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harleiquina · 1 year ago

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All TV series I've ever seen.

@thefirsthogokage 's search for new show to binge inspired me to list all TV shows I've seen so far. Of course I might add some along the way because I won't remember everything in one sitting.

Considering that it's going to be a lot... I might as well divide them in

1940 -1970 (this post)

1980 - 2000

2010 - Now.

Let us begin.

1944 - The Black Whip (serial)

For youngsters, a serial was like a TV show that our grandparents (maybe even great-grandparents) watched on the cinema. Sometimes all episodes (around 15 min each) would be edited together and played as a movie.

It was an experimental take of the character known as Zorro (born in pulp fiction) transported to USA's Wild West where two siblings have a newspaper but the brother is also "The Black Whip" a vigilante that keeps the peace in their town... until he's killed so his sister takes over his mantle (without anyone noticing). Fun fact: George J. Lewis later played Guy Williams's Zorro's father: Don Alejandro de la Vega.

Overall entertaining. The cliffhangers are kind of over done (keep in mind maybe back then they had to wait 1 week or more to see the next episode) and the escapes are sometimes kinda ridiculous but well... it's fun anyway. I saw it on Youtube.

1957 - Zorro (Disney)

You are not argentinean if you didn't grow up watching Zorro at noon while having lunch (or run from school to catch it before it ended). It is still being broadcasted today (in 2023) believe it or not!

Follow the adventures of Diego de la Vega, a señorito (very delicated gentleman) that during the nights turns into El Zorro, a vigilante that rights injustices and saves the people of Los Angeles.

LOVE IT. Guy Williams is Zorro, no-one will ever be better than him. It's fun for the whole family (and do not be fooled by the time it was made, the female characters are well written and very progressive for the time being). Saw it on TV over and over and over again and never got tired of it.

1959 - The Three Stooges (year they began to be televised)

How could I forget about my childhood heroes?

My first contact with slapstick comedy and absurdities galore.

In this house we believe in Moe, Larry, Curly & Shemp supremacy!!

1961 - Mr. Ed.

Ever wondered how it would be to live with a talking horse? Well, now you'll know.

Fun for all family, catchy title song... you can see it probably in lots of places because it's a classic (but for me it was on a bootleg DVD pack)

1964 - The Addams Family

We all know and grew up with The Addams Family movies in the 90's but this is the original live-action (with Gorey's insight). The family canon is different: Mom is Gomez's mother, Fester is Morticia's uncle and my favourite (yet always forgotten in the new media) is Ophelia, Morticia's twin sister -who was supposed to marry Gomez in first place-.

To be fair I saw it a couple of years ago so I don't remember too much, but its all-family-fun and if you are a spooky-inclined person (such as me) you'll end up wanting to own a house like theirs (and maybe some of their creatures as well). I saw it on bootleg DVDs, shhh... don't tell anyone.

1965 - Get Smart

Another argentinean staple (not as strong as Zorro, though) was this spy-comedy born out of mocking James Bond with gadgets and all. "Smart, Maxwell Smart. Agent 86" carved himself a space in our hearts with Agent 99, the Chief, agent K-9, Jaime and the equitative incompetent villain Siegfried.

Super fun with all the weird and borderline ridiculous inventions and plots. It sort of loses its momentum in the final seasons (when Max and the 99 get married and have twins) but there are still moments of greatness. I have all the DVDs, original ones this time.

1967 - Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

In Argentina we use the expression "wooden actor/actress" a lot... but in this case it's probably right because they are all puppets (unless they do a close up of their hands, then they are human 😱).

Follow this colour-coded crew of space travellers and their adventures. I don't fully remember if it was a concept or if it actually happens in the show but maybe Captain Scarlet doesn't make it to the end of the day. Very early Aeon Flux from his part. Be like me buying a bootleg DVD collection or you can probably find it on Youtube.

1971 - The Persuaders!

Who on this Earth hates either Roger Moore or Tony Curtis? I'm ready to throw hands!

Two millonaires (with lots of monetary issues aparently) have to work together for a Judge solving different crimes (identity theft, kidnappings, robberies, etc). It is never quite explained why both of them are the right ones to do the job but no-one cares because you'll end up loving Lord Brett Sinclair (Moore) and his love-hate relationship with Danny Wilde (Curtis) plagued with sarcasm but, eventually, true friendship.

I'm a Danny Wilde kinda girl (and I would like to have like half of his jackets, they are awesome) but Moore is also lovable. Yes, most of the cases have a beautiful girl that ends up with any of them... yes, some things are a little too convenient... but it is a show to have a good time. Don't think too hard about it. I've watched it on bootleg DVD but it is also on Youtube.

1973 - El Chavo del 8 & El Chapulín Colorado (The Kid from the 8th and The Red Cricket)

Both shows were aired pretty much at the same time and starred by the same cast the first one tells the story of a orphan kid that lives in a vicinity with very colourful characters.

The second one is the Mexican Superhero by excellence.

Chespirito (a wordplay for the Spanish "Little Shakespeare" -Shakespeare chiquito-) AKA Roberto Gomez Bolaños -author and lead in both shows- even said that his superheroe was better than the ones from Marvel or DC because he didn't needed muscles... he just wanted to do good and had big heart.

1976 - Charlie's Angels

I really don't understand why is it so hard for the movies to get it right. They were private investigators, not super-spies!!

3 girls became cops but were destined to "girl jobs" like secretary, school crossing and making parking tickets... but were recruited by the misterious Charlie that knows that they are capable of more so now they work solving cases where the police can't or won't be called.

We only own the first season on bootleg DVD (my mom's and aunt's favourite with the three original angels). It's fun and it's for everybody.

1976 - The Bionic Woman

Jamie Sommers (professional tennis player and Steve Austin's finceé) has a skydiving accident resulting in her getting bionic replacements of her legs, arm and ear. Since the equipment was very expensive (not like Steve's six million dollars bionic parts) she agrees to use it to help the goverment in dangerous missions. In the meantime she'll keep on working as a teacher.

Adventures of all kinds and the most memorable ones are with the fembots (altough many people like the Sasquatch episode, who knows why 🤷🏻‍♀️). Saw it on bootleg DVD.

1976 - Wonder Woman

Really? Wonder Woman? Lynda Carter? Do I need to explain anything? Just go watch it. (I saw in on bootleg DVD, shhh! Mrs. Carter is nearby, I don't want her to get upset).

1976 - The Muppets

Do they need introduction? Guest stars in every episode, humor, music and Ms. Piggy. You just can't hate Jim Hensons' creatures.

I have the first season on bootleg DVD but saw quite a few scenes on Youtube and social media as well.

1977 - The Incredible Hulk.

Bill Bixby + Lou Ferrigno + weekly adventures + that bloody journalist that follows them everywhere (and you will recognize as the bartender in Back to the Future III) to try and caught them red handed + the saddest end to every episode seeing poor Bruce Banner with his backpack walking to another town because he can never stay on the same place for too long = this early Marvel property that gave us a sneek peek into the complicated life of a superhero.

It's good, a problem-of-the-week show, but then again... poor Bruce Banner always alone, I want to cry 😭 Saw it on TV, I don't think that all episodes were aired back then nor when my mom and aunts were little.

1978 - Mork & Mindy

An alien that looks and acts like Robin Williams ends up living with the human Mindy to learn more about us. By the end of every episode Mork gives his report about what he learned about Humanity and it's usually very uplifting.

I've watched a few episodes on TV (this was Argentina in the '90s, you were lucky if any TV channel bought 2 seasons of any show to repeat ad eternum).

Nanu nanu!!

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askelectrochromic · 2 years ago

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what is the Krikani language like? i like the description of Cheloan glyphs as analogous to Hanzi or Kanji (being able to identify the ``spicy'' character) but id love to know about the Krikani writing system

(im not expecting you to write a whole conlang of course but was curious if you had a general shape or feeling to it in mind) ^^;

SableGear0: You know, I haven't actually given it much thought yet. I probably should, though. My first impulse was to say "they don't have a written language" (for reasons I will discuss in a moment) but that seems impossible; they're a sapient species capable of space-travel and manage huge military systems, they probably have writing since not all communication can be person-to-person. So, organic rambling solution-finding and some links and images under the cut.

Generally I conceptualize Kriken as a (semi-)eusocial hive organism that are passively psionic, to keep in touch with the greater hive. How much direct communication happens psionically I'm still not sure; whether it can be used "conversationally," or if it's merely a "vibe" they share with local Kriken that's strong enough to pick up on the "vibe" from the core colony sometimes. The fact that they have a spoken language probably means its closer to the latter.

If the psionic communication is powerful enough, then maybe they wouldn't need to write? But then how would you do something like label the controls on a starship or make maps? You might have to devote someone to memorizing what all the labels would be and then telepathically ask them what you're looking at. Which isn't totally unreasonable, if we consider them highly specialized hive organisms. Maybe they do have "librarians" that keep this stuff in their minds and can be asked/accessed on a whim. This would be an extremely alien way of keeping track of information. While I kind of like it, it seems maybe a bit too weird for the Metroid series as we know it. Arguably, Metroid has kept its aliens fairly (socially) tame, giving us a lot of written logs throughout the Prime series. Though the ones we've gotten the most lore on are Pirates and Chozo, which aren't great benchmarks since they were respectively "the bad guys" and "the good guys (mostly)."

Being insectoid, Kriken might also communicate via pheromones? But pheromones and what/how Kriken eat have been stumping me because... well, their heads aren't really attached.

Trace has no neck. And while in some renders it looks like that tiny teardrop of a head is resting on the body, the in-game model and wireframe show pretty clearly they do not touch. Hence why I go with psionic; their heads float for spooky psionic reasons. This also means that while their heads may be a sensory center (headshots still work in Hunters), I doubt it's where they stick food when (if?) they eat, so it being a chemosensor feels a little unlikely, but I digress.

Anyway back to written language. I suppose I have to ask myself, what would a written language look like if it was invented by ants? Or bees? Ants is a tough one mainly because I don't actually know much about ant organization. My impression is that they build and tunnel fairly organically, just wherever is easiest to go and/or smells like it has the most food. When I think about bees, though, I think about bee dances, and how that might be adapted into a written language; a system abstracting the orientation and movement of the body into markings that can be re-read at any time so that worker doesn't have to bust down and dance it out every time she wants to relay some information to someone new.

And thinking about that, I think about Phyrexian. This conlang shows up in the Magic the Gathering universe, and knowing what I know about Phyrexians (an all-consuming hivemind-like culture that take creatures and turn them into half-mechanical abominations to serve their own purposes), it seems like a decent fit.

The shape of these is really what I was going for but the cultural implications match up too. I was thinking of the cross-strokes being similar to the directional facing if you were to write down a bee dance, the extra marks indicating other movements like stops or the frequency of a waggle.

It also looks like something a bug might make if you dipped it in ink and let it walk around on a paper, so that's neat. Scratching marks like these out would be fairly quick and easy for a Kriken, since they only appear to have a crab-like manipulator and a single combat claw, and I've stuck with that design choice in describing them because it's more interesting than "oh and they have normal hands too".

So there's your answer, I guess. Written Krikani probably looks kind of like Phyrexian; branching strokes off a central line that stem from an ancestral system of gestural communication (and I like the verticality so I'll probably keep that too). Simple, efficient, and easy to replicate.

Thanks for the ask! This was a bit of a brain-teaser.

#ask electrochromic #electrochromic #incoming dispatch #prussian blue #alien culture #alien language #kriken #metroid #metroid series #links in post

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inked-fables · 2 years ago

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trick or treat!!!

🍬 treat!!

have a list of magical, mystical and mythical creatures creatures from fantasy wip ‘22 <3

- sucruor -> in-universe vampires

- fae -> including true fae, sprites, brownies & pixies. true fae are human sized, pretentious, and fierce, basically self-obsessed humans with wings. sprites are small, silly and playful, often more protective of the environment than other faefolk; often banished for a couple decades when the fae get annoyed, but are usually treated like the fae’s children. brownies live only in some villages, in large communities. they are makers and fixers, so these villages tend to have many visitors as well as carpentry shops and bakeries. pixies are the smallest and most mischievous fae creatures, often at least partially mal-intentioned. they have been banished by wizards and other fae creatures to the very deep parts of certain forests.

- nymphs -> of many different kinds

- dragons -> actually, “dragon” singular. their name is logan.

- centaurs & satyrs -> these will perhaps receive an in-universe name sometime soon but they’re pretty much the same as usual

- moonwolves & moonlions -> in-universe werewolves & were-cats

- mages -> including wizards, warlocks, sorcerers, and hags (in-universe witches; NOT the same as wizards)

- elves -> do they actually exist?? are they a myth??? hmmmm….

- hobgoblins -> they maybe exist but also they’re a bit of a wives’ tale used when things go missing/are destroyed mysteriously. ie, this vase fell off the table when all the adults were out of the house, but the teenagers claim nobody had guests and they were all in their room and they don’t have the faintest clue what happened? must have been the hobgoblins, i guess /s. often families have names for “their” hobgoblin—these names are often reminiscent of their children’s names…hmm…

#ask #my apologies for taking all night to answer #writeblr event #writeblr #anyway i might invent some new creatures too but we are Not there yet #wherearetheplants #fantasy wip 2022 #writeblr trick or treat #the fool

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sukorakurai · 3 years ago

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@snarkyship is a true genius. I commission this Stark Family Portrait and I couldn’t be happier. I wrote a little fic to accompany this fabulous Picture. hope you all enjoy.

Stark Family Picture Day

By Sukora Kurai

Tony sighed over the counter in the communal kitchen. He had been there since dawn when he asked Jarvis what day it was. Then his trusty AI informed him of an importance of this month. Now he was stuck with what to do now.

“Hey Tony what’s got you down?”

“Hey Capsicle, I’m doomed.”

“Oh come on Tony, it can’t be that bad you are an Avenger.” Steve smiled as he got out food to make omelets for the Team, and greeted the in coming members. “Morning Nat, morning Bruce.”

“Morning Steve, what’s wrong with Tony?” Bruce greeted heading to the stove to put the kettle on for his morning tea.

“Not sure I found him like this.” Steve stated cracking some eggs into a bowl.

“His and Loki’s anniversary is this month and he has no idea what to get him.” Nat answered pouring a large mug of coffee.

Tony shot up in his seat and stared slack jawed. “How could you possibly know that?”

“It’s my job as a shield Agent and Pepper’s PA to keep tabs on you. So it is well documented when you clumsily asked Loki to be your boyfriend during the Lord of the Rings Marathon where you bought out the AMC Theater for the day.” The Spy shrugged ignoring the fact that all her team mates stared at her in horror. All were now wondering what she had on them in those SHIELD files.

“So Tony, you have and anniversary coming up? Have you though about what Loki might like?” Steve coughed drawing the conversation back to the main topic.

“No, I don’t. What does one give a god especially one that has magic and can make anything appear out of thin air?” Tony waved his arms in frustration.

“That is a tough one but I’m sure anything you get him will be fine. Loki loves you Tony.” Bruce tried to be supportive.

“I hope you will be putting more thought into the gift you give me next month for our anniversary.” Nat gave the Gamma Doctor a pointed before wandering out of the room to start her routine before heading out to work.

“Ha, I’m not the only one in hot water now!” Tony crowed at the look of devastation in his science-bro’s face.

“Tony, knock it off. Now in my day it was the thought that counted most. You should find what Loki cherishes the most. You find that then you can present to him in a meaningful way. It’s true he’s a prince and probably has had his other lovers throw jewels and meaningless expensive trinkets at him to win his affections. You know Loki better because you love him and he loves you.” Steve pointed out.

“Yeah, Lokes complains a lot about his life in Asgard and that there were many who wooed him just to get to Thor. At night when it’s just the two of us and RC snuggled between us he sighs soft and says what a perfect night it is. He never elaborates but I think it means that he likes just the quiet nights with us.” The genius eyes went glazed as he recalled the many nights he cuddled with his god. Then the idea hit him. “Hey Spangles, can you paint or do you just draw?”

“Huh,” Steve was caught off guard and almost dropped the omelet he was flipping. “I paint from time to time.”

“Don’t lie babe you are in your studio whenever can get the chance.” Bucky laughed entering the kitchen. “All the paintings in our apartment Stevie did.”

“Great! Can you do a portrait if I get you a picture?” Tony asked digging in to the ham and cheese omelet.

“Yeah, it might take two weeks maybe less depends on if we get called out or if SHIELD needs me.” The captain estimated placing another plate in front of his boyfriend.

