#it actually made sense there though randall

[magicwhiskers29]

He then went on to spell Shakespeare wrong when he actually wrote something (Labels to explain what he had drawn, of course)

[raziiyah]

Can we all agree that

Randall is NEITHER a Sweet woowoo misunderstood baby NOR is he a completely Heartless and soulless demonic creature with 0 feelings?

Like even in Monster's at Work we can see that Yes. He's definitely an awful person who has done terrible things and is still out to go do more terrible things BUT we also can see he has shown to be genuinely grateful to Johnny for saving his life and actually considered Johnny to be his Best Friend (even if it was completely one-sided on his part)

yesss randall is definitely not one or the other for me

i LOVE randall but i do not see him as a sweet misunderstood baby. he has done so much awful things and as of now shows no sign of remorse. it's supposedly been 20 years since college and he's only gotten more bitter over the years; far from who he was at the beginning of college. it's unfortunate that he got mixed up in the wrong crowd, but every bad choice he's made was his choice to make. also i feel like some people forget just how messed up his plan with the scream extractor in mi was, not to mention his sadistic and murderous desires (if randall was visible during his fight with sulley it would NOT be family friendly 💀)

but he isn't doing what he's doing just for the sake of being evil, yes he's mean, but at his core, it's just that randall will go through great lengths to get what he wants, to get the recognition he craves so much, and most especially, to one up sulley. his mindset was warped by ror, which changed his life forever. monsters university fleshed out this part of randall's character, as it provided context on why he’s the way he is, and gives a different meaning to his words, actions and intentions.

though i felt randall and johnny's best friendship was random considering what happened in mu, it was an interesting change of pace to see post mu randall actually like someone. randall mentioned that he owed johnny one, but i feel like they still genuinely enjoyed each other's company. like you can see that randall and johnny actually have a connection that isn't just strictly business, unlike randall and waternoose.

i do think that part of randall also still craves johnny's attention like he did in mu. considering he's been wanting to get in with the “cool kids” since literally day one of university suggests he's been wanting recognition and status for a very long time. and with johnny still having power and status as the ceo of fear co., i feel like randall would've still wanted to work with him despite what happened in mu.

i feel that even post uni randall still feels a need to impress johnny. like when he scares tylor, it seems like he immediately looks to johnny for his reaction and approval. then, he makes a joke at chet's expense, and after, goes to stand by johnny's side. with chet being johnny's former right-hand man, it makes sense why randall takes digs at him

i imagined that sometime in university, randall said something mean to chet and johnny found it funny, so he kept doing it for his attention (like the chet-wetter thing) and even now, he still brings it up and likely says and does other mean things to chet to raise himself up and put chet down

i would've liked to think that randall narrating johnny as his “best friend joined at the hip” could've just been something he made up for his own sake, but since maw johnny seems to actually neglect chet in favour of randall, i guess the writers just decided randall would actually just be his bestie moving forward (though i think leaning into the other concept would've been cool)

would randall feel like johnny was just using him, perhaps like he did in university? maybe. but perhaps he'll take a false sense of love and acceptance over nothing

though i don't think randall would've stuck around unless it benefited him, and that proves to be true when randall abandoned johnny after he got jailed lol, with johnny not being in a place of power anymore, he's useless to him now

now that randall is on his own, i want to see him work solely for himself, by himself. not under anyone, no boss, no more with being a follower. unless some other random monster shows up or they bring back waternoose or something, randall is very likely going to be the main villain of the next season, and this could be an opportunity to see more of his personality, especially since we still have yet to see randall interact with mike and sulley

maybe he could show a shred of regret, acknowledge the weight of his actions, or how much he's changed, but still show that he's gone too far now to go back to how he was. maybe he hates who he was before. or maybe he hates who he is now. but he's done too much and worked too hard to just accept that he's lost and go back to how he used to be

maybe mike could say something along the lines of "what happened to you, randall? what happened to the nice, friendly guy i knew in university?" and randall could be like "the guy who was naive? the guy who was insecure? the guy who was nothing more than second best? that guy is gone wazowski. long gone."

or maybe randall could tell sulley how he genuinely feels about him, and how much he was affected by always being in his shadow. perhaps sulley could acknowledge his skills and say that he could turn things around and do great things at the factory, and randall could laugh at the idea and say some stuff like "work together? under your management? what a joke. i don't think so. i'm not standing in your shadow, sullivan. not anymore."

idk lol but i think it would be cool to give randall some kind of scene that acknowledges his past or makes you sympathize with him a bit but not excuse his actions, or something to make the audience reflect on how tragic his character is or what could've been. i'd also like if he went as hard as he did when he nearly pushed sulley off the door to his death, especially considering the position sulley is in now

mu's existence changed and fleshed out randall's character (even if he didn't have as much scenes as he could've) and i would love to see this show do the same. except tylor is the main character and the show focuses more on mift; even mike and sulley aren't really the focus so i don't think they'd put that much emphasis on randall (but i'd love to be proved wrong)

for the record, though i currently think randall is in a state where he's far from redemption, i'm not completely closed off to the idea as long as it's in character and written well. though no offense but idk if maw/disney could actually manage to pull that off lol. whatever happens i just hope they do his character justice at least 🙏

[monayen]

uhhh I dunno really but — maybe a fic of reader just walking in the forest because they r lost then getting caught in a bear trap nyen set up and uh he does something fucked up to reader, like fucks them then kills them or something? Or something heavy gore related while he fucks them.. sorryyy ahhh (I’m a damn masochist.)

The Lost Camper | Nyen

➷ Paring - Nyen x Fem!Reader [Randal's Friends / Ranfren]

➷ CWs - noncon, unsafe sex, fear play, knife play, blood kink, stabbing, sadism, fingering, violence, degradation, dacryphilla, READER DEATH

a/n - this came out to 4k words :') i know anon described a bear trap/hunting-esque situation but i felt making the reader a more cryptic-like being of the woods made a bit more sense (and easier to fit in) either way, reminder that this is DARK. there isn't a happy ending and the reader does freakin' die. (though rebirth is implied. see it how ya' do) i apologize for any mistakes as this is my longest work to date (whoop whoop) thank you for your comments and requests on both ao3 and tumblr. keeps me motivated ^^ currently working on a Randal fic and some Luther headcannons :3 inbox open as always. ANYWAYS ENOUGH

You aren't sure why you decided to hop over the Ivory household's security measures and rummage through their things while they slept. You’ve seen campers before in these woods plenty of times. Hundreds, if you kept count… but you don't.

You also don't ever interact with campers these days either. They didn’t tend to be special and they didn’t ever really get in the way. Maybe you’ll spook them by hovering around behind the greenery, sticks cracking underneath rugged boots. They don't interest you anymore beyond listening to them talk about their boring, human lives. 

It doesn't make them completely irrelevant to you though, as you’ve gained a habit of sneaking onto their campsites. You steal – quite often. Well, as often as people come this deep into the woods. It's how you justify it, how else are you supposed to get canned food and new clothes? And so what if you also take a couple of books you can't read and stuffed animals whose furs mat under dirty hands. The mossy den you reside in could always use new things, even if you have no use for them.

For as long as you remember, it has been like this. A being of the woods, you’ve become a cryptic-like legend. “The Lost Camper”, you’re called. Whatever that means. You aren't sure what life is like past bark and muddy soil, clothes messy and hands rough. You were never lost, this is all you know.

Is it all so bad? So bad that humans go out of their way to tell campfire stories about your existence? The grass gives you more comfort than any sleeping bag can. 

So there really wasn't any need for you to be past that fence they set up. The truth was that they were… interesting. More interesting than any other family who ventured out here. You saw as they gathered around and talked, well, two were doing most of the talking. Brothers, apparently. (despite not looking much alike) 

They tagged along a couple more… characters. Notably, these two catmen that hovered around the older one of the brothers. They looked more alike, cat ears dawning their similar haircuts. You could tell them apart by their clothes – easier, their demeanors. 

The blue haired one stood hunched, staring at his… ”master” talk. Immediately, you could tell he was the more timid of the two. You observed the other pinkish haired one smoke a cigarette a few steps away from the group. His eyes – eye, actually – looked low and dark. The patch on one of them leaves you to wonder what might've happened for it to be left in such a state. Catching his name from his master, “Nyen”, which made sense considering his appearance.

You must have been staring too long, because suddenly Nyen lifts his head and his sunless eye meets yours for a second. Ducking quickly behind the trees, it should have been your sign to leave, to go on your merry way of collecting berries and getting high off of mushrooms for entertainment. 

But of course – you didn't. Instead, you retreated to the comfort of the conifer and stood idly. The sun set faster than you expected, any thoughts of simply leaving long gone hours ago. An eager smile spread across your face, these unique campers were asleep and you were going to rein free on their grounds. This was going to be the most fun you’ve had in ages!

As you tiptoe to their spot, you point out the odd set up. They had a truck and two tents, but only one tent actually seemed to be occupied. They also left a plethora of things outside unattended. Great for you. 

Nimbly, you start pocketing random things into your large well-loved leather crossbody bag. You’ve rummaged through many people’s unattended things before, but they definitely take it to a different level. This place was filled with bizarre stuff, stuff you’ve never seen before. 

Why the fuck were they carrying several wooden carvings of beavers and… birthday cake flavored “lube”... unsure what the latter was. Either way, you found it all the more entertaining to stuff these random things into your bag, giggling slightly when you pulled out a photorealistic framed drawing of a blue pony with a rainbow mane. 

You were so intrigued by all these things that you didn't realize masked, narrow eyes staring at your figure past the of the darkness camp. 

-

Nyen had been waiting for this. How stupid can you be? He saw you past the trees when the sun was still up, staring with a stable gaze – observing. Your face was shaded by the leaves, but he could see the grip you had on the tree trunk you stood behind. You looked rugged, you weren't just another camper or hitchhiker. He huffs his cigarette, more freaks. Nyen moves his eyes towards his master, clearly already stressed with the hitchhiker they had picked up hours before. Another huff.

His eyes meet yours when he decides to look up again and just as quickly – you're gone. 

Once Luther hears about this, his brows furrow slightly at the idea of another thing to deal with. “Oh dear, I just can't catch a break.” Nyen waits for his master to continue.

