#he might look a little weird cuz i made the mistake of using the yellow for his face instead of just getting a peach colored pencil

[glitch1997]

doodled a 3 :)

[hollowsart]

Thaal Sinestro of Korugar

-cracks knuckles-

Here's ALL of his lore that I cooked up:

(warning for: the sheer ungodly length of this, mentions of death, and a low-key humorous mention of alien physiology at the end cuz I couldn't help myself--)

(Some of this might still be a slight work in progress and/or may be subject to change later on. I'm not sure yet.)

-----

Backstory:

It wasn’t supposed to end that way. He wanted her to be safe and far away from the threat of action. Unfortunately.. he had made a mistake and it cost him greatly. Both heart and mind.

The loss of his wife.. the loss of his best friend, Abin Sur’s sister.. it caused quite the disruption in their friendship.

Some time well after that horrible event, Sinestro and Abin got into an altercation. An argument while out on duty. Abin had heard of Sinestro’s plans, but he didn’t agree with them. Both men were already still rocky and broken from the loss of Arin. So, when Sinestro was plotting some way of utilizing his GL powers to enforce order and protection.. no matter how unreasonable. Abin Sur lashed out. Calling him crazy, delusional, that nothing will ever bring her back.

Sinestro.. well.. he wasn’t thinking and without any ill intention.. he attacked Abin Sur. He only wanted to try and reason with him. He didn’t mean to do it.. but a stray blast from his ring managed to wreck the ship they were traveling in.. and the blast severely damaged Abin Sur.

..Sinestro fled the ship in horror, not seeing the fate of his friend as the ship hurtled down to a particular blue planet. The thought of having presumably killed his own partner and friend on top of having already dealt with the loss of his wife.. well.

That absolutely destroyed him. Shattered him so deeply.. he’s grown distant. Disconnected and apathetic. Bottling up, locking away, and throwing the key away with his emotions..

This was the beginning of the end of his GL career.. and the lead up to him being picked up by the Yellow Corps. The immense fear and angst building up inside him being strong enough he found a new life with the Yellow Lanterns. However, he couldn’t take the life and went rogue. Taking the ring with him and starting his own little sect.

----

imagine. some late series episode that ends with a little close up of some guy who looks a bit like Vincent Price for some reason lowering his newspaper and staring in Guy & Feste's direction as they head back home for the day after having a chat at some outdoor cafe.

you don't know who this weird guy is until it's later revealed that it was Sinestro. He ALSO used his ring to go incognito and appear human so as not to attract any attention while he "stalks" Guy & Feste for some reason idk I didn't think this far.

---

it kinda adds weight to the act of killing him. but like.. it probably killed Sinestro, too.. to do it. maybe it was an accident..? unintentional… during a fight.. and Sinestro was hiding it. and although Guy reminds him of Abin Sur… he hates Guy because he reminds him of Abin Sur and what he did to him. like a weird sort of "reincarnation" thing?? if that makes sense??

Guy being so angry at Sinestro for what he did feels almost cathartic for Sinestro cuz he knows he deserves it.

---

Sinestro sees occasional visions of his wife and friend begging and pleading for his help that will never come. This fuels his fear to power his ring. he needs fear to wield it. and that is a big fear. the repetitive action of losing his wife and friend and not being able to do anything about it.

---

Miscellaneous:

Soranik Natu was given the Natu surname as she was raised by another family. whether on Ungara or Korugar is undecided, but she does keep it.

Sinestro was unable to continue raising her as he was in no condition to do so, and Arin was.. well. out of the picture.

Sinestro sees Soranik and hears her name and he knows that's his daughter and he feels sick. She looks like her mother, he can see it. There's the underlying fear of what she may think of him and how much she may take after him. He is very aware of the terrible things he has done but he is blinded, in a sense, thinking what he is doing is for the greater good. to protect people..

To protect Soranik.

From a fate that fell upon Arin Sur and many others.

