#gully boss

[ausetkmt]

dem man yah legendary Badness, seen..

[daitranscripts]

Trespasser Pt. 20

Elven Ruins

Trespasser Masterpost Previous: Agent of Fen’Harel

The PC emerges in an overgrown path of some elven ruins.

Party comments:

Cassandra: The Viddasala cannot have gotten far.

Blackwall: The Viddasala can’t be far.

Iron Bull: Come on. The Viddasala can’t be far.

They see the Qunari running up ahead.

Sera: There! On them!

Varric: There, up ahead!

Cole: Up there!

The Anchor begins to flare and the PC falls. The mark creates a huge blast that knocks everyone back.

PC: It’s going to… everyone back! (Cries out in pain.)

Party comments:

Cassandra: If it keeps up like this, it will kill you. Solas must help, as he did at Haven.

Varric: We’ve gotta stop this before it kills you. Assuming we find him, maybe Chuckles can help.

Dorian: That can’t be healthy. Perhaps Solas can help.

Vivienne: We must hope Solas can reverse the Anchor's effects before it kills you.

Sera: Solas can stop it, right? He has to know something. He always did. The whole time.

Cole: It's louder, faster. Solas can help, heal the hurt.

Iron Bull: You all right, boss? That's… damn. Maybe Solas can help.

Blackwall: If it keeps up like this, it will kill you. Solas must help, as he did at Haven.

Party comments:

Cole: Solas doesn’t want to hurt people. He isn’t that kind of wolf. The Qunari don’t see.

Sera: Hated his “too-smart-for-you” pity before the whole agent-of-Fenny business. He better help. We’re owed.

Varric: Chuckles, who apparently works for Fen'Harel. It's always the quiet ones…

Vivienne: Solas, the agent of Fen'Harel. I suspected something was off with our unwashed apostate.

Cassandra: Solas… an agent of Fen'Harel. I should have suspected.

Blackwall: That'd be Solas, the agent of Fen'Harel. (Grunts.) Knew there was something off about him.

They continue to chase down the Qunari through an eluvian.

Iron Bull: Over there. that’s gotta be where Solas is.

Dorian: That must be where Solas is.

Vivienne: that must be where Solas is located.

They emerge in a gully, where the Viddasala stands on a high ledge.

Viddasala: Saarebas! Rethra! Shokra!

The party is attacked as she goes through the eluvian with her saarebas.

Sera: The big mage! He’s always with their leader-woman!

Varric: There's the big saarebas who's always with the Viddasala!

Cole: There! He can't be far from her, or it hurts him!

The PC heads through the next eluvian, fighting across a long bridge and into another eluvian, emerging at a shrine to the dread wolf.

Viddasala: Saarebas! Meravas adim kata!

The saarebas, Saarath, leaps down to fight.

Sera: Here he comes! Let's have you!

Varric: The big guy's headed our way!

Cole: He's coming to stop us!

Viddasala: Saarebas! Rethra! Shokra!

More Qunari join the fray.

Iron Bull: Is that all you've got? I went through Seheron, you little shits!

Cassandra: Be ready! They have reinforcements!

Blackwall: More coming!

Eventually Saaraths’s collar breaks, and he runs off.

Iron Bull: Damn! Looks like he's off the leash!

Dorian: It seems the saarebas is no longer following orders!

Vivienne: Their pet mage has gone mad!

Viddasala: Saarebas! Meravas! Meravas!

The PC makes their way forward.

Viddasala: You will not leave here, Inquisitor! Antaam, ebrashok adim!

They fight across another bridge, and end up in a room with multiple eluvians.

Cassandra: One of the mirrors must lead out of here!

Iron Bull: One of the damned mirrors has to lead out of here!

Blackwall: One of these blasted mirrors has to lead out of here!

They continue to fight Qunari as they make their way across the area.

Cassandra: We must hurry!

Iron Bull: We gotta move, boss!

Blackwall: We need to keep moving!

Solas: Come on!

Varric: We need to hurry!

Cole: Quick, we're almost there!

They finally find the eluvian that takes them forward.

Romanced companion in party

Cassandra: Finish this, my love!

Iron Bull: All right, kadan! Take him down!

Blackwall: Let's end this, love!

Sera (married): Whatever happens, wifey—I’m wearing your underpants! (Laughs.)

Sera (not married): End them, [Shiny/’Teetness/Tadwinks/Buckles/Honey Tongue/Inky]! (Laughs.)

Dorian: Finish them off, amatus!

No romanced companion in party

Cassandra: Let us finish this!

Iron Bull: All right! Meravas katara!

Blackwall: Time to finish this!

Viddasala: You are dead, Inquisitor! Your soul is dust!

The Viddasala goes through the Eluvian, leaving Saarath to fight the party. He summons demons as the fight drags on, and Saarath begins to get overwhelmed with magic.

Cassandra: We cannot hurt him! Use your mark!

Iron Bull: We can't touch this guy! Use your mark!

Blackwall: Use your mark!

Sera: He's all magicky! Use your hand!

Varric: Nothing's hurting him! Use your mark!

Cole: You can't hurt him, but the Fade can! Use your mark!

Dorian: He's invulnerable! Use your mark!

Vivienne: You must use your mark!

Saareth is defeated, and the PC heads into the eluvian.

Next: The Dread Wolf

[shads-shipposts]

Will add links later, but can find a masterlist on my pinned post <3

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

We all turned to stare at Allan, who leaned on a tree in a deep shadow with his arms crossed near the top of the gully. Had he not spoken, none of us would have noticed him.

What is with my lack of usual situational awareness and coordination? Ain't self inserts supposed to get those stats boosted, not suppressed?

Allan raised his hands with a shrug. "I mean, don't stop on my account. Want to see where this goes."

"Er, how long you been there, boss?" Neil asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Long enough to listen in on your chit chat, startin' around the time Tom pointed out Shadow there should've stayed away." He glanced at the boulder. "Though I am curious how the hell that happened."

"I slipped and fell, and may or may not have smacked my head into it," I replied.

For a moment, genuine surprise crossed Allan's face. His eyes shifted between us and the boulder multiple times before he shook his head in disbelief. "Your head did that?" he exclaimed, pointing at the boulder.

"Aye."

His brow furrowed. "Tom, did you check 'er for a concussion?" he demanded.

Is that genuine concern for my wellbeing, or are you just worried about losing your meal-ticket?

