start losing it again if I let it grow out, so I was back to buzzing it for most of my 20s. A few years ago I got better enough to start growing it out again, and I kept it to around my ears/mid-neck. Then I was in the hospital for a long time for surgery and couldn't really do much of anything with my hair, and I decided to just start growing it out until I was forced otherwise. And now I'm here.

I still don't know what I want to do with it. I'm just letting it grow and waiting to see what happens. I've considered dyeing it but I wouldn't know what to do. I don't think I'd look good with colouring, so maybe a couple shades lighter? Meh. Style it a certain way? Sounds like effort. And again, I'm not sure I'd look good with anything.

[nemetonisevilpassiton]

Hello! From what I gathered you are DarkAthena's meta account (i hope I'm not mistaken) and I just discovered your meta and I must say I really like it! At multiple occasions you mention symbolism and colour theory in teen wolf. I wondered if you would be willing to do a more complete summary of your understanding of it. I have a few idea of my own but I especially liked when you talked about mirror and Scott Mccall's messed up reflection of the self and I 100% agree with Stiles and transitional spaces (keys, door, etc).

Well all that to say I'd be really interested in your interpretation of Teenwolf's symbolism:)

this is a bit of a - symbolism is a huge chasm of a topic, and there are symbols we understand and ones that are clearly there but make no sense - like Chris Argent keeps showing up in scenes with frogs, ceramic frogs, frogs in a shadow box [in his office] and it's like, okay your association is frogs - but what does it mean, is it the way he flip flops on his opinions, is it a reference to the frog and the scorpion and how he is always going to be the victim ....

the thing with symbolism is you have three issues

people agree what the symbolism is and disagree what it means

people disagree what the symbolism is but agree with the final conclusion

people disagree there IS symbolism

now the color theory/symbolism primer is the result of LOTS of work that happened in the background, with people going look! and then it falling apart and worked over and ground into the dirt and still it's not definitive because it's an impossibility. Even if Davis et al sat down and laid it all out - people would still disagree with it

the primer

now most cinematic [and to an extent literary] symbolism is based on Freud, specifically Freud's dream dictionary [yes, really] and the problem is that most western writers know that symbolism, so they continue what they see etc - this is true of colour theory and was the WORST because teen wolf's colour references are reversed because the symbolic associations of godai [the five elements, each representing a season] are reversed

so if we take the basic Earth - it represents repression, claustrophia [I read the other ask, give me a moment] the keeping of secrets, the concept of compression. Like in ATLA the city that denies the war is Ba Sing Se - a city of earth benders with a huge earth wall. See how it works and that's normal. You bury things you don't want people to find so earth = hiding things, lying to keep a secret.

now in teen wolf Earth represents the opposite, the release, the revelation of secrets, rebirth, Derek's evolution is in the earth series [4] and look how much of that series takes place underground, in the vault, in la iglesia, the underpass at the school

mirrors = mirrors mean differnet things to different characters, traditionally a mirror is used to reassure that the self is correct or to tell an undeniable truth [Snow White, Nehelenia's mirrors] which applies to Stiles

they can mean a transition between places, or how those places are seen [Alice through the looking glass, or Candyman] that applies to Lydia

or they can show just how fractured a character is - the broken mirrors [a lot of slasher movies] = Scott

but add on to that the phantasmagoria sequences which were called mirror verse because often details were reversed = it's a very complicated theory that involves a lot of pointing that and that charlie day jpeg with strings and stress

Scott's symbol is shadow - which was a nightmare to work out btw, look how often he is show in shadow, he saw his beast self in a shadow etc - and when I pointed that out the wankstorm could have been seen from space = but all it means is that he has a dual nature - rather than derek who is one as a wolf and a man = werewolf, scott never reconciles

when you point them out they are super easy to go - oh yeah that makes sense, but other people might go - melissa has all those owls because she likes them,

all the way through 6a the meta pack were screaming about the yellow wallpaper and no one knew why until lydia pulled away the yellow wallpaper to reveal the door and we're like WE TOLD YOU because when you dig in and look critically you start to see patterns and those patterns go back to something famous, like how in canaan it was like event horizon- we knew EH was there, but couldn't prove it

and that's the ultimate truth

its not about what you think - but what you can prove

now if you wanna headcanon stiles as penelope from the odyssey [the fic i'm working on] you don't need proof, but if you wanna mess around with the guts of it [a good critical look is often like a dissection]

symbolism can be a nightmare, it can also be an easy step into deeper literary theory - which is what it is - we call it meta because we don't have to put it in the proper format and link a bibliography with books we pretended to read

symbolism is like - oh this appears a lot - does it mean anything

but sometimes the symbolism makes a clear point that just isn't there

derek is association with stairs - traditiionally stairs represent sex [think of old movies where characters would go upstairs, fade to black and it's obvious they had sex] up means accepting, down means rejecting, and derek doesn't even walk down stairs until season 3, he jumps - which prepresents an unwanted sexual attack

