#shout out to CREATIVITY!!!!!!! and ARTS AND CRAFTS!!!! and CARTOONS!!!! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ephemeral-afterlight · 5 years ago

Text

Day 4: Human Shield

(Pack your bags, martyrs.)

Whumptober 2019 Day 4: Human Shield

Word Count: 3521

Relationships: none

Warnings: injuries (various), blood, weapons (swords), implied concussion

A/N: alrighty, time for some Creativitwins shenanigans! i hope i captured their personalities okay; this is definitely my favourite story i’ve written for whumptober so far ^^

A shrill, feral roar rips out into the Imagination, echoes through the mindscape past the boundaries of the twins’ realm and in every nook and cranny it can reach. It’d probably hurt Roman’s ears, if he wasn’t already so used to hearing it, but this time isn’t like all the other times. It’s frantic, and angrier, and tension ripples through his limbs. The Dragon Witch is his foe, yet again, except this time, he’s joined by Remus. His brother hasn’t ever been one for fighting alongside him, preferring independent combat as opposed to co-op, but Roman was already here, and Remus was bored, so now they’re in a battle.

They’re fighting together against the Dragon Witch to keep her at bay, but they’re also fighting each other, in more of a verbal way than a physical way. Their bickering is nothing new, a familiar backdrop to the sound of swords clanging against metallic scales and the sizzling noise left in the aftermath of their opponent’s fiery breath. They don’t argue about anything in particular, anything important. They never really do, if Roman’s being honest. It’s more of a sibling rivalry and casual disdain rather than genuine hatred, although he’d never actually admit that to Remus. Their squabbles and quarrels are, while annoying, something Roman regards with a begrudged fondness, and that is a piece of information he will take to his grave.

Which actually might be sooner than he thought if he doesn’t start paying attention.

The sting that emanates from the slash in his arm is something Roman has been frequently acquainted with in the past, but it doesn’t make the wound hurt any less. He knows the danger of fighting in the Imagination, knows that the effects will last until you leave, but sparring with knights and battling monstrous creatures is fun and helps to get Roman out of creative blocks. If leading Thomas in artistic pursuits means a few scrapes and bruises every now and again, then Roman is happy to endure a little bit of pain until he can get back to the main part of the mindscape and wave the injuries away. He never stays hurt, so it hasn’t ever been a big problem before. Damage to his person is impermanent, and it always has been, so Roman just shrugs off the pain of the abrasions and cuts and contusions and holds his sword in front of him in an aggressive attacking stance.

“Ha! You got whapped!” Remus jeers from the left, nasal voice cutting easily through the chaos as it always does. Roman glances over, does a double-take, and then gives an incredulous laugh. Remus is covered in blood, most of it likely to not be his own, but he also has scrapes and burns all over his skin and outfit. He’s one to talk!

“Shut up!” Roman calls back, retorts in the same way he’s used to. A general rule with Remus is that you won’t have a certain interaction with him just once. If it happened before, it’s gonna happen again, and this has been proved true countless times. Roman has come to expect the lewd gestures, the disturbing language, his “surprise” tackles from the shadows that Roman manages to sidestep nearly every time. Remus has a fixation on repeating things until they stick, doing the same thing over and over and over until something new or different happens. Einstein probably wouldn’t have been very fond of him.

Remus belts out a laugh, leaps forward with manic eyes to slash at the Dragon Witch. His cutlass manages to leave a clean slice on the creature’s back, comes back stained with violet blood. Roman still doesn’t understand why Remus won’t just use his morning star, since his brother has always been the most powerful when using it. He insisted before the fight began that it’s “more fun this way”, hooked his morning star onto his back, and set off to get into more trouble. Roman can still feel the headache even now.

The Dragon Witch growls again, lashes her tail out in a swinging arc, and Roman dives over it cleanly. Remus, as much of a reckless idiot as usual, grabs the spiked appendage when it gets close enough. He’s immediately whipped around as she tries to shake him loose, but Roman knows from personal experience that Remus is like a rabid dog and will not let go once he’s latched on. His legs and sides smack into trees, rocks, the ground, and yet he’s still somehow not winded enough to let his grip loosen a single bit. Roman can tell that the Dragon Witch is starting to get frustrated, smoke blowing out of her nose just like in the cartoons they still watch frequently.

The Dragon Witch herself has gone through a few iterations throughout Thomas’ life, getting more and more “realistic” as he grew up, if you count a half-witch, half-dragon hybrid as being anywhere close to realistic. When Thomas was younger, she had just been a large, purple dragon (influenced by Spyro, no doubt) with a stereotypical witch hat. Now, she’s more of an actual character, closer to what Roman imagines would be in a cool medieval fantasy show on television.

Most of her body is human-- her torso, arms, and legs are pretty normal-looking apart from the violet scales and deep scarring. She’s mostly naked, with a ripped, flowing robe to cover up her sensitive areas (Thomas is still family-friendly, damn it), and a lavish hoard of body jewelry hung at any place that’s free. Her neck boasts delicate golden chains, her wrists and ankles are encircled by broken diamond shackles, and other silver jewelry drapes across her torso, stomach, and legs. Her whole schtick is that she comes to unsuspecting villages in the night, steals their valuables, and uses it to adorn herself in immeasurable wealth.

