#so we wound up doing an accidental art trade

[ratasum]

Maybe they're born with it. Maybe it's horrific experimentation dragon magic Maybelline.

Two handsome commanders with their incredibly glamorous ponytails. Rhenn and Wysma have some of the prettiest hair in Tyria, and I think they have the right to show it off now and then. A little gift (and accidental art trade) for @rosewoodroad!

[esotericfaery]

Esoteric Chiron: The Wounded Master of the Misunderstood

What’s so important about nodal Chiron conjunction Astrologers are on about?

Not the North Node so much, as that only holds energy for the future of this lifetime, and contrary to popular belief, is not directly related to karma (which is ruled by Saturn.)

Chiron (the wounded master healer), as the ruling planet of Virgo (overall health and service to self), has to do with each persons neglected inner healing abilities. When we’re experiencing Virgo energy, we’re needing more time and space to become comfortable with our own vulnerabilities, even before beginning to analyze and explore which healing methods we want to dive into.

I find it ironic then, that people neglect Chiron in general in Astrology, due to the misconception that it’s a comet, and try to force Virgo into Mercury rulership where it doesn’t belong.

Or did this happen by design? Are we being taught through misdirection, to learn how to recognize the erratic patterns (through Chirons erratic orbit) in our own lives, as we’re confronted with feelings of inadequacy?

Chiron is a key (look at His glyph) which unlocks etheric abilities within esoteric Astrology; our shadow doors of over-compensation and self-sabotage.

With this conjunction taking place in Aries, we have warrior energy present (and prepared, with conscious work) to fight our own habits, and emerge fully victorious.

This is how Chiron teaches us self improvement, so that we can then teach others. Chiron was highly of service to others and he inspires the same in us.

One of the popular perceptions about Chiron is that it is a wound so deep it can never be fully healed. This type of belief serves to convince people to remain trapped in cycles of trauma, where they self-fulfil limitations. It also programs people to ignore Chiron, dismissing Him as “just a victim mentality obsessed comet”, which they deem unimportant.

What is Chiron incapable of doing? Possibly nothing. In Grecian times, he was a centaur who took a holistic approach to health, and was a renowned polymath of the sciences and the arts, who taught many. These students went on to also become accomplished, and include Jason (of the Argonauts), Achilles, Hercules, Aeneas (who founded Rome), and many others. He was shot in the leg (accidentally) by Hercules and suffered immensely as a half-God immortal, rather than dying. This is the origin of the misconception that Chiron represents unending suffering.

Strangely, even people who recognize that myths are metaphors, perpetuate the agenda of chaining Chiron to the worlds unending suffering. People only suffer endlessly because we collectively create reality as chaotic, in unawareness of the manifestation abilities inherent in humanity.

Chiron knew this, and embodying higher consciousness, he came up with a plan. Zeus had tortured Prometheus for years, because Prometheus stole fire and gave it to humanity. As a mortal, he was close to death when Chiron saved him. With Hercules’ help, Zeus agreed to allow Chiron trade destinies with Prometheus. Then, mortal, Chiron was able to die and become part of the constellation of Sagittarius. This is why Sagittarius’ symbol is the centaur, and why Chiron works with us on service to self, to be of service to others in the longer term. Chiron healed his victimhood through sacrifice.

Chiron is some of the most mysterious and strange, yet rewarding energy to work with, if we have the courage. He balances the animal instincts with the more refined side of human nature.

Aries is the house with the most courage, and Chiron there is stirred into either compulsively avoiding trauma in favour of physical action, or confidently hacking through the fray. This can be a deeply disturbing energy for those who don’t have a particularly harmonious or healed Aries in their own charts. When Aries heals, they embrace their emotional lows along with highs, including areas of vulnerability. Aries is the great healer of fear, relishing a challenge. Explosive emotions can be expected, when working with Chiron in Aries, and brought up and out to be released, Aries guards and protects each one of Chirons doors within. Together, they lead us into being able to become leaders.

See your Chiron sign, house, aspects, and degree placements, along with wherever and however you find Virgo in your natal chart, for guidance on how Chiron is presenting Himself to you. Throughout life, aspects are activated as they’re similar to your natal aspects. In our late 40’s / early 50’s we experience the Chiron return - He reaches the position he was at in the natal chart. This is an opportunity to evaluate our personal growth process, discover rewards, and plan what comes next; being able to give more to others

A personal note of interest: In the natal of when Chiron was discovered in 1977, it was in Taurus (in the 4th house of family, the foundation of the psyche, and generational patterns). When I was born in 1980, Chiron was still in Taurus. For my entire adult life, I’ve had this strange feeling that I was born too late, and “missed” something important that had happened in 1977. That year has a pattern of jumping out for me when I listen to music or watch films from, or taking place in the ’70’s. I’m among those who have a familiarity with the general period when Chiron was discovered, and how it was first consciously experienced by the Planet. It’s also one of my charts ruling planets, and so I’m well placed to eventually write a book about Chiron. I continue to study and explore my inner landscape, transmuting shadows and discovering change, and in whichever ways you feel called to, I hope you do too.

[pbandjesse]

I am home again!! And Jess is here! And Sweetp is here and James is here and I am happy. I also have a head ache but I know it's just cause I am tired. That will be fixed soon.

I had a really nice day though. I slept alright last night but I didn't feel great when I woke up. I am starting to suspect I am having an allergic reaction to something at camp. A moisture or dust. So I had a lot of pain in my chest and when I took a deep breath it would cough. Plus the wounds in my mouth still hurt very much and eating in general was not fun. I was glad I got that little protein bar when we went to royal farms last night. It made it feel at least a little better. Because right before I ate I ended up having such a bad pain in my stomach I doubled over. Thankfully it didn't happen again but it was not fun.

I would have a good day though. All my groups were lovely. I took a little walk before my first group and tried to just shake off any weird feelings.

I was running low on cotton for the stuffed bears and texted Charlie asking him to help me out by getting the stuff that was up on Yukon. And he said he would. Him and Cody ended up going up there and getting it and I appreciated them greatly.

All the kids got to make their bears. And the only issue I had was in the pioneer group kids were just absolutely giving up?? There were tears?? And I had to just get very low next to this kid and tell him I wasn't playing and to stop crying because it was just fabric. And I was able to fix his issue. And everyone made a bear and it was great. But man. So many of these kids just have no perseverance and just give up as soon as it's hard. It is sad. But we made it through.

Jess was on her way here and I felt bad that it ended up taking more then 3 hours. But she would come by the end of the day and I was so happy about that.

But while I waited I had lunch. Got a little annoyed when I went to say thank you to the chef about lunch and was stopped and told I should thank them. I was like. Yeah I am? I hate being told to do things I am already doing. Ugh. But I had some lunch but my mouth still hurt very much so I could not eat much.

My afternoon groups were great though. They were all very sweet. And helped me clean up. The stockade boys were fine but we're being a little mean to each other about girls and we're going to be mean to the girls and I did not like that.

As we were finishing cleaning Jess was driving up. She accidentally went to camp running bear and that was my fault. Got my rights and lefts messed up. But she got here and I was so excited.

We walked down to the museum to sue the bathroom before my alarm group. Which was tipis. And they were pretty self sufficient and some made bracelets and some sewed or drew. It was fun. Jess helped me sort out theme stuff so that we could leave early and we cut up paper together for next week. She was a huge help.

After tipis left we went down to trading post to give Charlie his water and got roped in to helping get the candy and snacks to the kids. Absolutely made Jess work and she kept saying this was a nightmare but we had a lot of laughs about getting the kids to be use all their money. Like buying shields and lunchboxes. It was hectic and fun and I'm glad Jess got to see the way work is for me.

We bounced as soon as the last group got there stuff. We grabbed a peanut butter cup to share. And ran up to arts to help out bags on the truck and my stuff in her car.

And then Charlie came and hung out with us for a bit. We made tentative plans to get coffee with him on Sunday. And just chatted and it was fun. I told Charlie he could be an honorary bridesmaid so I am glad he got to meet Jess.

And then we were off. We wanted to bounce before flag was done. And so we left.

We went to hunt valley and decided to go to California pizza kitchen because they had gluten free options. And I got to have a cauliflower crust and I had never had that before so that was neat. I really enjoyed it.

It was fun talking to Jess and we got a big laugh when two of my campers were at the restaurant and we're acting like I was a celebrity. It was so cute.

It started raining while we were in the restaurant. But it would rain more in our way back home. I was excited to see James and sweetp.

And when we got back here, after being stuck in some traffic, I was excited for hugs and also there were a bunch of packages for me!! So exciting. Some wedding stuff. Some other things for a project. It was a lot of fun.

Me and Jess would cut her hair and get showers. We started designing a flyer for me and Jamess day after the wedding event. And talking about her trip to Scotland in a few weeks. I'm still jealous. I hope me and mom can go someday sooner rather then later.

Now it is time to get some sleep. I am really tired. And I still have work tomorrow! We have the market all morning and then me and Jess hope to go and paint pottery. I hope I am not to tired or not fun.

Sleep well everyone. Take care of yourself!!

[jenovahh]

A Long Fall - Gaius x OC

Rating: T Pairing: Gaius x OC A quick lil bit an art trade with @faunna! Hope I captured your OC well! =========================================================== It is well past midnight (or rather it feels like it) and though Yanelis would never admit to anyone, not even herself, she is filled to the brim with worry.

She has long since been changed for bed, her usually free flowing hair now neatly tucked in french braids so that her tresses will curl on the morrow. Though she is not in her usual day wear, her pajamas are no less finer than any of the dresses in her closet. With slippered feet she had tried to find different kinds of busy work to occupy her mind: pulling weeds in the garden, preparing dinner, cleaning the bathroom twice. 

And still he has not returned home.

She resolves that as soon as the bell does strike twelve to shed her night wear and don her usual healing robes and march right out to Ala Mhigo to see what is taking that man so damn long. Her tail whips in agitation, fast like a whip as it accidentally thumps against a nearby cabinet. Her eyes are trained on the door despite her best efforts, praying to any of the Twelve that listen, that he just comes home.

The hour grows progressively late, topaz eyes glaring at the door almost angrily, as if willing it to open and have her lover on the other side. Glancing at a nearby clock, it is barely fifteen minutes past ten, but unfortunately her concern outweighs her reason. Kicking off her slippers, she angrily stomps her way to her bedroom, stopping only as she hears an untimely thud against the front door.

Freezing in place, her preternatural eyes dart around for any potential weapons, but stops as she hears the sound of a key being clumsily shoved into the whole. The latches flip and the door flies open, revealing a handsome, but haggard looking man.

Relief floods through her chest immediately, nearly tripping over her forgotten slippers in her haste to greet the imposing figure at her door. With skin as dark as the earth that gives life, he bumbles through the door, looking seemingly okay until he falters, grunting in pain as he crashes down to one knee.

“Gaius!”

Yanelis is at his side in an instant, falling to her knees with little disregard for her silken bedwear. “Are you well? Should I fetch my robes--”

Gaius gives a soft chuckle, more to himself than anything as he tries to stand back to his feet, pride lending him strength.

Unfortunately all pride lends him is embarrassment as he crashes back to the floor.

Fussing over him like a mother hen, Yanelis quickly checks for any external bleeding, glad to see any lacerations and wounds are not too deep and can be mended with a few healing spells. He’ll sport some deep purple bruises in the morning, this she can tell, but she needs to help him survive until the next morn.

“Clothes off. Now.” She demands, grabbing him by his right arm. He groans in protest, a mixture of indignation and pain but acquiesces all the same as he leans onto her for support. Despite her petite frame compared to his lean build, she has all the strength needed to help him limp into the bathroom. Sitting him on the privy, she leans over to start the water to running, setting it to a nice hot temperature to help soothe his aches and wash away any evils.

“How are you this beaten up?” Yanelis finds herself asking, turning around to immediately reach for his tattered coat, wrenching it off nigh forcefully given her frustration. Gaius groans mutely in protest but shrugs his shoulder and arms out of the dirty garment, allowing her to begin working on his shirt next. “I demand an answer.”

Gaius’ lips move but whatever he says comes out in a grumble, only serving to further incite her ire.

“Has the Black Wolf grown so meek that he cannot answer a simple question?” She huffs, hands on her hips as she bends closer, minding her horns. “Speak up, lest I nearly impale your head trying to hear you.”

“I had told you this morning why I had left, had I not?” Gaius finally speaks, his voice scratchy and worn.

“Yes, you had told me you would be heading to examine the Emerald Weapon; not fight in a godsdamned war. Or at least, come home looking like you did.” Try as she might she cannot hide the concern in her voice, and she can tell by the glint in his eyes that he’s picked up on it too. However, this seems to make him even more embarrassed, turning his face away like some sort of petulant child. “Gaius. What. Happened?”

He is silent a few moments more before grumbling again, standing to his feet. Stumbling backward from his sudden movement, Yanelis’ face goes scarlet as his hands reach for his breeches and begin tugging them downward. “By the Twelve-” Spinning on her heel, she quickly exits the bathroom, closing the door shut behind her.

Heart racing, she takes a moment to breathe, before hearing the lock click shut behind her. She turns the knob but the door won’t budge, and she stamps her foot in anger. “Gaius van Baelsar!” She shouts, realizing she’s been had.

“I will be out in a moment.” His voice carries under the door, along with a blissful sigh coupled with the sound of sloshing water.

Pleased for now, Yanelis pads up the aged stairs to gather her supplies. She would need her staff to heal the larger cuts and could most likely bandage the rest. Worry still niggles the back of her mind,  but he is home and safe and for that she is already grateful. Supplies in hand, she realizes she spaced out longer than intended and heads for the stairs.