It's Allan Thompson, what do you think?

"Tried, boss!" Tom protested. "She wouldn't let me."

"You don't feel funny, kid?" Allan asked, carefully sliding down the bank to join us. "At all? No blurry vision or headaches?"

"No?" I shrugged. "You don't take fall damage in dreams anyway."

He glanced between me and the rock. "Uh huh. Ya know kid, I'm starting to believe your nonsense."

"Thank you?"

Allan grunted in response, then walked over and crouched in front of me about two feet away. Holding a finger up, he moved it back and forth. "Follow it."

"Would a 'please' kill ya?" I muttered, but tracked his finger without moving my head.

Back and forth.

Side to side.

Up and down.

Around in a circle.

Away from me.

Closer to me.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer...

I halfheartedly snapped my teeth at it, expecting him to move.

He didn't.

I stared at the finger halfway between my teeth, a bit perplexed, before looking up at him.

Allan held my gaze, glancing from his finger to me. His brows raised questioningly. "Well? Now what, kid?"

I started to quote Plankton's "I don't know, I didn't think I'd get this far", but the moment my tongue accidentally brushed his finger I spat it out.

"Bleh! You taste like gun oil and sweaty saddle leather."

"You know what that tastes like?" Allan asked, wiping his hand on his jeans. "What the hell, kid?"

"You taste like it smells."

"You know what sweaty leather smells like?"

"I was on my school equestrian team for four years in South Carolina. I rode in hundred degree heat during summer camp." I rolled my eyes. "Yes I know what it smells like."

"As for gun oil?"

I gave him a mildly exasperated look. "My parents are both from ye yonder backwoods of Eastern Kentucky. I got rednecks on both sides of my family. My dad was also prior military with a strong stance on the Second Amendment. So, yes, I know what gun oil smells like."

"Al, make sure she doesn't have a concussion!" Tom interrupted.

"What do you think I'm doin'?" Allan asked, shooting the man an annoyed look.

"How does this help?"

"I can hear if she's slurrin' 'er words."

"Oh." Tom hesitated. "Is she?"

Allan shook his head. "She's coherent, if not a little chaotic." He looked back at me. "Where are you?"

I frowned. "Marlinspike?"

"How'd you get 'ere?"

"Sat through a car ride that was more painful than the aftermath of my wisdom teeth removal thanks to that self-important fuckwit whose window I just broke."

"He's a very powerful man, kid," Allan reminded me. "Most men would be beside themselves if they were the target of his anger."

"Big whoop," I retorted, drawing a circle in the air with my finger. "First off, I ain't a man. Second, he's annoyin' and thinks the sun comes up just to 'ear 'im crow. I can forgive and tolerate a lot of shitty behavior, or even crimes, but bein' an arrogant prick is goin' too far."

Allan looked somewhat amused. "You'll excuse crimes but not being annoyin'?"

"If it's of the arrogance variety, aye. Can't stand people who think they're hot shit, but are lukewarm at best."

Neil snorted with laughter. "Got one hell of a mouth on ya."

"No kiddin'," Tom remarked.

"Certainly have a rather... odd set of morals," Allan commented. "Crimes get a pass, but annoyance is condemned to hell and back?"

"Surely you of all people ain't about to lecture me on morality," I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

Allan nodded thoughtfully, before his hand shot towards my ear. I blocked it quickly, giving him a "wtf" look.

A sly grin appeared. "Just checkin' your reflexes and coordination."

I narrowed my eyes and slowly reached forward, palm down, before flipping it around and striking the underside of his hat brim. I caught it quickly, not moving my eyes from his as I shoved it to his chest.

"That help?"

He took it from me and settled it back on his head. "Very much so."

Leaves and sticks crunching under boots caught our attention, and we looked up near the top of the gulley to see Hobbs appear over the ridge.

"There you assholes are!" he panted. "Didn't you 'ear me yellin' for you?"

"Heard ya," Neil laughed. "Didn't respond."

"Fuck off, Neil." Hobbs slid down to join us. His eyes then went to the large boulder, where they immediately flew wide. "The hell happened!?" he exclaimed, gesturing at the rock.

"Shortie hit her head."

Hobbs looked between me and the rock multiple times, jaw dropped and eyes terrified. "And she came out on top?" he squeaked.

"It's a dream man. Physical damage is turned off! But mental is still available if that tickles your fancy."

"Speakin' of... dreams. Keep sayin' that," Tom said. "What'd'ya mean?"

"I mean what I said. I'm dreamin'."

"Why'd'ya think that?"

Alright, subconscious. Enough.

I laughed nervously, wagging my finger at Tom. "You're startin' to freak me out, man."

"You're freaked out?" Neil exclaimed. "How do you think we feel?"

"You're figments of my imagination. Don't really think there's anything under..." I gestured up and down at him. "That."

"Ouch."

I raised my hands. "I'm just bein' honest! I'm not possessed, so there ain't multiple entities in my head. Unless you count my characters."

"Did you by chance hit your head when you fell outta bed this mornin'?" Hobbs asked.

"I mean, maybe. Trevor did startle me and I flew backward off the bed." I shook my head. "But that wouldn't matter, that happened in the dream!"

"How about," Allan began, voice authoritarian before Hobbs could offer a rebuttal. "We tackle this later? Boss is goin' to come out 'ere himself if we stall much longer." He turned to me. "Let's go, kid."

I groaned loudly. "Do we have to go back to that knockoff Rasputin?" I whined. "I've had less creepy encounters with seaweed caressing my leg in the ocean."

"What did you call 'im?" Neil asked.

"Knockoff Rasputin."

Neil snorted with laughter. "Bloody hell, that's the perfect insult."

"Why thank you."

"Enough, the pair of you," Allan said, climbing back up the steep slope. "We need to get her back to the boss, he's livid. You two can bond more over your hatred on the way back to the ship."

"Hold your horses, Allan," I protested, scrambling to catch up. Easily making the climb in two leaps, dirt catching beneath my nails as I dug them into the bank for traction, I followed close behind him. "I said nothin' about joinin'."

He didn't stop, but did glance down at me with a faint smirk. "And yet here you are, comin' along without even bein' dragged. And besides, you told the others you were stickin' around."

I opened my mouth to argue, only to close it without a sound as I didn't really have a solid counterpoint.

Well you got me there.