Randal (who totally wasn't eavesdropping) perks up once he recognizes who they were talking about, “Oh! Oh! You mean the…” He pauses for dramatic effect, “The Lost Camper…” Luther twists his head to stare at his brother, “Is that the name?” 

Randal nods excitedly, “I’ve read all about her! Apparently, she’s a ghost. Or like a cavewoman. Or an animal-hybrid. I actually didn't read that much.” He shrugs, “She doesn't hurt people, I think. Just swipes a few things and wonders around. Which is a little boring, would love it if something tried to kill us! AGAIN!”

Luther shakes his head and looks back at Nyen, “Hm, it’s too late now to move everything back inside…” He places a finger on his chin, “If that's true, then deal with her if she becomes a problem, alright?” 

Nyen nods, “Yes sir.”

From what Randal said, he knew you would most likely lurk in the incognito of the night. So he took his stance outside the tent everyone else slept in. 

He almost giddily twirls the handle of the knife, waiting and waiting. Hours pass, he doesn't have a watch but his internal clock tells him it’s around 3 am when he finally spots you. Look at you, being a problem.

Your back is faced away from him. Through the darkness, (and thanks to his skill of seeing well in the dark) he witnesses the silhouette of your thievery. Nyen can't point out exactly what you are taking but all he can imagine is his master’s upset face if he sees things are missing. The grip on his knife tightens.

He needs to wait again, wait for the perfect moment, wait to pounce . Nyen hears giggles escape your mouth – small, but he hears it. His jaw clenches. How dare you tee-hee while taking his family's very important stuff? He almost wants to lunge at you straight away, but he decides against it. Nyen wants to stab you in the throat and watch the blood splurt once you turn around. He just needs to get a bit closer…

SNAP

How irritating. Nyen just had to step on a twig. 

Your reaction time is just as fast as his, darting into the dark woods with him quickly trailing behind you.

Nyen huffs to himself. He wanted to make this quick, but he certainly doesn’t mind a chase.

-

Holy shit, shit, shit. Thoughts race a thousand miles per hour, with your legs following right behind. You admittedly got too into it that you weren’t focusing, now you have to make a great escape. 

This isn’t the first time you’ve had to run away from a camper, there was a time where a woman got spooked by you on her way to take a piss. Her scream was so loud that you immediately dashed past her, dropping the clothes you had stolen. Her husband (presumably an experienced outdoorsman) actually trekked through the woods with a shotgun for a while as you held your breath in the branches above. Ultimately, her family was gone before the sun was down. 

But you aren't sure you can just avoid this one. You allow yourself to turn peek behind you and see him . The smoking catman, Nyen. The shade of the night is heavy, but you’ve adapted to see well in the dark. You’re sure he has that skill too with the way his gaze is steady, hard, and right on yo u through terrifying masked eyes. Where did his eyepatch go?

Shaky hands clutch the filled crossbody bag that jumps with your every movement. If you had to go through this, you at least want to keep the stuff. 

Just tire him out, you think. It's reassuring that you know these woods like the back of your hand. You’ve tread several miles, exploring and wondering, though never finding a road. (Odd.)

Agilely weaving him past trees and fallen logs, your boots try to find leaf covered ground in an attempt to not leave visible tracks, but that would cause you to move slower – and you can't afford that. You assume with enough loops and turns, he will lose your trail.

A loud, gravelly yell can be heard behind you, “You can't run forever!” It makes your heart hammer because it's true. You aren't sure how long you’ve been running now but it feels like hours .

Periodically, you pause to catch your breath, but it isn't long before you hear his heavy steps get closer and closer, forcing the chase to start again.

It’s terrifying. You have amazing stamina. It's part of being in these woods, moving a lot. Nyen is different though, you don't think he’s stopped once. He’s a hunter, a bit slower than his prey but always behind. 

Huffing, you duck under branches and jump over uneven ground with aching legs, barely catching yourself a few times. It’s strenuous to carry on like this, so close to giving out. It’s impossible to focus with this adrenaline pumping through your veins, are you going in circles? Herbage you’re so used to begin to feel like a labyrinth of ever consuming moss and vines. 

Managing to keep your distance, you start to believe that maybe you’ve lost him when the echo of rushed footsteps begin to fade. There’s a wave of relief when all that can be heard is the sound of heavy panting and earth stirring underneath sore feet. 

You close your eyes as you continue to move forward, wind flowing through your hair with momentum. It’s just for a second, for a moment of clarity. It's a terrible second. Your right ankle rolls horribly on a rock, making you tumble down with shriek. It reverberates past trees and you’re sure he's heard it. 

He’s already closing the gap, leaves shuffling behind you. Regaining composure with gritted teeth, you come to the conclusion that he can have his damn things. It’s not worth running forever. Peeking at your quickly growing swollen ankle, you aren't sure you even could.

Finding an area where the trees thin out with patches of soft grass, you use the last of your excretion to exclaim, “Wait, wait!” Facing him finally, he stops feet away from you. 

You finally get a closer look at him. His stance is still aggressive, as if you are about to take off at any moment. You see his glare filled with pure disdain, thin lips curling in a snarl. His eyes go beyond his bizarre mask, it feels like he's piercing you with them.

“Say it.” It's a husky voice that makes the anxiety in your stomach swirl. You realize you haven't been face to face with someone in… a while.

Croaking out with a strained voice, “Look, here. Have it back, I don't want it anymore.” With shaking hands, you tug the worn leather over your body and drop it onto the ground in between you two. Gulping, you scan his figure for any type of reaction.

That's when you notice a glint in his hand – a knife. Maybe it was foolish to assume he wouldn't have a weapon on him, he was chasing you after all. But it dawns on you that you don't have one. 

Nyen seems to pick up on your sudden stiffening, taking a step forward. It takes everything in you to not take off, but you know it would be fruitless with a sore ankle. 

“I know who you are.” You shake, “You do?” He nods slowly, “Randal told me about you. ‘The Lost Camper’, a habitual thief and urban legend. A fucking pussy too.” 

A low laugh escapes his lips, he’s getting closer. “So, you think you can just get away with this?” Sweat builds even heavier on your brow and you shake your head, “No, no. I’m – I’m sorry. I didn't mean to–” He cuts you off, “You knew exactly what the fuck you were doing. You need to be dealt with. ”

Your flight instinct kicks in and despite the light injury you sustained, your feet begin to move on their own. It's not fast enough though, he lunges at you and the sudden weight causes you to fall down with a pained hiss.

There's a tackle, he's grabbing at you while you try to force yourself up under him. It’s incredibly rough, there isn't enough room to struggle around with how his weight presses you down.

You watch terribly as Nyen brings his knife up in the air. The pale moon shines on the blade, and for a second, you see the reflection of your terrified face before it stains red. 

A guttural scream forces out of your mouth, making you throw your head back before it crooks back down to see crimson blood seep through your jeans down the side of your thigh. 

Nyen doesn't waste time in pulling the blade back, watching how you writhe in pain. Through teary eyes, you see pure excitement spread across his shaded face. He’s enjoying this. 

You can barely resist when he's forcing your thick jacket off your body – not satisfied with how the material lessens the cuts he’s adorning your body. “Don't do this…” It’s meek and pathetic, you know but you can't help it. He stands above, blood staining his hands. 

“It's already happening.” It's deep and low, and you feel every drip of venom that laces his words. 

You witness Nyen begin to rub the growing bulge in his tan jeans, causing your stomach to twist in a way that you're scared you may vomit out of the fear and pain. The catman groans, “Fuck… I’m going to make a mess out of you.”

Soon enough, he strips you of your worn shirt and jeans clothes. It's scary how Nyen handles you like a ragdoll, no concern for the twists and gashes your injured body has to endure. 

“So this is what you were hiding under all that? Lucky me.” It’s so condescending that you grit your teeth. For any chance of keeping your dignity, an attempt of covering yourself and moving is made – but it’s met with a swift kick to your ribs that results in burning heaving.

A cold hand slips under your bra, lifting it over and groping at your chest. Whimpering, you attempt to shy away from his touch but he draws you back with an even colder tip of a blade that swipes across your skin. 

Red drapes over your body like a warm blanket in contrast to the cool chill of the forest air. You can almost stare off into the starry night you are so used to while you try to regain bated breath, just for an escape.

Nyen doesn't allow this though. He flips you over roughly onto your stomach, ripping away the comforting sky from your vision. Again, you want to at least protest when he greedily spreads your legs open, hand prodding at your sensitive heat.

Shit. You don't remember the last time you ventured into anything sexual. Maybe you’d rub one out when the idea popped up, but it never really did. You’ve seen a… er– dildo (if you remember correctly what it was called) once or twice when snooping around camps. It gave you a good laugh then, but you would ultimately leave it. 

Now you can feel how his hard length presses up against you. It’s an uncommon sensation, and fuck – why does it have to be big? 

Cutting your underwear off, his long fingers soon dip into the heat of your pussy, pushing in and out. You gasp and tremble underneath his touch. He doesn't wait for you, curling his digits up as growing wetness coats his knuckles. It's disgustingly good, making your traitorous body clench around his fingers. 

Nyen looms over you, wiping the soaked knife onto dark long sleeves, helping him keep his grip on the handle. Then, he pulls his fingers out of you, tauntingly slow to hear how you whimper pathetically. “Look at you, bitch. You're fucking dripping.” He mixes the juices with your blood, “Heh, in more ways than one.”

With unbuckled jeans, he moves fully on top of you, knees pining the sides of you down as he grunts against your soft ass. Nyen then grips your hair and pulls your head back, curving your spine into an uncomfortable position. His knife finds its way to your exposed neck. 

Shaking, it nips at your skin as shallow breaths escape you. He brings himself closer . “Should I just kill you now? What do you think, slut?” Adrenaline rushes through your body, a shameful cry escapes you, “No, no! Don't– don't!” 

He grinds against you, “Then beg.” Shaking your head, you respond – “Please. Please let me go, I’m sorry.” A deep sinister chuckle responds, “No, bitch.” He yanks your head back even farther. Feeling his hot breath against your face, he spits, “Beg for me to fuck you.” 