Just as she rounds the corner, she spies Gaius there in a towel wrapped somewhat loosely around his slender hips, his expression looking caught. Yanelis feels herself flush red seeing the last few droplets of water running down his  brown skin, his skin still maintaining a slight moisture from his bath.

Clearing her throat, she pins him with her most indignant look. "And where do you think you're going?"

Frowning, Gaius avoids her eyes. "I was going to get changed, madam." He drawls sarcastically. 

Huffing,  Yanelis descends by one stair.  "Since you're feeling so cheeky, then you're clearly well enough to sit awhile longer so that I can bandage your wounds. Stay down there, I will return with a change of clothes."

Fixing her with a withering glare, Gaius sighs knowing the battle already lost, but he must say his piece. "I am not a child."

"Then don't act like one. Down. Stairs. " She orders, grinning as he turns around and trudges back down the stairs. Turning on her heel she heads into their bedroom, immediately heading for his dresser to retrieve a loose nightshirt and some pants, she hustles down the stairs with her arms bursting with things.

She finds him in the kitchen shoving his shirt and pants at him before turning to head into the den, back turned so that he may have some semblance of privacy. “And don’t even think about sneaking back upstairs or I’m putting you out.” She calls over her shoulder, walking around the couch to set her things down on the coffee table. The scratches and dents stick out to her most often during these times, the poor table used as a makeshift operating table more often than not. She often joked to herself that Gaius got himself banged up on purpose knowing she could heal him.

“Let’s get this over with.”

His rough voice jolts her from her thoughts, nearly jumping out her scales as Gaius rounds the wide couch and plops himself on it rather unceremoniously. His face is contorted in a way that looks as if he is trying not to pout, eyebrows pinched together in what is pure annoyance and thinly veiled pain.

“Well if you want to sleep and bleed all out over the ground outside, do be my guest.” Yanelis huffs, crossing her arms petulantly as Gaius cuts her a withering glare. 

“Just...heal me you stubborn woman.” He groans, sitting forward, releasing his tension so that she may move him how she likes.

Having gotten her way, Yanelis hums happily as she reaches for her staff and immediately seeks out the deepest cuts, the top of the staff glowing a healthy green in tandem with her hand over his skin. She winces as he does, holds herself back from hissing with him as the skin knits together beneath her palm, eyes closed in complete focus as she feels magic flow through her.

“That will...never cease to be strange. And yet it also amazes me.” She hears him murmur, his voice having lost its jagged edge. She grins to herself as his hand rests on her knee, fingers rubbing small circles there.

“You know, I joke to myself that you get so beat up because you come home so that I can heal you.” Yanelis teases, placing her staff down now that she’s ensured the bulk of the wound will mend properly. Reaching for bandages, she unrolls a strip in her hand as she meets his dark eyes. “Really, Gaius. How on earth did you get hurt this time? You told me you were going to talk with Raubahn.”

His head hangs immediately at hearing the worry in her voice, pout returning as he finds himself unable to look her in the eye. She grumbles as she wraps his wounds with gauze, cinching tighter than needed as he chooses to keep quiet. “Gaius van Baelsar,”

“I fell.”

The statement is so simple, yet so shocking, she stops her wrapping to stare blankly at him. Were his skin not so dark, she swears his face would be red as a beet. “You...fell?” She repeats.

Groaning loudly, he flops back against the couch. “I hadn’t lied when I said I had gone to visit Raubahn and discuss how we will continue to address the threats of more potential weapons from Garlemald.” He sighs, slapping a hand over his face in shame. “But...seeing us there, a few rookies had wanted to see the Brazen Bull and Black Wolf in action...I humbly declined but Raubahn thought a friendly spar would be good for morale.”

She watches as he hazards a glance at her, but her face has frozen in mild shock.

“It had started off completely normal...until I had lost awareness of my surroundings, and took a nasty tumble down the side of a small incline.” He huffs,  running a hand through his silken hair. “Raubahn insisted I see a medicus before returning home, but I declined and made the trek here instead. I was...expecting you to be out on business.”

It is silent for a few moments more as she continues to stare at him.

And then she laughs.

Twelve above, it is probably the ugliest laugh she has ever released in a good while, but she cannot help herself as she drops the gauze from her hand and nearly keels over from laughter.

From the corners of her eyes, tears spring and she can see Gaius’ pout become more pronounced as he yanks the gauze she dropped and continues to wrap his wounds himself. “I’m glad you find it so amusing.” He drones as her cheeks begin to hurt.

“Oh goodness,” She practically wheezes, a giggle slipping out here or there. “Oh your poor pride. I hope they didn’t laugh at you too hard.” She titters, smacking his hands away so that she can bandage him up properly.

“No. Unlike you they were actually concerned for my well being and didn’t laugh.” He snaps, throwing her an angry look, but she’s known him long enough to tell it has no bite to it. She can see that while embarrassed, her laughter has at least redirected her concern from thinking he had gotten into some terrible battle without telling her.

“I am concerned!” She snickers, reaching to peck his cheek. His resulting grumble only amuses her further as she feels his skin heat up beneath her touch. “How about I make your favorite tea, hmm? I’m sorry for laughing at you.” 

Fixing her with an unamused expression, he rolls his eyes. “Very well.”

Yanelis reaches to give him another kiss on the cheek but Gaius quickly turns his face to where her lips meet his. Flushing red, she sits back down, hands flying up to her petal soft lips as she takes in his bemused expression. Chuckling, he gives her a solid pat on the thigh before standing and heading toward the kitchen. 

“There. Now we’re even.”

[bluboothalassophile]

hello blu, can i request a jayrae AU story, where Rae is a mermaid? i saw a fanart by ihavepinkknees, (ihavepinkknees(.)tumblr(.)com/post/173716945783), and i was wondering if you could make one story.

Hello,

Long time coming, but here we are! A new AU and finally I got a chance to write it down. So I hope you enjoy and thank you for the patience! Also check out @ihavepinkknees‘s art work for she is amazing, and let us thank @xaphrin and @chromium7skyfore the inspiration for this AU!

Hallucinations & Brain Tumors…

It was a rare day for her, of no servitude or requirementsfor work, and it was a rarer day still that she could get out of the cavebefore her aunt started in on her on all she needed to get done. So she wassecretly practicing her magic in alcove, with a sandy base on the ground, highrock walls around her, and a reef hiding her from view. It was a tad too closeto humans for her comfort but she couldn’t attend the Silent School to learn soit was a matter of taking everything she saw the princes and nobles doing whenshe was working. It was frustrating, but if she didn’t get this under controlshe’d probably accidentally kill someone.

Frustrated she swam around the sandy pit she had claimed forher work, and shook out her hands, then she started to focus and work with whatshe had.

~~~*~*~*~~~

Jason wasn’t acomplicated guy, he ran tours around the islands, went surfing daily, taughtscuba lessons, and worked a fishing rig on weekends. He’d been doing this sincehe was sixteen and ran away from his home in Gotham. He wasn’t a complicatedguy, he was quiet, kept to himself, kept out of trouble, was working on joiningthe fire department here, and was looking into colleges now. He was twenty-fiveand he just now started feeling secure enough in his life and mindset to moveforward with his life. It wasn’t like Dick was here to cast a shadow, or Tim toshow him up, or Damian here to squawk about how only blood mattered. It wasn’tlike that here.

Sure, Jay missed Cass, Stephanie, Tim and Duke, but thetrade off of no Dick, Babs, Harper, Kate, and Damian made it worth it.

The other big bonus was there was no insane people here; notlike in the city of Gotham. Besides, Jason found he liked the sun, the work,and the ocean; it soothed his soul in a way he couldn’t explain. Which was whatbrought him here as he started prepping for the day. It was a simple task, justa matter of cleaning up a bit, organizing, checking over supplies, checkingsafety and engines, he double checked everything as he worked, his partner andbest friend, Roy Harper walked up, two cups of coffee in hand, and a haggardlook. Roy was a newly rehabbed addict, went to his NA and AA meetingsreligiously, and had just recently gained custody of his baby girl from hercrazy ass junkie mother. Jade Nguyen was a crazy bitch sober, and a fuckingpsycho when she was getting off on whatever poison she selected at the time,Jason had had a few run ins with her when he was saving his goddaughter fromthe drama of Jade Nguyen’s destructive tendencies. Which was why Jason washappy Roy had taken his sobriety and rehab seriously this time around.

“Morning,” Jason greeted accepting the coffee.

“Morning,” Roy yawned.

“Lian?” he asked.

“She would not sleep,” he admitted.

“Damn.”

“How we looking?”

“We’ll be set for our schedule today,” Jason said tying offa few things. He turned just in time to see a man pistol whip Roy off the boat,his friend too stunned to react, and then his face had a muzzle in it, whichhad him holding up his hands.

~~~*~*~*~~~

Raven hissed as she was thrown back into the rocks from hermagic, hitting it hard as she rolled to the ground. She lashed her fin inirritation. Unlike many Atlanteans who had a humanoid appearance, she had, likeher Merman ancestors, only the top half which looked human and long porpoiselike fin. Her coloring was rather dark, which was a star contrast to her upperhalf’s paleness, and almost like an orca in pattern over her body. The violet-blackhair around her was annoying as she again pulled it back, weaving it quickly asshe righted herself upright to retry the spell again. Her tail flickedsteadily, and she moved her webbed hands swiftly as she whispered the incantation.

A heavy splash overhead had her head snapping up as a shiprolled over the sun, and she bolted for the cave, twisting around when sheheard a sound of distress.

Something came rapidly plummeting towards her little hideaway, as the ship continued on, it landed with a soft but heavy thud, shewinced at the kicked up cloud of mud and sand. There was a struggling figure attached,looking like the Atlanteans; a human!

She watched the person struggle, trying to escape, sheinternally debated breaking the King’s laws when she saw him losing fight. Sheflew forward then, catching his shoulders.