However, she’s still part-dragon, and that comes in the form of gleaming pointed teeth, wicked sharp nails, an enormous wingspan, and of course, her spiked tail, which is probably far more lethal than it should be. Her shimmering scales radiate out from the center of her stomach, create a patch of bare skin similar to that of what a teddy bear might have, which is almost ironic when it juxtaposes the bloodstains discolouring nearly every smooth inch of her body. She’s definitely evil, and has probably killed tons of imaginary villagers, and Roman kinda loves her simply for the merit she poses as a villain. Whenever he needs a break from the chaos and responsibility, he can rely on her consistency, can depend on the knowledge that she’s always waiting somewhere to engage Roman in his favourite heroic escapades.

And although her purpose is to play the villain, to lose to the hero, an inevitable means to an end, she’s still dangerous. If he slacks off, he can absolutely be defeated. Well, at least Roman can. Remus seems to be having the time of his life even while getting thrown about like a ragdoll (maybe because of it), and honestly, that probably is his idea of fun. He couldn’t have been an arts and crafts geek, could he? No, he has to be weird, and vulgar, and stuck in a cycle of heedlessness. And despite the fact that every time Remus lets himself get hurt on purpose, to fulfill his idea of a day well spent, Roman feels like he’s gonna have an actual heart attack, he can’t deny that some of the foolhardy things Remus does are highly entertaining. Such as now.

The Dragon Witch lets out vicious snarls as she tries to throw Remus off of her back, outraged howls that are only met with deranged laughter. Of course, his brother is unafraid, impetuously so, and that’s something that gives him a clear advantage in most of his fights. Their opponents can act threatening, rise up as terrifying monsters and evil sorcerers and haunted thieves to menacingly loom over the hero, but Remus isn’t the hero, and he can be just as scary. It’s a critical part of what makes him so intimidating, really.

With every growl, every failed slash, the Dragon Witch gets more agitated. She kicks up dirt and gravel with her clawed feet as she stomps around, bleeds into polluted air with rash arrogance. The path they stand on is partially obscured by clouds of dust, leaving the two’s squabble to be enacted as shadows through the grimy lens. Sound is more effective than sight, in this instance, and it’s this sense that leads Roman back into the fray.

His eyes burn as he trudges toward the faint outline of the Dragon Witch, footsteps filled with caution while he shields his eyes from the dust in a futile attempt to ease the sting. He almost trips over upended rocks multiple times but manages to approach the scuffle relatively unscathed. It’s a wonder Remus is still hanging on, squeezing one of the larger spikes on the half-dragon’s back in a death grip even as she doesn’t let up trying to shake him off. Roman can see through the haze in the air that Remus has managed to almost double the number of scratches he had before, and yet nothing’s changed. He’s still grinning, still whooping and shouting as if he’s this is all just a game, and for him, it probably is.

Despite the fact that the lacerations don’t seem to bother him, Remus is still unable to fight efficiently due to his position, and Roman realizes with a groan that he’s going to have to front the efforts on this one. He doesn’t know why he expected Remus to contribute a single thing to make his life easier, but even with the annoyance, he still can’t really bring himself to be angry.

The prince-like side sighs once more, steels his resolve, and then dashes forward.

Once he’s close enough, Roman almost swings his sword in an effort to do some sort of damage, but manages to stop himself before he does. He’s learned over time that recklessness in combat is one of the biggest detriments to swaying the fight in your favour, and has slowly began to adopt and absorb the patience and split-second strategizing that often tips the balance towards himself in altercations. There are only a few moments before the Dragon Witch will notice him and attack, so Roman needs to think quickly.

In all of the fights he’s had with her, there has been a relative consistency in the way the villain ensures Roman will be the underdog, getting beaten multiple times throughout the battle right up until the end. Her counter-attacks are the focal point here, something he’s begun to train himself to look for in their skirmishes. They’re easily compared to chess pieces, and it’s important for Roman to condition himself into analyzing each move to see where he can improve.

There is one part of their battles that tends to repeat itself, a specific situation that he’s relived time and time again. Roman will charge at the Dragon Witch thoughtlessly, foolishly leave himself wide open, and she’ll whip around at the last second to strike him in the torso with her tail. It’s almost practiced at this point, choreographed into the repetition of the timeline, fluid from one altercation to the next. And Roman knows this, is striving to rethink, and recognizing patterns is how he’ll overcome his deficiencies.

He can’t wait any longer. Narrowing his eyes, Roman puts on an act, lets out a dramatic battle cry as he lunges forward with his sword raised above his head. He can see the Dragon Witch smirk, sees the way her dark eyes glint, and he knows that he’s not going to fail this time. As soon as Roman is within range, she turns as usual, easily baited out with conscious forethought. This time is different, though, because Roman stops short, shifts back to lag the pace, and her tail shoots around.