"Be that as it may," I said, speaking fast enough the words almost ran together. "Your assumptions ain't welcome."

He laughed, reminding me very much of the 90's cartoon. "Assumptions? It's fact, kid. Why, you brought yourself to this place just to meet little ol' us again."

"It's folly to assume anythin' about me. I'll do a 180 on your ass just to mess with your attempts to get a handle on me."

"Sounds like a challenge." He shrugged. "Been a while since someone gave me a good one of those."

I side-eyed him. "You're a weird man."

"Says the one who's played chase with us not once, but twice."

"And yet you haven't lectured me once on all that. No threats of how I better not do it again or shit. Ain't that your job as the gruff First Mate?"

"I'm more forgivin' than the man whose window you just broke. And I know better than to alienate someone who may prove useful later." He stepped in front of me, forcing me to stop. "But if you want to do things the difficult way for some asinine reason, I'd be happy to accommodate that. Unless of course you'd rather speed this up so you get more information for this ship of yours. The... Caroline?"

Damn, did this man know how to get under someone's skin and strike right at the heart of what they wanted.

Then again, I pretty much admitted to that earlier this morning.

"While causin' petty problems on purpose is a favorite past time of mine in low stakes situations," I began. "I am admittedly kinda eager to get on that ship. That is the only reason I ain't boltin' right now."

"Uh huh." Allan crossed his arms. "And Scarlett's got nothin' to do with it."

Well golly gee, thanks for the blindside.

I grimaced. "Ah, still on that then, are we?"

Allan tapped his foot. "Well?"

I shook my head, raising my hands. "Look, whatever connection you think I have with her, it's... not that."

"But you do have a connection."

"I mean. Yeah." Can't very well lie about that. "But it ain't a believable one."

"But this is a dream, is it not?" Allan asked innocently, resuming his walk to Marlinspike Hall. He turned and faced me, waking backward now. "What's the harm in tellin' someone who's just a figment of your subconscious?"

I scoffed. "Who are you, Freud? If so, put your paws up because I got words for you!"

"How do you know about Freud?" Allan asked.

"I took some psychology classes for my core college credits. Also, tree behind you."

Allan swerved around it, dropping back to walk alongside me. "You're in college?"

I sighed in annoyance. "How old d'ya think I am?"

"Twelve."

I stopped and slowly turned to glare at a smug Hobbs as the man stood to my right. Eyes narrowed, I stayed glaring at him for many moments before finally knocking his hat off with one fluid motion.

Hobbs twisted and caught it before heading for me again. "You little-"

Neil caught him around the middle, dirt coating his forearms from where he climbed up the bank. "You started it, mate," he chuckled, hauling him off his feet and dropping him on the other side

"How would we know?" Tom asked. "If this really was a dream? Could we all be dreamin'?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Wouldn't be the first time I dreamed of findin' Scarlett again, or even just a lead."

"Can we not talk about it?" I asked. "The dream thing. Because I have this thing where I can jolt myself awake when I realize I'm dreamin'."

"And you haven't tried that?" Allan asked, leading us back towards the motorpool.

"No."

"Then you do want to be here. You do want to get tangled up in this mess."

"I ain't ran screamin' yet, have I?"

"Did this mornin'."

"In my defense, both times were due to Trevor. And hey! I wasn't screamin'!"

"What about a few minutes ago?"

"Purely to piss off Sakharine, admittedly. I wasn't screamin' then either."

"While I can get behind that," Allan said, stopping just outside the bushes in view of the manor. "It's highly dangerous. What if we were the sort of men with no boundaries?"

"Soon as you mentioned Scarlett at the docks, I knew you weren't."

Now why'd you have to go and bring that infectious, rotting carcass of a topic up again?

"And how's that?"

"How about we get through with Sakharine first and get to a place where you can sit down? The reality of how I know of Scarlett is... not somethin' easy to stomach. Because if... this ain't a dream..." I paused, a deep frown digging into the corners of my mouth as I stared at the ground and shook my head slowly. "Everyone here is gonna be dealin' with a major existential crisis."

"But you will tell us?" Tom asked, hope spreading across his face. "You'll tell us what you know about Scarlett?"

I do want to stay in this dream, but hopefully I'm booted out before I have to open that can'o'worms.

"Hold on a minute 'ere," Hobbs said.

Allan looked over at him. "What, Harry?" he grumbled.

Wait, Harry Hobbs? That's his name? What a nerd.

"All that run around, both this mornin' and just now, and she was just goin' to join us the whole time? What was the whole point of all that fightin'?"

"Mutual asskickin' is how she shows affection."

I glanced at Allan, not exactly surprised he knew that particular wording. "Now where'd you hear that?"

Allan shrugged, though he looked to be fighting down a smug smile. "I have my ways."

"Cops on your payroll, huh?" I asked, although it was really more of a statement. "There to sweep anything unflatterin' under the rug?"

"I'm not the one who tried to 'sweep this under the rug' first," he shot back, using air quotes.

I tried to find a rebuttal, but couldn't. Instead I just crossed my arms slowly and looked him up and down. "Touché."

Seemingly pleased at winning the argument, if it could even be called that, Allan turned to Tom. "Shelve Scarlett for now, Tom. We need to get this talk with the boss over and done with so we can get back to the ship."

That kicked puppy look returned to Tom's face. "But Al..."

My heart twisted. Dream!Tom or not, Figment-of-My-Imagination!Tom or not... I couldn't bear to see him so sad.

"Tom, hey," I said softly, nudging his arm.

He looked down at me.

"I'll... fill ya in back on the ship, ok?" I offered. "It's... it's the least I can do."

"What'd'ya mean by that?"

"You'll... understand when I tell ya."

"Promise you'll tell me?"

I smiled softly, holding up a pinkie. "Pinkie promise."

His eyes lit up and he hooked his pinkie around mine. "Deal!"

"I told you lot she's soft on 'im!" Hobbs, or Harry, exclaimed.

"Way I see it," Neil snickered. "She's soft on 'im 'cause he's soft on 'er."

"Allan!"

We all turned at the furious screech to see Sakharine on the steps of Marlinspike.

"Get that bitch in here, now!"

He disappeared back inside.

"Really?" I muttered. "Bitch is the best he's got? At least be creative."

Tom rested a hand on my shoulder. "Don't let 'im get ya down," he urged. "You're not a bitch."

