#bro why are landscapes so hard

[dovesick]

california coastline

[sage-lights]

if i could i'd freeze this moment

for @baflegacy’s smosh girlies week day 8 prompt: free day! word count: 1510 title from: "anaheim" by niki (this fic has literally been plaguing me for weeks. i've been running into writer's block after writer's block trying to finish it and it's literally past midnight where i am and i'm still not completely happy with it, but at least i finished it!)

It's getting dark out, the last glimmers of sunlight disappearing behind endless rows of snow-covered trees. The ground is pristinely powdered, not a single footprint marring the even surface. Everything is still out here.

Angela leans against the wooden railing of the back deck, admiring the landscape. Behind her is the sliding glass door that leads back into the cabin, cracked open enough for her to hear the loud "Come on’s!" and "Hell yeah’s!" of her friends.

She turn around for a brief second, observing how rowdy everyone is. Most of the Smosh cast and crew are squished together on the couch or floor. They’ve gathered around the TV and placed bets on the (very serious) Super Smash Bros tournament. A few are scattered throughout the open kitchen, chatting, laughing, and paying attention to the game with one ear.

The scene inside the cabin is bathed in the golden lamp light, cozy and familiar. But right now, that warmth is suffocating.

Angela’s glad that Ian and Anthony were able to finally pull this off. There had been whispers of bringing back Smosh Summer Games since the beginning of the year. But with the summer already packed full of different programming, the difficulties of finding a sponsor, and the sheer amount of pre-production required for a shoot of this scale, they ultimately decided it wouldn’t be feasible. Instead, they pivoted their efforts towards a revamped Smosh Winter Games, giving them more time to plan and elevate the event to the same caliber as Summer Games.

Based on the few days they've had already, Angela understands why Summer and Winter Games are so beloved by everyone. The games are insane, the rivalries are already forming, and every day, the stakes climb higher and higher.

Though, as much as Angela enjoys the constant excitement buzzing in the air, a lingering anxiety courses through her. She has yet to tell anyone the big news. At first, she convinced herself not to mention it yet because everyone was busy preparing for Winter Games. And now that they’re here in Big Bear, she’s created a new excuse to rationalize keeping this secret for even longer—she doesn’t want to detract from everyone relaxing and enjoying all their hard work by making herself the center of attention.

However, it’s been eating away at her. These days, the confession sits at the tip of her tongue, on the verge of slipping out anytime she has a conversation with someone.

She's snapped out of her thoughts when she hears the door squeakily roll open, forcing her back to the present moment. It's Amanda, with a drink in one hand and waving at her with the other. As she shuts the door, a cool breeze cuts through and Angela shivers a little.

Amanda notices. She picks up the throw blanket from the deck chair as she walks towards Angela, setting her mug down on the railing and wrapping the blanket around Angela's shoulders.

"Whatcha doing out here?" Amanda asks.

"Wondering how long it would take Shayne to find his way home if we blindfolded and dropped him off in the middle of the forest."

"What the hell?"

"He's a fan of Alone," Angela shrugs playfully.

"You're crazy," Amanda laughs.

Angela motions to the drink, "Hot cocoa?"

"With Baileys," she winks, "Tommy's making them."

Angela, still a little lost in thought, doesn’t respond, opting instead to envelop them in a comfortable silence. They both gaze out at the snowy landscape and stars twinkling up above. Angela can never see them from her apartment in Los Angeles; the light pollution always clouds her view. But out here, with Amanda standing next to her, everything is clear.

Whenever Amanda's by her side, something seems to shift in Angela. It's like Amanda's got this knack for quieting the chaos in her head. Everything, even the most tangled of thoughts, fall into place. She desperately wants to cling onto this peace, onto Amanda.

She wonders if she loves Amanda.

The idea shocks her a moment before she scoffs at it mentally. Of course she loves Amanda—she loves all her friends. She tells Arasha “I love you” when she hugs her before leaving the office, Chanse when he’s got her back, Courtney when they bring her food, and teases Shayne for chuckling uncomfortably when she tells him.

Yet, the longer she thinks about it, the more unsure she gets about grouping Amanda in with the rest of her friends. The more she realizes it’s different with Amanda. She doesn’t quite have the words to describe it, but she just knows. With every fit of uncontrollable laughter that’s got her falling into Amanda’s side, every glance exchanged while filming, and every burning touch, she just knows.

And then it clicks for Angela. It’s the thought of letting Smosh go, of letting Amanda go, that’s been scaring the living crap out of her.

Stunned by this sudden realization, she watches intently as Amanda sips her cocoa, who catches her staring and offers her a drink as well.

"Angela?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just thinking."

"About what?"

"Just stuff. Life stuff, you know?"

Amanda raises an eyebrow, concerned. "You seem a little off. Something on your mind?"

Angela hesitates. Once again, she can feel the words threatening to spill out of her. But this time, she doesn’t fight the urge. She wants to tell Amanda, wants her to tell her everything is going to be okay. That they’re going to be okay. She feels the alcohol start warm her system and takes a deep breath in, then out.

“Can I tell you something?”

“Of course, baby.”

"No one else knows this yet, but I…booked a movie," she glances down at her hands, fidgeting with her fingers.

Amanda gasps, her eyes widening in surprise and excitement. She nudges Angela with her shoulder, "Oh, my god! Congratulations, angel!"

"Thanks, Amanda."

"Am I allowed to know what project it is, or is it a Marvel-level secret?"

Angela still doesn't meet Amanda's eyes, "Um, it's, uh, an indie film that A24’s looking to produce."

"Holy. Shit. That's fucking insane! This is huge, Angela. I'm so proud of you!" Amanda wraps an arm around her friend to pull her in closer, but pauses when she feels her stiffen in her embrace.

"Alright, something’s up,” Amanda faces her and, with a bit more seriousness and concern, asks, “Is there something in the script that makes you uncomfortable? Because if so, you should go and talk to-.”

Angela cuts her off, “No, there’s not. Don’t worry.”

Amanda’s relieved, though she sees Angela still has a strange faraway look on her face, “Then why do you not seem happy about this role?”

"No, I'm…I'm happy about it," Angela sighs heavily and finally looks up, only to be met with Amanda's unconvinced expression, "I swear I am. It's just that…I'm leaving Smosh soon."

"I get it, you hate working with us," Amanda jokes.

Immediately backtracking, Angela quickly mutters, "No! It's not like that, I didn't mean it like that."

"Chill, Ang. I'm just messing with you," Amanda laughs at Angela smacking her arm.

“Shut up, I’m trying to be vulnerable right now.”

Amanda gestures for her to continue, her face softening in apology.

"There's a tiny part of me who wants to turn down the role, but that would be such a stupid move—I know I would regret it instantly. But every time I think about doing this movie, a wave of panic washes over me and I become paralyzed with dread.”

Amanda places her hand on Angela's back, rubbing huge circles to help soothe her, "It's okay to be scared. Change is just one of those experiences that never gets easier."

"No, it’s not that. It’s just-,” her voice gets smaller, “Amanda, promise me we'll stay in touch."

"Duh, Ang. It’s not like you'll never see us again. You'll probably get upgraded to Mari and Sarah status, always welcome to drop by and say 'hello.' Maybe even join us in a video or two if your busy new schedule will allow it."

“Things it won't be the same."

Amanda acquiesces, "No, it won't. But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing."

"I mean it, Amanda. I don’t want us to become those friends who never speak to each other after they stop working together. I don’t want to see your life through Instagram posts. You mean the world to me," Angela's voice cracks slightly, the tone of it so raw that it breaks Amanda’s heart.

Amanda reaches out and pulls Angela into a tight hug, "I promise you, Angela. Even when you’re super famous and walking down the Oscars red carpet, I’ll break in and chase you down just to tell you fart joke.

“You’re dumb,” Angela rolls her eyes, but sinks into her embrace and smiles.

“But I mean it. I love you endlessly, and I will always be here with you.”

Maybe this is what love truly is. Letting go when you want to hold on. Knowing that it’ll always return.

[huffle-dork]

Long Live the King

Chapter 2: Birds of a Feather

Read Fantasy Masks | Read Swapboys | Read the first FM adventure | Other Multiverse Adventures | Read on AO3

The fall is rough. Is traveling through universes usually like this? It can't be, can it? But it doesn't last forever. 

Dr. Jameson Jackson lands on a wooden surface. Not a floor, because it's... swaying slightly. Jameson blinks rapidly and tries to get his bearings. He feels the rocking and feels his stomach churn a little. Ugh… he hasn’t felt that since he was a lad… where are they? 

He looks around and sees Henrik only a few feet away from him. The way Alt explained it- he half expected to be alone. So, the good doctor is startled a bit as he sees Henrik prone just a bit away from him.

They've both landed on... a boat. Of course, that's why it's swaying. This is about the size of a modern sailboat, maybe a bit bigger, but with the wood and canvas makeup of an old sailing ship. Looking over the side, the boat is docked on the bank of a river. There's a handful of tents set up on the grass.

Dr. J pushes himself up and staggers over to help shake the other man awake. Henny blinks blearily and then looks up at Dr. J. He smiles with a bit of daze, “Ah hallo Juwel…! You… why are you… tilting?” 

Dr. J chuckles, “It seems we landed on a boat, my friend. Are you alright?” 

Henrik pushes himself up and then pats himself down. Then he grins and nods eagerly. “Yes! I am fine!” Then his eyes widen as he takes in the sights of the river and landscapes and fresh air. He excitedly runs towards the railing and leans against it, laughing breathlessly, “Juwel!! Mein god!! Look at all of this!! It’s- it’s-! atemberaubend-!” 

Dr. J startles and follows Henny with concern, “Henrik! Please be careful!!” He wishes he could be as carefree as the teal haired gentleman… but Dr. J can’t get the image of Alt and Bro out of his head… What if they were seriously hurt? Would they be able to find them? 

Suddenly, a hatch on the deck opens, revealing a staircase leading down into the hold of the boat. Two people walk up into the deck, busy talking with each other. One is brown-haired, wearing a scarf and white tunic, and the other is blonde, wearing a blue coat with an eye-patch covering his right eye. At first, they sound like they’re speaking random nothing, but then the translator spell kicks in mid-sentence. “—just saying it does not make sense,” the blonde one is saying. “They’re not all above when She is below. Not really fair.” 

“No, I understand, but I think it’s the thought that counts,” the brown-haired one replies. 

The two of them are walking in the opposite direction of Dr. J and Henrik. But even with their backs to them, the two newcomers can see the white masks hanging around the pair’s necks.

Dr. J startles at hearing the hatch open and watches as they step out and walk away. He watches with fascination as their language starts to morph into something he can understand. And… those white masks- they look just like Alt’s! These must be the Masked Phantoms. 

Henny is rocking excitedly against the railing of the boat, looking like an excited kid. He blinks back at Dr. J and then brightens up with a grin. “Oh oh! New friends already!! They have the maskes!!” He waves wildly, calling out, “Hallo!!” He is… very loud- kinda hard to miss. 

"Kovatch--!" the blonde one shouts in surprise. He spins around first, pulling on his mask--one of the more elaborate ones, looking a bit like a dragon. Strangely, it only has one eye hole. The brunette turns around only slightly slower, also reaching for his mask. But he stops. He stares at Dr. J and Henrik, blinking in confusing. And for good reason. If this man's hair was teal instead of natural brown, he wouldn't look too different from Henny. The man laughs. "I think I understand what this is," he says. "Relax, Vsevna. They may be friends." He waves back at them. "Hello! Can you understand us?"

Henrik gasps in delight at seeing the two men. He grabs Dr. J’s arm and shakes him. “Juwel!! Juwel!! It is me!! Another me!! Hallo, other Henrik!! And your friend- is not one of us! But I very much like his mask!!” 

Dr. J laughs and waves as he gets shook. He’s used to this. “Hello- yes we can understand you. Our friends Alt and Chase told us so much about you! They wanted us to come to visit.” He looks to Henrik and makes a motion to breathe towards him in sign before stepping back up and resting a hand on his chest. His voice is much more quiet and subdued compared to Henny’s. “I’m Dr. Jameson Jackson, but my friends just call me Dr. J. Or, Juwel, if you’re Henrik.” He grins then gestures, “and Henrik already gave his name… in a way.” He laughs. “And… forgive his… energy. He’s very excitable.” 