In a moment that doesn’t happen often, Remus turns around, somehow knowing exactly what Roman’s plan is. There’s a synchronicity there, duality that only comes from two beings who used to exist as one. Roman hops over the Dragon Witch’s tail, leaps forward to grab onto Remus’ extended hand, and uses the leverage to vault off of her back and over her head. He lands hard on the ground in front of her, refusing to waste a single precious second as he ignores the pain that shoots through his legs at the rough stop. Roman immediately turns and plants a foot backward, stamps an anchor into the grass to use as a pivot point. There’s a very small window of time that Roman has to operate in, to take advantage of the pause of surprise as the half-dragon processes the new turn of events. The prince spins around, then uses the momentum to bring down a harsh slash on the Dragon Witch’s chest.

The villainess shrieks, rears back hard enough to finally eject Remus from her back, and she doubles over to clutch at the gash in her open patch of skin. Remus lands in the dirt with a thump, breath forced from his lungs at the impact, and Roman ignores the Dragon Witch for now in favour of rushing to help Remus up. Yeah, his brother is annoying, but he’s still his brother, and Roman is a terrible excuse of a prince if he doesn’t help someone in need, especially family.

His counterpart groans from where he’s laying on the ground, rolls his head to the side to reveal a rock now coloured with a smattering of red. Of course he hits the one place where there isn’t grass, devoid of a more forgiving landing. Roman’s so used to the way that his brother is able to adapt to each new challenge, laugh back in the face of adversity in a different, more careless way than he himself does, that seeing a glazed film over unseeing eyes causes him to stumble back.

Although Remus isn’t usually perturbed too much by injury, and in fact welcomes it, that doesn’t mean that it still doesn’t hurt, that it doesn’t affect him the same way it does any of the others. Particularly in the Imagination, where everything is amplified multiple times, colours and sounds and feelings turned up several notches to match the overwhelming, extraordinary nature that encompasses such a vast, limitless wealth of creation. The production of ideas from such conspicuous places, influenced by the very experience that sets their host apart as an individual, it allows for so much light, but also so much darkness. And though Remus operates comfortably within these confines, yanks on the reins with a force of a tidal wave to force relevancy and requirement, it consequently brings to light how much even his already staggeringly disturbed intrigue can be worse, can always be worse.

Roman has never had full control over the Imagination, has shared it with his brother despite the split far favouring himself. He tries to keep it relatively clean, err on the side of easier topics so as not to disturb Thomas, but even Remus needs an outlet, especially Remus. Roman tries his best to put forth light and warmth, and he’s largely successful, but the suppression of his brother’s thoughts and ideas can only hold on for so long before there is a need to release the pressure, create a draining channel to make sure the water doesn’t spill over the dam. It’s not nearly as bad as it used to be (though the journey to forgiveness and acceptance was certainly arduous), but the predisposition toward lording Roman’s contributions above Remus’ has resulted in a severely heightened state of the areas under his counterpart’s control.

One such area of control is the effect of injuries on those who get hurt inside the Imagination, something that, while more realistic and immersive, has gotten Roman into trouble many, many times. Wounds don’t work the same here as they do in the main part of the mindscape, set apart from the innate impermanence of how they function. Here, they actually hurt, which is not something one would experience outside of the Imagination. They’re also unable to be waved away, cast aside in an instant; once you’ve got it, it stays there, at least until you return and employ the use of object impermanence like a salve. Sure, it makes engaging in Roman’s favourite heroic scenarios feel much more real, but it’s also left him in various predicaments, having to limp away from battles or cower under the force of broken bones.

So normally, when met with the assertation of his brother bleeding from his head, there would be little cause for panic. But in the Imagination, there are much harsher consequences for reckless behaviour, and the way Remus sways and wobbles as he tries to sit up spells out bad news. Roman can feel his heart-rate quicken, feels the lump in his throat forming as Remus doesn't seem to be cognizant enough to respond to his calls and questions.

The prince-like side reaches out, shakes his brother’s shoulders to try and snap him out of it. It seems to succeed somewhat, and Remus blinks a few times before finally meeting Roman’s worried gaze. His face is terrifyingly blank for a few moments, as if he doesn’t even recognize him, and then he’s standing, wincing at the volume of his own voice when he barks out a laugh. “My ‘ead got hit pre--pretty hard, didn’ it?”

Roman’s alarm builds even more, eyebrows furrow as his twin stumbles to the side from a loss of balance that doesn’t have any external cause. Remus reaches up to scratch at the back of his head, forgetting the injury that was just created, and he winces with a sharp hiss as his hand comes back partially covered in fresh blood. It’s a wonder he hasn’t passed out yet, what with the absurd amount of blood he’s lost just in the past few minutes alone, but he’s still standing, and Roman is impressed even amidst the concern. And then his counterpart’s eyes snap open, as clear as they were before, and he’s yelling out a “Move!” as he tries to reach forward.

But it’s too late, and the eldest twin certainly isn’t going to let it hit Remus, so he raises his arms to the sides in order to shield as much of his brother as possible. Roman feels the drag of spikes tearing open the flesh on his back, the ache of the bruises beginning to form from the force of the impact that the Dragon Witch’s tail causes.