---

Soranik is like a combination of the two. her horns are smaller and so are her ears. she has tiny "tusks" (fangs?) compared to her mom.

but she also has elements similar to her dad.

also I can't help but think about Sinestro saying he wishes for his daughter to not become like him, but to instead become more like her mother. honor her memory. it's a terrible loss for the universe for someone like Arin Sur to no longer be in it..

---

I 100% want there to be a moment in an episode where Sinestro's backstory is revealed. like… his life he had up to when Guy first met him. We get to see just how tragic his backstory is.

There's been some subtle little hints here and there before, like someone from on Oa hearing Guy make a remark about Sinestro's weird earring and they tell him what they know.. how it's actually something very meaningful, a combination of two races and their culture. how it is a show of respect and mourning..

the mourning rituals of both Ungarans and Korugarians came together when Sinestro lost Arin. The piercings worn by those who lost a partner from Korugar.. and the wearing of a specific flora from Ungara..

Sinestro's mournful earring has a unique flora depicted hanging from it. A custom metal made to resemble that flora from Ungara.. to honor the memory of Arin Sur. He wears it always except when bathing or resting, but he keeps it with him ever so close at all times.

Should he lose that earring at all… well…

we might just see Sinestro become a Red Lantern.

---

I do kinda like the idea that Ungara and Korugar are relatively close planets with their own races inhabiting them. and because of this, the two races are uniquely compatible, genetically speaking, which leads to how Soranik Natu was born at all when Thaal Sinestro got with Abin Sur's sister, Arin Sur. Sinestro & Arin were the first ones to discover this.

Also, Ungarans are taller than Korugarians. Soranik stands a little taller than Sinestro.

Sinestro is 5'5" (average)

Soranik is 5'9"

Arin & Abin Sur: 6'6" 6'8" (average)

---

(Warning for alien physiology talk & humor)

what if Sinestro has never seen a human before and the first time he sees Guy shirtless in the Oa locker room he notices Guy only has 2 n1ps and Sinestro is like:

"Only 2? However will you feed all your young? Surely they should starve with such a lack of bodily provisions."

And Guy stands there extremely confused. Asks him what in the ever-loving heck he's talking about. Sinestro responds by merely removing his own clothes and presents his 8 n1ps.

Guy is understandably disturbed by the implications now registering in his mind.

If Guy ever mentions pregnancy, Sinestro responds "The women carry the young and the men provide for the young. ..What does your kind do? Don't tell me the women do all the work and that you're utterly useless? You humans are quite the odd creature."

Guy is very much offended.

[hatsampixie]

Spy vs Spy: Curse of the Were-Pyre, part 1

Warning, this story contains violence and blood!

"Okay, A.B, tonight's the 're-live-da-prom' party at the HQ, I know I sound like someone's mom for sayin' this, but you better be on your best behavior." Said Frank, the one living in the apartment room next door to Agent Black. (The Black Spy) "Don't worry Frank, I'll make sure he gets to the HQ, okay? I didn't have combat training for nothin'." Agent Gray said, with a reassuring look. As they were about to leave, Frank spoke up again "Oh, I forgot.. Small warning: As you’re going to the HQ, don't be late, and most importantly, don't walk home alone, there's a lot of sinister characters at this time of night.." Agent Black nodded as he and Agent Gray began to walk towards the tall gray building in the distance that would be the S.P.Y Headquarters. (Secretly Protecting You, yeah, they're still working on the acronym.) "See ya, Frank!"

"Okay, A.B, hopefully there's more girls there, 'cause I heard they weren't going this year. But again, I still really hope I'm not the only girl." Gray said as the elevator they were in slowly made it's way to the 12th floor, Black sighed. "To be fair, I hope you're not the only girl either, 'cuz you're my partner, and-" Before Black could finish, Gray elbowed him slightly, a cue for him to shut up. "..Let's just go inside and have a good time." A ding was heard, and the elevator door opened as they were now on the 12th floor, they opened and went through the door to the HQ..

