#i’ve drawn a lot of the foxes but not their big brothers

[0vergrowngraveyard]

dumb and dumber (interchangeable)

tangled au sonic belongs to @passionartx

original under cut

[atths--twice]

House Rules

Christmas day spent drinking and playing a childhood game, is a recipe for a good time.

Fictober day 10

Prompt- Fine. Explain it to me.

Hope you enjoy this one. I love the picture it has created in my head.

Christmas 2009

“You absolute cheat!” Mulder heard Scully shout from the dining room, followed by laughter. He frowned as he finished pouring a cup of coffee, wondering what she was yelling about, and left the kitchen. 

Scully and Charlie, along with Kyle and Glen, two friends of his from the Navy who had tagged along for Christmas, were sitting at the far end of Mrs. Scully’s dining room table, a deck of playing cards between them.

“Okay, it’s my deal now,” Charlie said, gathering the cards and shuffling them.

“I’ve got my eye on you, little brother.” 

“Watch all you want. You know I’m better at this game than you and you’re just mad about it. I’m not scared of you. I’m bigger than you, although that wasn’t a difficult task to achieve.” He pumped his eyebrows and she punched him on the arm. “Jesus, Dana.” 

“Thought you weren’t scared of me,” she said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at him. 

“I’m not. I just forgot how hard you can hit. God,” he said, rubbing his arm with a frown. 

“Now next time you won’t forget. Deal,” she said and Charlie narrowed his eyes at her as he began dealing the cards. 

“Oh, that coffee looks good,” Mrs. Scully said as she walked over to Mulder, leaving the group of church folk with whom she had been speaking. “I think I could really do with a caffeine boost.” 

“Here, take this one. I haven’t added anything to it or had a drink of it yet.” 

“Oh no, Fox. That’s okay.” 

“Take it,” he insisted, handing it to her and nodding. “I’ll get another cup.” 

“Oh!” Scully shouted and then put a hand on her mouth, Glen watching her. 

“What are they playing?” Mulder asked Mrs. Scully and she laughed as she turned to watch them. 

“Oh… they’re playing a game they made up when they were younger. I’ve never played it, but I’ve had to separate many games that became too… complicated. Yeah,  I’m gonna go with complicated.” She smiled at him and he raised his eyebrows in question. “Let’s just say, you’ve chosen to love a very stubborn and competitive woman.” 

He laughed loudly and Scully turned her head to look at him, but then quickly turned her attention back to the game. 

“Oh, you don’t need to tell me that,” he said, still chuckling. “We’ve played some… complicated games ourselves over the years.” 

“Yes, but with yours, I’m sure it didn’t lead to physical fights or calling insults at one another,” Mrs. Scully said. “There was a lot of that in our house at times, but with that game… it cranked it up to a new level.”

“Big personalities tend to do that,” he said and she nodded. “You want me to get you anything for your coffee?” She smiled at him and patted his hand. 

“No, thank you. I’ll go and do it and get you a cup as well. Why don’t you go and see if they’ll include you in the game?” 

“Okay,” he agreed. “But first, I’m going to need some more fudge.” 

He filled a small plate with fudge and other baked treats then made his way to the other end of the table. Sitting down beside Scully, he watched the nearly silent game being played as he ate a peppermint cookie. 

From what he could understand, a card was either drawn from the main deck or the discarded pile created by the players, which were placed face down. It was fast paced and he was mesmerized by what the end goal would be. 

Scully suddenly drew in a sharp breath and Charlie laughed quietly, his eyebrows raised. Mulder tried to look at the cards in her hands, but she held them too close. 

She put down a card and Kyle took it, pausing before he added a different card to the discard pile. Glen took one from the stack and then discarded a different card. Charlie took Glen’s card and then put it back, not being the one he wanted. Scully drew from the pile and discarded a different card quickly. 

Kyle picked up her card and then slapped all of his cards down onto the table. Mulder looked at Scully in confusion, but she had eyes only for the game, watching Glen and Charlie intently. 

Two more times around, the stack of cards nearly depleted, Glen was the next to lay down his cards. And then it was down to Scully and Charlie. 

He grinned at her and she exhaled slowly, leaning forward and narrowing her eyes at him. He drew a card and added it to his hand. Shuffling through his cards, he took his time choosing his discard. 

Now Scully exhaled in irritation and Charlie’s smile grew. He put his discard down slowly and she snatched it quickly. A second later, her cards joined Kyle’s and Glen’s on the table. 

“Now who’s better?!” she shouted and Glen and Kyle laughed. 

“You won once,” Charlie said, gathering the cards again. “Don’t get cocky and be a sore winner.” 

“I beat you. That’s all that matters.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Your deal,” he said, pushing the cards to her and rolling his eyes with a smile. 

“Hang on,” Mulder said, leaning forward. “What exactly is this game?” 

“FUGOC,” they all responded and his eyes widened. 

“Excuse me?” 

“FUGOC. It’s an acronym,” Scully said as she shuffled. 

“I figured,” Mulder said with a chuckle. 

“We had to call it that as kids because it stands for-fucked up game of cards,” Scully said, turning her head to look at him, the smile on her face vanishing nearly immediately. 

“Dana Katherine Scully,” Mrs. Scully said as she set the cup of coffee she had promised to Mulder onto the table. “On Christmas Day? Please watch your language.” 

“Watch my language? I’m forty three years old, Mom,” Scully said as Charlie clucked his tongue in mock disappointment and the others laughed. 

“And the day doesn’t really matter as she says that word all the time,” Mulder said, looking at Mrs. Scully and shaking his head as he heard Scully’s gasp of disbelief. “I keep trying to break her of the habit but…” He sighed dramatically. “Maybe this year my Christmas wish will come true.” 

“You're lucky I don’t punch you,” Scully said as everyone laughed again. He looked at her and grinned, while she stared at him with hard eyes. 

“Let’s just keep the f words to a minimum, please,” Mrs. Scully said. “We have guests here and Father McCue is coming over in a bit and I don’t want him hearing any of that.” 

“Oh, I’m sure he hears much worse when he is in confession,” Charlie said. “People spilling their darkest secrets… Come to think of it, do we have any rum? I know Father McCue is partial to it. If we got him drunk, maybe he’d tell us some of them.” 

“Getting a priest drunk? Suggesting he break his seal of sacrament? That’s definitely worse than saying fu-” Scully said, feigning horror at Charlie’s suggestion. 

“I agree,” Mrs. Scully interrupted, putting her hand up. “Charles William Scully, I’m surprised at you.” 

“Are you really, Mom?” he teased, raising his eyebrows, and even Mrs. Scully had to laugh. 

“Just… try to act like the adults you claim to be,” Mrs. Scully said and walked away, shaking her head as she went to rejoin the other party guests. 

“So, what is FUGOC?” Mulder asked and Scully scoffed as she shuffled the cards again. 

“You want to learn how to play after the way you tattled on me to my mother? I don’t think so. Not without some kind of an apology. Or your coffee.” 

“That’s the second cup I’ll be giving up in the past ten minutes,” he muttered, sliding the cup over to her. “And fine… I’m sorry I snitched on you. Now, explain it to me.” 

“FUGOC,” Charlie said, stealing what was now Scully’s cup of coffee and taking a large drink. “God, that’s good. Mom’s Christmas coffee is the best.” 

“Glad you enjoyed it,” Mulder and Scully said simultaneously. 

“Whoa, that was spooky,” Kyle said and Mulder grinned, bumping his leg into Scully’s. 

“Yeah, we’ve heard that before,” he said and Scully chuckled softly. 

“Anyway,” Charlie went on. “One day when it was pouring buckets outside, we had nothing else to do and so we made up this game.” 

“And after we came up with it, and we explained it to Bill, he said that’s one fucked up game of cards and it stuck. But of course we couldn’t call it that, so we decided on the acronym,” Scully said, looking at Mulder. 

“Go on. Tell me how to play.” 

“It’s sort of a combination of Go Fish and Old Maid, but there’s no talking. We don’t ask for cards and everything is up to chance as you never see the card you’re choosing until it’s in your hands,” Scully explained.  

“Okay,” Mulder said with a nod. “So the first one with all their cards matched wins?” 

“If you don’t have the old maid card,” Charlie said. 

“Which is which card?” 

“That’s the fun part-”

“The challenging part,” Glen interrupted and Kyle nodded. 

“Why?” Mulder asked. 

“Because it’s different every time,” Scully said with a grin. “The person dealing the cards decides before the deal which card it will be and which suit. They tap the table twice when they are ready and then they deal the cards.” 

“And they don’t change it?” 

“They aren’t supposed to,” Scully said, glancing at Charlie. “But that’s what you have to trust. And you have to try and figure it out by certain gestures they do, sort of like a pitcher and catcher with the signs they use for pitches.” 

“Oh… that’s… I like that,” Mulder said with intrigue and she smiled. 

“I knew you would.” 

“Okay, so… you’re dealt the cards and you simultaneously have to watch the dealer for clues about which old maid card to be on the lookout for and try to match up the cards that are in your hand?” Mulder asked and Scully nodded. “Does everyone know the signs and signals?” 

“Yeah, it’s a certain set of signs that everyone learns when they play the game.” 

“Okay. Show me. Play a round or two. Then deal me in.” 

Two hours and many glasses of alcohol later, Mrs. Scully came over again to ask them to keep it down. 

“Mother,” Charlie said, raising his glass of whiskey to Mrs. Scully. “A toast to you, this fine Christmas Day. You are truly the embodiment of the Christmas spirit and I appreciate you.” 

“Hear, hear!” Scully said, raising her own glass, her cheeks pink and her eyes glassy. 

“Charlie,” Mrs. Scully said, shaking her head and trying not to laugh. “Can you all just quiet down a little bit? Please?” 

“Oh posh and pish,” Charlie said affecting an English accent. “We shall continue to celebrate the day, Mother.” 

“God,” she said as she walked away and everyone at the table, save for Mulder, who had remained sober for the evening, burst into uproarious laughter. 

The card game was abandoned and instead they caught up, laughing and drinking until it was time to go. 

“Goodbye, little brother,” Scully said, hugging Charlie for a long time as they stood in the foyer of the house. “It’s so good to see you. Please tell Renee I said hello and hope to see her next time, but I understand her wanting to see her own family.” 

“I will sis,” he said, pulling back and smiling at her. “Love you.” 

“Love you too,” she said, swaying as she stepped back. “Oh, I… am drunk.” 

“That you are,” Mulder agreed, laughing as he put a hand out to catch her, holding her steady. “It was good to meet you, Charlie. Hope to see you again soon.” 

“You too, Mulder. Make sure she’s okay. That Irish whiskey really gets on top of you.” 

“Will do. Goodnight and goodbye.” 

“Goodbye,” Charlie said, smiling as he closed the door behind them. 

“Come on, Scully. Let’s get you home.” 

The next morning, hungover and swearing she would never drink again, Scully laid on the couch. As she slowly sipped on a can of warm ginger ale, Mulder practiced the gestures he had learned in order to play FUGOC. He wanted to be ready to challenge Scully to a game. 

As soon as she was no longer groaning, repeatedly stating that her very eyeballs were aching, and cursing the person who first discovered alcohol, it would be the first thing he asked. 

[absolutebl]

Hi absolutebl, our most reliable source of all things BL ;). Such a big fan of your blog, and thank you so much for contributing to the fandom in such a healthy and positive way. Sorry for the long ask: but do you by chance have any thoughts on "bromance" as a genre? Like, do you watch it? Do you have recommendations? Are you a fan of it? I'm sorry if it's an inappropriate question (you are absolutebl after all, this might not be your cup of tea). It's just that sometimes I find myself drawn more to the chemistry of some current bromance series out there than the currently-airing BLs (but that's just my preference. Maybe I just prefer the low heat, old school types). I mean, I actually do like high heat BLs, but some bromance series really just blow me away with plot and chemistry that I don't mind the romance as subtext only (I just finished Japan's Kei x Yaku and Korea's Beyond Evil and both just BLEW ME AWAY. It was intense in the best way. And China's Untamed will always be a special favorite). Any thoughts? Thank you in advance!

BROMANCES 

Hi and thank you, I'm flattered!

Ah I have watched some, but in general since we have so many more actual BL options now, I don't bother anymore. They mostly just piss me off either way.

I tend to intentionally ignore them - censoring the censors, so to speak.

I have a few posts tangential to this though: 

Devil Judge & Korean Bromance Stuff 

BL fandom picked up on Devil Judge, why? 

devil judge, hallyu wave bromances, & non BL K-dramas

BL tropes deployed in The Devil Judge (2021) 

Devil Judge... is it queerbaiting?

Word of Honor & Chinese Bromance Stuff 

Word of Honor 

Chinese mf censorship, fight me

Mainland China Censorship Be Like… 

Some of the ones I guess I’d call bromances that I’ve watched:  

Untamed (20 ep BL cut) 

Word of Honor 

S.C.I. Mysteries (actually one of my first BLs/bromances in general) 

Find You In The Crowd

Love is Not Easy to Have

Swinging Blossom

The Fairy Fox

Beloved Enemy

His Cat

Till Death Tear Us Apart

Advance Bravely (this is more just censored BL)

Mr. CEO is Falling in Love with Him (same as above)

Legend of Long Yang

Customized Companion

Glass Heart

Past Youth

River Knows Fish Heart

Guardian

Mermaid's Jade

Broken Youth

Youth in the Breeze

Capture Lover

Precise Shot

Every Moment that I Think of You

My Esports Genius Brother

In Your Heart

There’s a bunch of early stuff out of China that is just barely censored, in that they don’t kiss (like the ghost boyfriend series), but it’s a lot more obviously gay than post 2016.) 

I don’t keep track of the bromances from Korea (like At A Distance, Spring is Green) or Japan (with a few exceptions like Silhouette of Your Voice which is a yaoi adaptation) because they piss me off even more than China. It feels so cowardly. Or those wish side nods like Moment at Eighteen  

It’s pretty simple...

if, if the characters were het and would have kissed in the drama under those circumstances, but they don’t because they are a same sex couple - I get really mad about it. 

And I’m unable to get over that anger. Because the anger feels justified. 

All that said, if you are someone who really doesn’t mind the great long con tease with no pay out these are the ones I liked despite myself: 

Recommended Bromances (in order) 

Word of Honor

The Devil Judge 

The Guardian (super under appreciated but a TON of fun) 

Untamed 

S.C.I. Mysteries (if you like police procedurals)

Advance Bravely

Capture Lover

River Knows Fish Heart

Precise Shot

Beloved Enemy (IF you come out of yaoi and don’t mind some seriously triggering tropes) 

Legend of Long Yang (this is kinda the precursor to Untamed & WOH) 

I have not seen Japan's Kei x Yaku (I had spies reporting in on it and decided not to bother, since it was also difficult to get hold of). I have see Korea's Beyond Evil and I am afraid I didn’t get the bromance subtext as much as you, and others, have. I guess the actors didn’t work for me? 

(source)

[pumpkijuice]

Day 1: First Day [Beginning]

back when Digimon Adventure first aired in America on Fox Kids, I immediately fell in love with it. A bit goofy at times, I felt like there was a lot more to it, and I loved how the Digimon were able to express themselves, deciding to fight only because they wanted/needed to. I've always been big into character development, and so I was naturally drawn to the show that took such care to develop their [what I felt was a] big cast of main characters. Though I related to Sora's personality [while wishing I was cute like Mimi, haha], I wanted to be a part of the group I was quickly connecting to. Digimon was the first time I decided living vicariously through a character wasn't enough, and so, for the first time, I began to create an OC for a canon show ✧

don't get me wrong, I loved [and still love] the Digimon partners of Digimon Adventure, but I wanted a more mammal-like and fluffy creature as a partner [I hadn't yet seen Gazimon, and Tailmon wasn't introduced to the story yet either]. When I first created my current OC partner, I wanted a cat/bat/misc. creature Digimon, and I think that was around the time the Bakemon episode had come out/October was approaching? With my birthday [a day I could feel special] and Halloween [my tied-with-Christmas favorite holiday (and now, my #1)] fast approaching with October, I created my "Tailypo-inspired" Halloween Digimon partner, "KitKatmon" [now, Kitsukomon] ✧

I didn't want my brother teasing me about making an over-done partner, since he was making his own OC reptile partner [and would want to be leader], so I left bat wings out of my first designs. My In-training ended up more cat-like than bat-like because of this [very similar to Nyaromon, who I wouldn't see for the first time until much later], but it all ended up being a really nice memory with my brother [we... didn't usually get along]. I made plushes of both our In-training Digimon out of socks for when we were the Digi-Destined, and we would act out the part of our rookies we'd designed on paper when the plushes "Digivolved." I remember being so happy playing, while telling myself, "he doesn't know it, but she totally has little bat-wings" haha. Little did I know, I'd decide for myself "it really is too much" and get rid of them again just a few years later [but my In-training's still totally a cat-bat] <3

[zelkams-art]

#ShowYourProcess

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content!

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES — When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

I was tagged by @milkcrates​, who showed her process of making this gorgeous piece with Wei Wuxian and little A-Yuan!! It was awesome to see how it came to life - and thank you for tagging me! ✨

So I got tagged to show how this Yunmeng brothers + golden core art happened! I already included the digital sketch for it in my sketch vs final compilation, but I guess I can show some more!

This is gonna be long because I like talking a lot, so putting the rest under a cut!

1. Planning

SO.  A golden core pic was on my to-draw list as soon as I finished watching the show. I had a WIP of a different pic for that waiting, but actually I noticed that a very similar thing has already been drawn, so that was kinda dropped. But I’m glad I waited until the idea for this one slapped me! It was pretty much a moment of “w a i t a second” and I had to grab a random piece of paper to sketch it while I still had it in my head.

This is the sketch - as you can see from the coffee stains, it has been through some stuff. On the left I actually tried out some different ideas for the golden core - the 1st one was the winner and led to the whole leaking/water/rain theme. I ended up mirroring the whole sketch because I didn’t want Wei Wuxian’s hand to cover Jiang Cheng’s front hair wisp, as that would make that area too crowded.

Meta-wise: I wanted to show that the whole thing was kept as a secret from Jiang Cheng. But we also knew about it - so Wei Wuxian is breaking the 4th wall and looking at us [the audience] directly, shushing to keep it a secret as well. Then there’s his hand hovering over the blindfold - it was included in the show, but also sprinkles in that extra symbolism. Then there’s the rain - the sky crying for the two brothers, so you’re not sure if those are raindrops or tears on their faces + lotus pond for the Yunmeng vibes. As for the golden core, I wanted to make it kinda messy and leaking like blood + shining and make it the main light source of the piece. Also kinda like a glow stick liquid.