Tears pool in your eyes, shutting tightly when his blade grazes hurt skin once more. His hard length prods at your entrance – waiting. With a deep breath, you whisper oh-so pathetically. “Please fuck me.” You pray it's enough.

“Better than that. C'mon, or I’ll slit your pretty little fucking throat.” He yanks your hair, pushing into your skin. You panic, fat tears streaming down your face. “No! Don't kill me! Please, please just fuck me. Please.”  

Your screams turn into loud cries, echoing onto the tall trees that surround the scene. Nyen relishes in your wails, nails digging into the back of your scalp before his cock sinks into you roughly. You squirm with a loud pained gasp, you weren't close to ready for him. 

His knife (thankfully) removes itself from your neck, grip on the handle still iron strong. It doesn't give you anything to distract from as he stretches you out incredibly painfully. Inch by inch, your muscles contract and try to adjust to his size – but it's not nearly enough when he begins to start to move. 

“You're so fucking tight.” He lets out a sharp grunt, skin slapping against yours. “You've never fucked, haven’t you?” All you can do is cry. “Perfect.”

Forgetting the threat of his knife, he reminds you with a deep slash across your back. Pain vibrates through you, hands grip at soil and blades of grass in an attempt to stiffen the burning sensation that consumes you. Nausea festers and chokes at the back of your throat, certain that if you had eaten this morning it’d be spilling out your mouth by now.

It's an entrancing sight for Nyen, the large gash displays the crimson beautiful blood dripping down your arched back and onto your asscheeks as he slams into you. It’s a lot of blood. So much so that he feels how you physically weaken under him, fully incapacitated.

He decides to flip you back onto your back once again like the ragdoll you are. There, he can see how the light in your eyes start to dim. Red, and swollen, and tear rimmed – they stare back at him, wordlessly pleading for any type of mercy.

Nyen ignores it, choosing to grab your injured thighs and hike them over his broad shoulders, angling even deeper inside of you. Tight muscles draw him closer, grunting at the feeling of your warmth enveloping him. “Shit, you're a greedy fucking thing, aren't you?” He spits at you, grabbing your face to make sure your eyes stay on him, inches separating your faces. 

You don't respond, hoarse cries and moans are all the sounds you can make. Nyen’s mask taunts you, wide eyes never leaving yours as his nails scratch at your chest and waist, marking and trailing. Nyen’s nails even have the nerve to dig into your open wounds, forcing the blood to escape even faster. 

Any pleas you can muster out fall on deaf ears, and you almost wish he killed you before all this. But then it clicks that this is all just a game to him – you're simply a toy. The evil grin on his face is evident of this, he's truly enjoying watching this horrible scene come undone by his hands. The chase, the torture, your cries . It only makes his heavy cock harder and his thrusts sloppier. 

Your head is woozy and your vision is getting blurry. Numbness circuits through your body, the only thing you can feel is the sensation of his cock ramming into you over and over again. 

Nyen lets go of your face and chooses to grab at your bouncing tits, squeezing hard enough to create bruises. His twitching cock then rubs inside of you perfectly . A loud whine follows that causes Nyen’s jaw clench at the sudden extra pressure around his length, “Ah, hgh,– take my cum like the pathetic bitch you are,”

Stars in your vision soon mix with the stars in the night sky, you can't feel your legs anymore, neither your arms. Blood loss is getting to you – and quickly.

His body drives into yours, the sensation of gore under you squelches around against skin and dirt. Then, the knot building inside your numbing abdomen finally snaps, your breath hitches and you keen loudly – writhing around him.

Nyen soon follows, basically growling at how your pulsating pussy feverishly sucks him in and empties his balls. He rides the orgasm, fucking his cum deep inside you, and basking in the gripping release.

When he pulls out and off of you, your body limps on the ground. Overlooking, he can see how your lungs shallowly take in much needed air. Blood glistens off your cut adorned skin, and god is it a fucking beautiful sight.

He tucks his cock back into his blood soaked jeans, and he can already hear about how it's extra laundry to do now. But frankly, he doesn't care. Nyen gives you a once over, just to make sure the image of you really seeps into his brain. After well enough, he pockets his knife and walks over to the criminal leather bag that started this all. 

Suddenly, a weak grip holds onto his ankle. You.

You look at him with big, lidded eyes and croak out, “Wait… wait– am I… am I going to die?” He stares back at your frightened face with his reactionless one. It's quick before he gives you a sinister smile, then he yanks his ankle out from your grasp and grabs the bag that lays beside you. 

“Yeah, probably.” He then pulls a cigarette out of his back pocket and lights it, flicking hot ash onto your chest. 

“You were a good fuck though, I’ll give you that.” It’s patronizing. A final tear streams down your cheek as you watch him walk into the fog of the trees without another word.

You stare at the sky once again, leaves sway above and let moonlight peek through. Your inhales seem to be getting shorter and shorter, but you don't realize. You just pay attention to the movement of the leaves and the formation of stars. 

Grass picks at the back of your head, it’s soft – one of the only things you can feel besides excruciating pain. You let it be your pillow, the comfort that is ever fleeting from your grasp. 

This wasn't a fate you ever expected to have, it wasn't even proper death. It all makes you want to get up and fight for yourself. To live. He wasn't going to win. 

But reality sinks in when your vision fills with black spots, and you remember you're actively bleeding out, abused and hurt. Dying. It hurts to move, and the lone thought of welcoming it reverberates in your mind. It’s okay… It’s okay… 

With a final breath and ringing ears, darkness finally mercifully consumes you. 

To the dirt you were born, to the dirt you return to. 

And to the dirt you will rise up from again. 

[justkillingthyme]

what are some of your favorite pl headcanons?

Aughhh. I have so many. 805 messages in one of the servers im in. Okok.

Des is a prick about manners. Particularly table manners. Don’t talk with your mouth full, elbows off the table, cup on the right side, etc. He was taught piano when he was little and didn’t pick it back up till college. He reunites with Hershel in the days past the ending of UF. He takes things apart but can’t figure out how to put them back together unless he was the one that made it so he’s banned from the engine room in the Bostonius. He can also sew and embroider. He has a cat allergy. He’s overly dramatic (to Raymond and Raymond alone) when he’s sick, but won’t say anything if he’s seriously ill or he thinks someone needs him. Des took his dad’s glasses but they were prescriptioned so he fucked up his eyesight. So now he actually needs glasses. He still hums lullabies he learned when he was little, and he used to sing them to his daughter.

Hershel knits and crochets. Lucille taught him and he does it a lot when he’s stressed or bored. He made so many sweaters in the hospital. Especially when he was in high school he mother henned his friends a ton. Didn’t know why he had such bad anxiety about losing his friends. + Randall is reckless. Bad combo. Hershel has night terrors and just doesn’t say anything about them. They were a lot worse when he was younger though. Uhh. The Getting Beat Up By The Government fucked him up bad. Head trauma memory problems on top of mental trauma memory problems. He gets injured sometimes on his adventures and doesn’t say anything which causes a lot of chronic pain. His back got fucked up in ED. Hershel has so so many identity problems. He also needs glasses kinda bad

Luke and Clark are vegetarian. Clark more so but Luke will eat meat when necessary. He doesn’t enjoy it though, and won’t eat anything less than well done. Luke mimics Hershel’s behaviors often. Luke has a chronic fatigue disorder and will go to bed anywhere. Eepiest guy

Randall has ADHD. He has a hard time reading other people’s emotions and tones, and has zero volume control. Definitely ate dirt as a kid.

Angela likes horror novels and being outside. Claustrophobic. Henry is French.

Emmy likes fruit. Sweet tooth all the way but she’ll go ham if she sees fruit. Citrus for the win. Also like sour candies. Post AL she still works out just because she’s really into the habit.

Flora is into mechanics. She has a hard time when things aren’t predictable, and over-rationalizes frequently to make things make sense. Separation anxiety. Also liked horror and mystery books. Had a mythology phase.

[i-rebelled-for-this]

Agatha all along episode 6 Part one

Familiar by thy side

It was beautiful and honestly answered a lot more questions than I expected it to do.

Seeing Agatha from Teens perspective was hilarious.

Both Williams was handled very beautifully and Joe did a fantastic job!

The chair that resembles a toilet seat at William’s Bar Mitzvah really throws me out of it though. I’ve seen it about six times now and I just can’t with that chair. Who saw that chair and went, yes this is it?!

Billy is going through a blue drapery to get to a mostly red space about his future. I see what you did there.

Also I love the lamp

Lilia herself in gold and blue, no necklace.

Very nice blue and red colours together in Lilia’s tent.

Also notice the tower tarot card, representing Sudden change, upheaval, chaos, revelation and awakening.

And The wheel of fortune card, representing karma, good luck, life cycles, destiny and turning points. Notice that I’m not a that good at tarot so I may get it wrong.

Also more sun symbolism with Lilia

Upside down Billy

Lilia says the tower reverse, a big personal change and transformation coming. Make total sense

Lilia just remembering something, once again, kin implies she exists out of time, what is time for her, how does she experience it, can she affect it?

I yelled when Billy said he loved the vibe in the tent, very early Argento. I had to take a break.

Argento, the director and writer of Suspiria, the witch movie which was the inspiration for episode 4.

This is huge! This indicates that it’s actually Billy that keep the road in movie/tv-themes, not Wanda or any leftover of her spells. Which we also see mote of later in the episode.

Of course, now we have new questions.

Like does he know?! Or is he trying to cope with losses like his mom?

The sigil is interesting, (not just because it’s a beautiful nod as a W or WW) but does it hide Tommy too? Since neither Wanda or Billy can find him. Also notice how later Agatha will say there are two of you, implying the are one or two pieces of a whole.

Why does Lilia want to hide them?

Interesting that the radio air the first episode of WandaVision.

William shouting “mom, look out” as they get in the car crash. Don’t touch me!

And the dome and the dead tree by the car. Beautiful but hurts.

Red glass shards. Once again beautiful but hurts.

Bye Tommy

ALICE! Good to see you darling!

Greg knowing what’s up.

WILLIAM/BILLY’s room!

His signature blue

The movie posters and the actual wizard of oz toys in his bookshelf.

I started writing down all the movie posters but some were obvious or too hard to make out so I let it go.

Eddie being cute.

Freak like momma.

And he taking everything Billy tells him better than I would have.