"Thanks, Tom. But I'm not offended. Just disappointed, bitch is such a basic insult. I've had worse from better."

Allan didn't find it amusing in the slightest, however, gaze hard as his eyes narrowed in silent anger. "Harry, Neil," he said, voice deadly calm as he kept his gaze on the manor. "Wait at the car. We'll go deal with the boss."

Yikes, Quiet!Angry Allan is far scarier than Explosive!Angry Allan.

Good thing this was a dream, otherwise I would have to hide behind Tom because I'd be terrified of that side of Allan. If this was real, I wouldn't be dealing with simple figments of my imagination that posed no threat.

I'd be dealing with an actual hardened criminal who had committed crimes so atrocious I'd have nightmares if I knew them all.

Because despite my love of the character, Allan Thompson from the comics and cartoon was a bad, bad man.

A punch in the jaw from mouthing off would be the least of my worries.

Allan caught me staring, and some of my misgivings must have shown on my face for his own face softened and he playfully ruffled my hair.

I hissed in exasperation, batting his hands away before I tried to smooth my hair back into place.

At least this Allan is more content to be a general menace than an asshole.

Hobbs, or Harry, nodded after a snort at my misery and headed for the vehicle, but Neil hung back.

"Not gonna let 'im do anythin' to 'er, right, boss?" he asked, glancing back at the old manor as it loomed above us in the dying light of the sunset as the clouds above were lit up gold and purple.

"Think the kid 'ere can handle 'erself," Allan remarked. He turned to me, giving me a scheming smile. "Won't you?"

I nodded, chest out and chin high. "If he lays a hand on me, I'll just handle it like a feral cat."

"You'll bite 'im?" Neil asked with a laugh.

I nodded affirmatively, baring my teeth. "I'll bite 'im."

"Good on ya, mate," Neil chuckled, punching my arm before he turned to head for the back of the manor.

As he left, I faced Allan. "Alrighty, boss man." I bowed playfully, sweeping my arm to indicate the manor. "Lead the way."

"Right this way," Allan said, draping an arm over my shoulders and steering me towards the front.

I wasn't thrilled with the contact, but I let it slide. In the comics at least, Allan was a touchy bastard with friend and foe alike.

I still wished he'd stop getting in my personal space constantly.

"Oh, and kid."

I looked up as his voice lowered.

"You have my full permission to bite that snobby prick as hard as you want."

I matched his dark grin, though mine had more ferality to it as I bared my teeth. "Allan Thompson, you got yourself a deal." 

[clairehadenough]

Remember when she said this?

How Gully actually acted and what he said:

“Step to the side if you don’t mind? Thank you, thank you very much, appreciate it.”

Goodness gracious what a fucking lmob boss”😱

[cyncerity]

sorry that all of my posts lately have been about literally nothing but i am seething with rage rn so i’m posting

i’m assuming all of us in the g/t circle know about Fern Gully. It’s one of, if not in my personal opinion, the greatest g/t movies ever made. My sister and i used to watch it every time we drove somewhere on these cheap little screens you could attach to the back of a car seat so you could watch movies. We watched it on a weekly basis. It is one of my favorite movies of all time and it’s not just the rose tinted glasses: i can absolutely understand that some of my favorite movies absolutely suck while actively enjoying it (looking at you Strange Magic), but Fern Gully is genuinely such a good movie. the voice acting (mostly thanks to Robin Williams and Tim Curry), worldbuilding, characters, pacing, the soundtrack and animation especially, it’s all incredible. it holds a special place in my heart.

that being said i just learned that there’s a Fern Gully 2 and it absolutely sucks balls.

rant under cut

really i’ve never had a harder time sitting through a movie, and that’s saying a lot since i just mentioned how much i actually enjoy Strange Magic, which is a notoriously hard to watch movie.

In Fern Gully 2 the pacing sucks, every character is butchered, Batty is kinda like how he was in the first movie, but without Robin William’s delivery he feels like an entirely different character, every bit of world building is chucked out the window, i’ve never seen a more nonsensical plot in my life, there’s these 3 baby animals and the movie can’t decide if it wants them to be able to talk or not, and the budget drop is so obvious it’s painful. the only even mildly enjoyable part of this movie is a short lived gospel number Batty sings for no goddamn reason, but i can’t get mad at it for being totally out of place cause it was the only bit that made me smile even a little.

also it’s in Australia?? I get that the first movie had a kangaroo and like 3 shots of a platypus, but other than that it was kinda just an ambiguous rainforest. No one in the first movie sounded Australian. Even if it was in Australia, I guess you could reason that the fairies didn’t have to have the same accents as the humans, right? Maybe Zak (the human guy that gets shrunk: remember him for later in this rant) was from America but was working in Australia? The two guys who sit in the machine throughout the movie are certainly the peak of American stereotypes. But when the first human and villain (he’s a poacher so basically the villain from Tarzan if he was written worse) of Fern Gully 2 is introduced, he is so violently stereotypically Australian that it’s genuinely jarring when he says his first line.

then we meet his boss who…isn’t Australian. Actually, he kinda looks like a short and fat Hitler.

But whatever, maybe the boss is from out of town, too, like Zak. but NO. we then proceed to meet two more humans who are confirmed to live in Australia with American Accents. PICK A LANE MOVIE. Either set the movie in Australia but give no one accents, or give everyone an accent, you can’t just ONLY GIVE ONE GUY AN ACCENT. HOW THE HELL CAN HE DEVELOP A REGIONAL ACCENT IF NO ONE ELSE IN HIS REGION SOUNDS LIKE THAT??

They’re also both such a massive step down from Hexus. Hexus, aka Tim Curry goo, is one of my favorite villains of all time (Toxic Love is a hard song and scene in general to beat), but he had a purpose. He was representing the dangers and evils of human greed and power. He was a very literal force of chaos and destruction. The entire reason he had power to destroy the forest was because of humans, and that’s a massive part of the movie’s theme and moral.

In Fern Gully 2, these two jackasses want money for selling baby animals. That’s it. And it’s not even really the fairies who stop them: it’s a human girl and her Grandpa who Pips met. The entire symbolic thing from the first movie of Zak having to learn from his mistakes and turn on a goal he once had worked towards is gone. In the first movie, it was equally Zak, Crysta, and the rest of the fairies who trapped Hexus again. In this movie, the fairies are powerless (which they say like 100 times), the humans are doing their best but it’s not doing much, and the only reason the movie turns out ok is cause Crysta shows up for a literal Deus Ex Machina at the very end. It’s so fucking infuriating.