I also like finding fitting music to go with my art and this one was actually supposed to go with Avicii’s Hey Brother, but when I was looking it up on Spotify I saw Kodaline’s Brother right above, gave it a listen and then the lyrics hit me. So I already knew that they’re gonna go in the caption. Also apparently it’s like The Song for them and yeah, makes sense.

2. Creating

2.1 Set up and tools

I use Paint Tool SAI + Wacom Intuos S to do all my art! The entire pic was made on a 2000 x 3000 px canvas, since I don’t like to work too big because of limited brush sizes in SAI + I don’t want to torture my laptop, as my art takes up quite a lot of processing power with a lot of layers and modes and sometimes things like to crash at the final steps 😬.

2.2 Planning and composition

So I started off by doing a digital sketch and focusing on the composition a bit more - I wanted something geometrical, so I went for the diamond shape with Wei Wuxian’s silhouette and the placement of the lotuses. Also the composition is vertical, all the important info is in the middle column - you could cut off 2/3 of the picture and it would still tell the story.

2.3 Lineart

Then I did the lineart over the sketch layer (there was a more detailed one than the “planning” sketch, but it looks like I deleted it once I finished). I usually draw more than I have to and on separate layers, so that I can move/modify things easily later - for example JC’s headpiece here didn’t really make it that much into the final piece but It Was There. Once I was satisfied with the lineart, I cleaned it by erasing overlapping things, like Wei Wuxian’s clothes behind Jiang Cheng’s head.  

2.4 Planning the lighting

After doing the lineart I blocked the characters with a single color and planned the lighting. The golden core is the main light source here, so it dictates which parts are gonna be lighter and which darker (although there is gonna some ambient occlusion from the background + reflected light from the water). I also added water and lotuses in the foreground + painted the background.

2.5 Shading the characters

After that, I started shading the pic. I usually do two steps here - one with “base” shading - focusing on the details and values based on the light source, then the mood shading with more coloring - based on the setting the characters are in. The first one is mostly done with the Multiply tool and base layer blending/painting, the second mostly with layer modes like Overlay and Luminosity. I also colored some parts of the lineart to make the shapes stand out (see: wwx’s front hairs)

2.6 Environment and touch-up details

Then it was time for the water and lotuses + the “special effects” for the rain and all the stuff associated with it - water splashes, mist, sparkling drops! Also some more mood lighting. Lots of new layers to keep everything organized and separated.

2.7 Finished pic

And done! After finishing I usually adjust the contrast/gamma/saturation of my art (or just edit it all in curves) + sometimes sharpen it to bring out details → I make a few different versions and pick the one that works the best. Although with this pic I was satisfied with the raw result so no major changes happened.

3. Posting

For posting I always scale down the pictures and upload them as a draft on this art blog. Then I check if things look okay on mobile as well - from what I’ve noticed my phone makes everything more warm-toned. Depending on the time I finish drawing, I either post it right away or wait until the next day, when there is more traffic on tumblr. I finished this one around 8PM of my local time, which is fine - so I posted it right away (also I was just excited, couldn’t wait 😅)!

As caption I used the lyrics from Brother by Kodaline, as mentioned before!

So yeah, that would be it! 

If you made it till this part - thank you and I hope you have an awesome day! ✨

Let’s keep the artist vibes here - I’m gonna tag (not 5 ppl but shh) @still-snowing​ and this piece that still breaks my heart @driszol​ and this Song Jiyang pic that lives in my head to this day @kushexi​​ and this pic with fox Wei Wuxian and A-Yuan bc it still makes me melt → no pressure of course! or if you want to do some other piece that’s awesome as well!

[abizarreyodelingincident]

LU: The Sacred Beast (for a farmer)

The Sacred Beast (for a farmer)

His skin was burning.

Black particles floated up from the ground, toward a sky an unnatural shade of dusk. Spots danced before his eyes. He couldn’t… 

Illia. The kids. He… he had to stand. 

His bones shifted. 

Link blinked away tears. 

His groans of pain echoed through the air and in his head. Where was the monster? He… he had to get away from the monster before he passed out. 

The back of his hand flared, and set the rest of him on fire. Pain took over his mind, blinding him to everything but itself. He knew that something had changed in him, but as his suffering receded, so did his strength. 

Darkness claimed him, leaving him only with the knowledge of his body changed by the magic of the monsters. The last sensation he registered was that of his nails -- hard, split -- hitting a mount of dirt in the path. 

***

“Get that beast out of here!”

It took six guards pushing with all their mights, but they managed to throw Link off his hooves. The poor adventurer headbutted the stone rails leading to the South gates. He shook his head, more annoyed than hurt by the impact. On the other hand, the stone rail had crumbled. When he narrowed his eyes back at the guards, they clearly gulped.

Now, if only they'd just let him through already.

Not for the first time, Link really wished he would have been cursed into a more intimidating form. Maybe a big dog or a wolf would have been better. He certainly wouldn't have been dragged out of town by the horns, at least. Link entertained the image of those damned guards cowering before a mighty wolf before shaking his head. Daydreams wouldn’t get him anywhere. 

***

Link tilted his head as he pushed an ear against the singing stone. Some animal instinct of his couldn't help notice the otherworldly cold around it, nor the faint voices whispering through its ritualistic structure. Notes, howled to a moonless day. And fainter still, an invitation. Suddenly, he knew what he was meant to do. That didn’t help much. 

How in Farore's name was he meant to play those melodies in this form?!

Oh boy...

Link glanced around for a bit, partly out of heroism, partly out of embarrassment. He couldn't let anyone lose their hearing from what would happen next. Maybe that skull kid would, and he guessed that'd be punishment enough for the puppetry attacks. Seemed a fair trade in retrospect.

“Well?” Midna asked, scratching her vibrant flame-red hair. “Any clues, farm boy?”

He shot her a grim look, then cleared his throat. It came out shaky, and off-key.

Her shadowed form went still. “Oh no, farm boy. You are not braying that. I can't block my ears in this form. I'm not even corporal!”

Link resolutely ignored the ghostly jab in his ribs. Alright. Alright, the notes. He had to hit the right notes, correct?

Seconds later, the skull kid fled the Lost Woods, dozens of horrified critters running past him with their ears covered in whatever way they could manage.

***

The realm of the dead shifted to accommodate two beasts, sacred, a chasm away and yet less than a stride apart. Below, Hyrule Castle was witness to the impossible meeting between ancestor and descendant, proud chosen of the Goddesses and legends of grand tales.

The last notes faded away, a sense of serenity cloaking the world as both lowered their heads.

The Golden Wolf did a double take.

“... Why are you... Shouldn't you be a wolf?”

Link pawed at the ground and aimed his horns.

The Golden Wolf cringed. “Huh, right, right, sorry. I suppose I expected my descendant to be a wolf too… not that it's wrong to be something else! At all! It's just that the goddesses spoke of the Sacred Beast, and then my spirit took this form and… you know what? Let's just get to sword training, son.”

***

“A Sacred Beast to counter a Dark Beast. Giddy up, Link. We're in need of your horns again,” Midna said from his shadow.

Link didn't groan.

He had long since learned to channel his rage into rearing hindlegs and a skullbash strong enough to decapitate a bulblin. He let the shadows engulf him, took in the comforting weight of Midna on his back, then pawed in challenge before the glowing glyphs.

Beast Ganon was very surprised, a moment later, when his mad rampaging got cut short when he slammed himself face first into a snarling goat that didn't move an inch.

His tusk broke though. 

***

Link jumped at the sound of skittering pebbles. Ever since the old king had told him he was destined to save Hyrule from the Calamity, he'd been fearing failing a second time. It felt like the second he would relax, the whole world would collapse on top of him. Anything and everything that could threaten his mission would.

He'd startled himself awake every night since the revelation. Berated himself for resting, for letting himself be vulnerable in the open where any random monster, or even ill-intentioned traveler could kill him without a fight.

He couldn't fail.

He stumbled as his foot hit a root on the path, his body suddenly heavy and his sight blurry. He straightened up against the rocky side of the cliff. No. He had to stay alert. He couldn't let down his guard. Even if his eyelids weighed more than a talus.

The noise came from above him.

Link scrambled out of the way.

The creature that trotted down the slopes of the cliffside stood about as tall as a horse, and the pair of long, linked horns only added to the height. It also had hooves, but... broken or something. Link wasn't intimidated – he'd dealt with scarier – but he kept his arrow notched just in case it turned out territorial. The last horned animal he'd gone too close to had chased him up a tree. Stupid horned thing!

This one though... it brayed softly, almost comfortingly. Link blinked. Did wild beasts do that? Without thinking, he put his bow away and reached very slowly.

It did not snap teeth at him.

Did not startle away, fleeing like they could see all his failures.

His hand met warm coarse fur, and his breath hitched.

The animal nipped his sleeves, not hard enough to even dent the fabric, and knelt. Then tilted its head.

“You… want… climb?” he pushed out, struggling to find the proper words. “Me... on you?”

It nodded. Could it understand the hylian language? Maybe his hand gestures? Every other animal so far had fled from him the second they heard him coming. The only ones that didn't were the little four legged ones that barked when he got close to a stable. Tame. Right, that was the word.

He stared some more at the animal. It reminded him of... Gasping, he pulled out his Sheikah slate and swiped through the compendium. Goat! That was it. This animal looked a bit like a goat. Bulkier, and its horns weren't right, but the fur and the body was way too similar for it not to be a goat too.

Link grinned at the animal. “Goatie. You're a Goatie.”

It did the face some Hylians made when he was proud of remembering something they said was obvious. Wild almost cringed, but a burst of noise stole his attention, and he whirled around, rusty sword in hand.

“Haha, die, Hero!” some Yiga assassin crooned as it appeared in a blast of red magic and paper talismans. “Ganon's takeover will not be sto-GAH!”

The goat had rammed straight into the assassin's chest and sent them flying. As circumstances or Hylia had willed it, it just so happened that the Yiga had laid their ambush between a cliff and a hill. Whilst the goat hadn't hit them past the cliff's edge, it had indeed thrown the assassin down the hill, where they started to roll. Cursing. Hitting trees, bushes and unfortunate foxes all the way down to a small stream. Where a handful of lizalfos nested. Yikes. That looked painful.

The goat snorted, then turned up its nose at the poor Yiga.

With vivid blue eyes the same shade as his, the goat gestured for Link to get on its back. This time, he did not hesitate.

Horses were fun, Wild decided right there and then, but Goatie was so much better.

***

“Whoa! What's that thing?” Sky jumped to his feet, nervously eying the horned beast that had calmly trotted out of the bushes.

Amongst those that had drawn their swords, only Wind and Hyrule didn't sheath them back immediately upon recognition.

“Sky,” Legend deadpanned, “that's a goat. A farm animal. Not a bloodthirsty predator.”

Blushing faintly, Sky apologized, putting his sword away. “Right. I... I never saw one of these before.”

Time quickly pat him on the back, never letting the goat out of his sight. “Better be more cautious than not. Especially since farm animals can be quite dangerous in their own right. A well-placed kick from a cow or a horse will send you to the healer just as quickly as a bite from a wolfos. That goat's horns are... larger than I'm used to.”

“Yeah, I admit, I've never met that breed before. Anyone?” Legend swept the camp with his gaze.

Most shook their heads, but Warriors put a hand to his chin. “I swear I've seen one like this before.”

Even the goat looked nonplussed at that.

“Really?” Wind asked, glancing between the animal and his big brother. “You know how to tame one.”

The goat pawed the ground.

“No, no, it was during the War of Eras, and I had to jump through timelines a lot during that time period. It's not native to my Hyrule, but it's from one of yours.”

Hyrule piped up. “Maybe it's from Twilight's world? Too bad he's gone scouting.”

Wild finally blinked himself out of his daze. “That's… that's my friend. Helped me save Hyrule and everything.”

Four stared. “A goat helped you defeat Ganon?”

Wild scratched his cheek, willing himself not to remember the loneliness, the void opening up inside him as he realized his friend couldn't accompany him to the very end. The solemn look, that last nuzzle before he had to face his destiny inside the ruins of Hyrule's old heart. The tearing sound of black particles as they shot toward the sky, and nothing was left behind him...

Wild gulped. “Okay, not specifically Ganon, but I'm not sure I would have survived on my own without his help.” With a shaking smile, he knelt by Goatie and ran a hand behind his ears. His old friend gently nipped his fringe. “I can't tell you how many Yiga imposters this big fella headbutted straight off a cliff.”

Hyrule's hands stopped just inches away from the goat's fur. His legs tensed up, as if he was getting ready to dodge when he was a threat. The goat only turned placid blue eyes at him, as if to tell him 'you see a cliff somewhere?'

Hyrule's own gaze replied with 'I see your horns' which was fair enough, really.

***

Four froze on top of the stump. Wow. He thought he was observant, but that one had blindsided him. No wonder Wild and Twilight were so close. That explained a whole lot, including many things he now realized were quite humorous.

“... Alright, Twi, this'll be our little secret, but... can I just say that your eyes still freak me out? Especially from this far below?”

“Why do you think I stare at the Pretty Boy so often?”

“... Think you can teach me this power?”

***

“I swear, if this animal tries to munch on my clothes, I won't be held responsible for what happens next.”

The passive, square pupils would haunt Warriors' next nightmare.

They also involved cliffs.

***

“No wonder he doesn’t want to tell the others. Can you imagine the Captain’s reaction?”

“It’s not just that.”

“It’s a factor though,” Wild said. 

Time gave them both flat looks. “More importantly, he’s worried about their reaction to the magic he’s using.”

Four raised an eyebrow. “Why? What magic is he using?”

Time’s reply was suspiciously fast. “No clue, but that’s his secret to tell. Remember that.”

He was quick to leave, a bit too quick. Four might need to get to the bottom of this. In the meantime though, he showed Wild a smirk. 

“... I still think he’s a bit shy about his beast form.”

Wild snorted. 

***

“So, you've noticed how the old man is always calling Twilight 'kid', right?”

Wild raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Yeah, and? Time's an old man. We're all green boys to him, that's all.”

“-except,” Legend jumped in, sharp, “he only calls Twilight 'kid'. Not you, or the little pirate or our resident smithy or, heaven forbids, me. Only our farmhand, who is coincidentally the second oldest with Warriors here.”

Wild discreetly looked for an exit, and to his despair, found none.

Warriors placed a hand over Wild's shoulder. “Look, it's obvious those two have a close bond. He's taking Twilight under his wing, showing him the ropes, having secret meetings. Not to mention the way Malon always had a soft look for him at the ranch.”

Okay, he didn't know what was going on there, but he also had a feeling he was going to hate everything that would come out of Legend's and Warriors' mouths. Tension was locking his muscles into places even as he tried to figure out an escape plan before he was subjected to an interrogation that would end up with Twilight's secret being revealed. He really didn't want to see Twilight's reaction to being betrayed so.

“Here's what we figured out. Time is Twilight's father. They just don't want to admit it so that our teamwork is not affected.”

Wild screamed on the inside.

“And you might be thinking that Twilight's too old to be his son, but consider this: time travel. Twilight is Time's kid from his future and they're both aware of it, so it's why Twilight looks up to him so much, even if they were a bit hesitant at first.”

Mental-Wild screamed louder.

“You... ”

“Don't even try. Twilight grew up on a ranch. He told us his dad taught him swordplay, and you can't ignore how similar their technique with a blade is.”

… Alright, that last one was a pretty good question. If Twilight was separated from Time by a good few generations, how in the world did they have this kind of technique? “He told me he's adopted.”

Warriors rolled his eyes and became instantly more punchable. “A weak deflection, Wild. The evidence doesn't lie.”

Legend stared a few seconds longer, then smirked. “No, no, Warriors, it's okay. I get it. Twilight and him are pretty close too. I'm sure they share a few secrets too. It's only natural. Wild can't deny or confirm anything, right?”

“No, I'm telling you he's not-”

Legend patted him on the shoulder, and was lucky Wild didn't smack him. “We understand.” Legend smugly ruffled his hair.

Seriously, Twilight better appreciate how much effort it was to keep this secret from the others!

***

Warriors threw his hands in the air. “Okay, there's no way Goatie following us is a coincidence. We're in the middle of the desert! There's no food to graze here!”

“I'm telling you,” Wild groaned. “He's the Sacred Beast, sent by the goddesses in Hyrule's time of need.”

Hyrule looked away from the ruins' carving he was trying to decipher. “Huh?”

“The Kingdom!”

“Wild, your pet goat is great and all... ” Legend carefully slid behind Time and away from the large farm animal, eyes wary. “But you don't have to pretend it's a goddesses-given gift just to keep him around. Nayru knows I've had my share of non-divine, regular animal companions too. And they talked.”

Hyrule and Wind perked up. “Oh, really?” the little pirate asked.

Legend launched himself into a succinct if entertaining description of the time he snuggled inside a kangaroo's pouch in order to jump over ravines and hidden caves. Goatie watched from the other side of the campfire, poking Warriors whenever the soldier seemed to doze off.

***

“Twilight!” Wild shouted, scrambling through his slate to summon up a bow and arrow.

Stupid world hopping. Stupid sunny day. They'd landed in one of Akkala's grassy fields, and it had seemed safe. He'd catalogued the location of the worst of Ganon's minions all over the slate, and there really shouldn't have been anything out of the ordinary here of all places. He'd told the others as much. They hadn't completely relaxed, but they hadn't been prepared either for a lynel straight up rampaging into their camp.

Nor for the small horde of lesser creatures flanking it.

At some point, the lynel had managed to corner his big brother alone by the edge of a cliff, the remaining creatures forming a wall between them. Then a club swing had ripped the Ordon Sword out of Twilight's grip, and Wild's heart had sunken lower than his stomach.

He had to save him!

Wild weaved between a pair of lizalfos that Sky and Warriors ran through the next second, ducked under a moblin's foot that was burned to a crisp right after and slid with his bow at the ready. The lynel had picked up Twilight in one of its enormous paws and lifted him off the ground as if he didn't weigh thrice as much as Four.

Heat and light flared at the back of the lynel's throat.

He wouldn't make it.

“No!”

Twilight grabbed the sides of the lynel's head with both hands.

Even the monster paused, too surprised to react.

Wild winced preemptively.

Twilight slammed his forehead against the lynel's skull.

The impact rang like a bell. 

The lynel collapsed.