Roman spins around through the acute pain emanating from his back as he summons his shield, the one he only saves for emergencies because its gleam can beguile and stupefy and entrance any being who lays their eyes on it. It has a property that almost hypnotizes, something that Roman certainly didn’t intend on it doing, but he’s had to employ its assistance sparingly because of how long it leaves its victims in a daze. He has no problem using it now though, holds it up and braces himself against Remus’ newfound grip on his shoulders, and ducks his head.

The Dragon Witch screeches and tries to send a vicious plume of fire their way, but the shield protects them, turns each flickering flame into sparkling dust to drop harmlessly to the ground when it’s close enough. Her belted attack soon dies out, morphs from a shrill howl to a pained moan, and her voice starts to lose its volume. Roman risks taking a peek over the top, and sees the villainess stumble from side to side as her eyelids droop involuntarily.

The Dragon Witch’s gaze lands one more time on Roman’s shield, and then she’s slumping to the ground, lost in the intricacies of its swirling gold patterns.

“You alright?” Roman asks as he stands back up, furrowing his brows when his twin’s eyes shift in and out of focus. He reaches out to steady Remus in case he falls, but his brother manages to shake his head as if he’s trying to jostle the cotton in his brain and then straightens up just fine, so he lets his hand fall back to his side.

“Yeah, I��m good now. You’ll really do anything to be the hero, huh? Oh, my saviour!” Remus swoons, mocking a feminine voice as he puts the back of his blood-soaked hand to his forehead delicately. The dark red claret streaks across his face, mats his wild, unruly hair down, and Remus doesn’t acknowledge it at all. His counterpart mocks the damsel in distress, snickers with that god-awful nasal laugh of his, and Roman playfully whaps him on the shoulder with the hilt of his katana in relief.

Remus casually bumps his shoulder against Roman’s own as they walk back to the entrance of the Imagination, shows a rare sign of good faith, and Roman is positive that he has the best brother in the world.

55 notes · View notes

pines-troz · 7 years ago

Text

Christmas Dinner

This is a secret santa gift to @887705 for the Time Squad Secret Santa, presented by @fuckyeahtimesquad . There isn’t much of a plot, but there is a lot of humor and fluff to be shared. I hope you enjoy!!! In the satellite living room, Otto was perched on the couch working on his latest project. He gathered all of the photographs from his most recent missions and placed them into his photo album. The boy stuck out his tongue while he eagerly placed each picture into the plastic slips.

The past few weeks leading up to Christmas had been hectic work-wise. The Time Squad had to go on some ridiculous missions, such as convincing Theodor Seuss Geisel to write his children’s books under the pen name Dr. Seuss instead of his Teddy McHugginstuff and forcing Stanley Kubrick to film Dr. Strangelove as a satirical dark comedy in black-and-white instead of a technicolor big-budget musical with a cliched Hollywood ending.

As much as Otto loved his position as an unofficial time cop, he loved spending some down time with his adoptive family just as much, if not more.

“Otto!” Larry called out.

The boy closed his personal book and sprinted from the couch to find the uptight robot. Larry was prepping up for Christmas Eve Dinner for the family as well as Sheila Sternwell and X-J5.

Otto arrived in the kitchen, Larry, donned in his frilly pink apron, took out a tray of crab rangoons from the oven.

“Hiya Larry!” Otto greeted.

The robot looked over at Otto and beamed. “Why hello Otto!”

“So is there anything you need me to do?” The boy asked.

“Yes actually,” Larry replied. He took off his apron and began to lead Otto from the kitchen. “Since we’re having guests over tonight, I need you to look festive!”

Larry spotted the giant gift bag and rummaged through it. He took out a small green sweater with a blue narwhal wearing a red ribbon around its horn. Larry gave the article of clothing to Otto.

“I made all of us holiday sweaters!” The robot said gleefully.

“Aw, thanks Larry.” Otto responded as he began to put it on. He knew that ugly Christmas sweaters were worn as a joke back in his time, but he appreciated the time and effort his guardian put into crafting them. Otto wanted to be apart of Christmas past times, no matter how tacky they can be.

“Oh you’re welcome.” Larry sweetly replied. Once Otto put his sweater on, the robot squealed in delight. “Oh you look so precious Otto.”

The boy chuckled nervously as his cheeks blushed. Wanting to change the subject, he looked over at the large bag with the other sweaters. “So what sweaters are you and Tuddrussel gonna wear?”

Larry grinned. “Oh, I’ve made us these lovely sweaters!!”

He put on his red sweater with the word NICE written on it. He pulled out Tuddrussel’s sweater, which read NAUGHTY.

“Oh no, I ain’t wearin’ that thing!” A low southern voice boomed.

Otto and Larry turned to see Tuddrussel approaching them with a sour frown on his face. “I ain’t wearin’ no ugly sweater.”

“But I made it special…” Larry whined.

“Come on Tuddrussel, Larry put a lot of effort into it. And besides, we’re wearing our sweaters!”

Tuddrussel sneered in response, causing Larry to sadly wobble his robotic lips. Otto sorrowfully exhaled, looking away from his other guardian. The longer Tuddrussel stared at his downtrodden family, the longer his heart couldn’t take seeing them in despair.