The entire HQ was decorated with multi-colored lights, balloons, and even a DJ booth, which was flooding the room with the sound of 8-bit midi music. You don't get to see that every day in the HQ, especially since the color theme was mostly monochrome. "Oh my goodness.. This is awsoome!" Black said, his eyes widening with delight. A person wearing an over-saturated shirt turned towards the two agents and grinned, it was Agent Bruce, who had finally got the chance to dress in actual colors. "Oh man, Black! This party is off the hook! so many people have turned up! Yeeeaaah!" He said in his excitement, busting some moves as he did so, (including some Michael Jackson and PSY dance moves XD) Another person suddenly popped up, once again, dressed in bright colors, this time in the form of a wide-brimmed hat and overcoat, it was a little too much for Black and Gray to see. "Yee-haa! Hey guys, how's it goin?" the fellow said, "Looks like there's LOADS of people that have turned up!" He kind of spoke with a sarcastic streak, but he had a point. Looking around, Black and Gray couldn't see any other people besides themselves, Agent Bruce, the brightly-colored spy weirdo, and the guy at the disco booth; there were only 5 people here. "Oh, this isn't good. ..Why didn't they turn up?" Black thought to himself, even Gray was shocked. "Oh geez, I'm the only girl.." Now Agent Bruce had his eyes on Agent Gray, and walked up next to her, he tried to wrap an arm around her, but Gray shoved him away. "Yep, this is what I've been waiting for; I paid everyone off just to be here all by myself, isn't that right Harold?" Bruce asked, turning to the guy working the disco booth, who simply responded with a not amused look, and he spoke in a monotone voice: "No, no one turned up because it's an idiotic dance."

Black and Gray suddenly flinched as the brightly-dressed weirdo just breezed right on past them, jumping around like a ballerina. "Bruce is a party god! YEAAAAHAHABLAAHAHAHA!" he screamed. Black and Gray stared blankly for a moment, "Okay, this is really really weird.." Gray turned to him and nodded silently in agreement, "Alright, alright, you know what? I don't like this party, okay? I'm leaving by myself." Meanwhile, Bruce had dragged Gray over to a nearby photo booth, and wanted to take a picture with her, much to her chagrin. "Black, you know what Frank said: don't walk home alone!" The dark wide-brimmed hat wearing fellow rolled his eyes, "Well, you know what? I don't care 'bout what he said, it's a really cool party, but I'll see you when I get home, okay?" he said, and walked out of the HQ and into the elevator, he pushed a button and it slowly began it's descent to the bottom floor.

The full moon illuminated the dark streets of Monochropolous, most of the buildings had their lights off, while some were on, and a cold breeze was blowing softly through the air, sending some leaves rolling about like tumbleweeds, the darkness and the autumn breeze gave this place a creepy atmosphere at night. "Oh my goodness, that party was so dead.. I'm glad that I'm walkin' home alone.. Even though Mr-know-it-all told me not to, I'm doin' it my way.." Black mumbled under his breath as he followed the sidewalk that he thought would be the best path home, as he walked along he paused and looked at a Mountain Dew vending machine. "..I really wish that that vending machine was fixed, if only I could just put in a coin, and get myself a nice cold can of-" Black jumped and turned as he saw someone out of the corner of his eye, upon getting a good look at the man, he saw that the fellow was wearing an all-orange suit with small numbers over the chest area, his eyes widened upon realizing he was face-to-face with an escaped criminal.

"Who are you, pal?" The man asked, raising an eyebrow, the trained spy stood his ground, unfazed. "..T-that's none of your concern!" he shouted. The man advanced towards him and growled, "Give me all your money." Black reached in his pockets for a weapon, he felt around, nothing accept a small towel, a map, and his wallet. With horror he realized he made the worst mistake any Spy can make: Going alone without a weapon for self defence.