see that's solid

but Derek buried peter in the basement - gothic symbolism representing sex, specifically repressed desire [think fall of the house of usher] at the bottom of the stairs - which in symbolsim add them up and you get = Peter violently sexually abused Derek and Derek is hiding it

but there is no evidence of it whatsoever - so somewhere the symbolism as it is historically doesn't match, and it might just be that by burying peter he releases him [see the jennifer and nurse jennifer theory] from his madness and the set was too small for it to be anywhere but the bottom of the stairs

and yet people can argue that it's solid even though it's not explicitly supported, because Peter certainly encouraged the relationship with paige which ended so very badly....

symbolsim - it's a fancy word for your guess is as good as mine but at least now we've gotten past the point where the very mention of colour theory gives me eye twitches

[abysswizardstimstuff]

hello!!!!

2. what constitutes a good stimboard in your opinion?

24. if you had to choose one or two, which stimboard/s is your absolute favorite you’ve ever created?

- scopostims 👁️

2. a good stimboard needs several things! - credit, meaning all gifs are attributed to their makers and/or the source video. - readability, meaning you can easily visually distinguish elements in a board. I see very few people struggle with this, but it is important. - unique gifs in each place, meaning no repeated gifs in the same stimboard. this rule can be kind of broken for more interesting concepts, such as "mirrors" using reversals of gifs on their opposite sides. - thematic consistency, meaning the elements present are coherent and match a stated or unstated theme. this isn't to say that the theme can't be broad and encompass many aspects, but rather that it shouldn't be needlessly incongruous. again, it's a style guideline that can be bent for more interesting concepts. - pleasing colour palette, meaning the colours of the gifs go well together. they do not have to all be the same/matching necessarily, and you can absolutely have a "statement gif" standing out as entirely different where it's narratively appropriate. - balance and/or storytelling, meaning that gifs are arranged in a way that is "symmetrical", otherwise patterned in some way, or telling a story. these states can be achieved with colour, subject, movement direction, and many other aspects. this is one of the things I fiddle with the most on my boards.

24. alright, 2 boards, coming right up! // CW shaky cam, horror themes this voidcore one (which is also my most popular, at 455 notes). it has a great example of storytelling! // CW blood, sharps, heights, underwater, mannequins this birthday one I made for myself. it has some of my favourite things, yes, but also one of my better compositions colour-wise! I do love my reds, teals, and greys.

thanks for the ask!

[benjaminsblog]

Past weekend

Saturday

I spent the day with Josh in London, our first stop being Gordon Ramsay’s Street Pizza restaurant in Battersea – we both effin’ love our pizza and were both ravenous by the time we sat down, and we chose GR because of its ‘bottomless pizza’ option – so it was a perfect storm!

The format was not one I’d experienced before – instead of picking a pizza from the menu and chowing down, the servers meander between the tables with whichever pizza just came out of the oven and hand you a slice. We quickly decided we liked this method because 1) it allowed us to try all the toppings, and 2) the brief waits between slices made for some good pace-making!

There were about 5 different pizzas doing the rounds, although besides pepperoni being the clear standout, I was rather underwhelmed by the others. Nevertheless, I kept putting away everything that was brought my way, keeping up with the eating machine sat opposite me. In fact, Josh was the first to blink and turn down a slice, at which point I took the opportunity to sneak ahead and claim a minor victory! He did end up demolishing 20 slices to my 16, but I was very pleased with my effort.

The F1 exhibition followed in the afternoon, which was slick and impressive. We were advised upon entry that 1h30 would be required to get the best out of our visit, but we both expected to be done before then. However, it must have been good, because we ended up staying there for nearly 2 hours! I wasn’t all that interested in reading everything on the walls, but the installations alone kept me occupied. Every single car they had on display was mesmerising to look at, but if I had to pick my favourite it would be the McLaren sporting #12 and an orangey-red colour!

Sunday

I saw Hannah in the evening, with the main reason for my visit being the pub quiz that she frequents with her friends. I have now attended the last three (they’re monthly) and fully merited my place in the side – on my first outing in a small team of 3 we managed to come third, and last month (with a full lineup) we won the whole shebang! To be honest, I don’t know why I didn’t blog about our famous victory at the time – we each had some inspired moments and beat the resident champions (who include pro quizzers among their ranks) for the team’s first ever win!

This month’s quiz was markedly harder than the previous ones, and we felt our reign as champs slowly fading round by round. We even joked we might be taking home the booby prize for coming stone-dead last, but as the answers were being read out, we started to suspect we might have done a little better than we first thought. The quizmaster named the 7 teams in reverse order, starting with a three-way tie for last place; once our name wasn’t read out, we breathed a sigh of relief and found ourselves on the precipice of another podium. It turned out that we somehow snaffled second place, finishing a solitary point behind the winners (them pro quizzers again)!