The brown-haired man grins. "I am also Henrik! It's so nice to meet you, other me. No need to apologize, ah, Jameson. My friend Jackie is quite excitable as well, I am very used to it." 

Vsevna relaxes slightly, pulling his mask off. He smiles at the two of them. "Well. The visitors from another world that I have heard about. It's been a shame that I was not there to see those two. How nice to meet you, too. And thank you." His smile widens into a grin. "I worked very hard for this mask design." 

"Yes, and then you hardly use it," Henrik mutters, making Vsevna laugh. 

Dr. J looks to Vsevna and smiles, “And you’re Vsevna then? A pleasure to meet you both.” 

“Ah Juwel- how is that name spelled?? I don’t think my ear thingys are getting it right.” Henny asks, tapping his ear. The phantom masks can see something that rests inside his ear.

Henrik leans to the side a bit, trying to get a better look at what's inside Henny's ears. "Oh, maybe you are not getting it right because your ears are plugged up. Unless--that is normal in your world?" 

Henny laughs and shakes his head, “Even if my ears are plugged up it would not make difference! I am deaf- less so now though! These devices help me to hear but- it is very complex and I am not sure I understand it well still.” 

"Oh! Really?" Henrik's eyes light up. "That is amazing! I have heard of spells to help with deafness but they must be redone again and again. It would be so much easier to just be able to put something in your ears and have it help." 

Dr. J brightens up, “It is a fascinating procedure! It’s all to do with the inner ear bones- and though it can’t restore it back fully it can help him re-experience sound in a new way!”

"I would offer to spell my name for you, but I do not think it would work properly," Vsevna says. "They said that the alphabets are not the same--and there aren't even the right letters in Glassish, so I doubt it will be conveyed in another world's language."

Dr. J smiles and nods and goes to Henrik, “I believe it’s V-S-E-V-N-A, Henrik.” He spells the letters out in sign. 

Henny follows along and nods, trying out the name. “Vee… es- na… Vsevna!” Dr. J nods with a smile and Henny looks to Vsevna excitedly. “Vsevna! So good to meet you!!” 

Vsevna smiles. "So good to meet you, too! Henrik--I mean, my Henrik, sova--" Henrik blushes a little "--should we go find your other friends who were there for the last visit?" 

"Y-yes, we should." Henrik nods. "They are on shore." 

"Of course they are, everyone is!" Vsevna laughs. "I will take care of the gangplank." 

Henny and Dr. J share a glance with each other at Vsenva’s and Henrik’s exchange. Henny smirks.

As he walks off to do that, Henrik looks at Dr. J and Henny. "Did anyone else come with you? Alt, or your Chase? We need to find them if so, they've probably appeared in a different location just like last time." 

Dr. J’s face falls a bit at the question. “Ah yes… they came. They brought us here… but… I fear they may be in trouble.” 

Henny’s eyes flash with a slight growl, “Magnificent… that schmutzige Katze! He did something to them… we just do not know what…” 

Henrik's expression darkens. "Yes, Magnificent came here last time. We saw him, and, though not for very long, it was clear he's a threat. If he... 'did something to them'... well, I doubt it is good." 

Dr. J looks a bit shaken, thinking about confronting Mag and Henny is quick to hold him close by his shoulder. “All I know is… it looked like dark magics. But- most of the magics he does is like that so…” Henny sighs. 

“However, Alt did think ahead this time.” Dr. J adds, rolling up his sleeve to show his bracelet. “This can help lead us to them.”

Henrik leans closer, looking at the bracelet. "Ah, this is a tracking talisman of some kind, then. Clever. Hopefully your friends are nearby. They weren't too far apart from each other last time they arrived." 

"Aye!" Vsevna shouts from the edge of the boat. Part of the wall has swung outward, a plank pushed into place leading down to the nearby river bank. "We can't do much on a boat!" 

Henrik laughs. "Yes, that's a good point. Here." He gestures for Dr. J and Henny to follow him as he walks towards the gangplank.

Henny and Dr. J follow close behind- though neither seem to have very good sea legs. Even if the boat isn’t moving.

"Ah, here." Henrik offers a hand to support them on the boat. "I know it can be difficult." 

"You get used to it," Vsevna says cheerfully. "Careful on the plank. We don't have one with railings on a boat this small. Unfortunate." 

"Unfortunate," Henrik agrees. 

"Unfortunate." 

"Unfortunate." 

The two of them seem stuck in a repetition loop for a bit until Henrik shakes his head. "Sorry, that was strange." Vsevna bursts into laughter. 

Henny bursts into giggles. “Chase and Jackie do that a lot!” 

“It’s a phenomenon called echolalia!” Dr. J explains, “Sometimes we just like to repeat sounds from around us- especially if it’s someone we love. Or are fond of.” 

"'Eh-ko-lahl-ee-uh,'" Henrik repeats, carefully sounding out the syllables. "Good to know. We don't have a word for that here." 

Vsevna laughs for a bit more then becomes serious again. "But to be true for a second. There are many of us here. All of us are trained to fight, and some of us have magic as well. We can keep your friends and you safe." 

Henrik nods in agreement. "Magic is not faster than shooting an arrow."

Henny grins and nods, “We are quite well versed in taking on Magnificent. Bro and Alt are very strong! I’m sure we’ll find each other and everything will be okay!” 

Dr. J doesn’t look like he shares his friend’s optimism. But he does try to smile, even if it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Right… at least we are around allies…”

Henrik smiles at the two of them. "Yes, I can promise no harm will come to you here. There is that, at least." 

The group walks down the gangplank. There's a bit of a chill in the air, but it's not nearly as cold as it was the last time Chase and Alt were here. Not that Dr. J or Henny would know about that. There's a handful of people walking around the camp, most of them working on packing stuff into bags. All of them have masks. They glance at the group as they pass, confused on the newcomers' strange clothes--eyes tend to linger on Henny's hair--but they seem to shrug it off when they see Vsevna with them. 

Henny smooths down his hair self consciously. He laughs nervously, “ah… maybe I should have brought a hat…?” 

Dr. J shakes his head with a laugh, “I don’t think it would have done much good, friend. Our clothes already set us apart- especially your bright attire.” 

“I like all the colors of the modern world!” Henny almost whines. Dr. J pats his back. 

"You know your friends best, Henrik, where would they be?" Vsevna asks. "Or perhaps we should look for the other otherworld travelers first?"

Dr. J looks back at Vsevna and then hums quietly, “Well… maybe we should see who is closer by.” He rolls back up his sleeve and whispers the seeking word, holding it out to see if it can sense any of his friends nearby.

The gem starts to glow, trails of blue-green magic--more blue than green--heading straight through the camp and over the curve of a hill. 

"Ah, I think Jackie went in that direction," Henrik says. "Our Jackie I mean, I know you have a Jackie too." There are also fainter, barely-there lines of green magic tracing down the river. "And that is the way we came from," Henrik says. "Towards Suilthair, the capital."

Dr. J studies the magic and hums. “Well… Alt said blue is nearby- and green is farther away so… maybe we should head that way to see.”

"Yes, great idea." Henrik nods. "Vsevna, do you mind finding Chase and Jameson and telling them about what happened? I'll go with these two to search." 

"You don't want anyone else to come?" Vsevna asks. 

"I will be fine for a short walk," Henrik says. 

"Alright, then. You all be careful. When you get back, I do not doubt those two will want to meet these two. Especially you." Vsevna looks at Dr. J. "I think Jameson would like to meet another him."

Dr. J smiles and laughs lightly, “I’m quite eager to meet him as well.” 

Henny jumps a bit, excited to see more of their friends. “let us get going then!!” He looks about ready to run up the hill himself.

Henrik grins. It's strange seeing someone with his face so enthusiastic, but nice, in a way. "Okay, okay, let's go." He starts off after the magic. "Meet us back here!" 

"You have it!" Vsevna agrees, and goes to look for Henrik's other two friends. 

◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈

The fall is just as rough for Jackie, though he has a softer landing than the other two. Relatively speaking. 

Jackie cries out as he hits the ground and rubs at his head, "Jesus fucking christ!" He curses, blinking the spots out of his eyes. The hell was all of that?! Alt didn't mention any of that! Fucking.... Marvin. This wasn't going to be relaxing at all was it? 

He landed on grass-covered ground, near a copse of trees. There's maybe about seven or eight of them, nowhere near a big forest. Nearby there's an old stump, like one of the trees collapsed. 

SHING! THUMP! A knife flies through the air and smacks against the stump, gouging a mark in the wood but not getting embedded in it. "Cadé aan saolile?! Hwaet!" 

Jackie stiffens as he hears the knife fly and startles backwards in surprise, falling onto his back with a oof. Then he rolls to look at who yelled. 

There's a man standing about thirty feet away, wearing a bright red cloak and a white mask shaped like a wolf. "Kárth inigh tu?! Ní fedire leata beitle like that! Didn't you see me?!" The translator spell kicks in mid-sentence. 

Hey- that's a cool cloak! Jackie pushes himself up and wipes the grass off him before waving at the other man, "Uhhh h-hey there!"

"...wait a moment." The man looks him up and down, noticing his strange clothes. He pulls his mask off to reveal--Jackie's own face! Just with less stubble and longer hair. "You're not--are you--I'm so sorry about almost hitting you, by the way, I-I was practicing, I'm not very good at range--But--are you...?" He gives Jackie another look. "Those clothes. Like the other ones."

Jackie's eyes widen. Then, he grins, laughing a bit nervously. "Ah well... A-Alt told me to expect this so... not as weird as it could be." He walks closer, sticking his hands in his pockets casually. "Oh don't worry it's chill. S'hard to predict someone just- coming outta nowhere. I wouldn't have blamed ya if you had hit me!" He laughs. Then he offers his hand. "I'm Jackie... Jackie Mann. ...but that feels dumb to say now cuz- you're... me. Fantasy me... I mean- who else would you be, right? " He laughs more, a bit more nervously," and uh yeah! Alt and Bro wanted to bring us here to meet you so... hi? ha- ...im talking too much, fuck-"

Jackie--this other Jackie--laughs. "No, it's okay! I talk a lot, too. Nice to meet you, Jackie Mann. I'm Jackie, son of Fiona." He holds his hand out. The motion draws attention to the wealth of weapons on his person. A sword on his hip, a sword on his back, several sheathed knives across his chest--holy shit. It's all safely secured but that's a lot. "You all have unfortunate placing with this realm jumping of yours. Last time, Chase says that your Alt friend showed up as he was loosing an arrow."

Jackie Mann's eyes widen, "Holy fuck that's a lot of weapons..." He breathes out in surprise. 

Other Jackie looks down at his chest. "I don't usually have the knives," he says, as if that is the only bit of weaponry his other version is reacting to. 

But then Jackie Mann laughs and shakes his head, "Yeah uh- Alt warned us about how... mixed jumping is. Said it can be good or like- really bad luck. So... sounds about right." He then straightens a bit as he remembers how Alt and Bro looked right before they fell and he curses again, quickly looking around. "Ah fuck right! Speaking of Alt i... s-something happened to him and Chase- my Chase... Bro! I don't know what but... i know for sure that fucking bastard Mag is behind it." He looks back to Jackie with a bit of desperation, "I was willing to take this all slow but... n-now im really worried. Can you help me find them?"

Jackie’s eyes widen as the other him talks. "Ah! Right, yes, okay. Elders damn it, uh--" He turns around. "We'll talk as we go back to camp. That'll cut down on time. Is it just the three of you and that 'magician' guy? Because I have to say, you appeared at a bit of a difficult time. We're on the move right now. Trying to get back to the main base."

"No uh... Henny and Dr. J are here too... your Jameson and Henrik-" Jackieboy explains while looking to keep up with the Phantom Mask Jackie. He frowns at hearing this and looks around, "Damn... shitty timing for real... Bro was like- super excited for us to see the- the dragon thing! God.... nothing's ever that simple, huh?"

"Oh, um... yyyyea." Jackie winces. "Wyvernlair was discovered. We were chased out a couple weeks ago. So..." He laughs. "Nothing's ever that simple for sure. We have a new base at the Cliffs of Feall. It's on the south end of the mountains."