Twilight landed with a dull thud on top of the beast's massive arms, and they could only rush forward in an attempt to help him away before it stood back up. Other monsters scampered, horrified at their leader being downed in one blow. Yet, as the Links were but a few body lengths away, the lynel's eyes flickered open, fangs glimmering with the flames licking the back of its throat.

With a barely human howl, Twilight grabbed the sides of the lynel's head again. It whimpered. 

The Links all stopped right in their tracks to cringe preemptively. Someone, likely Wind, muttered “Oh shit.”

The resounding crack of bones sent a shiver down their spines.

The lynel's chin dug three inches into solid ground. Its eyes rolled back into its skull, and its tongue lolled out onto its beard. It wasn't getting up again.

Twilight staggered away, glaring a storm at the retreating monsters. “And fracking stay the goshesses away from my herd!” he slurred at them with a shaky fist.

“So,” Legend began, as shell shocked as a pale Warriors, “remember when you described Twi as having a head as hard as a goron's teeth?”

Warriors mutely nodded.

“Turns out that was an understatement.”

***

Legend subtly put his magic mirror to the side, pretending he hadn't seen a pretty interesting reflection moments earlier. With faux nonchalance, he picked up Twilight's hawk mask. The effect on his sight was worth experimenting, but it was the appearance it gave that Legend sought.

“You know, this kind of reminds me,” he started, watching his fellow hero for his reactions. “In a faraway kingdom, it is traditional to don masks in the likeness of beasts to honor the survival of those that became one in the dark world.”

Twilight, to his credit, appeared entirely guileless. “Huh, and here I heard you became a phantom, unable to interact with anyone else, never to realize you've become lost.”

Well, he had the 'helpless' part right. But Legend wouldn't let that little game distract him. So, Twilight didn't want to come out and say it outright?

“What kind of beast would you want to be?”

Twilight didn't even hesitate. “A wolf, obviously.”

Four choked on his saliva.

Awkward silence fell on top of the clearing as three out of the four heroes exchanged baffled looks, before two of that same number decided that Twilight, apparently, couldn't lie to save his life.

“OBVIOUSLY!” Wild screeched.

Beads of nervous sweat rolled on the sides of Four's face as he nodded. “Y-yeah, I mean, it's kind of the logical choice for Twilight. I can't believe you don't see it.”

Wild frantically rushed to Twilight's side and gestured to his pelt and hood. “He's so wolf-like! With his... goat pelt... and goat head hood.”

“Preys!” Four jumped to his feet, struck by frankly divine inspiration. “Preys he took down like a wolf!”

Cool as a cucumber, Twilight grabbed his little brother by the shoulder and pulled him closer. There was something in his expression, something sharper, and perhaps even a bit feral. It glinted in the flash of teeth he showed, before the grin softened. “See? They agree with me.”

Legend stared, his neutral expression hiding the surge of disgust that had flowed through him at the idea that they considered this a convincing argument. The sheer insult that they thought he bought that. At least, their reactions pretty much gave away that they knew about Twilight's caprine form.

His smile intact, Twilight extricated himself from the other two's grip, ruffling their hair as he went. “Well, that was a fun thought, but I think I ought to scout for a bit, lest we get ambushed by monsters in our downtime.”

And with that, he left, shameless. Legend felt a vein pulse on his forehead as he noticed the goat emblem painted on Twilight's shield. His mind became torn between a massive groan of exasperation and crippling shame that he hadn't made the connection before. Had anyone else ever met a goat just like Goatie?

Four and Wild eyed him nervously. But the second Legend tried to hold their gaze, they decided that they really, really needed to get back to brainstorming the forging of a weapon for Wild. Good luck with that, he thought, idiots.

Mere moments later, Legend found Twilight leaning against a tree, shaking all over from silent laughter. He was clutching his ribs, whimpering as he bit down on his knuckles not to explode.

Oh.

Teary eyed, with a massive grin on his face, Twilight breathed out a long sigh of relief. “Did you see their faces?”

Legend blinked. Apparently, Twilight couldn't lie to save his life, but he could play others around him like cheap grass whistles.

Despite himself, Legend said: “I'm impressed.”

“I really shouldn't... ” Twilight admitted with a sly grin. “But you don't know joy until you've forced Wild to try and cover up for you. Even though he constantly needs someone to do it for him, he's just so bad at it.”

Legend smirked. “And here I thought you were a stick in the mud. Turns out under that exterior of a solemn, serious young man hides a troublemaker with a good poker face. What would our dear leader say?��

For a second, Twilight eyed him as if he had sprouted a second head and started dancing. Then, he snorted and patted his shoulder. “Veteran, you should see what the Old Man's capable of.”

Mildly disturbed, Legend found himself grateful when one of Wind's bokoblin jumped out of the foliage and attempted to assassinate them. It was a welcome distraction from a much scarier prospect. The short-lived attack also led him to discover the source of Twilight's shapeshifting.

The cursed stone lit up with orange lines, inches away from Twilight's eyes. “Yep, that's how I do it. During my adventures, I needed a bit of help, but now I can control it myself. Still pretty dangerous for someone else though.”

“So, you use dark magic... to turn into a goat.”

“Pretty much. What about it?”

“Nothing. I just needed to say it out loud.”

Twilight pondered, then shrugged. “I suppose that's fair. Now, I really do need to scout our surroundings if there are bokoblins lying in wait like this. You're coming?”

With a nod, Legend followed in his footsteps. He hadn't thought he shared too many points in common with Twilight, but apparently, his companion was full of surprises. It made him wonder what else there might be under that plain, good country boy façade... Eh, he supposed he would find out eventually.

“By the way, dark magic turns me into a pink bunny.”

“No way.”

BONUS

Ordon saw the serenity of its pre-harvest morning suddenly destroyed by high-pitched screaming.

“I told you he's not Time's time-traveling son from the future! See? This looks nothing like Lon Lon Ranch! It's not even in the right spot on the map!”

Legend shrugged, leaning against the goats' enclosure. One of said animals trotted a bit closer, and Legend briefly pondered if Twilight would use cursed artefacts for the sole purpose of getting the jump on one of them. In the end, it was seeing said farmer, in all his inglorious bumpkin garments that actually convinced him that the goat sniffing at his sleeves was just a goat.

“There were a lot of correlating details. Twilight being Time's son would have explained a lot.”

Twilight's subsequent pause and shrug were entirely too innocent. “Well, I am adopted and no one knows who my blood parents are, so I guess it's possible...”

“OH COME ON!”

[seavoice]

Nerdy desi gansey is everything I never knew I needed <3

nerdy desi gansey you get it !! i really do think you can take his character to so many interesting places by having him be south asian, when you consider how deeply his family’s insistence of “put on a smile, what will people think” has impacted gansey’s character. especially as a desi political family living in the USA. it’s great

normally, im actually not a fan of headcanoning characters as specific ethnicities solely due to family dynamic stereotypes (like for example, the point of — oh this family has communication issues/are perennial people pleasers they must be desi. I’ve seen it spring up a lot?) because while it’s absolutely true that a lottt of desi families have a general attitude of log kya kehenge it’s,ehhhh, always a slippery slope, you know? (this is of course different when people look at a character and go oh that’s relatable and can recognise similarities between their own and the character’s situations! i just mean in general) ESPECIALLY when the gansey family’s white privilege and generational wealth is in canon an deniable fact and privilege they have and utilise every chance they get, in particular as wealthy, white politicians in the united states!

HOWEVER all that said and done, nerdy desi gansey is a REALLY fun and interesting headcanon, for many reasons, including his relationship to his family!! (also elder sister whose already Accomplished and Shiny, and a younger brother who’s more of the eccentric free spirit child—this is like every modern-ish time Bollywood sibling dynamic😂)

also. rich desi private school boys who are from political dynasties? unspeakably annoying. TAKE IT FROM ME. I went to school in an area where there were several RICH, blazer requiring all-boys schools. theyre like prime aglionby candidates! unfortunately

ive seen a TON of Pakistani Gansey headcanons and they’re really all great!! Also have decided that, you know that throwaway line where the Ganseys go to Punjab mint farms for a photo op? actually they’re just visiting family in Pakistan :)

Also, I think Gansey with his love for history and mythology, would definitely be drawn into the rich history of the region if he was desi, the tales of Ashoka and Akbar and Vikramaditya and Jahangir, the princely southern kingdoms. Also lmao, model reconstructions of Harappan cities?? You BET there will be a mini Mohenjo-Daro within a month of a late night Indus Valley Civilisation deep-dive!! Ronan sits with him at 3 am once and has to listen to a couple hours of Ronan, they simply had ingenious drainage planning! He cries about granaries a little.

Also, I’m finding it absolutely hilarious to imagine Gansey failing at making a cup of tea for Malory in this scenario, or really anything with the tea he’s forced to drink in 300 Fox Way. because like. You know. Desi. Chai. Personally I’m not a big chai drinker but 😐 you gotta take low hanging headcanon/fruits when you can right? Gansey still fails to make a single cup of proper tea for Malory throughout the length of BLLB but he can rest easy knowing he has simultaneously disappointed the ghosts of his ancestors and made them unspeakably proud (disappointed cause he can’t make a single cup of tea, proud because hey oppressing the British? the dream)

[hela-avenger]

poison & wine- last call

Author: hela-avenger

Word Count: 1195

Summary: Prince Loki of Asgard is in need of a date to take back home. That’s where you come in with a task of your own to make the whole trip with an insufferable prince worth it. Too bad that things don’t always go as planned and you end up giving more than you can take. Fake-Dating AU.

A/N: I don’t know where this came from but it was definitely fun to write! Hope you enjoyed the angst train because by next week that ride will be over! 

poison & wine masterlist

Black Widow Babe- 1 missed call

Hey, just came back from the mission and FRIDAY said you left without saying goodbye. I hope you’re doing ok. If Loki did something to you on that trip, let me know. It wouldn’t be my first time killing a royal prince. Call me back or just come back. Bye. 

Wanda Woman- 1 missed call

Hi, love. I know Nat called but I thought I would call you too. I don’t know… Call it my sixth witchy sense but I feel like something’s wrong. Your room… It’s filled with some chaotic energy and I’m worried. I haven’t told anyone this but call me back and let me know if you’re ok. Maybe we can do brunch and talk about whatever is bothering you. Just know that we’re here for you. Love you. 

Tony ‘IronMan’ Stank- 8 missed calls

Hey. I’ve been calling you and you keep ignoring my calls so here I am leaving a voicemail. Do people still do these things these days? I don’t know and I guess it doesn’t really matter cause I’m doing it. 

I’m just worried about you. Barnes won’t tell me anything about you leaving and the Prince of Darkness has been awfully gloomy and I’m not saying it’s you but… Kid, I mean what happened out there? You left without saying goodbye which you never do and I… I’m just really worried. 

I know you’re back at home trying to recover from what shall not be spoken but call me back. Let me know you’re alive. I… Well, you know. 

The Mighty Thor- 1 missed call

Leave a message after a beep? Alright that seems quite simple, telephone lady. Waiting for a beep. Beep, beep, beep… This is taking too long. Perhaps I should try emaili-

Buchanan Barnes- 3 missed calls

Hi doll, had to sneak off to call you but it seems your phone is off and I get it. I understand why you have to disconnect, but everyone is worried about you. Nat and Wanda cornered me the other day and threatened to take my arm off if I didn’t tell them what I saw when you left but I’m not a trained spy for nothing. I can keep a secret which I assure you, I’ve kept it. Lips are sealed. 

I just… I think you need to come back. Besides everyone being worried about you, I mean… I might not know the guy very well, but Loki is quite the recluse since he returned. We haven’t talked much but he did ask about you and Y/N… Just call me back, please. 

Black Widow Babe- 4 missed call

Wanda Woman- 5 missed call

Tony ‘IronMan’ Stank- 14 missed calls

Unknown Number  Peter Parkour- 1 missed call

Ah, Y/N! Hello! I have finally learned how to use a voicemail! Spiderboy- 

-SpiderMAN

Man? But you are small. You are but a boy. 

-Mr. Thor, please? 

Very well, you are to be a very tiny Spiderman. Where was I going with this? How do I-

-No, don’t push that button-!

Tony ‘IronMan’ Stank- 22 missed calls

Capn’ Crunch (Stevie)- 1 missed call

Hi, Y/N. I know everyone’s been calling and I tried to give you the space you wanted but it’s been weeks since we last heard of you. Bucky assures me you’re fine but I can tell he’s not too sure about that either. 

We all miss you here and I’m not trying to guilt trip you to come back but we do miss you... some more than others. I’m not going to name names but… I don’t know what happened up there in Asgard but I have a feeling that I might actually do and I… I’m trying to refrain from going all Captain to you but is running away the best option here? You have people who care about you and wish to support you here so please consider it. 

Be safe wherever you are. 

Buchanan Barnes- 5 missed calls

Tony ‘IronMan’ Stank- 37 missed calls

The Mighty Thor- 2 missed calls

HELLO! Ah, yes. I finally have managed it. Very tiny Spiderman was not as useful as I hoped he would be, but I have managed on my own! I hope you are doing well Lady Y/N. For my brother’s sake, I hope you are. I told him to leave you a voicemail but he refused. I don’t understand why he’s being quite cold lately. Haven’t seen him this way since we were children when father and I accidentally left him behind in one of our adventures. 

I don’t know what occurred back in Asgard but it seems it must have been quite severe for Loki to be behaving this way. I was hoping you might offer some insight. Or well… I should have considered perhaps that Loki might have done something to you. That’s quite worrisome. Please do call me back or send me an email! My email is- 

End of Audio Message.

Buchanan Barnes- 11 missed calls

Tony ‘IronMan’ Stank- 91 missed calls

Alright, kid. This is the last call I’m making. I… I’ve been calling you every day for the past few months trying to reach you. I have half the mind to fly out to your little getaway and YES I know where you’ve been this whole time. You think I don’t have the means to find your home estate? 

Anyways, I’m tired. It’s four in the morning and I thought I’ll give it one last shot. I’ve been trying to reach you because well… I have some big news. I don’t know if you’ve been checking your mail or even checking your voicemail but I proposed to Pepper a while back. 

We actually had an engagement party, and a bachelor party, and a bridal shower, and well you get the picture… We’ve missed you on a lot of things but you can make up for it by coming to the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. You should have gotten an invite and I’m really hoping you’ll come. You’re family, Y/N so just… Just check your mail and book a flight. 

Y/N- 1 Missed Call

“Hey, I know it’s late and you’re probably asleep but I thought I should call you before I board my flight. I know I’ve been MIA but I… I just needed some time to myself. I know I’ve been gone for a long time but being home gave me that clarity I was looking for. 

I uh… I actually started to read my mother’s journals again and as much as it hurt I could… I could just feel her with me again. I started to think about what she would say about this mess I found myself in and it made me realize that I left you behind. I basically abandoned you and for selfish reasons so I’m sorry. I hope I can make it up to you when I get back to the compound. 

Maybe uh… I mean, if you don’t have a date already, we can go to Tony’s rehearsal dinner together. Just a thought so… so yeah, I’ll see you soon.”

poison & wine tag: @damalseer @just-the-hiddles @jessiejunebug @nonsensicalobsessions @smollest-soybean @assassinoftheworld @readerbandit @doyoufeelikeayounggod @strangemcuvlogs @ha-tep @i-dont-know-eiither @gene-king @day-dreaming-fox @bn-studies @is-it-madness @devilbat @victor-criss-bish @skinny-macncheese @musicconversedance @baby-bunnyxn @fandoms-allovertheplace @marvelloonie @jinxjinxednova @queenmuahaha @accio-boys @eternalqueensworld @umlvk @roger-the-reindeer @punkrockhufflefluff @your-local-abyss @horsesandwolvesaremyanimals​ @rogerrhqpsody @imsad420 @pandacookieowo @justnerdystuffs @hanoi15​ @oneprolificqueen​ @nikki-who-likes-coffee​ @fandomrelative​ @nikki419ninja​ @onedollarduck​ @help-i-need-a-social-life​​ @ephemeraljade​ @catsladen @amwolowicz​ @captainmarvelnerd​ @thegirlbeyondtheuniverse​ @ddaeing​ @leftperfectionmoon​

Loki Tag: @unicorniorosacomefrutillas @thesilentbluesparrow @oddly-drawn-muse @josiehosiedaninja @hp-hogwartsexpress @sadwaywardkid @wolf-lover74 @sizzlingbarbarianglitter @sigyn-njorddottir @aoirohi​ @defunctcherrybomb​ @horsesandwolvesaremyanimals​

All Works Tag: @jmb959 @astudyoftimeywimeystuff @hellocookiecutter @steve-rogers-personal-hell @buckybarnesyard @not-zari-tak @strangersstranger @thefridgeismybestie​ @moonlightprime

[kadavernagh]

Friend Like Me || Regan & Nell

TIMING: Current-ish. LOCATION: The woods. PARTIES: @kadavernagh and @nelllraiser SUMMARY: Sometimes all you need is a friend to get you out of a dark place. (Regan and Nell end up trapped and need to get a little creative in their escape.) CONTENT: Cursed.

Regan had a lot to do before Sunday. She had taken for granted that Deirdre would always have animals waiting in the clearing for her, didn’t question where they had even come from anymore. She should have questioned it. Should have questioned a lot of things. But her curiosity, like everything else, was getting smoothed out of her like a river-battered rock. As it turned out, Deirdre caught most of them, or perhaps paid someone to do it. And now, Regan was to find a fawn or other suitable animal for next weekend, and she had to capture it without killing it. While she’d gone on the occasional hunting trip with her dad and brothers, she had never hunted herself. And her dagger was far from a rifle. She would need to get close, really close, and Regan had a feeling that too was part of her training. 

She had lost track of time, but surely it had been a couple of hours at minimum. And while Regan tracked down several carcasses, and one particularly nice dead fox kit, she had yet to find a large enough live animal. Finally, though, it sounded like there was something big nearby. The twigs snapped, twenty yards away. Her fingers tightened around the dagger. More movement. There was something in the bushes and brush, though there were still enough leaves on them to obscure just what it was. Regan took a quiet step closer -- one more, then another -- as she held the weapon high.