“As long as it’s done before the end of the month we’re good. Jarvis start looking through my photos and pull out any possible portraits.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Delicious breakfast as usual Capsicle. I’ll get you the photo as soon as I find one.” Tony dumped his empty plate in sink and ran off to his lab.

Two hours later…

“None of these are good enough J.”

“Sir, might I suggest you take a new photo of you and Prince Loki.”

“Yeah and RC too, because she’s our baby. We can’t have a Family Portrait without all the family members. Where’s are RC now?”

“She is currently with Alpine in his play room.”

“Cool, I think I got the perfect outfit in mind.” Tony grinned as he ran to his emergency closet in the lab. Tony had put in the closet when he realized he destroyed a lot of his clothes during his inventing and building phases. Also there was a suit or two for the days he forgot he was supposed to be in a meeting and had to make a rush to the board room.

In the penthouse…

It had been a quiet morning with no call outs, no calls to Asgard and no need to go anywhere. Loki decided to enjoy the peace and quite lounging in his soft Asgardian casual clothes on the couch reading his mother’s spell journal.

“Hey there, Bambi! It’s Picture Day!”

“Anthony, what are you on about?” The prince looked up from his book to see his lover carrying their cat into the living room.

“Well Picture Day refers to the day school kids take pictures for the yearbook and photos are bought for family distribution. Anyways I want to have a family picture that was honest. I never had that growing up because Howard was an asshole and Maria, my mother, was frail. She loved me but she couldn’t express it because she was always ill. Now we have our own little family and I want a picture to put in the lab.”

“You want to take this picture now? Anthony, I look a mess and how did you get the bow on the cat?”

“Aww, you look gorgeous, love, as always. Anyways, I put a bow on our baby because RC loves to look pretty for her daddies. Don’t you sweetie.” Tony scratched under the kitty’s chin as they sat on couch next to the god.

“Mew,” RC purred.

“Fine, you win, where would you like to take the picture? Also what are you wearing? I don’t believe I’ve seen that outfit before, and what is on your feet?” Loki set his book aside and took in his lover’s appearance.

“Oh you like? I dressed in red and gold to match my shoes. I had these shoes made based on my Iron Man suit. I thought maybe putting them on the market for kids but I liked them too much to share. So I have a life time supply in the lab. If you want I can have a pair made for you.”

“No thank you. They clash with my outfit. Now let’s take your picture.” Loki said taking the cat in his arms.

“Okay, okay. Let me get out my phone.” Tony fished his Stark Phone out of his back pocket and held it out to make them all fit in the frame. “Okay say cheese!”

“Click”

“Okay let’s see how that one turned out.” Tony looked at the photo to see him smiling a black blur and a bland look on Loki’s face. “Nope we got try again. This time smile Loki and RC you need to stay still so we can see you.”

And it went picture by picture they have yet to take a family portrait.

“Shit I only got half your face.”

“Anthony your thumb is on the lens.”

“RC Stay still!”

“Achoo! Ow! I dropped on my foot!”

“Do not eat my hair you Retched Creature!”

“Okay I set it up on a tripod. Now say cheese.”

“CHEESE BROTHER!” Thor popped up between the two men who stared at shock at the blond god.

“Next!” Tony rolled his eyes as Loki vanished his brother to where ever. Tony didn’t ask where the Loki sent Thunder god. He rather liked staying in the tower and wanted to keep it that way.

“Meow!”

“No RC! Don’t chase the bunny!”

Three Hours Later…

“Okay, this is it I can feel it. Now Jarvis is going to take the picture the bunnies are secure in their room. The penthouse is locked down, so no unexpected guest and RC is filled of milk to keep her calm and relaxed. And I promise after we get this picture I will have Jarvis order you favorite meal from the Thai Palace down the street and I’ll rub your feet, while we watch you favorite Harry Potter movies.”

“Oh Anthony you spoil me. I love you.” Loki sighed as a soft smile graced his face and he leaned into his lover as Tony joined their hands together. RC who was seated now on the god’s shoulder leaned in and purred soaking up the love of her people. The genius couldn’t be happier in that moment as he had his to precious family members with him and the grin on his face was wide and bright.

“Click.”

Two Weeks Later…

“Sir Prince Loki and Mr. Odinson have returned from Asgard.”

“Great, I got everything ready. Tell Loki that I have dinner ready and waiting.”

“Yes, sir.” Tony had the table set with Loki’s Favorite food from the five star steak house, they go to. He paid extra to have the chef come over and cook for their anniversary.

“Ding.”

“Thank you, Jarvis. Evening Anthony, never in my life had been so glad to leave Asgard. He talked for hours at the council over stagnant topics. What’s all this?”

“Well my hard working God of Mischief, today is our one year Anniversary and I have planned the perfect evening. Dinner, a bath and I installed a movie screen in our bathroom so we can enjoy the movie of your choice during the bath and then I plan on us making love until dawn.” Tony pulled Loki over to the dinner table, watching as the god’s magic removed the armor and replaced it with comfortable Asgardian wear.

“You lovely little man, you spoil me so; I don’t deserve it or you.” The Raven pulled the billionaire into his arms and planting kisses all over the man’s face.

“Yes you do, because I love you and I got you something, well I got Cap to make it, but it was my idea.”

“You didn’t have to, dinner is more than enough.”

“No, I wanted to. Now close your eyes and I’ll get your present.” As Loki closed his eyes Tony ran out of the room and grabbed the portrait from where he hid it. He placed it on the wall then Jarvis turned on the lights illuminating the painting. “Okay open them.”

“Oh Anthony! It’s wonderful.” Loki’s eyes became all misty seeing their little family together and there was so much love radiating from painting. “It’s perfect.”

“Happy Anniversary Reindeer Games.”

“Happy Anniversary, my Man of Iron.” Loki whispered pulling Tony in to the sweetest kiss they ever shared. They didn’t hear the click sound of Jarvis capturing the moment with the sunset background. Another memory to save for another day.

The End.

#fanart #fiction from fanart #iron frost #frostiron #ironfrost #Iron Man #tony x loki #loki x tony #loki #random black cat #tony stark #Avengers #Marvel MCU #Family Portrait

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steve0discusses · 3 years ago

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S5 Ep 15 Pt 2: Don’t Trust Anyone Who Wears a Floor Length Robe Over Their Casuals in Yugioh

Hey, it’s my birthday, so I’m gonna release this early because the rest of today I just have to work like an adult and that’s no fun.

In the first half of this episode we dunked the worlds smallest plane into a lake and so this second half of the episode involved the kids running as far away from their only responsible adults as they could.

Which like...took whole of less than a second for them to peace out and enter mortal danger.

...I’ve never been in a jungle in India but...I have seen the Jungle book many times...and there’s like tigers and stuff in there, right? and tons of monkeys that are hella mean? And freakin snakes? They sing jazz and scat? That’s some terrifying stuff.

Like these city kids have to learn at some point to fear the woods. But they just freakin don’t. And strangely, the most dangerous thing in these woods isn’t even a snake or something, but a human man just being as suspicious as possible lying prone on the ground.

(read more under the cut)

The card cultist happens to have a British accent, because this voice acting team freakin loves to pull out their British accents. It’s not as lowbrow as Valon, but it’s not as...well whatever Bakura is supposed to be. He’s a lot more tame than Bakura’s, but still very British.

I don’t know if this is because British English tends to be taught instead of American sounding English in many parts of India, but, most likely they just wanted to do an accent. And like...he’s an archeologist...and so the stereotype is there...but honestly, the decision of making this guy British gets weirder and weirder as this episode goes on, get ready for it. None of you are ready for what I assume is the very obvious plot twist of this freakin guy.

Catfish of the century, this freakin guy, I’m pretty sure.

Yugi immediately believes this completely out of place white British stranger in the Indian backwoods next to this inaccessible lake and immediately thinks “yes, my Grandfather crash landed in India EXACTLY where I’m standing right now, and now I must save him.”

Thankfully, Yami exists to gently and politely tell Yugi to hella stop.

Also, I like that Yugi has finally stopped wearing his school outfit out of school. But, he is instead wearing a jacket that is so close to his school outfit I honestly couldn’t tell until the end of this episode. It’s like...I think one shade more purple, it has white piping, and his undershirt has a center seam. It’s nice Yugi has 3 versions of the same black sleeveless undershirt, and this show cares enough to show that tiny factoid about Yugi’s closet.

So, because Yugi is a dumbass and Pharaoh has to just sit back and watch this happen so he can say “told you so” later, they follow this random cultist they found in the woods. Much like Hansel and Gretel, we snack on cake crumbs all the way to the witches house, which in this case, is an undiscovered monolith you would have easily seen from outer space.

HMMMMMMMMMM.

And so get ready for this:

Hey guys.

Remember how Alexander the great was buried in a pyramid?

Now because they’re name dropping Alexander, that’s actually kind of helpful, because Alexander the Great’s favorite damn horse in the entire world died while he was at war with India so he named a city after it. It’s believed to be in Punjab, which is in the Northern part of India

Which means we first of all, definitely crossed the tallest mountain range in the world to get here, and also means that we are like...in some really disputed territory of India right now, and it is crazy that these kids went here for a vacation completely unsupervised.

Another fun fact about Alexander is that when he died, it took 6 days for his body to decompose. At the time, they thought it was because he was a God (or in Yugioh’s case, Extremely Cursed) but nowadays historians think it’s because it took him 6 days to fully die. He just wasn’t dead yet. Had to give it a minute and the ancient Babylonians just got way too excited.

Anyway, Alexander super died in Babylon so I don’t know what the hell he’s doing in India. There is a fun spot in History where his body did get dragged to a couple different places, meaning we probably did lose the original Alexander and there’s a lot of people just guessing at where he ended up...but putting him clear up in India sure was a choice when one of his assumed burial sites was literally Egypt, which would be a more fitting location for a Pyramid and a more fitting location for this show.

Especially since Alexander was trying to invent a new race and culture...it seems a little strange he’d be buried in such a massive pyramid, but maybe he got a really, really good pyramid deal from the funeral home when he was like 28 and just figured he’d change it before the time he died at 32.

Which...now that I’m older than 32, how crazy is it that Alexander the Great died at freakin 32? You blink twice and you’re 32. Is history seriously trying to tell me this guy wasn’t like secretly 62? That maybe he just celebrated his 20th for like 20 years in a row as a royal mandate? I just feel like history is playing pranks on me with Alexander.

Anyway, our weird shady new archeologist guy is named Alex and so take that as you will.

I sure hope Alexander the Great was revived to wear khakis and bother children. Guy conquered the world once and was one of history’s Freakin Worst so he does deserve it, but also...it would explain why he thinks it’s normal to wear a Darth Maul robe over your business casual.

Anyway, lets enter the obvious trap pyramid.

Joey just wanted a nice time running around Northern India. He just wanted to eat some yummy chaat and look at some tourist destinations and maybe glance at a Bollywood star or two. But instead he’s gotta deal with spike floors because Yugi couldn’t say no to a cultist.

Also...one of those spikes clearly went through Tea’s feet, right? And she is absolutely fine? Just checking on Tea’s godlike strength and clearly it is still godlike.

Alex gives us a very long explanation of how he went upstairs and Grandpa went downstairs, and there was a door or something so Alex turned back around and Grandpa was gone.

All of those steps were probably plot relevant and I’ll probably forget all about it in 2 episodes.

The thing is Alex...literally thinks he evaporated. Literally thinks that. But how do you disprove it to this freakin guy who like...might have named a city after his horse once and thinks that’s a normal and acceptable thing to do?

and so Joey immediately leaps onto the haunted playing floor.

the way Yugi said this line was sort of hilarious to me so I may cap it. If I remember to do it (I’ve been a little busier lately, with things opening up, as you can tell because my update schedule is in the toilet.)

So, if Joey jumps in...everyone else has to, also.

And we say good bye to Alex and enter the new forest zone, which looks a LOT like the other forest we were just in.

Nice Protoss armor.

We get some hijinks from the local wildlife, which are all cards but real (but not real because we’re in a board game...don’t think about it) and the off brand Sheikah tablets have helpful monsters in them if you touch em.

This season may have been better off as a video game, being honest.

Joey has gone somewhere else, despite going onto the same game tile, and he’s too busy on a mountain range to really help anyone out. So he’s just gonna vibe up here for a bit.

Tea got up after this point and said along the lines of “k, what’s next?” Because mortal danger does not affect her and she fears nothing.

At a beach somewhere, Tea and Tristan spend some quality time together forming a new family with whatever these creatures are.

And Tea’s love of her winged angel comes full circle and now I will suffer this winged orb for the rest of this arc, pretty sure.

Please admire the number of belts on Tea. Her outfit is like max 00′s and I appreciate that. We’ve had a lot of questionable fashion on Yugioh, but they actually dressed Tea pretty on point this arc. Like I often feel like 00′s fashion is hard to define or describe, but it’s Tea right now. That’s it. She did it, it’s right there.

Yugi gets a new flagship card for this arc, and this time it’s Celtic Guardian. Hell why? I feel like his defining card changes every single arc, and they need to like focus and just give him one. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s still Dark Magician...and maybe the show forgot?

Anyway, if you just got here, this is a link to read the rest:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

I think I forgot that link in the last recap because yo it’s kind of been a while since I’ve updated, I feel. (well I had a graveyard post and those don’t count really) But, we’re back, we’re still going, slowly but surely.

#YGO #yugioh #Yu gi oh #episode recap #photo recap #S5 #Ep16 #yugi muto #yami #capsule monsters #tea gardner #tristan taylor #Joey Wheeler #Alex Brisbane #Alexander the freakin great #and a pyramid in the middle of Northern India #And lets just make it an isekai for kicks

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silence-burns · 4 years ago

Text

Please Hate Me //part 47

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: Based on: “Imagine having a love/hate relationship with Loki.” by @thefandomimagine Who would have thought that babysitting a god could be so much fun?

Genre: slow-burn, enemies to lovers, banter

There are few things better suited to following a great summoning ritual than stalking a kindergartener and, quite literally, taking the candy out of his chubby little hand.

"Hey, that's mine!" the brat, Timmy, screamed, but had to watch Loki unwrap the popsicle and munch on it.

"Oh, Timmy," you sighed. "I thought a tough kid like you would handle this better."

"Who the hell even are you weirdos?" Timmy considered ending his question with a kick to the shins of one of you, but decided otherwise under the unnerving gaze of the strange man in a green suit. There was something off about him, that much was certain, but little Timmy couldn't wrap his mind around how otherworldly he actually felt.

He looked around, but none of his friends were around yet, and neither were any adults.

You smiled your beautiful, wicked smile. "Don't fret, Timmy. We've heard all about your deeds, and boy, did we actually love them."

Timmy frowned. His chubby cheeks puffed up just in case it was time to scream. You didn't look like parents of whatever kid he might've recently offended. The pocket money he was getting ;ately from his schoolmates was nothing to worry about. A few bucks here and there weren't a reason for such a direct approach. Okay, those glitter pens he took from that girl last week might cause some bigger stirrup, but she certainly had a different set of parents last time he saw her.

"The hell are you talking about?" the boy settled on a safe approach.

Loki chuckled and leaned down to look him in the eyes. The features of his face started to blur. Timmy frowned, but blinking didn't clear it up. The harder he looked, the more they melted, and molded, and reformed-

"We know what you've been doing, child," the creature's horns grew and curled, just as more and more sets of eyes popped open. "We have our eyes on you."

The shadows deepened, and the world turned colder and eerily quiet. It was the absolute stillness of something deeply unnatural moving right past you.

But Timmy, despite what his teachers might say, was a smart kid. Being a bully and a petty little thief for years without facing actual repercussions of his actions could not be achieved if one didn't know when was the time to run. Timmy knew that time had come and didn't wait for things to unravel any further. His short legs took him surprisingly far in just a few seconds. Loki and you could only watch him go.

"Do you think it'll be enough?" you asked, taking the lollipop from Loki. It was the strawberry flavor. "I certainly wouldn't want to fail our first commission."

"I guess we'll see," Loki shrugged off the spell. "But I'm pretty sure we gave him something to think about. I can send one of the shadows after him to make sure he doesn't pick on our 'client' at school tomorrow. It'll be awhile before they disperse after summoning, so we can make use of them."

"Will they still lead us to the stolen pin though?"

"Without any problem."

And that closed the case. It was a little satisfying, Loki had to admit.

He was still unsure about the pin, though. There was something off about the type of magic he sensed in the box. Faint as it was, the tang of death and rot was still unmistakable and didn't fit in the mental image of SHIELD's safehouse it was supposed to be stored in. It made the chase after the truth more thrilling.