Well, if he had no weapon to fight with, he might as well use his combat training. "Oooh, sorry, don't have any money!" he lied, The criminal smirked. "I know that you're wrong, sir. The thing is.. I've got a knife, and I can stab you!" he reached in his pocket, and pulled out what looked like a shaving razor kit, but then a long, razor sharp serrated knife popped out of nowhere; this villain had a switch-blade. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, I'm saving my money so that I can get Mountain Dews on break hours, plus: You should know that I'm a black belt in karate." Black also replied with a smirk, trying to keep his cool. "Oh, very funny. My intention was to rob this vending machine, but I STILL want cash, so give it to me!" "Not a chance, bub!" Black then lashed out and kicked the villain right in the crotch, the criminal's eyes widened as he collapsed in a whimpering heap. Black reached in his wallet and tossed only 3 dollars at the man, "There, that can get you a Happy Meal at Old Mcdonalds. Now, scram, punk!" The crippled fellow slowly got up, whimpering in terror, and ran off down the street, and hid behind someone's car. "That's what I thought." The spy said, brushing himself off.

But as he was about to continue down the street, Black paused and looked all around him, he saw that the apartment building was nowhere in sight, "Great.. Just great!" He grumbled, reaching in his pocket to pull out a map that he had, then he heard a strange sound: A sharp hiss behind him, Black froze for a moment, then slowly turned to it's source. At first he saw nothing in the alleyway, just darkness.. But then two small red pinpricks that would be eyes pierced through the empty blackness. In an instant he knew that this wasn't the criminal from before, now it was his turn to ask. "Who are you?" After a moment, a dark inhuman voice echoed out. "..Like you said, 'none of your concern'." Black felt a lump form in his throat, "Yeah, well.. As I said, I have been trained in hand-to-hand combat, and I've got a weapon!" The voice chuckled at this, "Oh, do you now? Well.. that's not what I remember.. And, I can smell you're blood, and fear.." At that moment, he saw two small sharp things come into view, glinting in the moonlight. They looked like.. And that's when Black put it all together: This thing can smell blood, it has red eyes, and sharp teeth. Oh crap, it was a.. "W-what are you gonna do to me?" Black asked as sweat began to drip down his forehead. "I'm just going to take a little bite, if you don't mind.." As the spy slowly backed away, he saw the figure of a person slowly come into view, with the red eyes and fangs included. But then before you could say "Holy shnitzel!" The singularity leapt at Black at such speed that it was just a blur, he felt himself getting grabbed by the head and one of his shoulders, and then he let out an ear-splitting scream of agony as he felt those fangs sink between his neck and shoulder-blade, after just 5 seconds he felt the fangs remove themselves from his flesh, "Thank you so much.. Bye bye!" The creepy voice echoed into his ear, a second later, he saw a large bat-like figure open it's wings and fly out of sight.

Immediately, Black placed a hand on his neck to slow down the bleeding, bags had begun to form under his eyes from weakness and blood loss, at the same time he thought he felt his canines grow an inch longer. He reached into his right pocket and pulled out a small emergency towel and pressed it against the wound, grinding his teeth in pain. "Aw no.. *cough!* I can't believe I got bit by a.. ow.. by a v-vampire.. " Black lowered his head and whimpered softly, as he felt tears stream down his cheeks and drip from his pointy nose and onto the cement ground.

Then he heard a thud, the sound of someone, or something, landing on the ground behind him. Slowly he turned to it's source, wiping the tears from his cheeks, "G-gray?" The sound he heard next wasn't the voice of a human, but the growl of an angry animal. A second later, Two small yellow pinpricks pierced through the empty blackness, Another shadowed figure came into view, at first it was advancing towards him on two legs, but then it slowly dropped on all fours as drool dripped from it's sharp fangs. Glancing up at the full moon in the night sky, there was only one possibility: A werewolf, why'd it have to be a werewolf?

Black knew that he couldn't fight off this monster in his weakened state, he couldn't even call for help; he didn't have a phone. "..W-wait, I've gotten bit by a *cough!* a vampire.. If I got b-bit by a werewolf t-*cough!* t-then something bad'll happen! Please, don't!" He whimpered, almost as if doing the opposite of what he said, the beast snarled and lunged at Black, biting him right in the arm, easily drawing more blood. Once again, a scream of agony escaped his lips. Due to shock and loss of blood, he saw his vision get blurry and black, and he fell to the ground, and passed out.