Stealth wasn’t a necessary asset as Nell moved through the forest, only on the prowl for some herbs and assorted tree barks on this particular day. Most of what she needed for spells could be found in her greenhouse, but sometimes wild-gathered was better than homegrown, depending on the magic. As she sensed someone else’s approach, she paused to listen to their movements, as if she could separate friend from foe based on the heaviness and frequency of their footfalls. With a thoughtful frown, a quick and often-used spell was mumbled on her lips, meant to sense living things within a certain radius. Just beyond the brush was...something vaguely human-sized. Unfortunately the spell wasn’t sophisticated enough to tell her exactly what it was. Looking in the direction of the signature the spell had picked up, the witch raised an inquisitive brow before addressing the hidden being. “Are you just gonna stare at me petting this tree, or are you gonna come out? I’ve got dibs on this tree- so if you want some bark, you’re gonna have to find your own.” While she waited, she resisted the urge to check on her knives and their placements on her body, trying to calm the paranoia that came with being approached in the woods by an unknown. After all, that had been the beginning of Bea losing her head.

Just when Regan was beginning to doubt that her own eyes had picked up movement, a familiar voice sounded from behind the brush. Human. Not a deer, or any other animal she could use. And a human whose voice she recognized, at that. “Penelope?” It still could have been her imagination. It wasn’t uncommon for those in solitude to hear things that weren’t there, and it was even less uncommon for her in general. She stepped through the bushes to better assess the situation, but kept a safe difference from -- yes, that was Penelope. And she was petting a tree. Regan lowered the dagger, in hopes of avoiding questions. If she had known the woods would be this crowded, she would have insisted on Millinocket instead of this cabin, like she initially wanted. “I have many questions, but--” her eyes were drawn to Penelope’s wrist, “-- I see your wrist is better. I don’t know if that means you actually listened to my medical advice, or if enough time just passed for it to heal.” Truth be told, Regan wasn’t sure she could recognize a week from a month right now; each day blurred into the next, marked by nothing other than the increasing intensity of what she had to do. “What are you doing with the bark? I wasn’t expecting to see anyone out h--” Something rumbled beneath her, subtle, but very much there. A pebble rolled into her boot. Perhaps a small earthquake, barely noticeable. Maine didn’t have large ones. “Did you feel that?”

“Regan?” was Nell’s questioning reply, though she could plainly see that it was the banshee who stood in front of her with...a knife? That had been a blade, hadn’t it? Confusion paired with intrigue was quick to flash across Nell’s face as her eyes trailed the movement of the now sheathed weapon. Perhaps it was comical on some level that she should be so surprised by this development in nearly the same way Regan had been startled by Nell’s willingness to fight Nadia all those months ago in the morgue. But it was evident that Regan didn’t want to speak about the dagger, or how she’d come to carry one in the first place, and Nell took a long moment to decide whether or not to honor that desire. People carried knives for protection, didn’t they? This thought of concern was the deciding factor when it came to being her usual nosy self or not. If Regan was in danger, Nell would want to help. “You carry a weapon now?” she asked innocently, not wanting to come on too strongly. “I mean- it’s been something like 4 months since I hurt it, right? Thanks for looking at it again, though.” Nell hadn’t realized how long it’d been since she’d seen Regan in person until she’d done the quick calculation of time passed, and a small flicker of guilt sparked in her stomach. Had she been so busy with her own and others’ problems to do something as simple as ask Regan if she wanted to get pie? “Oh- I was just gathering the-” Her own words stopped mid-sentence along with Regan’s as she too felt the earth tremble ever so slightly beneath them. “What the fuck? Is that...an earthquake?” They weren’t completely unheard of, but as the tremors of the ground beneath their feet began to intensify, Nell did the only thing that seemed logical. “We should get somewhere safe! Somewhere with less really tall trees that could crush us.” Instinctively she tried to close the distance between herself and Regan to reach for the other woman’s hand, wanting to tug her along towards a clearing.

The dagger. Penelope had seen it. Any hope Regan held otherwise -- foolishly, against her own training -- plummeted. But then, Penelope carried weapons on her, too, albeit for a different purpose; surely she didn’t find this too unusual, right? “Not all of the time,” she admitted, putting more space between the two of them, “and it isn’t what you think. I would never-- I thought you were a deer.” Too close. Penelope was still too close to her. She hadn’t intended to get as close as she was right now, and rupturing any of Penelope’s organs was unacceptable. “Four… four months.” Regan’s tone was flat as she processed that, but she blinked at the thought. How had that been four months ago? She wasn’t sure whether it felt like that amount of time was too long or too short. Everything had been so different then. “Right,” she added, uncertain, “four months ago.”

Apparently Regan wasn’t the only one who felt the ground shake, which gave her at least some confidence about her mental wellbeing, but made her concern about their current situation grow. “I think-- I think it’s an earthquake.” And it wasn’t letting up. The small tremor grew into rumble powerful enough to make her legs wobble, her wings fluttering to catch her balance. This never happened, not in Maine. Not to this extent. Penelope’s hand shot out toward her and Regan peeled back, her voice a tight hiss. “Don’t touch me. Don’t come near me.” But Penelope was right about one thing; the earthquake was only getting worse, and being somewhere surrounded by tall trees could be dangerous. As if to emphasize the point, a loud creeeeeeeclunfffff from nearby was almost certainly a tree that just fell over. Regan wouldn’t let herself jump, even flinch. Had Deirdre been here, she would have calmly and confidently walked the two of them to safety, the vibrations telling here where not to step. But Regan wasn’t Deirdre... not yet. “I know where there’s a clearing. Come with m--” The earth shook below them again, twice as fiercely, and before Regan could lead the way, it swallowed them up. 

Nell barely had a moment to process any of Regan’s words let alone her severe determination to keep as much space between the two of them as possible. There was only the faint and concerning question of ‘What’s wrong with her?’ flitting through the witch’s mind before she felt the ground drop out from beneath her feet, her stomach lurching like she was on the downside of a rollercoaster. Unfortunately there were no seatbelts on this particular thrill ride.

She hit the cold dirt hard with a grunt and a roll, doing her best to make sure no lasting injuries beyond a bruise would find a mark on her today. “What the fuck?” she repeated less than gracefully, too many questions flitting round her brain as she tried to right herself. The loudest one banging around her head was the first to find her lips. “Regan? Regan, are you alright?” For a moment Nell worried she’d hit her head hard enough to do something to her vision, but it soon became apparent that they were simply too far from the surface for any meaningful light to make its way to them. “Where are you?” she asked, reaching out with searching hands while her eyes took longer than she wanted to adjust to the lack of sun. 

As the earth rumbled and split open beneath them, Regan could barely focus enough to hear what Penelope was saying -- but it didn’t sound like English. Ground fell away, and she felt herself plummet down, further and further. Her wings whirred to life instinctively, and just when Regan thought they would help slow the fall, or even lift her back up, it felt like a weighted blanket was smothering her, pushing her to the bottom of a massive, dark cave, as everything happened too quickly for her to react. She wasn’t sure what part of her struck the ground first -- her side smacked the floor and her left ankle twisted at a painful angle. She heard a scream echo through the cave around them, which might have been her own. She hoped not. Deirdre would have been disgusted by her screaming in fear. Fear was, Deirdre always reminded her, unbecoming.

Regan winced, slowly pushing herself up. There were only pin pricks of light shining down from above. Flying out wasn’t an option, not that she was convinced she would have been able to regardless. And there was the matter of Penelope. Wait, Penelope -- where did-- but before Regan could call out, she heard Nell’s voice echoing, not as loudly as the preceding scream. “Where are you?” She asked, having a difficult time pinning down the source of the voice. She pushed herself up a little further, leaning against the cold wall of the cave for support. She tested her ankle, put some weight on it. Pain shot up her leg, but she didn’t react. “I twisted my ankle. I need to examine it later. No symptoms of a concussion. I likely have some contusions. I imagine you do, too.” She probed her side with a hand, not surprised at the tenderness. It was surprising that was the worst of it, given the fall both of them had taken. “Yourself? I can’t see you. I’m sorry about the-- I don’t know if it was me who scr-- oh, there you are.” She reached out, seeing some movement straight ahead. For a moment, she forgot herself, forgot about the danger of physical contact, and just wanted to prioritize finding Nell and assessing her injuries. Her fingers brushed against something alive, and it wiggled at her touch. “Penelope? Is that you?”

Relief flooded through Nell as Regan’s voice filtered through the darkness, the tightness in her chest easing as it seemed Regan was only minimally damaged. “Okay- okay, do you think you can make it out of here on your own with the ankle? Once we find a way out?” Nell asked, already thinking of ways she could potentially pull off a way to magic her friend out of here should the situation call for it. 

“I’m here,” Nell answered reflexively, moving towards the sound of Regan’s voice, eyes still taking their sweet time when it came to adjusting in the low light of the sinkhole. “No, it’s fine-” the witch said as she counted herself lucky. No doubt if Regan had actually screamed it would be a far different story. “I’m fine, too. Just some scrapes and bruises, probably.” Already she could feel a trickle of warm blood making its way down her leg, but she’d see to that later. Reaching out in the direction of Regan’s voice, Nell found something warm and stable, and certainly alive under her fingertips. “....Regan?” It was close to where Regan’s voice was stemming from, but something about it felt decidedly...not Regan. As if to answer her query, pinpricks of light bubbled up under her fingers, soft, blue, and luminous dots peppering into existence. The pattern of them was confusing, looking as if they curved around a leg, or perhaps even an arm. “What the fuck,” Nell uttered for the third time since her and the banshee’s reunion, instinctively pulling her hand back. If she didn’t know better she’d say the little lights could form a pattern of...stripes.

Penelope’s voice echoed through the cave again, still difficult to pin down exactly where it was coming from. It was alarming, though, that it didn’t seem to line up with the direction of the thing Regan had just touched. Auditory hallucination. Certainly. Right? “Yes, I’ll make it out of here. We both will. My ankle will be fine.” It felt too strange pointing out that she could fly, if necessary. Or at least she thought she could; she couldn’t tell if her wings had been injured or torn in the fall, too. She wasn’t eager to check them and find out -- the less she needed to ever touch them, the better. 

“Where--” Regan could hear Penelope calling her name, closer now, but-- no, very close. She was only feet away, though she only looked like a blurry dark shape in the tiny amount of light afforded to them. Regan sighed in relief, reaching out again. “It’s me, yes. Why are you posed so strangely, like you’re on your knees? Are you injured more badly than you want to admit?” but before Regan could make contact with Penelope, fluorescent blue droplets formed and dissipated across the dark figure. They stretched across the surface in bands, contouring in the approximate shape of a person, though severely disfigured or deformed. Its proportions were wrong -- legs too long, rear too high, and neck craned upward at an unfortunate angle. Had Penelope been mangled? Where was the light coming from? It glowed like a semen stain under a UV light. But Penelope seemed equally as stunned, and Regan’s ears picked up quick movement. The bright blue bubbles expanded, forming clear stripes, and they began flashing like a strobe. 

“That’s… that’s not you, is it?” Regan swallowed back the lump in her throat, reminding herself to muzzle her fear; it had no place in this world. With one last flicker, the stripes went out like an extinguished candle, and all she could hear was a rapid skitter as someone -- or something -- scuttled away like a large spider. Penelope. Right. She had to be close. Regan lurched to the side to see if she could make contact with her, and she bumped into something warm and solid. A quick palpation revealed a human arm and hand, and Regan reluctantly latched onto it, putting the danger she herself posed aside for just a moment. “That’s you, right?” she pleaded, “Please tell me that’s you. I don’t know what that was. But I don’t think it left us alone, and it’s dark in here, and I don’t think there’s a way out, and I can’t see a damn thing, and I can feel you shifting your weight and know you’re hurt.” Muzzle it, Kavanagh. She drew in a long sigh of musty air, and her tone evened back to its new-normal flatline. “Have you ever been stuck in a cave before? What do we do? I only have half a Snickers bar with me.” 

Whatever the hell it was that had come between the pair of them skittered away, and Nell tried her best to track it as it fled, though she lost it amongst the more distant and indistinct shadows of their cave. “Nope! Definitely not me.” But then what the hell was it? “That’s me,” she said with more confidence as she felt the familiar cold of Regan’s touch— doctor’s hands or whatever she had called them on numerous occasions before. “I’m hurt,” Nell admitted reluctantly, knowing Regan might not let it be unless she addressed the subject. “But nothing that’s gonna stop us from getting out of here.” If Nell was being honest...she’d probably been stuck in a few too many caves with all the shenanigans she’d gotten up to in her travels before she’d returned home to White Crest. “You’re in luck— I’m basically a cave breakout expert,” she answered in a tone that was meant to instill some levity back into the conversation, not wanting to worry Regan. Though...perhaps that was the wrong tone to take considering the banshee’s general lack of comprehension when it came to Nell’s figurative speech.

“Don’t worry about the Snickers bar. I know how to get us out of here.” Thankfully, nine times out of ten, magic was always the answer to a situation such as this, though she wasn’t entirely sure how well Regan might take that approach and execution. But did it really matter when it was most likely their only way out? Reaching for the familiar pull of magic that flooded her veins, she gripped it firmly in her grasp, a spell already forming on her lips.  In a moment, Nell had summoned a bag of takis from home into her waiting hand, the crinkling of the chip bag filling the cavern in a sound that almost made Nell flinch. What if that...thing heard it and came back? 

No sooner had Nell thought of it than the glowing and dotted stripes filtered through the cave once more, approaching with what looked to be curiosity mixed with caution and very possibly...hunger. “Shit. Do you think it wants...food?” If they wanted to make it out of the cave, they’d first have to ensure that whatever this was didn’t eat them, first. Ever so slowly...Nell popped open the bag of takis, taking a single and spicy cone out before throwing it in the direction of the mystery creature. It had worked for hellhounds in the long run— hopefully it would work for this thing as well.

A cave break-out expert. Regan didn’t think that was a professional designation, but it seemed fruitless to argue with Penelope on the subject right now. She was more concerned about their injuries and finding a way out of here. At least Penelope had the confidence that she lacked. She stayed clinging to Nell, the risk of becoming separated greater than the risk of a scream at present. “You have a plan?” Regan asked, skeptical. The question was met with crinkling plastic. Was that… it sounded like a snack food bag? Was that the plan? Only to add more food to their stash for them to ration out as they starved? “Water is more important,” she chided quietly, “we can take inventory and ration later, but we’re dead unless we find water in a couple of days. Not to mention, it’s likely we’ll develop respiratory infections, perhaps fungal. And I don’t know how bad your injuries are. Caves are filthy. An infection is quite possible. We could--” But there it was again, the pulsing of fluorescent stripes, migrating down from the ceiling, coming closer and closer…

Regan pushed back against the mounting pressure in her lungs. She wouldn’t scream. Not next to Penelope. Not touching her. The thing might not be dangerous. It might not even be alive. But the source of the stripes only lingered nearby, one flashing limb stretching in their direction as if asking for something. Nell voiced what Regan had been dreading. “It can’t have our food, Penelope. We need it. We might be down here for a long time.” Would anyone be able to find them here? In a closed in hole in the middle of the woods? Kaden knew the general area she was in, but it was vast, and who would think to look underground? She could scream, possibly, but a noise loud enough to escape the confines of the cave would surely deafen Penelope. But there was a pop as the bag of snacks was opened, and Regan could hear Nell’s fingers shuffling around inside to grab something. Her muscles moved in a way that suggested she had tossed it.

The rest happened in a split second. Something long, narrow, and brightly striped shot out toward them, curling around whatever Nell had thrown. It whipped back to where it came from, vanished. Regan couldn’t even hear a crunch. “Did it just-- what did you do? Did you feed it? Did it eat it?” The stripes lit up brighter, and under their glow, Regan could see Penelope’s face. But more urgently, was the creature -- the bands of stripes spread across its body until it was a solid, pulsing white, its shape horribly reminiscent of the thing she saw in the woods with Morgan, and the creature outside of the mime restaurant. “We need to run right now,” Regan barked, pulling on Penelope’s arm, “this thing will eat us next!”

“Regan, it’s gonna be fine. I-,” Nell caught herself before using the dreaded ‘p’ word, realizing her months of missing Regan’s presence almost had her slipping into bad habits around the fae. “We don’t have to worry about any of that stuff, ‘cause it’s not gonna get that far, alright? My sisters aren’t gonna let me go missing for a couple days, let alone hours- and you know Kaden won’t either.” There were a million and one ways she could get them out of here with her magic. And even if somehow that didn’t work, Nell would bet her life that Luce would be out by dusk with a tracking spell to lead them towards her missing sister. They’d all probably been a little too hypervigilant since the run in with Montgomery, but it definitely would have its perks in a situation such as this. “Just trust me, okay?” 

Nell watched as closely as she could when the singular glowing stripe snatched up the taki, trying to ignore the shiver of vague disgust that had worked its way down her spine. “No, I think it liked it!” the witch denied as the thing grew brighter, finally granting Nell the light she needed to see. But perhaps it would have been better if the creature hadn’t come to light. The thing was perched strangely on its toes, as if it was some kind of skinny gorilla tiptoeing around on its knuckles. Watching the creature closely, Nell squinted as she reflexively threw another taki, letting it land directly on the floor in front of the glowing beast. After having made a living of catching monsters for the Ring, and dealing with them for multiple years before that— she was confident in her abilities to read the movements of unfamiliar creatures, even ones as silent and stoic as the thing in front of her. “I think it just...wants more chips?” Now that it was bathed in light, she could take a closer look at the creature, and soon enough her eyes went back to the legs it was stilted on. “Do you see that?” she asked with disbelief beginning to enter her voice, refusing to budge despite Regan’s commands. “It looks like...almost claws on its hands?” Something nearly akin to grappling hooks. “Do you think- you don’t think it could climb out of here, do you?” And suddenly a ridiculous plan had begun it’s formation in her mind’s eye. 

“You’re getting an idea,” Regan said, taking in the shine of Penelope’s voice, “I know you’re getting an idea.” And even through the thick numbness that had taken hold inside of her for the last few months, she could feel a drop of dread spreading through her stomach like blood soaking into tissue paper. Any plan originating from Penelope’s brain would involve substantial risk and danger. There was no question. And Regan, even now, still loathed both of those things. Being near the animal seemed like risk enough for a lifetime. “Stop feeding that thing. I don’t think it-- what if you’re only whetting its appetite? And we’re next?” But even as the creature skittered closer in want of more chips, it didn’t seem to be motioning to attack them. Maybe this one was more timid than the one she encountered in the woods with Morgan. She didn’t have it in her to hope for that.

The creature’s stripes pulsed again, almost rippling with light, and Regan could see that Penelope was studying it closely. She herself preferred not to look at it, and turned away. “It might be able to, but we can’t. Besides, there’s no light filtering through. We’re caved in. I couldn’t even fl-- I mean, there’s no getting out of here unless we dig our way out.” Penelope knew that, right? Surely her question was hypothetical. Surely she wasn’t angling to attempt to train this dangerous animal and try to convince it to dig a path for them. Surely.