Nice trans flag.

Now as he have grown up, it’s all horror movies and the occult.

We’re off to my second scream and had to take a break in this episode.

But first, their usernames? lol. They worked hard on those two.

Ralph/Randall/Pietro/Peter (in my culture we have a saying that goes, a loved child has many names.) You are doing great sweetheart!

I gotta admit I thought they were gonna let us wait for VisionQuest to see him again. I’m thrilled!

Not really a fan of the red hair they gave him but, I get it. It matches Wanda

Also, love his stealth, very stealthy.

Nope, sorry Ralphie, can’t call a a kid Bub when you willingly goes online as Bohnerrific69. There are rules. And also made me google that just to get the spelling correctly.

Notice how he talk about Wanda, ge calls it sad but he talks gently about her and the one he is actually actively angry about is Agatha.

Also notice how when Billy asks about if it changed him or if he can do stuff now, he gets very serious for a moment and ask him what he is talking about.

Billy, I need to know if that water actually hurt you.

And never, ever yell Mr. Bonherrific.

I really can’t make out what Ralphie is shaking? First. Thought it was mr Dibbles or hoped. lol

The market value? Hon, she is still in the house! Priorities here.

My sweet baby, but yeah, keeping Monica in the attic was a bit much.

RIP Sparky. It was Ralph all along.

Speedster and mind reading brother. Babies!

Wanda is dead, sure jan.

Not the blu-ray collection!!!

Another movie buff in the Maximoff family. I get emotional writing this.

Agatha can keep his Bow-Flex, thread mills. Funny, not liked he needs it.

Go to his one man show in Paramus please!

Dreadit lol

Down the road baby!

[zahri-melitor]

New(ish) Comics:

Birds of Prey #13: That was a clever use of Cass to finish the storyline. Kelly Thompson's generated enough good will from me at this point that yeah, I'd consider her as one of the strongest Birds of Prey writers since Dixon and Simone, though Sean McKeever probably still edges her out (McKeever had a stronger lead in though to work from, and so many people barely distinguish his work from Simone's).

I'm interested to see where Thompson takes them from here. I certainly still have quibbles (I would love to see a commitment to using Barbara as Oracle only appear on page; I do think Thompson is having way too much fun trying to play with ALL the characters and needs to focus a bit more on the ones she has already), but I'm never disappointed by the title? I enjoy myself.

Batman #152: I've got to say, as someone who has also played around with Darkseid powers, I enjoyed that Bruce acknowledged on page that Omega Beams do weird shit on occasion, revolving around what Darkseid wants, and that Bruce would in fact be cautious of them in ways other people are not. I'm not sure as a story it accomplishes a lot as an an Absolute Power tie-in (mostly I think it's just keeping Bruce out of the way while other characters get focus in the main titles), but I did appreciate the use of the Batman #79 callback to the Beach Holiday Of Explicitly Taking Time For Ourselves While The Children Are Dealing With Drama, because Bruce and Selina and holidays at the beach and on cruises is a long running theme together and I never hate seeing it pop up.

Putting the Birds of Prey Absolute Power set up into the back of this made sense in terms of comics pricing and keeping the number of event comics contained, but also probably needed to be better signalled. Read this AFTER BOP #13.

The Boy Wonder #5: and Juni Ba caps his story off.

This was sweet! In the spectrum of non-canonical or dubiously-canonical retellings of origin stories, I think this straddled the line pretty well, particularly in how it was explicitly pitched as a story someone was telling. Some of the resolution in the final issue was a bit pat for me (in terms of we all moved forward and solved things), but the focus stayed where it needed to be (on Damian and Damian's connections), and plenty of the implications were significantly creepier than Smol Damian here realised.

This would sit happily beside the Demon Trilogy as a quasi-canonical Al Ghul story. I think Dennis O'Neil would have appreciated it.

DC's I Know What You Did Last Crisis #1:

Honestly my opening thought on this was 'why did anyone offer Dan DiDio a writing slot'? Because, I've read a bunch of DiDio's work, and part of the situation with him at DC has always been that he's a mediocre writer that wouldn't rate a title if he hadn't already been working in editorial/management. His credits don't actually contain any stories and titles that people are big fans of, and a lot of his work was done collaboratively with stronger writers (if you're writing with Keith Giffen, I suspect Giffen is handling a lot of the actual plotting work and charm).

Okay rant out of the way:

Batgirl-COIE story: I don't mind this, but I feel like if I were going to pitch a Barbara story at this point I'd want it more in communication with Barbara Randall Kesel's work. I'd have Barbara acknowledge the Krypto stuffed dog and maybe bond with the kid over "I had a teddy called Supergirl". Also, this is...very early for 'Waylon likes kids'. Like, decades too early. Croc's characterisation feels far later than when this story is set.

Dr Light-Millennium: It's not bad as a horror piece, but as a few other people have noted, I feel it wastes the aspect of 'the Manhunters are hidden among us' inherent in their portrayal in the event. Nice moment spent with a few characters who don't get much page time though.

Birds of Prey-Final Night: this very much feels like a missing tie in! Which we didn't get, because BOP had the Manhunt mini instead during that period. Ashley Allen has a good grasp on the time frame and events going on for this. My one quibble is having Dinah working in Gotham here, as Barbara still was focusing on world-roaming problems at this point over local ones, but otherwise, it slotted in very nicely.

JSA-Zero Hour: This is fine. I will say the quip about "the number of Bat-people" for Zero Hour feels a bit thin. You mean, Batman, Nightwing, Robin, ... Huntress and Spoiler? Steph has barely had her second ever storyline, the only person in Gotham who trusts Helena is Tim, JPV is busy dealing with having been insane, and Dick's been home for five minutes. They literally just finished a multi-year event about how Bruce didn't have the support he needed.

Nightwing-Infinite Crisis: it's just sad and pathetic that Dan DiDio remains so mad that his staff rebelled and wouldn't let him kill Dick Grayson. It was almost two decades ago. Why are you still having a tantrum about this publicly? It's not even worth addressing the characterisation, as it's just an attempted take-that that makes him look worse.

Scarecrow-Blackest Night: ...if you're going to set something at the Monarch Theatre maybe take 5 seconds to check the wiki about what was happening with the location around the time of the story. It was not a functioning movie theatre, folks, and we're just prior to The Carpenter's Tale. I dunno. This one felt like a waste of the setting.

Lex Luthor-Final Crisis: look I don't enjoy Final Crisis, but this is incredibly set during Final Crisis. This feels like pretty solid Lex characterisation and introspection, and I'm sure he hates that he's hallucinating a Superman to talk down to.

Midnighter-Flashpoint: I dunno, the characterisation feels off for both Pyg and Midnighter. It's fine, but I would have preferred another story that really felt like a missing backup from an event.

My general overarching opinion? Most of the writers could have used a bit closer attention to context for their stories, if you're playing "this is set during". That's something people can check.

The Warlord #66: I just checked and we are so close to halfway through volume 1 of the Warlord! They simply do not commission 133 issue runs plus annuals of random conspiracy titles anymore. Anyway this week in Skartaris Mongo Ironhand remains the worst. Also Mariah and Mikola finally get to talk to each other and Mariah tells her lost werewolf fencing instructor lover that she's actually now got the hots for an ex-gladiator with a spiked mace for a fist. (Oh, Skartaris)

There is tragically very little discussion of communism. Get back to preaching about the benefits of communism, Mariah!

Also we fight a demon (who transformed from the Gollum creature like...30 issues earlier), Mariah tricks him into stabbing himself in the eyesocket with a trick sword, Jennifer defeats him with magic, they throw the magic book the demon was using into a volcano vent to destroy it, and the men are largely all useless.

Thank you, that has been our back in pre-history LOTR rip off of the week.

[devilsrecreation]

2, 4, 9, 12, 23, 25 AND your ship ratings for njano :3

MY BABY!

Favorite canon thing:

I LOVE his design and how deceptive he is! You’d THINK he’d be a dumbass with his tongue sticking out like Cheezi but he’s surprisingly the farthest thing from it! Plus, he’s adorable!

If you could put this character in any other media, what would it be:

Oh, that’s easy! In fact I made a couple posts about it! I can see him in both Monsters at Work, with he and Shupavu acting as Randall’s little spies AND I can see him in the game “The Baby in Yellow” cuz they’re so similar (even made a mini au about it and now he’s a demon lmao)

The whole AU is right here if anyone cares lol

Could you be roommates with this character?:

And they were roommates/ref

Yes. Yes I could and it would be great

Headcanon I have:

I mentioned quite a lot but one of the newer headcanons I’ve been playing around with is how he and Kenge are found/unofficial brothers :)

He actually has a soft spot for siblings in general. He’s always encouraging his friends to be nice to their siblings and not to take them for granted cuz they never know when they might lose them someday. It sounds lighthearted when Njano says it but he’s absolutely speaking from experience

Favorite picture:

He looks so innocent and silly here dhdhhehegeg

What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

When I first came back to the fandom, I just sorta acknowledged his existence (much like many minor characters). Now, I see he’s an endearing little shit and also my son

Ship ratings:

Aaaaaaa the only characters shipped with him that I know of are Shupavu and Hodari cuz he’s such a minor character. 10/10 for all of them though

Omg wait new ot3 idea: Shupavu x Njano x Hodari let’s goooooooo

Although if Shupavu x Hodari exists as a crackship then lemme put in Njano x Kinyonga cuz that shit makes no sense :D (1/10 lmao)

[lutiaslayton]

I’m very much buried under a giant pile of scientific papers due to me having to write my thesis, but I still had to share my joy at today’s random Layton epiphany:

I can finally come to terms with Katrielle’s game and anime existing. In fact, I can come to terms and live peacefully with everything Layton-related existing. Heck, even Cheerful Mystery while we’re at it! Because there’s more than just one continuity and everything is canon, just within the confines of more than only one timeline.

-

Just take Katrielle’s entire series. If you thought that it was taking place after the six main games and movie, then none of it makes sense, if only because Flora doesn’t seem to be here, and the entirety of the prequel trilogy (aka three games and a movie) were literally Thanos snapped out of existence.