His eyes shot open as he felt pain shoot throughout his body, but at the same time, he felt his energy come flooding back to him, he could only manage to get on his knees, due to him still being weakened, he hugged himself in pain as he felt himself transform. His teeth, not just his canines, grew longer and more sharp, resembling the teeth of a monstrous carnivore. His ears (which weren't visible before) grew longer and curved and turned a bit furry, they now resembled the pointed ears of a wolf. His black overcoat became torn as he grew a foot taller, he felt his tail bone grow longer, until a furry tail burst from his pants. (Embarrassed, Black blushed a bit at this.) And to top this all off, he felt the bones in his fingers and hands spread out and grow longer, until they became the giant veined wings of a bat, his white pupils narrowed to cat-like slits.

His neck also stopped bleeding and his injured arm healed.

Eventually, the pain passed through him and went away, as his blurry vision swam into focus, Black looked left and right, exploring his surroundings which were now becoming high-def. "Oh.. W-what happened..?" He asked, his voice now deeper. He looked down at his hands, and saw that they were huge, monstrous bat wings! When he saw this, he immediately woke up. "AAAAAGGGHHH! What happened to me?!" Slowly, he felt his memories come flooding back to him. "Aw man.. I'm a Vamp-Wolf! Well, actually that one sounds stupid.. oh, I got it! I'm a Were-Pyre, NOOO!" The newly transformed Black paused for a moment before a villainous grin crossed his face, long fangs glinting in the moonlight. "Oh.. But I feel so powerful.. Yes.. I want.. I need to get revenge.. REVENGE!!" He roared, Black opened his huge bat wings, and with just 4 flaps, he took to the sky. Looking down, he saw the Werewolf and Vampire from before perched on top of one of the buildings, looking up in horror at this flying monster before them, the expressions on their faces said all too clearly: "What have we done?"

The criminal from before walked out from behind the car, looking around, he saw that that Black Spy was nowhere in sight, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he looked at the 3 dollars in his hands and glared, "3 dollars, that's not even enough to buy me a stupid-" Then he heard the loud flapping of wings, and the thud of something landing just 6 feet away from him. The criminal gulped, for he was too scared to even look behind him. "Oh, burg-larr!" A deep growling sing-songy voice echoed out, The criminal whimpered and slowly looked behind him, his eyes widened in fear, and then he screamed as he saw the figure of a winged beast lunge for him screeching, with it's mouth wide open, hinged like a snake.

-

Black slowly licked the remaining blood off his lips, the criminal had now become a midnight snack. The monster-turned spy glanced up at the buildings from where he saw the Werewolf and Vampire that had turned him, they were nowhere in sight, they were gone. Black opened his wings once again and flew to the top of one of the buildings, and looked up at the full moon, a bloodstained grin spreading across his face. He threw his head back, opened his large bat wings, and unleashed a loud inhuman howl that echoed throughout Monochropolous.

"AAAAAA-OOOOOOOO!!!!"

[sharp-fanged13]

Fun facts about Darrow: (SPOILERS)