Crap.

“For the record,” Regan said, tightening her grip around Penelope’s arm, “I don’t support whatever it is you’re about to do. Would it really be so bad to wait in here and do nothing? You said it yourself: your sisters and Kaden will come looking for us.” Though her concerns from earlier about them not being successfully bubbled up in her mind. “If it pulls your leg off, I can’t save you here.” The blue stripes flashed red for a split second, and every muscle in her body clenched. She reminded herself of Deirdre. She was a storm. She had nothing to fear. Except, likely, dismemberment by way of subterranean cryptic mime. 

The glowing creature scuttled closer, and it took all Nell had in her not to flinch away as it began to pilfer the Taki bag in her hand, it’s tongue growing somehow even longer as it reached into the depths of the plastic to ensnare a mouthful of chips. It wasn’t fear that had her wanting to draw away, but a deep-seated hatred matched only by her disgust for anything striped that made her want to pull apart from the thing. Unfortunately...the creature was the only plan she had at the moment, so the choice of whether or not to be friendly had already been made for her. “But if I stop feeding it, it might decide that it actually is hungry and then want us. At least the chips are distracting it,” Nell refuted. “I’m getting an idea, and it might not be the most...straightforward one, but it could be one that gets us out of here.” Looking over Regan, she let her gaze linger for a moment longer on the woman’s arms. “How good would you say your upper body and leg strength is…” If Nell’s plan was going to be successful, they’d need to hang on as tight as they could when it came to the execution. “I mean- this thing looks pretty good for digging...don’t you think?” No doubt the banshee would know where Nell was going with this now.

Ever so slowly, Nell set the bag of Takis on the ground, thankful that it was one of the jumbo sized ones she’d specially ordered online. Hopefully it’d keep the creature busy for a while yet. Sure enough the cursed and flashing mime-like monster continued to stuff its face, holding the bag steady with the very same claws that had given Nell this idea. “I don’t wanna wait. Don’t you wanna get out of this hole as soon as possible?” And when had been the last time Nell had really gotten to have a bit of fun with little chance of death while still having that delicious rush of adrenaline? Sure, Regan seemed convinced that the creature would go feral at any moment, but the witch was certain there was only one way out at this point. Brushing her hands on her jeans, Nell looked towards Regan with a warning glance, legs tensing to jump. “Don’t freak out when I try this, okay? I don’t want any sudden movements to make it...angry.”

And with that Nell launched herself up the side of the creature, scrabbling for any purchase she could find among the stripes. The mime shifted beneath her, the new and additional weight taking it by surprise. For a moment it reared its head as if trying to see what had saddled itself upon its back. “Give it another chip!” Nell yelled to Regan, having finally managed to settle herself astride the creature, one leg on either side of it. “Before it figures out that it wants me off!”

It liked the chips. It actually liked the chips. By the faint glow of the creature’s stripes, Regan saw its long tongue slither back around, grasping for more food. She had half a mind to search along the ground for the knife she had lost and slice the creature’s tongue from its mouth. That thought made her go cold -- it seemed like something Deirdre would do. “I go for a run every morning. And I’m strong enough to flip a large decedent over if I must. But I’m not-- wait, why are you asking?” She knew from Nell’s tone that she had an idea. That was almost as frightening as the thing eating her chips. “Digging? You expect it to dig us out of here? Is that what you’re saying? Do you know how long it would take for it to dig a tunnel we can climb up? I don’t know definitively. But it would almost certainly take-- we don’t even know how deep we fell.” The creature lifted its flat face from the chips and stared into her for a moment, before slowly lowering itself back down to the crinkling bag. A shiver jumped down her spine. Another one joined it when Penelope told her not to freak out. “What are you about to--”

Penelope leaped. In the dark, there was a black blur of movement springing toward the creature. Nell landed on the thing’s striped back, and it scuttled and bucked in response. The shock of it all tore through the complacency of her training, and Regan felt the scream pushing itself up again. Cave. Penelope. Danger. Before it could escape, she clamped down on her tongue with her teeth. “I will not!” Regan hissed back, the taste of blood filling her mouth. “I think it’s already figured that out. I-- this is such a reckless and-- what would your sisters say if they knew-- I think that thing would rather eat you than the-- oh, fine.” She clambered for the bag, and as it crinkled between her fingers, she fished a chip out and tossed it blindly into the air. “Please don’t tell me you expect to ride it like a horse. Don’t tell me that. I don’t want to know. Sometimes not knowing is better.” But as the thing galloped closer on silent toes, Penelope bobbing on its back, Regan knew exactly what she had in mind. There was room on the mime for two.

Nell paid absolutely no mind to Regan’s claims that she would not be riding the mime creature. As the thing continued it’s beeline course for the banshee, no doubt enticed by the chip bag she was holding, Nell leaned over the side of it just enough to reach out an arm. “Grab onto me!” she yelled as the pair got into range, ready to haul Regan up onto the creature as well. Her eyes were bright with excitement as they drew closer to the other woman, chest almost heaving with the promise of adventure. “It’ll be fine! The chips are working!” Would it actually be fine? There was no actual way of telling, but Nell wasn’t about to admit such a thing to Regan while she was trying to convince the woman to make a haphazard boarding of the animal. “You wanna get out of here, right?” Nell dug her heels into the sides of the creature, finding a divet in its sides that almost felt like they’d been made for fitting her feet- something akin to a natural stirrup on the beast. The biggest struggle was where to put her hands. It didn’t seem that the slime coating the creature was becoming any lesser, and it wasn’t as if there were a mane of any sort for her to grip and hold onto. Instead she held onto the thing between clenched legs, thanking the fact that she was made of lean and strong muscles despite her small stature. “Almost there! Just reach out your arm!”

And there it was. Confirmation of what Penelope’s plan was. And it was every bit as horrible as Regan suspected. “Grab onto you? Why? I’m not going to--” But she was forced to swallow those words. It all happened too quickly. Penelope surging onto the thing’s glowing back, the creature charging toward her, and her instincts taking over. She wasn’t sure whether she grabbed onto Nell with the intent to pull her off, or with the intent of clinging onto her, but Penelope wasn’t letting the former happen. Her stomach plummeted with every silent step the thing took, and all she had to hold onto was Penelope. Regan closed her eyes and clung to her, focusing only on not screaming and blowing her friend up along with their mount. She wouldn’t let herself look. But she could feel clumps of dirt flying against her face, and the tension of the beast’s muscles underneath them as it worked through the wall of the cave. “There is no way this is safe,” Regan muttered, still attentive toward keeping a scream from forming, “it’s going to dig a grave for us and then eat us and then there won’t even be any of us left for the grave, and we’re going to die down here, and we’ll never be found.” But the dark field behind her eyelids suddenly grew… lighter. And, for just a moment, it felt like a weak breeze joined the spray of dirt against her skin. Regan blinked open one of her eyes, then the other, as blue skies appeared overhead. 

A bright and careless laugh tumbled out of Nell as Regan found her own place among their new friend, hands tentatively reaching into the air as if she were at the fair. She couldn’t think of the last way she felt so light, a part of her remembering fondly the rush levity that came with latching onto the back of a strange creature and riding it off into the sunset...even if this one was suspiciously mime-like. How long had it been since she’d interacted with the supernatural simply for the fun of it? She’d spent the first of her five years travelling finding the parts of the world that housed creatures such as this, swimming with fish larger than a boat, climbing the side of a beast the size of a skyscraper...When had it stopped? When had life become more about death than the fun of it? “Relax, Regan! Just enjoy yourself!” she chuckled brightly, knowing that asking the former medical examiner to do such a thing was akin to telling the sun not to rise. The light came slowly, peering through the shadows of the dirt and rocks surrounding them until Nell could distinguish the features of Regan riding behind her. “It’s okay, Regan,” she began again, the rush of adrenaline beginning to wear off now that their mount was slowing, and the darkness was disappearing behind them. “We did it. We made it out.” 

[follychromatic]

OCs!

First time I’ve drawn these guys in months! Did some redesigning and worked on their silhuettes. More info on each character, and their world, below the cut!

So, these characters belong to an original cartoon I want to make. The basic plot is that it takes place in an extreme version of 1920’s-40’s society, where the girls are girly, the guys are manly, and everything just works. Everything is black and white (and parodies 1930’s-era cartoons), and everyone has a place.

One day, a wolf shouts out against this, stating that no, things don’t work because people are unhappy. Everyone is miserable, but they can’t say anything because then that means admitting that things are not what they were lead to believe. She gets run out of town, but a curious fox named Fauna follows her.

The wolf, named Emma, explains that everyone is just a cog in the clock, and people can’t do what they want to do. Her mother is miserable, Emma is miserable, and Emma is aware enough that she’s picked up on this in others. Everything sucks. Fauna explains that she’s never seen those signs, or at least, she didn’t realize until now. She’s not happy, either, but she thought it was just her. But, that doesn’t mean everything sucks; everyone still has friends, music exists, and so much more!

After this, their eyes begin to change color. Fauna’s become a gold, while Emma’s become a dark blue. They don’t know what this means, but they want to find out.

FAUNA: The main character. Fauna is a curious fox who is anything but sly. She’s determined to help, empathetic, and tries to see the good in everything. However, she’s also aware of the cruelty of the world, and is constantly fighting back against it to show things do not have to be this bad.

EMMA: Emma has been exposed harshly to the bad side of the world, and until she met Fauna, could only see the darkness of it. She is constantly trying to see what Fauna sees, and she also fights for a better world. She is more realistic than Fauna, and the two working together balances things out.

DANTE: A jock at the local school, Dante is a showoff big time. He’s strong, confident, and smooth. However, he’s also understanding, empathetic, vulnerable, and would rather talk than fight, which is the opposite of what this world- and moreso, his own father- wants him to be. (And on top of that, he’s 100% not straight.)

CASSY: Cassy is the therapist friend. She’s the mom friend. She’s the one who can settle any dispute. She loves her friends and her family, but she also struggles to keep them together. Good-looking, she also struggles with keeping people away from her. She rarely allows herself to really get mad, and tries hard to put her friends first, always.

MOMO: Momo the Monkey is a bouncy bean! A street magician with a passion for tricks and pranks, he loves having fun! He can take it too far sometimes, though, but a good chat with his friends helps him see where and why he was wrong. He is the one who is constantly cracking jokes and shipping his friends together (as all good friends do >.>), and is only good-intentioned.

ROSE: Rose the Rabbit is the cool, confident, sly, knowing and cunning friend. She has a dress for every occasion, and is highly observant. She has her guard up around strangers constantly, but around her friends and family? The exact opposite is true! She has a love for singing and painting, and supports her friends as best as she can. She supports her brother the most, though, who wants to play soccer professionally.

BEN: Ben the Bunny just kinda... showed up? He was found in the woods, shy and a nervous wreck. He was constantly worried he’d taken a wrong turn with his friends, constantly apologizing and making sure no one was mad at him. His sweater and sweatpants are almost always dirty, and he is usually alone if not with the rest of these friends. Once he opens up, even if it’s just a tiny amount, he is a very loving person who doesn’t believe that violence should exist. He runs from fights, but will support you in the aftermath 100%.

SANDY: The first villain, Sandy is a snake determined to keep everything exactly the same. Once she hears that this group of kids has been running around changing stuff up, she does everything in her power to set it “right” again. Smart, resourceful, and ambitious, she knows pretty much everyone and so has ears everywhere.

As this series goes on, the more colors will appear on characters. Different family dynamics and situations will arise, as well as LGBT+ representation (a LOT of it), songs, laughs, and a lot of serious topics. Tw for abuse, depression, anxiety, harm, mental illnesses, addiction, homophobia, transphobia, racism, and sexism. But, we also have singing, bonding, healing, meta comments on real-life issues, laughs, references out the ying-yang, side character character-development, deep and complex lore, magic, and so much more.

I still don’t have a name for this story yet, and it’s been an idea for a long time. I’m working on it! For now, have these characters, and welcome to this wacky world! I hope you enjoy!

[d-criss-news]

Darren Criss acts as playwright when he writes songs. He’s far more confident, and certainly more vulnerable, when he allows himself to play the part. In such a way, songwriting opens up a whole new world that pulses with untapped potential. So much of what he has accomplished in 15 years resides in his willingness to expose himself to what his imagination and intuition have in store. He steps into a playwright’s shoes with considerable ease (just look at his resume), and always one to put on plenty of bravado, especially during our Zoom face-to-face, it’s the natural order of things.

“As I get older and write more and more songs, I really recognize that I’ve always preferred to write for another context other than my own,” Criss tells American Songwriter. He speaks with a cool intensity, gesturing emphatically to accentuate a sentence, and when you let him go, he’s like the Energizer Bunny 一 “I can tell by just how quiet you already are that you’re fucked,” he jokes at the start of our video chat. But he remains just as engaged and focused when listening.

He soaks in the world, taking astute notes about behavior and emotional traits he can later use in song. His storytelling, though, arrives already in character, fully formed portraits he can then relay to the world. It’s not that he can’t be vulnerable, like such greats as Randy Newman, Tom Waits, and Rufus Wainwright, who have all embroidered their work with deeply personal observations, it just doesn’t feel as comfortable. “I’ve always really admired the great songwriters of the world who are extremely introspective and can put their heart and soul on the chopping block,” he muses. “That’s a vulnerability that I think is so majestic. I’ve never had access to it. I’m not mad about it. It’s just good to know what your deal is.”

Criss’ strengths lie in his ability to braid his own experiences, as charmed as they might be, into wild, goofy fantasies. In the case of his new series “Royalties,” now streaming on Quibi, he walks a fine line between pointed commentary on the music industry, from menial songwriting sessions to constantly chasing down the next smash, and oddball comedy that is unequivocally fun. Plotted with long-standing friends and collaborators Matt and Nick Lang, co-founders of Team StarKid, created during their University of Michigan days (circa 2009), the show’s conceptual nucleus dates back more than a decade.

If “Royalties” (starring Criss and Kether Donohue) feels familiar, that’s because it is. The 10-episode show ─ boasting a smorgasbord of delightful guest stars, including Mark Hammill, Georgia King, Julianna Hough, Sabrina Carpenter, and Lil Rel Howery ─ captures the very essence of a little known web series called “Little White Lie.” Mid-summer 2009, Team StarKid uploaded the shoddy, low budget production onto YouTube, and its scrappy tale of amateur musicians seeking fame and fortune quickly found its audience, coming on the heels of “A Very Potter Musical,” co-written with and starring Criss. Little did the trio know, those initial endeavors laid the groundwork for a lifetime of creative genius.

“It’s a full circle moment,” says Criss, 33, zooming from his Los Angeles home, which he shares with his wife Mia. He’s fresh-faced and zestful in talking about the new project. 11 years separate the two series, but their connective thematic tissues remain striking. “Royalties” is far more polished, the obvious natural progression in so much time, and where “Little White Lie” soaked in soapy melodrama, the former analyzes the ins and outs of the music world through more thoughtful writing, better defined (and performed) characters, and hookier original tunes.

“Royalties” follows Sara (Donohue) and Pierce (Criss), two struggling songwriters in Los Angeles, through various career exploits and pursuits. The pilot, titled “Just That Good,” features an outlandish performance from Rufus Wainwright as a major player in dance-pop music, kickstarting the absurdity of Criss’ perfectly-heightened reality. As our two main characters stumble their way between songwriting sessions, finally uncovering hit single potential while eating a hot dog, Criss offers a glimpse into the oft-unappreciated art of songwriting.

In his own songwriting career ─ from 2010’s self-released Human EP and a deal with Columbia Records (with whom a project never materialized) to 2017’s Homework EP and Computer Games’ debut, Lost Boys Life, (a collaboration with his brother Chuck) ─ he’s learned a thing or two about the process. Something about sitting in a room with someone you’ve never met before always rang a little funny to him.

“You meet a stranger, and you have to be creative, vulnerable, and open. It’s speed-dating, essentially. It’s a different episode every time you pull it off or not. All the big songwriters will tell you all these crazy war stories. Everyone has a wacky story from songwriting,” he says. “I slowly realized I may ─ I can’t flatter myself, there are tons of creative people who are songwriters ─ have prerequisites to just put the two together [TV and music]. I’ve worked enough in television as an actor and creator. I can connect the dots. I had dual citizenship where I felt like it was really time for me to go forth with this show.”

But a packed professional life pushed the idea to the backburner.

Between six seasons of “Glee” (playing Blaine Anderson, a Warbler and lover to Chris Colfer’s Kurt Hummel), starring in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on Broadway, and creating Elsie Fest, a one-day outdoor festival celebrating songs of the stage and screen, he never had the time. “I was lucky enough to be busy,” he says. “As Team StarKid’s star was continuing to rise with me being separate from it, I was trying to think of a way to get involved again with songwriting.”

At one point, “Glee” had officially wrapped and his Broadway run was finished. It appeared “Royalties” may finally get its day in the sun. “I went to Chicago for a work pilgrimage with the Langs. We had a few days, and we put all our ideas on the map: every musical, feature film, show, graphic novel, and animated series we’ve ever thought of,” he says. “A lot of them were from the Langs; they were just things I was interested in as a producer or actor. We looked at all of them and made a top three.”

“Royalties” obviously made the cut.

Fast forward several years, Gail Berman’s SideCar, a production company under FOX Entertainment, was looking to produce a music show. Those early conversations, beginning at an otherwise random LA party, showed great promise in airlifting the concept from novel idea to discernible reality. Things quickly stalled, however, as they often do in Hollywood, but Criss had at least spoken his dreams into the universe.

“I finally had an outlet to put it into gear. It wasn’t until two to three years after that that things really locked in. We eventually made shorts and made a pilot presentation. We showed it to people, and it wasn’t until Quibi started making their presence known that making something seemed really appealing,” he says. “As a creator, they’re very creator-centric. They’re not a studio. They’re a platform. They are licensing IP much like when a label licenses an indie band’s album after the fact.”

Quibi has drawn severe ire over the last few months, perhaps because there is a “Wild Westness” to it, Criss says. “I think that makes some people nervous. Being my first foray into something of this kind, Quibi felt like a natural partner for us. If this had been a network or cable show, we would’ve molded it to be whatever it was.”