King be damned, she’d get him out of here. She saw thechains wrapped around him, ignoring his startled eyes she ignored him as sheworked. The spells came easily as she wound the water around the chains andchanged the force, she heard them snapping, he was just fading, floating therewhen she grabbed his chest and pushed for the surface. Breaking the surface sheheard him take a hefty gasp as he coughed and choked which had her angling herlonger body beneath his so he could stay upright, while she nervously scannedaround for humans. He finally caught his breath and she found herself staring intobrilliant colored eyes which were startled.

~~~*~*~*~~~

Jason was having a hell of a day.

First his brother Dick’s debt collectors show up, then hewas drowning, now he was here, staring into the startled dark eyes of a beautifulwoman; most beautiful one he had ever seen, and she was a freaking mermaid!

“I think I’m hallucinating,” he muttered.

She stared at him, her hair floating around her, and he sawthe long tail fin stretched out, and it was now that he noticed she was keepinghim afloat. Then she was gone, he gasped as he watched her twist around anddisappear into the blue depths of the reef beneath him.

Now was the time to go to the hospital and check if he had afucking brain tumor; then go kill Dickhead for whatever trouble had just beenunleashed on his peaceful life.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Abramazing Spider-Man #2 Thoughts

More crap.

Let’s deal out some of the minor positives I have.

The art continues to be nice.

Having a Spider-Man get into heroing via the influence of their love interest is something different for whatever that is worth.

Ben burning the suit only to then immediately regret it was a funny subersion of expectations. It made me chuckle.

The only thing I noted as derivative of older Spider-Man stories was the cliché burning of the costume in the backyard.

The recap page did a good job of catching up new readers. Yes. I’m praising the recap page. Let that sink in.

Okey dokey that’s enough now.

Whilst last issue initially made me vaguely interested before chatter surrounding me converted me into hating it, this issue was more bland and going by through the motions.

The thing is last issue so utterly tainted my (and everyone else’s) experience that I am struggling to look past the fact that this is obviously amateurish and actively deceptive of the readers.

That’s perhaps made me resentful to most of the things in the story, I know I’m probably not being fair and balanced in my approach to it.

But all I can say here is how I felt about the book and how I felt about it was supremely unimpressed.

I want to address some tiny points before diving deeper. So Peter is a super scientist but somehow he couldn’t find or design a camera that would work better for him as a one handed man?

Benny clearly never used the webshooters before and yet he’s swinging around with a degree of experience that doesn’t make sense when it’s literally his first try. Hell he’s even carrying someone while he’s at it.

I also don’t get the passage of time or the physics of the web swinging scene. So they are standing on the ground, he shoots a webline, smash cut to a splash page of them swinging, with the dialogue clearly conveying the latter clearly follows the former. Comic books are sequential storytelling. One scene or sequence should lead into another, in particular when conveying movement. Ron Frenz was a master at this, rarely if ever, were you questioning how characters moved from Position A to Position B. I don’t know if this was Pichelli’s fault or if it was Henry Abrams just wanting a cool shot but it sucks.

The recap page claims that Ben accidentally hit the bully from last issue harder than he meant to, and maybe I’m just forgetting something, but I did not get that impression. So good job telling me stuff about last issue that the story itself failed to convey.

Finally Faye Ito/Ito Faye/Asian Michelle Jones/Benny’s Manic Pixie Dream Girl stereotype collides face first mid swing into a billboard. But she’s fine. She’s not even scratched or banged up? What? Would that have made her less pretty or something? Also I guess that scene was a callback to Spider-Man 2002, but I’m not griping about that.

Let’s move on to the more significant problems with the comic book.

I’m not the first person to point this out, but I think it bears repeating, this comic book feels like a movie, and I mean that in a bad way.

The panelling feels like a fill storyboard more than a comic book, it’s not making great use of the things you can do with the medium or the space provided. You want a great example of the opposite check out the art in Absolute Carnage: Seperation Anxiety #1.

Tied in with this criticism is the idea that the Abrams (well Abrams the younger) have developed this story like a film.

I am going to slightly disagree here. I think it’s more as though they’ve designed this as a prestige TV mini-series with a Hollywood film budget. I say this because the way this issue starts and finishes feels like a Netflix episode more than the second half hour of a movie.

Part and parcel of that was the obnoxiously incremental advancement of the Cadaverous and Peter subplots. Cadaverous spewed random cryptic nonsense that existed more to remind us he existed than actually accomplish anything.

Peter’s job overseas...again, why is he not just a scientist if he’s retired altogether? He’s not even a science photographer, he’s basically a grizzled Jimmy Olsen or something. Peter became a shutterbug because it was convenient, he didn’t really want to do that long term as a career, his ambitions lay in science, a job that if anything would be far more accommodating for his disability than going to dangerous parts of the Middle East to awkwardly snap photos. It’s not even like being a scientist would preclude him from getting away from NYC or his son if that’s the idea. He could be travelling for conventions and conferences. I also don’t get why we needed as many scenes of Peter overseas as we got nor why it bothered to linger on the tragedies experienced by the people there. It wasn’t like it was a lot but it’s panel time that could be put to better use. At best it felt like a pretentious attempt at being deep, at worst it might be set up that plays into the story later. The thing is the Middle East doesn’t really make for great Spider-Man stories, nor indeed most international conflicts.

Getting into the meat of this issue...Faye...fuckign Faye.

She’s a cliché.

In fact lots of stuff in this story is cliché, it’s just that unlike last issue they aren’t cliches specifically drawing from older Spider-Man stories, they’re more general clichés.

The thing that really annoyed me with Faye and Benny’s interactions was that she was obviously being played up as a kind of remixed Black Cat/Catwoman due to her costume. Like she’s supposed to be a bad influence on him or something, exemplified by the fact that she shoots down and subverts Peter’s famous motto about responsibility. It didn’t even make sense. Having responsibility gives you power...what?????????????????????????

Benny himself continues to be bland and boring as a protagonist to follow. Like so much of this story thus far he feels like a typical film or TV protagonist having issues with their Dad and in that regard is just going through the motions. I dunno if I’d call him passive per se, but he’s not too far removed from being passive that’s for sure; but not as passive as Aunt May.

I mean blaming his Dad for abandoning being Spider-Man and his mother’s death. I practically predicted the dialogue from the moment that scene started up and whilst okay it’s never been done in Spider-Man before strictly speaking it’s so generic to countless other forms of media, including other superhero comic books, it’s just banal.

His belief that he is a freak is also questionable, specifically it brings into question the world building of this universe. Were this a world where only Spider-Man existed as a hero (more or less like the Raimi movies) then that’d be fine. Even in a world of mutants that’d also be fine, though you’d imagine mutant acceptance would’ve 10+ years removed from when Peter was active. But so far this version of the Marvel Universe feels very generalized in regards to the MCU.

It’s like the Spider-Man and MJ of this universe were generalized versions of the Raimi films iteration, jammed into a generalized version of the MCU where mutants do not exist and the 2012 Avengers are THE Avengers. But if that’s the world Benny grew up in, why would being born with powers make him jump to ‘freak’? He’s just a superhero, that’s cool in a world where there is no mutant stigma and where the Avengers are revered fallen heroes.*

My final criticism is in regards to the final sequence. It was just weird.

Benny and the civilian he was rescuing had dialogue that was far more casual than the situation demanded. Like dude, you’ve been blown up, buried alive and rescued by a bona fide superhero who’s not been seen in 10 years and now killer robots are surrounding you. Who is that chill in such a scenario? Who goes through all that and at the end basically says ‘lol classic Spidey lol’?????

The civilian also had odd dialogue where it was as though Henry was throwing shade at the premise of the book itself, about how lame an older, disabled Spider-Man with a beard and a kid would be.

But like Henry...YOU came up with that? If you think it’s lame why are you making 5 issues worth of it????????????????

My final point is that whilst the artwork is praiseworthy, it’s also far from Pichelli’s best work. It’s in fact noticeably lower quality than the work she was producing on the 2016 Miles Morales titles or even the debut of that character.

My recommendation?

Don’t read this. If you are truly curious wait for the trade to come out and then buy it as cheaply as possible?

As for me, I’m sticking this out to the end but I’m also going to be saving my money and reducing my order to just one copy and have cancelled my pre-order of the trade.

Ever since Spencer showed up I’ve made a concerted effort to support the spider titles I like and want to see more of (that’s code for the titles featuring MJ) and since last issue deceived me and this issue failed to impress, I don’t want more work like this from Marvel in the future.

*Also I’m going to be pissed if it turns out a chucklefuck like Cadaverous wound up taking out the Avengers somehow. Like really, this clown did them in?

[waitingtobelit]

Title: Place Your Hand In Mine

Characters/Pairings: Dean Winchester/Castiel

Rating: Adult. Nothing overly graphic/explicit but sex is sex.

Genre: Canon compliant canon AU - established relationship.

Summary: In the middle of fighting/figuring out how to fight Amara, Dean and Cas manage to steal some time away for themselves at a lake. 

Notes: This is fairly shamelessly sappy/fluffy and self-indulgent, but I needed something happy to cope with Supernatural ending so here we are. 

Disclaimer: I don't anything regarding Supernatural or any of its characters. This was written purely for recreational purposes, and no profit is being made from this. I also don't own "Feeling This" by Blink 182, some of the lyrics of which are the source of inspiration for this particular story.

You can also find this piece at AO3 here:  https://archiveofourown.org/works/20407789/chapters/48408475

”Fate fell short this time Your smile fades in the summer Place your hand in mine I’ll leave when I wanna.” - “Feeling This” by Blink 182

Sunflower yellow in the sky, surrounded by fluffy white clouds for petals and a sea of sky so perfectly blue, the sun seems to sprawl over them from straight out of Pixar movie. The murky water of the lake sparkles beneath it all, a darker kind of diamond, but no less treasured for the way it laps over their feet with just the right amount of cool reprieve.

July has proven a cruel mistress so far; today is no different, except for the fact that Dean and Cas are actually taking advantage of the weather instead of hiding away in the coolness of the bunker. (Sam thinks the pair of them of morons very likely to get sunburned. Dean thinks that whatever kind of burn he gets today, it will be well worth it.)

Cas’ tanned arms envelope him from behind, holding Dean to the angel’s lap with serene purpose. Both of them are shirtless, having tossed them aside the moment they arrived to this little nook of a beach on the lake, and both are wearing jeans, Cas having borrowed a pair of Dean’s for the occasion. Dean has his arm wrapped around Cas’ shoulder, fingers tangled in his hair, while Cas is smiling as he presses lazy, hot kisses to the side of Dean’s neck, occasionally biting down on heated flesh. He has one arm wrapped around Dean’s chest and one hand making its way slowly down Dean’s abdomen, kneading and pulling at freckled, flushed skin along the way. With each touch, Dean lets out a huff of hot air and a strangled moan, his hips undulating in time with Cas’ kisses.

They’re both still damp from the swim they took earlier, and their feet tangle together in the water. Dean shifts against Cas, his toes and fingers both curling at the angel’s ministrations. He can feel Cas pressing behind him, which draws another low, wanting noise from his heaving chest. The combination of arousal and heat is as intoxicating as the lemonades mixed with vodka they’d consumed earlier; Dean feels drunk in the best possible way in Cas’ company. This spark between them might be fairly new, and fairly fraught, given that they still have the threat of the Darkness to worry about, but goddamn Dean wouldn’t trade any of what he has with Cas now for the world, regardless of how obstinate he’s been in the past.

They have the summer sun, the seemingly endless lake before them, and all of today before they have to resume their responsibilities to the world. He’ll be damned (again) if they’re not going to savor this brief respite that they’ve stolen for themselves.

“How did you find this place?” He manages to ask, his voice husky and just barely above a gasp. Cas sucks a hickey into the side of his collarbone, and he groans, body arching into the angel, who presses his smile into Dean’s neck.

“Accidentally,” Cas admits, nuzzling at the side of Dean’s face as Dean clutches at Cas mop of messy hair and moves his other hand to stroke and grasp at what he can reach of the angel’s denim clad thigh. Cas moans at the touch, his feet brushing against Dean’s own with increased fervor. “I was looking for ingredients for a spell to use against Amara, and wound up here. It reminds me of that dream of yours by the water, with the fishing. I thought that you would like it.”

“This place is perfect,” Dean sighs, tilting his head to try and meet Cas’ gaze. “You’re perfect.” It slips out without Dean meaning to say it. He hesitates, but he doesn’t regret the words; words that mean so much more than Dean can bring himself to say out loud.

Cas pauses and fixes Dean with the bluest gaze the hunter has ever known, those blue eyes as bright as the sky above them piercing right into Dean’s soul. He sucks down a breath of air before Cas is leaning down to kiss him, softly and fervently all at once. Dean moans into the kiss, a long and low string of sounds that vaguely resembles Cas’ full name.

Cas makes sure Dean’s eyes are open and looking right at him before he speaks, deliberate and slow, voice full with the weight of everything he feels for Dean. And that weight? Dean is certain that weight could stop the Earth from turning. And he’s certain he bears the same exact weight himself.

“So are you.”

It’s enough to take Dean’s breath away as Cas leans down for another kiss, this one much more searing and deliberate than before. The pair of them grasp and clutch at one another beneath the sun, their feet stumbling in the water. Cas eventually maneuvers them into standing, hands moving to latch onto the belt buckles of Dean’s jeans as he steers him backwards, all the while unrelenting in the way he all but drinks Dean whole. Dean, meanwhile, clutches at Cas’ face, letting the pads of his fingers graze against every beautiful nook and cranny of Cas’ skin he can reach as he presses himself against Cas with an increasing desperation.

“I think my poor trench coat is feeling a little lonely,” Cas says when he finally pulls away to allow Dean to catch his breath. He gestures with his head to the discarded garment, sprawled out across the sand. He arches his eyebrows and smirks before pushing Dean right down onto it. “We should fix that.”