Loki fixed his suit. It was not the type of fashion he usually preferred, but the way you looked at him in it made it worth it. There was nothing as confidence-boosting as being aware that you’re the eye candy for anyone lucky enough to pass.

"Shall we?" Loki offered you his elbow as the shadows gathered and formed a rough doorway. Beyond it, only darkness swelled.

Stepping through it was a fight against condensed mist, but at least it had none of the flesh-shredding quality of Bifrost.

The shadows Loki had called followed the invisible trail of magic the pin left behind after it was stolen. There was little chance of them being wrong or simply misled, Loki had assured you earlier. As beings stuck in a state of half-existence, there was not in the physical realm so often that it could affect their judgement and cover the tracks. Still, even Loki had a moment of doubt when he took in the place the two of you had been led to.

"I think we should've used that chicken," you said, looking around what was unmistakably a forest. A thick, dark, and very old forest. Definitely the type of forest unwelcome to unannounced travelers.

It did not mean you were scared. You were just aware of a certain, thick atmosphere hanging low in the cold, winter air. Somehow, it was darker than it should've been at that hour. The trees loomed over you, their branches twisted and hanging low enough to strangle.

Loki kept on patting your arm while your terror grew, and despite ignoring him for a while, you finally decided to turn.

A thick wall of a hedge, painted in a rotting green and sprinkled with half-melted snow, stood tall and guarded whatever was behind it. The branches were woven too tightly together to take even a peek between them.

"Is that a house? In the middle of a forest?" You asked, but no answer came. There was no road leading to the house. The trees encircled the hedge, but didn't interrupt its space, as if that particular spot had been chopped out of the forest. As if the usual rules of logic and nature didn't apply there.

"Strange," Loki muttered to himself as he walked closer. The hedge ran far in both directions, and from the point you approached it, no gateway could be seen. High above your heads, thin swirls of smoke rose into the air.

"We should walk around and see how to get in." You gestured to the left.

Loki looked up. The hedge loomed a few heads above him. Even if Loki jumped, he wouldn't see above it. He jumped anyway.

And was swallowed by the hedge.

You knew there was something wrong with that forest, and the strange house especially, even before the branches shot out and wrapped around Loki. He only managed a yelp of surprise before he was pulled in towards the impenetrable depth of the bushes. As much as it was reassuring to know that your senses and intuition were as sharp as ever, the time to brag would come later. Using the ace up your sleeve, or rather sword in your pocket, you made quick work of all the choppable branches.

Loki dropped to the ground.

"You could've cut off my hand!" He looked in horror at the cleanly cut piece of his sleeve. It had been a close call indeed.

"Couldn't you regrow it?"

Loki stopped shaking off the twigs for a moment. "I'd prefer not to find out, honestly."

The hedge, despite your trimming, was as impenetrable as before. The only thing that changed was the distance you kept away from it. After not a long discussion, you decided to look for a way in.

The little gate looked suspiciously ordinary. The metal rusted in a few spots, mercilessly beaten by years of rain and humidity. The path beyond it winded between neat rows of herbs and vegetables and occasionally flowers you couldn't name. The scent of fresh soil hung in the air as you walked through them. The house itself was neither big or new, but was most definitely haunted. There was no doubt about it. It was obvious in the way the windows watched you approach. In the way the smoke curled lazily through a draft you couldn't feel. In the doorknob in a shape of a hissing bat.

"Do we… knock?" you whispered. For reasons you couldn't explain, you had a feeling the house was listening to every word.

"That's usually how it goes," Loki's reply was equally quiet. He made no move to knock, though.

A hollow hooting was the only warning before a dark shape swooped by your heads and landed over the door. The owl was big, even once it settled and closed the wings. The feathers, in various shades of grey and muddy brown, hid it almost perfectly against the wooden planks of the house.

It was a nice owl, one might think without looking closely. Because under further scrutiny, one would notice the deep gash only partially hidden by the puffed up feathers, and the bones peeking out underneath them.

You stared at the dead owl and it stared back.

It hooted.

"I know, I said I'm coming!" the voice from inside the house shouted. The footsteps neared. Loki and you braced against whatever you'd have to face.

The door creaked open.

Many thoughts had passed through your mind, but one thing you didn't expect to see was a spotty-faced, alarmingly skinny young man in jeans and a cloud of smoke surrounding him. You got a facefull of an aroma that reminded you of college dorms. You wondered if Loki thought he’d met the wrong end of a skunk.

"Listen," he said, gesticulating wildly. "I know that y'all always want shit, but my grandma is still on her vacation, and I'm currently busy. She'll surely contact you once she's done, but nothing has changed since last time, and I still don't know when she'll be back."

The owl descended majestically and sat on his still raised hand. The man blinked in mild confusion.

"I fed you already, don't give me that look, Barbara."

Loki looked at you. You looked at Loki. The owl turned her head backward and noticed both.

"I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time we're meeting," Loki forced himself to say after your not-so-subtle nudge to his ribs. "Could we bother you for just a moment?"

"I'm busy, I've got a shift tomorrow and—"

Loki barged in anyway, not interested much in whatever the man had to say.

The little house turned out to be more of a cottage. Even though some work had been done to restore it and make use of modern inventions, the very core of the cottage stayed the same as it possibly had been for decades, if not longer.

The herbs hanging from the ceiling to dry filled the air with a pleasant, if a little heavy smell that clung to skin and clothes alike. The huge chimney was full of wooden planks and blasting enough heat from the other end of the large working space to make you regret wearing winter clothing. Whatever was boiling in the huge iron pot hanging over the blazing fire was unlikely to be edible judging by the consistency and color. Or at least you hoped it was not supposed to be edible.

The owl flew in and perched on a chair.

"Listen, I'd really appreciate it if you could leave me alone," the man groaned, following you.

He took another drag and exhaled a cloud of smoke, eyes red-rimmed. The owl hissed and moved over the chimney, where she sat with as close to an angry expression as a half-dead owl was capable of.

To your left, a rather familiar and highly surprising uniform laid along with medical equipment.

"We'll leave as soon as we get the answers we need," you promised. "And our first question is - who the hell are you, exactly?"

The man blinked. "Are you joking? I thought you were clients."

"What would you sell if we were?"

"I mean," he gestured around. "It's my grandma who deals with potions, but I suppose I could give you a medical check up if you need one? And don't worry if you're dying, that's even better, I've got that covered too. Just make sure to come to me before the decay starts, and I'll put you back on your feet in no time."

"Wait, I'm confused," Loki frowned. "Are you a doctor or a necromancer?"

"My dude, I have no idea where you've been the past few decades, but if you think med staff is capable of making a living from just one job, you honestly should get a reality check. Look around - I literally still live with my grandma and don't even get me started on how much debt I still have to pay off with those stupid side jobs."

"You mean, resurrecting pets?" You looked at the owl. Barbara was not blinking.

"Listen, I'm at the point of my life where I don't ask questions. I just need the money. I want to move out. Have you any idea what it is like to live with your 260 year old grandma who has a better social life than you?"

The silence was a little awkward.

"Precisely."

Loki wanted to take a deep, steadying breath, but whatever the young man had been smoking didn't sit well with Loki's lungs.

"I must ask though, are you raising the dead because you're such a terrible doctor, or is—"

"Paperwork."

Loki blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Have you any idea how much paperwork follows every death? I'd rather bite off my hand than do any more extra unpaid time than I absolutely have to." The man sat at the table and produced a stash of pot from somewhere. With slow, precise movements he started to roll another blunt. You bent your knees to see under the table, but couldn't find any hidden drawers.

Loki nodded at the man’s comment, although he was nowhere near possessing that kind of knowledge. Deaths that he usually participated in involved little to no paperwork.

"Was this involved in one of your recent side-jobs?" Loki put the little wooden box on the table.

The man shook it before opening. Only after sniffing it did the look on his face change to recognition. "Yeah, I think it was. I was paid to get a pin from it. I don't know what happened to it afterward, though. The client just paid and disappeared."

"How did you get it?"

"Mice."

"What?" Loki asked. You looked around, just in case.

"No one cares about mice, especially in huge warehouses. That makes them perfect for the job, especially if they're controlled properly."

The dead owl hooted in agreement. Loki had an idea how the mice had been initially caught.

"That complicates our case," he whispered to you.

"Who paid you?" you asked, hoping that the answer wouldn't be...

"I don't know," the young man shrugged. "Some guy in a trenchcoat and lots of shiny money. My favorite kind of a client."

The man suddenly had a few golden coins out and in his hand. You hadn’t even seen his hands go under the table that time. The coins were heavy and most definitely not fake, although you didn't recognize any of the symbols they bore.

Loki did.

"Do you think that agent of yours will cover any extraterrestrial expenses?" he asked, watching the reflexes shine on the golden surface.

"Where are we going?"

"To the biggest black-market-turned-casino-turned-complete-mess of a planet in the universe."

"How lovely," you said.

Barbara agreed, hooting happily as she hopped off the chimney and landed on Loki's shoulder.

"Take her." The young necromancer yawned sleepily. "She hates me anyway. Just remember not to give her any pickles. She's got terrible gas."

#please hate me #loki x reader #loki x you #loki #loki laufeyson #loki marvel #loki imagine #loki laufeyson imagine #loki series #loki mcu #marvel loki #loki fanfic #avengers loki

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ebficnotes · 4 years ago

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Black soul lore is a f*cking mess.

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/lfih39/written_in_uncertainty_asks_who_is_mannimarco/

One thing I never see get mentioned is that the Mannimarco in ESO cannot be the same person as the Mannimarco in Oblivion or the King of Worms in Daggerfall.This is simply because ESO's guild memo on soul trapping mentions that Mannimarco's minions had knowledge of a soul trap spell that could trap black souls in white gems, and details Vanus Galerion's dumb plan to make the world forget that spell by creating a new soul trap spell that could only trap white souls in white gems.And the whole plot of the Mage's Guild in Oblivion is about how Mannimarco and the Worm Moon are working together to bypass Arkay's divine intervention in order to create Black Soul Gems, which can catch black souls even using Galerion's version of the soul trap spell.But, like, if either Daggerfall Manni or Oblivion Manni were the same person as ESO Manni, why would they bother to invent black soul gems at all?? Why wouldn't they just teach their followers the Soul Trap spell that works on black souls, a spell that the ESO Mannimarco canonically knows? Then your followers could just use white soul gems to trap and manipulate black souls. Isn't that easier than ascending to godhood to eclipse Arkay so your followers can do a spoopy ritual to convert regular soul gems into black ones?Ergo the only rational explanation: ESO Manni is not the same as the other two. Further complicating the "Who is Mannimarco?" question. (I mean I guess there's one other rational explanation: that this is a colossal plot hole and fuck-up on behalf of the lore-writers, but that explanation isn't really as fun as tinfoil theories about multiple Mannimarcos)I guess the answer to the "Who is Mannimarco?" question is that he isn't a person, he's an identity, periodically adopted by different necromancers all throughout history. And I suppose the concept of Mantling plugs into this idea somehow, since it's TES lore and all.

The assertion that all souls and gems are the same and that it is solely the power of the soul itself, the size of the gem, and the type of spell that matters, really does completely overwrite the purpose of black gems even existing, even with Vastarie's note on the matter.

If a human can be trapped in a grand gem with the right spell, then black gems serve exactly no purpose. And the soul gems in ESO that we trap everyone with are technically grand gems, despite them not being the big spiky types you see in Skyrim (but are interestingly enough, similar to Oblivion's grand gems.)

https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Grand_Soul_Gem_(Oblivion)

https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Grand_Soul_Gem_(Skyrim)

And yet in both skyrim and oblivion you must use a black soul gem to capture npcs. This might make sense for oblivion, where the mages guild's strictures reign supreme, but not in skyirm, where it's stated by Phinis Gestor that those policies were never a thing to begin with, and so no neutered soul trap spell would have been taught period. And even in oblivion, you use the same damn spell to do both. How hard would it have been to put a "forbidden soul trap" tome in Mannimarco's lair to complement his shiny new black gems?

And what's worse is gameplay-wise, black gems are not even recognizably better than grand ones. Black gems are actually heavier in Skyrim even, so technically they are worse. It would have been nothing for the devs to give black gems a few extra points of oomph just to demonstrate their raw soul superiority without breaking game balance, but they don’t. Literally the only thing they have going for them is their ability to capture npcs that can talk, which even if you have zero moral qualms about it, isn't even a real benefit without cheats, given how rare the black gems are.

I repeat: the designation of NPC vs Creature is the only demonstratable difference between souls that work with grand gems and black gem-only ones.

Yeah yeah game mechanics, but even without the in-game experience, why the fuck would our supposedly devious and calculating worm guy go through all that trouble for nothing, given that in (new) lore he could just use his own ungimped soul trap and a regular old grand gem to torture the normies all he wants, as stated above?

Some Ideas:

1. Black gems are only special because they are god-keyed. The use of one is meant as an offering to your daedra/deity of choice, and are not generally seen outside of cults for this very reason. Oblivion Mannimarco's altar is meant to make offering-stones for his own faithful, not to replace grand gems as a wholesale thing. The fact that you can enchant with them also is either because the mechanics of offering are similar and we are just stealing it, or because he allows it, similar to how real life religions who use animal sacrifice still eat the animal they dedicate. This doesn’t actually explain anything, but it sounds cool.

2. Vanus in his guild note has no idea what the fuck he is talking about regarding who fits into what gem, and his getting laughed out of his own guild for positing such nonsense is one of the low points of his career. Which is especially sad because in another life he was a pioneer in the field of enchantment and thus presumably soul-study.**

3. The gems we use in eso are not normal grand gems like everyone thinks, but are actually a new black-like gem that is both popular and common due to Mannimarco's doings, but because of later Mages guild shenanigans, is eventually lost to everyone but the worm cult, which is why they can trap anything, up to and including Arkay's favorite races, as what seemed to be implied as their true purpose in Oblivion (via reddit anyway). This doesn’t explain why they look different in oblivion and skyrim, but whatever.***

4. Vanus's insistence on classifying souls into who is and is not acceptable to kill/soul trap is the catalyst for future powerful guild mages to literally god-bend the world to it's own take on morality, which by the time of Daggerfall, makes even certain clearly people-races/beings like orcs not actually count as people anymore. Ie, it's not Arkay's fault orcs in Daggerfall are considered white souls and thus can be trapped with a non-special gem/neutered soul trap spell, it's the mages guild's.

5. There *is* something about the "black-souled" races/peoples that doesn’t make black gems completely stupid and redundant, its just soul research is so damn stigmatized that no one knows what that something really is. So every inconsistency we see is actually part of some greater whole that we just can't see through to yet because of all the bullshit. aka idfk.

**Something even sillier about Vanus's note: the old soul system in ESO apparently was based on player level, with petty gems only being able to revive low level players and the like, which makes good sense with the idea of soul size being the only real thing, like they corrected earlier game inconsistency or something. But then Vanus goes and says that smaller souls are not sapient/sentient and larger ones are, which is just not true even in ESO's world. Does this mean he wouldn’t consider low-level us as a real person? O.O

I however have never played eso pre-tamriel unlimited and hardly play even now, so if there are any nuances of soul collection in that game that I missed here, please let me know, yeah?

***I forgot, dremora in both Skyrim and Oblivion are black soul gem only too, so if it is Arkay's fault, why does he care about dremora?

My head...

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/2cowhz/eso_guild_memo_on_soul_trapping_describes_the/

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/lfih39/written_in_uncertainty_asks_who_is_mannimarco/

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/lfih39/written_in_uncertainty_asks_who_is_mannimarco/gmr3c28/

#eso #skyrim #soul trap #vanus galerion #mannimarco #black soul gems #reddit lore #theories #crack #multi-kalpic theory #is getting a real workout #eboriginal

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sinqrowithascythe · 3 years ago

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Torn Families, a RWBY story

Hello there! it has been a few days now and the story is ready, so here it is!

Just a warning first though, this story does feature gore, character deaths and angst.

Everyone had their reasons for attending Beacon academy, and most would tell you without so much as a second thought.

“As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the story books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!” Ruby Rose, 15yr old combat prodigy and leader of team RWBY.

Others, however, aren’t as comfortable in disclosing the truth about their circumstances, like: The beautiful, yet closed off Blake Belladonna, Faunus in hiding and secret Ex-White Fang agent.

“The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus.”

Most would assume that this is where the list ends, but there is another. A third option, or category, where they’ve been truthful but they just haven’t shared the full truth.

This is where the scraggly hero of our fable is found.

When asked for the reasons behind which Jaune Arc has strived to be a Hunter and train in Beacon (which is a regular occurrence among the student body, it’s pretty obvious why), our bumbling blonde will reply with something along the lines of “To become a hero” …. “To become a great Hunter, like the warriors in my family” or “To help people” which is true….