In the anime, when Marina shows that Luke made charms as reminders of the cases he solved with Layton, there are only charms for the first trilogy. Nothing about the prequels. Characters such as Emmy, Descole/Desmond, the Stansbury gang, Janice & Melina, are never mentioned, and despite Layton and Luke having disappeared for an entire decade, none of these competent people went to look after them? This simply doesn’t make any sense. If Layton and Luke ever met these people like they did in the main games, then the moment these people would have learned about them going missing, at the very least Emmy, perhaps Descole, and probably the Stansbury gang as well, would have gone on a literal rampage looking for them.

-

But then consider: what if this is an alternate timeline in which the prequel trilogy really didn’t take place? What if Flora, after the events of Curious Village, decided to stay in St Mystere instead of following Layton and Luke to London? Hey, all of that suddenly makes a lot more sense.

In that case though, why didn’t the prequel trilogy happen (assuming Flora’s decision to stay in St Mystere would simply be a butterfly effect consequence of an entire trilogy + movie being erased)? Could there be one single event that could justify such major events… never existing?

I can think of one. One very dark and tragic one, but one that could explain everything.

-

In the Katrielle timeline, Desmond Sycamore died alongside his wife and daughter.

There was no prequel trilogy, because there was no Descole.

-

The Tritons likely moved back to London early enough, around the same time as they did at the end of Last Specter, perhaps because Clark and Brenda’s team never found the Golden Garden and they decided to do something else. Anyway, there was nothing stopping Clark from leaving Misthallery, since Jakes had no reason to change Evan Barde’s will in order to make him mayor.

With the Tritons back to London and reuniting with Layton, Luke probably became his apprentice/assistant early enough after they saved a cat down a tree or something.

There could be a number of reasons why Emmy was never sent to spy on Hershel Layton. Perhaps Bronev felt bad for killing one of his sons and decided to leave the remaining one alone, for a change?

Hershel Layton never got to reunite with the Stansbury gang. Randall is probably still missing, leaving peacefully his life in Craggy Dale, unaware.

Hershel Layton never got to learn about his origins. Roland and Lucille probably ended up suspecting that something happened to the Sycamores, but they never had the heart to tell their son that not only did they hide from him that he used to have a brother… But also that said brother is now dead.

There could be many reasons why either Layton and Luke decided not to take Flora in, or Flora decided to stay in St. Mystere. Perhaps Layton simply didn’t learn that many lessons about the importance of family and adoption or something. He’s just a gentleman doing his thing, and Luke is his only companion.

-

It took much longer for Targent to find the three sites and unlock the Azran Legacy. Perhaps they never did. Perhaps they actually succeeded, eventually, and were wiped out by the golems due to not having been able to gather the five people required as a sacrifice in time.

Perhaps, thankfully, various governments from countries all around the world managed to prevent the world from ending completely by finding a somewhat peaceful agreement (Aurora certainly helped a lot with that, and likely became the human-golem ambassador). Perhaps the golems eventually accepted that an entire planet would indeed suffice as a place to live free, even if that planet isn’t Earth.

Perhaps the golems are still in contact with humanity and now want to get a job in the UK, because why not.

[namorthesubmariner]

Thoughts on Namor's characterization in Chip Zdarsky's Invaders?

It's a mixed bag, while I think Zdarsky had a good start unfortunately it really floundered in the end, but when you take into account that Zdarsky started this idea as a Namor solo project that Marvel rejected, so he had to add in the Invaders it makes more sense for why it felt so off as an Invaders title.

Namor being the "mad king" of the seas is nothing new, and while I appreciate the attempt at explaining away Namor's missing years, the Peterson family, the Xavier mind manipulation. It's an interesting concept, plus Namor got to have some queer coding with Randall, and the effects of his PTSD was sorta explored.

Where the book falls apart for me is towards the end, specifically issue 11, in that issue Namor is turned human and is suddenly helpless, relies on Steve for survival, as if Namor hadn't been turned human before, which he has. Turning Jim against Namor earlier even though it was Jim who sought out Steve to help Namor. Jim and Namor's relationship is much stronger than Namor and Steve's so to have Steve sorta usurp that as if he and Namor were the best of friends doesn't work.

"I know you are good but everyone wants you dead, even Jim" Again in the beginning Steve didn't want to help, it was Jim who pushed Steve to it.

In general just Steve berating Namor, talking down to him, pushing aside his concerns to be the morally superior one is something that's affected both characters for a long time in the comics. But again, I'm used to that, what really drove me away from committing to liking Zdarsky's Namor is how he couldn't commit to his vision, which I feel was a Namor who under mind control damages the world/people's lives and has to live with that, who's dream of a safe future is actually a nightmare. He writes Namor as this very pessimistic, worn down, character who shoulders the blame that isn't his but then turns around and decides he won't shoulder that blame anymore.

Zdarsky can't decide if Namor should be blamed for his mind control/manipulation by Xavier or if he shouldn't. The writer has Steve once again become Namor's "moral compass" and tell him what to do, how to do it, why he's wrong. It gets tiring to see it but mostly this last issue really couldn't decide if Namor should be absolved or not. It doesn't take into account Namor's previous characterization and seems to play off a version that's doesn't have that surety of self that Namor usually has.

It's not the first time he's been possessed or had his mind taken over. Zdarsky's Namor is a mixed bag, he's all at once a sympathetic character whos is dealing with decades long trauma coming back to hit him at once but also he's a cruel character who suddenly decides that he's totally innocent/not to blame for anything?

Issue 11 ends with Namor and Steve teaming up to take responsibility for the mess that was made and fix it, but then issue 12 has Namor once again rejecting his part in it??? He lays the blame on his team mates instead.

The dynamics are off between the Invaders team as well because frankly I don't think Zdarsky can write the Torches well, so Jim and Toro suffered, and they are the heart of the team so that affects the rest of the characters.

In the end I personally feel there were some good aspects but mostly it just had a slightly off character reading for most of the people involved except Steve and Bucky who were most in character.

[kennys-friend]

[Jade:"You died."

Tom: "Correct."

Jade: "Okay. Just wanted to make sure we're on the same page."]

Lol, I love you Jade.

-Awww Victor packing Tabby some food in his little lunch box.

-Damn, Boyd gets shot in the shoulder... AGAIN (LOST fans know)

- SUV an eerie shot of Jade in the tunnels with the children lying down on the rocks.

-Damn, Hannah Cheramy is really bringing it with the screaming! My throat hurts for her.

-Aww Randall didn't have anyone when he woke up. That's so sad for him and for me. Happy he's alive though!

- Ayyyy boy in white pushed Tabitha back to the real world! The outside world is gonna think she's a mad-woman when trying to convince them what happened to her.

-So like.... You can sort of be in 2 places at one? Marielle, Randall, and Julie were all in their beds but also all chained up in that dungeon. I wonder if the townspeople will find Tabitha's body dead, at the bottom of the lighthouse or if her full self made it out.

- Excited to see the duality in season 3 of Tabby in the outside world and all our people still in the town.

- I actually read the leaked subtitles earlier this week so I already had a good sense of what was going to happen.

-Wait, is Jade still in the tunnels!?!? I already forget.

[tothelasthoursofmylife]

Character Profiles: Scotland Yard and misc.

Index: Rowan, Mayne, Randall, Disaster Trio (Cadell, Falk, Geoffrey), George, Cager, Ignatius, Quirino, Dr Alan, Wilbur, Antonia, Theresa, Edmund

(All character ages are as of the latest chapter, or when they died. All information as of the latest chapter too.)

Navigation: Main and extras | Cloudia's grandparents and maternal extended family | Cloudia's paternal extended family (and Florentin) | Other servants and employees | Antagonists | Scotland Yard and misc.

Name: Charles Rowan

Nickname(s): None

Birthday: ca. 1782

Age: about 66

Physical description: grey hair

Affiliation: British Army (former); Scotland Yard

Occupation: Lieutenant-Colonel; Police Commissioner

Base of Operations: London

Random fact(s): He used to play chess with Oscar not long after they first met when Oscar was still a teenager. Rowan did not like it though and soon stopped this because he kept losing.

Background info:

There is not much to be found on the actual Charles Rowan (e.g., I cannot put down a birthdate because there’s none listed anywhere!). I absolutely character-assassinated him for the sake of the story. As I mentioned in the “Freebird” notes, he and Richard Mayne “have been dipped into a heavy portion of artistic license.”

Bear with me here: We once watched some Napoleon documentary in History class (I think it must have been in 8th grade?), and only one scene with Napoleon and Queen Louise of Prussia got stuck in my mind. They despised each other (she called him a “monster” all the time), but it was a diplomatic meeting as Napoleon won the War of the Fourth Coalition, and the Queen pleaded for her people. I searched the documentary to rewatch that part for the first time in ages, and it’s not quite like how I remembered it. In my memory, Louise was even more quietly imposing, and Napoleon even more quietly seething being in the same room as her. At any rate, they are portrayed as disliking but also admiring each other for their qualities, with him being slightly drawn to her but ultimately (and with “great strain”) not giving in (to her pleading). I sort of always think of that bit when I think of Rowan and Trudy’s relationship if that makes any sense. (And looking up the Queen now, she was similar to Trudy in many aspects.) As Rowan says in “Destruction,” there was something that drew him to her, and it bothered him greatly.

First appearance: Freebird (Side Story 2)

----

Name: Richard Mayne

Nickname(s): None

Birthday: November 27, 1796

Age: 51

Physical description: grey hair

Affiliation: Scotland Yard

Occupation: Barrister; Police Commissioner

Base of Operations: London

Random fact(s): Mayne and Rowan are good friends. However, their relationship soured for a while after they had gone fishing together at Rowan’s suggestion, and it turned out that Mayne (who has an abrasive nature) was very unsuitable for that activity. They eventually made up, but the Met officers had to walk on eggshells for a few weeks.

Background info: None. (Except for the bit mentioned in Rowan’s section.)

First appearance: Mentioned only (First: The Countess, Mystery; Chapter 22)

----

Name: Arthur Randall

Nickname(s): /

Birthday: 1826

Age: 22

Physical description: dark brown hair, brown eyes; looks perpetually sour

Affiliation: Messenger Boys (former); Scotland Yard

Occupation: Messenger boy (former); Detective constable

Base of Operations: London

Random fact(s): He started working for Scotland Yard as a messenger boy in 1840 when he was 14 because he really wanted to be part of the Met and “fight for justice.” He has become jaded since. The next decades won’t help in that regard.