Dean laughs as he falls, letting his head fall back in the sand as Cas climbs over and onto him, shoving his jeans and underwear off in the process before moving to do the same to Dean, who lifts his hips and wriggles to help.

“This coat probably needs therapy after everything it’s seen,” he points out with a smirk of his own, green eyes glittering with obvious amusement as he recalls the numerous other times Cas’ coat served a very ulterior purpose than the one for which it was designed. To prove his point, he shakes his ass again, wriggling his eyebrows up at Cas in the process.

Cas beams, moving between Dean’s legs to wrap them around his own hips. Dean shudders and gasps, feeling like the sunscreen Cas helped spread over his shoulders and back earlier that morning in Cas’ hands. He lets out another mewl of a noise when Cas playfully reaches underneath him to smack his ass.

“We’re only just getting started,” the angel grins, wild and lovely as this whole day has turned out. He leans down to kiss Dean senseless as Dean leans up to meet up, grabbing and clutching at what he can reach of Cas’ shoulders and squeezing him between his legs. They both sigh and moan, a mixture of each other’s names that overwhelms the buzzing of the radio Dean set up upon their arrival.

Cas is gentle and insistent all at once with the lube and condoms they’d brought with them, his long, elegant fingers drawing the most delightful kind of music out of Dean. They both laugh and grin as they kiss, messy and lazy. There’s no rush; the sun shines above and the water shines next to them, and Dean and Cas both shine with sweat as Cas slides into Dean, melodic as the lapping of the water against the shore.

They become a part of nature, skin sliding against skin and lips pressing against lips. Hands grasp and mouths moan, and Dean can’t help but wonder if this is what it was like in the Garden of Eden. Cas thrusts into him with slow, deliberate movements, seeking out and pressing against every spot he knows that makes Dean writhe and arch off the ground. Dean shifts upwards to meet each thrust, moving his hands into the angel’s hair to pull in the way he knows makes Cas’ toes curl.

Yes, they will get sand in uncomfortable places, and yes, Dean can feel the way Cas’ coat bunches up beneath him. Neither of them gives a damn.

They are creation in and of itself, their own form of art; and as the angel and the hunter make love, hands and bodies and souls entwined, Dean can’t help but think that, if this is the only slice of heaven if ever gets, it will be enough. He doesn’t believe in fate; he believes that they all make their own choices. And this, all of this? This is the most important choice he’s made in his whole life. And no twist of fate is ever going to take this away from him.

[confessionsofalionholic]

Art Rules are a Nonsense

Fuck Lioden “rules” any art that you make isn’t allowed to be ‘eyeballed’, ‘referenced’ - these terms mean just looking as the subject matter and drawing freehand or ‘TRACING’.

How is anyone supposed to learn? Are we really going to argue the Renaissance period was subject to copyright INFRINGEMENT as they used a whole number of techniques including gridding, projection and mapping to make their artwork - they shouldn’t have profited and should have faced some sort of court action?

Every musician ever has at some point had to learn an instrument from copying the notes right? Are we going to argue too that they should be thrown in the docs? Sorry Beetles, Stones, Led Zepplin, Beach Boys all more or less cover bands sorry guys - you’re fucked!

I get why people have to police artwork in this way, but you really can’t stop big companies from ripping your artwork off, or even some dodgy seller from eBay or Etsy - you see this all the time. And realistically, there’s nothing you can do, and you’d be exhausted and come back even more wounded if you tried to really get justice from an actual leach trying to profit off your artwork. *Cough Disney, Paperchase …

The people who do this kind of thing are of course morally bankrupt but I feel sad for them too, they obviously appreciate art but don’t have the time or patience to try and make moving art for themselves so steal it instead, these are the REAL shit heads.

And it sucks it does! But you shouldn’t shout down or shame people (mostly children or students) they ultimately want to learn how to draw a certain way, or learn their tools better. We’re not printers, we are people and we JUST want to learn.

Who the fuck cares about Lioden currency anyway, the owners certainly don’t! It’s all a fucking nonsense and you accidentally list something in the SB box instead of the GB box and fuckers like Typhon #41384 can come and buyout your 20 silver beetle gnawrock trade no problem :) But you spend hours on some art which maybe you traced or eyeballed, or referenced a little too well but ultimately brings joy to you and other people, BAN.

So Fuck you Xylax someone who obviously traces, don’t be kidded up! Coz lets face it, who has the time between Evosaur, Lioden and Wolvden, and let young people figure out their artistic paths and integrity.

Go after the real copyright criminals or even just Lioden bastard users in general, do the community a real favour!

I’m sorry, eyeballing? How is that condemnable? Maybe I should ask my dogs written permission before I next draw him …

[bastardtravel]

August 11, 2018. Manchester, New Hampshire.

After seven hours on the road, pausing only to explore an Old Ones cult site, storm a terrible castle, and eat distressingly dry corned beef at a Greek diner that still advertised one of their menu items as “Michael Jackson’s favorite grinder”, we were in dire need of respite.

Establishing a forward operating base was our first priority. For my part, I can sleep anywhere. My bonfire days in the Frozen North frequently necessitated pitching a $10 K-Mart tent over gravel, then drinking bottom-shelf whiskey until you didn’t realize you were sleeping in a puddle of rainwater and broken glass. That’s not a knack you lose. It’s like riding a bike. The Girl was always more discerning, and became doubly so after our experience in Phoenix with the inept criminal front halfway house hotel. We agreed that she can veto any of the lodgings I book. Sometimes, late at night, I’ll hold a flashlight under my chin and tell her spoOoOoky stories about hostels in Ireland.

She insisted on the airport Super 8. I was hoping to stay in a quaint deep woods motel called “Unsmiling Jed’s Sleepaway”, attached to sister business “Unsmiling Jed’s Discount Plastic Surgery Silo and Chili Kitchen”.

If I can’t protect it, I don’t deserve to have it. That goes double for life.

A friendly foreign woman checked us in at the Super 8, then proceeded into utter bafflement when I asked for a first aid kid. I chewed myself up pretty good climbing Bancroft’s Castle, and I’d spent the last half hour bleeding into an oily dog blanket to avoid ruining my upholstery. I’m pretty sure that’s how plagues start.

There were no band-aids here, or antiseptics, or possibly medicine as a concept. There was a three gallon tub of hand sanitizer. I thanked her for the offer but gently declined.

We went up to the third floor. The hallways were lined with people sitting on the carpet outside their rooms, shouting and smoking cigarettes. The room itself was clean and the air conditioning worked. All my boxes were checked. The bathroom reeked of weed, which some would interpret as a bonus. I scrubbed my wounds raw in the sink, tucked away the precious cargo of wine and peaches, and set out to investigate downtown Manchester.

Streetlight technology has not yet made its way to Manchester, so we spent twenty minutes missing exits in ocean-floor darkness. It looked worryingly like Wilkes-Barre, which is not where one would choose to vacation, were one sane.

Downtown erupted from nowhere like graphic pop-in on a video game running at its lowest resolution. One second you’re in leatherface country, with nothing breaking the abyssal darkness but the occasional half-broken Jiffy Lube sign. The next, you’re on vibrant neon market strip, replete with hipsters and the homeless.

We knew we had hit downtown proper when we passed by the “craft grilled cheese bistro”.

only programmers will understand!!!! like and reblog if u get it

Since I am an adult man, grilled cheese cannot be dinner. Both “gastropubs” we tried, despite their bitchin Greek mythology names, offered generic terrible burgers and a draft list that consisted of Coors Light.

“I’m so hungry,” the Girl told me. “I’m gonna die.”

“We all will,” I assured her. “Soon.”

Yelp claimed there was a brewery five blocks away. We walked off the only lit street, into absolute, encompassing blackness. It would’ve been spooky if I didn’t always kind of hope some Putty Patrol mook would lunge at me from the dark while I’m far away from home, having told no one where I’m going and left no paper trail.

There were no incidents. No one was murdered in self-defense. No one knows what we did last summer. The Stark Brewing Company was in the basement of a grim looking office complex, and it was vacant save for two other wanderers.

We sat at the bar and ordered a flight and an imperial stout. I was pushing for finding an actual restaurant, but the Girl ordered “Penne with vodka sauce”, which was not the right color, flavor, or texture to be anything but penne bolognese. The Girl didn’t seem to mind. I ate a pulled pork sandwich.

The beers were warm, but I didn’t care. It didn’t matter what the beers were, so long as they were beers. And not Coors Light. The brewery themed all of their beers off of dogs, for some reason, which I believe to be the ideal business model. According to the bartenders, the brewery had been open for 25 years, but hadn’t yet received their big boom. I was outraged. The beers were excellent, and would probably be even better if they weren’t room temperature, and the taps were not only named for specific dogs, but also provided pictures.

To say nothing of the bathroom, which was covered in sharpie beer lore.

The bartender and waitresses swore a lot more than you would normally expect in this context. The Girl maintains they were swearing at us. I disagreed.

“They were swearing <i>with</i> us,” I mansplained.

“We weren’t swearing,” she countered.

“But if we HAD been.”

As I’ve grown larger and more sinuous, I’ve tried to cut back on how often I cuss at strangers. Cultural relativism is the understanding that not everyone grew up among the coalcrackers, and good-natured oaths like “how the hell are you” or using the fuck-word as a conversational placeholder, while subjectively soothing, can set off fight-or-flight in the small, soft, and bourgeoisie.

I try to maintain direct proportionality between my barbarism and my well-heeledness. Neither the wait staff nor the other two customers shared my bond, and the middle-aged guy on my right proceeded to tell me how his hometown of Denver, Colorado is the greatest fuckin’ city in America, next to maybe Southern California. Which is not a city.

We talked about our homes and travels for a while, then I got my pulled pork sandwich and they left. The sandwich was slightly warmer than the beer, which beat the alternative.

An armada of children came into the bar.

“Oh, shit,” the woman tending bar said. They were visibly teenagers, and on the wrong side of it. They had that gangly awkwardness you get around fourteen or fifteen, and if they were trying to play it off, they were woefully bad at it. There were also nearly twenty of them. It looked like a field trip.

People in their twenties don’t travel in packs of more than six. It’s hard to transport a throng, unless you have a party bus, and why do you have a party bus when you’re twenty-eight? You’re twenty-eight and party buses have always been sad. Get a job. Also, it’s hard to get that many adults to agree on something.

It can be done. You can say, “Hey, adults, you want to do some drugs?” And in a sufficiently sized crowd, you’ll manage to pull twenty or so who will follow you to your house or whatever. This is called an “afterparty”. It doesn’t go to bars at 9pm.

Have you felt out the social zeitgeist recently? Look at a random handful of current memes and it’ll be pretty clear that most adults consider socialization to be a required burden, like paying emotional taxes. “Going out” is the price of living in a civilized society. You’re not going to scare up twenty people, then put them in a party bus, then take them to an abandoned bar half a mile outside of where the actual nightlife is.

“Hey, we’re just about to close,” the bartender said.

A reedy blonde in a top that seemed to consist mostly of straps screeched, “But your WEBSITE said you were open til ONE!”

Screeched.

The bar fell silent. Well, more silent. The Girl and I traded looks, her horror for my delight.

“Uhhhhhh,” the bartender said, but with excellent elocution, as though that were the word she had deliberately chosen. “Okay.”

They sat the itinerant mall food court in an enormous corner table, whereupon they requested shots.

The waitress who had sworn at/with us the least came back to the bar and said, “You guys said you were from Pennsylvania, right?”

We nodded.

“Can I see one of your licenses quick?”

She compared mine against the obviously fake ID one of the tweens had given her. After a moment she said, “Yeah, you can see, the font is different. And the picture looks like it’s photoshopped.”

“Yeah, no one’s license picture ever looks this good,” the Girl said, studying the fake ID.

“Except mine,” I added. They ignored me. I didn’t take it personally.

The waitresses disappeared into the back. Five minutes later, the only dude working at the place was gendered into being the bad cop. He sulked over to the teens.

“You guys gotta leave,” he said. “We know your ID’s fake. We’re not trying to get fined. You gotta go.”

For maximum accuracy, imagine this said in Toby’s voice from the Office. Shamefaced, the flash mob of children dispersed.

We paid for our room temperature beers and left the poor, foul-mouthed brewery to close at 9:30 on a Friday. The Girl and I accidentally stalked the battalion of teens through the street, but only because we were all moving back toward the only lights in the city, not unlike moths. They turned a corner and vanished, presumably to find an arcade or laser tag or some sort of large carousel.

The Girl and I followed the sounds of some obnoxious bros announcing, “It’s like a fahkin sketchy ally, dewd”.

It was, in fact, the least sketchy alley I’d ever been in. Cat Alley was the best lit venue in all of New Hampshire. It was clean and well-maintained, and it was covered less in graffiti and more in an outdoor art gallery dedicated to cats.

There were more, but they didn’t all warrant a picture.

Portland Pie Co loomed from the endless darkness like a beacon in the night, hearkening back to those days lost in Maine during the Great Lobster Drought of 2017. We split a bourbon barrel ale which did me in. It was bedtime.

On the way back, toward the end of the main drag, a man made of pure light rode by blasting EZ-Listenin from his Tron bicycle, also made of pure light.

I can’t prove he wasn’t Jesus.

Heartened, we returned to the hotel, where no one was smoking or yelling in the hallway anymore. Excellent.

Next stop, Portsmouth.

Love,

The Bastard

Into the Abyss August 11, 2018. Manchester, New Hampshire. After seven hours on the road, pausing only to explore an Old Ones cult site, storm a terrible castle, and eat distressingly dry corned beef at a Greek diner that still advertised one of their menu items as "Michael Jackson's favorite grinder", we were in dire need of respite.

[yierkitchen]

Knife brand collection(not all) (2)

I have already introduced some tool brands before, today I will continue to add

Columbia River Knife & Tool

CRKT Knives (Columbia River Knife & Tool). Oregon-based CRKT is a brand that crafts high-quality knives at an affordable price point. Popular designs are available from Ken Onion, Lucas Burnley, Jesper Voxnaes, and more while CRKT’s Forged By War series is 100% designed by Veterans.

CRKT knives earned a reputation for making inexpensive knives that don’t feel cheap, with fresh designs that (for the most part) rotate in and out quickly. Here is our list of the best CRKT knives, a mix of long term favorites and newer designs.

Case Knives

A case knife is used at the dinner table, to cut soft and prepared foods, and even tender meats without requiring a steak knife.

What’s unique about Case knives is that they stamp each blade with a special tang marking that can be used to identify the knife and production date. This is of great appeal to collectors and hobbyists and Case boasts the largest knife collecting association in the world with almost 20,000 members.