But…there’s more to it, there always is.

Rarely does someone ever question the reason he chose this path or after any event that led to such a decision, but it does happen occasionally. Some of the first conversations with his friends and even Ms. Goodwitch herself raised the question, with Jaune himself being quick to dismiss it or just repeat himself. Forcing the subject to be left alone question, with, replacing the young Arcs would-be interrogators interests with dissatisfaction and a quick change of topic. This is where the truth remains hidden, a burden laid heavily on our young Knight’s shoulders, where he intends to keep them.

But that wouldn’t make an interesting story, so here we go!

This tale sheds light upon that which our very own Jaune Arc would keep hidden, partially for the sake of his friends, but also to keep Jaune from crying himself to sleep… again…

Long before Jaune was launched from the school’s cliff faces into the emerald forests or the acquisition of his “Vomit Boy” moniker, as courtesy of Yang, the Arc found a burning resolve to fight the creatures of Grimm and protect those who could not protect themselves that rivalled the very star he stood under.

The Arc family estate was a large, dark brick house held deep within a forest, found on an island located beyond the western coast of Sanus. Close enough to still be considered a part of the kingdom, but also far enough for people to be left in relative peace from large city environments, bandits and any extremely dangerous Grimm.

Here, the Arc family lived and prospered, laughed and loved for days and years on end, with the only real worries being the evil bath times and dreaded bedtimes, family’s patriarch receiving minor wounds from guarding the small island village (But everyone just said he looked cooler anyway, so it’s a win!) or the sisters engaging into yet another fight over something that seemed to shake the very foundations of reality to them at the time.

“That’s MY hairbrush!!”

“You have, like, 10, just let me borrow this one!”

The house was run by the matriarch and the eldest of the sisters when their father was away, keeping Grimm from presenting danger to the village where they lived. The younger sisters and Jaune often played their days away, when their mother wasn’t home schooling them in the study where she spent most of her time, even outside the education of her children.

One sunny, beautiful day, with the sun was streaming through the leaves and trees and bringing light and life to all the woodland, waking to every insect, animal and plant found within, this family would be shattered.

The green glow of the forest created a feeling similar to a protective aura of warmth and protection. Here, the four youngest Arcs find themselves running past all manner of compassionate and cool streams with looming, yet comforting trees, hiding amidst the natural playground formed by the rocks of landslides long past and prickly piles of twigs that once held strong to their larger companions. The day was not unlike any other the children had been allowed to previously play in, perfect.

The juvenile Arcs were playing their usual rounds of “Hide and Seek” or “Tag” or some of their own invention, when the eldest of the assembled four found an oddity, one which had never caught her attention before. The Arc estate held no boundaries, save the forest itself as it was separated by a long stripe of a field before another forest began, not five meters away from their own, yet the children had never travelled, nor noticed this odd circular emptiness beyond their own patch of trees. “Yeah, that is weird” The three younger members of the Arc clan agreed, “Let’s try playing in that other forest! I bet there’ll be even better hiding spots and even bigger trees to play in!”

And so, they did just that.

Back at the Arc family homestead

The eldest four daughters of the house were treated to a rather large shock while preparing lunch as their mother had, seemingly from no-where, screeched “NOO!” like a banshee might and flung herself out of her chair, falling to their kitchen floor. You see, Jaune’s mother was paralysed, on the account that after her thighs reached halfway down, they were missing, an incident that predated Jaune’s memory and of which she refused to speak, hoping she never had to tell her children and shatter their innocence. And though it placed her within a wheel chair that stopped her from performing the tasks that the oldest of the Arc spawn find themselves occupied with most days, her smile was as radiant and genuine as when her first child was born, finding real purpose in her role as a mother.

Each did their best to help their fallen mother, only to be thrown aside, much harder than they even knew their mother could push. “One of you, run to the village wall as fast as you can, find your father, tell him that Jaune and the triplets have left the stave!”

“Why?” “What does that mean?” “Huh?” Each questioned, their faces twisted with confusion and fear.

“Just GO! Right now! We don’t have time!” The oldest among the females of the home all but roared at her children, her terror evident on her face, scaring the 4 younger women. Pushing her fear aside, the eldest to ran out the door and sprinted down the trail into the town, where the guard and her father stood vigilantly, while her younger two sisters helped their mother back into her chair and checked to see what had happened.

“Mom, what’s happening?” “You scared us” “Why’d you tell Saph to get dad?”

“I’m fine, but your siblings are in danger…”

“How? We thought they were playing outside” “Yeah, they play in the forest every day! Why’s it so dangerous all of a sudden?”

“Hmmmmm…. The forest that surrounds the house is… special, you’ve seen how there’s something of a circle-like-field around the house cutting us of from the rest of the woods?” She questioned, obviously impatient and uncomfortable, much to the dismay of her daughters, never before seeing her so scared in their lives.

“Yeah” “uh-huh” They replied in kind.

“Well, your mother has a special power and can sense, and almost see, what happens in this circle, if you can imagine” Chuckling the last part, the nerves still very present in her voice. “Normally, your siblings always play in this circle, where it’s safe and where I can see them, but, because we live so far from town the woods next to ours can be filled with scary, dangerous creatures. I don’t know why, but, the triplets and Jaune have wandered into that forest and your father needs to find them, before something bad can happen.” looking away through the kitchen window, into the picturesque scene of the serene forest outside.

Meanwhile, Jaune and his elder sisters were playing a renewed game of tag in their new playground, their eldest sister rushing for her father, while the three under her found comfort in their mother, as a new found fear grew for their youngest sibling’s lives. This new version of tag involved a “Strength in Numbers” strategy, where the title of tag didn’t pass on to another player after contact, but spread so that the match only ended when everyone was ‘it’, basically creating two teams of ever-growing chasers and continually dwindling chase-ies.

Jaune, despite taking part and enjoying himself immensely in the game, found himself growing rather nervous, as he could have sworn, he had heard his mother mention not to go into the forest beyond their own at some point before, but none of his sisters could remember and said he just imagined it. Which inevitably led to them teasing him and saying he was a “Scaredy cat!” which, to a seven-year-old boy, was an offence of the highest order. So, with new resolve and determination, Jaune played with his sisters in the forest, running deeper and deeper into the unknown woods, finding a new and magical parts of the surrounding nature with each new game.

Nothing, it seemed, could go wrong for out four young Arcs, however, we all know what follows these kinds of observations.

The fight had started as nothing more than a simple debate. “I SO DID tag you!”

“Nu-uh! You only got my dress!”

“Did not! I tapped your shoulder! You’re it too now!” “Nu-uh” “So, too!”

This repeated for a few minutes, the two eldest of the triplets bickered back and forth until…

“Jaune!” Both shouted in unison, the fire in their eyes and voices startling the poor boy “Y-yeah?” His anxiety growing, as each girl looked ready to throttle one another all the way home.

“I totally got her, right!?” “No, she sooo missed me, you saw right!?”

“Uhhh…” Was his only response. Truth be told, Jaune hadn’t seen the incident in question, he was too busy trying not to get caught himself, he only came up to them when he saw they were fighting again, wanting to help.

“C’mon! I’m fine, right!?” “No, I definitely caught her!”

Jaune was not comfortable in this situation. In fact, he was scared, scared that his sisters were fighting and felt useless that he couldn’t do anything about it. This is until an idea came across his mind.

“What about Rock, Paper, Scisso-!” “AAAGGGHHH!!!” The high, piercing wail that blocked Jaune’s solution had come as a shock to everyone. They were all frozen in place, the fear and pain that filled that scream had turned them all to stone. And a sudden realization donned upon Jaune, one that only seemed to strengthen the anxiety currently lacing his blood.

“W-w-wait, th-there’s only three of u-us here…” Upon a quick count, they found that they were, indeed, one sibling short. “The scream must have come from her! We have to find her, she’s in trouble!”

“Maybe she just found a big spider! She’s terrified of them!” The oldest of the group stated, a fact which was well known within the Arc household.

“We just have to find her and get her away from wherever she found it!” The younger of the girls offered. This conclusion helped each of them relax, as spiders were the most dangerous of the creatures that they knew to inhabit the forests that surround their home. It brought them comfort, but they weren’t in their woodlands anymore.

They moved quickly towards the origin of their sister’s scream, until they unfortunately found her.

In a small secluded area of the forest, a clearing in the trees where the river widened considerably and was surrounded by large stones that easily dwarf the giant that was their father (as far as they were concerned), where the sun seemed to shine atop the water so bright that you could swear it was fragmented like the moon and resided in the river itself. This was where they found her.

However, the beauty of nature wasn’t what made them stop, nor was it the sight of their sister happily frolicking in the water after overcoming her original fear and relief flooding the trio of loving family members. No, it was the exact opposite to all those beautiful and much more preferable sights (Hell, they’d prefer to have found a spider, really).

What stood in the clearing, over their sister, was a monster.

A monster so dark, it made the moonless night sky seem bright. With markings so red, the blood that splattered its maw seemed pale by comparison. All of this packed onto a fur-skinned nightmare product between man and wolf. And their sister… stuck underneath.

No, stuck wasn’t the right word.

The creature didn’t hold her down, it didn’t need too, the girl below it simply couldn’t move. She was missing large chunks of her little body. They could see her shoe on the other side of the clearing, her foot still occupying it. A few feet from her there was some bloody assortment of meat, maybe something from inside, no-one could tell. Her neck had also seemed to disappear and had replaced itself with bloody chunks of something.

Each child, each one that still had a beating heart, remained completely still. No movement, no thought and no emotion, still enough were to make a statue jealous. The shock they felt was all they could feel, their brains refusing to process the sight before them. The first to break free of the paralysing chains holding his mind was Jaune, still looking into the large, half lidded and dull eyes of his older sister. The eyes that had once been so full of colour and everything right with the world, Jaune had found comfort and happiness in those eyes’ countless times before, being the two youngest of the family had created a close and tight bond between the two. And now, they laid in the red, stained grass, upside-down, staring at him with nothing, endless nothing, a perfect void, drained of any and all life.

Fear and sadness welled within Jaune, faster than the tears that had decided to occupy his eyes could, with his sister’s emotions following in turn.

The negativity had come crashing out of them in waves, comparable to a landslide, only cursing them further. This alerted the creature, its posture bolting upright slouching over the corpse of the young girl turned lunch. It turned at the waist, revealing just how long its arms really were, easily twice Jaune himself, each one holding a different end of the girl’s right arm. What was most terrifying was its canine-shaped head. The lupine resemblance almost uncanny, the bloody maul full of teeth as long as it’s claws and wet with a liquid that Jaune tried his best to forget the source of. The ears atop the skull of the creature pointed toward the sky, looked sharp and swivelled around, until stopping, pointed at the children.

What scared them the most were its eyes, the cold, harsh eyes that were the antithesis of its prey. Where the girl’s eyes had been full of life, joy and hope, the creature’s own orbs reflected hate, despair and death. It’s fitting really, that the eyes of love and hope had been filled with the deepest and most alluring of azure blues and the ones that killed them were as red and terrifying as hell itself would be.

The creature dropped its piece of lunch on top of the rest of its forgotten meal and lowered itself onto all fours, its impossibly long arms stretched forwards and its rear in the sky behind it, as a low yet rumbling growl escaped from between its teeth. Now, instead of pure shock rooting our children to the ground, it was the very fear and anxiety that told the beast they were there. And, in the space it took for Jaune let go of the breath his fear forced him to hold, the creature pounced.

In the few precious seconds, it took for Jaune to turn and push his sisters, the nightmare before then had covered the distance between them and stood right behind Jaune. This registered for Jaune as three large, ragged, diagonal cuts in his tiny back. Falling into the grass of the forest, quickly watching the green around him fill with his own red.

The creature ran after the girls, desperately attempting to flee, knowing its second victim had no chance of moving now. The two remaining girls were screaming and running, terrified of the lupine monstrosity behind them, not knowing that the very fear fuelling their escape them was exactly what made them even more delicious prey.

Jaune watched from his position, chin first in the dirt, as the beast caught up to them and doubled their pace, springing forward and turning to face his sisters, seeing the very same claw that had Jaune glued to the ground tear one of them in half, before she could even stop running. Her pieces staining the grass red in front of her remaining sister. The final sibling came to a stop before the stalking nightmare. Sobbing messily, she looked up from her tattered sister into the eyes of the monster that killed some of the best people in her life and seemingly paralysed her only brother. She began to beg, praying to the brother gods that, by some miracle, some stretch of the universe, that she would survive and make it home to her loving mother, sisters and father.

Her prayers and begs fell upon deaf ears as the beast shot forward, grabbed her temples between the daggers that made up its teeth and separated the top half of her head, sounding off with a sickening crunch mixed with a strangled cry of pain and torment.

And just dropped her body to the ground, discarding her like a toddler drops a toy they’re bored with.

Jaune watched the entire scene in front of him, unable to move or even think, terrified beyond all action or comprehensible thought, not that the he would have been able to move anyway, as the creature made its way closer to him, no longer moving in leaps or flashes, but walking, as its prey was rendered immobile by the large injury in its back. Jaune closed his eyes, tightening them as he braced for the pain he knew was coming, just as it had come for his sisters.

Jaune was so focused on biting back anything he felt and so drowned in his own fear and blood, that he didn’t hear the gut-wrenching scream of agony and desperate sorrow. Nor did he hear the heavy foot falls as something approached him and the beast, racing from elsewhere. What he did hear was the sound of his father’s shield deflecting the bloodstained claws, he heard and watched as his father, blinded by pure animosity and heartache forced the creature of death back and, eventually, decapitate it. In that moment, time had seemed to freeze, Jaune saw the fury and heartbreak on his father’s face, twisted into a cruel grimace, the image burned into his memory, alongside the corpses of his sisters.

Time only began to move again as Jaune’s father let out another cry, louder than all his previous screams, as he began to hack, slash and break any part of the Grimm before him, only stopping when its corpse had fully dissipated, as all Grimm do.

Only then did his father stop, drop his weapons and fall to his knees, weeping at the loss of his four youngest children, screaming and sobbing with his face in the dirt, almost seeming to burrow into it, wanting to find the blood of his children. Jaune watched as his father broke apart, small pieces at a time, tears flowing down his face, almost unending. But, as all things must ends, so too did the tears, sniffles and sobs of the town guard, his face steeled into a grimace of loss and sorrow, the piece of himself being replaced with a resolve, a vow to return his children to their home and never let thing happen again.

The Patriarch of the Arc family stood to survey the damage done to his blood. And here he froze, seeing the unsteady rising and falling of his son’s chest, missing pieces being filled properly again as new tears of joy and relief flood the father’s features. Sprinting to the wounded boy’s side, screaming his name and asking question he already knew the answer to, Jaune’s father dropped to his knees once again, but this time to help his damaged son, searching himself and the land around for any way to comfortably bring his son home. With the frantic search proving to be utterly fruitless, he simply, yet gently, picked Jaune from the ground and placed him on his unarmed shoulder.

Jaune’s father began the trek back to the family home, creating false promises, repeating apologies and crying, for the duration of the trip, moving as fast as possible, without causing the silent boy on his shoulder any more pain that what was already silencing him.

Jaune, however, heard none of these promises, “sorry” ‘s or sobs, only seeing the gleaming, blood-spattered shield, collapsed around the sword at his father’s hip, only able to focus on the warmth his father spread and the thought “That would have been useful” while staring at the blade’s handle, before the pain took his consciousness from him.

Jaune spent the next few days drifting to and from the conscious world.

He knew that he had been taken home, he remembered hearing gasps and cries upon his return, pain from the dressing of his wounds and more crying. Curiously enough, he also heard shouting, which would be normal enough in a house of ten... now seven. But this was different, most shouting normally came from his sisters, arguing about one thing or another or when his parents needed to discipline them, these bouts of shouting, however, came from his parents. They seemed to be arguing over something called “aura…?” Jaune wasn’t sure what if was or even if it was a word, but he did hear his mother scream “I CAN’T LET WHAT HAPPENED TO ME HAPPEN TO THEM, ESPECIALLY HIM!!” To which his father pleaded. “CAN’T YOU SEE IT ALREADY HAS, WE CAN’T LEAVE HIS LIFE IN DANGER JUST BECAUSE YOU FEEL HE SHOULDN’T KNOW ABOUT YOUR PAST OR THR WORLD!!” This is where the screaming stopped, hearing only loud and quiet sobbing and whispering coming from wherever the shouting had. All he really knew was that it scared him.