- in GS there are rumours that he eats glass; - Lorn au Arcos actually backs up the rumours - he has a very strong moral code, but he always questions it and so he adapts and learns; - he matched Mustang at the party on Luna (they were the only ones wearing black) and Theodora might be responsible for it; - he has many nieces and nephews and is a great uncle; - he is highly skilled in math, logics, strategy and anything which requires dexterity (puzzle boxes, kravat - a martial art, the willow way - lorn’s kind of kravat, dancing etc); - he is not ambidextrous, but right-handed; - he can handle insane amounts of pain (as a Red and as a Gold); - he fell on his arse when he first went ridding with Matteo. He was riding a pony. - he kinda got back at Mustang for laughing at him for falling from that pony by seeing her fine arse in a corner of a locker room while he himself was looking for a private place to put some clothes on; - his right hand is restored at the end of MS, but he has to do therapy, cause he can’t even write with it; - he considers Sevro his ‘little mangy guardian angel’ as well as his brother; - he is 7'1" tall after the carving and he was “two heads shorter than Sevro” as a Red; - he has shoulder length blond hair after his carving until MS when the Jackal’s men cut all of it; (in GS Karnus au Bellona cuts Darrow’s hair, but it is regrown to its former state) - in RR, he ties his hair in a ponytail before going after the primus of House Apollo (and Mustang slaps his fine arse lightly as encouragement to go); - he spent most of his money on buying a Stradivarius for Tactus; - he sold his father’s old watch - the only memento of him left - to a Gray guardian in order to buy medicine for his brother; - his heart stopped after the confrontation with the Sovereign in that ship which left Aegea in GS; he was brought back to life by both Violets and Yellows; - Sevro and Mustang stood at his side during recovery; - he has a sister - Leanna - and a brother - Kieran, the former married a gold; - he is a great dancer; - he is Lorn’s favorite student and could have handled himself in a one-on-one with Aja (but in MS the lack of his right hand one hell of a disadvantage); - he is like 82% of Sevro’s self control; (not fact, but still) - he is not made for political games like Mustang or Adrius or Roque; - he was drunk when he walked Victra down the aisle at her and Sevro’s wedding; - his hands are really powerful: his left hand was enough to rip the tongue out of the Jackal’s mouth; - he is fluent in Nagal - the Obsidian language: Mustang remarks that he’s better at it than she; - he had to go through The Howler Initiation: get kidnapped, drunk and eat living bugs; - he married Eo when he was 15 years old; - according to Pierce Brown, Darrow is a ten, but Cassius and Roque are 11;(I prefer Darrow tho) - he believes his Red eyes suit Sevro better than his carved self; - he literally can’t stand still, he has to do things, anything, it is even hard to sleep for him, unless is beyond him and has to do it; - he has a restful sleep next to Mustang; (in RR) - he fights with the razor Mustang gifted him - the one with the pegasus in flight , the symbol of the house of Andromedus- although he doesn’t go by “Darrow au Andromedus” in MS and could have changed the razor with another; - he cried when he ate a burger for the first time; - he gave Cassius the opportunity to save his honour by arranging a duel with Titus for him so he wouldn’t be known as the guy who was pissed on by his house mates; - Pierce Brown says that in another world Cassius would be Darrow; - he and Mustang did the do in that control room after they spoke to Adrius while Sevro and Victra’s wedding was unfolding; (Sevro gave him hell for that with teasing, but this is just a head canon); - Nero kinda adopted him before hell broke loose at the Triumph; (it is a bit weird that he also kinda rooted for Darrow and Mustang) - he and the howlers took a step back when Lorn made the mistake to treat Mustang like a fragile doll so she wouldn’t think they agreed with him; - he made a single mistake on that admission test for the Institute; - he considers Dancer and the Telemanuses family (Mustang, Pax, his mother, brother, sister, nieces and nephews along with Sevro and Victra are, of course, already on the list) - he was the first to bow to the new Sovereign; - he provides a real help for Mustang, cuz he understands how it feels to have the weight of the world on your shoulders and how important is to have help so you can carry this kind of cross (because he was broken by being The Reaper of Mars and his friends and family put him back together and made him stronger); I might add some things later if there is something I’ve missed. If you remember some cool things about Darrow please feel free to add..

LATER EDIT:

- in Golden Son he gets important character development: he was driven by his rage for Eo’s and their unborn child’s death, but at that party on Luna and through out the books he realizes that he cannot bring anarchy, because nothing good will come from it, and that there isn’t ‘someone’ responsible for what Reds and other Colors endure, but a whole system;

- Victra had a crush on him; 

- his son’s name means “peace” in Latin;

- Matteo teached him everything about how to act and speak like an Iron Gold, he even teached him how to dress and took care of his appereance (he shaved him from neck down to his toes. Including “there”!);

- although he was badly injured from a year and some in Jackal’s “care”, Mickey was able to carve him again, even making him stronger (he reinforced his ribs so they won’t break if he was shot);

- he was the only one in the history of the Institute (like every Institute in the galaxy) to conquer Olympus and the only one to win the was between Houses with an army of “students” from different houses without the being slaves;