The fact that Case made it easy to ID knives from the tang stamps is one of the reasons people love collecting them. In certain decades, the stamp features 10 dots or stars and one is removed each year. Case has this laid out for you in the education portion of their site so you can easily ID the tangs.

Condor Knife and Tool

Condor knife is built out of a durable 1075 high carbon steel and a hardwood handle, making it both quality in its build and classic in its appearance. Overall, if you’re looking for a cheaper bushcraft Condor knife that lacks the features found on the higher-end models, this is a good option.

Condor Woodlaw Knife Pros:

4″ blade is convenient.

Ships with high-quality leather sheath.

Durable 1075 high carbon steel construction.

3mm blade width is good for more precise work.

Micarta handle offers good traction.

Condor is a good brands of knives, and condor knives are popular because their blades are suitable for a wide variety of different purposes (such as hiking, camping, hunting, home use, and bushcraft), are well-built.

EDC Knives

The benefits of having an edc knife

Handy: Easy and safe to carry.

Compact: Easily fit in the pocket.

Durable: Can be used for long term.

High-strength: Ensure maximum satisfaction and operability.

Lightweight: Offer an unencumbered feel.

Ergonomic design: Perfect for heavy-duty tasks.

Why is it good to carry a pocket knife?

Making Fires: A good knife makes fire preparation a much easier and faster task, particularly in poor weather. Even in the wettest conditions, you’ll still be able to find dry wood inside upright, dead branches and trees. A pocket knife allows you to access it, prepare tinder and even spark a fire into life.

Sometimes roads are slick, embankments are steep, conditions are unfavorable, and catastrophe lurks. In the case that adversity does befall you, a pocket knife can serve as a survival tool. You can slice through a seatbelt to pull someone from wreckage or cut through fabric to dress a wound.

German Kitchen Knives

Most of the world’s top class pocket, hunting and different kinds of speciality knives are manufactured by German companies.

One thing that every German knife user will probably agree on is the precise, careful craftsmanship of the top German knife manufacturers, resulting in knives which are distinctive and perhaps almost completely flawless. For instance, consider a fixed blade German knife with glimmering stag or perfect wood handle scales seamlessly fitted, without any gap between the tang and scales, or a brass or nickel silver finger guard perfectly shaped and greatly polished with no filing, sanding or grinding marks visible, coupled with a pristine Solingen steel blade for a precise shave that has no accidental score visible anywhere on it. An elite quality German knife is actually a work of art, manufactured by adept professionals who feel extremely proud of the work they perform and the knives they develop. The famous Solingen city in Germany boasts of the longest history associated with the production of top class knives and cutlery.

Features

As German knives are one of the most prevalent ones, it’s wise to clearly understand the key features of them. Whether you’re a professional or beginner chef, a German knife is perhaps your best bet in the kitchen.

German knives usually come with a full length tang and a bolster.

The steel used in German knives usually has ratings between 56 and 58 on the Rockwell hardness scale.

The blade grind of a German knife is symmetrical.

The thick piece of steel or the bolster of the knife is located right before its handle.

A German knife comes with an angle of 20 to 22 degrees.

Though weight differs from blade to blade, a German knife tends to be heavyweight. For instance, a Wusthof 8 inch chef’s knife weighs around 9.6 ounces.

Thicker, heavier German knives empower you to perform robust chores more conveniently.

Don’t require regular maintenance such as weekly cleaning or annual sharpening.

Dishwater safe.

German knife producers have been manufacturing premium knives since the 19th century and these unique features are perhaps the key reasons why chefs across the world prefer German knives.

Damascus Knife

What are the advantages of a Damascus blade?

In the cold weapon era, having a Damascus sword means you will have a higher rate of survival when you are facing with the enemy. This is because of its superior toughness, sharp cutting edge and the surface characteristic of watered silk or damask like swirled pattern.

Why is it called Damascus steel?

Damascus steel was a type of steel used for manufacturing blades in the Near East made with wootz steel imported from India. … Such blades were reputed to be tough, resistant to shattering and capable of being honed to a sharp, resilient edge. The steel is named after Damascus, a city in Syria.

What is special about Damascus steel?

D. Damascus steel is a famed type of steel recognizable by the watery or wavy light and dark pattern of the metal. Aside from being beautiful, Damascus steel is valued because it maintains a keen edge, yet is hard and flexible. Weapons made from Damascus steel are vastly superior to weapons formed from iron!

What are Damascus knives used for?

A Damascus steel blade, as you know, features waves of steel alloy, which meet at the edge of the knife and determine the cutting performance of the blade. This means they will be specifically manipulated for the intended purpose – hunting, fishing, cooking, etc.

Santoku Knives

Do you know the advantages of santoku knife?

A Santoku knife is ideally suited to precision work thanks to the light, narrow blade, which can make thinner cuts, as less food has to be pushed out of the way as the blade makes each slice. Japanese knives require a different technique to Western knives in that they slice through food in a forward and backward motion, rather than Western knives which require a rocking motion, which generally creates thicker slices and takes longer to cut than the quicker Santoku blade.

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[cutegirlmayra]

Do you mind doing crossover prompts? because if you don't I have a good one for Sonic boom: After losing to a certain evil turtle Sonic feels useless and considers retiring for real yet a certain someone can say something about it what do you say?

After further clarity, I now know this is a Mario and Sonic crossover prompt xD NOT TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (laughs into the geek void.)

(x) Special thanks to the artist of this awesome preview image! Please support them as well!

PROMPTS ARE ON SHUTDOWN! Please don’t request anything until further notice. Thank you!

@idontworkforsega for just my prompts ;)

http://cutegirlmayra.tumblr.com/commissions - Please contact me for further questions and read the rules before purchases!

For the sake of copyright, I took out the names of the hero and villian ; but you get it! ;D

Prompt:

Tails boots up his old ‘making video games real’ machine and accidentally shoots Sonic’s least favorite game, or at least, one that he constantly has issues about.

A Plumber pops out from the device, but along with him, his villain in the continuity also joins him as Tails had used the beam during the Boss battle.

The large turtle boss, confused mostly, decides to attack the village in hopes of finding the princess he was so sure was already captured but was now second guessing himself.

The boom team unite, Sticks and Amy getting the villagers out of the line of fire…. Literally… as the Plumber is off ‘yahoo’ing and flinging red balls of fire all over the place.

The village, in turn, is then alit with fight, causing Tails and Knuckles to work together to put it out.

This leads to Sonic having to defeat the boss he was stuck on all by himself, but since Sonic wasn’t naturally designed to beat the Large Spiked Turtle, he was easily finding setbacks…

“Wah!” Sonic was flung back after his Spin Attack did nothing to the Spiked Turtle’s shell. He laughed, chuckling mockingly at Sonic before Sonic spin dashed his face. “Laugh at that!” he was growing aggressive.

The Turtle shook his face, looked at some blue spines that were stuck on his nose, and became furious. Throwing a rampaging tantrum, the Turtle released even more fire from his mouth, causing Sonic to dash into a home. The home crumbled down, revealing Sonic ducking with his hands over his head, before looking around him and freaking out as the Turtle spun his tail and swiped him to the side.

“Offph!”

“Wo-wo-wo-woah! You’re-a looking a little down there-a, pal.” The Plumber skidded to a halt, pulling out a mushroom, and letting it settle into Sonic. “Take-a this.” He dashed off to fight the turtle, while Sonic had a negative reaction to the mushroom.

“Wooooahhhh…” Sonic’s head spun as psychedelic lights and images filled his head. “Farrr ouuuut…” he fell over.

The team had gotten everyone to safety but ran back to find the Plumber and the Turtle at equal odds.

They used their enerbeams to secure him before the Plumber took him out.

“Another day-a, another winner! Yahoo!” The old Italian man jumped up and did a little victory shake, before landing and receiving praise from the villagers.

“You burned half our village, but your spunky accent is too good to resist! Three cheers for the Plumber!”

“Okay! Weird stuff’s finally gone, where’s that turtle?!” Sonic came with dizzy footing back over the lump of burnt wood houses before looking sorrowfully off at the scene before him.

“The Plumber sabotaged me!” he at first said in rage, gripping his bandanna and throwing it down, “Dang it!” he stomped on his beloved scarf before the team reunited with him, trying to console him, but accidentally praising the Plumper instead.

“Your… well, you don’t throw fire, for one thing.” Tails tried, but Knuckles quickly added.

“Yeah, that was so cool.”

“N-no, opposite of cool, Knuckles!” Tails nudged his side, as Knuckles’s eyes widened and winked to him.

“Oh right, that was HOT!” he gave surfer-boy’s surfs-up gesture with his hands, but Tails just face-palmed himself.

“Well, you’re more good looking than him.” Amy nodded, getting a slight pity smile from Sonic, before Sticks spoke up then.

“But hey, give that Plumber back his heyday and hooo…” she shook her head, “You won’t be saying that.”

“Ew, that’s like asking for Eggman’s heyday.”

They all cringed.

“That’s it, I’m going to find that Turtle and defeat him myself! No ‘yahoo’ helps this time!” he stormed out of the house, slamming the door.

“I really think he feels second best to that guy.” Amy worriedly stated, turning to her friends. “What do we do?”

“What CAN we do?” Tails shrugged his arms up. “The Plumber knows more of the Turtle bosses strengths. Sonic’s quills can’t naturally penetrate the Turtle’s armored shell like they do with robots.”

Amy’s eyes then lit up. “Then… can fire penetrate a robot’s hide?”

They all seemed to be getting the gist of the plan.

All but Knuckles.

“Ahh… I get it. I’ll get the whoopee cushion!”

“Wrong facial cue, Knuckles.” Amy lowered her eyes in annoyance.

“…Oh.” Knuckles frowned, “Then this plan isn’t gonna be as HOT as it should be…” he folded his arms, huffing.

Sonic once again was in an all out brawl with the Turtle boss, but unable to really hit him after he learned Sonic would always aim for his head, he would duck it and laugh.

He tried to pull on the tail like he saw the Plumber do in the games, but he didn’t possess super strength, and got whipped around by it.

Finally, Sonic tried the enerbeam tactic, but even though he tripped the Turtle down, “AH-HA!” He leaped in the air to spin dash, but the Turtle shook out of his dizziness from falling over, and ducked his body back in his shell.

Sonic lost his patience, diving into the turtle’s shell. “STOP BEING A COWARD! GRRR…” but as he went in…

A bombardment of fireballs broke from the mouth of the shell…

He came smoking out, stumbling as the Turtle moved his head out with a smug grin on his face.

“You… you don’t play fair…” he coughed, before falling over.

The Turtle tried to get itself back on it’s feet before the Plumber slammed down on it. “Oui! What’s-a matter with you?”

Sonic rolled his eyes up to the Plumber, before huffing out smoke and looking away.

“You’re better than me at this… that’s what.”

The Plumber looked confused, “I’m-“ he was about to speak, but the Turtle’s hurt head came up, trying to come back to before the Plumber lifted his leg and hit him back down again, knocking him permanently out for the night.

“I’m-a not sure I know what you-a mean.”

“You-a beat-a the-a turtle-a!” Sonic mocked his accent, causing the mustached Italian to frown and dip his red hat down.

“Yeah? So?” he urged Sonic on, putting a hand to his sides and covering how agitated he was with this punk. “You’re-a world needs-a you.” He started up, and pointed to the atmosphere. “This-a here world don’t-a specifically measure up-a to mine.” He pointed back to Sonic, “But it-a is for you!”

Sonic grew insulted by that, “What does that mean!?” He got into a fighting stance.

“Let’s-a see…” The plumber looked around… scratching his chin as he calmed down a bit. “The-a purposes of this-a universe and these-a baddies are created for-a you to-a triumphant. As for-a my world, I-a take the-a tunnels, and-a smash the breaks! Yes?” he mimicked the actions while also hurting the Turtle underneath him, jumping up and crashing down on him to emphasis his words but also keep jabbing the turtle down while he was out.

“…You’re saying… I roll and tumble,” Sonic gestured to himself.

“Sì.” The Plumber nodded, tilting his head a bit with it.

“And your world…” he gestured to the video game’s hero. “…You wear overalls?”

In a light sigh, the man complied, lowering his arms down in front of him. “Sì. Although comfortable, they-a sometimes do ride-a-up some…” he adjusted his pants, as Sonic laughed.

“And that’s what you get for stepping into my pantless universe!” He pointed a confident finger up to the Plumber, before Eggman started attacking and the Plumber’s fireballs were useless to hurt Eggman.

Just before Eggman was getting giddy about succeeding over a hero for a change, and the Plumber praying in Italian as he removed his hat to receive the defeat, Sonic came spiraling in to save the day! Earning back his title of hero and proving to his friends and the villagers that he was still the main hero in town!

Eggman was defeated by Sonic as the Plumber shoved his villain back through Tails’s workshop, taking them both home.

Before he left, Sonic and the Plumber locked hands, a powerful declaration of friendship, before he returned to his world.

“So..? What have we learned?” Amy slid some money through the window, and Eggman’s wounded, arm-casted and bandaged self slipped flopping hand through to grab it.

“I learned that-“

Knuckles and Tails blocked the image of Eggman’s silhouette bumping against the wall and howling in pain from Sonic’s view, faking that they both stubbed their toe.

“…Thhaaat I’m meant for this universe’s problems, and not every hero can do what another can do.” He gave his iconic thumbs up and signature smile, as Amy fawned subtly to herself while the rest of the team were relieved to see him back to normal.

“AAaaannnd I KNOW HOW TO DEFEAT HIM IN THE GAME NOW!” Sonic dashed to Tail’s machine, removing the game, and finally beating that pesky boss level!

The Plumber thumbs up’d him on the game’s cutscene, and Sonic winked back. “Hahaha!” he laughed, seeing the Turtle pull out a blue spike from his tail, and growing woozy from the memories, fainted as he fell over.

(And with that-! The Art Prompt trades are over! thank you to all who gave pictures for the prompts ^^)

[bokocho]

Balance (SFW)

A special thanks to Fuzzy (@weapons-grade-spork) from the FFXV and Chill Discord! *waves*

Also somewhat inspired by the image found here: wHEEZE

Getting belted upside the head with a lance was, honestly, not a bad trade-off for seeing a sweaty Ignis Scientia pant for breath.

Granted, right now you were seeing two of him, and your head felt ring-y, but his vest and shirt were open and droplets were cascading down his chest and you were pretty sure somewhere under the mild concussion that human beings were not supposed to be this stupidly attractive.

The sparring match had started because you had been punching away at a sand-stuffed heavy bag while Ignis practiced behind you, all swift flips and graceful twists. When you caught sight of him in the mirrors on the back wall, you had stopped beating up the poor bag and turned to him.

“Does any of that actually do anything?”