“Oh alright!” Tuddrussel surrendered, yanking his sweater from Larry. He begrudgingly put on his naughty sweater. “I’ll wear it for you guys, but I ain’t gonna like it one bit!”

Otto and Larry smiled at Tuddrussel and lovingly charged towards him. Otto hugged the southern man’s legs while Larry embraced his midriff.

“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” Larry gushed, smooching Tuddrussel’s cheek.

“All right, settle down you two,” Tuddrussel playfully replied. “No need to get all crazy over an ugly Christmas sweater.”

The group hug was interrupted when the doorbell sounded through the satellite.

“Oh shoot, Sheila’s here!” Tuddrussel exclaimed.

“I’ll answer the door.” Otto suggested as he began running down the hall.

“Now Otto, you remember where the shuttle area is?” Larry asked.

“Sure do!” The boy answered. “I know the satellite like the back of my hand!” With that, the boy ran to greet the guests.

Larry and Tuddrussel looked over at their surrogate son with great fondness.

“Our Otto is growing up so fast.” The robot sighed contentedly.

Otto ran at top speed towards the shuttle area. When he arrived, he saw Sheila Sternwell and XJ5 emerging from their spacecraft. The boy was surprised to see Sheila without her Time Squad uniform. The woman wore a red cashmere sweater and black dress pants. She also held her autumn red hair in a ponytail per usual. XJ5 simply wore a black bowtie for the occasion.

“Hi Sheila, XJ5! How are you two?” Otto eagerly asked.

Sheila gave the boy a friendly smile as she and her mechanical partner approached him.

“I’ve been doing well for myself.” She answered.

“I’ve certainly seen better days.” XJ5 drawled.

Sheila rolled her eyes. “Don’t mind him, he’s been fairly grumpy since our recent mission. We traveled back to 1889 Japan to help the founder of Nintendo, Fusajiro Yamauchi, build his company on playing cards instead of monster cards.”

“I was highly offended when Yamauchi insisted on defaming all robot-kind by exploiting our image on his mediocre cards!” XJ5 snapped.

“Fortunately, we were able to resolve the situation with ease,” Sheila added.

Otto’s eyes lit up as he heard the time cop’s story.

“You guys went back in time to work with Nintendo?! Oh my gosh, the guys and I also had to work with Nintendo as well!!” Otto exclaimed.

Sheila chuckled at the boy’s eagerness. “So what went down?” She asked.

As the three walked down the hall, Otto retold his mission.

“So a while back, the guys and I traveled back to Japan circa 1980 to help Shigeru Miyamoto develop Donkey Kong. They were gonna make a game based on of the Popeye cartoons, and Tuddrussel was actually on board with that. But Larry and I were able to pull out the copyright laws, much to their dismay, and we suggested that Miyamoto make a game with a similar plotline, but have the main characters be a giant ape and an Italian plumber. But Tuddrussel was so upset that his creative vision was being destroyed that he found a nearby pile of wooden barrels and started throwing them off the building, which only fueled Miyamoto’s inspiration to create Donkey Kong!”

Sheila stifled a laugh by covering her hand over her mouth, while XJ5 guffawed at the story. The three of them were close towards the living room when the time cop playfully shook her head.

“That’s Buck alright,” Sheila noted with the sentiment. “I could remember how ridiculous he could be when he’s angry. Back at the academy-”

Just as the woman was indulging Otto with her amusing anecdote, Tuddrussel caught wind of the discussion and immediately bolted towards the three in haste.

“DON’T SAY ANOTHER WORD!!” The brutish man declared.

“So that’s how you greet your guests?” XJ5 sneered. “Outstanding.”

“Relax Tuddrussel, I was only telling Otto about the group project we had to do on Great Peace Treaty that united all world’s nations.” She explained. “How could I not tell your boy about how you terrified our professor into giving us an extension by lifting him by the collar of his shirt!”

Tuddrussel took a moment to reflect on the memory before laughing heartily. “Oh, I remember that class. That extension was my saving grace I tell ya.”

“It most certainly was, Buck.” Sheila agreed with a chuckle.

Larry arrived on the scene, carrying a tray of assorted drinks; Two cold bottles of craft beer for Tuddrussel and Sheila, and a glass of soda for Otto. “Why hello Sheila,” He happily greeted. He took a look at the state-of-the-art robot next to her and grumbled, “XJ5…”

“How do you do old-timer,” XJ5 spat. “For a homemaker, you sure fail to have control over your human companion,”

“Well I never-”

Otto noticed the verbal assaults between the two robots and quickly intervened. “Hey fellas, let’s settle down.” He recommended. “How about we all have some dinner Larry made.”

“I’m game!” Tuddrussel cheered as he grabbed his bottle.

“Sounds like a great idea.” Sheila agreed. The time cop gave Otto a nod of approval as she followed behind her ex-beau.

As Otto trotted behind the adults, the two robots walked beside themselves.

“The boy does have a way with words.” XJ5 noted.

Larry smiled proudly at his adopted son before giving his rival a smug grin. “It is one of his best attributes, if I do say so myself” He boasted.