"Fuck man..." Jackie Mann sighs. "Well- I'll stick with you but... hopefully we can find the others soon..."

Jackie nods. "Hopefully. Last time both of them appeared in Wyvernlair so they shouldn't be too far away. Even if that Magnificent appeared farther--that's not a good sign--whoa, what?" He squints at the field ahead of them, dotted with slight hills. "Do you see that glowing? Is that a will o'the wisp? We should probably stay clear."

Jackie Mann nods along, trying to make sure he's listening. ...he took his ADHD meds today right? He then perks up as he hears the other him and sees the glowing, "Oh! That's the spell Alt set up for us to find each other! jesus how did i almost forget that??" He laughs and messes with his hair, "At least one of the others remembered...."

"Really? Oh, useful!" Jackie grins, speeding up a little. "I wonder if we can use something like that. Marvin used a tracking spell to find Chase and Jameson while in Suilthair, maybe there's a talisman that can do the same." 

"I think that's what Alt made! If he's okay... I'm sure he'd love to show you guys how... He talked our ears off trying to explain it!" Jackie Mann laughs. 

The two of them go over the top of the hill, and-- 

"Ah, Jackie!" Henrik waves. Dr. J and Henny are with him. "And another Jackie, I think?"

As they crest the hill, Jackie Mann relaxes at seeing his friends. "Hen! Jays!" 

Dr. J also relaxes and waves, "oh good- Jackie's alright..." 

"JACKIEEEE!!" Henny shouts and waves his hand wildly, "HALLO MEIN FRIEND!!!" 

The two Jackie's reach the others and Jackie Mann laughs, "Jesus Hen- s'only been a few minutes! You're gonna wake up the whole shore!" 

"Ah yes Henrik... maybe it's best to... try to keep it a bit quieter?" Dr. J suggests, warily looking around.

"Ah, actually, we are quite isolated right now," Henrik says. "And we have scouts out even farther who would alert us if anyone comes close. You'd know if someone was around who can hear us." 

"Always better to be cautious, though." Jackie says that, but he's smiling and playing with the edge of his cloak. It's just so exciting to meet more people from this other world! Especially himself. "But, uh, I don't think anyone's sleeping right now so you're not going to 'wake up the whole shore'." 

"That is true," Henrik says. 

Dr. J sighs in relief and nods, “that’s good to know…” 

Jackie Mann blushes a bit and rubs his head more, “That… makes sense. Dunno why I… said that… when it’s… day…”

"Now, brief introductions.” Henrik says, “Jackie, this is the other Jameson and the other me. And you two, this is Jackie. The Jackie from this world." 

"This is going to get confusing fast," Jackie mutters. "It was bad enough with just Chase."

Dr. J laughs softly, “to avoid confusion you can call me JJ, or Jay. Doesn’t seem like you use the Dr. title much here.” 

“Eh you’ll always be a Dr, to us, Doc,” Jackie Mann says with a grin. 

“You can call me Henny! It is nickname that I like very much!” Henny says with bright enthusiasm. 

“And uh… well my wife calls me Jackieboy. S’kinds long but… you all could call me that… to help.” He laughs again with a shrug. “Even if we haven’t been to as many worlds as Alt and Ch-Bro… we get how confusing it can get.”

Jackie nods. "Got it. Under lock up here." He taps the side of his head. 

Henrik smiles. "I am a doctor, actually. But you are right. It is not usually a, ah... title.”

Dr. J laughs quietly and nods, “Ah right. Forgive me, Dr.” 

“Oh! And did they get home alright after they left here?" Henrik continues. 

"Of course they did, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to tell their friends about us," Jackie points out. 

"...right." Henrik winces. "I'm sorry. I am still..." 

Jackie pats him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Schneep. We get it." 

JJ then tilts his head at Henrik as he winces, curiosity in his expression.

Henrik nods. "Alright. Jackies, I told Vsevna to get Chase and Jameson to meet us at the shore. We have to talk about things." 

"Ah, you're involving him, are you?" Jackie says, grinning. "Glad to see it." 

"Shut up. He was there when these two appeared. I-it's practical." 

"But you would tell him anyway." 

"...yes." Henrik nods. "He was so disappointed to hear that he missed the last two's visit. He loves new places, you know this." 

Jackie laughs. "Yea, I do." He becomes serious for a moment. "The things we have to talk about involve those other two, doesn't it? Jackieboy told me that something happened." 

"Yes, it does." Henrik nods. 

"Well, you three wait to give us all the details until we find Chase and Jameson," Jackie says, starting back towards camp.

Jackieboy looks between Jackie and Henrik and smirks, going to change the subject until they get to camp, “mmm? I’m sensing something here… with this Vsevna guy?” 

“Oh yes, other me and him were very friendly on the boat!” Henny points out. 

“Yo you guys landed on a boat?! That’s fucking sick!” 

Dr. J smiles as he watches Henny and Jackieboy talk. He sticks close to the thems from this world, still anxiously glancing around them. He plays with the chain of his pocket watch as they all follow them down to camp.

"They're courting each other," Jackie immediately says. 

"Jackie!" Henrik shoves him--which honestly doesn't move the other man that much. "I-it is a recent... development." 

"Aaaand they both had feelings for each other foreeeeever," Jackie continues teasingly. 

"I will shove a smoke potion down your throat." 

"Nooo that's probably poisonous!" 

Jackieboy grins, “I knew it! Alt’s the same way about Oliver.” 

“As if you’re not completely love sick every time Zara comes home.” Dr. J comments. 

“Hey! That’s my wife! I’m allowed to be love sick about her!” Jackieboy replies.

The banter continues as they go down into camp. With the appearance of a new stranger in different clothes, the glances resume, but no one says anything as the group continues towards the shore of the river. 

Vsevna waits there, as well as three others. The Swaps don't know them, but they can figure out who they are. Chase has his bow and quiver close by, the deer mask on his belt (with the antlers pointing down to stop them from poking his stomach.) Jameson is fidgeting with a bandage around his arm, the rabbit mask around his neck. And the third man runs right up to the group. "Hey! What gives?! You send your partner to find those two but not me?!" 

"Ah... hi, Marvin," Henrik says awkwardly. "I-I was... I thought you would still be busy." 

"No, but if I was, I would still want to know about this! Fuck!" Marvin sighs. "It's alright," he says in a softer voice. "I understand." His cat mask is pushed back onto his head. An actual cat walks from his side up to the newcomers, sniffing them. 

The swaps blink at the sight of the others. And Jackie actually seems a bit startled to see Marvin run up to the group. Ah… weird seeing Marvin’s face… not corrupted now. It makes his stomach churn. 

Henny looks excited to see everyone, “oh wows! Other Juwel and Chase! So good to be meetings you!!” Then he gasps in delight at seeing the cat and bends down to let him sniff him, “Oh mein god! Tiny Kätzchen! Oh you are so pretty Hallo!!” 

Marvin laughs. "That's Draco. He's my familiar." Draco sniffs Henny's hand and then shoves his face into it, practically forcing him to pet him. 

“Hallo Draco!! You are very very pretty!!” Henny coos, giving Draco all the best pets. He’s so tiny compared to Sahne though so he’s trying to be gentle. 

"So good to meet you guys too." Chase smiles. There's a strange tiredness to it, but it's no less warm. 

Jackie lifts a hand to wave at the others, “uh… sup?” 

Chase blinks "Um... 'soup' to you too." 

Jackie bursts into laughter at Chase saying soup. “Hahaha! I guess I need to chill with the… words I use huh?” 

“That’s gonna be so hard for you,” Dr. J lightly teases. He nods politely to everyone. “Pleasant to meet you all… you can call me Jj or Jay. To hopefully avoid confusion… and call our Jackie, Jackieboy and our Henrik, Henny.” He gestures to the others as he introduces them. 

Jameson looks at his other self and gives a small smile. Pleasure to meet you, he signs. 

"Oh, wait." Marvin grabs his amulet. It starts to glow white, and he pulls some of the light away. He gently throws it at Jameson, and it swirls around him for a moment before dissipating. "Try again." Jameson nods. It's nice to meet you, he signs, and small transcriptions appear to each of the newcomers. They're not really there, just in their minds, like a personal set of subtitles. 

Dr. J and Jackieboy blink at the strange hand signs- then look fascinated at the subtitles. 

Jackieboy grins, “Damn… where was that spell when I was learning sign for Henny?” He laughs. 

“We both didn’t know magic existed then,” Dr. J replies. 

Jackie rubs the back of his head, “ahh… maybe for you-“ 

Henny looks up and sees the subtitles and his eyes sparkle. “Oh!! How cool!! Hallo other Juwel!!”

Dr. J sighs, “I hate to ruin the mood but.. I’m afraid we don’t come with… the best news.” 

Everyone becomes serious once more as Dr. J mentions having bad news. "Yes, it's that other villain of yours, da?" Vsevna says. 

"Magnificent," Marvin says darkly. "Bastard." 

"They also mentioned something about... something happening to Chase and Alt?" Jackie recalls. 

Chase's expression flashes to worry. "Go on."

When the tone shifts Henny gets to his feet and stands by his friends, nervously fiddling with his watch. 

Dr. J sighs but nods, “We’re not sure in what state they could be in… all we know is… M-Magnificent,” he shudders as he says his name, “Managed to grab Alt and the device we used to get here right as he was using it to come here. And whatever magic he used… it… it hurt them somehow.” 

“They were screaming,” Jackieboy says, holding his arms, “It was awful… everything around us started to… to break. Like glass.” 

Henny looks nervous, “But um… we have our bracelets so… maybe we can try to find them before Magnificent does…! We have to hope, ja?”

The guys all look very concerned when JJ reports what happened. 

Jameson and Chase catch his reaction to Magnificent as well, and exchange sympathetic glances. “There’s always hope,” Jackie says. “How do the talismans work?” 

“They used one earlier,” Henrik recalls. “There were two faint trails pointing that way.” And he points down the river. 

Jameson winces. Back towards the city? 

“I thought we agreed that staying there was bad,” Chase mutters. “That spirit is going to be waiting for us. And we already have a, uh, quest.” 

“It’s not a time sensitive one,” Marvin points out. “At least, Sam didn’t give me the impression it was.” 

“You all know you’re probably confusing the strangers,” Vsevna says, folding his arms.

“To be fair- all of this is confusing…” Jackieboy sighs, “We thought by now… alt and bro would have found us. Cuz you know- Alt can glitch and Bro can fly…” 

Dr. J nods, “The first trail we used led us to Jackie… so Alt and Bro must be the other way, down the river. Didn’t you all say that was the capital? S..Suilthair, I think you said.” 

Henny fiddles more with his watch, looking nervous. “Oh… what if something did happen to them?! Is this city… dangerous?” 

Henrik laughs. Then covers his mouth. “I’m sorry, that is not funny, I don’t know why I laughed.” 

“Suilthair is where the King lives,” Chase explains. “It’s his home. Which… I’m going to assume your friends told you how bad he is, but it’s worse than we thought two seasons ago. It turns out the King is possessed. Do you… have possessive spirits where you’re from?” 

“They’re very rare even here,” Marvin adds. 

“Yes.” Chase nods. “A-and the one controlling the King is very powerful.” He laughs darkly. “Turns out, I was communicating with the real King all this time. Through… magic dreams. That sounds ridiculous, I know, but it’s true. Do you guys know someone named Jack in your world? Or Aodhan, that’s his given name. They’re both very common names so maybe that doesn’t help… anyway I’m talking too much. Sorry. The point is, King Aodhan has been possessed for about seven years now and the spirit is the one doing terrible things.” He pauses. “Sorry. That’s a lot to just drop at your feet. But it’s been a while since your friends visited. A lot has happened.”

All the swaps eyes widen. 

“…yeah they told us about the king but… d-damn… that’s… insane.” Jackieboy mutters. He’s dealt with possession but… not by any evil spirits. 

Dr. J looks disturbed, grabbing his watch for comfort. “7 years… I-imagine being trapped in your own mind for so long…” 

“But Alt said he… he scared the King off last time! With his ah- lightning Phoenix thing! Surely… he would not go after them again… right?” Henny adds with worry. 

“…but Magnificent would…” Jackieboy mumbles bitterly.

“Oh yeah, that thunderbird thing he did!” Jackie gasps. “Elders. Yea, if I was a possessive spirit I wouldn’t want to mess with that.” 