“Any of what?” He inquired as he stepped into a cartwheel, his lance held tight to his right thigh.

“The… gymnastics.” You gestured to him; he had finished his rotation and was turning into a circular slash.

“I believe so, yes.” Ignis paused in his routine to roll his shoulders. His lance disappeared in a twinkle of light. “It’s a form of Accordan martial arts. The circuitous motion serves the twofold purpose of keeping the fighter from losing momentum and distracting the opponent.”

You uncapped your water and took a long drink, wiping the sweat off your forehead with your arm. “I’m not sure you’d be able to distract me, ninja-flippy-shit aside. I watch you fight all the time.” He was, however, perfectly able to distract you with everything else: his leaf-green eyes, his barely-there smile, his blind-siding tenderness. He didn’t even seem to realize how charming he was.

Ignis smiled faintly and your heart thudded. “Perhaps, but we will not know unless we try. Why not a match? If my recollection is correct, you usually train with Gladio around this time.”

“Yeah, but he’s not here today.” You huffed. Training alone was significantly less fun than going toe-to-toe with the Prince’s Shield, who was six-and-a-half feet of solid muscle and relentless cleverness. He didn’t look it, but he was a tricky opponent.

You had been surprised by Ignis’ presence in the gym. He usually trained early in the morning and was gone before you and Gladio showed up.

Ignis’ voice broke into your thoughts. “While I make a poor substitute for him, I will gladly offer a demonstration of my own abilities.” His lance reappeared in his hand and he nodded to you, settling into a stance.

“You’re not a poor substitute for anyone, Igs. Alright, let’s do this,” you said, summoning your gauntlets. In a flash of pale blue, they materialized on your hands. Setting your feet apart and dropping your shoulders, you prepared for a charge.

When you lunged, Ignis slipped aside, the tip of his lance arcing up toward your chest. You batted the blade aside, stepped in, and took a major-league swing. He flicked his body back and your fist passed harmlessly in front of his face, ruffling his hair.

The follow-through carried you a few feet past him, and his lance sang after you. While you weren’t slow, you were also a power fighter-- your primary method of dealing with enemies was to punch them until they stopped moving. Iggy’s main technique was to effortlessly and elegantly demolish them. He was faster than Gladio, his weapon a blur, and when the edge caught your gauntlet just above your wrist you actually staggered.

Okay. You might love this man to distraction, but it was time to stop pulling your punches-- literally.

You clenched your fists and your gauntlets groaned. Ignis’ eyebrows rose, and then you were in his space. You slugged him in the abdomen, knocking him clear off his feet. He caught himself, partially on his lance and partially on one arm, and put distance between you with a few backflips. He felt his belly and winced.

“Not working so well now, is it?” You asked, raising a hand to him. “All I have to do is wallop you and the fancy stuff is useless.” The surge of pride you felt was tempered heavily by worry; what if you had really hurt him?

Ignis cut his cool green eyes up to yours. He rested his lance in the crook of his elbow, and his fingers went to the buttons of his vest.

Your mouth fell open, but you disguised it by pretending to yawn. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!

He made swift work of the vest and then the shirt under it, and you were obscenely distracted by the nimbleness of his hands, until both were hanging open.

He was just hot. That was all. He wasn’t actually trying to kill you by giving you some kind of aneurysm. You hoped.

And then his lance whacked you in the side of the head, because you had noticed there was a single drop of sweat sliding down his throat to roll lazily over his collarbone, and you sat down heavily.

Which was how you ended up sitting there, gazing up at the flush of exertion high on Ignis’ cheeks, the soft gasp of his breath as his shoulders rose and fell in gentle waves. He must have pushed himself very hard, to cross the distance so quickly.

This man. This caring, devoted, steel-willed, endlessly patient, intriguing man.

You loved him so much your chest ached.

You gathered your legs under you and tackled him. Your gauntlets has already dematerialized, so when your arms came around his neck you didn’t accidentally punch him in the back of the head.

Ignis made an astonished noise and over-balanced. His lance slipped out of his hand and disappeared as his arms came around your back, but it was too late, and he hit the floor with a grunt that was muffled by your lips. He went, somehow, redder.

You broke the kiss and leaned up a bit. He was frozen, crimson from his forehead to his throat, breathless. His glasses had begun to fog up from the proximity.

Smiling down at him, you scratched at the back of your neck. His wide eyes followed your fingers; always one with an eye for details, even when taken unawares. He swallowed audibly.

You leaned down. Ignis’ lips parted; he leaned up to meet you.

You rubbed the tip of your nose against his. He blinked owlishly.

And then you leaned your forehead on his. ".... I... uh.... I kind of love you. A lot." You shut your eyes; you said it, you finally said it, you could now die in peace. Never mind you were sitting on a sweaty, blushing Ignis. Who you really, really should let up. Like, now.

The post-head-trauma haziness was beginning to fade. You licked your lip; it tasted like lip balm.

...Wait. You just told Ignis you loved him. You had kissed him.

You jumped off of him like you’d been tazed, and the sudden motion brought with it a stabbing headache that just about knocked you unconscious.

Iggy's glasses slid down off his nose. He was obviously dumbfounded. You couldn’t recall his expression ever being quite so easy to read.

Haltingly, he reached out to touch your knee, stopping at the last second before his fingertips brushed your skin. Then he murmured in an awe-struck tone, “I never thought you would feel the same..."

You gawked at him. He gazed back, watching the gears in your head turn with titanic slowness. After about ten seconds of total silence broken only by the beating of your heart, your face and ears burned scarlet.

The moment he spotted the color flooding your face, a smile curled Ignis’ lips. Before he could stop it, he snorted with laughter and started giggling. “What a pair we make. Blushing like children…” He was laughing, and it was a sound that set your racing heart to skipping.

“So. Uh. You. Hmm.... Uhm. Would you mind... you know, saying, er, it?" You twisted your fingers like balloon animals in your lap. You did keep eye-contact, in spite of the overwhelming urge to look anywhere else. Ignis’ eyes kept you transfixed.

Iggy sighed fondly through his nose, the soft smile never leaving his face. He pushed himself up with a wince and walked over, offering a gloved hand. “I love you. I... am glad to finally be able to tell you my feelings, even if this confession was not… what I expected."

When you took his hand, he helped you to your feet but did not let go. Instead, he tipped your head up with a finger under your chin.

“While unexpected, please believe me when I say… all of this is most welcome.” Ignis leaned close, breathing his words against your lips. “Come now. You require medical attention. Once you have been seen to, we can talk about potential futures. I am sorry I hurt you.”

“I’m alright,” you said absently, and before you really meant to you were kissing him again, and Ignis made a warm noise of appreciation.

“I suppose a potion will suffice,” he muttered, then shook his head hard. “Head wounds are serious. We will see a doctor, and then…” Ignis blushed a bit. “I would like to take you to dinner.”

You mumbled what sounded like an affirmation against his mouth. He melted, pulling you closer. Reluctantly he broke the kiss. “You won’t sway me… If I must carry you out of here, I will.”

“Do we have to?” You whined. You wanted nothing more than to smother Ignis with kisses.

He had a singularly longing expression that communicated the same. “Once you have a clean bill of health, we can continue.” Lacing his fingers with yours, Ignis led you out of the gymnasium toward the Kingsglaive clinic.

[lucianhuntress]

Pure Gold - Chapter 2

Word count: 3349 Warnings: None, or slightly SFW. I dunno, lol.

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Prompto woke up early in the morning feeling a pain radiating in his neck. He tried massaging it at first, thinking that he had slept in a weird position and it was just a cramp. But it didn’t seem to help at all, it only made the pain grow worse. He quickly got up to look himself through the mirror, only to notice two red spots decorating his neck.

‘Where the hell did I get these?’ he thought. Now he had to wear something to hide the weird marks.

He wandered off to the empty kitchen. His parents were already gone for work, so he couldn’t really ask them about the mark. He took some painkillers to ease the aching in his neck and marched over to the fridge. He quickly fixed himself a healthy breakfast, mixing fruit and yoghurt into a bowl and returned back to his bedroom with his meal. Prompto sat down on his bed, wondering where he had hurt himself so bad.

‘Did Noct do something last night? No that can’t be right… Maybe a snake crawled in and bit me while I was asleep?’ his mind wandered as he thought all the possible options he knew of. ‘I wonder if Noct knows anything.’

He picked up his phone and readied the front camera to take a photo of the weird red dots on his neck. He hesitated for a moment. It would take a few hours if he wanted an answer from his best friend. Noctis was still most likely asleep and Prompto needed someone to talk to.

Ignis was always awake so early in the morning and he knew all sorts of things, he could have an idea what left such a mark during sleep. Prompto had just found him from his phone contacts and yet he hesitated again.

It could still be an accident and it would fade in time. It sounded better to wait for the evening and ask the guys at the exhibition. He paused briefly to check the mark again through the mirror and made a mental note to himself to visit a doctor if it grew worse.

Prompto decided to get dressed rather than spend his time pondering the weird wound. He had so much work to do before the exhibition anyway.

Your eyes flew open automatically, exactly at the same moment when the sun had cast its final rays before setting behind the horizon. Your room was completely dark, thanks to the darkened windows and sun-proof curtains in your room. No daylight could invade through the window and accidentally torch you in your sleep.

You let out a frail yawn and got up from the bed, stretching your arms and legs. The thirst for blood was already poking you, like it had been doing every twilight for the past 243 years. It was there. Always.

A polite knock from the door shrugged off the last remains of your sleep.

“I just woke up, what is it?” you asked with a rather raspy voice. You were startled by the sound of it, because your voice hadn’t rasped for those all years you had been a vampire. It had been always perfect.

“We’re getting ready for this gallery exhibition,” you heard Ravus informing from the other side of the door. “You should join us, maybe you’ll find yourself some entertainment.”

You marched to the door, wearing only your pajamas, “can’t we go to a club, like normal people? It’s Saturday anyway.” Ravus didn’t even flinch at the sight of seeing you in your pajamas. He was already fully dressed, now wearing a white dress shirt and black suit pants. You guessed he wasn’t going to go out to eat.

“I believe Ardyn caused quite a scene last weekend. And we could always enjoy a new piece of art, hanging on our living room wall,” Ravus said blankly. If you hadn’t known him for all those years, you’d be frightened by his stare and the lack of the ability to show emotions. “Besides, I’ve heard they serve wine in there as well.”

“Wine and art — lovely,” you sighed. Ravus loved collecting art and he had gathered a nice collection over the years. Ardyn in the other hand loved collecting art, if it secured his way into some poor artist’s bedroom.

“Well I guess I have nothing better to do anyway…”

“You don’t have to feed us tonight, little Y/N!” you heard Ardyn shouting from his bedroom. The scent of blood flowing through his slightly agape bedroom door sparked a fire in your stomach; he had been enjoying his breakfast and now you had to suffer because of it.

“And why is that?” you asked, drawing deep breaths to stop yourself from sprinting into Ardyn’s bedroom and to empty his girl of the remaining blood flowing through her veins. The thought of half naked Ardyn though kept you tightly in check. Your bloodlust weakened immediately.

“Well, we’re taking our dates with us,” Ravus said coldly and turned around swiftly. He marched back to his bedroom, leaving you standing in your doorway speechless. Ardyn’s devilish chuckle carried over to your ears from his bedroom. Moments like these made you feel like the enhanced hearing was more of a curse than a benefit.

You slammed the door behind and jumped back to your bed.

Noctis, Ignis and Gladiolus arrived at the gallery in the evening, when the exhibition was about to begin. Some early visitors had already gathered near the entrance, wearing stylish suits and tasteful evening gowns.

“This place surely knows it’s art,” Gladiolus whistled, leaving no doubt what he considered as “art”. Ignis and Noctis traded amused grins behind his back.

Prompto had been there all day, preparing the show with his fellow artists. Despite working all day, he wasn’t showing any signs of exhaustion. He felt great to finally accomplish something he had always dreamt of.

The bouncers finally started letting people in. Noctis, Gladiolus and Ignis waited in line, while Ignis held their invitations in his gloved hands. After a moment they were led into a white, open space. Polished hardwood floors gleamed in the gallery lightning and canvases hung on the walls, luring in curious gazes. Steadily arriving guests started admiring the work, while waiters served glasses of champagne and wine.

“I guess Prompto’s work is over there,” Ignis notified after taking an observant look of the space. He pointed to the direction, where he guessed Prompto’s shots were. And he was right.

“How do you know?” Gladio asked without much sacrificing his attention to the art. He was busy checking out the ladies and throwing them flirtatious smiles.

“I have seen his work,” Ignis said, furrowing his brows slightly. Only Ignis would actually take his time sucking in all the knowledge. And he loved admiring fine art. “Prompto might be a tad disappointed, if I am the only one recognizing his photos.”

“Fine, let’s go this way,” Noctis said, dragging Gladio along from his collar, “we need to check Prompto’s work first, you can check out the ladies later.”

Gladiolus sighed and shook off Noctis’s grip, muttering something in protest. They made their way to the area, where Prompto’s work was on display. Prompto was pacing agitatedly in front of his pictures, straightening the frames or discovering possible mistakes he had made. He was one anxious mess, despite it being one of the best days in his life.

“Hey, Prompto! We’re here,” Noctis said, his voice shifting from happy to worried in an instant. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Uh, you know… I’m here. This— is all real,” Prompto mumbled and flashed a shy smile, “this is way too real.”

Ignis and Gladio traded worried glances. “It’s fine, Prompto, everything looks nice!” Gladiolus said, trying to cheer him up. Prompto let out a half-hearted chuckle. He was still pacing around, swinging his arms restlessly.

“It really looks appealing,” Ignis said thoughtfully. He was studying the portraits with great interest, “this would definitely suit well with my living room decorations.”

“R-really?” Prompto gasped astounded. Ignis winked him with a reassuring smile and it calmed him down slightly. At least his friends enjoyed his pictures.

“So— can I go now? Ladies are waiting,” Gladiolus asked eagerly. Noctis nudged him warningly with his elbow.

“Guys, thanks for coming here. It means a lot to me,” Prompto managed to say, with a quiet snivel following his words.

“No problem,” Noctis said, giving him a thumbs-up.

Prompto smiled in relief. He felt his neck itching and he reached out his hand to scratch it, remembering the weird mark left in his skin. “Uh, guys… I know this is not the time but I’ve got a weird question…” he asked, wondering how he should express his worry. It had to be a bug bite, because there was no other way to explain it.