Also, back to Zak: he’s not in this. Like, not even mentioned. There’s one instance of “humans dont know the harm they do to the forest” “well remember some humans do” but that was just foreshadowing the human we meet in this movie who sucks. How can these fairies, who in the first movie believed that humans were fucking extinct, completely forget about the only human they have ever met? Crysta, who by the way isn’t even the main character anymore, never brings him up. Pips (the jerky red haired fairy with the beetle posse), who spends most of the movie around another human and who is the new main character (and maybe the only returning voice actor from the first one), never mentions him. Also, there’s just a FUCKING TOWN NEAR THE FOREST. A TOWN.

remember this shot from the first movie?

yeah apparently it missed AN ENTIRE DAMN CARNIVAL??

Pips, Batty, and the beetle boys take LESS THAN A DAY TO FLY THERE. FUCK THIS MOVIE. SERIOUSLY FUCK THIS MOVIE.

i could go off on more about how the human in this movie (Budgie, which is a stupid ass name) sucks, and now Pips just strolls up to her like “hey” and she’s like “woah a fairy, i’m so shocked you’re real…and now i’m over it, let’s go hang out.” I could also go off about how in the first movie, the entire reason Zak gets shrunk is because Crysta tried to use a spell to make him see her, but accidentally said “size” instead of “sight,” meaning that canonically in this universe, humans can’t see fairies without that spell. So when Pips just waltzes up to the first human he sees, she shouldn’t be able to see him, but whatever. I could also rant about how they made Crysta so disinteresting that she’s probably in less than a third of the film. I could also rant on the three main baby animals who i hate with a burning passion and i was rooting for at least one of them to die throughout the whole movie, but I have homework i need to be doing and grades that are due this friday, i just decided to rant instead of doing stuff lol

[understandableparadox]

Curse of strahd dm grindset routine

i wake up after sleeping 8 hours upside down, need to know how it feels for the flying mammellian homies

first things first, my phone plays the extended batty rap from fern gully then Toxic love from the same movie, alternating so i can get the twin extremes, the music exhilarates me.

I have the gym and hit fifty BLEH BLEH BLEH!'s in a row, fifty standing coffin rises, fifty hiding my face from the sun with my clock, the blood is pumping, hit me up BS'ers... (blood suckers)

after my work out, i hit the showers and sit curled up, attempting to fathom living hundreds of years with my mistakes, letting the water be cold as ice so i know how the homies feel.

time to put in the work, i study the dragnacarter curse of strahd reloaded, interactive tome of strahd, van richtens guide to ravenloft and the original curse of strahd at the same time while, i have forced myself to sprout an additional four eyes to keep up.

Follow absoloutly none of it and write whatever the fuck i wanted to do anyways while sneakily stealing the cool shit from whatever book im reading through. the mind is Sharp.

Blair 80s music as i go through it all and make it properly 80s themed, i dont wear my thick legging because i live in texas and that may kill me.

spend 10 hours figureing out how i can psychologically fuck with my players while stareing at a david bowie poster i drew lil fangs on, gygax may have hated women but he was right about one thing... its us vs them. and im here to Lose baby, im training to lose so fucking hard.

i end the day practicing my shocked face when the players use the overpowered item i gave them to defeat my boss encounter i worked way to hard on, fifty reps of course, cant let the body think that just because the suns down its time to power down.

[ckret2]

assignment understood let me dial it back and try again. once upon a time there was a magic jungle full of pink sparkly rainbow versions of your classic zoo animals, lions tigers zebras giraffes etc. theres a clan of evil gray apes who want to rule the jungle but they are fought off with the power of friendship. also one of the youngest members of the apes clan joined the side of good and the magic of friendship turned them colorful so they'd match the rest of the good guy cast. also to keep the unicorns theres sky islands where they live and theyre kind of treated like the gods/angels of this world think skywishes the pegasus from g3 mlp

Anon I think you're onto something. Love the Lisa Frank vibes.

I had a thought about a half hour ago like, "What if fairies? What if flowers is the thing of this show? What if like Fern Gully but reimagined with the tone and aesthetic of Care Bears—" and forest fairies with colorful animal pals would work pretty damn well. (If it wasn't fairies it'd have to be Token Human Sidekicks, if you don't have a human cast there's always gotta be a Token Human somewhere in these shows.) Get five fairies, five EXTREMELY lovable animals to be their buddies/teammates, and the Main Character Team Leader's teammate is a unicorn. Or maybe the unicorn is the main character and there are just like two helper fairies running around the animals.

Not sure about gorillas specifically BUT it could be other Spooky Animals—like, make an Evil Spider, Evil Snake, and Evil Bee (some producer somewhere thought this was a Good Message to send children because it teaches kids not to play with venomous animals), but the Evil Bee becomes a good guy because he loves flowers so much (and maybe some environmentalist with a very narrow focus wrote in scolding the production company for vilifying the hardworking bee and they were scared of controversy). The bee has rainbow stripes. There's some kind of "being kind makes you beautiful!" dialogue that nobody questioned at the time but in retrospect sends a pretty messed up message.

The boss of the spider and snake is literally just Hexxus with the serial numbers filed off and made 80% less threatening. It's just, an evil purple cloud that hates friendship, flowers, and colors.

There might be one middle-aged balding guy who gets roped into the villains' schemes because he's too dumb to realize they're evil.

It's called something like "Flower Painters" (we'll workshop that) and their stated mission is, specifically, bringing colors to plants, which by extension gives color to the rest of the world, and somehow this causes love and friendship maybe? Or maybe NOT being friendly drains the colors from flowers? Something about colors is going on here. The colors are mandatory. There's some sort of goofy abstract morals. Also don't litter.

If this show actually existed in real life and I was an 8-year-old girl, the evil snake would be my favorite character. Not because the snake is more interesting than the hero animals, I'm just very bad at being representative of my target audience demographic.

[therealjoebro64]

would sonic xtreme have been good?

It's impossible to say, but personally speaking, no. The way it was shaping up, I don't think it would have.

A scenario in which Sonic X-treme is even released relies on a ton of "what if"s. What if STI had more time? What if they knew how the Saturn actually worked? What if corporate politics weren't screwing the project over at every stage? What if Sonic Team / SoJ had assisted in its development? Any one of those would dramatically alter how X-treme would've ended up.