“Yeah…” Chase nods, a bit distractedly. He’s thinking about what JJ said, about being trapped in your own mind for so long. He has to find some way to help Jack, he really does.

“I’m guessing Magnificent doesn’t have a helpful tracking bracelet,” Marvin drawls. “So we can’t know what he’s doing. It’s possible that he’s with them.” 

"God i really really hope not..." Jackieboy mutters, gripping at his arm, "Poor Alt is always being targeted by that maniac... but... I dunno. He can't seem to keep Chase down for too long! So... maybe it'll be okay?" He doesn't look too sure. 

That settles it, we must go back, Jameson says. 

“Are you sure, Jair?” Marvin asks gently. 

Jameson nods. You all came back for us. We need to go back for them. 

“If that is our plan, I will get some of the crew to ready sail,” Vsevna says. “Everyone else must finish packing up. Don’t worry about leaving tents behind, we have extras and we can stay on the boat at night if needed.” And with that, he heads off. Henrik glances at the others before following him. The group can vaguely hear him asking Vsevna about what a ‘fee-niks’ is.

Dr. J watches Vsevna rush off and looks back at the others, "...how far away is the capital from here?"

Not far enough, Jameson comments. We sailed all of the previous day to get here. 

“So about eight to ten hours by boat,” Jackie sums up. “On foot it’s quite a bit longer. Hence, boat.” 

“I can help a bit with my doorways,” Marvin offers. 

“You spent so much magic yesterday, though,” Chase says. 

“I know my limits. And if we want a small group to cut away some distance, I can help.” 

“We’ll keep that in mind, but for now let’s stick with boat travel,” Jackie says.

Dr. J nods and holds his arms, suppressing a shiver. He should have brought more layers… he thought they’d all be more prepared. Then again… none of them were expecting this to happen. “Alright that’s… not ideal. But not terrible either.” 

“Yeah Alt said it was a lot of travel last time too- at least for him and Bro, who are massive cheaters.” Jackieboy tries to laugh, “They don’t gotta walk around like us normal guys.” 

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Henny asks timidly. “We do not want to be such a burden… or cause you all to use too much magics or energy!”

Chase smiles. "Don't worry too much about it. Maybe just help us pack up some of this stuff. And tell us more about how things are in your other world. If there's anything you guys can think of that would be helpful, it'd be great to know." 

"Do you guys have a way to speed up time to make us go faster?" Marvin says jokingly.

Dr. J and Henny exchange glances, Henny fiddling more with his watch. “Well… I ah… do have… time magics… I have not tried to speed up time before though… do you think I could, Juwel?” 

Dr. J rubs his arms and shakes his head, “Ummm I don’t know if now is the best time to experiment Henrik…” 

“Other things hm…” Jackie thinks, “um… nothing of note I don’t think. Things have been kinda… tame since Alt and Bro got back from their first trip with the TRVLR… even mag has kinda left us alone. Alt’s mostly just been trying to get better at his magic…” He sighs and shakes his head, “It’s times like this I wish I had some kind of magic… if we could just… see if they’re okay… maybe we wouldn’t need to worry so much… but- can’t FaceTime in a place with no wifi-“ 

“Jackie… so many of those words are going to confuse them,” Dr. J sighs. 

“I understand them now!” Henny says brightly, “It would be useful to use our handys-“ 

“Henny I’m begging you not to call it-“ Dr. J starts to say as Jackie holds back a snicker.

“No please keep calling it that dude, god I love it so much!” Jackieboy giggles. 

“You are such a child,” Dr. J shakes his head, but he does smile a bit. 

Honestly, it seems like the rest of the group stops listening the moment Henny says he has time magics. They all stare at the group with expressions caught between shock and blankness.

"Did you... just imply... that your magic controls time?" Jackie says haltingly. 

"To borrow a phrase I heard your friends use," Marvin says. "What. The actual. Fuck."

The swaps blink and then look at each other. Henny laughs nervously, “oh yes ah… I forget that… that is unusual.” 

“It’s really cool!” Jackieboy grins proudly. “Henny once used it to save Bro from Mag!” 

Henny blushes, fiddling with his watch. “Um… I could… try to… demonstrate?” He asks timidly, not really meeting the Phantoms’ eyes. “I am… still trying to… figure it out but… it is not… magics I was born with. I use this.” He holds up his watch, and the clock’s face glows teal as his eyes do too.

Henrik returns at that very moment. “Why are you all standing here still?” 

“Your other self can control time,” Chase states. 

Henrik blinks. “What?” Then when Henny takes his watch out he gasps and leans close. “Oooo! What an interesting device! I hear they are making things like those back in my home of Alterde. But without the magic, I mean. Where did you find this?”

Henny smiles and looks at Dr. J, “Well… Juwel collects these watches… and he just so happened to give me this one. But it is.. from our past. And It just… came to life with magic one day.” 

Dr. J chuckles, “I still think part of it is you, Henrik. The watch never showed any kind of magic for me or my step father. But… Alt is far more knowledgeable about that than me.” 

“I mean- from what I know… s’not unheard of for someone with magic to like- need something to make it stronger. Like… needing crutches!” Jackieboy comments. 

Henny blushes more. 

Jackieboy nudges him a bit. “C’mon bro! Show it off! You’re not usually this shy!” 

Henny looks away and mumbles, “ah… we are making it seem more… fantastical than it actually is…” 

"Fantastical?! I don't know what it's like where you're from, but controlling time itself is fantasy here!" Marvin says. "Do you know how many theories I've read of wizards and oracles and sometimes sorcerers trying to do that and failing?! Time is just--time is as controllable as the Wyldlands are! Trust us, anything you can do will be amazing." 

"And everyone here has their share of abilities, too," Henrik says. "If you ware worried about standing out. People may be confused but they are very accepting o-of the strange here." 

"Oh! After this, we need to get you guys some new clothes," Jackie says. "We have some spares in storage, everyone will have to lend stuff. I mean, if you all want."

Henny blushes more and fiddles with the dial. 

Dr. J perks up at the mention of clothes, “Oh that would be… much appreciated. I didn't account for the chill here…” 

“Well i feel fine-“ Jackieboy shrugs. 

“How you don’t constantly burn up in that jacket is beyond me,” Jj mutters. 

“Before that though! Let Henny show you!! C’mere Schneep i got an idea!” Jackieboy pulls the taller swap down to him and signs something to him in BSL. 

Henny’s eyes light up and he giggles, looking kind of excited. “Oh… that could be funny!” He looks back at the others and grins as his eyes light up teal. 

To everyone else- it seems like nothing has changed. But to Henny, he paused time for just a few minutes and has gone around and switched the others’ masks around, so everyone is not wearing their own. He then stands behind them and restarts time and sharply whistles to get them to turn around. To the fantasy boys, It looks like Henny in a blink of an eye had just appeared behind them!

The guys are left staring at the spot where Henny was. Jackie turns around immediately in surprise, followed by Chase. Henrik, Marvin, and Jameson need to take a moment to process what just happened. Then Jameson laughs--an odd voiceless breathing--and that queues Jackie and Chase to start laughing, too. Henrik and Marvin look more confused and intrigued than anything. 

"Wait a moment!" Marvin reaches up and feels his mask. Why does it have antlers? "Wait a--wait a moment!" 

"Elders, you're wearing mine!" Chase laughs. He grabs the mask on his belt, finding a rabbit instead of a deer. "Whoa! Hey! Did you just--" 

"Amazing!" Henrik gasps, taking off Jackie's mask. 

"How did you notice that your own mask was different before you noticed anyone else's?" Jackie asks Marvin. 

"You didn't notice, either. Now give me my mask back." 

They all swap their masks around again. 

That is incredible! Jameson says, grinning.

Henny giggles and looks at them proudly, “He he… it was nothing… but it was fun to see your reactions!” 

Jackieboy whoops and jumps up, “Yeah!! That turned out amazing! Just like something in a comic book!” 

“Of course you got the idea from there,” Dr. J laughs. 

Henny looks down at his watch and smiles, “as far as I know… I can stop time… and then I can go back… but not too far back. The farther I do… the more it drains me.” 

“Yeah! When he saved Bro apparently he went back a whole day!! And then he was out cold for like 3!” Jackieboy exclaims. 

Henny nods, “And uh… oh! I can make things do the… the floating! And stop certain things- like it is ummm frozen!”

"That is so, um, 'cool!'" Chase says. "Did I--did I use the word right?" 

"Sounds right to me," Jackie says cheerfully. 

Jackie laughs and nods, “Yeah you guys got it!” 

"That is--that's--" Marvin laughs. He's bouncing a little. "That is--wow. That's--" He laughs again. 

Henrik grins. "It has been a while since I saw you so excited Marvin. So, ah, 'giddy.'" 

"I-I like magic!" Marvin grabs his amulet again, holding it in his fist and shaking it--that's not him using his own magic, that's just him being excited. The amulet is very shakeable. "Going back into the past? That's--I mean, of course it would use a lot of energy, all magic uses energy. But still! That's--Elders and Sisters, that's--that's great." 

Jameson laughs that silent laugh again. I know what you mean. Being able to change the present is incredible. Anyone can change the future with the right actions, but... well, I suppose the present was once the future. He looks thoughtful. 

"Okay, okay." Jackie shakes himself. "We have to focus. That was--that was very 'cool,' but we have stuff to do. Um, how about I show you guys the tent where we've been storing our clothes? Everyone brought their own but we put all the bags in one tent.”

“Can’t believe we taught people from the past how to use the word ‘cool’…” Jackieboy grins mischievously, “Ohhh the power we could holddd!” He jokes in a weird deep voice. 

Dr. J rolls his eyes and baps Jackie on the head. “No no- stop that.” 

Henny laughs, “Yes yes we can do that! Please do the leading for us!”

"Great!" Jackie grins. "It's right this way." He starts to turn around, then looks back at the others. "And the rest of you?" 

"We'll start packing our stuff," Chase says. 

Henrik nods. "Yes. And then we should start to help load it." 

"Wait, if everyone brought their own clothes, whose clothes are they going to wear?" Marvin asks. 

"I mean, I was going to let them wear mine if they wanted," Jackie says. 

“Oh! It is like getting hand me downs from mein brothers!” Henny says excitedly. 

“You get so excited about the simplest things, Hen,” Jackieboy laughs. 

And if they don't fit, feel free to look through mine, Jameson adds. In fact, I'll go with you to point them out. He pauses. And I'll also point out that we're not REALLY from 'the past', it's just that your world is a bit ahead of ours in terms of tools and such. 

Dr. J smiles at his other self and nods, “Excellent point! I think Jackie just wishes this was our past-“ He chuckles. 

"Ah, you say 'garden' I say 'garden'," Jackie says dismissively. The phrase doesn't really make sense to the Swaps. Clearly this saying doesn't translate well. "Let's go, guys. It's just this way." And he starts walking again.The swaps follow after Jackie.

Jameson starts to follow Jackie and the visitors, but Chase pulls him back for a moment. "Do you... think Alt and other-Chase are okay?" he asks quietly. 

I don't know, Jameson says. I can't look into their futures at will. But... they were quite tough. Even if things aren't good right now, I'm sure they will be. 

Chase nods slowly. "Okay. You're right." He lets go. "Go on, then." Jameson smiles a little. 

We'll be sure to hurry, he says, and follows.

◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈

It took a couple hours for the King to gather some of his special forces, appoint a regent (a blonde woman who Magnificent could sense strong magic from), and commandeer the city's ferry to get everyone to the lake shore. Unfortunately, they could not commandeer a boat to sail down the river. Aneirin explained that he'd tried to keep boats limited to prevent too many people from leaving the city without his knowing. But that decision was coming back to bite them now, which he cursed. They would have to proceed along the bank of the Muinra Avon on foot and horseback--since horses were easy to acquire from the stable attached to the ferry docks. Now they were off. The Green Lake--with Suilthair in the center--is shrinking into the distance.