- Andromedus means something to him by Andromeda galaxy being the one Eo pointed at in that garden on Lykos, but nothing at all by being the name of that family the Sons killed in the Asteroid Belt;

- Romulus au Raa respects him, despite him being a Red;

- Darrow’s registration number as a Helldiver of Lambda is L17L6363 and it was also used as his registration number in Attica and as Mustang’s password on her datapad;

- only he used the term SlingBlade at The Institute, every other student called him Reaper, because, for them, he was using a Reaping Scythe;

- coincidence or not, The Reaper is also a god which exists in the Red Faith and rules over an infinite Vale and judges those who died;

- he is Howler 1 and Sevro Howler 2; 

- Pierce Brown said that he imagines Darrow has a British accent;

- he can breathe 8 minutes underwater;

- his uncle, Narol, teached him how to dance which proved very helpful when he fought;

[talesfromtheartbog]

Day 11 - Farmhouse

The wind rustled through the corn as it picked up, almost drowning out the crickets as their late-summer melody decrescendoed with the sudden drop in evening temperature. It might not hit until tomorrow morning, but there was a storm on that wind, sure as sure could be.

Be that as it may, Johnny reckoned he and Matt still had plenty of time to do what they came to do on that late summer evening, just a week before school starts. Most the kids in town already had all kinds of stories they were gonna tell about what they did that summer. Johnny had heard Bill DeBois caught a pike longer than he was down at the river, and one day when Matt’s mom took him into the city to go shopping, he stopped by the arcade and saw Jed Lumpkins’s initials had jumped to the top of the Mr. Whoopseedoo scoreboard by triple digits. And both boys had heard Chuck Mudge had touched his first titty - he said it was like squeezing a water balloon full of cotton candy and it made a funny sound. Johnny and Matt though didn’t have any luck catchin’ fish, and even if they had every quarter they’d ever earned shuckin’ corn and bailin’ hay they wouldn’t have had a hope to heaven in getting such a big score in Mr. Whoopseedoo. And they sure as hell ain’t touched any titties.

There was no way either of those boys could go into the 9th grade without a good story for what they did that summer. So Johnny came up with a plan.

The boys set their bikes down by the old wood post fence and carefully climbed over, ducking their heads down low in case Mr. Larson was home. Every kid in town knew to steer clear of him. They say ever since he was a kid himself, children had disappeared under mysterious circumstances. They say the cops never could pin it on him, but Mr. Larson was always the prime suspect every time.

Mr. Larson lived on a an old farm down COunty Road 223. Mr. Larson had cows.

Matt was reluctant to come along - it weren’t he were a wuss or anything like that, but he was a pretty good kid and didn’t like gettin’ into trouble if he could help it. But it didn’t take Johnny too long to convince him otherwise, cuz they’d be the first kids in Far County to had the balls to sneak onto Old Man Larson’s farm and tip one of his cows in the middle of the night, and that would be a story to top even Chuck Mudge’s that year. And so they found themselves standing in his field that night, those early-warning storm winds wafting the sickly-sweet stink of cow pies all across the pasture, their flashlights shining on a prize heifer having herself a perfectly fine snooze underneath the old bur oak you could see for miles before the corn got too tall.

“All right Matt, go on up and give her a shove,” Johnny said, nudging his friend on the back.

“Me? Why do I have to do it,” Matt replied incredulously. “This was your dumb idea.” “And that’s exactly why you gotta do it. I’m the brains, you’re the brawn.”

“Ha, yeah right, did you already forget I was your partner in math last year?”

“Aw shut up, algebra ain’t never made sense to nobody anyhow. Ain’t mean I got no brains.”