Based on the materials we've gotten over the years, I think X-treme would've been a jumbled, confusing mess of a game if it came out in the direction it was headed. I booted up the Jade Gully map in SRB2 fairly recently and didn't think it was very fun. It didn't feel like a Sonic level at all, aside from the aesthetics. It was blocky, haphazard, and small, and there was absolutely no sense of speed or flow.

In a scenario where X-treme comes out, I think at best it would have been ok by early 3D platformer standards. But even then, I have a hard time thinking it would've been remotely competitive with the likes of Tomb Raider, Crash Bandicoot, and especially Super Mario 64. Like, just look for yourself; it's a classic "flirting vs. harassment" meme:

Ultimately, I think canceling it was for the best, sad as it is. Based on how development was going (according to the producer, Mike Wallis, it had precisely one level and two bosses done at the time of its cancellation), it would've been a major black eye for Sonic and Sega as a whole had it been released as intended during Christmas 1996.

[clit-eastwood-spicy]

3, 4, 7, 10, 34, 55, 62, 85, and 94 (or whichever you feel like doing lol)

AAAA YIS, MORE QUESTIONS - THANK YOU <3 ^^

3. I feel like roughly 95% of my writing is romance based to some extent or another... so like just about all sdkjff (9/10 scale)

4. So I had to look the term up, but if I'm understanding the definition correctly it would be for a Pokemon Legends: Arceus fic I started awhile back and never finished. I had roughly like... 5 optional endings offhand and I wasn't sure which one I planned on using officially and had been tempted to make multi-endings just for the same of letting the readers pick their own idea of a proper ending.

7. Ohhhh boy, this one is gonna be interesting. So like my first fanfic was actually about Batty from Fern Gully. It was about how he escaped from the testing facility and ended up in the rainforest. I don't remember too much of it since I was like 7? But like I remember I liked how it turned out at the time nad was super proud of it. ^^

10. Honestly I usually slap a half assed temp-title to help me remember the idea I had but sometimes I'll get an idea for the title mid-writing or with a phrase said by a character and I'm like "oooo thats gold, gotta make that the title". On rare occasions it comes to me the moment I start lol.

34. I usually look up names relative to the region I'm writing about and go from there. Sometimes I wing it like a boss though. Main character / oc names are usually thought about for awhile lol.

55. My google docs are a hellscape of half finished / abandoned fics. I'm really bad with starting and never finishing ideas unfortunately oof. I think in the past few years I've only finished one fic, but it was hella short to begin with.

62. My reasons are usually because brainworms go nuts over random thing and I have to do the thing otherwise I have a mini breakdown or forget the idea and get mad jyhewgfwgf.

85. I've actually never done a moodboard before admittedly, but for the current ones I've got cooking I'd say lavender themes with hints of gravestones / death indicators for one of them. The other would be red and wood themes with some bondage vibes and a few images of cameras (spicy fic dsfhgsdf)

94. I vary on that front - I do tend to over-describe a lot but I think it tends to work out a lot in my writing.

[pluto-murphy-writes]

bonus points if you can guess the theme

@jacksandlopes @rexisan @woman-becomer @tofubitchel @hjartasalt @i-am-moss-the-boss @kedreeva @l3irdl3rain @omagpies @pangur-and-grim @teaboot and anyone else who wants to join

Not me having some kinda type... Who shall I tag? I think I wanna tagggggg... @mybugsmybugsmybugs @mexicangela @lunar-years @biscuitboxpink but no pressure!! I just thought it would be fun!

[capoteera]

Her boss owns the bar and Dennis owns the club/

I thought all the pictures of them promoting his place was a bar not a club.

From the night before the wedding? That was a promotion party for gully’s tequila not Dennis’s club I think that was just a local bar that held the party

[surprisinglyfriendlybirds]

aight i'll bite!

S: setting sail, coming home by darren korb (bastion)

U: ungowami by sha sha, soa matrix

R: radio by sylvan esso

P: party poison by mcr

R: rosalie (español) by lewis del mar

I: it's getting boring by the sea by blood red shoes

S: sound of the underground by girls aloud

I: i, carrion (icarian) by hozier

N: neopet graveyard by gully boys

G: god? by alec holowka (nitw)

L: laura by scissor sisters

Y: you know what they do to guys like us in prison by mcr

F: fishies by the cat empire

R: rex - brutus ii by the buttress

I: i'm going to break something by alec holowka (nitw)

E: eat me by demi lovato, royal and the serpent

N: next year by two door cinema club

D: de selby (part 2) by hozier

L: life after salem by lil nas x

Y: you wish by flyana boss

B: boy division by mcr

I: i'd rather be me by barrett wilbert weed (mean girls)

R: rattlesnake by st vincent

D: durkillesburg by alec holowka (nitw)

S: stim sludge by sugs

there we go. all 25 letters. jesus christ. lil bit sad i couldn't think of any megan thee stallion songs to fit any letters because i've had her on loop these past few days.

idk anyone else who might wanna have at it, so consider this an open ended tag to anyone who wants to participate!

URL Song Game- ty @theresthesnitch

Ok. Let's do this. And try not to do all Taylor Swift which was ... A large part of my listening last year (I'm guessing I'm supposed to try to think of songs without looking them up? But some artists I couldn't remember so I did after)

B- barely breathing (ashes to new)

R- ready for it but Taylor

A- after life by citizen soldier

N- never ending nightmare by citizen soldier

D- daylight by Taylor

I-- I can't breathe by dead by april

L- let down Palisades

E- every time you leave by I prevail

I-- if I surrender by citizen soldier

G- get you the moon by kina

H- hero by reddy redd

(I don't know many songs with numbers so I'm cheating and not doing those lol. Bonus points to you if you know 2003 🤣)

No pressure tag: @heartofspells @ginger-snapp @lavenderhaze @insidious-apple @shamelesswolfstarshipper

And anyone else who wants to play tag me

[schrodingersvibecheck]

can’t stop thinkin about her

[brasideios]

My boy Charlie

So, tentatively, I really want to start posting more about my original writing, since that's what I do full time; what I'm working on, the things I'm writing about, and just generally more writerly stuff, including talking about my OCs.

I feel rather shy about it, but I'm doing it anyway. If y'all hate it, I'm sorry in advance.