Format-wise, “Royalties” works best as bite-sized vignettes, charming hijinks through the boardroom and beyond, and serves as a direct response to a sea of music shows, from “Nashville” and “Empire” to “Smash.” “Those shows were bigger, more melodramatic looks at the inside base of our world. I’ve always been a goofball, and I just wanted to take the piss out of it,” he says. “This show isn’t about songwriting. It’s about songwriters… but a very wacky look at them.”

“30 Rock,” a scripted comedy loosely based around “Saturday Night Live,” in which the focus predominantly resides around the characters, rather than the business itself, was also on his mind. “It’s about the interconnectivity of the people and characters. As much of the insider knowledge that I wanted to put into our show, at the end of the day, you just want to make a fun, funny show that’s relatable to people who know nothing about songwriting and who shouldn’t have to know anything.”

Throughout 10 episodes, Criss culls the “musicality, fun, and humor” of Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger and Max Martin, two of his biggest songwriting heroes, and covers as many genres as possible, from K-Pop to rap-caviar and classic country. While zip-lining between formats, the songs fully rely on a sturdy storytelling foundation ─ only then can Criss drape the music around the characters and their respective trajectories. “I wanted to do something where I could use all the muscles I like to flex at once, instead of compartmentalizing them,” he says. “I really love writing songs for a narrative, not necessarily for myself. I thrive a little more when I have parameters, characters, and a story to tell.”

Bonnie McKee, one of today’s greatest pop architects, takes centerstage, too, with an episode called “Kick Your Shoes Off,” in which she plays a bizarro version of herself. “She has her own story, and I’ve always been fascinated by it,” says Criss, who took her out to lunch one day to tell her about it. Initially, the singer-songwriter, known for penning hits for Katy Perry, Taio Cruz, and Britney Spears, would anchor the entire show, but it soon became apparent she would simply star in her own gloriously zany episode.

In one of the show’s standout scenes, Pierce and Sara sit in on a label meeting with McKee’s character and are tasked with writing a future hit. But they quickly learn how many cooks are in the kitchen at any given moment. Everyone from senior level executives to publicists and contracted consultants have an opinion about the artist’s music. One individual urges her to experiment, while another begs not to alienate her loyal fanbase, and then a third advises her to chronicle the entire history of music itself ─ all within three minutes or so. It’s absurd, and that’s the point. “Everyone’s been in that meeting, whether you’re in marketing or any creative discussion that has to be made on a corporate level by committee. It’s the inevitable, comedic contradictions and dissociations from not only rationality but feasibility.”

Criss also draws upon his own major label days, having signed with Sony/Columbia right off the set of “Glee,” as well as second-hand accounts from close friends. “There are so many artists, particularly young artists, who famously get chewed up and spat out by the label system,” he says. “There’s a lot of sour tastes in a lot of people’s mouths from being ‘mistreated’ by a label. I have a lot of friends who’ve had very unfortunate experiences.”

“I was really lucky. I didn’t have that. I have nothing but wonderful things to say,” he quickly adds.“It wasn’t a full-on drop or anything. I was acting, and I was spreading myself really thin. It’s a record label’s job to make product, and I was doing it piecemeal here and there. I would shoot a season [of ‘Glee’] and then do a play. I was doing too many things. I didn’t have it in me at the time to do music. I had written a few songs I thought were… fine.”

Both Criss and the label came to the same conclusion: perhaps this professional relationship just wasn’t a good fit. They parted ways, and he harbors no ill-will. In fact, he remains close friends with many folks from that time. So, it seems, a show like “Royalties” satisfies his deep hunger to make music and write songs ─ and do it totally on his own terms.

“I still say I want to put out music, and fans have been very vocal about that. I feel very fortunate they’re still interested at all,” he says. “That passion for making music really does come out in stuff like [this show].”

“Royalties” is Darren Criss at his most playful, daring, and offbeat. It’s the culmination of everything he has tirelessly worked toward over the last decade and a half. Under pressure with a limited filming schedule, he hits on all cylinders with a soundtrack, released on Republic Records, that sticks in the brain like all good pop music should do. And it would not have been the same had he, alongside Matt and Nick Lang, not formed Team StarKid 11 years ago.

Truth be told, it all began with a “Little White Lie.”

[suckmysupernatural]

Sunshine - Chapter 1

Series Masterlist

Word Count: 2226

Pairing: Sam x OC Sunny

Series Summary: The Winchesters meet a cheerful hunter named Sunny, who quickly captures Sam’s attention. Little do any of them know what lies in store when Sunny gets invited to join the brothers. Who can say how Sam, Dean, and Sunny will be some training days, a handful of hunts, romantic dates, a kidnapping, and one vengeful demon later.

Chapter Summary: Sam and Dean meet an upbeat hunter with incredible skills

Warnings: show-level violence, language

A/N: I’m so excited to finally be sharing this series with you guys! 2 1/2 months of writing and it is seeing the light of day. A big thank you to @emptycanvasposts​ for beta-ing and helping to correct my many, many grammar mistakes. Also thank you to @erin-fox-winchester​ for hyping me up and giving me amazing notes that made this series so much better.

A/N 2: I’m now doing a forever tag list!!! Send a message, ask, reblog, or reply and I’ll add you <3

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

The sleek black Impala raced down the road towards Norfolk, Virginia. Sam and Dean had been alerted of a vampire nest in the city, so they decided to make the long drive from Lebanon. Sam was passed out in the back seat as Dean rocked out to classic rock music to stay awake. They had been on the road for a total of 20 hours, stopping once at a motel for sleep. Dean looked down at his phone, checking the directions; he nodded to himself, satisfied with the results. 

Ozzy Osborne’s “Crazy Train” suddenly blared from the speakers, Dean turning up the volume to wake up his brother. This was Dean’s version of an alarm clock, and boy was it alarming. Sam jolted upright, looking for the source of the sound. After realizing it was just his brother, he brought his hands up to his eyes in an attempt to rub away the grogginess Sam felt.

“One hour out, man. You hungry?” Dean asked over his shoulder, chuckling at the brother’s reaction to the noise. Sam awkwardly climbed into the front passenger seat, his legs getting caught under him and almost causing him to tumble face-first into the dash. Dean bit back another laugh upon seeing the taller brother’s struggle, only to be met with a glare.

“Yeah, I could use some food,” Sam responded as he tried to suppress a yawn. The two brothers continued their journey in relative silence, nodding their heads along to the music. Before they knew it, they were passing a sign welcoming them to Norfolk. As soon as a diner was in their sights, Dean pulled into the parking lot. The brothers went in to eat, taking their time as they knew that the vampires wouldn’t be a problem until nighttime. 

“So, I was looking for a place the nest might be. There is an abandoned house on the south side of town. All of the victims were within a ten-mile radius of it. I’m thinking this one is open and shut. We can head there tonight and take ‘em out. Thoughts?” Sam offered up his research to Dean as they settled down in a booth. Dean looked over the map that Sam had marked up with the locations where each victim went missing and was found. It all seemed to point to the old house. Nodding, Dean agreed. It was nice when they didn’t need to go searching. 

 They made the plan to set out for the abandoned house just before sunset, letting themselves relax as they ate their meals. 

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

The sun had just set as the brothers approached the house. As soon as they saw the multiple cars parked out in front, they knew they were in the right place. No one had owned the home in years, and usually squatters didn’t drive BMWs. 

The two men could hear the commotion from inside as soon as they reached the porch steps. They held their machetes up, prepared for whatever was going to happen. Or at least, they thought they were ready for anything. The front door swung open, revealing a vampire attempting to run from the house. Before either brother could make a move, the monster’s head was swiped clean off. The body dropped, revealing a woman that had both brothers in shock.

She had a machete in hand, but other than that, her appearance didn’t line up with the classic hunter look. She had on bootie heels that added an extra couple inches to her height, although she was still a lot shorter than both of the brothers. Her jeans were tight and she wore a loose floral shirt that flowed as she moved. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, out of her face but still stylish. The strangest of all was the smile that grew on her face as she saw the brothers. 

“Oh, hi! You guys must be hunters,” she said to them cheerily, her eyes looking down at the machetes in their hands. Dean wore a confused face, not used to cheery people, especially cheery hunters. Sam, on the other hand, was transfixed by the woman that stood before him. She was beautiful, and that smile, god that smile. It was so perfect that he was surprised that it didn’t twinkle like in cheesy cartoons. 

“Um… yeah,” Dean said, realizing Sam was not going to say anything. “I thought there were like 6 or 7 vamps in this nest. The number of deaths…”

“Oh, yeah,” she nodded simply, “it was six. So, do you two have names to match those handsome faces?”

Sam opened his mouth to respond when he saw movement behind her. Both brothers were about to warn her of the threat but she gave them a quick wink before twisting. She moved fluidly, slicing perfectly through the remaining vampire’s neck.

“Make that seven. Anyways, names?” she asked again while wiping her machete off on the now-deceased vampire’s jeans. She started walking towards them; her demeanor still bright. The brothers both looked at her in shock. 

“Um… I’m Dean, and this is my brother Sam. Do you mean to say that you just took out seven vamps all by yourself?” 

“Well, nice to meet you, Dean, Sam, and yes I did,” she responded, offering her hand to shake. “The name’s Sunny.”

“Sunny?” Dean asked, his eyebrow raised as he shook the woman’s hand. It fit perfectly with her upbeat attitude. It was almost hard to believe that this woman was real. 

“Yeah, it’s a nickname. My friends started calling me Sunshine, you know, cause I’m so positive. It didn’t take long for it to become shortened to Sunny. It’s what everyone calls me,” Sunny flashes another smile to the brothers. Sam clears his throat, finally speaking.

“So - um - Sunny, wanna go grab a drink with us?” he asked, trying not to make it sound like he was trying to pick her up. Even though that was definitely what he was trying to do. He was drawn to Sunny and didn’t want to say goodbye just yet. Dean looked over to his brother and poorly attempted to suppress a grin. It was rare to see Sam so flustered over a woman. Hell, he didn’t even know how long it had been since his brother had a date. 

“Sure, sounds great! I’ll follow you guys,” she smiled. The three hunters walked back in the direction of the Impala. It wasn’t until they passed a cluster of trees that Sunny started to break off from them. Behind the foliage was a bubblegum pink car that seemed to match the woman’s personality perfectly. 

“Holy shit is that -” Dean’s eyes were wide.

“A 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood? Just like the one Elvis had? Yes, it is,” Sunny smiled with pride. The car was her most valued possession and she loved to see people’s reactions to it. Turning from the brothers, she climbed in and started the engine. Dean bit back a moan at the sound, looking over to his brother. 

“Marry her, Sammy. Just fucking marry her,” Dean said, his tone serious. Sam rolled his eyes as he started to walk towards the Impala. It didn’t take long for the brothers to get in and pull onto the road. This time, however, Sam couldn’t keep his eyes off of the side mirror, the pink car following not far behind them.

Soon they pulled into the bar’s parking lot. Sam had found one on his phone, giving Dean directions. It was nicer than their usual stops, not some roadside biker bar. He had a feeling that wasn’t Sunny’s scene. The Cadillac pulled up into the spot right next to the Impala, Sunny climbing out and gently closing the door. The three of them walked into the joint and were immediately met with the smell of booze. It was a familiar scent for them, the hunting life and alcohol went hand in hand. Dean made a beeline to the bar, leaving Sam behind with Sunny.

“What can I get you?” Sam asked her. She flashed him one of those heart-stopping smiles before responding. 

 “I’ll have an Old Fashioned,” she said. Sam nodded, leaving her to join his brother. Sunny found an empty table and sat. It didn’t take long for the brothers to return, Sam with her drink and a beer in his hands and Dean with a whiskey neat. Sam hands Sunny her glass as Dean speaks up.

“I’m surprised, didn’t take you as an Old Fashioned gal,” Dean points out. He had thought she would have gotten a sugary drink that requires a tiny umbrella. 

“Just because I’m feminine doesn’t mean I can’t handle my alcohol. I am a hunter after all,” Sunny laughed, bringing the glass to her lips. She wasn’t surprised by his question as it was one that most men tried to use as a pick-up line when she went to bars alone. “And I think it's a bit obvious by now, but I’m full of surprises.” She winked, causing Sam to almost choke on his beer. Sunny was definitely something else. 

The three hunters all nursed their drinks until Sam asked the question that both men had been wondering since they met her. 

“Okay, so how did you do that back there? Take out that many fangs? And that one that came up from behind you?” Sam blurted out. If it had been either of the brothers, they would’ve been outnumbered and blindsided. The vampire had moved silently, not doing anything to reveal its whereabouts. 

“Oh, that. I felt the air shift,” she said like the answer was obvious, taking a sip.

“Wait, what?” Sam asked as both brothers looked at her, completely confused. 

“So you know how we always have to be aware of our surroundings? Always on high alert? Well, I’ve managed to hone that in, taking the nerves out of the equation. I am fully aware of every part of my body, every sense. Sure, the vamp might’ve been completely silent, but as he moved near me the air was softly pushed in my direction. I could feel it on the back of my neck, so I knew he was right behind me.” Both brothers absorbed the information, surprised by the woman that sat across from them. 

“So, you’re just a human?” Dean asked bluntly. It was hard for him to believe she didn’t have secret powers. The question made her throw her head back in laughter.

“Yes, Dean, I am 100% human. I just don’t do things like most hunters,” she shrugged. Sam was in awe of her. She had such calming energy to her, he never wanted to leave her presence. 

“Can you teach it? Your technique?” Sam asked, leaning forward slightly. 

“Honestly? I’ve never tried it. I rarely meet other hunters and most of them are men who assume I’m afraid to chip a nail. If they want to underestimate me, that’s fine. I just let them take over and move on. There are plenty of monsters out there,” she said. It was surprising to hear, as she was obviously a fantastic hunter. Dean and Sam had barely seen her in action but they knew it to be true. To think that others thought she was just a pretty face was frustrating to Sam. 

Sam looked over to Dean and Sunny quickly noticed that they seemed to be having a conversation with just their eyes. They were brothers, so this wasn’t surprising. It was something she used to do with her sister. It only took a couple of seconds before they both looked back at her. 

“Why don’t you come back with Dean and me to our bunker? We would like to learn from you if that’s alright. You’d have a room to stay in and everything. That is if you want.” Sam was trying to not to keep his hopes up. There was no reason for this woman to follow two strangers and agree to train them. Looking into her eyes, he knew that he could get lost in them. She took a minute to think it over, taking a sip of her drink. 

“You know what? Why not? It’s not every day you get such an interesting offer. I can’t even remember the last time I worked with anyone,” Sunny accepted.

“Wait, you are just going to come with two guys you barely know?” Dean asked in disbelief. 

“Well, I’m pretty sure you both know that I could kick your asses in a heartbeat,” she stated simply. Both brothers exchanged a look. She was probably right. This decision seemed like the right one for Sunny. She usually didn’t trust male hunters, expecting them to be sexist assholes. These two were different, though. Dean seemed impressed by her skills, shocked only that she was human. He didn’t seem to care that she was a woman. 

Sam was something else entirely. She could tell that he genuinely was curious about how she worked. There was something about him that made her trust him. Maybe it was the kindness in his eyes or the way that he spoke to her like she had some sort of wisdom to impart. Whatever it may be, she had a feeling that the two of them were going to get along well. 

It also didn’t hurt that he was quite handsome. 

Chapter 2 ->

[chiaki-translation]

SSR Kazunari [Mankai Encore] Backstage Story Translation

Because of Outing event, I was able to get this card. So why not translate it also?

Summary:

Summer Troupe and their local rerun performance of SHINOBI misadventuring.

It will be this card and I’m pretty happy I can get this card because I did start the game quite late...

Disclaimer:

A3! is owned by Liber Entertainment

Translation will be below the cut~

Encore: Kiichi

Translator’s Note: Enjin refers to huddle or circle that they made to cheer before the performance. Teruteru bouzu is a rain doll, it is used in Japan to wish for specific weather.

 Kazunari:

As I thought, the best thing for local performance will be the onsen~

Kumon:

Yep yep, looking forward to it!

Director:

It seems that there aren’t so many people too.

So you can take your time slowly.

Misumi:

I wonder if there’s any triangle in the onsen~

Yuki:

What kind of triangle will even be there.

Kumon:

The pail might actually be triangular shape!

Misumi:

Yeay! Triangle~!

Kazunari:

During the first show, we did a lot for role study huh~

Misumi:

In the ninja mansion, tonosama game~

Kumon:

That was so much fun!

Muku:

During the time in the ninja mansion, I was so surprised that the lost Tenma-kun and Director-san could reach the goal first.

Yuki:

I didn’t know there’s another route.

Director:

I was pretty surprised too.

But, the ninja mansion was really an interesting thing.

Kumon:

Eh? By the way where’s Tenma-san?

Director:

He’s been here till just now…

Muku:

Wa… wait, maybe he has been abducted by the ninjas….!?

Awawa, I have to really go and find Tenma-kun before it’s too late…!

Kumon:

Ah! Maybe he was actually abducted by a ninja organization who lurks in the darkness…

Tenma-san!

Yuki:

You two calm down.

That kind of thing won’t happen.

Misumi:

Ah! Tenma’s coming from that way!

Tenma:

Oh, you guys, so you’re here!

Kumon:

Ah, Tenma-san!

You managed to run away from those ninjas! I’m glad~

Tenma:

Hah? Ninja?

Muku:

You disappeared so suddenly, so we thought you’ve been abducted by the ninja…

Tenma:

A, ah… Right, it’s like that.

Yuki:

You’re just lost, aren’t you.

Tenma:

Sh, shut up!

<Short Time Skip>

Kazunari:

Ah, that was great!

Kumon:

Perfect~!

Muku:

The open-air bath was so big!

Tenma:

You’re right.

Misumi:

But, I cannot find the stars~

Yuki:

Well, today has always been cloudy.

Kazunari:

But from tomorrow onwards it will be sunny, there’re still other timing to see them!

Misumi:

… Yeah!

Kazunari:

Hey, Director-chan, there will be some free time after the performance is over right?

Director:

Yeah, is there anywhere you want to go?

Kumon:

Since it’s the ninja village…. It has to be the ninja mansion right!?

Kazunari:

Look look, if you walk along the port you’ll look like you’re walking on the water!

Yuki:

He’s bought fast.

Tenma:

The research was fast too.

Kazunari:

Ah! It seems that there’ll be fireworks too!

Muku:

Right!

Kazunari:

If you look at all the pictures here, they’re all so beautiful!

It’s the number one Instablam-able place this summer!

Misumi:

Amazing! I wonder if there’ll be triangular firework~!