Magnificent didn’t mind…well once the King allowed him to be on one of the horses. Even if it was… embarrassing to have to be lead by the hero. But- horse lessons weren’t really something he got to learn. It was annoying to not have a direct line to the rebels… One thing he didn’t like about this world was the need for traditional traveling. But, the magic thick air more than made up for that. He breathed in and felt the magic flowing strongly in his veins. A very valuable resource for making sure the Brodys stayed under. Magnificent watched with a smug smile as he sees Alt travel in front of them on foot, using the tracking bracelet to keep them on the right path. Seeing his cub so loyal was such a sight to see… 

The King glances over at Magnificent from his own horse--tall and with a jet black coat. "Enjoying yourself?" he says, a small smile on his face. "I'll guess this is very... satisfying for you." He nods at Bro and Alt.

Magnificent blinks and then grins wide, “Oh yes… very much so~!” He giggles. He glances back at Alt and hums. “I’ve had Alt under my thrall many times before… even made him my pet. So… I do enjoy seeing him caught in my power~!” He then glances at Bro and his eyes flash, watching him stoically follow after Alt, now dressed in a warrior’s outfit too. “But… it is so rare to get the annoying hero too! So I can’t wait to see how this plays out~ to see the hope drain from all those other pathetic puppets eyes!” He giggles madly, leaning against his horse’s head.

The King grins. "There is a sort of... vicious delight in finally getting what you've always wanted from them." Aneirin looks down at his hands--Aodhan's hands--and tightens his grip on the reins. "Personally, I can't wait to see that look in those rebels' eyes. Fools trying to undo what can't be undone. They'll see what they get." 

Magnificent shares Aneirin's grin, "Exactly~!" 

Alt is walking a bit farther ahead than the horses. As such, he has an unobstructed view of the sky. There's a bird up there. A small bird, its wingspan about fifteen inches long. It has brown feathers, a V-shaped tail, and wings that sort of look like a boomerang. Has it... been there for a while? Wait a second, is it circling them?

Alt pauses a bit in his walking and takes notice of the sky. As he registers the way he has seen this bird circling, his eyes narrow. He then pulls out his bow and nocks an arrow, lighting the end with some lightning. He aims to shoot it down.

The arrow goes a bit too wide. Which is understandable, this is a small bird that is flying very fast. 

The King's head snaps towards Alt. "A klaíoh, why did you shoot?" He calls. Then he looks up into the sky and sees the bird. "Because of that? That's just a swift, they're common in this area. They are not messenger birds, if that's what you were concerned about."

Alt startles at the King's voice and then looks back towards him and bows slightly, "Ah... sorry, mu Ríth. I thought it... could have been one of the Rebel's birds..." He looks embarrassed now and apologetically looks away. "I-I'll stay more focused... Apologizes." 

The King narrows his eyes slightly, then nods. "Your intentions were just. But in the future, bring it to our attention before taking action. We don't want to waste arrows." 

"Of course, mu Ríth..." Alt mumbles quietly. 

As Alt looks away, and as the King is too busy reproaching him, the swift in the sky does something... strange. There's a flash of light, and it suddenly jumps ahead in position. The jump is accompanied by a snap, a snap that... for some reason, brings lightning to mind. And then it turns and flies away. Like any other bird would. Maybe that weird jump was just his imagination.

Alt sees the swift seem to jump and his eyes widen slightly, staring after the bird. Magnificent watches with mild fascination, his eyes narrowing as he sees the swift jump. Strange... 

Bro keeps leading them to go forward, not really paying attention to anything but the path. 

"Very good." The King nods, turning his attention back to the river beside them. The rebels had a boat... they're probably still using that boat now. They should be prepared to board. Meaning he should save his power. But these enchantment powers cost very little. He experimentally reaches out mentally, but still finds no human minds within range. And they probably won't for a while. "If the rebels made camp at night, they could be twelve hours away by now," he mutters. "We need to prepare for long travels."

Alt gets snapped out of watching the swift and starts a little before getting back on track following the spell. "Y-Yes, your majesty." 

"We won't rest until we find them, mu Ríth." Bro answers dazedly but with determination. 

Magnificent frowns then nods, leaning on his horse more to watch the landscape. 

This was going to be slow going for a bit... but it would be worth the wait. 

[davekat-sucks]

Oooh! I have my own headcanons as well!

John Egbert, movie critic and professional prankster, has a small Youtube Channel named EctoBiologist_143 that does a lot of skit based comedy reviews, think Nostalgia Critic without the scummy business practices. John also tries to code personal birthday card files for his friends, they work half the time, if unzipping the .ath file is recognized on the computer’s software.

Rose Lalonde loves to overanalyze kids media, especially squiddles as it’s a way for her to bond with Jade, and Rose notices quite a lot of references to the deep sea and hidden realms in the media.

Dave Strider, as much as he loves to remix and produce beats, he also learns the drums as a traditional instrument to play band, he made one EP with John Rose and Jade, he says he doesn’t want to publish because it “sounds too normal to be indie” bit really he wants a piece of his second family to keep as a memory. His first family was him and bro, and yeeeeeeah, he doesn’t like puppets, except Randy Feltface.

Jade Harley prefers to be a vegetarian, but her Bec side loves meat, she treats herself to black bean burgers and tofu sausages. Her mostly veggie diet comes from her gardening, making all-organic foods. Her Bec side also makes her droop when she’s near nuclear reactors, that’s why her job is reactor designer and not inspection.

Jane Crocker made an MSPFA called Professional Charlatan, an adventure about a hard-boiled prankster, an Adventuring Dandy and a Populist Ingenious work as a team with intelligensia from Master Kernel to defeat the insidious and undersea work of the MERMAID MOB. It is very obvious this is loosely based on Jane and her friends fighting the Condesce.

Jake English dabbles in the art, and takes from Pablo Picasso’s blue period. Rose has a very psychoanalytical idea for why he likes to draw so many blue landscapes, and round, wavy feminine shapes. Jake also draws Robots, a lot. He even gets commissions to draw corny 1950s sci-fi book covers!

Roxy teaches John how to make code in .ath that does not suck. She and John love to share simple code that range from ripoff arcade games to ascii gifs. She takes a lot of the wine her mom stored to be sold in a wine store she owns. Roxy likes to taste wine, but declines anything more than one glass to drink, modesty is policy!

Dirk Strider works with a lot of felt and soft fabrics. He actually makes quilts as therapy for living on his own for 16 years. He also likes to hang out with Dave, he looks up to Dave and how he turned out even with the worst Dirk in all of Paradox space. Dirk still has a manipulative streak where he tries to subtly convince Dave to binge The Muppet Show with him to grow a tolerance for non-smutty plushes. Dave still can not watch any scene with Gonzo without getting sweaty and tense.

This is a lot of text for 8 characters so if I ever do troll headcanons they are in a separate batch.

[sophiethewitch1]

I'm so glad to see people point out how bad genshin has gotten. we have had 2 (TWO) male characters this whole region. and they just killed off the captain??? I'm PISSED!!! all the female characters suck too. they power creep existing characters and mechanics, their designs are so weird and out of place from genshin, their characters are so shallow etc.

I'm genuinely so surprised to see older players stick around. their hard earned artifacts, weapons, and attention to detail feels like it was ran over by mauvikas motorcycle. let's talk abt muavika, she's an expensive xiangling replacement. usually new archons shake up the game, she doesn't. yea she can fly, so can wanderer, chasca, kinich, etc, she can ride on water, most cryo units can too, and furina and mualani and Mona kinda, she has ok Pyro application, so does Thoma, xiangling, dehya, u get what I'm saying?

THE FANSERVICE OMG. if honkai has hot men, genshin is the other side of the spectrum. mualani has the weakest excuse for clothes, xilonens and citlalis jiggle physics gotcha ogling, chasca is wearing... that... and muavika has a zipper going up her cooch 😭😬 it's not hard to see how sexualixed all of them are.

I find it hard to believe that they can't make any more dudes. both guys we do have look too much like teens. I don't even wanna get into the race problem cuz 😬😬 everything that can be said already has been.

meta has been better, we have a geo kazuha now. yay. everyone else has been a main dps, subdps for nightsoul or a niche support. other than xilonen, I wouldn't pull for anyone else metawise. we desperately needed a better shielder, we got a wonky 5 star Layla. zhongli has been needing a buff desperately, if hoyo thinks he is the ceiling for shield strength. maulani, kinich, and chasca are all main dps, I don't even know what ororon and kachina do.

exploration is fine, there are chests everywhere, maybe to distract the players who find the dragons mechanics to be chunky and annoying. the region really wants you to have natlan characters though, and if you don't, you struggle a bit more. it looks pretty though, the art direction and landscapes are beautiful. plenty screenshots to squeeze in with the 5000000 gb game. I don't wanna get into the story, this ask has gotten wayyy too long

anyways, thanks for coming to my Ted talk. hopefully they do shneznaya justice.

get it

just(ice)

ha ha ha I'm so funni

oh my god you're literally so correct about everything and im so mad about it. like the racial issues first and foremost made me immediately go 'well guess im not spending anymore' which i havent since because the only character like you said thats been interesting at all has been xilonen. she, kachina, and mualani were the only characters in natlan i actually liked the designs of (well other than the captain but hes not even actually from natlan). and even then LIKE BRO MY SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF BRUH!!!!!! like people are like 'oh it makes sense lore wise oh its ancient dragon tech' WELL IT DOESNT FUCKING LOOK LIKE IT!!! WHY DOES MAVUIKA HAVE A YAMAHA!!!! WHY DOES EVEN MY FAV XILONEN HAVE A TURN TABLE LIKE I CANT DO THIS AAAAHH. The exploration and world is amazing because it always is and I saw this poster the other day who fuckin. GRINDED my gears over on reddit who was like 'people hated this regions story?' and then posted a bunch of beautiful natlan screenshots like BRO YOU AND YOUR STRAWMAN ARGUMENTS YOU COME HERE!!!

I think if I personally talk about the fanservice I'll pop a blood vessel. Anon if you have not seen the leaks for 5.4 you are in for a TERRIBLE surprise when they show the next character and I am so so SO sorry for the misery you will endure

Snezhnaya... Give me Dottore. Give me Panatalone. Give me the fucking short old man hoyo or I will start sending thousands of dollars of manure to your offices to be dropped off. God help us all

[mrs-monaghan]

Can we talk about the own it practice video and the….situation jm was dealing with cause…that is extremely sus and i feel like jkkrs don’t talk about this enough

Before we proceed Anon. I just wanna say I love when JK wears green. It's honestly such a good colour on him. He needs to do it more often. The green here worked perfectly 👌🏽 for him

Now that we have established JK looks amazing in green 👆🏽 i just want to say that no, own it dance practise is not underrated at all. It only seems like it because one half of Jikookers are prudes and the other half doesn't want to be accused of sexualising the members.

Now me? Me? IDGAF. Some random person on the Internet doesn't pay my rent and doesn't buy my alcohol. Until that starts happening, I could give 2 shits about what people on tumblr think about me.

(For those who didn't know, u don't need an analysis. Not for this. Just go to the OG video from BH, put your phone on landscape, zoom in and you're good to go. You don’t need me to clip or give u a timestamp. Jimin is hard throughout)

So yes, anon. Let's talk about the fact that Jimin had a full blown erection during the own it dance practice. Shit. Idek why people are afraid to talk about this. Here are the facts.

a) They didn't have to post this

b) They could have edited it in a way we didn't see it

c) They could have taken care of Jimin's hard on in between takes but chose not to. Instead Jimin changed into a different, longer red shirt to try and cover it up.

Like why not take care of the problem? Are they edgers? Why leave it there for everyone to see? Sounds familiar? Hickeygate anyone???

Jikook were dancing by themselves, in a dark room to a sexy song and so the Jimcock was acting up. Why shouldn't I talk about it? If they didn’t want me to talk about it, they wouldn't have uploaded it. Go to YT and watch that thing. Jimin knew he was hard. JK saw Jimin was hard, the video has multiple cuts and yet.... and yet... they didn't care.

Bro

JIKOOK IS REAL.

Drink up!

[vanillaxoshi]

WHERE IS THIS FROM CUZ ITS SO SILLY LIKE LOOK AT DURI AND SOLAR JUST MARCHING IN SYNC

THEN YOU HAVE HALI JOINING THEM, the older brother joins the cute silliness of the two youngests❤️❤️

I know their memory is deteriorating but let me see this as just silly brother fun

Also SOLAR FALLING i see people making fun of it ngl i cant help but laugh at all of it

WHY DOES HE LOOK LIKE THAT hes like preaching something landscape and spinning

Saw someone put an audio of saleh on him

IT FIIIIITSSSSS

And i was so fed, bro was sassy, with his poses and him just failing so hard. This is what i asked for and i got it.