So that’s three quizzes and a medal of each colour, plus at least one MVP performance to boot! I am told that regular podium finishes have previously been beyond the team, so I feel happy that I helped get them further up the leaderboard. We were even down a player this weekend due to illness, so it is not inconceivable to think that another head could have provided the extra couple of points to nab a second win – those pesky pro quizzers better watch out…

[alicewhitesblog]

Chapter 5

After hearing Grimesludge click his fingers a second time, Toby watched as the the Big Top dissolved around him. He stood once more outside the coconut shy tent, turning the gold coin over in his hand.

It was large, about the size of a peanut butter jar lid. On one side of the coin he could see the smiling but sunken face of Grimesludge and on the reverse, a large letter ‘G’. Around the edges bore the inscription; ‘Mr Grimesludge Wonderful Carnival of Horror’.

Grimesludge then came out of the coconut shy tent and clicking his heels, turned off all its lights draining it of its colour. The tent became grey once more indicating that this attraction was now closed.

He saw Toby was lost in thought as he continued to ponder over the coin. Grimesludge placed his hand once again on Toby’s shoulder. This time he felt the icy breath of Grimesludge on the side of his neck as he whispered,

“Look after that coin if you want to go home." Grimesludges voice was like hearing fingernails being dragged down the front of an old-fashioned blackboard. Toby closed his eyes waiting for the shiver to finish running down his spine.

“Well!” said Grimesludge as he stood up to applaud Toby. “That wasn’t too difficult was it!”

Toby stopped fiddling with the coin and put it in his pocket. He gave Grimesludge the meanest stare a twelve-year-old boy could muster. “Wasn’t too difficult? Those clowns were trying to kill me!”

Grimesludge became annoyed at such a stupid comment. “Of course, they were trying to kill you. What did you expect! This is a carnival of ‘Horror’ after all said and done. The prizes in this carnival aren’t those horrible fluffy toys other carnival’s offer. No, there is only one prize at Mr Grimesludge Wonderful Carnival of Horror, really worth having. Your life!”

Toby couldn’t keep the tears back any longer, he began to sniffle. Grimesludge stood up even straighter with his arms folded looking very unsympathetic towards Toby’s emotional outburst.

“Now go and find another attraction to see if you can win a second gold coin." and with that said, he turned his back on Toby and walked off in the opposite direction.

Toby was left all alone standing in the middle of an animated carnival with its coloured flashing lights and piped organ music. He shut his eyes once more and placed his hands over his ears. Maybe, just maybe he’d wake up from this nightmare.

“Choose your second attraction Toby Jennings!” said Grimesludge voice, once more booming over the tannoy. Toby took his hands away from his ears and stormed off going nowhere in particular.

He wandered through the carnival stalls, trying not to look too long at any one in particular. That’s how he ended up in the coconut shy that nearly killed him!

He walked passed ‘The Waltzer’, then quickly averted his eyes. Those things made him sick normally, he wasn’t taking a chance riding them in this fairground. He passed the House of Fun, although he’d imagine that in there wouldn’t be so much ‘Fun’.

The ‘Shooting Gallery’ definitely a no-no! Then he happened upon the ‘Bumper Cars’. He stood looking at their brightly painted livery, all with their lightning strike artwork painted on the side. He remembered being taken on them by his dad who let him drive!

Grimesludge voice came booming back over the tannoy. “Toby Jennings has chosen attraction number two, ‘The Bumper Cars’”

He had done it again, lingered too long on looking at a sideshow. All the cars that were in the middle of the floor started to cough and splutter as one by one their engines began to roar. Slowly they moved away from their huddle and took up starting positions behind a white line.

Grimesludge walked around the side of the bumper car tent carrying a chequered flag. “So, you fancy yourself as a bit of a hotshot, do you?”

Toby watched as each cars jostled and bumped each other, waiting for the race to start.

“Which car would you like Toby Jennings?” asked Grimesludge, handing Toby a pair of goggles, then advised him. “Each car has its own attributes, so choose wisely.”

The yellow car nearest to Toby looked quite slick in design, its long cylindrical shape would produce less drag, so speed was its obvious ability.

But speed was not always the best attribute, thought Toby, so, the yellow car was dismissed. Next in line was the green car. Speed was most defiantly not high on its ability scale. It was robust and armed to the teeth with all manner of rockets and guns. This thing was a tank and relied on blasting the other cars out of its way.

Toby could see the possibilities, he would file that one away for reference. Next to the green car was a blue one. This had no visible attributes, there was nothing to suggest speed or power.