Tenma:

It’s indeed beautiful, but we still have our upcoming performance.

Don’t get too distracted.

Kazunari:

Courz! I know!

Yuki:

It’s a rare word coming from our leader.

Tenma:

It’s not that rare!

Director:

Then, we can all watch the fireworks after the performance, let’s do our best!

Muku:

Yes!

<Shifts to Backstage>

Director:

(It’s the day of the rerun performance…

Everything’s perfect, it seems like there would be no problem)

Kazunari:

It’s been a while since I wore Kiichi’s costume~!

Let’s pump up the vibe!

Muku:

You’re right!

Tenma:

By the way, what are we going to do for the huddle?

Kazunari:

Ah, I haven’t decided!

Yuki:

Sounds like a dejavu.

Kazunari:

Hmm~

Something ninja like… Summer Troupe doron! Like that?

Director:

Sounds like everyone’s going to disappear after that sound…

Kazunari:

Uh…

Right, I’ve decided!

--For whose sake is the world’s sake, we’ll do our part as shinobi…

Kiichi from Iga, reporting! You lose if you stop halfway, let’s go, brothers! Nin-nin!

Summer Troupe:

Nin-nin!

<End of Part 1>

Director:

(The story begins when two people who happened to be delivering love letters to the same castle meet)

Kiichi:

A Shinobi…?

Yoshimaru:

Iga clan?

Kiichi:

Are you a ninja from Koga clan?

Yoshimaru:

You’re right, but I don’t intend to fight you. I’m just in the middle of a side job, delivering a love letter.

It will be great if I can just LIME this love letter and get it over and done with~

Kiichi:

Don’t make such a modern statement!

Director:

(As usual, it’s SummerTroupe’s  specialty to add a comical ad-lib…

It seems the audience is enjoying it too)

<Short Time Skip>

Yoshimaru:

Hmm? Eh? Which letter is mine?

Kiichi:

Eh!? Umm…

Yoshimaru:

Umm… What – should – I – do –  now – which – one – is – it – let – god – choose. Right, this one!

Kiichi:

Eh!? Are you sure you can choose that way, alright then-

Yoshimaru:

It’s alright, it’s alright~

Don’t worry, Kii-chan.

Director:

(The two delivered the love letters to the Crane Castle and on the way they were met with a forked path--)

Kiichi:

What? There are two paths?

Yoshimaru:

Ah~ I think it’s fine?

It looks like something out of a weekly photo magazine, it looks dangerous!?

Kiichi:

It’s true! But don’t spread it out in the net, they will burn immediately!

Well, if it happens then let’s just use a fire extinguisher I guess, even thought I’m actually a ninja.

Yoshimaru:

Well, it’s fine~

Kiichi:

Right!

Director:

(Yoshimari’s colleague –  Santa – appears afterward and he said he is delivering a letter from the Fox Castle to the Tanuki Castle.)

Yoshimaru:

This, is my colleague, San-chan.

Kiichi:

I’m Kiichi. Nice to meet you~ Then cheers!

Santa:

Like I said I’m on an important mission!

Yoshimaru:

Where are you going?

Santa:

Something’s brewing in the Boar Castle.

Seems like they’re planning to attack the Fox Castle.

Yoshimaru:

Eh!? You for real!? That’s bad!

Santa:

The Fox Castle is planning to form an alliance with Tanuki Castle. If everything works out, we might be able to avoid war.

Yoshimaru:

I see~ So, San-chan is in the mission to carry that out right now.

Santa:

You’re right.

Yoshimaru:

That means you can still have a drink.

Kiichi:

This is San-chan’s! I’ll show you somewhere good, drink~ drink~ drink~

Santa:

Eeeeeeeeeeeh!?

Director:

(The three people had a drink, and the next day they were suddenly attacked by Kiichi’s senior –  Hyuuga)

Hyuuga:

You’re from Iga, aren’t you, I’ll not let you run away.

Yoshimaru:

Woah!

Kiichi:

Hyuuga!

Audience A:

Wah! That’s some amazing acrobatics right there!

Audience B:

I’m glad I got to see it~!

Director:

(Misumi-kun’s action, always so swift!

Even amateur can see how well it is.)

Hyuuga:

Kiichi, you fight too.

Don’t forget that you’re also a shinobi.

Kiichi:

Death for the traitor--

Yoshimaru:

Is there really no other choice…

Santa:

Let’s go, Yoshimaru!

Kiichi:

Ugh.

Hyuuga:

What, oi!? Who are you fighting!

Yoshimaru:

Hah!

Santa:

--Yoshimaru!?

Kiichi:

There!

Director:

(Everyone gets carried by Misumi-kun’s performance. Their movements become sharper and more powerful than before.

With this action scene, the atmosphere has also changed to a more serious one.)

Audience C:

Amazing…

Audience D:

So cool~!

Director:

(The audiences are also being drawn in by them!)

<Short Time Skip>

Director:

(Now that Santa and Hyuuga are stopped, the two planned to deliver a letter to the Young Lord….)

Young Lord:

… Is this really a letter from the princess?

Kiichi:

Of course! Look at the perfectly copied handwriting~

Young Lord:

Perfectly copied?

Yoshimaru:

Idiot, Kii-chan--

Kiichi:

--I mean perfectly polished ink!

Young Lord:

You, you were trying to fool me?

Kiichi:

Eh, I didn’t say anything!

I’m just saying that it’s a perfect love letter written with perfect polished ink and the perfect handwriting of the princess!

Yoshimaru:

Kii-chan, that’s not a good excuse…!

Young Lord:

So you really were fooling me!?

Director:

(The two who got in trouble because of the fake letter asked for help from the Kunoichi - Sae)

Sae:

So, you want me to deceive the Young Lord of Crane Castle by posing as the princess of Fox Castle and carrying out an alliance.

Yoshimaru:

Please~ Only you can do this.

Sae:

A month’s worth of Kameyoshi Shop’s dumplings.

Yoshimaru:

Tha, that’s a bit… I thought it would be like 5 gold coins or something!

Sae:

Ten then.

Yoshimaru:

Seven!

Sae:

One year’s worth of Amankai Shop’s sweets.

Yoshimaru:

!? That’s too much, isn’t that the high-class sweet shop out there…!?

Sae:

Then ten gold coins.

Yoshimaru:

Ugh… fine.

Sae:

Thanks for your business~

<Short Time Skip>

Director:

(They managed to avoid the war, the Young Lord will be married to the princess and the case is settled.

Shadows creeping over the two people who were celebrating their victory with alcohols and drinks.)

Hyuuga:

You’re going back to the village!

Santa:

You’re going to be working in the village for a while!

Yoshimaru:

Eh~!?

Kiichi:

No way~!!

Director:

(Kiichi and Yoshimaru were brought back to the village due to Hyuuga and Santa--)

Audience A:

That’s so interesting~!

Audience B:

I really feel drawn in by them!

Director:

(The tempo was great, the conversation and ad-lib all sounded natural too.

They really grew a lot since their first performance…)

Summer Troupe:

Thank you so much!

<Shifts to Road>

Muku:

Woah… amazing!

Kumon:

We can see the big seas from here-!

Director:

The performance was a big success, so let’s enjoy the day at the lake today!

Tenma:

It seems that there’s an event ongoing over there.

Kumon:

Yoga on top of a water board?

Misumi:

I know a triangle pose! It looks fun~!

Kazunari:

Since we’re here already, why don’t we try it!

Yuki:

Hah? Are you serious?

Kazunari:

Courz! It seems doable anyway! Let’s go, Kumopi, Tenten~!

Kumon:

Yes!

Tenma:

I guess there’s no other choice.

<End of Part 2>

Kazunari:

That was fun~!

Director:

Yeah, you’re right.

Muku:

The scenery from there is really beautiful.

Kumon:

Yeah! I’ve never experienced that kind of thing before!

Tenma:

The only things you guys did was making noise!

Kazunari:

Tenten was so scared so it was interesting!

Yuki:

SUP Yoga was surprisingly fun.

Muku:

Yeah, it felt really good when you’re finally able to balance yourself.

Kazunari:

Sumi was able to strike an amazing pose even the teacher was shocked!

Misumi:

It was fun~!

Director:

I’m glad everyone seems to be having fun.

So after this will be the firework display.

Kumon:

Yep! I’m so glad it’s sunny today~

Muku:

Yesterday we made some tetu teru bouzu together!

Misumi:

Then we might be able to see the stars too~

Director:

We didn’t get to see it in the onsen.

Kazunari:

Hey hey, actually one of the local recommended me about a good spot. Let’s check it out!

Yuki:

You’re chatty as usual.

Kazunari:

We’ve arrived~

Tenma:

Hee… This place has a good view.

Kazunari:

Not only the fireworks, we can also enjoy the beautiful night view here!

Muku:

Woah… You’re right!

Kazunari:

Right!?

It would look great on Instablam too!

Kumon:

Hey hey, let’s buy some snacks and juice!

Misumi:

That sounds good~!

Director:

I know of a place, let’s go buy some things.

Yuki:

Then, those who lost janken will go and buy stuffs.

Tenma:

Understand.

Muku:

Y, yeah!

Misumi:

Agreed!

Kazunari:

Then, let’s go~!

Janken…

Tenma:

Ah.

Yuki:

Congrats on being the only rock.

Tenma:

Sh, shut up!

Kazunari:

But if Tenten go alone, he’ll just become a lost child.

Misumi:

That’s true~!

Tenma:

Hah!?

Kumon:

Ah, then I’ll follow you!

Director:

Then, I’ll go too. It seems that we’re going to end up buying a lot anyway.

Muku:

Yuki-kun let’s go too!

Yuki:

Eh, then there’s no other choice…

Tenma:

The lead and co-lead just rest.

Kumon:

Leave the shopping to us!

Kazunari:

Okay!

Misumi:

I’ll leave it to you~!

Kazunari:

Then, for the time being let’s organize our stuffs!

Misumi:

…

Kazunari:

Sumi?

Misumi:

Ah!

Kazunari:

Uwah! What, UFO!?

Misumi:

Summer Triangle!

Kazunari:

Oh, damn, that’s so beautiful!

Misumi:

Yeah, so pretty~

Kazunari:

When I think about it, we did watch the stars together during the first performance too right.

Then everyone came over and brought onigiri. I was so happy.

… For that time, thank you.

Misumi:

You’re welcome~

Kazunari:

Because of Sumi and everyone, I was able to have fun and act like this right now.

Misumi:

Me too, I’m happy that I’m able to act with Kazu like this!

Kazunari:

Ehehe, I’m so happy~! Let’s do our best for the next performance too!

Misumi:

Yep yep!

<Short Time Skip>

Kazunari:

Eh!?

Misumi:

It already started! Everyone, hurry hurry~!

<Short Time Skip>

Kumon:

Ta~maya~!

Misumi:

Ka~giya~!

Kazunari:

Ah, it ended…

Misumi:

Director-san and everyone, I’m glad you made it in time~

Director:

It was beautiful…

Muku:

It was amazing to see the reflection of the fireworks on the lake too!

Kumon:

It comes up consecutively, really brings up the tension to the max!

Tenma:

Things like this isn’t so bad sometimes.

Kazunari:

But when you watch them, don’t you feel like doing it yourself!

Muku:

…

Tenma:

Well, speaking of which, we bought it.

Kazunari:

!

Misumi:

Fireworks~!

Muku:

We feel like doing it too.

Yuki:

If we have to do something, it has to be this isn’t it?

Kumon:

With this, it will feel like Summer never ends!

Kazunari:

… Everyone, as expected!!

Then let’s start with the pinwheel fireworks, five of them!

Misumi:

Pinwheel~! GOGO~!

Tenma:

Stop it!

Director:

Ahaha!

<End of Part 3>

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #469

Top Ten Crazy WandaVision Theories

So all the while I was watching The Mandalorian I kept thinking, blimey, they’ve nailed this. There’s an oft-repeated problem with modern serial dramas, which is that they tend to tread water a little bit; despite being shorn of the network requirement of episodes being a certain length, or having a certain number of episodes in a season, there’s this in-built compulsion to make about a dozen 45-minute episodes. This is what scuppered the Marvel Netflix series in particular; there simply wasn’t enough story to cover the seasons, and as a result there was a lot of treading of water. This has also affected the recent Star Trek shows, although Discovery does show signs of pulling out of this “twelve-hour movie” mindset. Mando totally transcends this in a superlative way: each episode is basically an “adventure of the week” type thing (Mando versus spiders, Mando goes to the fish planet, Mando meets a Jedi, etc). But each episode also builds on the arc; he’s always on the same quest, and everything he does week by week furthers this quest. As much as I was looking forward to WandaVision, I kept reminding myself, there’s no way they can do this; no way these two shows – my most-anticipated shows from two of my most-beloved franchises – can hit the bar so successfully, back-to-back.

Well.

I’m not sure if WandaVision is quite the overall triumph The Mandalorian is, but they’re both pretty tremendous achievements in slightly different ways. Wanda manages to tell a rather unsettling story in the MCU whilst also doing a terrific job of parodying sitcom tropes; it works on a meta level as well as a practical one. Also, as far as puzzle-box type programmes go, this one has been doing an excellent job; week by week, you’re further intrigued by what’s going on in Westview; what’s real? Who’s behind it? is Vision still dead? Will Darcy get her own show? It’s a fantastic exercise in drip-feeding information, maintaining a degree of unease and suspense, and offering a compelling mystery. Will they keep it up until the end? I’ve no idea; the reveal at the end of episode seven wasn’t quite a jaw-on-the-floor moment but it was exquisitely done, with a theme song and everything. Even if the most obvious predictions end up being true and the finale becomes a relatively straightforward goodies-versus-baddies barney, I’ve got faith in everyone involved to at least give us something utterly compelling and thoroughly entertaining.

But what if there really is at least one huge surprise left up the show’s vibranium sleeve? Certainly, the reveal of Evan Peters as Pietro Maximoff – being, visually if not in character at least, the Fox/X-Men universe version of Wanda’s brother, rather than the Adam Taylor-Johnson version we knew from Age of Ultron – was a hell of a moment, seemingly bridging the gap between the MCU as we knew it and the previously Fox-controlled properties. Since then, there’s been this bubbling rumour (which I’ve tried not to read too much into by literally not reading too much; this is something I’ve divined from headlines or stray tweets, because I want to keep forging my way through WandaVision without a map) that there is another epic cameo approaching, on the level of Luke Skywalker popping up in the finale of The Mandalorian. That moment was something of a surprise, even though I had it rather spoiled by Twitter; despite muting as many words as possible to do with the show, “Luke Skywalker” still popped up in trending topics. I’ve learned my lesson, and I essentially forgo any social media (and a lot of other sites too) until I’ve seen the most recent episode. Anyway, what if this is true; what if there’s another character or moment that will rock the Marvel world to an even greater extent than The Other Pietro? If we’d be as surprised and delighted by something as much as we were by Luke making short work of those Dark Troopers? With this in mind, and being aware of the encroaching WandaVision finale, here are some predictions. What could happen? Who could we see? Which long-dormant plot thread will get resurrected? Read on to find out! And – spoiler warning – this has been revisited following the most recent episode; we are officially in the endgame now.

And I’m sure all of these are realistic and serious suggestions.

I Am Your Father: We have actually met Wanda’s parents at last; ordinary decent Sarkovian folk, it seems. But from where did her nascent witchy powers appear? What if, in a shocking last-minute twist, we discover her real father, and he’s played by… Ian McKellen! It was Eric all along!

SWORD versus Skrulls: a post-credit sting will reveal that – shock! – Tyler Hayward is, in fact, a SKRULL! Yes, finally, the shape-shifting buggers will get to be the baddies from the comics, as an up-to-no-good splinter faction of the beleaguered race makes its presence felt on the MCU, having successfully infiltrated world governments over the past thirty years. This will set up Samuel L. Jackson’s Secret Invasion series.

The Ultron of it All: there have been more mentions of Ultron in WandaVision than in any MCU property since, well, Age of Ultron. And now we have a custom-built all-white model of Vision, big as life and twice as creepy. What if – what if – shorn of his own psyche (his own soul?) and without an Infinity Stone to keep him upright, there remains in the hardware some remnant of everyone’s favourite sarky, genocidal mechanoid? Ultron returns! Screw you, planet Earth!

The Sorcerer Supreme is Not Happy: we know magic exists in the MCU because of Doctor Strange, so seeing Agatha and her family get their Hocus Pocus on in old Salem wasn’t too much of a surprise. But isn’t the Sorcerer Supreme supposed to keep an eye on magic use in the multiverse? I was half expecting Tilda Swinton to pop up in the flashback and bind Agatha with the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. But now, with all the chaos magic Wanda is using in Westview, coupled with Agatha’s own spelling bee? Surely this has drawn the attention of somebody? Anybody? I mean, New York isn’t that far from Jersey, especially if you’ve got a sling ring, y’know?

No More Avengers: so Benedict Cumberbatch popping up wouldn’t be that much of a surprise (especially as Wanda is in the next Doctor Strange movie) but even if he’s not on Magic Police duty, wouldn’t an enhanced situation of this size draw the attention of one of the Avengers? Except – shock horror! – there are no Avengers! In a revelation that will set up the status quo of Falcon and the Winter Soldier, since the events of Endgame the Avengers literally don’t exist. So who will unite to save the world, not just from Wanda or Agatha, but also from the likes of SWORD? Well, right now, no one; but maybe that’ll change when the real villains appear…

No More Mutants: in the “House of M” storyline, Wanda very famously said “no more mutants” and it was so (more or less). Mutants don’t (seem to) exist in the MCU. But what if, at one point, they did? I don’t think this could have been Wanda’s doing, but what if in the past someone else had used magic to de-power/de-mutify the existing mutant population of Earth, and – basically – made everyone forget about it? And in the climax of WandaVision, well, “no more” is undone and – boom! – X-genes abound. This could even maybe set up some events in The Eternals, who I believe have some history with mutants in the comics (I’m really not very well-versed in Eternals lore)

Soul Stealer: so Wanda’s the Scarlet Witch, and a chaos magician, and super-enhanced courtesy of an Infinity Stone, but still: how did she create not one but three super-powered lifeforms? Where did they come from? Did she steal their souls? Is she leeching her own life-force to maintain them? I think we’ll discover a bit more about her powers and reveal that she’s drawing energy mutliversally, maybe from the Dark Dimension – maybe from Mephisto? I’d actually put money on Mephisto not showing up at all, despite his comic book connections to Agatha and Wanda.