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

The two units shared a hearty meal filled with appetizers and a wonderful Christmas ham, all provided by Larry. After they all had had their fill, to their, they gathered on the antique sofa as to watch whatever Christmas movie was on television. Forty-five minutes later the group watched the final act of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer unfold.

The brave (and supposedly deceased) Yukon Cornelius arrived at Santa’s workshop alongside the Abominable Snowman.

“But- but you went over the side of a cliff!” Rudolph cried.

Yukon chuckled. “Didn’t I ever tell you about Bumbles...Bumbles bounce!!”

Rudolph, Herman and all the other elves erupted into laughter, as if Yukon told a hilarious joke, and decided not to ask anymore questions about Yukon’s sudden appearance and miraculous survival.

“What?!” XJ5 shouted at the screen. “What is this ludicrousness?”

Sheila patted her robot companion. “So Yukon apparently bounced off of the Abominable Snowman and made it out unscathed?”

“I always figured that the writers didn’t have the guts to kill off one of the important characters in their movie, so they pulled a cop-out explanation so he could live,” Otto explained.

“Now Otto, you know you can’t have death in a family movie!” Larry scolded.

“I can name a few movies that go against your statement,” Otto responded dryly.

“Aw come on, Yukon Cornelius had to live, he’s the best character in the movie!!” Tuddrussel argued.

“So that’s why you dressed up as him for Halloween back at the academy.” Sheila recounted.

“Really?” Otto inquired, his curiosity piqued.

“I need to see this!” Larry added enthusiastically.

“I’ve got photographic evidence.” Sheila asserted as she retrieved her phone.

“Don’t you dare-” Tuddrussel shouted.

“Too late!” Sheila declared, holding up her phone for all to see.

Otto and Larry looked at the image of a young Buck Tuddrussel, donned in his Yukon Cornelius cosplay, goofily smiling as he stood next to Sheila, who had dressed as an elven warrior.

Larry felt his engines heating up at the picture of Tuddrussel dressed as the famed arctic prospector. He never thought that the bulky time cop looked so ravishing. “This is a goldmine!!” Larry gushed.

“Oh hush Lar!” Tuddrussel responded gruffly.

“I think you looked pretty cool,” Otto added, poking at the Texan’s side. Tuddrussel playfully grabbed Otto and gave him an affectionate noogie.

“Thank ya, Otto,” Tuddrussel responded, keeping the boy within his gentle hold.

Otto chuckled lightly. The boy looked at Sheila and XJ5, who were both enjoying themselves. The woman looked over at Otto and gave him a warm smile. Even though Sheila initially threatened to report his unit for ‘adopting’ him from his own time, she had softened up to him over time. Especially after learning how he had managed to keep Larry and Tuddrussel in check. Otto returned the smile.

He then looked over at his two father-figures, who were happily getting along. They mumbled to themselves about dressing Tuddrussel up in some hiking gear, to which the time cop chortled in response.

The boy was happy to be apart of their lives. After years of suffering in the orphanage from his own time, he finally felt wanted and loved by his unusual family.

I apologize for not working JT’s crew into the story, but I managed to keep the focus of the story about Otto, Larry and Tuddrussel interacting with Sheila and XJ5. Plus I wanted to write Sheila as a cool aunt for Otto. I hope you enjoyed this belated Christmas gift!!!

#time squad #otto osworth #larry 3000 #tuddrussel

39 notes · View notes

troytlepower · 6 years ago

Text

The joys of making content.

I’ve always liked making things. I’ve always doodled or wrote or crafted, but, in the past few months, I’ve really gone all-in on making things online. I had a realization today (definitely not while listening to the most recent episode of Thoughts Cast, because that episode is just for Arjuna) that I’ve come a long way in the amount of stuff I’m putting out there, and the confidence with which I do so.

Buckle up, buttercup, it’s time for me to write a self-appreciation post about all the silly stuff I make!

(Also, sorry in advance for all the links… I just wanted to try to shout out everyone I could!)

I started playing around with streaming over the summer and was pushed along by my old friend Scoot and The Pipe Dreamers community. That community isn’t quite as active as it once was, but I made a few great friends there, and hope to see it build back up. On top of that, my stream is now part of the Geek to Geek network, which includes podcasts I’ve been listening to for years!

Amidst getting comfortable with streaming, I participated in Blaugust, and started to get comfortable with the idea of publishing content, even if I didn’t think it was perfect. Since August, I’ve settled into posting blogs once a week. While they aren’t always perfect, it feels good to be consistent.

Near the end of September, I started putting out my audio-only-let’s-play podcast, TroytlePower Presents: The Power Play-Throughs Podcast, with TroytlePower, inspired by the other audio-only-let’s-players who came before me (Daniel K, NOCKAT, Bill from the RPG Golden Years, and Luckless), and I’ve found a few new AOLPs to listen to, too (I’m looking at you, Enchantment and Stories From Eorzea). TPPTPPTPwTP is still going strong, with episodes posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I’ve joined an awesome community of podcasters (join our discord!) and the We Can Make This Work (Probably) network.