All three of them focused their eyes on Prompto, waiting eagerly to hear him out. Prompto smiled nervously, scratching the bite as gently as possible.

“So, I got this weird mark in my neck. I have no idea how it ended up there,” he managed to say. He pulled his collar down slightly to reveal the two red dots that made his skin itch and ache. He showed the mark for a few seconds and hid the weird spots under his dress shirt collar. “Any ideas? I hope it’s just a bug bite.”

“I’ve never seen anything quite like that,” Ignis said with his brows furrowed. Prompto felt his heart skipping a beat. “I guess it could be a bug bite — or maybe it was left by some other animal?”

“Hah, maybe you were bit by a vampire,” Noctis jested. Ignis gave him a warning glare.

“Y-you are j-j-joking!” Prompto panicked instantly. ‘Vampires don’t exist, right? Right?’

“I’ve actually met a few,” Gladio said with a serious tone, but shared a knowing smile with Noctis, while Prompto slammed his hands to his ears like a fearful child. Ignis rolled his eyes and let out a displeased groan.

“Vampires aren’t real,” Ignis informed bluntly.

“I hope you’re right,” Prompto cried. His gaze fell on the floor and he stood there, shoulders slumped and fingers curled into tight fists.

“Hey, it’s all right Prom,” Noctis said after Ignis had given him the face, that he should cheer Prompto  up. “If vampires existed they would’ve gone after Gladio already and they wouldn’t survive him!”

“For once, I totally agree with you Noct,” Gladio agreed. His arms were crossed and his eyes scanned every female guest’s body with great enthusiasm.

After a few hours preparing for the evening, Ravus had managed to find a cab. The cab was large enough to take you, Ravus, Ardyn and their dates to the exhibition. Ravus naturally took care of paying the ride — he glamoured the driver, and handed out the tickets to the bouncer at the door to the gallery.

Apparently Ravus’s date had pulled some strings and she had managed to get the tickets in time. Sneaking in the exhibition with glamouring would have been too risky around witnesses and his date was well known around Insomnia’s high society. It would have been a waste to not to use a connection like that.

You were wearing a simple, black dress with some tiny lace details for the evening, while Ardyn and Ravus wore black suits. They were drawing in some interested glances from the ladies in the gallery, but they were too invested in pleasing their dates that everyone else became secondary.

“Ah, how fascinating piece of art,” Ardyn said at the doorway. His eyes were fixated in some painting of a bleeding, naked woman. You rolled your eyes, not feeling surprised by his reaction. If a painting contained a woman, blood or wine, it was an instant winner in Ardyn’s eyes.

“Maybe we should check it out?” Ardyn’s blonde date suggested. She was holding his hand, completely giving all her attention to him. Ardyn was always so shameless when it came down to glamouring; his girls treated him like a King.

“Good idea, kitten,” Ardyn said in smooth tone, snatching a glass of sparkling wine from a tray a waiter was serving.

“Get a room,” you grunted and crossed your arms.

“We’re going to see some other work,” Ravus informed. Ardyn bit his lip, looking slightly disappointed at the sudden loss of company. A glamoured girl wouldn’t be able to satisfy his needs for a good argument.

Oh, how much he loved to argue about art with Ravus.

“Yeah, I’m going to leave you two alone too,” you said. It would have been pain to be the third wheel anyway.

“Ah, fine. I think we could use a small break, right?” Ardyn cooed into the blonde girl’s ear suggestively. You rolled your eyes. “I’m feeling thirsty tonight.”

“I’m going now,” you said. Ardyn was already too lost in his bloodlust. They headed towards the restrooms, hand in hand. It was your cue to start exploring the gallery. The chances of finding some quality snack was definitely increased. The streets of Insomnia hadn’t been this lively in months.

And then it happened. The most sweet and tempting scent clouded your senses, arousing the thirsty creature of night in you. It was the same scent as it had been the night before. It made you so hungry, that you could have easily lost control of yourself in the gallery full of humans. Their tipsy hearts created lovely thuds, echoing in your ears.

It took all of your strength to keep your cool and not to cause another mess. Your eyes scanned the room for the source of the maddening scent.

It had to be him.

Your eyes locked into the blonde guy you had feasted upon last night. ‘How lucky that we meet again,’ you thought, already lost in the craving for his blood.

Prompto noticed you. Anyone with enhanced hearing could hear how the blood in his veins started roaring when he laid his eyes upon you. A small seductive smile played on your lips, when your eyes met.

Gladio had made his escape and was off somewhere flirting with women. Ignis was carefully examining every single piece of art he managed to find and Noctis had decided to stay with Prompto. His ultimate goal being to help Prompto find someone to grab a coffee with.

“She’s pretty,” Prompto said briefly. Noctis stared into the direction Prompto had discreetly nodded. Noctis had been previously suggesting girls for him that Gladio hadn’t managed to flirt with yet.

“Maybe you should ask her for a cup of coffee?” Noctis suggested.

“I-I can’t do that!” Prompto yelped, earning curious glances from the guests standing nearby. His face flushed red in an instant. “S-she might be taken o-or something!” he whispered to Noctis, avoiding the extra attention his shouting had gained.

“Well, you won’t know that, unless you ask her,” Noctis answered with a wry smile, “or maybe I should ask her out?”

“N-no don’t. I-I’ll try greeting her,” Prompto swallowed. He gave the most reassuring look he managed to pull in the situation. “Like soon, real soon!”

“Clock’s ticking,” Noctis warned cunningly.

You made your way over to Prompto’s exhibition, making sure that he didn’t see you stealing glances at him. He looked cute in his suit and you couldn’t help but to notice that his collar was slightly pulled up. A devilish grin spread over your face, because you knew it was you, who had marked him.

You decided to look busy, giving your attention to one of the pictures he had taken. Oddly enough you felt a warm and cozy wave washing over your body. The picture was of a sunset, taken somewhere outside of Insomnia.

The picture almost hypnotized you, waking up long lost memories and feelings from your life as a human. ‘When was the last time I saw a sunset?’ you thought, having no idea that Prompto was slowly approaching you. He was mentally preparing himself as he walked, while Noctis smiled smugly from a distance and observed the situation.

“H-hey, you,” Prompto said, glancing nervously at Noctis. He waved in response, trying to boost up Prompto’s confidence. You pulled yourself back from the sudden flood of memories, focusing your eyes to meet his. He blushed. Hard.

“Evening,” you answered and batted your eyelashes endearingly at him. He looked even better up close and the scent was there, driving you mad. There was something different about him now, something you hadn’t picked up last time you were trying to suck his blood out of his body.

“Uh, you enjoy this— photo?” Prompto asked nervously. He was trying so hard to come up with subjects to talk about but his mind had gone void from any appropriate ideas. Just seeing you up close had erased all the stuff he had planned to talk about. He avoided your gaze, his eyes fixated on the photo you had been previously staring.

“Yes, it fascinates me greatly,” you said, still staring at him intensively. His freckled face had now a sweet blush and his heart was racing, making loud thumps deafen your ears from everything else in the room.

Prompto hesitated. He slowly turned his eyes to meet yours again and a sudden, eerie feeling made him even more nervous. “Have we met before?” he questioned, furrowing his brows.

‘She looks so familiar, but I have no idea who she is.’

“I don’t think so. I am quite new in Insomnia,” you answered. You realized that you had been holding your breath, despite that you didn’t need to actually breathe. You had to question your skills with glamouring, as it had worked perfectly on the guy Ravus had brought you for dinner the day before. How on Eos was he able to remember you?

“Oh? My bad then,” Prompto sighed, “you just looked like I’ve seen you before.” He had forgotten his anxiousness and talked to a girl. His pulse calmed down slightly and it helped you relax more. If it had been just the two of you in the gallery—, well, —he would be pretty much drained empty already.

“Yeah, it’s my first time in a while visiting an exhibition,” you said with a warm smile. Actually the last time you had visited an exhibition was about 38 years ago. “I don’t usually enjoy viewing art — but this piece here,” you said in soft and calm tone, while nodding towards the sunset photo, “it’s literally warming my heart.”

“Really?” Prompto gasped bemused.

You slowly turned your eyes to meet his, “I haven’t seen anything like this in a while.” Prompto smiled in relief. It sent butterflies flutter in your stomach and you had never felt so… warm and fuzzy before.  “Do you like it?” you asked quietly, suddenly flustered about the new sensation. Prompto looked like he was taken aback of the question.

“It’s actually one of my favourites,” he admitted, face turning again beet red. You heard his pulse picking up speed again. Somehow you managed to suppress the growing hunger in you. “The contrast is just mind blowing and I was so lucky to get that bird into the setting.”

He wasn’t even stuttering with his words anymore. He was so passionate about his own work, that you felt impressed. It was your turn to be taken aback. Prompto flashed an unsure smile at you, making your heart skip a beat.

Since when did your heart beat?

“Uh, excuse me…  I need to leave,” you muttered anxiously. Your mind was buzzing with weird thoughts of how someone was making you feel things, things that should’ve been buried deep into that soil where your body was once laid.

“Did I say something wrong?” Prompto asked, but you were already hurrying towards the front door. He was left dumbfounded, standing in front of the picture you both had been admiring. His heart making sad thuds, still drumming in your ears.

“I didn’t even get to ask your name,” Prompto frowned, feeling totally defeated.

[snbazanina]

Hobbit/Lord of the Rings au?

(Hello sweet anon! Mod Dokie here

We were stuck on this for a month because nobody read a book about this and in my case, I only watched the movies and I didn’t feel to much confident to play with Tolkien’s world. But we received the help of @daveykonatta we were able to finish this! So here you are

LoTR AU

Cast things

Nina lives in a hidden village next to otherdescendants of dragons, since they fear to be annihilated due to the acts oftheir ancestors. She decided to go outside to work and help his mother, but shestill does not know how to control her dragon transformation. One day during anambush of orcs she accidentally transformed in front of other people, so sheflee away to take refuge in Fangorn.

Favaro is a ranger who works with the Dunedain andoccasionally brings information to the elves. While he was in Rohan, he beganto hear rumors about a dragon that lived in the forest. After going to checkthe stories, he found Nina and decided to teach her to work alone like him andkeep her secret safe.

Charioce crowned himself and ignored the bond thatprevious king maintained with the kingdoms of Gondor and Rohan and now he isconquering one by one the kingdoms of middle earth to have slaves to buildwalls and soldiers that serve him in change of their lives to have the power tochallenge Sauron. In secret he desires the ring, so he wants to weaken Sauronto keep it.

Lucifer is the king of the demons and Azazel his righthand. His kingdom has no alliances as they trade weapons made with curses toany kingdom that asks. When they were attacked by the king Charioce, Luciferretired and decided to wait until Charioce is defeated by Sauron, since he doesnot believe that him has the strength to face the power of the ring alone.

Kaisar used to be the captain of his own division andserved King Charioce, but after being ordered to destroy a village with humansand demons, he understood that his king was being slowly consume by the desireof power, so he was expelled after refusing to obey.

Jeanne is the most recognized captain among men andwants to destroy the ring so that it does not corrupt the men. Her son Mugarowas kidnapped by the orcs in an act of revenge. She still seeks him wheneverthey destroy the fortresses of their enemies. During one of her missions shereceived help from Kaisar and offered him to join the squadron.

Rita was the apprentice of Saruman, until shediscovered his alliance with Sauron. She lived in the black forest practicingthe dark arts she learned, until she got tired of being alone and after meetingKaisar, she decided to follow him to help wounded and sick soldiers.

Azazel did not agree with Lucifer and decided to fleeto assassinate Charioce and all the men under his command. He also feelstempted by the ring to regain the demonic capital to see his brother in thethrone again and free the demons, the only thing that keeps his mind occupiedis his desire to kill Charioce. After taking refuge in Caradhras and beingattacked by huargs and orcs, he encountered a human child that was being heldprisoner without knowing that he was the son of Jeanne.

AzaNina things

Nina became a close friend with the Ents. She’salways climbing on their heads and protecting them from all danger near theforest.

One day, the Ents realize there are two intruders inthe forest, so Nina has to go and investigate. She finds Mugaro and an woundedAzazel trying to hide in a cave.

Nina was ready to kick them out of the forest butMugaro asks her to help him because doesn’t want Azazel to die. She hesitates alittle because the Ents doesn’t like strangers but in the end she agrees toleave them stay until Azazel heal his wounds.

The Ents aren’t agreeing with Nina’s decision butthey trust her so they let them stay. They send Nina to watch them and makesure they won’t do anything to the forest. She begins to bond with them thanksto that, especially with Mugaro because Azazel doesn’t trust her and is alwaysfighting her.

One day, a horde of orcs enters in the forest tokill Mugaro and Azazel. Nina notices it and turns into a dragon to protect herhome. That was the first time that Azazel realizes that she’s a dragon.

After it, Azazel think would be a good idea to havea dragon in his side for his fight. He talks to Nina about it and first sherejected his offer, but he was able to convince her after saying that she canclean dragon’s name if she helps him.

Ents weren’t agree when Nina said them she’ll leaveFangorn. They threatened Azazel to find him if something bad happens to Nina.

They began their journey together and passed betweendifferent cities and towns, releasing the demons enslaved there. Some of themended up to joining Azazel’s army for his fight against Charioce.

In first place, Nina was too ignorant about Azazel’sintentions and ideals, and she was only doing this for clean dragon’s idea ofthe people; but after see how humanity treat demons she started to fight notonly for her, for them too.

Nina doesn’t feel tempted by the ring’s power so she’salways brings Azazel to real world when he’s tempted by the ring’s power.

[themastercylinder]

SUMMARY

The film opens as Rose is found drifting alone in a small rowboat. Two fishermen find it and pull her onto their own boat, barely alive and in a horrible state. Her voiceover indicates she had been rescued from some terrifying experience and the film’s events are flashbacks of it.

Rose is part of a group of tourists on a small commercial boat. The Captain and his mate, Keith, share a fondness for Rose. Also on board are Dobbs, who is the boat’s cook; Chuck, another tourist; and a bickering married couple named Norman and Beverly. After trouble with the engine, the navigation system goes haywire when they encounter a strange orange haze. The others sense that something is wrong. Norman in particular becomes abrasive. In the darkness of night, a hulking ship suddenly appears and sideswipes their boat. The Captain sends up a flare, which momentarily lights up the eerie sight of a huge, rotting vessel wrecked nearby.