He was cringefailure, babygirl, girlypop, loser, nerd

The way duri and solar fight

Like its so cuteee

Photosynthesis duo my beloved🙌🥰

[puffyducks]

DCRC Week #15

Guys pretend this post isn't slightly late I've had a reeeally long week making those fashion drawings and renovating my entire bedroom. Anyways it's time for PKNA #11: Urk everyone say Hi Urk cause we're gonna see him in a second!

(extra long and image heavy post warning)

I'm gonna be so fr I have a huge headache right now and there's a big crew of people redoing the carpet in my house and making really loud banging sounds. I can't take a nap because my entire bed has been deconstructed and my mattress is standing up against a wall. I'm hiding in the room we shoved all our things into and I have like 4 feet of living space total right now. I'm saying this as a disclaimer because I'm probably gonna be even less coherent than usual (somehow) but hopefully hearing the insane ramblings of a tired Puffy will only enhance the experience.

And here in the horrors of the duck universe we have a regular human man sitting next to a flesh-colored dog-nosed creature. Guys seriously why are all the dog people in the duckverse always skin colored like would it kill them to put in some variety... like some different dog breeds... nevermind the fact that 99% of the ducks are all pekins. I'M JUST SAYING. As a furry I think we need to ask for better. And by better I mean just make a poodle character or something idk change it up a bit

Ok not to immediately drag on with the same topic but this might be one of the scariest designs I've ever seen idk what it is about this weirdly big-armed dog man but I'm so viscerally uncomfortable looking at him. Like it's not just me right. He's scary.

Why is donald just flashing his ass at uno in this panel. mf YOU do something??

Bro is really just pointing to the tree like :0

Gay ass look. Why did they exchange glances like this.

Haha don't worry Donald we put the Raider away in jail and he totally can't escape now. Not like he did the first time anyways.

Hi Urk. No other commentary I just like this panel.

HE FUCKING KILLED LYLAAAAAwhy is her hand flesh colored in the last panel

I like that Lyla hitting the ground makes a TLANG sound cause she's made of metal

idk why it's so amusing to me but Urk just calling PK a "total buzz kill" is so like. like to me it's the equivalent of "get lost DUDE you're harshing my vibe MAN" do you get me

Alright. Listen. We're gonna have to address the elephant in the room here (or the elephant-sized duck anyways). Urk is a Native American, specifically meant to be a member of the real life Iroquois tribe. I am not Native American, nor am I particularly knowledgeable on the culture of any specific tribes, so I'm not going to pretend to be an expert here, but just so we're clear: referring to any member of America's native population as being "red" is generally a big no-no.

Urk is meant to come from a dimension with an alternative form of history, one where North America was never colonized and continued to develop under the rule of the many native tribes that once dotted the landscape (one that also got super advanced because of aliens or something but that bit is honestly not that important). Could this concept of an alternate history be an interesting one to explore in a DIFFERENT piece of media? Perhaps. Does this Italian-made Donald Duck comic do a particularly good job of handling the cultural representations here?... eh.

Again, this was made overseas, it's the 90s, representation in media wasn't exactly great back then. I've certainly seen a lot worse *cough* Darkwing Duck *wheeze* but I think there are aspects surrounding Urk's lore that could certainly be better as well. Like I said, I'm not a Native American, I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert on this topic, nor am I going to say anything in here is downright offensive (I don't think I have the right to do so) but I think it's a point that's worth bringing up because it's kind of hard to ignore when reading Urk-related stories (which there are a few of because he sticks around after this comic).

ANYWAYS with all that said. Back to saying stupid shit

UMMM I DUNNO ABOUT THAT ONE BRO

First of all, haha oops the Raider accidentally pulled this poor random guy into our dimension. SECOND OF ALL, I've seen multiple pieces of media now insist that the Raider is some kind of "predatory bird" like a hawk or an eagle but I REFUSE to believe this information. SORRY but he is a rooster and I am always going to see him as a rooster, I DON'T CARE WHAT CANON MEDIA SAYS!!! MF SAID "BUKHAWHAW" IN THE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DON'T THINK I FORGOT THAT!!! THAT'S A CHICKEN!!!!!

Lyla looks cute here hi Lyla

OK SHOUTOUT TO URK JUST SMASHING A WHOLE CAR WITH HIS BIG FUCKING FISTS. HOW DID HE DO THAT

Billy ain't ever gonna forget this for the rest of his life dawg 💀 have fun unpacking this one in therapy

how did the fucking creature develop racism oh my god

WHAT DID LYLA EVEN DO WRONG THIS TIME?? FUCK YOU TIME POLICE free my girl

Everyone say "Hi Urk" again because we're stuck with Urk now

Kinda thought PK was flipping a middle finger here for a split second

Ok Fangus Tales now. Say it with me "we love Fangus Tales" yayyy

what the fuck

yeah actually you know what of COURSE Angus hates dogs. he actually sucks so bad you guys

let him fallll I mean WOAH who said that

YEAH OK OF COURSE ANGUS PARTICIPATES IN ILLEGAL DOG RACING

Dog you have very poor taste in people I'm begging you to like anyone other than Angus Fangus

Ok that's it see you next week and by next week I mean probably within the next 24 hours because I really like the next comic

[arquimidna]

Mario and Luigi in Wondershroom As kids Mario and Luigi had a hard time to adapting to their new life. Being away from the country they were born in and then being in a place that doesn't even speak your native language or has any similarities in landscapes is terrifying. They only have each other as company, nobody else. And they don't need anyone at all, or so they think. That's why they ended up in this predicament: Their parents were invited to a party for making new contacts, acquaintances, and so on; they had to go as well. The hosts' and rest of the guests' children didn't include them in their games, instead they treated them badly and mocked the way they talked, because of that they left the party. They were wandering around the neighborhood alone until they found a fungi like creature: red head with white polka dots and long ears like a rabbit, wearing a blue vest. The creature was crying that he would be late for something. Mario was very curious about him and wanted to help him, so he grabbed his twin brother's hand to follow him together. The moment they lost track of him was when the fungi creature entered a green metal pipe...

----- Just a silly idea I had for the Super Mario Universe. Mario and Luigi being first generation of Italian-Americans (headcanon) and having their childhood in the late 60's (Cuz if Mario and Luigi were 25 in the first Super Mario Bros. - 1985 - they should've been born in 1960. So I thought it would be fun to represent that side of their ageless characterization) Enjoy~

[getgotperidot]

Zote and Gorb Go on a Trip

Summary: Zote and Gorb finish packing and embark on their trip. Zote is grumpy. Gorb is Gorb.

Note: I've recently been replaying Hollow Knight, and Zote and Gorb are some of my favorite characters. I wanted to write a random fic about them. Don't question anything.

************************************************************************

Zote the Mighty picked up his trusty nail. The nail was named Life Ender, for it would someday end many lives. But that day was not today. 

Zote's manly brow furrowed in concentration. He tightened his grip on his nail and slowly edged along the perimeter of the room. The journey ahead could not begin without all of his trusty supplies. So where had he put his purple polka dotted socks?

Those socks were a faithful companion on all of his Quests. Without them, he would surely fall to even the most pathetic of enemies. And Zote the Mighty had many enemies. 

A foreboding thought struck him. Were his faithful socks in the laundry? Zote frantically gallantly galloped over to his laundry bin. Sure enough, right at the top of the pile was his socks. 

Zote fell to his knees dramatically. He cursed the heavens. Gorb would be there soon, and there was no time to start a new laundry load. Why did the universe hate him so?

A faint warbling noise sounded at the door. Zote rose to his feet and trudged confidently to answer it. 

The entrance swung open. "I AM GORB, " said Gorb.

"Yeah, yeah," grumbled Zote, "We have more important things to worry about. Like my socks."

"I am Gorb?" asked Gorb.

"Of course I wear socks!" Zote bellowed, "I have feet!"

Gorb wiggled skeptically, and shot a pointed glance at the stumps of Zote's legs. Zote's didn't seem to notice. 

Zote sighed. "It's hard being the most powerful bug in Hallownest," He growled solemnly, stroking his nonexistent beard.

"I am Gorb," Gorb replied wisely.

"Bah, no matter," Zote harrumphed, "A great man without his favorite socks is still a great man. Are you ready to go?"

Gorb faltered momentarily at the weight of Zote's knowledge. After regaining their composure, Gorb gave an affirmative, "I am Gorb" and held up their My Little Pony suitcase.

Zote went to go fetch his own Transformers one, and to say goodbye to his girlfriend Bretta.

"Bye, Bretta," he said in a gruff manner, not showing too much emotion as a staple to his manliness.

Bretta was staring dreamily at a photo of some weakling vessel. "Did you say something?" She asked seductively. 

"I'm leaving," said Zote, flexing his many muscles, "Don't miss me too much." 

Bretta rolled her eyes. "I won't. Take your time coming back." She planted a kiss on the vessel's picture and waved Zote away. Zote left the room with swagger, confident in his relationship with his beautiful girlfriend. 

"It's just a shame she's so clingy," he muttered to himself. "A man like me doesn't have a lot of free time to spend with his loved ones."

Gorb warbled from the other room. "I'm coming, I'm coming," Zote huffed. Zote sauntered past Gorb and out the door. Gorb wiggled along behind him. 

The two bros ventured across the landscape, occasionally stopping as Zote tripped over rocks took time to inspect the dirt. It was a very impactful journey. 

In the end they disappeared into the sunset. Except they were underground so there was no sun. They just kept walking until the camera was too far away to see them.

The bros returned to Dirtmouth the next day, much to Bretta's displeasure. 

THE END :D

[mielichee]

—hello, once again𐙚.

it is me, well, the most unexpected person? i do not have any topic in my mind for the moment but we'll figure out what we're going to talk about eventually.

I'm 18 soon to be 19. and well i hate it i wanted to stay 16 forever because of Hollywood movies you know. my favorite one was 'sixteen wishes' i watched for the first time on YouTube when I was like idk 9? 10? and then i re-watched it when i turned 15. it was a fun movie. fun times.

i always wanted to be a grown up, i wanted fancy clothes, going out with friends... every adult thing you could possibly do. I thought being an adult is fun because you can do whatever you want and no one's going to say shit. i still dream about having an office job in New York. ik how boring!.

and i know it's going to happen very soon. i love nyc. i adore nyc. my friends think it's very stupid and boring. but ik there's a lot of people who are just like me and dream of being in new york.

i don't know why i want to go this bad. i also wanna go with a partner. but I'm not waiting for one! People are very mean and shallow. and stupid especially boys. at least the ones i know. they all wanna be Andrew tate carbon copies.

anyways fuck boys. eating frozen chocolate currently and it's hard to chew I'm struggling.

when I stop talking to people or when the relationship doesn't work out i like to leave on a positive note. i hate hurting people i once cared about. so i try to be gentle with them. but mostly i get a very negative feedback they just act mean. i hate that. i don't know why people well mostly from what I've seen boys have a hard time opening up about their feelings. it's ridiculous. bro's willing to nut but not willing to talk about emotions. what is wrong with these fuckers?.

i used to have a hard time explaining my feelings about certain things but oh my they just keep going on and on.

i wanna have the wild imagination of a child again. i wanna believe that unicorns exist, fairies and mermaids.

[ear-worthy]

Verbal Diorama: A Superb Film History Podcast

There are several reasons why podcasts about movies and TV proliferate. First, listeners of podcasts are also consumers of movies and TV. Second, movie and TV podcasts require no degree or academic certification. In effect, anyone with a sense for artistic excellence can do such shows.

However, just because there are a lot of these podcasts doesn't mean they're easy to do and easy to do well.

The U.K. podcast, Verbal Diorama is an example of a superb film history podcast that is sadly lost in the spacious landscape of podcasting. If you're a fan of film and film history (a TCM junkie) this podcast should be playing in your ears regularly. 

Just to be clear, the podcast is more of a film history show than reviewing old films. It's not the Rewatchables with Bill Simmons where bros rap about older movies like they're sitting in Applebee's having an IPA. 