Background info:

In WotQ, Randall will be bestowed the title of lord sometime after he becomes police commissioner in 1868. That’s why he’s not one right now. He’s just a normal person and not someone from a noble/notable family.

I’m pretty sure I calculated a possible birth date for him out of boredom in class (at school) once. It took quite a long time for him to finally appear in WotQ though.

First appearance: The Countess, Mystery (Chapter 22)

----

Name: Cadell Beaumont

Nickname(s): Cadi

Birthday: 1820

Age: 28

Physical description: black hair, brown eyes

Affiliation: Beaumont family; Disaster Trio; /

Occupation: Lord of Beaumont

Base of Operations: Beaumont Manor; Beaumont townhouse

Random fact(s): He is surprisingly observant.

Background info: He is based on Takeshi Yamamoto from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. (“Takeshi” is written with the kanji for “military, martial,” and “Cadell” means “battle.” “Yama” means “mountain,” as does “mount.”) I needed an “idiot trio” and decided to base it on KHR’s. He uses darts with blue fletching because Yamamoto is the Rain Guardian, and his rain colour is blue.

First appearance: The Countess, Malady – Part 1 (Chapter 23)

----

Name: Falk Flanagan

Nickname(s): None

Birthday: 1820

Age: 28

Physical description: silver hair, green eyes

Affiliation: Flanagan family; Disaster Trio; /

Occupation: Lord of Flanagan

Base of Operations: Flanagan Manor; Flanagan townhouse

Random fact(s): He’s unbelievably the smartest of the group, and not just by comparison.

Background info: He is based on Hayato Gokudera from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. (“Haya” means “falcon.” “Flannagán” means “blood red” which is a nod to his flame colour and a part of the manga.) He uses darts with red fletching because Gokudera is the Storm Guardian, and his flame colour is red.

First appearance: The Countess, Malady – Part 1 (Chapter 23)

----

Name: Geoffrey Bentley

Nickname(s): Geoff

Birthday: 1819

Age: 29

Physical description: white/ashen hair, grey eyes

Affiliation: Bentley family; Disaster Trio; /

Occupation: Lord of Bentley

Base of Operations: Bentley Manor; Bentley townhouse

Random fact(s): Never get into a fistfight with him.

Background info: He is based on Ryohei Sasagawa from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. (“hei” can mean, i.a., “peaceful,” and the second element of “Geoffrey” (fridu) means “peace.” “Bentley” means “bent grass/woodland, clearing.” “Sasa” means “bamboo grass,” and Ryohei is called “Grass/Lawn Head” by Gokudera.) He uses darts with yellow fletching because Ryohei is the Sun Guardian, and his flame colour is yellow. In the future, Ryohei dates a character named Hana; that’s why Geoffrey’s wife’s name is Hannah.

First appearance: The Countess, Malady – Part 1 (Chapter 23)

----

Name: George Midford

Nickname(s): Gigi

Birthday: 1826

Age: 22

Physical description: blond hair, green eyes

Affiliation: Midford family; Weston College (former)

Occupation: Lord of Midford; Knight; Prefect of Green Lion (former)

Base of Operations: Midford Manor

Random fact(s):

He is the only son and child of Adaline and Harold Midford. Harold is the current Head Knight.

George likes his uncle which annoys Harold a lot. (Many things and people annoy Harold; George, thankfully, doesn’t take after his father.)

His middle name is “Audamar” which he very much dislikes (it was his mother’s wish, and disliking that name is one of the things George agrees on with his father).

Background info: He’s Alexis’ future father! While I dislike the first two anime seasons, I did consider the full name they gave to Elizabeth (which is dubiously canon) when naming characters. As such, George’s future wife is going to be named Ethel; he hasn’t met her yet, however.

First appearance: The Reaper, Hosting a Party (Intermission/Bridge)

----

Name: Cager Castello

Nickname(s): Cager is his nickname

Birthday: April 19, 1809

Age: 39

Physical description: thick, curly dark brown hair, green eyes, sun-kissed skin

Affiliation: Some ass that doesn’t pay him enough

Occupation: Informant; Accountant

Base of Operations: Below the Royal Suspension Chain Pier in Brighton; his apartment

Random fact(s):

He is an American; he moved from New Orleans to Brighton when he was 17.

“Cager” is derived from his full given name. His friend Ignatius used to call him by it.

After Cloudia and Cedric gave him Ignatius’ death certificate, Cager had a picnic to honour his friend’s memory.

Background info: None.

First appearance: The Poker Game (Side Story 1)

----

Name: F. Ignatius E. Freeman

Nickname(s): /

Birthday: February 9, 1822

Age: 19 (at time of death; June 1841)

Physical description: fair hair, glasses

Affiliation: ???

Occupation: ???

Base of Operations: ???

Random fact(s): He committed suicide. Maybe he’s still around?

Background info: /

First appearance: Mentioned only (First: The Poker Game; Side Story 1)

----

Name: Quirino Quario

Nickname(s): Quiri

Birthday: January 1, 1824

Age: 24

Physical description: black hair, golden eyes

Affiliation: Somerset House (Registry of Births, Marriages, and Deaths)

Occupation: Archivist

Base of Operations: London

Random fact(s):

Even though Quirino is excellent at his job, he is still fallible. After all, registering births, marriages, and deaths still isn’t done diligently despite the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1836, i.a. because it did not require that the cause of death had to be certified by a medical practitioner.

He has a poor immune system.

Background info: He is actually one of the main characters from my original novel idea Pizza Boy (working title). I needed an archivist, so I transferred over my archivist character, the titular Pizza Boy. I changed his name though, (“Quirino” is in theme with his actual name, and “Quario” is his grandmother’s surname!) and aged him up from 17 to 24. “January 1” is Pizza Boy’s birthday. I hope that I manage to have him properly appear in the story one day!

First appearance: Mentioned only (First: The Poker Game; Side Story 1)

----

Name: Dr Alan Reeves

Nickname(s): Al

Birthday: 1806

Age: 42

Physical description: brown hair, brown eyes

Affiliation: His medical practice

Occupation: Physician

Base of Operations: His medical practice

Random fact(s): His lack of presence is partially deliberate on his part as he’s avoiding Kamden as much as he can. (He still feels very bad that he could not help Kamden’s adoptive parents, who had been his friends, when they got sick.)

Background info: He’s named after Alan Ryves from The Demon’s Lexicon. Like that Alan, Dr Alan has a brother named Nicholas/Nick, but he has not even managed to be mentioned yet.

First appearance: Mentioned only (First: The Countess, Captured; Chapter 16)

----

Name: Wilbur Hopkins

Nickname(s): Wil

Birthday: 1820

Age: 28

Physical description: brown hair, green eyes

Affiliation: Hopkins’ Tailor Shop

Occupation: Tailor

Base of Operations: Hopkins’ Tailor Shop

Random fact(s): A surprisingly young but very talented tailor. Even though he can create the most stunning clothes, his personal attire is very odd and makes him stick out like a peacock amongst pigeons.

Background info: He’s named after and based on Wilbur Evans from Geek Girl. He is set to adopt Nina in the future.

First appearance: Mentioned only (First: The Countess, Captured; Chapter 16)

----

Name: Antonia Rossini

Nickname(s): None

Birthday: 1821

Age: 27

Physical description: black hair, dark green eyes

Affiliation: Rossini’s Tailor Shop

Occupation: Tailor

Base of Operations: Rossini’s Tailor Shop

Random fact(s): Her favourite animals are swans. She likes feeding them in her spare time and always attends the swan upping. (She also thinks it’s silly that Queen Victoria owns all unmarked swans in the Thames.)

Background info:

She’s named after and based on Madame Rossini from Ruby Red. Madame Rossini is French though; I made Donna Rossini Italian because I thought that made more sense with her surname.

I created her before we found out that the Hopkins family has been making clothes for the Phantomhives for generations. I would say Cloudia does still sometimes go to her instead of Wilbur, even if Antonia hasn’t even been mentioned in ages because of his introduction.

At the same time, she was meant to eventually return to Italy and stay there when her mother got sick anyway.

First appearance: The Countess, Meeting the Queen (Chapter 9)

----

Name: Theresa Dale (née Light)

Nickname(s): Tessa, Tess

Birthday: 1803

Age: 45

Physical description: dark brown hair, grey eyes

Affiliation: Aristocrats of Evil (former)

Occupation: Aristocrat of Evil (former)

Base of Operations: New York; London (former)

Random fact(s):

Her husband William was a very sickly person. Various doctors would attend to him (they were quite rich). Theresa would watch and listen to them as well as read up a lot on her own so that she could look after her husband herself.

She’s very well-read and often grew frustrated with Barrington because he’s not and could not understand her references. Apart from that, they got along well and were friends.

She asked Simon to instruct her in fighting, just in case, after she became an Aristocrat of Evil in 1824. However, motherhood/pregnancies/widowhood often interfered with her joining Barrington and Simon for more active activities.

Background info: She’s named after and lightly based on Theresa “Tessa” Gray from The Infernal Devices. Her late husband William James Dale is named after Tessa Gray’s two husbands William Herondale (Theresa’s surname is derived from his last name) and Jem Carstairs. Theresa’s children share the same names as Tessa’s: James (1823), Lucie (1825), and Wilhelmina (1828).

First appearance: Mentioned only (First: The Lady, Bonding; Chapter 12); has not appeared in the present yet

----

Name: Edmund Oxley

Nickname(s): Ed, Eddie (but don’t call him that if your name is “Cedric Rossdale”)

Birthday: 1731

Age: 19 (at time of death; 1750)

Physical description: dark brown hair, brown eyes

Affiliation: Grim Reaper Dispatch

Occupation: Grim Reaper

Base of Operations: Grim Reaper Dispatch

Random fact(s):

His Death Scythe is a bush trimmer, and he always found Cedric’s choice pretentious and ridiculous.

He exasperates those who oversee the Dispatch supplies with his Turkish delight orders. (Cedric said he doesn’t like Turkish delight when they were trainees, but that’s not the (full?) reason why Edmund cannot stand him.)