I've started with an OC because of a conversation I had in passing with @ainulindaelynn last week. As I said there, a lot of my OCs are based on kind of 'archetypes' I've developed (if that's not too grand a name for it) who I write and rewrite in various guises. I usually call them after the name I gave them the first time I really dug into their character.

Which brings me to my boy Charlie.

He's been my muse for a really long time - and I had this weird experience where I found a picture of him the other day so you can even see him without my having to attempt to draw his ass:

[This image is from a fashion catalogue; the absurdly expensive brand is Connolly.]

Something about the unsmiling face, the way he's looking away into the distance - just the whole vibe. The model from other angles doesn’t look like him, just this image... and the vibes.  

Original Charlie

The first time I wrote Charlie was in 2004 in a short story called The Pioneer; that short story was re-written heavily in 2014 and was eventually polished up and included in my published (2018) book Stories from Wiacubbin.

It was called - can you guess? - Charlie 😆 I've never enjoyed coming up with titles!

The whole book was written as an extension of that short, to expand on the characters in it so - what a journey this guy has taken me on.

Anyway. This is (the polished version of) how he's first introduced:

~~~

The sky was the barely blue of a long dry summer, even though it was only early December. Sun-bleached wheat fields lay across the flats, blonde on red clay.

Charlie was surrounded by familiar sounds: the shush of the breeze in the wheat; the snort of the horse’s breath and the muffled thump of its hooves on compacted dirt; the clink of the harness. He was a man used to being in the saddle - his mother had liked to say he was born into it. 

He squinted out from beneath his hat, pulled low over blue eyes, at the crop as he passed. It was an assessing glance which told him harvest wasn’t far off.

The Young’s homestead lay ahead. Granite dry walls, sun-baked mud brick, corrugated iron; the outbuildings of canvas, tree trunks, stone; and beyond, the granite outcrop, Wiacubbin Hill - a dark looming mass in the bright day.

The cattle dogs heard the horse and rider approaching and began to bark. Two men walked out from the stables curiously, shielding their eyes from the sun. 

As Charlie dismounted, the elder of the two asked, ‘You the new man?’

Charlie nodded curtly, and introduced himself.

‘I’m Ed, this is John.’ John nodded in greeting.

‘The boss about?’ Charlie asked after shaking hands with them both.

‘Down the south paddock. He’ll be back shortly. Head into the house and the girl’ll get you a drink while you wait.’

The house faced the outcrop. There was a dry gully which ran from the dam in the orchard at the south end of the house, along the front of the veranda and into oblivion, thus dividing the house from the driveway. Two rough-hewn tree trunks had been placed across the gully, and Charlie walked over these and then up the couple of steps to the veranda and the front door.

The door stood open. He knocked politely against the door frame before stepping across the threshold. 

The dining room was unexpectedly cool. With whitewashed walls, it was dominated by a large, scrubbed table; its only nod to decoration was a sideboard on which several old-fashioned photographs stood. He was looking at these when a girl in her late teens came into the room.

‘My father’s out. He’ll be back soon.’ Her voice was very soft. For a moment, their eyes met. She looked away. ‘Please sit. I’ll bring tea.’

He watched her go, then did as she’d instructed. He took a seat which gave him a clear view of the outcrop and the dam humped beneath it. The landscape was blurred and moving in the heat haze, a wash of gold, ochre and brown. 

His eyes wandered back to the photographs on the sideboard. The family ancestors, he assumed. None of the girl, he noted; only matriarchal women in tight-laced dresses and huge hats, and men in dark suits and full moustaches, all of them looking very serious.

He heard the clink of the teapot lid and teaspoons against the china as the girl came back. She set the tray down on the table, then handed him a cup and saucer, and set another at the head of the table.

She turned to leave, but stopped when he said, ‘I’m Charlie, by the way.’

She looked at him from under her brows, as if she couldn’t bring herself to look at him directly. Her face was as serious as the ancestors on the sideboard beside her.

‘I’m Rebekah.’ She was gone again before he could say anything further. He poured the tea into his own cup, frowning momentarily.

~~~

New Charlie (Joel).

I've been working on a new story, set nearly ~80 years later, and was digging into a new character via dialogue, Joel. I got a-ways in and was like, oh no. This is Charlie.

So new Charlie has just dropped (or has started to drop, anyway 😆)