Jaune also remembered a doctor coming from town once or twice during those days. It was probably more, but he couldn’t stay awake half the time, what with the pain in his back knocking him out every few minutes after he woke.

It wasn’t until a week and a half had passed since the deaths of his family members that Jaune regained consciousness properly. He awoke to the tearstained face of his mother, the tears seeming to have cut long furrows down her face. She almost squealed with joy upon being woken up by her son trying to brush the tears from her face, the pure elation of her son being alive and awake causing more water to leaks from her eyes.

When the rest of Jaune’s remaining family burst into the room, each had similar reactions upon seeing his mother hugging him gently, with him awake this time. Which was then preceded by the inevitable questions, Jaune explaining everything, each detail clear in his mind, when the tears from his own eyes didn’t impede his speech as the emotions finally caught up to him. Often his family sat together for hours at a time, waiting for Jaune to finish crying before he continued.

No harsh accusations followed his tale, nor any blame, simply hugs, tears and promises from his family.

After that day the house flowed back into normalcy, albeit quieter, until three full years had finally passed. The wounds Jaune had received were not lethal nor debilitating, the claws not digging deep enough and missing anything important along his spine, “a small miracle!” The town doctor had claimed.

The town’s people had helped organise and set up, even pay for the funerals. Everyone knew the Arc children and none showed any particular hatred, only the same small loving-malice that followed mischievous children’s pranks and activities. Any and all real hate was directed towards the Grimm that resided in the forest, evident by the furious stares many levelled towards the trees beyond thew village walls.

Eventually, the dull gleam that seemed to cover the eyes of each family member, the same gleam that held the stars and oceans contained within their eyes at bay, disappeared as they could finally move on.

But, never forgetting.

Whenever the children played, they were always supervised, never left alone. Their father had managed a change in occupation and now worked from home as a writer of sorts. Their mother had grown more possessive of her family and Jaune’s elder sisters followed this attitude when it came to him, never letting him be by himself. At first, Jaune was okay with this, even feeling happy and safe from this caged lifestyle due to having seen the reason for its inception.

However, this did not last. Whenever Jaune had asked about the creature, his father only bitterly replied to ask his mother, to which she would say “an evil creature, but, as long as you stay here, you’ll be safe and not have to worry about it”. This never sated Jaune’s mind, but, was the only definition either parent would ever give him. When Jaune would ask to be trained like his father, to protect and kill the “Evil creatures” in the forest, his mother would shoot the idea down in the exact same way, forever denying combat to her remaining children. On this, his parents agreed and Jaune began to lose his feeling of comfort in his protective cage.

Jaune would eventually learn more of his family’s legacy through omitted records of their deeds in the study and from stories his mother told her children and discovers his own drive to become one of the Arc heroes, prompting him to become a Huntsman, despite his great lack of knowledge on the topic (What’s worse is that he doesn’t know just how much he doesn’t know about it).

He finds a way into Beacon and creates some of the best memories he’s ever had, the best friends he’s ever had and even a new family.

And everything happens as we know it will. Friendship. Growth. Happiness. Accomplishment. The Fall. And new beginnings.

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

Hiya again!

thank you for reading my first actual piece of RWBY fanfiction. I made this concept up a few years ago, back when I was (possibly) obsessed with why Jaune knew so little of the world around him, despite a lot of it being vital to being a Huntsmen, So i wrote this little number (I don't know why i made it so dark of a story, but eh).

After rediscovering it, I thought I'd fix it up and post it here and thus, here we are indeed.

I know this doesn't answer how he got into Beacon, but that's not the point of the story in the first place. Please leave any notes of criticism, I'd really love to hear what you though about my story

Anyway, Thank you so very much for reading my work.

#jaune arc rwby #jaune arc #rwby #arc #arc family #hurt #death #gore #saphron cotta arc #saphron arc #comfort #fanfic #fanfiction #dark

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bigballofstress · 4 years ago

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To Share an Armchair (Tom Holland x Actress!Reader)

Description: You and Tom appear on Conan to promote your new movie together, Spider-Man: Homecoming. Little do you know, Tom has a bit more planned than your usual run-of-the-mill interview.

Prequel to The Interview

I took a deep, nervous breath, my hands wringing together as I looked out into the absolutely packed audience.

“You’ll be fine,” a warm, comforting presence appeared behind me. I turned quickly to see my best friend, Tom, smiling down at me. “They love you, and you love them.”

I smiled a bit. He always seemed to know just what to say to make me feel better.

Tom and I had been working together since the filming of Captain America: Civil War, where I’d played another of Tony’s young recruits. Now, with the new Spider-Man movie coming out, we were sent to advertise the release. So, there we stood, on the set of Conan, ready give yet another interview. Except, this time, we’d be promoting the movie by ourselves. “I’m just not very used to going out there without an older cast member or producer or something,” I sighed.

“Just be your usual funny, witty, charming self, and I promise you that everything will turn out well,” Tom reassured me.

I nodded firmly in an effort to strengthen my resolve. “Thanks, Tom.”

“Anytime, sweetcheeks,” he grinned. I rolled my eyes playfully at the cheesy nickname that he had taken to calling me ever since our second week of filming, claiming that my ‘cheeks were too sweet to be called anything else.’

“And now, please welcome Tom Holland and (Y/N) (L/N) to the stage!” Conan shouted. Tom walked out, and I quickly followed. The lights were practically blinding, and my ears were ringing from the very, very loud cheers. I shook off my fears and muscled my way past the almost overwhelming scene to grin and wave with both hands to the audience before moving to take my seat.

The only armchair available was already occupied by a certain web slinger. I pouted and crossed my arms. “I was going to sit there!”

“Well, I’m already here. Sorry, sweetcheeks,” Tom smirked up at me, settling further into the very comfortable looking chair.

I frowned. “Aw, c’mon, Tommy! Pleeeease?” I tilted my chin down and sent him my best puppy dogs.

Tom shook his head. “Hey, you can sit anywhere you want, but I’m not moving.”

My lips immediately quirked upwards. “Ok!” I quickly responded before plopping myself down sideways across Tom’s lap with my legs hanging over the other armrest. His hands reflexively went to my waist in an effort to stabilize me. Tom stared at me in shock, and I just grinned back triumphantly.

I turned to look at Conan, who was watching the whole ordeal go down with an amused smile. “Hi, Conan,” I grinned.

The tall man chuckled. “Hi, (Y/N).”

I had to flip my head upside down to look at Andy, as the armrest that my back was leaning against was the one facing him. “Nothing personal, I just really wanted the chair.”

Andy scoffed in fake hurt. “Yeah, sure. Just pretend you’re not repulsed by me.”

“Well, I am a pretty good actress,” I shrugged, pretending to think it over.

Conan barked out a laugh, and I grinned, straightening back up and settling further into Tom’s lap. “So I guess (ship name) is real?” Conan chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows.

My face went bright red, and I scoffed. “Yeah, just about as real as Candy,” I bit back in an attempt to misdirect from my extreme embarrassment.

Conan laughed his big belly laugh again. “No, (Y/N)’s just unbelievably stubborn is all,” Tom added with a slight shake of his head.

“I’ve heard a few rumors, though, about the two of you,” Conan continued. “A lot of people are talking about a recent incident involving gymnastics?”

I groaned and hid my face in Tom’s chest. “Yeah, she was just so graceful,” Tom chuckled.

I hit his arm with a pout. “Oh, shut up. It really hurt, ok?”

Tom grinned and turned to Conan. “You see, we’ve had a wager going on for quite a while over who was the better actor. So, when we got off set early one day, we decided to prove it once and for all. We each invented a character for the other to play. I was supposed to be a foul-tempered, incredibly avid fan of some sort of predatory bird--”

“The eagles, Tom,” I rolled my eyes. “You were playing a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. Anyways, Tommy here had decided to make me a world class gymnast. You know, because I’m so experienced.”

“Whoever was revealed to be lying about their identity first would lose the bet,” Tom continued. “And he or she would have to do one thing the other asked, no matter what it was.”

“It didn’t go very well,” I sighed, cringing slightly at the memory. “And I still maintain that I won, by the way!”

Tom shook his head. “Not a chance, sweetcheeks. You see, we were talking to a wonderful young lady on the street when I noticed (Y/N) getting a bit excited. Turns out, she’d noticed a Philadelphia sticker on the woman’s bag. So she started raving about how much I loved the Eagles and all of the Philadelphia teams. Naturally, I began talking of her supposed experience in gymnastics. The woman was rather impressed and asked if she could see her do a flip.”

“Meanwhile, I can’t do any sort of gymnastics to save my life,” I scoffed. “So instead of flipping, I asked Tom what sport the Eagles play.” The audience laughed a bit. “He couldn’t respond, and voila! I win!”

“Not quite,” Tom chuckled. “That woman didn’t say a word until you tried to do a flip and landed directly on your bum. She caught you first, pointing out that you weren’t a gymnast. Only afterwards did she say I had no idea where Philadelphia even was.”

I frowned. “Yeah, but she knew you were faking it first.”

“Those weren’t the rules, sweetcheeks,” Tom grinned. I rolled my eyes.

I’d barely taken notice of the loud laughter until Conan spoke up again between chuckles. “Here’s a clip from the new Spider-Man: Homecoming in theaters July 7, check it out!”

While the clip played, Tom grinned and poked me in the side. “You know, I still get to ask you that favor.”

“Fine, I concede. What do you want, Holland?” I rolled my eyes again.

“You’ll see in just a moment,” he answered, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

I snorted softly in an attempt not to laugh over the preview being played. “What the heck was that?”

“I was being mysterious!” He defended.

“You looked like you’d lost all control over your facial muscles,” I smirked.

Tom frowned, but before he could reply, the lights came back on. So instead, he turned to look at our host. “Conan, before we go, can I ask a favor?”

Conan nodded. Tom gently picked me up while he stood, placing me back in the seat. He walked towards the edge of the stage. I leaned over to Andy. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?” I stage whispered.

“Yeah, but I’m not telling you. You didn’t want to sit next to me,” Andy responded with a humph, crossing his arms. I laughed at his antics.

Tom had returned by that point. In his arms was the most adorable little creature I’d ever seen in my entire life. “This is Firestar,” he said, holding up the absolutely precious chocolate lab puppy. “She’s incredibly stubborn, so I thought you two might get along.”

“Tom, I can’t believe you!” I squealed, accepting the puppy without hesitation. She immediately started trying to lick my face.

“Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to call in that favor you owe me.” I glanced up at him suspiciously. Tom just smiled. “Go with me to the premier? As my date?” Tom stood before me nervously, his cheeks bright red, while he anticipated my answer.

My eyes widened, and my breath caught in my throat. I couldn’t believe he’d actually just asked me out. Of course I had fantasized about this, but I never actually thought it would happen.

“Say yes!” I random shout from somewhere in the crowd startled me out of my trance.

My face broke out into a huge grin, and I nodded quickly. “Of course I’ll go with you, you big dummy!” I said, hiding my immense excitement behind the small joke.

Tom’s nervousness melted into happiness, and he rushed forward to hug me, taking care not to crush the puppy between us.

“Tom Holland and (Y/N) (L/N), everybody!” Conan shouted above the cheers. “Now officially (ship name)!” The cheers and screams got even louder, and I laughed, almost having to cover my ears. We were both soon ushered off the stage to make way for whoever was next to appear on the show.

When we finally had a minute to breath, I turned to Tom. “I can’t believe you got me a puppy,” I laughed. My smiled was still plastered to my face, and I had a feeling it wasn’t going away anytime soon.

“Everyone gets flowers,” Tom shrugged. I laughed and shook my head. “So there is one other thing I need to know before we can go on a date.”

My brow furrowed slightly, and my smile wavered. “What is it?” I asked warily.

“What color is your dress? I have to know what I’m matching my tie to.”

I pursed my lips in pretend anger, despite the smile that still managed to peak through. “You jerk, you really had my scared!” I hit his arm.

“Ow!” Tom complained. He grabbed my hand as it was gearing up to hit him again and pulled me into another hug, still softly chuckling my hair. I grinned and cradled my new puppy to my chest, who’d already fallen asleep after all the excitement. I was going to go on a date with Tom Holland. Maybe I’ll even get to be his girlfriend!

#tom holland #tom holland imagine #tom holland x reader #tom holland reader insert #tom holland x you #tom holland x y/n #avengers cast x reader #avengers cast #avengers cast reader insert #avengers cast imagine #avengers cast x you #avengers cast x y/n

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apothecarinomicon · 3 years ago

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Spring week 4 part 3

After my hectic experience with the marshbloom, I decided to take a day for myself. Greenmoor isn’t anywhere near the ocean, but Meltwater Loch is big enough that I figured a day spent there could be considered a beach day. And after the couple of weeks I’d had, boy did I need a beach day.

But anyone who’s read this far ought to be familiar with my luck by now. There’s a lot to record, but I’ll try to get it down in order.

────⊱⁜⊰────

It was a beautiful day—clear blue sky, warm air, and (at least when I first arrived) no one around at Meltwater Loch. I spread out a towel on the beach and laid down for a good session of sunbathing. I’ve never been one for tanning, but simply laying doing nothing while being warmed by the sun and cooled by the breeze felt absolutely decadent.

After a while of simply existing, I became aware of the sound of a bird calling above me. I cracked my eyes open and recognized the large forms of a pair of gull-drakes flying overhead. Gull-drakes are a strange hybrid, both reptilian and avian. Their torsos and wings are feathered, while their heads, tails, and talons are scaled. They do have beaks like gulls, but their tails are prehensile like their alleged draconic ancestors’. I say ‘alleged’ because no one knows how the hybrid gull-drake came into being. The sheer anatomy and scale discrepancy between the average seagull and the average dragon fossil (they were much larger in ancient times than the pocket-sized lizards we have today) seems to rule out any cross-breeding. Additionally, the typical combination of traits displayed by gull-drakes is too awkward and ungainly to be the result of natural selection. And yet, there have been records of the gull-drake’s existence for just about as long as there have been records—the third-oldest surviving written document, in fact, is a bestiary which includes them along dozens of other species, most of which are now extinct.

Nature is a strange thing.

Digressions aside, there was a reason this caught my attention. Gull-drakes are scavengers, and have been known to leave catches uneaten while they go out to hunt for more. It’s just an evolutionary quirk—they prefer to feast only once per day. This means that, as they leave their nests unattended, some other opportunistic creature could come by and steal their catch.

It’s easy to identify a gull-drake nest, too—they tend to be very large, and are often positioned balanced atop large, pointy rocks. If a gull-drake catches you stealing, though, it’ll chase you and squawk at you and try to peck you until you drop the stolen goods and flee. They’re not too smart, though, so hiding in nearby foliage (say, a patch of large ferns) will fool them easily.

All of this to say, I managed to get myself a shock fish without a rod, all while only getting chased a little ways by a jealous, stupid bird.

────⊱⁜⊰────

As I returned to my towel, I heard an unusual sound—the put-put-put of a motor. Machinery of that kind is a fairly new invention, and unless you know how to make it, very expensive.

The woman driving the boat certainly looked like she knew how to make a motor. She was dwarven, with russet hair and a long beard, both held in thick braids. She was (as dwarves are) rather short—I'd estimate maybe one-and-a-fifth meters tall, and nearly as wide—with large hands and feet, and limbs thickly corded with muscle. She wore dark green coveralls and had a fairly heavy-duty fishing rod held in one hand so that it rested on her shoulder.

She shut the motor off as she neared and called out to me, asking if I was the village witch. I said that I was, and she told me that she was friends with my crocodilian patient. She thanked me for helping him, and said he would have been a goner without my potion-making skills. I demurred just a bit, saying I wasn't the only healer who helped him that day. She scoffed and dismissed my humility outright, saying that I might as well have been the only one—that without my care the village doctor wouldn't have been able to do anything.

She introduced herself as Janneth Hillhorn, and I told her my name in turn. She asked what I was doing out by Meltwater Loch and I told her I was taking a day off. She let me know that her cottage was just around the other side of the lake, near Glimmerwood Grove and right on the border of Blastfire Bog, and that I should feel free to stop in any time. I thanked her.

At this point, there was a tremor in the water. It couldn't have been an earthquake because the land wasn't shaking, but the water abruptly became much more active. Ocean-like waves crashed into the shore and Janneth held tight onto the sides of her boat, doing her best not to capsize. I would have been quite alarmed in her situation, but Janneth barely seemed preturbed. I asked something along the lines of "what the blight is going on?!" As the water settled, Janneth told me that this was a common occurence on Meltwater Loch, a quirk that—many said—was due to the emotions of its guardian sea-dragon, Bàs Bàta. I found this explanation rather silly, reminiscent of an old wives' tale. I'd never heard of a sea-dragon before, and given that the name ‘Bàs Bàta’ directly translated to "boat death," I figured it was just a local story told to frighten children and dismissed it out of hand.