“Whatever you say, Johnny. Let’s just both go. GOnna take both of us to tip her anyway, and the longer we stay here the more likely it is we get ourselves cau-”

Matt was interrupted mid sentence by something much harder than a shove. Stars of pain erupted in the back of his eyes as something came down cracking over his head. Johnny screamed in surprise as his friend dropped like a sack of spuds, which meant he was the only one who had time to turn around and see Mr. Larson’s as he raised the thick tree branch and -

Matt came to first when the hemp rope tying him to the old wicker chair began to tickle his wrists. They were in what he presumed to be the barn on the far side of Old Man Larson’s pasture. A single incandescent bulb above them flickered as it cast an oval of eerie pale yellow light over the boys, leaving the rest of the barn in inky shadow. He wasn’t sure how long it had been - it was still dark out, but the storm was much closer now. The wind was creeping up to a howl, and it now brought with it the smell of rain. He thought he might have even heard thunder, but it was hard to tell over the dull roar of his own heartbeat in his ears.

“Johnny… JOHNNY! WAKE UP!” Matt said as loud as he could whisper. Johnny began to rouse himself, blinking in confusion as he looked around.

“Wh… Matt, Matt where are we?” Johnny said, slurring as he spoke.

“You’re far from anyone who can hear you, so don’t bother calling for help,” a dull voice said from the dark. A second light flicked on as Mr. Larson stood glaring at them from behind a workbench draped in a filthy old picnic blanket. “Been so long since I had any company out here. How sweet of you boys to come visit.”

“P… please Mr. Larson,” Matt said as he began to sweat. “Please just let us go. WE didn’t mean you no harm, we was just out -”

“I KNOW WHAT YOU WAS OUT TO DO,” Mr. Larson said, pounding a gnarled fist on the table and making both boys jump in fright. “YOU WAS OUT TO TIP MY BESSIE. Well, my Bessie don’t LIKE bein’ tipped. Guess I’ll need some help teachin’ you boys some manners. Guess I’ll be needin’ my… COW TOOLS!”

The storm’s first lightning bolt illuminated the barn as Mr. Larson whipped the blanket off the table with a sinister cackle, revealing an odd assortment of primitive, abstract items arranged in a row on the bench.The boys jumped again - and then relaxed.

“... Cow tool?” Johnny asked, confused. “Maybe it’s on account of my concussion and all, but is we supposed to know exactly what a cow tool is?”

“Yeah… is that like… a thing?” Matt asked, glancing at the bench. “Is that a known thing? That one kinda looks like a saw but carved from wood or something, but… what’s the rest?” Matt gestured with his eyes at the strange artifacts on the table - a weird long stick and two rocks, one of which had a little nubby thing sticking off the side.

“They… they’re my cow tools,” Old Man Larson said, starting to look a little embarrassed. “Is this not scary? Are you not scared of what I am going to do to you with my cow tools?”

“Sir, if I may be completely honest with you, I am not certain what you would do with those under any other circumstance,” Johnny said, his speech becoming more coherent as he began to sit up straight.

“Yeah, I mean… what makes them cow tools? What even makes them tools? They have no discernable purpose, except for the saw, which makes the rest of them even more confusing by comparison,” Matt said. “I can apply a purpose to the saw but can’t for the life of me figure out what the stick or the two rocks would be for. And are they meant for the cow to use? Or are they to be used on a cow?”

“I… I mean they’re supposed to be mysterious, and weird,” Mr. Larson said, glancing furtively at the tools on his table. “But I guess I see what you mean. It was a mistake to make one a saw and the rest completely foreign and abstract in design.”

“Yeah, I think that was your first mistake,” Johnny said. “I think you could have also maybe said more about them than just ‘Cow Tools.’ Kinda doesn’t make any sense without any sort of context - at least if you don’t mind me saying so.”

“No, no! This has been constructive!” Mr. Larson said. “When you’ve done as many killings as I have, not every one is going to be a winner. Well, let’s just call this one a bust. Say, it’s getting pretty late and that storm is picking up. I appreciate you boys’ being honest with me. How about I give you a ride home, no hard feelings huh?”

The boys agreed. It was getting late, after all. So they all climbed into Mr. Larson’s old pickup and he took off down the dark, winding county road back toward town. In all it was a pretty pleasant night, until the road behind them lit up with another flash of light.

This time it was Mr. Larson’s turn to scream in terror. As he glanced in the rearview at the storm, just above the “OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR” warning etched into the mirror, a single, massive eye stared back.