(This is a WIP so forgive unpolished bits):

~~~

It was a perfect golden afternoon – the sparkling ocean beneath a high clear sky; a cargo ship even then was slipping towards the hazy horizon.

There was a golden quality to it all that tugged at my heart strings. The strange sense I sometimes have of the perfection of the world – or at the least, of a moment of perfection.

That feeling was powered by intense gratitude. I was still haunted by the person I’d been, and perhaps still partly was. The darkness that’d been in me – but I didn’t want to think about that. There was too much pain in it.

The guy who was sitting with Rowan came over to where I was looking out at the sunset, dragging a chair behind him, clumsy and shy. The sun caught his sandy brown hair, turning it vividly gold. His face was pleasant, wide-browed, but there was something vaguely brooding about him; something stern could be glimpsed lurking beneath the friendly surface. His eyes were very blue.

‘Since your friend and my friend are talking, I thought I’d introduce myself. I’m Joel.’

He offered a hand, and I shook it. His hand was so calloused, I almost recoiled.

‘Arity,’ I said.

‘So, what brings you ladies here this arvo?’

‘It’s my birthday actually.’

‘Let me guess,’ he said, squinting at me. ‘You’re… twenty-five?’

He was right. ‘Good guess.’

He smiled in one corner of his mouth.

I pondered a moment, looking at the pint of beer he’d placed on the table. The drops of condensation on the glass caught the sunlight like jewels.

After a minute, I said, ‘Well, I guess one of us has to do it.’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Do what?’

‘Ask the obligatory, boring question – what do you do for a crust?’

He half-smiled again. ‘I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.’

I laughed, though I wasn’t entirely sure he was joking.

I suggested, ‘So… you’re a secret assassin, here to take out innocent women quietly drinking their cocktails?’

He smiled properly. It transformed his face in an astonishing way, softening the hard lines, crinkling his eyes at the corners charmingly.

‘Not at all,’ he said, though I could see him choosing his words. ‘I’m in public service. What about you?’

‘I work in hotels.’

‘Anywhere good?’ he asked, then clarified, ‘I mean here, in Perth, or somewhere exotic?’

‘Here,’ I said. ‘But I want to go up north eventually, after I finish my degree.’

‘Your degree?’

He’d visibly recoiled a little. I wondered what he was thinking.

‘I’m going to be a writer.’ I said it boldly, as if finishing the degree would automatically eject into the world someone who would write a novel. As if authors were somehow produced via a reliable process. ‘That’s part of why I want to travel. I can’t write about this shithole, can I?’

He half smiled at that; whatever thought the degree had provoked had passed, apparently. Maybe I’d misunderstood his body language.

‘I dunno.’ He looked around us pointedly, eyes sparkling. ‘I’ve been to worse pubs.’

It took me a second, then I caught up. I laughed.

‘You know what I mean!’

He took a drink before he said, ‘I sure do. Perth sucks.’

I agreed with him, but there was something about the way he said it that made me perk up my ears. To me, it sucked, but I meant it in an affectionate way; his dislike was different.

‘You’re not from here originally.’ It wasn’t a question.

He shook his head. ‘Brisbane.’

‘Been here long?’

‘Seven months. Another five to go.’

‘Then what?’

He shrugged, looking out at the ocean. ‘Not sure yet.’

Something clicked then. I’d grown up in Langarrin with new Navy kids always turning up for classes, then leaving again a year later. One of my high school friends had joined up when he was old enough, and he’d seemed to move at least every year, sometimes more, until we eventually lost touch.

And, of course, there’d been my Dad.

‘Are you in Defence?’ I asked, unintentionally pitching my voice low, as if I was asking him to disclose a state secret. Maybe it was his earlier evasiveness which made me vaguely nervous about asking.

The swiftest flicker of surprise crossed his face, as though I’d caught him out; but it was gone as he tilted his head and asked very coolly, ‘What makes you ask that?’

I sat back. I knew I was right. I wondered why he hadn’t just told me outright – I’d never met a sailor who’d been that evasive.

I shrugged. ‘I’ve known sailors all my life.’

He scoffed. ‘Navy.’ He shifted then, sitting up straighter. He met my eye with an almost defiant expression. ‘I’m Army.’

I wasn’t sure what he expected me to say about that. I said, ‘Fair enough,’ but I felt compelled to add, ‘I don’t judge.’

He visibly relaxed. I didn’t understand his reactions at all.

‘Do you want another drink?’ he asked. Why did I feel like I’d passed a test?

‘Yes, please,’ I said, waving my now-empty glass at him. ‘Tom Collins.’

He asked Rowan if he wanted another, and Suzie took the moment to glance over at me then.

She tilted her head, as if to ask if everything was good. I smiled back, reassuringly. I wasn’t sure if I liked Joel, but I’d definitely been around worse people.

I returned the favour, and she smiled in this way she had that said she liked him. I smiled back.

~~~

So that's Charlie. He's one of the easiest to pin down.

Where I can identify the source of his character, he's based very loosely on a close friend I had at one time, mixed with a collection of ideas gleaned from the books of Cormac McCarthy, all things Western, and a brief spell of being really into mid-century history.

If anyone cares to ask anything about him or OCs in general, or anything about writing, I'm open to talk about anything pretty much. AND I would love to see/hear about everyone else's OCs. It's so interesting to see what other people people are making 😆

If you read this far, thank you 🤍

[deejaybearclaw]

Ursine Waves Episode 019: Belated Juneteenth

Listen on Mixcloud

A belated celebration of Juneteenth and Black Lives Matter with exciting sounds from contemporary independent Black/multiracial/intersectional artists from coast to coast and abroad.

Originally broadcast 6/24/20 on Hollow Earth Radio, KHUH-LP Seattle, 104.9 FM & hollowearthradio.org. Playlist with links:

- air break - Dua Saleh - umbrellar (radio edit) - ROSETTA Red Sea Sharks - Lord Grinham - Squalor NNAMDÏ - Flowers to My Demons - BRAT Tidiane Thiam - Dannibe - Siftorde L'Rain - Bat - L'Rain - air break - Vagabon - Every Woman - Vagabon teamonade - goin thru it SPECSWIZARD - the PRESIDENT (part two) (radio edit) Sammus - Childhood (radio edit) - Pieces in Space Big Joanie - Tell a Lie - Sistahs Melissa Laveaux - Nan Pwen Lavi Ankò - air break - Shabazz Palaces & Stas Thee Boss - Mega Church (radio edit) Aye Nako - Particle Mace - Silver Haze Gully Boys - You Should Sleep Alone - Phony JOYEATER - BLED SO DRY - NAYSAYER The Muslims - Call the Cops - Gentrified Chicken - air break - Shamir - On My Own (radio edit)

[the-antiapocalyptic-man]

Britain’s Finest at their Worst, Part One: Stormcloud, Dr. Salt, Godiva, and The Knight

Popularly known in his heyday as “Cap’n Blighty” Gulliver “Gully” Troy had been a war hero turned thief until the machinations of one Dr. John Salt transformed him into one of Britain’s most powerful (government-controlled) metahumans. His wife, Melanie, left him after years of abuse and moved to America. Gully and Melanie’s granddaughter would go on to become the Gotham Rogue Breathplay.

Dr. Salt himself--an avowed Fascist in the Raven League, itself the basis of the Raven Union and eventually the infamous Norsefire Regime--was beaten to near death shortly after turning Troy into Stormcloud. Rebuilt with early, pre-Stone cybernetics, Salt was stronger than a normal human, but still largely relied on his political connections to function as little more than a petulant crime boss.

Socialite Dorcas Leigh, a metahuman with the ability to control her own prehensile character--much like the Major Comics villain of the same name who fought the Maximums, many years later--fought with Stormcould and Knight against the Raven Union in the Second English Civil War, as well as maintaining a brief romance with Cyril, much to Gully’s chagrin. There’s speculation she may have some ties to the Amazons, but other sources claim her origins lie elsewhere...in Suffragette City...

Cyril Sheldrake, heir to the Knight (separate from Shining Knight, White Knight, Green Knight or any others besides), he inherited his father’s spot in the Batmen of Many Nations (later Batman Inc.) as well as a bunch of other responsibilities he didn’t particular want or ask for. Nonetheless, he was brave to a fault, and his metahuman allies would remember him fondly even after his death years later and the ascension of his Squire, Beryl, to the role.