Here's the host introducing herself and podcast on her website: "Hi! I'm Em. I created Verbal Diorama in 2018, and launched the podcast in February 2019 to rapturous applause and acclaim.... from my cat Jess." "The modus operandi of Verbal Diorama is simple: movies are tough to make! The coming together of a team of people from all walks of life to make something to entertain, delight and educate us for 90+ mins is not an easy task, and yet so many succeed at it. That must be something to celebrate. I'm here to do just that - to celebrate movies. Their history and legacy, and why they remain so special to so many of us."

Although you may not have heard of this independent podcast, the show has been around for five years. Kudos to any indie podcaster who has the grit to podcast that consistently for that long. 

Let me offer an example of the show. On the December 17, 2023, episode, Em, the host, reviews the history of Die Hard, probably one of the most iconic action movies in the history of film. The movie birthed hundreds of action movies with the elevator pitch, Die Hard on a plane; Die Hard on the beach; Die Hard in a phone booth. You get the idea.

The journey from conception to completed film in Die Hard's case is unexpected, unwieldy, and unfathomable.

Did you know that the story of Die Hard starts in the mid-sixties, and the film adaptation of a dark film noir detective drama novel, The Detective, starring Frank Sinatra? What would that sound like with Sinatra as John McClane? "Yippee-Ki-Yay, I did it my way!"

Anyway, the sequel novel Nothing Lasts Forever would take eleven years to be written, and its film adaptation would take a further nine years to make it to the big screen, with some major changes.

Gone was Frank Sinatra reprising his role, and the death of the character's on-screen daughter. The dark, depressing story was revitalized, with a new lead character, on-screen marital issues, explosive action, and one of the most charismatic and interesting villains ever put to screen.

Em details how Alan Rickman who played Hans Gruber, one of the most iconic villains in film history, offered director John McTiernan several key ideas that improved the film. First, Rickman suggested that Gruber not be dressed like the rest of his crew, but in an expensive European suit to distinguish him and his personality from the others. 

Then, in a famous scene where Willis as McClane comes upon Gruber, Rickman suggested that Gruber imitate an American accent to try and fool Willis / McClane. 

Em also explains how the film's producers wanted John McTiernan to direct Die Hard, but the director hated the idea of terrorists, which was the original concept of the film. The movie was then changed to make Gruber's crew robbers masquerading as terrorists, a key plot point.

What's great about this podcast is that Em's critical and historical eye has a wide angle lens. She covers films in numerous genres, from romantic comedies to superhero flicks, and horror films to sci-fi movies.

Some of her best episodes include Aliens, Hidden Figures, The Wizard of Oz, and Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

"I started the podcast in 2019 after a pretty turbulent couple of years, marred by a marriage breakdown and a family bereavement," shares Em. "So Verbal Diorama was basically born from grief and trauma, which I find tends to be one of the best forms of therapy (I jest, everyone should go to actual therapy!)"

Em continues with the origin story of the show: "I've always been fascinated by film history, and I'm an overwhelmingly positive person for the most part - I can find things to love about most movies, and I still find it miraculous that any movie actually exists. And that's why Verbal Diorama exists - to celebrate everything about filmmaking, and highlight the incredible stories behind the scenes."

Interestingly, Verbal Diorama changed its intro and outro music in 2019, its second season. With the July 21, 2019, episode about Charlie's Angels, which Em notes is really the first women kick butt action movie. The song, written by talented singer / songwriter Chloe Enticott (with a few cheesy lyrics by Em) is a kick-ass rocker in the Joan Jett category. It's high energy, high volume, and sets the podcast apart from thousands of others with generic, free music. 

As a host, Em excels with a strong narrative voice and fervent desire to share with her listeners. She's not above sly humor, as in the Charlie's Angels episode, where she waits patiently by the phone for Charlie to call her. When the phone rings, she answers and then responds with mock anger at the sound of a marketing call instead of Charlie. 

Em also tosses in social media feedback on the film she's covering that week, with some fun, unexpected responses.

Em also smartly places a teaser for the episode before the intro music to give listeners a taste of the episode. That's strong marketing and narrative wisdom because it entices new listeners and reassures loyal listeners about what's to come in the show.

On her website, Em confesses: "I love podcasts, and listen to many, but never my own. I unashamedly love The Mummy (1999) and Grease 2. I'm still looking for a cool rider."

Em also discloses her feline co-host: "Episodes are audibly book ended by Jess. She sadly passed away in March 2022, aged almost 18. She featured in many episodes of the podcast, and that's why you can hear her at the end of every episode. The role of official feline producer is now held by the comparatively quieter Evie."

Em explains how starting Verbal Diorama has opened up incredible opportunities for her.

"I started writing for Film Stories shortly after starting Verbal Diorama, and I now have a regular print magazine column all about independent podcasting, which has been running for four years. I also write articles highlighting and promoting fellow UK indie film podcasts on the Film Stories website for several years. I have a very dedicated group of paying subscribers on Patreon who help me pay for things like hosting, domains, software subscriptions and new equipment. Verbal Diorama has appeared on Podcast Radio, an online radio station, several times over the years, and it's been featured in podcasting publications like PodBible and Podnews, as well as being a recommended podcast on apps like Goodpods. Em is dedicated to independent podcasting. "Last year I co-created the Independent Podcast Awards (https://independentpodcastawards.com) and worked on the inaugural event with whynow, a media company based in London. It was a hugely personal achievement for me to be able to help create that event to support national independent podcasting, I believe wholeheartedly in the power of podcasting, and of supporting fellow creators. Independent podcasters are the cornerstone of podcasting, and the people doing from their garages or spare bedrooms are doing it for one reason and one reason only - passion. Having passion for podcasting sets indie podcasters apart from the big name celebrities and corporates who are only doing it for monetary gain and because it's the current 'in' thing to do." It's worth adding that The Independent podcast Awards are returning for 2024 - https://podnews.net/press-release/ipa-24-launch

"My thoughts on independent podcasting can be summed up by the honest fact that podcasting changed my life," Em shares. "It gave me purpose, it healed my heart, it's given me opportunities and genuine friendships from a worldwide community that is welcoming to all and supportive of all. That's why they deserve celebrating. That's why independent podcasting deserves celebrating."

 Check out Verbal Diorama. It is truly one of the best film history podcasts in the audio verse, and one of the best all-around independent podcasts.

 ************************************

 This review is part of an ongoing series of reviews, recommendations, and essays about Indie podcasters -- their craft, their challenges, and the critical role they play in podcasting. These entrepreneurs display skills as disparate as hosting, sound production, graphic design, scriptwriting, interviewing, marketing genius, and financial watchdog. They are the heart and soul of podcasting.

[29pageshomestuckeveryday]

Homestuck, page 1,358

[S] ACT 4 ==>

walkthrough: http://readmspa.org/transcripts/readmspa-transcript-6_003258_John_explores_LOWAS_with_help_from_Nannasprite_transcript_and_walkthrough.html

Song used: Doctor by Buzinkai

song commentary:

Clark Powell:

Doctor was originally by Buzinkai and then a now non-active member Michael Vallejo added a few bits of percussion to it. I then put together a larger mix of the tune with shinier production and a glockenspiel tag, and this was the version Andrew used in the end.

Buzinkai:

Doctor was written before Homestuck, actually. The only thing I can really remember was that Super Smash Bros Brawl came out right before I finished it. The original loop (which is not the one specifically heard in the comic, but was included in the album release) was directly inspired by music from Cave Story, and I was trying to at the time musically embody how I felt at the time, I think. Though it never seems to come out exactly as I plan it, I enjoyed the results. I will say that I cannot truly believe how many people have remixed it.

The arpeggio part at the end goes between the left, both, and right speakers sequentially. I was too lazy to set the channel settings manually, so I did each note on a different instrument, which is set to each speaker channel. Not many people know that, and I think it actually made it a living hell for remixers who got a hold of the original file.

Author commentary:

Welcome to Book 3, which obviously starts with Act 4, which obviously starts with Gate 1. I mean…obviously? Glad that's obvious to everyone. What's also PAINFULLY obvious to anyone looking at this page, no matter who they are, is that this [used to be] a loading screen. Hot Flash Content is being piped directly into your [browser], right now, at the speed of bullshit. We're off to a great start here in the author notes section. Hey remember Flash loading screens? Those were the days. You needed SOMETHING to look at while untold KILOBYTES were crawling through your ethernet cables. In this case, I chose to dazzle you with a hypnotically morphing spirograph. You quickly went into a trance of fascination. The suspense built. Cue the music. and then…….magic.

>1: Okay, no magic here. No music or movement, because it's [not Flash]! All you get is my goofs. Sorry, sucker. Let's talk about this animation. It's pretty damn enchanting, really. We finally get to see what's under those gray clouds. It's a bunch of fireflies, and a blue landscape with phosphorescent flora and black oily rivers. Act 4 marks the official beginning of the scenery porn era of Homestuck.

>2: Or "LOWAS," as becomes the model for further nomenclature in reference to Homestuck's lands. These "lands," of course, are fairly small planets. Hard to say how big exactly. I don't think I ever really did any due diligence on the cosmological scale of these bodies. They're big enough to explore and get lost in but not so huge as to be hopelessly unchartable. I guess I always pictured them being like a small state in the US. Like if Rhode Island or Connecticut were wrapped around a sphere. Literally doing so would make for a fairly lackluster land, suitable for a pretty bland player of Sburb. (I suppose such as…every resident of those particular states? Why…why am I alienating these people already? It's only the fourth page. Oh well, forty-eight states to go, I guess.)

>3: OKAY LET'S CUT THE SHIT AND TALK ABOUT THIS FLASH! It's a playable game. That turned out to be a thing in HS. As a Flash loaded, readers would wonder…is this going to be a GAME? (Virtually always: no. But sometimes…sometimes, yes!) This one is similar in style to the game when John first enters the Medium and can wander around his house, but this time there's ACTUAL battle mechanics.. You can bonk imps with a hammer, collect grist and items—all rather pointlessly, I should add. But you can do it, is the point. Why? I really couldn't fucking tell you, to this day. I think I was legitimately insane? This, with perfectly brutal honesty, I must admit now strikes me as something a crazy person would do.

>4: I suppose the upshot of the game format is that it lets the player wander around this fantastical new land and discover its mysteries just like John is doing. Actually, YOU don't get to. You get to [click] through this [set of images] with your grubby fingers while I struggle through a borderline state of dementia, heroically trying to remember what I was thinking when I made this. But some people sure did get to do that. Anyway, this is what happens when you click that icon in the upper right. John gets to talk to Nanna, like…there's some sort of comm system back to his sprite? Sprites technically can't go far from the house after their player enters the Medium. That's the strict rule of Sburb. Until much, much later, when it stops being all that strict, for reasons that are unlikely ever to be explained, even by the WISEST of sprites.

>7: Here's a little taste of the gameplay. You click on a thing and a menu pops up, which includes what is…technically a text command that is being entered by…the player of Homestuck? (Who has at this point been revealed to be any given exile, operating the post-apocalypse Sburb station.) It's pretty esoteric. But you don't need to think about any of this to play the game, get a sense of John's rad land, meet some scurrilous foes in need of a bashing, and feel like a cool hero.

>18: The ghost gauntlets holding that ridiculous paisley hammer are just a fixture of the environment in this game. I didn't want them to be an item you could use, because that would have been complicated to implement. It was a little attention to detail on my part, by which I mean my inclination to consider how John could wield this huge hammer in his inventory. Specific items that are accrued by the players become a lot less relevant much later in the story. Because it stops being a thing about a Guy In A Game You Are "Playing," and starts being more about a bunch of Characters In A Story You Are Reading, Who Are Sad All The Time.

>20/23: Here we meet a "consort." Or, a salamander, in the case of John's planet. All planets have consorts, usually a different kind of amphibian or reptile for each. Why amphibians or reptiles? Didn't I cover this already in another book note? Oh. You don't remember either? Well, guess we're in the same boat then. (Consorts have very short life spans, which is the joke here.) And a parcel pyxis is like a pipe mailbox they throw shit in to send places. They have a whole pipe-based civilization, but the pipes are all clogged with oil, and… You know, I did a much better job with this worldbuilding stuff by letting you understand it all in the game through exploration and inference. Too bad you're not playing it now, so you get remedial lore for boneheads down here.