This car, Toby pondered over the most. He tapped his front teeth with the nail of his index finger, a sign of Toby being deep in thought. The orange and black cars on either side of the blue car, displayed blades from the centre of their wheels. Just like the Roman chariots Toby remembered reading about in his history lessons.

But despite all their outward signs, it was the blue car that Toby decided to go for. “I’ll take this one!” he said to Grimesludge.

“But this car has no abilities, its just a ‘cruiser’ a car for posing in. Are you sure you want this one?”  Grimesludge replied, attempting to change Toby’s mind.

Toby’s thought for a moment, maybe he should choose the green one built like a tank. Then, he remembered a nursery school story about the ‘Hare and the Tortoise’. A race between two animals, one obviously being faster than the other. In that story, the hare gains a remarkable head start and stops for a rest near the finish line. However, the hare falls asleep and doesn’t notice the tortoise slowly walking pass him to win the race.

This blue car was obviously that tortoise. “No! I’m taking the blue car.”

“Very well, Toby Jennings take your position.”

Grimesludge waited for Toby to get himself settled behind the steering wheel.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” Grimesludge shouted over the roar of the engines. Toby wondered who else he was addressing until he noticed that the other cars now had drivers sitting in them, giving him the evil eye.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” Grimesludge continued. “The race today will take place in a town called, ‘Nytemair’. A zombie infested town with a very nice shopping mall. Your objective is to make it to the shopping mall and collect the gold coin from the 'Fountain'. Good Luck!”

Grimesludge rather dramatically waved the chequered flag above his head, then dropped it to the ground. With a screech of tyres, all four cars sped off from the starting line and instantly disappeared through a black hole and came out into the town of Nytemair.

In seeing his surroundings change, Toby immediately lost control of his vehicle at the same time trying to fight off a zombie who suddenly popped in the passenger seat next to him!

To be continued... Follow Toby's adventure on #alice@nothinghill

[coldhndss]

──★ ˙ ̟ !! Blue Lock Matchup No.1 @mimomis

Hello!! Thank you so so much for being my first matchup! For me, I decide characters based off who is most similar to you, then reversing the role and going for the exact opposite + making sure that it matches your personality based on the information I’ve been given. Also, thank you so much for basically matching the exact format I was looking for in a matchup <3

So, with that, I matched you with Rin Itoshi!

What did it for me, was the second part you sent in where you described yourself as ‘childish when you want to be, and that it’s terribly easy to make you smile or laugh’. I feel like Rin is easily misconstrued as a rude and unlikable person, but he wasn’t always like that; and I like to think that once he gets over this whole rivalry, he’ll most likely soften up again.

 ―୨୧⋆ ˚ “I like to read and watch documentaries in my free time.”

I think you and Rin would definitely bond over these types of things. The two of you would suggest things to each other and watch them in your spare time, or together. You’d tell him about a new film of sorts that is coming out, and he’ll tell you he somehow already has free  tickets to go see it. He comes off as the sort of person who doesn’t really care much for others, but still puts effort into the things he notices you enjoy. 

―୨୧⋆ ˚ “..come off as guarded and that glacier blue best represents me as a colour.”

Adding a colour that best represents you was super useful, in this case, I think Rin would also be matched to the same kind of colour. This kind of colour can signify clarity, and open expression of your feelings. Although you and Rin may come off as guarded, I think he’d see parts of himself in someone like you, and it may help him strive for a change. Funnily enough it’s kind of poetic.

Your old-type interests and reserved nature (correct me if I’m wrong) would add to the maturity in a person that I personally think Rin likes to see. You two would really get along as your personalities don’t clash but are not the exact same in that regard. Rin would tell you about his worries and vent to you about things that he wouldn’t feel comfortable telling anyone else. In terms of a school setting, the two of you would walk to and home from school, stopping on the way to sit at a café and work on homework, or at a mini shop selling pricey stationery trinkets, books, pens, markers, journals and the like. Something would catch your eye, but you’d decide against it because you can’t afford to splurge right now. 

The next day you’d walk into school and find it in your locker, covered in baby blue gift wrapping and tied together with a shiny black bow. A tag hangs off the edge of the bow with his name written in a pretty font.

―୨୧⋆ ˚  “I also tend to oscillate between intentionally talking nonsensically and analysing/overthinking everything.”

Just as I think he would vent to you; he’d also be there for your little analyses sessions. He’d maybe even agree with some of the things you say and tell you not to worry about bothering him with your talks. He’d listen to you speak and nod or murmur in agreeance here or there, opting to stay silent and only listen to you speak over talking himself.

Rin would value you as a reliable person who’s feelings he could never bring himself to hurt. Even if he’s cold at times, and seemingly wouldn’t want to talk to anybody at all, he keeps it at bay when it comes to you as he wouldn’t even want to imagine hurting your feelings. You’ve been there for him when he really needed it, and he wants to do the same for you.