Background info: He’s named after Edmund Pevensie from Narnia. Edmund Oxley also had three siblings who were named after the other Pevensie siblings: Peter, Susan, and Lucy.

First appearance: The Green Ghost of Nephelius Cemetery (Part 2): The Reaper, First Encounter; The Countess, Faint and Low 5.0 (Chapter 20; present)

[the-blue-fairie]

Tom Thumb (1958) - Fairy Tale Movie Challenge

(TW: discussions of racism/yellowface ahead.)

Since thealmightyemprex is doing a Fairy Tale Month, I'm at last doing my writeups for the Fairy Tale Movie Challenge. I shall start with Tom Thumb, which thealmightyemprex suggested, directed by George Pal.

Now, I associate George Pal with special effects extravaganzas of fantasy and sci-fi from the 50s and 60s, sometimes with a kitschy charm to them. He made Destination Moon, he made When Worlds Collide, he made the 50s War of the Worlds, he made the 60s Time Machine, he made the 7 Faces of Dr. Lao! This film fits right in among these (sometimes not for the best of reasons, but we'll get there.) They're all a similar kind of "wonder movie." They remind me of Harryhausen films, but sometimes with a more American Christian preachy vibe. But I consider his Time Machine and War of the Worlds classics and excellent films in themselves, not just as 50s special effects time capsules.

Tom Thumb (1958) tells the story of a woodcutter and his wife who are blessed by a wood spirit with three wishes. After squandering them in a comedic sequence, she takes pity on them and grants them their wish for a child, the diminutive Tom Thumb, played by Russ Tamblyn of Twin Peaks and The Haunting. It's based on the Grimms' "Thumbling" tale (and there ARE elements of it) but you get the sense it's... essentially Disney's Pinocchio, for better or worse, George Pal style. Tom is duped by a pair of shady schemers a la Honest John and Gideon, has to save his parents to make amends, etc.

Ironically, the opening of the film before the introduction of Tom is one of the strongest things about it. Bernard Miles (oh MY GOSH he was in 1956 Moby Dick! I know the Manxman in a small role in the film, but he gets that monologue about Moby Dick so it's cool! AND he was Joe Gargery for David Lean!) and Jessie Matthews have such a great comedic chemistry and they make roles that, in other hands, could be overly treacly, work and work well. The sausage-nose routine is classic "squandering three wishes" material and it's really fun.

After Tom is introduced, things get a little shakier. It's not that Russ Tamblyn is bad. He's extraordinarily acrobatic and that makes the long dance among the toys a great watch, even if the pacing drags. But since it feels like the film is going for a Disney Pinocchio innocent child vibe to his characterization, he feels too old for the part. I still like him, though! It's just that line delivery can feel clunky in a way that reflects the worst of George Pal-isms.

AND ON THE SUBJECT OF THE WORST OF GEORGE PAL-ISMS, I made a gloomy quip about the use of yellowface in Dr. Lao just seconds before THIS GUY shows up.

Now, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao was interesting because, although Lao was played by Tony Randall in yellowface and that's awful, at least the character of Dr. Lao wasn't written to be the standard 60s-70s Chinese caricature. Lao was actually able to push back/shoot barbs back at racist white folks in the film. That makes him interesting. Yes, he's still one of those "mystical Chinese characters," but as Arthur Dong pointed out on the Criterion Channel, Lao has more depth and sympathy than most portrayals of the period.

Also, each townsperson's encounter with a different "face" of Dr. Lao is gorgeously written and endlessly interesting.

BUT THIS GUY? He's a toy that serves a bit as Tom's "super-dooper-magical-Chinese-man" to paraphrase Spike Lee. He doesn't have the depth of a character like Lao because he's either Tom's imagination or, if not that, doesn't have a character outside of entertaining/supporting our white lead. Also, his name is the worst thing I've seen since I saw the way that a certain character was credited in the 1925 Larry Semon Wizard of Oz.

Also, they never show the toy in the foreground here up close while looking at it head-on (the one who in this shot has its back facing the camera) but...

...is that a g*lliwog toy? Because if so, yikes.

The romance between Alan Young's mortal character, Woody, and The Forest Queen is a mixed bag. I found Woody initially bland and irritating, but he grew on me. Whereas I found Queenie so interesting, and possessed of such radiant charisma thanks to June Thorburn's performance, that I felt she could do much better than him. I warmed up to their relationship as the film went on, though. They're sweet.

The show-stealers, however, are Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers as the villains (also, if we wanted to talk about Hollywood yellowface and stereotyping, we could teach a whole class on certain Sellers roles and... whatever Blake Edwards' whole deal was, ooof), especially Terry-Thomas. That man is hilarious. They're doing what they do best, stealing gold and stealing the movie!

Also, the coin-counting routine gave me big "Gandalf tricks the trolls in The Hobbit" vibes and I love that.

Overall, Tom Thumb (1958) gave me what I expected, good and bad - a very late-50s, very George Pal diversion that is not among Pal's best, but which has some fun moments and a lot of charm... as well as some Yikes moments that I was at least bracing myself for, knowing the period and other Pal projects.

@thealmightyemprex @ariel-seagull-wings @princesssarisa @themousefromfantasyland @theancientvaleofsoulmaking

[a-member-of-minuteswithmandm]

I loved all six seasons of this is us, even when the show was getting in my nerves I was having a good time!

That being said, let's talk about how all the Pearsons were unrealistic hopeless romantics who repeatedly made shitty decisions when it came to love! ☺️☺️

So first of all...Jack and Rebecca, honestly I think they were both equally flawed so I don't have much to say there. As for Rebecca and Miguel? Damn I hate that couple loool. Miguel is a snake of a beat friend for getting with Rebecca after Jack died. It was giving "ice always loved her" vibes and it gives me the ick. He should have used all the effort he gave to Rebecca and the Pearson on his first wife and kids that's he treated so garbage the first time around smh

Beth and Randall - I love Randal SOOOO much but Beth was effectively a saint for dealing with his shenanigans for 20 years. He was just soooo much, his heart was in the right place though so I let some of his tomfoolery slide.

Then we have Katie girl who destroyed Katoby after years of showing us how they could go the distance. I have not and WILL NOT forgive Kate for ruining her marriage with Toby idc Idc Idc. He wasn't perfect but he was much closer to it than she was that's for sure! I hate that the show acted like his perfectly reasonable concerna and arguments were wrong just further the narrative that Kate was "growing". Ughh

Don't let me even start with the fact that her shan of a relationship with Philip came out of absolutely no where and half of the final season was dedicated to Kate's breakup then second marriage. I actually like Philip but the writing for him was all over the place and their relationship made no sense whatsoever.

For the last member of the big 3 we have Kevin......um okay I guess. The show was all over the place with what they wanted for his endgame - Sophie? Maddison? Cassidy? Zoe? He was obssessed with finding love and due to behind the scene issues, the writers keeps fluctuating with giving him a sense of direction. Everything with Maddison feels so pointless after the ending getting him back with Sophie.....which I wouldn't have hated if it wasn't so clear that all the decisions about her character were based on the actress' pregnancy and availability. I will give them props for making Cassidy his best friend though because I LOVE their dynamic.

Outside of the adult Pearsons we also had Deja and Malik and lord knows I hate them as a couple so much. I don't know why Deja couldn't get an easy love. Why did she had to be a stepmom at 15? Ughhh

Well if you enjoyed my rant then you'll probably also enjoy us talking about this topic on our podcast channel. Please watch, like and comment your thoughts! We love hearing from people 😁

[kayetra-spade-queen]

Randy Cunningham

The youngest baby Shade of the team. My own Furina-fied child of hyperfixation over theater shows and senses to abide of the law.

Randall Dupont Cunningham

Randall = actual first full first name, people just settles over the nickname (like everyone else)

Dupont = an add-on middle name to give my French-origin headcanon a meaning and reason. Also meaning 'Bridge' in French

Cunningham = I do not need to explain

Relationships:

Mr and Mrs. Cunningham:

The fact that these two barely had any existence in the entire show makes things infuriatingly complicated. They're mentioned, sure, but even when they're mentioned, it didn't give much an impact to the overall show, and they're ended up as characters of the abyss; they exists to some extent, but they have little to no relevance in the entire plot.

Well, I suppose this give me more room to style my way in; a relatively normal family, it's just that none of the parents are aware of their son's heroic deeds and stunts, nor aware he was the then-Norrisvile ninja. When Randy became interested in learning law so suddenly, it came as a huge surprise as Randy is usually isn't so invested in studies, even in his highschool years. Nonetheless, they were pleased that their son had found something he wanted to pursue, and it was also thanks to Randy's own quick learning ability and both parents' endless support that he manage to became a iudex of the country at such a young age.

Howard:

I cannot find anything to change in their relationship. I'd say they're besties through life and death and even after the end of time. Still stuck with each other even after the post-change of ninja. Howard was like Randy's right hand man when he became iudex.

Theresa:

See, I wanted to change a few things in their relationship; I want them to be kept as friends, nothing more, as I am still on the fence whether I should create a whole new character as Randy's love interest or no. I want to think that Theresa didn't know the ninja is Randy until after a little while later, and became a trio along with Randy and Howard afterwards; covering for Randy if he had to go fight while still in the middle of class for example. At some point, she did have a crush on Randy after knowing the ninja is indeed Randy because she had an initial crush on the ninja, but she decided to let go of her feelings in fear that it'll hinder Randy's work. They are still friends to this very day. She's Randy's left hand woman, and the current director of the Phénix Institute.

Danny:

Although with the vast age difference, they get along quite well and are very close. Danny had an immense respect for the younger for his dedication towards his duty as a iudex, the ninja-mentor for emerging new ninjas, and as the current long-lasting ninja himself. Randy also respected the older for his great power and authority over his ghostly court, and felt inspired to do better in his own court. Danny is mostly more amused with the style of how Randy manages his court.

Kim:

Viewed her as a teacher who is willing to help him tackle subjects he never knew he needed in his life. Kim herself is quite fond of the younger for his unique perceptions and views and work ethics, and she found enjoyment teaching the younger some skills that could be very useful and put in a interesting way at the Cour De La Soleil.