Astute readers should be growing worried for me right about now.

Janneth offered to give me one of the fish she'd caught as a thanks for helping her friend. I initially refused, but she insisted. She looked through her basket and pulled out a dentist crab. The gel their claws produce is good for the mouth and plenty else besides, so I accepted and thanked her. She thanked me right back and said (perhaps jokingly?) not to run afoul of Bàs Bàta while I was out by the loch. I forced a laugh as she sped away.

Once she was out of sight, I collected some claw gel from the dentist crab and released it back into the water.

────⊱⁜⊰────

There was another rumbling as I made my way back to the beach, and as it abated I saw something bob up to the surface of the water close to the shore. It presented itself, et cetera et cetera, I waded in to see what it was.

I scooped it out of the water and found myself holding a glass bottle, like the kind that rum or sweet wine would come in, sealed with a cork and containing a rolled-up sheet of paper. Of course, I opened it immediately. I found that the sheet inside wasn’t quite *paper,* but something more slippery—maybe made of seaweed? It did have writing on it, though. As I unfurled it, a few things that looked like pebbles fell out. I barely managed to catch them before they hit the surface of the water. I put them in my pocket for safe keeping.

The writing on the note was as follows, with no spelling changes by me:

Let it be known that I fink this whole exercise is stupid. And pointless. And probly meant as some kind of sick, twisted punishment. No one but little kids believe in terrafolk, so I don’t know why the instructress is making us do this.

Even if anyfing could live above the water, there’s no way its advanced enough to read. How would it get all the minerals it needs wivout processing the water?

But anyway. I guess I ave to fulfill the prompt.

Me name is Genoveva, I live in the I.S.A.C.S. (that's short for 'Isolated Sovereign Aquatic City-State, but we all just pronounce it like 'Isax") and I’m in the fifth year of me education. I hate me name. I wish I could ave somefing exotic like a John or a Steve or a Sarah, but I’m stuck wiv boring old Genoveva. If you’re somehow able to read this, that must mean you ave schools on the surface, too. Wat ar they like? Ar they as boring up there? We all ave to sit in a circle and listen to the instructress drone on and on and on.

I live wiv me merma and me perpa and me two baby brothers. Do you ave family? I've got loads of cousins too.

On the rubric it says I ave to include a small gift, so I'm putting some fossil fish scales in wiv this letter. I found em on me way to school this morning and there not of use to me, but I figure you probly don't ave fish on land so maybe scales ar valuable up there.

If you're inclined to write back (no pressure), you can just pop your note in the bottle and put it back into the water. It'll find its way to me—there's magic all around, don't you know.

Signed,

Genoveva Galbrait, 5th year

[An accessible version of this letter can be found here.]

The letter obviously has some pretty complex implications. An entire society under the surface of Meltwater Loch, entirely unaware of the world above the surface beyond fairy stories? What must life be like down there? What kind of society must they have? How do they supply food? Get rid of waste?

What resources might be available there that can't be found on the surface?

I decided that somehow I was going to find a way to visit ISACS, and learn everything I could about it. I bet that would impress the University of Arcbridge. I wasn't sure how I would breathe under the water for long enough, but I was determined to find a way.

Take your final guesses now what happened next.

That water-quaking started up again, this time stronger than before. Waves crashed against the beach where I stood, and I felt a great vibration in my chest and in my head.

And then, it broke the surface of the water.

Giant and blue-green and serpentine, Bàs Bàta rose up before me. A blighting sea-dragon, it stood straight up in the air at least twice as tall as my cottage—and that was just the part of its body I could see. Its head was shaped like the tip of an arrow, with three great spikes sprouting out of the back (the outer two longer than the middle one). It let loose another deep roar, dousing me in spittle. It thrashed about, causing great waves to crash onto the shore, and through my shock I realized its movements might be less characteristic of anger than of pain.

My suspicions were confirmed when it roared again: one of the fangs right near the front of its mouth was missing a chip, and had a great crack running nearly all the way up to the root. That had to hurt. I'd never treated a non-humanoid before—or, for that matter, a cracked tooth—but I realized even past the moral obligation to help, there was no way I could access the underwater city-state without calming Bàs Bàta down.

I found out later, after I'd scrambled away from the lake and sprinted back to the cottage, after wiping the saliva off of me and getting at least some of it in a bottle for potion use, that the saliva was actually a really useful ingredient in treating shattered teeth. As it turns out, it's a pretty strong painkiller. Unfortunately, I knew I'd need more than just that to make a cure, and with the sheer size of Bàs Bàta, I suspected I'd need to make more than one potion.

That will have to be a longer term project, then, because the events of my relaxation day have worn me out. I've got to get to bed. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

⇦●〇●⇨

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some-dr-writings · 4 years ago

Text

Miu x Reader one-shot: Reunited

Warning: Swearing

As soon as that alarm blared that morning you slapped your hand atop the bed side table, searching for your phone, only to knock it off and not even turn off the alarm in the process. You groaned, burying your face into your pillow, pulling your quilts and sheets over your head, hoping to muffle the sound. You just really didn’t want to get up that morning, hell, it was the weekend, you could sleep in a bit longer…

But then you heard that distinctive ding sound and with a heavy sigh you dragged yourself out of bed. Groaning you tried rubbing the sleepiness out of your eyes so the brightness of that small device wouldn’t appear as blinding. It was a new text from Miu. ‘need motivation’. It was six in the morning, when did she wake up, or was she up all night you wondered. “Wait… heh, there’s probably a lude joke somewhere there.” Too tired to really think on it you instead went to get dresses.

“About time you got here! What took you so long? I bet it was a wet dream about yours truly.” Miu crossed her arms and smugly smiled seeing you snicker at her comment. “Yeah, yeah. Well, I’m here now, don’t get your panties in a bunch.” “Excuse me, but it’s a detriment to the whole world if I’m not inventing, so get to work so I can get the juices flowing!” “Uh-huh. On it.” And thus you started your morning workout routine. Miu rather… eagerly watching as you worked, the sweat dripping down your brow and making your tank top cling to your ripped muscles, soon glancing between you and the note pad she was so intensely scribbling ideas on.

When the girl was absorbed in her inventing you gently coaxed Miu to her lab leaving her there to get breakfast. After scarfing down the feast Teru had prepared for you, the chef passed you a boxed breakfast. As you were jogging down the hall however you seemed to trip on nothing. “Nishishi! Ah, look! I’ve caught Y/N!” Propping yourself on your arms you found your face had landed in a pie tin full of whipped cream, Kokichi kneeling before you, holding the undamaged breakfast box. “Hey Oma. How are you today?” As you spoke you stood up, wiping the cream off your face with the thumb before licking it off. “I’m booooooaaaaared.” He then tackled your back, clinging to your shoulders. “Hey, hey! Gimmie a piggie back ride!” “Oh? Alright then. Hold on tight!” You ran down hall after hallway, leaping over people and garbage cans, sliding around corners to add some excitement for your passenger.

However to Kokichi’s groans of disappointment you slowed down having reached your destination. You lightly knocked on the door before entering finding Miu busily working away with some scraps of metal or something. “Hey Mew Mew.” Giving her a kiss on her head you took the boxed breakfast from Kokichi and placed it beside her. “The fuck!?” She wiped around to face you, her whole face florescent pink. She was flustered still she seemed to notice something. “Oh, you brought the crotch goblin with you?” You snorted, trying to repress a chuckle. “What are you working on?” “The key to long lasting longevity!” “… Huh?” “Here I’ll place it in simple terms for you since I’m so nice. This bad boy’ll make anyone be able to last all night long! No more sleep while doing things inventions, I’ll be able to stay awake for it all!” “Ooh, I see now.” You closed your eyes and leaned your forehead against her’s. “Just don’t forget to take a break to eat. I’ll get the crotch goblin out of here, so you don’t have any distractions.” “E-eh!?” Miu simply watched in flustered bafflement as you simply walked away, shutting the door behind yourself.

“… Are you two fuckbuddies?” “Heh, nah. I know Mew Mew likes being flustered, but… I don’t know how to make sexual jokes and stuff so, I give her affection instead!” “… Then why do you take care of her? Are you sure it’s not because you LOVE~ her?” … You didn’t seem to react at all to any of his teasing, curious. What exactly WAS your relationship to one another? “Well, I do love her. Admittedly I’m not that smart, or sexually inclined, in fact I think I might be somewhere on the asexual gradient? We’re nothing alike and yet were best friends. I don’t think it’s surprising though since we had known one another since childhood. I’m not entirely sure how or when we had met, she was just always there. She used to be like my big sister! She’d always protect me and fight anyone who picked on me. She always helped me and tutored me when I didn’t or couldn’t understand something…” You lightly sighed, your features becoming lightly crestfallen. “I feel bad about it, but… I… I sometimes miss that girl.” Kokichi was now quite intrigued. “I sometimes feel lost and scared and… and I just want to see her again. I know she’s still there, but… I can’t help these feelings and, I hate them. I hate them so much… I feel so guilty but also happy? It’s… very confusing with these conflicting feelings. Like I know she’s there and hasn’t changed, but she’s also not there and someone else completely?”

Your voice had begun to trail off, seemingly getting lost in thought. You weren’t looking so good. Kokichi quickly looked around, searching for something he could use. It was then Kokichi noticed a dog. It must have escaped from one of Gundham’s animal pens. Perfect. Discretely searching through his pockets, he found a dog whistle. In order to make pranks on the fly, one must be prepared for any situation which could thankfully be used to his advantage here. Then he blew it. Though not a sound could be heard it certainly got the dog’s attention who came racing to it’s call. “Y/N, watch where you’re going!” “Hu- What the-!?” you tripped over your own feet trying to avoid the poor creature. “Sorry little guy.” “Geeze you’re so clumsy, gurl. Let’s take a seat somewhere.” “Yeah, good idea.”

As you promptly trotted to a bench you had asked what you were talking about. “How Iruma had changed.” “Ah, yeah…” After sitting down Kokich sat on your lap. Before you could ask what he was doing he snuggled into you, cheekily smiling and he took your hands, wrapping your arms around himself. “Okay, I’m ready! Stories are best taken in when cuddling after all!” “Hmm…” You propped your chin on his shoulder, thinking it over. “Fine, couldn’t hurt I guess. Anyway, when Miu changed… It was just a day like any other. We were just sitting outside of the school, waiting for Miu’s mom or dad to come pick us up, and they did. We were sitting in the car, faces pressed against the window. We were at a red light so Miu and I were betting on which raindrop would get to the bottom of the window first. And then…” Your grip tightened, holding Kokichi close. “There was this… loud noise. The crunching of metal, but only for a moment, after that, I just heard this loud ringing. I couldn’t see anything, and I was so hot, like when I had accidentally touched the oven. Everything felt as if it were just burning. With how hard the rain came pounding down, it stung. I… I-i…” Due to clutching Kokichi, getting lost in that time, you didn’t notice how he lightly squeezed your hands. “I-I was so scared.” You voice wavered as you curled up into a ball, hugging Kokichi as closely as you could. “And she was just asleep. I, I screamed and cried but Miu didn’t wake up, she just limply laid there. I couldn’t move. I just couldn’t. She didn’t try to protect me like she always did, she… she was just so limp, a-and, and…” Taking a deep breath you blinked a few times trying to get the blurriness to fade from your eyes. “I, uh, I’m sorry, I got lost in thought, where did I leave off?” “Right after you got help. A bit after the car crash.” “Oh. Okay. Uh, we… Yeah! I wasn’t in the hospital for long… I think? I was comatose or something? They said my brain wasn’t functioning or something for a bit… I’m not sure, but I know Miu was there for even longer than me. She stayed there for a very long time and got lots of surgeries. When we did meet again, I thought she was a different person. She acted so differently, but I know it’s still her. I visited her everyday. She… was drugged out a lot on pain meds so we mostly watched cartoons the whole time. I thought she’d go back to normal once she stopped needing the meds, but this was just her new normal, even the constantly taking drugs and stuff. I once asked her why she had changed and she told me the surgeons turned her into a cyborg. I’m not so sure about that now, but back then I just accepted it. At the time it seemed to be a reasonable enough exclamation. But as we grew up, she never changed, perpetually the same, only difference is how she likes make sexual remarks. But she stayed the same. So, I guess… I want to be her Miu, her big sibling that will protect her. That’s why I gotta work out. Y’know, since I’m not so smart, I could at least fight and protect her that way. At least… I’d like to think I can protect her, but… it’s not like I’m strong enough to stop a car… Not yet at least!” Verve reignited within yourself as you stood up, placing Kokichi aside. “What am I doing here!? I need to be training and get even stronger! Sorry Oma, but I gotta go now! We can play some other time!” Kokichi simply watched as you ran away, a little idea forming in his mind.

Several days had passed since your encounter with Kokichi and not once did you think back on it. You were a bit scatterbrained often forgetting what you were even doing, but the one thing you could always remember was that you had to keep training so you could be strong enough to protect Miu from anything. Surely with enough strength you didn’t have to be smart! Besides, Miu could do that part for you! Together you could be unstoppable, you just had to get good enough to get to that point. And so you dedicated yourself to training.

Once more you found yourself wanting to sleep in, tossing your phone across the room, forgetting you could just turn it off. After the alarm automatically went to snooze, you were about to fall asleep when a new one sounded. “Hey, past you talking. WAKE UP, IT’S MEW MEW’S BIRTHDAY!” “WAIT WHAT!?” You tumbled out of bed, getting wrapped and trapped in the quilt and sheets, landing on the ground with a loud, deep thud before scurrying across the room. After shutting off the alarm, you were in a panic, wrecking your room, desperately hoping you did get a present and didn’t forget. After ransacking the place twice over you found your gift in the most obvious of places, under your bed. You sighed, seeing the mess you had made. By the time you had finished cleaning breakfast time was almost over so you dashed as quickly as you could to the dining hall.

When arriving at Miu’s door you were confused to hear muffled yelling inside. “H-hey Mew Mew!” You were out of breath, leaning against the door. “Just keep your dumbass, whore mouth shut for a moment, your breath stinks up the place enough as it is with your mouth shut.” You were very confused to see Kokichi here. “Hey! Hold on! What’s going on!” You quickly stomped over, standing between Miu and Kokichi. “Oh! Hi Y/N~” “There you are! Do me a favor and toss this asshat out of here!” You looked between the two, absolutely confused as to what was happening. “U-Uh…” “ “Uh…” is that all you can say you pathetic, brain dead, vegetable person, you be better off-” “What did you just say!?” “Miu?” You were perplexed at how infuriated she sounded. “Something… about a vegetable?” “Don’t even repeat that Y/N!” “O-okay?” You took a step back letting Miu march up to Kokichi, grabbing him the collar of his shirt. “You are pissing me the fuck off! Stop being an asshole, spewing shit all over the place and get out!” She then tossed Kokichi out, slamming the door behind him.

You just stood there, stunned into silence. You hadn’t seen Miu like this in so long and… “What’s that fuckin’ smile about?” “Ah, well… That just reminded me of when we were kids is all.” You lightly chuckled, recalling how once a kid was calling you a scrawny skeleton and Miu just screamed at them, getting red in the face, almost passing out from not even stopping to breath. “Hey, I’m not sure exactly what you were defending me from but thank you.” “Whatever. Nobody insults this gorgeous girl genius.” “… Oma was insulting you?” “Duh!” She promptly sat at her worktable, messing with circuit boards or something. “… I see.” So you were wrong… wouldn’t be the first time. “Anybody who messes with you, messes with me.” “Miu.” “HEY! What the-!” You hugged Miu from behind, burrowing your face into her shoulder. “If you wanted to feel my tits that badly you could have just asked!” “No, sorry, I… I just want a hug.” “… T-then let me out of my seat so I can hug you back, you big lug!” “Okay!”

“Oh, I almost forgot! Happy Birthday, Mew Mew!” Miu burst out into that bombastic laughter, patting you on the head. “Wow, you actually remembered! I thought you were going to be a day late again!” “No, I wanted to be on time this year! I even set an alarm for it!” Miu held the wrapped box, examining it. “So, what did you get me?” “Uh… I… don’t know.” “You’re hopeless without me, but it’s you so, I guess I can trust it won’t suck.” You were so giddy, seeing Miu was still blushing. You really surprised her by not forgetting this year. Trying to remember was well worth it! “A book?” It was a children’s book, the cover and each page completely covered by cartoon characters you immediately recognized. “Wow this brings back memories.” “This is one of the shows we watched at the hospital… Thanks Y/N.”