>29: This salamander laments the desecration of a glorious village frog idol. (Frogs are sacred. This fact will be as important as it is frequently repeated.) He talks about the underling swarm dedicated to destroying and oiling up such idols as a "recent" event, as if this village has existed for hundreds of years and only now have the underlings emerged to wreak mischief. This is in keeping with the strange paradox of planets in the Medium: the fact that they were just created instantly through booting up the game, and yet have always existed with entire smorgasbords of ready-made lore and quests for the players to engage with.

>36: Here this sassy salamander alludes to an alliance that John's denizen seems to have formed with the agents of Derse. Those are the "terrible guys" who commissioned the underlings. The denizens aren't really the bad guys of this game. They're more like ornery yet neutral gods of these planets, who can help or harm depending on the circumstances. Derse agents are the formal bad guys, whose designated role is to obstruct the progress of the heroes, vandalize frog statues, antagonize frog enthusiasts, and dislike frogs in general.

>37/38/40: Are you thrilled about sifting through layers of worldbuilding as conveyed through the expository bubblings of enthusiastic amphibians? Then this is the page for you. It's a pretty straightforward outline of John's formal quest on this planet. Wake the monster, kill the monster. Clean the pipes, release the Breeze. The Breeze clears the clouds, the fireflies go free. That's the goal. What does it all MEAN? That is for YOU, the reader, to boggle over, forever. It's worth nothing that when John actually gets around to doing all this, the meaning of completing this quest and the thing that it actually accomplishes are radically different than what the present stakes of the story are understood to be at this point. There is, throughout this tale, an ever-present tension between the hero's quest as presented at face value and the hero's True Quest—the mysterious journey overlaying and superseding the shallow journey described by consorts, sprites, et al—which the kids must come to grips with. >41/43: This is a pretty good procession of salamanders talking about important stuff, which perhaps makes you think it's all leading up to an encounter with some sort of regal presence in the village. Perhaps a tribal leader. But no, it's just this fool, farming all these goddamn mushrooms. The Mushroom Farmer is just notable enough of a salamander to be known to fandom as the Mushroom Farmer, and would probably be credited that way in the end credits if this were a movie. Same goes for the fellow below wearing the hat. He's known as Crumplehat. Trust me on this. >45: See? I told you his name was Crumplehat. Maybe try to fucking believe me next time I tell you stuff. >51: There are two reasons why John can only say no to this offer. First, I would have had to program an alternate path where he gives up the suit, as well as change the sprite to reflect that, and permanently introduce a fork in the story where John either sells the suit or doesn't. The second reason is it's just a straight-up dogshit offer. Giving someone a boondollar for something is like offering them a penny you found in the toilet.

>58: Salamanders are pretty good at trolling, actually. So are lots of figures in Homestuck. Like John's nanna, his dad, John himself, all his friends, and also all the characters who are literally called trolls. I guess there are a lot of characters who like to troll each other because that is my forte, you could say, as a storyteller? This could also explain why characters who are actual trolls entered the story. They simply manifested as an extension of the story's nature.

>65: Oh Christ, the Secret Wizard. I forgot about him. Yeah, him too. He's also a really big-deal salamander. (Just joking, he's actually a small deal.) He's a simple man. All he really wants you to do is behold his robes. That's it.

>67: John's bedsheet will show up again later as well. It makes quite a trip through the story, actually, and appears in a surprising number of panels. Specifically, every single panel that WV appears in. Surprised? No? Oh. Well, let's just say you are, and move on. (Okay, wait, before we move on I should clarify something. WV's shroud is actually the dream version of John's bedsheet. The Secret Wizard just keeps this oily, shitty one forever, and then starts some sort of cult. Okay, NOW we can move on.)

>70-72: So in other words, their entire mail system revolves around putting shit in the pipes, having it sent to completely random places, and whoever gets it gets it. This sounds pretty stupid, but I guess it's part of their religion or something. So you have to respect it.

>78-84: When you're playing through this game, I guess one of the more low-key, gradually unfolding jokes is how it slowly becomes apparent that all the garbage from John's house that he carelessly launched out windows and fumbled over cliffs ended up down here to be scavenged by a bunch of enterprising salamanders who try to pawn all the items back on him. Or just keep them as incredible new accessories.

>81: Five million boonies really isn't all that much, huh.

>84: I'm glad we dedicated an entire page to the choice John makes in refusing to buy back his own shitty clown statue from this guy. Look. This is my ART, people. It needs room to BREATH.

>87/88: Maybe one of the strangest traits of salamanders is how acerbically self-deprecating they are. Maybe they just hate themselves? They'd be far from the only ones in this tale. Also, here's a nice, snap game-design thing I thought of on the fly, when this game was being "developed" over a span of literally about forty-eight hours. Just put a damn bubble with a telescope in it hovering at exactly the place where the player needs to use the scope. That way, they use the scope, and they don't NOT use the scope. So you can see what's in the scope, over there. Incredible.

>90-93: Here's what's in the scope: a view of John's house up on a tall rock-spire plateau, way off in the distance. This view gives you a sense of how far John traveled by going through his gate, the relative proximity of his house, and the fact that the house is inaccessible for a while at least. It also reveals a little more about gate logic and the distances they can send you, and helps you start to imagine hopping all around this world via gates to complete your quest. Oh, and I guess this is kind of a cool shot? Sure.

>94-100: And here Nanna basically explains some stuff I just explained on the previous page. The point, obviously, is to browbeat you with explanations of Sburb game logic fundamentals until you start crying. Here's another thing I guess I haven't mentioned yet: walking through this game gives you a pretty good appreciation of the variety of imps, now that there's been another pre-entry prototyping. Remember Rose entering the game just as John goes through his gate? Now we get to observe all these imps in princess gear, or with tentacles, or cat parts, or some permutation of all three.

>100:And once again Nanna steals my thunder by explaining a thing I just explained. Damn it, Nanna. I feel your pain, John. She's absolutely brutal.

>107: More sass from one of these bastards. I feel like I'm getting fucking roasted every time they open their mouths. I'd look up at the sky and ask "Why, God?" But it's not that mysterious. I'm getting roasted by my past self and his snarkyass writing. If he wasn't trapped back in 2010 or so, I'd ask him why he wrote these damn lizards to be a bunch of wiseasses. "That's just all I know," he would probably say. Yeah, I feel you man. I mean, don't get me wrong, they're funny as hell. But, why? I don't… Oh, never mind. Now I sound like a person who is insane. I'll try to do better.

>111: Oh, here's the end of the game. That game was a single panel of Homestuck. And here we are, on…page 30? Thirty pages' worth of annotations just to cover the first panel of Act 4. I think I need to lie down.

[wachtelspinat]

I've been in a rut as of late, and I really want to get better at form and anatomy. Your style is one of my favorite ones ever, what would you say were your biggest inspirations throughout the years?

hey, first of all i’m so very sorry for the late reply. hope you get to see this still since it’s been a while since you sent this ask... sorry

secondly, thanks a lot! i try to give some insights here, this question's always kinda hard for me to tackle because i'm having a hard time identifying my style and what makes it tick, idk... i guess it's a combination out of everything i like, starting from the artstyle of tf2 to various styles of my mutuals and people around here (but i think tf2, wanting to draw humans ever since i first laid eyes on tf2 and the cartoony artstyle of it all are my major fuels, ngl). 

as for anatomy and form: this is a matter i just recently pushed myself into because i felt really stuck in my ways. like... i never really did studies in my life, so when i wanted to draw i kind of had to count on it to ‘just work’, idk if this makes sense... i always felt like i didn’t actually know what i was doing there, and i worked with ref a lot (i would always recommend using ref, no matter what, what i want to say is that i realized i had not enough fundament to truly fool around in the way i liked to). and now that i started actually doing anatomy studies i feel so dumb because yeah. it IS making things easier x) i understand tho that for most it’s a motivational issue... you have to find a way to make it work for you. like doing studies, but implementing what you learned into a sketch of your blorbo, as an example.

as for resources, it’s hard to find good tutorials, mostly because the place is flooded with art bros trying to tell you “you don’t NEED anatomy and here is why” and then they make a sketch and you can SEE that they put SO MUCH ANATOMICAL KNOWLEDGE INTO IT. so there’s a lot of bs out there. there is good stuff out there tho, but it might take you a while to find what’s best suited for you. i could make a list of yt channels that really helped me but the thing is, everyone is at their own lvl and with different goals in mind, so i don’t think this would be very helpful.

what i can link you to tho are 2 videos that really opened my eyes in regards of a) finding your style and b) getting better at drawing a certain topic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLfH9yOGs3o - this video tackles the whole ‘finding your style’ topic. because i often give the tip that you don’t find your style, style finds you (and i still think that is in its regards correct, because you just get subconsciously influenced by the media you consume and like and your fave artists’ style’s if you really dig them) but the ability to actively WORK on your style is there. it’s just something you have to put a lot of work into. but we’ll never stop learning, so there’s that. (she describes it with her landscape drawings but really this works for anything... from dynamic linework to just trying to find the right energy in your pictures)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0ufz75UvHs - this one really helped me getting over my fear of ‘drawing something ugly’ (big words from someone drawing ugly men as a hobby) but hear me out... because i have a weird brain that makes me recoil from something my mind thinks is ‘imperfect’ i really often get stuck with my art and either don’t experiment at all or get stuck with a sketch and spending hours on it trying to fix it... so approaching this matter like the video described just... melted that away. because when you draw 20 faces a day just telling yourself “NOBODY will EVER see this” you start loosening up... or at least i did. it’s also good for an analytical brain or people who strongly lean into that. this approach was especially nice while being stuck in an artblock... because i could easily just fool around and it kind of changed how i see doing art... like... nothing is ever perfect so i don’t have to make it perfect, i can analyze my art through a more neutral lense than my emotional attachment to it now... does that make sense?

last but not least, there are a ton of good resources out there for anatomical studies, my fave is still “anatomy for sculptors, understanding the human figure” by uldis zarins sandis kondrats.

SORRY THIS GOT A BIT LONGER BUT i put A LOT of thought into this as of late so yeah... maybe it’s gonna help someone too

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Future Art

Christopher Paolini: look at you suckers Paolini: still drawing with your hands? Paolini: think fast, grandpa, the future is now! Paolini: check out my new book, the cover is all AI generated King: why doesn’t the astronaut have arms? Paolini: Paolini: oh I uh meant to do that

Paolini: see, with AI you can just make any cover you want King: wow! Poe: what does this mean for human artists tho Paolini: uhhhh Paolini: what’s that? Sorry I can’t hear you, I must be going under an overpass

Paolini: this is going to revolutionize the fantasy art landscape Paolini: where we’re going, we won’t NEED artists Paolini: get outta here, ya losers! Paolini: we don’t need boris Vallejo when the AI can draw sweaty barbarians Paolini: we don’t need frank frazetta when the AI can draw chunky amazons Paolini: we don’t need the brothers Hildebrandt when the AI can draw a wizard! Beard and all!

Edward Lee: but bro Lee: that’s all well and good Lee: but could the AI draw a girl with big titties? Paolini: oh you’d be surprised Hearn: step aside, let me give the AI a REAL challenge Lafcadio Hearn: could it draw an ANIME girl with big titties?

Paolini: it’s been a long battle but finally we’re free from the tyranny of paying artists for their work Paolini: but I’m sure they’ll keep paying writers for our hard work Paolini: no way this could bite me in the ass

King: but Christopher aren’t you afraid that AI will eventually replace writers too? Paolini: haha replace writers? Haha what a concept! Paolini: please edgar I’m Christopher paolini Paolini: author of the inheritance cycle! Paolini: an epic fantasy about elves and dragons! Paolini: I’d like to see the AI that can think of that

Paolini: please people I wrote eragon! Paolini: a fantasy story about a guy spiritually bonded with a dragon Paolini: an idea totally original to me Anne McCaffrey: Gordon R. Dickson:

Laurel Hightower: so for the cover of this book, I’d like to see a mothman Slimyswampghost: you got it Hightower: can you give him a caked up ass like the statue Slimyswampghost: Slimyswampghost: ok Hightower: see this is why you use a real artist Hightower: Hightower: no Hightower: more caked up