I love making that podcast, but I was originally only throwing it together to figure out how to get things organized for the cartoon review show my friend MC and I were looking to do. A few weeks ago, we officially launched The Best Animated Shows Ever… So Far, and are releasing episodes every Tuesday. We’ve looked at Biker Mice From Mars and SpongeBob SquarePants so far, with a whole lot more shows on the horizon.

Finally, I’ve been lucky enough to help contribute to a new show on the We Can Make This Work (Probably) network called “YDWMY Reviews”, where several of us review video games we play after a day, week, month, and year. It’s a cool idea to look at how our views of games change with time, and so far I’m actively reviewing The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Starlink: Battle for Atlas. I know I’ll be talking about God of War on that show when I finally crack that game open, and I’m sure a lot more games as well.

Throughout all of this, I’ve been lucky enough to work on a few illustration and design commissions as well. It’s been incredible to get hired to create art for folks, but I’ve still not been drawing nearly as much as I’d like to. I did just recently purchase some new equipment that should let me set up drawing streams a little more easily, though, so I’ll probably be able to combine Twitch and doodling soon, to keep that side of my creativity going.

I guess this is kind of my New Years post, it’s just a few weeks late. I’m really proud of all the stuff I’m putting out into the world and, more importantly, I am grateful for the connections that I’ve made with streamers and podcasters and geeks and all sorts of wonderful people all over the world.

So here’s my New Year’s resolution: Keep making stuff and keep making friends.

from WordPress http://bit.ly/2DhgLSb via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress

0 notes

aion-rsa · 8 years ago

Text

Rap’s Czarface Comes to Life Through Throwback Vinyl-Comic Combo

In “First Weapon Drawn,” debuting Saturday for Record Store Day, rap and comics fans finally learn the secret origin of the dastardly hip-hop heel Czarface in an immersive audio-visual experience that resurrects a nearly forgotten storytelling format, to impressive effect.

It’s a scheme as visionary as any a mad scientist might concoct. In the real world, Czarface is the name of the hip-hop supergroup comprised of legendary Wu-Tang Clan rapper Inspectah Deck and veteran underground DJ/MC duo 7L & Esoteric, whose music blends vivid lyrical sparring with equally lavish head-nodding beats. On the page, Czarface is a nefarious antihero akin to the colorful archenemies of comic book and wrestling good guys.

DJ 7L compares the Czarface character to Eddy, Black Sabbath’s mascot, inspiration and avatar. Plainly inspired by classic Jack Kirby heavies like Doctor Doom and Darkseid, artist L’Amour Supreme’s depictions of Czarface have adorned the covers of all of the group’s albums and singles. Czarface’s metallic visage, signature red glove and cape primarily function as conceptual and thematic unifying elements to the music, but the character has been realized in action figures, tie-in comics and even a real-life armor set.

Until now, however, no one has truly known the character’s canonical beginning. And to tell that secret origin, the group wanted to find a way to not only share the tale but bask in its influences.

“Czarface: First Weapon Drawn,” written by Esoteric and drawn by Gilberto Aguirre Mata. Cover, Page 1.

Instead of Inspectah Deck and Esoteric trading barbs over 7L beats, their newest project sees Czarface taking a run at multimedia storytelling. Specially offered as part of the national vinyl-appreciation retail initiative Record Store Day, Czarface’s “First Weapon Drawn” is a throwback-style book and record set that packages a treasury comic detailing the character’s rise (or fall) from a career as a professional wrestler to an energy-crackling supervillain along with a vinyl album that dramatizes and scores the adventure.

CBR has an exclusive preview of the first six pages of the comic, written by Esoteric and illustrated by Gilberto Aguirre Mata, along with a preview of Side A of the Record Store Day release.

The project was modeled after the Power Records albums of the 1970s, which adapted Marvel and DC comics into bombastic read-along stories, with radio-style effects and voice actors. Long before fans could expect to regularly see their favorite super-powered titans in theaters, these albums were what brought characters to life in many readers’ imaginations. To achieve the intended effect, listen to the “First Weapon Drawn” audio while reading the pages, and feel the Czar-force wash over you.

Year One

Almost every supervillain’s origin begins with a slight — or at least a perceived one — and Czarface is no different. 7L & Esoteric had collaborated with Inspectah Deck in the past, but it was 7L who initially suggested they formalize the partnership. Esoteric was skeptical that he and his creative partner of 20 years would be able to land the famed Wu-Tang rapper for an album-length project, but given the chemistry they had all enjoyed on previous tracks, Deck agreed. Then, after Esoteric pitched the Shaolin rhymer on his idea for the group’s potential name and didn’t hear back, he got spooked.

Pages 2-3.

“I remember just talking to him about these different names. I had ‘Czarhead,’ I just wanted to go with something ‘Czar,'” Esoteric told CBR. He grew concerned that he might have offended the rapper he’d admired since hearing the iconic lyric “Swinging through your town like the neighborhood Spider-Man” on Wu-Tang’s “Protect Ya Neck” by suggesting a name too close to a contemporary.

Pages 4-5.