Before he could be spotted spying through the window he quickly ducked, looking back a minute later finding you sitting in a chair, pulling a blushing Miu onto your lap. Pressing his ear to the door he heard you saying something about cuddling being good for reading before taking a step back. Turning on his phone, Kokichi looked through his e-mail, deleting a receipt for a cartoon children’s book. He then dashed away. Upon arriving at your room, he shut the window, locking it, thanking his lucky stars you hadn’t noticed it that morning as you destroyed your room. If he had known you were going to take so long to find the book, he would have either just placed it on your bed or taken his time to lock the window and not rush to rile up Miu for you to walk in on. Oh well, it still worked out. Helping a younger sibling reconnect with their older sibling, especially one who so clearly loved her younger sibling, he couldn’t think of a better gift for such a person. “Nishishi. Happy birthday Iruma.”

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roccinan · 3 years ago

Note

I'm risking sounding terribly egoistical by sending a public ask about my own url here but I'm doing it!!!!! I need the super graphic-details

Your ego is my ego, dearest nharidy. There's a reason the doc is named after you hahaha

[ 👉 My Wips ]

OK so the Absolvisti sequel's been sitting in my head since well, the week after I published it lmao. But I never got around to writing because I wasn't sure if it was being too self-indulgent (I'm feeling more confident about it now that I know you'll be pleased by it!). Also because I was having trouble deciding on a pov: should I continue with the Tatiana 1st person pov as always? Change it up to Martin 3rd person? or surprise: 1st person Don Juan?? Should it be a new chapter or new fic? (def. open to suggestions here!) Also I think it'd be Iconic to publish a story in the Dies Irae universe with our new cat profile pics.

Graphic detail time :D Prepare for a SUPER LONG answer LMAO. Most of the things I mentioned here and here will make their way in, with maybe a bonus ns/fw chapter from Martin or Andres' pov. The main story is SFW however, and there's like a hilariously high amount of hurt!Andres, who doesn't have demons to rely on anymore but still carries all the permanent damage the demons left on him:

It takes place some months after Absolvisti so Andres is doing better, but not fully well yet. He's not actively dying anymore but he does faint a lot and isn't exactly making a full recovery. Because I wanted to make things harder for Martin. Because he's not a young man anymore, the wounds were super extensive, and this is the result of years of accumulated damage + a form of "withdrawal" (the shadows/demons that used to feed on him were also the things that kept him alive so it's one big cycle that his body isn't leaving that easily).

This means every time Martin plans something nice for him like seeing a play or going out for a nightly walk, Andres can't go through the whole thing without feeling unwell. (Martin: "I over-exerted the love of my life. I am so SELFISH. what does Andres see in me??" Andres: "I disappointed the love of my life. I am the WEAKEST. what does Martin see in me??" Tatiana: feed me, bitches)

They manage to sit through one play though (not sure if I want this at the beginning or end of the fic LMAO). It's the one Bogota wrote, The Necromancer's Lament, a "biopic" about Andres' life. And it's every bit as terrible as Martin expected. Bad special effects, bad acting especially from Martin's actor, Andres' actor has a beard, and Tatiana looks like this:

Andres thinks it's the best play ever. Martin hates it and demands a refund. Tatiana hates it too but Don Juan's like, "mi amor, you are still beautiful to me, even as a deformed puppet."

Martin's 120-page complaints aside, Bogota runs the theatre troupe with his partner, Nairobi/Agata, and they're both going to start teaching performing arts at Santa Catalina because the last drama professor died lmao

Meanwhile, Santa Catalina has a new bad girl student, Tokyo/Silene! Sergio took her in as a charity case after some dark and mysterious events in her life. But Tokyo being Tokyo can't stay away from trouble, and she becomes obsessed with finding the demons that Andres expelled. Some bizarre possessions start happening again and the school's sponsors force Raquel to keep it under wraps. (Raquel: maybe if you increased funding, we wouldn't have so many problems!!)

In the meantime, Martin gets that letter from a long lost relative asking to meet him. Not sure about the order of this either. Anyway, Martin was planning to ignore the relative, but Andres insists he go. Either Tatiana or Don Juan accompany him. Martin learns that he's the sole heir of his dead parents across the sea (the will: “we forgive you for being a heretic, a freak of nature, and the alchemist of Palermo. also no hard feelings for leaving you to die as a baby xoxoxo”). There's one (1) condition though: he has to end his partnership with the necromancer. Martin: NO THANKS.

So while Martin's dealing with this unexpected drama, Sergio decides to call in Andres' expertise TM again because it's also a good excuse to talk to his brother. Martin is Very wary about this and rejects him. But Andres insists that it'll be fine. Plus, maybe he wants to turn a new leaf and help Santa Catalina for nothing in return this time. Not everyone gets a second chance at life and he doesn't want to be a bad person anymore uwu (Tatiana: "Andres was a pretentious piece of shit, surprising no one." Martin: "Nobody deserves Andres, not even me, and I'm like, the most amazing person in the world.")

Andres comes to do the exorcism with the random priest the school hired. And they discover there aren't any demons- it's just some ghost fucking around (maybe I'll make it the spirit of Gandia or Alicia since they haven't shown up yet lol). Anyway, it doesn't go very well but Andres gets rid of the creature or whatever. Not before it punctures a hole in his side though. Then Martin loses it, just full-on screams at Sergio for almost getting Andres killed again, makes a lot of threats against the school, etc. etc.

Raquel, being more useful, plugs up the wound. But the priest accidentally provokes Martin more by asking Raquel if he should mop up Andres' blood with holy water or something. What if the necromancer's blood is cursed?? And now it's all over the floor, so disgusting :/

Martin, already in a very bad mood, beats the priest up.

They go home. Martin's in a really sour mood and he just doesn't understand why Andres isn't mad at Sergio. Martin: "It's really emotionally damaging to me if you don't give a fuck about yourself." Andres makes him even angrier by bringing up the Berrote family will and having the audacity to suggest Martin leave him for money. He makes a huge case about how he literally has nothing to offer Martin except a body that barely works and a terrible reputation. Martin: "I lost a fucking eye for you??"

They fight and Martin storms away, and also kidnaps Don Juan, his honorary new soulmate who would never betray him like Andres.

A while after this, the Spanish Inquisition local clergy arrests Andres for "questioning." Because the shenanigans at Santa Catalina are still going on and that one priest suspects him of being behind everything just because. Raquel's the one who bails him out. She may not like Sergio's brother, but the way everyone else treats him is ridiculous.

Andres limps home, hoping Martin's still away. Surprise! Martin felt guilty and came back. And it's pretty obvious that Andres has just been tortured. Martin: "Say no more. I'm going to kill some people."

Andres gets Martin to not do anything stupid by dropping the thing with the will. He admits he was wrong for saying those things to Martin and he selfishly, genuinely wants to stay with Martin forever. Martin: "I'm still going to kill your brother. You may appease me with a kiss."

Does it end here? No! Because the shit at Santa Catalina is still happening. Andres and Martin solve it for good though. But it's all very dramatic. I'm vaguest about this part, but maybe Nairobi's injured saving Tokyo, and this gives Tokyo the wakeup call to move on from whatever baggage that got her into this mess in the first place. Then Andres' solution for saving Nairobi is to ask Martin to work that alchemist magic and transfer her wounds onto himself (at this point, we're just going overboard with the Andres whump but asdfasdf why stop??). Raquel: Sergio, tell your brother to stop dying. That's a bad example for the kids.

It takes a lot of convincing, but Martin relents in the end, only because he trusts Andres. At this point, Andres has been through so much that he physically cannot take any more damage. Like, he just can't lmao. So the whole process puts Andres into a coma or something. But we don't need him anymore because now we can revel in Martin's angst!

Martin spends the rest of his time crying and angsting and guilt-tripping Sergio, and just being very loud in general. He also writes back to his family and tells them to fuck off.

Once we indulge in enough of Martin's pain, Andres finally wakes up. Still very bad off but he's alive and not showing signs of dying any time soon. So that's good enough for Martin. They have a nice heart-to-heart, and idk, maybe Raquel comes to see them because Sergio's too embarrassed to. Until Andres insists, because he loves hermanito unconditionally uwu. Martin: "watch your back, Sergio. I might murder you in your sleep (:"

Then at the very end (I have no idea how long this story is LOL), there's some kind of family photoshoot between Raquel, Sergio, and Paula. Everyone's raving over this new invention called the "camera." Andres is admiring it from a distance until Raquel's like, "get over here. what part of FAMILY photoshoot do you not understand!?"

Andres is shocked pikachu face because good will towards him for once?? he's being included in something?? people want him around?? what is happening??

Martin's happy for him though. Then he's admiring from a distance until Raquel's like, "I said FAMILY photoshoot. Get over here, Martin!"

Tatiana didn't want to be a part of it, but Paula saw her favorite talking cat and like, grabbed her lmao. Don Juan photobombs it because he can't be excluded from an activity with Tatiana, especially when his former rival Andres is in the photo too. (His current rival is Casanova, an unworthy white cat vying for Tatiana's affections)

Sergio proposes to Raquel. The end! Yes, the kitty love triangle is also a central theme of this story LMAO Hope that satisfies you, nharidy! And I welcome any and all suggestions!

#nharidy #wip meme #asdfasdf this got so long omg #as you can see I thought a LOT about this sequel and have it all written... in my head rip #but if I know it will please you then that's enough motivation for me to get it on a document #kinda want to keep it tatiana's pov since she's what holds the dies irae universe together #also because Martin's pov would be 'andres never did anything wrong in his life he is so perfect'#andres' pov: 'everyone loved Martin and I because we are so beautiful and humble and amazing'#'someone threw an apple at me yesterday- a gift from another adoring fan obviously'#adfasdf so many shades of delusional and insufferable

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cynozurka · 3 years ago

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My notes from watching bo Burnhams inside when I thought it would be a good idea to just write about every song /bit xd

Fixing the world w comedy

I mean it was fine

Some good points

Self aware and all

How oppressors will do performative activism

But also contextualised with his persona its a bit weird

is he scared of becoming that or is he already that

Like he IS doing a bit here and I know that It factors into the whole self awareness debuckle but idk it's a bit iffy to me

Also not really productive i think (yeah I know that's not the point but let me ramble)

You can still educate through comedy and you can do both actually

BECAUSE NEWS FLASH YEAH YOU C A N USE YOUR PRIVELEGE TO HELP AND IT DOESN'T HELP ANYONE THAT YOU THINK IT'S SELFISH

Like idk i understanding where he is coming from but perpetuating that mindset isn't really helpful imo

Facetiming with mom

Too little i think? I mean a fine little song but didn't get much from it

* making a profound experience out of a superficial face time with mom but maybe it has actually become profound, how little we speak to our family kinda, deep shit*

But that's kinda? Known? And not really nuanced at all?

That's how the world works

Well I really liked that one

Bo shows how it depends on the oppressed to be polite to their oppressors (using those terms loosely, the class with power and the powerless etc) to have a slightest chance to be listened to

Like that was a nicely done bit

Also I maybe a bit of critism to "socko" for the not considering educating the character, maybe I'm reading to much into it

I was pleasantly surprised because I thought the special would be kinda epty with half statements and nothing said explicitly

Tho the joke in the contrast of a sock puppet /a children's character telling something unexpected or dark does scream millennial humor

The brand thing

Good but I think it's been done many times before

White woman's ig song

Cool, like the white woman's Instagram concept seems a bit 2017 but it's well done,

Couple interpetations

1how we only show good sides of our life on social media

That one is honestly too simple, been done many times, obvious

2How priveleged for example an American white woman owing the Instagram is not knowing this (is this heaven), the Instagram is very status quo with performative activism, "normal" is priveleged

The bit about the mom either

About venting on social media/furthering the theme that life isn't perfect (basic)

Humanizing, the white woman is still a person

We shouldnt antagonize priveleged people just because (it's actually important to have them on our side, the revolution is about destroying the class divide not creating more (that interpretation is generous tho)

Anyway the song is fine but I felt it could've said more and was a bit style over substance

About the theme of shutting up

Kinda? I mean I understand? But also not really it's important to exchange ideas and that everyone can do it imo, like I think it's a good social change that we can freely (well debatable) say our opinions but maybe it just went in a misquided way and it's just an illusion of everyone telling their opinions when we're still talking about like western world but I might be going to far but I think I know what he's getting at but also hhhhhh

The format of the reaction video seemed a bit condescending at first but I actually find it compelling mostly because I struggle with the same stuff and the cycle of self awareness is very familiar to me and the coping mechanism of saying you know you suck because then you feel you have an advantage over the people who would say that to you but it's not healthy to do that and you're also self aware of that

Bezos

I mean sure

I get it

You can say it had to be short to be punchy and it was just a transition

But also could've been more

Maybe I just prefer essays to poems

When he's laying on the floor and talking abt exploiting children and end with the statement of being horny idk didn't sit right with me I guess we can interpret that as the duality of man kinda thing where the world is so complicated yet we are simple creatures but idk it felt kinda invalidating just the vibe of the bit

A lot of my reactions was kinda like yeah no shit you aren't inventing the weel here

Sexting

As an asexual person it didn't really concern me

Felt outdated and too little and maybe a little not nuanced?

Like sure there were some good observations but also it was a bit too little again i think

Being funny stuck in a room sing

Fine, wanting to be seen as a kid but not as an adult because being seen can be dangerous

I think that was cool

But also idk it's not that funny or clever for me when he shows that he's taking multiple takes, wow who whouve thought people do that

Problematic

I feel nothing about it

I don't want to feel anything about it

Why the belly button close ups tho

The 30 thing

Really sad but also we know it's a performance so it felt a bit weird

The song was fun but like yeah not much said, again, we all know

Welcome to the internet

I mean sure again no shit

But it's a nice song

That funny feeling was very enjoyable actually

Anyway the overall performance is good, it's art and all but also I'm kinda done but also I think I am judging this differently than his previous songs and my judgment is harsher, like they're fine in the grand scheme of things

it was good, sometimes mediocre, overall probably very good and i hated it

not because it hit hard, it didnt really, nothing suprised me, it was just personally uneccassary for me to go through this

But also that's a very personal perspective and I understand how it can be good to other people

Also bo is a big comedian so good that he's talking about stuff like the bit with the sock

Anyway I need a break

#bo burnam inside #Inside #bo burnham

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schleierkauz · 4 years ago

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The Color of Revenge: Chapter 3

This chapter burned my house down but here it is. You probably know the drill by now - please tell me if you find any mistakes, share your thoughts and enjoy! :)

Chapter 3: It’s not easy to find a Glass Man

It’s not easy to find a glass man, especially one that doesn’t want to be found. The Black Prince, who had only just returned to Ombra with his following of strolling players, musicians and acrobats, started a search party with all of them.

Meggie’s mother Resa drew portraits of Ironstone that they showed around. Mo and Doria took turns inside the tavern Rosenquartz favored (after the innkeeper had made it very clear that she had better things to do than watching every glass man who sat down on her counter).

Meggie took her brother Dante on long walks through the streets of the neighborhood where Rosenquartz had seen Orpheus’ glass man. She hoped Dante might spot him more easily since he was so small.

But there was no trace of Ironstone anywhere. The futile search and the fear they all felt brought back dark memories. Memories of the reign of the Adderhead and the sinister role Orpheus had played back then. After five years of peace, the past seemed almost unreal. But everyone who searched the city for the glass man remembered all too well the fear and pain of those days. When the sun was setting and they still hadn’t found Ironstone, even her Ugliness’ soldiers joined the efforts. But they couldn’t find him either.

Only one of Orpheus‘ old foes wasn’t in Ombra when Rosenquarz’s discovery disrupted Ombra’s peace. Farid had spent the last year or so at the courts of South Lorraine, being celebrated for his fire shows. It was a long journey there but Doria’s brother, the Strong Man, agreed to go to find and warn Farid after Dustfinger asked him to.

“Well, you seem very sure that Orpheus is still alive,“ Fenoglio said to Dustfinger as they stood at the city wall with the Black Prince and watched the Strong Man disappear down the road. Despite his size he had, as always, chosen a donkey to carry him.

“I never believed he was dead,“ Dustfinger replied.

Another day came and went. One by one, everyone got back to work, even though the unease stayed with them and they knew that from now on, their eyes would linger on any glass man they saw.

“Hell, I just hope Orpheus doesn’t hear about all this chaos,” Fenoglio grumbled as he rested his sore feet in Minerva’s kitchen that night. “That scumbag would probably take it as a compliment.“

“I still hope he’s dead,“ Rosenquartz chirped “and that his glass man will join him soon.“

Dead… As if that meant much in this world. Fenoglio simply grunted and held his empty glass out to Minerva.