Multiversal Madness: why that Pietro? He’s just a fake, just an automaton – right? But he’s still out and about spooking Monica whilst Agatha’s dealing with Wanda… yeah? And he looks like another Pietro from another universe (even if he doesn’t act like that). So… why? And who? I really, really think there’s some kind of multiversal craziness going on here, some force beyond Wanda (and Agatha!). Maybe it’s to do with Wanda pulling power from across the multiverse, maybe it’s… something else. Maybe we’ll get cameos from Lou Ferringo, Bruce Campbell, Spider-Ham and ROM the Space Knight. Hey, don’t forget: Transformers was a Marvel comic once! And they do have a Chaos-Bringer…

Wanda Did It: one of the prevailing theories/queries about WandaVision has been who’s behind it all. Wanda’s not powerful enough (or villainous enough), so who exactly did create TV Westview? Who brought Vision back, gave Wanda her sons? Well, the latest ep sure seemed to show that it really was Wanda All Along. The explanation being that she’s “the Scarlet Witch”, a presumably hella-powerful sorcerer and also (let’s not forget) imbued with Infinity Stoniness. But is she on her own really that strong, and would she – even in her despair – alter so many minds? What if there’s another Wanda, a Wanda prepared to go all-out, a Wanda who – after losing everything on her Earth is trying to recreate it by pooling her powers will another Wanda? An alternate universe, more damaged, more villainous Wanda – a Wanda who’s already said “no more mutants”, maybe; maybe even the Wanda from the Fox X-Men films (who AFAIK we’ve only seen as a little girl in her brother’s arms). That’s why Pietro looks like that, because she’s trying to rebuild her own life using the powers of this other Wanda. Two Wandas; two Witches. Dukin’ it out. And who can come to save the day, but the X-Men?

We’re All Doomed: giving credit to my brother for pointing me in this direction when he said “if there’s a big bad in WandaVision it either has to be someone very good at magic or very good at science”. Or… both? Think about it. Which character, if they cameoed in an MCU property, could possibly generate as much excitement as Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian? No actor from the MCU; not even Downey. From another Marvel property? We’ve had a Fox actor already and with the rumours about Spider-Man: No Way Home, whether we saw Hugh Jackman or Tobey Maguire, I think that would be exciting but not as exciting. So I think it’s a character, not an actor. A character big and exciting enough to make us all squee. And which character from Marvel has never been seen in the MCU, is not necessarily expected any time soon, is very good at magic and very good at science? One. I’d say only one. Bring it on.

This actually became a lot more sensible than I’d intended! I was gonna go all-out, rolling in Muppet Babies, MODOK, HERBIE, the Phoenix Force, and basically the entire Patton Oswalt speech from Parks and Recreation. And whilst I think virtually none of these will (or should?!) happen, just imagine… man, I can’t believe we have to wait a week!

[shadowofthelamp]

You know what’s kind of fun? Going back to something you first thought of before you were ten, and then trying to actually write it. This is a sort of ‘chapter’ in the middle of what I could remember of the original idea of Negative Sonic. The version that made it to ffnet when I was twelve was fairly different. I think I’ve given enough clues to the context that you can go in and figure out what was going on.

I should draw the actual Negative Sonic form mentioned in here at some point, but I haven’t drawn Sonic himself in years, f.

Tails could have at least made the cage bigger. He knew how little Sonic liked small spaces. Okay, so it already was about the size of an big room and the actual walls were transparent so he could still see out, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still cramped when it came down to it, and Sonic only had about thirty steps to pace in any given direction. 

On top of that, there were bars outside the walls to reinforce the chaos-absorbing material so they wouldn’t buckle when hit from the inside. He liked those even less than the actual cube, because they reminded him why he was in here in the first place. 

The fact that he could slightly see the way the air rippled around his navy-blue fur and how his eyes were still red spirals if he looked at his reflection in any given wall didn’t help either. Fortunately, there was a friendly face coming through the trees to keep him from dwelling.

“How are you doing?” 

“Been better, but at least my fur isn’t a shaggy mess this time.” Sonic said dryly as Tails clicked something on his remote and a small hole appeared in the front of the cube-prison, just large enough to stuff a plate through. Small miracles- at least Tails wasn’t depriving him of home-cooked chili dogs with extra onions, just the way he liked them. “Any new info about how to get me back to normal? Dark and gloomy is kinda Shadow’s thing, and I’m already past over it.”

Tails sighed as Sonic stuffed half the chili dog in his mouth, the hedgehog chewing as Tails started explaining himself. “Unfortunately, I just don’t have enough information yet. Your body handles purely positive chaos energy fine, but whatever Eggman did with the negative energy seems to have stuck, and it’s using your natural chaos field to sustain itself. I’m trying to get as much passive data as I can just from the containment unit itself, but working with chaos is always hard, you know that.”

“Wouldn’t be chaos if it wasn’t weird, right?” Sonic fiddled with the golden bracelet on his left wrist. It was helping a little, at least. He wasn’t used to trying to regulate chaos energy for this long, and it felt sort of the same way that standing on the edge of an ocean did- ready to sweep you under in a second if you so much as twitched wrong. This was Shadow’s thing too- Sonic much preferred chaos as a complement to speed and well-timed physical attacks, a finisher to get the job done instead of overwhelming everything from the start. It was no fun if you just blasted the other guy out of existence before he even had a chance to put up his dukes.

Somebody really needed to tell his body that, though, and his fingers curled around the inhibitor with a groan. Tails hurriedly shut the plate-hole via remote, the material sealing itself up so smoothly it was as if there hadn’t been a seam in the first place. 

“Come on, Sonic, you can fight it!”

Static. Static and shadows creeping into the edge of his vision, a bubbly burning working from the inside out. His feet had already left the floor, gravity less than a suggestion, and normally he loved playing chicken with physics to see how long it took the ground to realize his feet were pounding the walls and ceilings, but now he was weightless and weighted at the same time, hyperaware and yet not aware at all.

“Tails...” The ‘s’ hissed out, air too hot as it pushed against his teeth.

“That’s it, focus on me!” Tails’ baby blues were wide, hands curled into fists just below his chin. “If you can just fight it off by yourself, it’ll give me enough data to figure out how to force it. You can do it, I know you can!” His tails were spinning without lifting him up, the way they did a lot when he was laser-focused on something. Something clattered against the floor a million miles away.

“Ghh...” Sonic dug his nails into his palms all the way through the fabric, a sharp shock, but it just piqued at the spiral clawing out of his brain like a bloodhound, diving towards the pain because pain was good, pain was life-

Tails’ ears lay flat as the thing tilted Sonic’s head.

“Heyyyyyy, Tails.”

“I can wait you out, you know.”

“Sure you can. You and I both know you wouldn’t risk hurting your big brother, would you?”

The voice sounded so close that it hurt. It was the same vocal cords making the same words, but Sonic had said he had almost no memory of whatever happened with these slips- it was as if the negative energy hijacked his body for brief spurts of time. Now, it had planted a hand on the wall nearest Tails, black chaos warping the air around it and burning from wrist to fingertip as its fingers and palm lay flat.

“Sonic can take a lot,” Tails said. “He’ll get rid of you.”

“I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.” It raised an eyebrow. “I wondered how long it might take you to put two and two together, but desperate times and all that.” When it tapped its index finger against the wall, a grin started prying Sonic’s lips open, exposing teeth that really should not have been that white considering he’d just eaten. “What do you get when you stick someone in a chaos-absorbing cage?”

“You not breaking out and blowing everybody up?” Tails replied, raising an eyebrow of his own.

“Well, yeah, that, but what is chaos energy when it’s inside somebody?”

“It’s a lot of things.” Where was it going with this? “It can help spark extra abilities in those who can tap into it, and it can be used to create energy for attacks and stuff.”

It used its other hand, rolling the wrist in a ‘go on’ motion. The inhibitor had been dropped to the floor at some point. Tails hadn’t noticed. He scratched at his chin, thinking.

“It’s the spark of life...” At that, his eyes snapped open. “And-”

“Theeeeere we go.” It leaned back, sneakers floating off the floor as it gave a sarcastic clap. “The little fox just figured out he’s killing his hero the longer he keeps him in this over-glorified doggy crate and out of the air that lets him absorb chaos naturally.”

Tails swallowed. “I just need to find a way to get rid of you before Sonic runs out of energy.”

“Well, I’m great at running, so let’s see who wins the race against time, huh?” It folded its arms behind its back, staring down at him, showing more teeth than seemed possible. “Clock’s ticking, Tails.”

The leaves nearly lit on fire from how fast Tails launched himself up to head back to the workshop.

[munsonsduchess]

So. I re watched The Magnificent Seven again because I’m at home self isolating until my housemates covid test comes back in a couple days so I made some notes. Presented below as I watched the film … again

Teddy looks like he wants to say something to encourage Matthew not to speak but like he just can’t find the courage to speak up

Everyone turning to stare at Sam as he rides through the town. Like they aren’t used to seeing a man of colour make something of himself.

The bartender who tells Sam they don’t serve ‘that kind’ as a direct insulation that they don’t serve Sam’s kind. Which could have just been because Sam is a lawman and the barman is an outlaw but could also be more than that

Faraday isn’t as stupid as he looks. He knows exactly who Dan is and what Sam’s purpose was. He could tell something was happening and was ready in seconds with a gun drawn to help Sam.

He sticks around after everyone runs out because he knows Sam’s occupation and seems to want to know more.

Emma has obviously been searching for someone who could help for a long time. Teddy stopping her from talking to Sam and her acceptance seems to imply that they’ve spoken to people before but that no one has taken them seriously. Maybe because Emma is a woman

Emma is clearly ready to offer up anything she can to find ‘righteousness’. It also seems like she’s more than ready for a fight.

Sam had decided upon hearing Bouge’s name that he would take the job and then when Emma shared her convictions he knew he could pass off his intentions as unselfish if anyone asked

Faraday cheats at cards and is scared of the dark confirmed. He’s also clever enough to use his wits to get out of a situation when he’s seemingly at the mercy of two other men

Faraday has issues around killing people. He clearly shows remorse for his actions. He doesn’t seem to like violence but he’ll use it to get what he wants if he needs to

Does Faraday know who Joan of Arc is?

He’s also apparently willing to throw his life away for strangers

Emma is not here for your shit

Teddy is a good boy and he’s here to help his friend on her vengeance quest as all good friends should

Vasquez wants Sam to know that he’s not the type of man who kills in cold blood. He uses Emma as leverage because a white woman’s death will look worse for Sam

Sam offers to tear up the warrant to get Vas on his side but I have the feeling he would have done it anyway

Vas taking a minute to decide and figuring if he works with Sam there’s a possibility of him going free and not having to run anymore

GOODY! That hip swagger

“That’s ok son you just pay me double” Goody is a respected member of the community and his reputation proceeds him so there is a level of fear there at offending him or anyone associated with him

Faraday is clearly interested to see how people react to or behave around Goody. To see how the man stacks up to the story

Goody very interested in who Faraday and Teddy are and what they have to say. Putting them off their game by speaking in the middle of the saloon while he’s getting a shave

“I keep him employed and he keeps me on the level” clearly Billy has been helping Goody with his demons far beyond what we see later

Goody and Sam being friends warms my heart

That good old southern breeding. Goody can’t resist being charming

“Ain’t no such thing as a Texican” that’s one hell of a loaded statement right there

“This is not going to end well” couldn’t have said it better myself Goody

The Famous Pigeon Brothers who weren’t famous for very long

“I believe that bear was wearing peoples clothes” Joshua the man was snuck up on in the dead of night, had a boulder smashed over his head and has been tracking the culprits for two days. I don’t think you’d be in your right mind either

“Don’t call the alligator big mouth till you cross the river” Goody just has all the best advice

IT’S MY BOY!

There’s obviously something Faraday is trying to drown in all that whiskey and Teddy knows it which is obviously why he tells Faraday to keep it

Emma doesn’t trust Farday at all

Goody knows what’s up although he’s not one to talk about the battle behind him

MY SON! HE’S SO PRETTY I WANT TO CRY

Sam giving Vas the gun so he’s less threatening to Red. Same way he left his gun outside when they went after Vas

I love that Martin cut his hair off to be historically accurate but damn what I wouldn’t have given for a long haired Red in this movie

Peace offering or trolling? Both? Both.

“Yeah ok I trust you now”

Can I also say I love how Martin learnt to ride bareback for the historical accuracy? Like historical accuracy is my jam. Now I just wonder how accurate the costumes are

“Oh good it’s a black man and an Asian man quickly call your children inside for who knows what havoc they might bring”

I do love how the racism is never as overt as someone using a slur but it’s always there just under the surface

“Manservant? Really?”

Did they practice how they were going to come into town and look imposing or do they all just instinctively know how to pose? I know Goody does anyway

I cannot keep a straight face when Farday calls himself the worlds greatest lover

Sam has no time for these Blackstone men and I am here for it

Sam’s horse is just called Horse

Goody having PTSD flashbacks before the shooting even starts since he’s clearly triggered by just the situation

A western staple where the bad guys always miss and the good guys never do

At times like this Mal Reynolds comes to me speaking words of wisdom “shoot the man not the horse, a dead horse is cover, a live horse is a whole lot of panic”

Faraday and Vas being very gay and poor confused Red like “tie him up what?”

“Lincoln like the president” and goody just “oh damn”

Someone please give Emma a better shirt. She’s gonna spill out of that one

“Seems I was the only one with balls enough to do so” damn right you were

Emma just breaking down when there’s no one around to see her use she has to be strong

“Fame is a sarcophagus” “what’s a syllable?”

TABLE MANNERS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TABLE MANNERS

Goodbye to the working girls the town isn’t the same without them

Emma has a better shirt! She still looks like she’s gonna spill out though

Shooting lessons with Goody and Faraday

“The way of northern aggression”

Billy’s class just running away because he’s way too good

“Make me some eggs”

“GET SOME GRAVEL IN YOUR CRAW!”

Faraday trying to goad Goody into proving himself. Sam’s wariness and Goody turning around and showing Faraday just why he got the title he did despite the reasons why he doesn’t pick up a rifle anymore

Do any of them know what Jack is talking about?

“So far so good”

We’re to assume it’s Goody picking off Bouge’s men at the mine since he’s the only one who could make those sorts of shots which means Sam has talked him into doing it even though he’s seen what happened to Goody during the initial fight

“I’ve always wanted to blow something up”

The look on the faces of the people who live in town as the miners come through. They’ve always lived separately from these men and now they’re forced to look at their faces and see just how they’ve all been living

Sam putting the dynamite in the hotel like it’s no big deal

Poor Peter Skarsgard. He’s the bad guy or the poor Dad in a horror movie while his dad is spooning Colin Firth on a boat in Greece

“I worked for my money. I wasn’t given a million dollar loan. I’m a good guy”

Emma can shoot just fine. She does not need you Faraday

“I had a father thank you” “I didn’t” proceeds to show off as if to prove himself

“They say the nightmares never go away” no they really don’t ask Goody

“Avenge me!” Yeah faraday it’s not that hard

“I am to fight” “it comes to that and we’re all dead” excuse you Sam but Emma is the one who brought you here and she’s the one who’s been raring for the fight since the beginning but sure put her with the women and children

I’m also so mad they cut out of the scene of Vas and the school teachers kid talking

“I have three Maria’s!”

I’m afraid of owls too goody you aren’t alone

TABLE MANNERS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

How long had Bouge been in Rose Creek and making the residents live in fear? That it had to be the seven who were able to show them how to live their life again

Those loose white shirts though 👌🏼

Squinting into the sun as the realisation dawns

Sam knows Goody better than Goody knows himself and Goody knows Sam better than Sam knows himself

Sam doing his best to help his friend with his PTSD but Goody just can’t

“It looks like he’s started to drink” that’s because Goody was his friend his best friend and there are untold emotions and god knows what else between them and now that man had left but not just that but left him behind is torturous

“I’m hungry” You little shit!” Red Harvest. Professional Troll

Sam seeking refuge in what’s left of the church. Feeling the proverbial noose tightening as he clutches at his neck

Emma reminding us what this whole endeavour is for. How it all started. How it’s going to end

Bouge sitting back because he’s sure his hired men will be enough. He’s never faced opposition before so he’s confident he still won’t. Or at least that his money will solve all his problems

Also if Red only wears his war paint for special occasions and if he was tracking the group prior to joining them does that mean he put his war paint on specifically to talk to Sam

Another man in Goody’s spot in the bell tower because presumably he’s the second best shot with a rifle or the only other person they could trust up there

A+ use of Fox holes though

Jack reciting his prayers as he goes absolutely feral

Faraday’s happy little smile when he finally gets to blow something up

Jack trying to help as many men as he can, men who are fathers, husbands, good honest men

Bouge who doesn’t seem to care one ounce that the people in the village are being slaughtered and bringing the battling gun out just for extra overkill

“You ok güero?” “So far so good”

“We still have men there sir” proof that Bouge does not care one single ounce for human life that isn’t his own

That rebel yell

“The devils breath” I can only imagine how a Gatling gun got that name especially from a war vet who’s likely seen countless friends allies and enemies alike be blown down by this devil

Faraday being concerned for the children even though he’s injured himself

Jack protecting Teddy at the cost of his own life. Defiant of Denali to the end But accepting his death with a sigh believing in his faith that he’ll be rewarded in heaven and reunited with his family

“I knew you’d be back” Billy has so much faith in Goodnight and I’m gonna cry

Emma with an empty gun putting herself in front of an injured man between the injured man and Denali

Denali ain’t shit!

“You’re a disgrace”

“My daddy used to say a lot of things” these two I cannot cope

“I might need a new vest” Faraday you reckless idiot

“Hit the steeple”

“I got him!” “Oh Goody” I’m not crying you’re crying

I know there’s a lot of talk about Chris Pratt being the worst Chris but he was so good in this movie I swear. Which yeah I know doesn’t change anything but when you see him playing Faraday in that last scene where it’s all down to him. I can’t

“I’ve always been lucky with one eyed jacks”

Nope definitely not crying. Not me

Bouge’s complete disregard for human life as he surveys the town

Bouge V Sam

“If god didn’t want them sheered he wouldn’t have made them sheep” says a man who feels no remorse at all for the blood on his hands

This time it’s Bouge who’s going to feel the noose tighten and I am here for the cinematic drama of it all

God won’t save you now Bouge. Run into the church you like. It’s not going to help

“Ask for forgiveness” The reveal of the rope mark. What Sam has been doing in Rose Creek this whole time. Why he took the job at the mention of Bouge’s name