Zak:

Acquainted through his former-pen-pal-now-bestie, Ben. Upon first impression, he already admired the older already, and was pleased to gained another friend himself, the same thing could be said to Zak also. Although he would much rather meet him in a more... Favorable circumstances.

Rex:

Was more surprised than anything when he heard from Ben that he started a relationship with someone, but otherwise supportive and happy about it. When they first met (though not in the most pleasant circumstances sure), he was already pleased to meet the very same person who had made his friend happy (also with that same person's talent over magic tricks). Rex was a frequent guest at the Cour De La Soleil courthouse (before becoming a member of Soleil Theater afterwards) after he moved to France to move in with Ben and the children, presenting his magic shows in favor of everyone's entertainment and enjoyment. A few times, they're also partnering up to make extravagant theatrical-magic shows, and many times it became a hit.

First Ninja, Ninjanomicon:

Randy had the mentor-student relationship when it comes to First, while Randy had this weird relationship with Nomicon, cuz like- it's sentient artifact, what relationship is there to be established? Even if Randy tried, it'll be way too difficult with how Nomicon is hella stubborn and vague and all that.

Personality:

Somewhat similar to his personality in original, but had matured since he's now older. Randy actually had a knack for teaching himself in his time mentoring the current-chosen ninjas (as his memories aren't wiped, still kept his ninja abilities, and was completely denied of Ultimate Lesson by Nomicon), and finally understood why Kim and First had the fondness of watching their students/successors learning what they were taught to do.

Surprise to absolutely no one, I also intend to put some of Furina's personality on Randy too (technically she was all acting to the point she doesn't recognized herself anymore for the sake that her nation doesn't fall into calamity, but idk for her now since she's no longer the archon and for her story quest); flamboyant, unpredictable, yet also laid back, but this only happens when he's off from the courthouse and/or are in duty with the Soleil Theater. However, when he's in charge of a case, the whole dramatic flares and laid back energy are gone; replaced in all serious and no-nonsense attitude with no tolerance over those who couldn't abide to the order of his courthouse.

Battle Attire:

Since when in duty with the Shades, he'll have a ninja suit. However, I'll heavily alter it since the style of his previous ninja suit as well as its abilities within the suit is the Norisu-style that can only be worn by the Norrisville ninjas. Ben had to make a whole new ninja suit just for Randy. The red will be replaced with grayish blue.

As for the hair, it grew out throughout the years, so now is about the length of his chest, usually being tied so it wouldn't get in the way. He had blue streaks because of the Heart of Tandem.

(Base: TheCherryMonsterLu (DeviantArt));

Weapons:

Ninja sword

Longclaw sword (depending on fighting style, which this sword heavily relies on his Heart of Tandem powers)

Smoke bombs

Chain sickles

Abilities:

Water manipulation (via Heart of Tandem)

Basically everything he had learned during his time as the Norrisville Ninja

Other Info:

Randy is partial Japanese, but mostly Scottish and France heritage.

Norrisville is, in this version, are located in France, since I need to make it make sense why Randy became Ben's pen pal from France.

However, Norrisville is a city in France that speaks English half of the time. Randy could speak both English and French because it's the mandatory subjects he had during his education.

Randy's role as a "ludex" was completely inspired by both Furina and Neuvillette from Genshin Impact. The title of "ludex" from Neuvillette as the iudex of Fontaine, while almost half of his personality who enjoys theatrical drama and the shining spotlight came from Furina when acting as the hydro archon, except with the whole cursed for 500 years to fool an entire nation and the heavens bit and it was actually part of his personality instead of pretend.

Yes, Randy is still ninja even after 4 years time limit. But there's a reason for it; for one, after his ninja duty is all at Norrisville, instead of facing the Ultimate Lesson, his identity and memories as ninja is still intact for a few reasons, one of them is due to the fact of a new threat outside Norrisville (which is the reason he joined the Shades in the first place). The other because of the involvement of the Heart of Tandem literally appearing right in the middle of the years of Randy being ninja.

Randy is not the Norrisville Ninja (anymore), he's an independent ninja. Still made it secret to the public though.

Randy's Heart of Tandem element is indeed water (how original-). This however, isn't made a secret, and was showcase numerous times in court proceedings as the iudex.

Randy and Ben's relationship could be viewed like Chevreuse and Chiori respectively in a few senses, and that's disregarding the personalities.

I was honestly on the fence about giving Randy a partner (romantic-sense) using my own character, but I have a... Conflicting feelings about it, so I might rely on suggestions more than myself.

With the appearance of the Heart of Tandem in the middle of his years of being a ninja, things went on a completely different turn that took the attention of First and Nomicon. A lot of things went off course, from the whole aspect of memory-wipe after the Ultimate Lesson, the usage of powers and talents, everything went very differently. If Randy proceed with the Ultimate Lesson, not only he'll lose all of his memories of being ninja, he'll eventually lose every memory that had stems him as a person, losing his sense of self, making his body only a shell without anything inside, and that's without mentioning the other catastrophe it could caused.

[joemerl]

Writer's Month 2024, Day 6: "Flame"/"Forest"

Original fiction, specifically "the Werewolf WIP" Word count: 481

We never made a fire on our “camping trips.” Didn’t make much sense to. Once we turned into wolves, we wouldn’t be able to tend to it, so it was a big safety risk that we didn’t even need. Wolves can see in the dark better than humans, and our fur would keep us warm even in the middle of winter. It never snowed where we lived anyway.

We explained all this to Con the first time that we brought him with us. He got kind of whiny about it. Apparently he had been dreaming of making smores. And since he stayed human, the lack of light and warmth actually did annoy him.

“You can use the lantern for light, okay, little cub? And we’ll pack some more blankets and clothes so you won’t be cold next time.”

Randall’s mistake was assuming that a six-year-old would listen to reason.

Mine was letting him out of my sight for two minutes.

Also, in hindsight, I guess we should have thrown out all of Mom’s old lighters.

—

Randall was pissed. From right after The Incident until we changed back, he was just growling, fur standing on edge, whole body tensed up like he was gonna rip something's throat out. It was weird to see him that angry, in either form.

Con was even more freaked out than I was. He spent the rest of the weekend cringing away when Randall, hardly saying anything but "I'm sorry!" over and over again.

Randall remained stony when we changed back on Sunday. As we took down the tent, I watched Con hover in the corner of my eye, shoulders tensed, waiting.

Randall folded up the tent like someone crumpling a piece of paper. "You ain't coming with us next week," he said finally. He didn't yell, and he didn't look at Con as he spoke.

"Huh?" he said, as though that outcome had never even occurred to him. "But I gotta!"

"You can stay with one of your friends, or Dennis' family, or Grandma and Gra—"

"I said I was sorry!"

"You could have killed yourself!" Now he was yelling, and he spun around to face him.

"You almost burned down the whole forest," I murmured.

"It was an accident!"

"Oh, you 'accidentally' snuck that lighter out?" I said, but they both ignored me.

"Curt and I can't handle your accidents when we're wolves, Con! We couldn't tell you what to do, we couldn't put it out—I told you we can't have a fire, I gave you a list of rules as long as my arm—!"

Con was crying, the way he always did when he was in trouble. Randall's face softened, if only a little. That annoyed me, even though i should have expected it.

"Come on. We'll talk about this later."

He threw his backpack on and looked away as Con continued to sniffle.

[didasgomas]

With @angelic-writer 's permission, I have created a few ocs for her crossover story "Mandela Effect" I envision they will help, in some way or another, some more than others, some of the characters now stuck in the glued together world of this crossover, probably mostly outside of the states the characters come from, since they're all days of distance from each other Who exactly they're helping I'll have to talk with Angel about

Characters basic info :

-Gertrude Callahan -

Bio info : The demanding and seemingly uncaring boss of the second largest branch of a state-wide Haute Couture brand named Elegya, who secretly is a devoted mother to her triplet daughters, though still intense enough to now be on her fourth husband after three divorces.

Appearance : 5'9, long strawberry blonde hair, grey eyes (hides them behind her sunglasses while at work though) -Quill Sendercomb -

Bio info : Very caring but also permissive local babysitter in a mostly rural area, who also happens to be county mayor Jasper Sendercomb's sister, and with both their parents having left the two of them a large inheritance before retiring, Quill has no actual need to work or live a rural life, but she does because she wants to experience a lower way of life to hopefully humble herself

Appearance : 6'1, ruby red hair, brown eyes, lots of black-and-white tattoos -Hamlet Sunhill -

Bio info : Already retired 62-year-old but previously an all-out playboy historian and street musician, under the stage name "The Woodpecker", with a lot of talent but also too many relationships, before finally settling down with his final girlfriend turned wife Francis Kall

Appearance : 6'5, black hair, red-brown eyes (central heterochromia)

-Seraphim "Rin" Sunhill-Kall -

Bio info : Afab non-binary child of Hamlet and Francis, who is currently 24 years old and studying music in college, and was part of their high school's music band as the drummer, though they also have a talent for playing the lyre, most commonly only at home

Appearance : 6'0, very long (uncut) fluffy brown hair, dark brown eyes -Padgett Hadismill -

Bio info : Very cool, teddy bear for warm hugs type of uncle and godfather, but also a very tired landlord of an half empty apartment complex, with its only tenants either being extremely hard to talk sense into (Mark and Noel), good people but with lots of problems (Finley, Felix, Peter), or simply someone who can't communicate very well (Hillary)

Appearance : 5'10, unkept black hair, hazel eyes -Winston Heather Murrison -

Bio info : Divorced 45-year-old civil engineer dad of a son called Ben, just trying to live a normal life alongside his next-door neighbors: his little brother Randall, his brother's trans husband Tony, and that trans husband's sister Angie

Appearance : 5'9, dirty blonde hair, dark green eyes -Delphine McRowan -

Bio info : Niece of a famed police captain, and cousin to another respected officer, Delphine was born to a workaholic office worker dad and an absent military mom, and the constant lack of attention made her become a delinquent borderline criminal entering her teenage years and into adulthood, with her most recurrent infraction being picking up hitchhikers in a minibus while being under 21 and unaccompanied by a full license holder, though because of her cop cousin Regina, her license hasn't been revoked and she hasn't served more than two weeks in county jail

Appearance : 5'11, long black hair, dark blue eyes