Dustfinger had been dead, so had Cosimo the Fair. It was all too easy to come back from the dead in this world. No, he wanted a more permanent end for Orpheus and his toxic silvertongue.

Minerva filled him his glass with obvious disapproval and put the bottle back in the cupboard. Yes, yes, he was drinking too much – he always did when something was worrying him. Oh, hell, why had he ever invented tiny men made of glass?! Of course, he didn’t say that out loud. If Rosenquartz heard, he would dance over at least five pages of his new manuscript. After dipping his shoes in fresh ink.

Not that it would have mattered much. Fenoglio wrote strictly for fun these days, for Dante or Minerva’s children, but he was still attached to his stories. Resa illustrated them with beautiful drawings that could have competed with the paintings of the great Balbulus – even though he was so full of himself that he strode through Ombra like a puffed up bullfrog.

“Do you want me to make you some hot milk with honey?“ Minerva asked when Fenoglio sighed into his wine. “You’ve barely slept for days. Wherever Orpheus is hiding, you don’t want to give him the satisfaction of killing you from afar, do you?”

No, surely not. For inky heaven’s sake! Just why was it so much easier to believe in impending misfortune than a happy ending? They’d had such good years. He hadn’t thought of the other world for one minute. Well, he missed his grandkids from time to time, but Dante and Minerva’s children were excellent substitutes. Hell, he was a heartless old man!

The dogs started barking down in the yard. Visitors so late at night. Minerva looked just as surprised as Fenoglio – and just as worried.

But it was just the bookworm woman who stood at the door. Ombra’s good bakeries had made Elinor Loredan even rounder whereas Darius, as always right behind her like a living shadow, was as spindly as a locust despite all the cakes he shared with her. Truly enviable. He didn’t look as melancholic as usual. Maybe the rumors were true that he’d fallen in love with the girl who dusted Loredan’s bookshelves. She was very pretty. “Stop it, Fenoglio, you could be her grandfather!” he silently scolded himself.

“You won’t believe it!“ Elinor spluttered as she followed Fenoglio up the steep stairs which led to Minerva’s kitchen. “Darius! Go on, tell them! Can’t you see I can barely get out the words?“

Books were still being written by hand in this world, which made them very expensive, so she had found a new passion. Loredan attended the performances of each and every troupe of actors who performed in Ombra, no matter how raggedy. Some of them had started bringing along an armchair for her.

“Tell me what?“ Fenoglio asked. After all these years, Elinor Loredan still managed to drive him up the proverbial wall. He wasn’t sure whether he admired Darius for his patience with her or thought him a fool.

“We had an unexpected visitor today.“ Hearing Darius‘ gentle voice, no one would have suspected that he was a very talented silvertongue. “Orpheus’ glass man showed up at our door.”

Fenoglio’s heart stopped long enough that for a moment he was sure it would never beat again.

“Just walked right in!“ Elinor shook her head in such outrage that it started raining hairpins out of her gray hair. “That disrespectful glass head! I have no clue how he managed to get past the dog!“ The Black Prince had talked her into getting said dog, even though she didn’t like dogs. She couldn’t deny the Prince anything. Fenoglio suspected that she was in love with him. Anyway – it was such a gigantic creature that Mortimer had already proposed the theory that it wasn’t a dog at all but a small bear. Which would in turn explain why he got along so well with the Prince’s own tame bear.

“Great Heavens! Elinor Loredan, who cares how the glass man got past the damn dog?!“ Fenoglio blustered. “What did he want? What did he say? I hope you caught him?“

“Caught him?“ Elinor pushed back her messy hair (it was always messy) and took a sip of Fenoglio’s wine. “The pipsqueak carries a sword! Not much longer than a toothpick but I’m sure he would’ve stabbed me in the hand! Altough he was very polite. Right, Darius?”

“Exceedingly polite,“ Darius agreed. “He told us his new master, a troubadour, was so confused about all the excitement they caused that he told him to visit all of us and explain that Orpheus died four years ago. An avalanche, he said, near Trent if I remember correctly. After visiting us he planned to go find Mortimer and then Dustfinger. His new master apparently has a lot of respect for his fire.”

“Really?“ Fenoglio frowned but Rosenquartz cut him off.

“Lies!“ he shrieked. “That smoky gray miscreant lies as soon as he opens his mouth! A troubadour? The man I saw him with looked more like a professional murderer!”

Fenoglio stepped to the window and looked down at the empty street.

“I don’t like this,“ he murmured. “I don’t like this one bit. I hope he shows up here as well. I’ll get the truth out of him. After all, I invented his kind.”

Rosenquartz rolled his eyes but said nothing.

“He wanted to go to Mortimer next?” Fenoglio turned around with a sudden jerk that signaled determination and impatience – and a hint of fear. Maybe a little more than that. “Alright. Then I will wait for him there.“

“The Folcharts aren’t home,“ Elinor said. “I already told the glass man the same. They’re all with Doria’s mother to discuss the engagement.”

“Engagement, what engagement?“ Fenoglio exclaimed. “Don’t I get told anything anymore?“

“Meggie’s engagement to Doria. I told you last week,“ Minerva said while she handed Rosenquarz a thimble filled with lentil soup. “But of course you don’t remember. You only ever remember things that concern yourself.”

Fenoglio ignored the comment. He was very good at ignoring comments regarding his character.

“But… Meggie is way too young to get married!“ he shouted, very cross that the story had taken yet another turn he’d neither written nor foreseen. “How can Mortimer allow that?”

Elinor abruptly stood up from her chair. “Don’t be an idiot! Meggie’s life isn’t some book you’re writing!” she snapped. “Have you forgotten what she went through? She hasn’t been too young for anything for a long time. You’re just very very old! Good night, Minerva!”

And with that she was out of the door, followed by Darius who had looked very sentimental upon hearing the word “engagement”.

(Next chapter)

#the color of revenge #inkheart #cornelia funke #inkworld #my laptop crashed THREE TIMES while i worked on this #unbelievable #anyway #my favorite detail of this chapter is that apparently dogs are legal now #i have to get up early tomorrow so i'm gonna go #oh i mean the 'share your thoughts' part btw some of you seem a little shy #which is fair #but i do read and appreciate tags so don't hold back alright?#cool #and i do love my active target audience of like 10 people lmao you are the best #good night #ly dont look

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tomeandflickcorner · 4 years ago

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Episode Review- The Real Ghostbusters: Janine’s Day Off

Gotta say, this really felt like a filler episode. Not that it was bad, of course. But still largely forgettable, apart from one particular element.

The episode opens with Janine giving a woman a tour of the Firehouse. It’s not made clear right away, but this new woman is named Louise. And the reason why Janine is giving her this tour is because Janine is taking the night off. Which means Louise, who was sent in from a temp agency, is going to fill the role of the Ghostbusters’ secretary for the evening. Elsewhere in the Firehouse, Winston is helping Egon out in working on another one of Egon’s inventions. This new invention is quickly revealed to be a device that could open a dimensional gateway, which Egon hopes would act as a two-way conduit to the supernatural world. In other words, Egon is now trying to mess around with portal technology. Winston makes a remark over how the notion doesn’t sit right with him, and I don’t blame him. After all, the thing about opening dimensional gateways is that they tend to open both ways. Although, Egon doesn’t respond to Winston’s comment and the two leave the room, with Egon shutting off the power to the machine as they exit. Of course, once they leave, Slimer suddenly glides into the room and quickly notices the power switch. Out of curiosity, I guess, Slimer turns the power switch to the ‘on’ position, but when he notices the dimensional portal machine activating, he panics and quickly turns it off again. But not quick enough, though. Six orbs of light emerge from a glass bulb affixed to the top of the machine, with each orb turning into an Imp.

It then cuts to the Firehouse’s kitchen/dining area. There, it’s revealed that Egon had previously agreed to join Janine on her night off, in which they’d go to Canarsie (a neighborhood in Brooklyn) in order to have dinner with Janine’s family. As you might expect, this reveal was the highlight of the episode for me, as an unapologetic Egon/Janine shipper. Egon is actually joining Janine for a family dinner? Even if they’re not officially dating, Egon is still having dinner with Janine’s family. That’s a pretty major milestone!

Anyway, Janine enters the room to collect Egon and to introduce Louise to Peter, Winston and Ray. As one would expect, Peter has an instant attraction to Louise and begins trying to lay on the charm. But as he goes to pour her a cup of coffee, the Imps, who had managed to scurry past them without anyone noticing, end up stabbing Peter’s hand with a pitchfork as he reaches for the kettle. Peter, having not noticed the Imps yet, announces that the kettle is going haywire. Ray states it’s probably just an electrical short and that he’ll fix it later. With that, Janine leads Egon away, ignoring his sudden reluctance/cold feet.

Sometime later, Egon and Janine arrive at Canarsie. Egon states he’s not sure if he’s ready to meet her family, though Janine tells him she’s more worried about if her family is ready to meet him. (Seriously, are we supposed to conclude that they’re dating now?) Despite their reservations, Janine rings the doorbell outside an apartment, and we’re promptly introduced to Janine’s family. We’re not directly told which family members these are, but I’m guessing they’re Janine’s parents, along with her grandmother, sister (who Janine previously mentioned in Mrs. Roger’s Neighborhood), brother-in-law and nephew. Janine’s Mother(?) quickly greets them, and even seems to instantly recognize Egon. Which suggests Janine had previously told her mother about Egon. (Dawwww!) Janine’s Nephew(?), on the other hand, doesn’t hesitate to establish that he’s a bit of a brat, as he immediately shoots Egon with a water pistol. Still, the family dinner commences without further incident. Although, at one point, Egon transfers some of the soup he’s eating to a sample jar he has with him. When Janine notices this, she asks what he’s doing, and Egon tells her he’s planning to add the soup sample to his collection of spores, mold and fungus. (That’s kinda bordering on rude, Egon!) Once again, Janine’s Nephew squirts him with his water pistol, much to Egon’s annoyance. And I’m left wondering why this kid’s parents didn’t take the water pistol away from him after the first incident.

Back at the Firehouse, Ray is busy examining the electric kettle, but soon concludes that nothing seems wrong with it. That’s when he finally notices one of the Imps running around. He hurries downstairs to tell Peter and Winston that there are Imps loose in the kitchen. Louise, overhearing this, seems worried about there being an actual ghost roaming about the Firehouse. (Does she not know about Slimer?) Peter, still trying to impress her, reassures Louise, but one the Imps immediately jabs him in the hand again. Peter attempts to retaliate by trapping the Imp in a glass jar, but the Imp escapes by shattering the glass with his trident. In a matter of seconds, the other five Imps also reveal themselves and start causing all sorts of mayhem. Despite their best efforts, Winston, Ray and Peter cannot seem to wrangle the Imps. After this goes on for a while, Peter decides to try and simply zap the Imps with a Proton Pack. Ray tries to warn him against this, but Peter insists it’s fine as he has the Proton Pack dialed to ‘low power.’ However, when Peter zaps one of the Imps, the Imp suddenly splits into six more Imps.

Aaaaannnnddd this is when Peter starts being dumb. Because instead of him immediately figuring out that simply zapping the Imps was a bad move, I guess he decided ‘okay, let me try a higher setting. Maybe it’ll work that time.’ Of course, this only results in even more Imps running around. Winton announces that it’s time for them to call up Egon in the hopes that he can offer a better solution to the Imp problem. Upon hearing what happened at the Firehouse, Egon decides it might be best for him to leave the family get-together early so he could help resolve the issue in person. Upon being notified of this, Janine decides to go back to the Firehouse with him, possibly because she was getting annoyed by her nephew terrorizing and chasing around the family cat. (Seriously, are Janine’s sister and brother-in-law not doing anything to keep their kid under control?)

So Ray and Winston head off in the Ecto-1 to go pick up Egon and Janine. This leaves Louise and Peter to fend off the Imps on their own until they get back. Understandably, Louise is not pleased about this arrangement as she did not sign up to deal with a horde of Imps causing mischief. Peter, still trying to charm Louise, attempts to reassure her that they have it under control. But then he tries to solve the problem on his own again. He speculates that if zapping the Imps caused them to multiply, then perhaps reversing the polarity would have the opposite effect. Of course, while I can’t find much fault in his logic, he seems to be forgetting what happened in Adventures in Slime and Space. Sure enough, when he tries implementing his new plan, with Egon and Ray returning a little too late to stop him, the dozens of Imps do indeed fuse together. But this results in the Imps transforming into a large demonic creature. The Imp Demon immediately turns and escapes by bursting through the Firehouse wall, promptly running rampant onto the city streets, much to the terror of the random people milling about. To make matters worse, it seems that the Imp Demon severed the electrical wiring in the walls when it broke out, resulting in the Firehouse’s lights going off.

Here, the episode kinda splits into two separate subplots. Obviously, the Ghostbusters have to head out to try and capture the Imp Demon. But Janine also notices that Louise has disappeared. Because the lights going out in the Firehouse was the last straw for her nerves, and she’s now hiding in the basement. While you can’t help but feel bad for the poor woman, this means that Janine has to go find her.

As Janine begins searching for Louise in the darkened Firehouse, Louise regains enough of her nerves to try and find a light switch. Of course, as you might expect, this results in her coming across that dimensional portal machine that Egon and Winston hand been working on earlier. Thinking it might be an emergency generator, she switches it on, unwittingly conjuring up three additional ghosts. After a while, Janine successfully locates Louise, but those three ghosts also manage to get their hands on a spare Proton Pack that was lying around. And they proceed to chase Janine, Slimer and Louise around the Firehouse for a bit. Until Janine finds that other Proton Pack Peter had revered the polarity on. Acting quickly, she switches on the modified Proton Pack and returned fire at the three ghosts. When the modified stream collided with the regular stream, the two beams canceled each other out. This caused the three ghosts to get scared, and they immediately surrender.

Meanwhile, the Ghostbusters are still chasing down the Imp Demon. Upon catching up to the Imp Demon, they soon discover the Proton Packs are ineffective against him. Probably because the Imp Demon had too much psychokinetic energy or something. So they have to come up with another idea. To try and draw the Imp Demon away from the innocent bystanders while they think of a solution, the Ghostbusters get his attention by ramming the Ecto-1 into his leg. This does get the Imp Demon’s attention, and he proceeds to chase after the Ecto-1. Eventually, Winston notifies the others that they’re running out of gas, so they need to come up with a solution pretty quick. Thankfully, Egon gets an idea. He speculates that perhaps they can capture the Imp Demon if they supercharge the Proton Packs. To execute Egon’s plan, the Ghostbusters drive to a nearby powerplant. There, Egon and Ray head inside in order to make the necessary modifications to the Proton Pack while Peter and Winston were tasked with keeping to Imp Demon occupied. Which basically meant they had to allow the Imp Demon to chase them around for a bit. Admittedly, I don’t really have an issue with them giving this task to Peter. After all, it was his boneheaded ideas that caused the issue with the Imp Demon in the first place. Making him the one to be chased around for a bit seems like a fitting punishment. However, it kinda stinks that Winston has to act as bait like this as well. After all, he didn’t do anything wrong. Of course, I suppose the episode had to give him something to do, as he doesn’t have the technical knowhow that Ray and Egon have and therefore couldn’t assist them in modifying the Proton Pack. In any event, Egon’s plan ends up working, and the Imp Demon is successfully captured.

Afterwards, the Ghostbusters return to the Firehouse. But upon arriving, they are shocked to find the place in a shambles. Because the incident with the three ghosts resulted in an even bigger mess to occur. As they take in the mess, Janine approaches them with Louise at her side. She announces that, since her night off was ruined, she’s going to take the next day off instead. With that, Janine walks out of the Firehouse with Louise. In the process, she tosses some cleaning supplies at the Ghostbusters, indicating that she expects them to clean up the mess themselves.

Yeah, I have a slight issue with this ending. It’s almost as if the episode is suggesting it’s the Ghostbusters fault that Janine gave up her night off, and that they’re responsible for the mess that resulted from the Imps and the three ghosts. However, Janine didn’t necessarily have to leave her family dinner to go back to the Firehouse. She decided to do that on her own. Of course, I suppose we’d be here for quite a while if we played the blame game. And Janine does deserve a bit of time off from time to time. Also, it was interesting that we got to meet her family in this episode. Which makes Winston the only character whose family we haven’t met yet. (I think that’s remedied in a future episode, though.)

(Click here for more Ghostbusters reviews)

#the real ghostbusters #rgb episode review #ghostbusters franchise

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