“[Czarface] was the one that we thought best fit, and I was like, ‘It kind of sounds like ‘Ghostface,'” Esoteric said, referring to Wu-Tang’s Ghostface Killah. “And I’m thinking, [if] it kind of sounds like Ghostface and he’s not hitting me back … Is he mad?”

But Deck loved it. “It never even crossed his mind,” Esoteric laughed. Ghostface would even go on to be featured on the group’s eponymous first album.

The Physical Challenge

Czarface’s 7L & Esoteric at Hub Comics in Somerville, Mass. (Photo by Sam Williams)

Now, three studio albums later, and Czarface is a phenomenon. After releasing the “A Fistful of Peril” LP in November, the group set sights on their creation’s next chapter. For guidance, 7L & Esoteric looked back to the roots of their friendship. “One of the first things that we connected on, when we first started making records in the early ’90s, was [7L’s] collection of Power Records,” Esoteric said.

They decided to recreate the Power Records sonics-meet-sequential-art experience that they had mutually dug in their youths. “We kind of always toyed with the idea that it would be a cool idea to do one of those,” 7L told CBR. When they began work on what would become “First Weapon Draw,” they had their model. “We tried to craft it, pattern it, model it after the things that inspired us back then.”

As with the action figures and limited-edition CDs they’ve made in the past, the project’s physical element held particular appeal. “We come from that,” 7L explained. “Collecting things and having things, you know — the latest issue comes out, the newest release, or just finding back issues or finding old records. That’s like in our fabric.”

While they understand the realities and conveniences of digital media and delivery, the Czarface guys are decidedly the types to appreciate a good dig in the crates, and the rare treasures that can turn up.

Page 6.

“Me, personally,” Esoteric said, “I don’t want to do anything if it doesn’t come with the physical copy.” Both his music and his comics have their places. “I want to have it and put it in the vault next to the other ones.”

A limited release aimed at drawing people’s focus off their digital devices and toward something decidedly more analogue held special appeal to the group, who had considered limiting their early music to underground, unofficial releases. 7L, the team’s resident vinyl-head, realized Record Store Day would present a unique opportunity to release something their diehards would truly appreciate.

Photo by Sam Williams.

“When we talked about the idea, [we realized] it’d be cool to do something that’s so limited that’s kind of different and specific that it’ll be this collector’s item,” he explained. To craft something worthy of the attention, they split the duties. Esoteric would pen the comic and radio script that told Czarface’s backstory (and lend his voice to the cast), 7L would compose the accompaniment, including a signature “Czarface Theme,” and all three would executive produce the effort.

If any musicians’ work lent itself to such play, it’s Czarface. Their songs are not only littered with shout-outs to the Spandex set, they’re punctuated with audio clips from old records and cartoons and otherwise. 7L cites De La Soul producer Prince Paul as an influence, noting an appreciation for his use of interesting vocal samples. “I think the humor of it with the seriousness of it is a little bit of, not a template, but an inspiration for me as far as approaching certain things,” he explained.

They committed to capturing an authentic feel for the story. “Musically, we really wanted to nail that element of it sounding like it was from back then,” 7L said. “And not being your typical rap beat — more like the source of what people would sample in hip-hop.”

Marvel honored the cover to Czarface’s “Every Hero Needs A Villain,” left, with a hip-hop variant to “Thanos” #1 by Mike Del Mundo

A Hero’s Return

Already at work on their next album, the members of Czarface were given reason to reflect recently when they were included among Marvel’s Black Panther Nation initiative, which saw them profiled in the pages of Ta-Nahesi Coates’ “Black Panther,” and released an accordingly themed song, “All In Together Now.” Not long after, Marvel paid homage to the cover to their second album, “Every Hero Needs A Villain,” with Mike Del Mundo’s hip-hop variant to “Thanos” #1. For a group who grew up loving Marvel comics, it was a significant recognition. Marvel Assistant Editor Chris Robinson even told Esoteric that with the exception of a possible Kid ‘n Play interview in the ’90s, theirs was the first hip-hop artist interview in a Marvel comic.

Appearing in a Marvel comic, and especially having the opportunity to see his son find his father among the the pages, struck a resonant chord with Esoteric. Long before his musical success, the lifelong comics fan had parted with portions of his prized collection to further his creative dreams. “I sold ‘X-Men’ #94, #95, #96 and #97 to pay for studio time,” he shared, referring to the first four issues of writer Chris Claremont’s seminal run on the title.

Then last week, following a European tour, Esoteric returned home to find a box from Marvel containing “X-Men: Blue” #1, “X-Men: Gold” #1 and “Weapon X” #1. The MC said it felt like his creative life had come full circle. Maybe the new issues weren’t worth quite as much as the ones the he sold all those years ago, but it’s difficult to imagine anything more mint and valuable than the way they got there. Better still, his super co-creation could take on those puny X-Men, any day.

Czarface’s “First Weapon Drawn” Book and Record Set can be found through participating Record Store Day retailers.

The post Rap’s Czarface Comes to Life Through Throwback Vinyl-Comic Combo appeared first on CBR.

http://ift.tt/2oc290z

#Aion_Rsa

0 notes