The next morning, everyone wakes to find the Captain missing. Realizing the boat is slowly taking on water, everyone evacuates in the lifeboat and makes for a nearby island. They see the huge wreck in the light of day; it appears to have been there for decades, nothing more than a skeletal framework, and now seemingly immobile, stranded on the island’s reef. The group is startled to find the body of the Captain, apparently drowned while he was trying to check the underside of the boat for damage. They explore the island and discover a large, rundown hotel. At first they think it is deserted, but they discover a reclusive old man living there.

The man seems alarmed by their story, and he goes down to the beach to personally investigate. Under the water, strange zombie-like men gather, walking from the wreck along the ocean floor to the island. As Dobbs gathers items to help prepare food, the zombies corner him in the water and one of them attacks; before it kills him, Dobbs falls in a cluster of sea urchins and is horribly mangled. Rose discovers his body while swimming. Back inside the hotel, their reluctant host tells them that he was a Nazi commander in charge of the “Death Corps”, a group of aquatic zombies. The creatures were intended to be a powerful weapon for the Nazis, but they proved too difficult to control. When Germany lost the war, he sunk their ship. Knowing the zombies have returned, he says they are doomed. The Commander goes down to the beach again and sees a few of the zombies off in the distance; they refuse to obey and drown him.

The others locate a boat that the Commander told them about and pilot it out through the streams to the open water. They lose control of the boat, and it sails away from them, empty. A zombie drowns Norman in a stream, and another chases Rose back to the hotel, where she kills it by pulling off its goggles. Chuck, Beverly, and Keith return to the hotel, and they barricade themselves in the refrigerator unit. The close quarters and stress cause the survivors to begin infighting, and Chuck accidentally fires a flare gun, blinding Beverly. Keith and Rose escape to an old furnace room, where they hide inside two metal grates, while Beverly hides in a closet. The zombies drown Chuck in a swimming pool outside.

The next morning, Keith and Rose discover Beverly dead, drowned in a large fish tank. Now on their own, they try to escape in a small sightseeing rowboat with a glass bottom. The zombies attack, and although Keith manages to defeat one by pulling off its goggles, a second one grabs him and drowns him just as the dinghy breaches the reef and drifts free. Rose sees Keith’s lifeless body pressed up against the glass bottom of the boat and screams.

The film comes full circle, and Rose’s voice over returns. She is now in a hospital bed, seemingly writing in a journal. Her dialogue begins to repeat itself over and over, and she is revealed to be writing nonsense in her journal, showing that she has gone insane.

Peter Cushing & Fred Olen Ray

  BEHIND THE SCENES

Wiederhorn didn’t have much budget to work with on Shock Waves, but still managed to find intriguing, inexpensive ways to complete his first feature film, shooting everything in 35 days in 1975 although it wasn’t theatrically released until 1977. He was limited in how he could use Cushing and Carradine, whose contracts only accounted for four shooting days (both actors earned just $5000 each). He was able to secure a permit to film on the SS Sapona — a concrete-hulled cargo steamer which ran aground during a hurricane near Bimini in 1926 — and the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida, was rented for $250 per day, which was abandoned at the time.

Wiederhorn employed two cinematographers — Reuben Trane above the water, and Irving Pare below — who shot on 16mm (which was then blown up to 35mm for theatrical prints, accounting for the film’s grainy look).

  KEN WIEDERHORN INTERVIEW

I want to ask you first, does the idea of talking about SHOCK WAVES and revisiting this title excite you still? How do you feel today about the film’s legacy and your role in horror history?

KEN WIEDERHORN: I love the film because it’s the movie that keeps on giving

Do you mean that in a financial sense or otherwise?

WIEDERHORN: In the financial sense. When you make your first film, little do you know that it’s going to follow you around for the rest of your life and keep putting money in your pocket so that’s always a very nice feeling. I’m delighted when anything happens with SHOCK WAVES

Were you born and raised in Florida?

WIEDERHORN: No I’m from New York.

Ok, so how does a New Yorker end up in Florida with Peter Cushing and John Carradine?

WIEDERHORN: I was working as an assistant film editor for a documentarian who had also made some feature films and somehow he wound up being appointed the head of the film program at Columbia and he said well if you’re interested in taking some more courses let’s talk about it. I’m pretty sure I can get you into the film program’. He in fact did that. So I have an MFA with no undergraduate degree. Anyway, there I met Reuben Trane who is from Florida who was also in the films program and we partnered on our thesis film which was called MANHATTAN MELODY and that won the first Motion Picture Academy Student Film Award. Then Reuben decided that he wanted try his hand at producing a low budget film and raised some money. The investors said basically we’re fine with this as long as you guys make a horror movie because we heard that horror movies always make their money back so that’s how that happened. He raised a couple hundred thousand dollars and I drove down to Florida and we figured out how to do it there

Why a zombie movie? Or did you even think of the Nazi ghouls as zombies when you were coming up with this idea?

WIEDERHORN: I was not necessarily a horror aficionado. I really worked in the cutting room and was coming up that way. I was still very much thinking that I was going to become a producer at CBS news so I can’t say that I came to it with a great deal of interest or expertise in the horror genre. I simply went looking for material. I found a book called The Morning of the Magicians which purports to tell about the Nazi belief in the supernatural and in reading that book somehow I thought, ok this makes sense. We knew we were going to shoot the film in Florida. Reuben knew his way around boats, we were going to be in Miami so the water element came in and I suddenly had a vision of Nazis attacking Miami Beach which could be quite humorous. See, the thing for me about horror is that it always walks the line with comedy so you have to be very careful to make sure you’re on one side of that or the other so I thought, no, we can’t go in that direction. That led me to thinking about soldiers underwater and one thing led to another and with the help of a few joints we came up with the idea of underwater Nazi zombies!

Even if you haven’t seen SHOCK WAVES, you know the art and you know those creatures which have been riffed on several times in several films but there’s a look to them. Alan Ormsby did the makeup FX and the Nazis remind me of his work on Bob Clark’s DEATHDREAM, Did you give Ormsby much guidance when it came to creating these creatures?

WIEDERHORN: I hadn’t seen DEATHDREAM and I still haven’t seen it so I had nothing to relate to in Ormsby’s background. I know he had worked on a movie called CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS. Listen, when you’re in Miami, you don’t have a lot of choices in terms of crew and people to help you imagine the film so I was delighted to meet Alan because I felt we were very like-minded. He thought the film would be very problematic because one requirement was that the makeup had to withstand exposure to water. We didn’t want to get bogged down with it washing off and having to re-apply it eight times a day so he very brilliantly came up with a solution for that and it was amazing how that makeup withstood the constant submersions those guys had to make. Now as far as the details of the makeup, I know that we already decided that we wanted to make their vulnerability be exposure to light so hence the goggles and we wanted to make sure they were blonde and that came about primarily because we got a deal with a Cuban beauty school in Miami to take the guys and strip the colour out of the hair with bleach and that was affordable and doable and that’s what defined that. But Alan certainly, I would say was ninety percent responsible for the look of the zombies.

Obviously people that love SHOCK WAVES always cite the heavy dense atmosphere that the movie trades in. Talk about that eerie ruined boat. Did you find the boat first and make the movie around it?

WIEDERHORN: The wreck is off one of the Bahamian islands so we could get there easily enough from Miami. Somebody had a chart of wrecks in the south Florida area that was more oriented towards treasure hunting and somehow this wreck was marked on the map and we investigated it and discovered it was an old World War II cement ship. The hull of the ship was actually made from cement. We saw pictures of it and we thought ok that will do and that was that.

Did the script reflect that they would run into some sort of ruin or did the ruin end up being written into the script because of the existing wreck?

WIEDERHORN: No, the script was always scripted that way.

Is the boat still there do you know?

WIEDERHORN: As far as I know.

Amazing. The other key element of the film is Richard Einhorn’s minimalist music. Was Richard your choice or was be brought to you?

WIEDERHORN: Richard was also at Columbia and he was studying with a professor whose specialty was electronic music. So I went to the department head and said I’m looking for somebody who can do electronics for a horror movie score and Richard was one of the people who they recommended and we sat down and talked. I thought he would do a terrific job and I think he did. I think that the movie owes much to its music.

It sure does and you used Richard again for “EYES OF A STRANGER as well didn’t you?

WIEDERHORN: Yep and then used him again for the last film I made called A HOUSE IN THE HILLS

He went on to quite an illustrious career as a composer…

WIEDERHORN: He’s more of a serious classical modern composer and he’s done all orchestral score for JOAN OF ARC and he’s very active in New York. Richard was always my first choice for anything I was doing.

Now we’ve got to talk about Peter Cushing. This is, I think, one of his last notable horror roles…

WIEDERHORN: Ah yes, Peter. The horror movies that I actually knew were Hammer films. Why that is, I don’t know but I knew quite a number of the Hammer films and what appealed to me about them was that they really relied on story to some degree. But even more importantly, atmosphere and quality of acting. They were well produced and they were able to work on that level. So I very much had that in mind. We knew going on that we did not want to get into a lot of bloody special FX because we were making a low budget movie and it seemed to me that the way to succeed was not to become overly ambitious. To really make sure that what we were doing was something that we could in fact do. So the element that cost the least is all the elements of building suspense. I look at the film today and parts of it seem terribly slow to me but I understand and I see how at the time it worked in its way. It certainly worked because what I hear from people telling me about their experience of seeing the movie when they were 13 years old on late night TV is that when you’re channel surfing, this film stands out because it looks different. I personally really hated the locations because they were really difficult to work in terms of physical comfort. It was hot, it was humid and we would have to cover ourselves with mosquito repellent several times a day. There were sharks swimming in the water that we were working in Biscayne Bay so I think that worked for the film. I wasn’t the only one having a difficult time with the physical element that we were working it.

But back to Cushing, his nickname while making the Hammer films was “Props” Cushing because he would always find a way to work the surrounding props into his performance. Did you see any evidence of that in his work? Was he resourceful that way?

WIEDERHORN: The only prop I think he had was a cigarette holder that he used. He gave me a preview of the accent and I thought well it’s not really a German accent but it’s an accent so it’s fine. The great thing about Cushing was that he was very giving and very professional and even though he probably saw a lot of us walking into walls during the day, he was helpful and extended himself in ways that I certainly didn’t expect. In fact one day I was trying to figure out how to set up a shot on a beach somewhere and he was always available and he was always nearby, it’s not like between takes he went off and sat in his trailer, he was very available. So he’s watching me having a problem figuring things out and he gets my attention and motions me over and he says “Dear boy may I make a suggestion?” and I said “Sure Peter, what?” he says “I think if you move the camera a little bit off to the right and you lower the frame a bit you’ll get what you’re looking for and damn, he was right! I realized this is a guy who’s had more set experience than most of the directors he’s probably worked with and I knew that he was observant to what was going on. He was watching and so whenever we were ready, he was always ready. Whereas Carradine who came from a different discipline entirely and probably had been in four times as many movies as Cushing was in, he didn’t want to know about anything except what’s my line, where do I stand and when can I get the hell out of here.

Peter’s wife passed in 1970 and apparently those who worked with him around this period said he almost had a death wish. He always talked about her in a very morbid way. Was he a melancholy guy did you notice? Was that evident at all?

WIEDERHORN: I would say no. I do know about the wife but all I can tell you is that he was very open and frank about the fact that he would communicate with her through various mediums.

Have you seen any evidence of SHOCK WAVE’s influence in any other films or pop art?

WIEDERHORN: Well, people have pointed out to me that there is a whole collection of Nazi zombie movies now and I really have no idea if SHOCK WAVES had anything to do with that or not, that’s for other people to figure out. Other than that. I know it happens that there are references made to it. Somebody sent me a mystery show where SHOCK WAVES was a central part of the plot…

What about a remake? Since everything even borderline cult has been remade or is in the process of being remade, there must be somebody knocking on your door to try and do a remake of SHOCK WAVES…

WIEDERHORN: Yeah, I get that knock on the door a couple of times a year but frankly it’s usually ‘let us take an option and give us two years and we’ll see if we can get something done and I’ve been around that track many times and I figure if somebody is really serious about remaking it or doing a sequel in some way it will either happen or not. I don’t really have any interest in doing it myself.

  This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Promotional and Advertising Material/Lobby Cards

  SOUNDTRACK/SCORE

Richard Einhorn’s haunting experimental, analog-synth score — one of the earliest electronic compositions created for film — is often singled out for its creative use.

SHOCK WAVES LP (Waxwork Records) Original Richard Einhorn Score

  CREDITS

Cast

Peter Cushing as SS Commander

Brooke Adams as Rose

John Carradine as Captain Ben Morris

Fred Buch as Chuck

Jack Davidson as Norman

Luke Halpin as Keith

J. Sidney as Beverly

Don Stout as Dobbs

Directed by   Ken Wiederhorn

Produced by Reuben Trane

Written by    

Ken Wiederhorn John Kent Harrison

  REFERENCES and SOURCES

Delirium Issue 005

Shock Waves (1977) Retrospective SUMMARY The film opens as Rose is found drifting alone in a small rowboat. Two fishermen find it and pull her onto their own boat, barely alive and in a horrible state.

[pandabearlikes]

Story Archive Master Post

Chapter Stories

The Lucky One (completed)

Characters: You x Sehun  Genre: Romance, Angst, Drama, Family  Number of Chapters: 15 

Ten years of unrequited love.  One night that changed your life forever.   

Table of Contents:

I. One Night II. Shame III. Reunion IV. His Gift V. Pandora’s Box VI. Her Deal VII. Stuck in a Bubble VIII. Like an Hallucination IX. Warning X. “Yes” XI. Calm Before the Storm XII. Oh Youngwoo XIII. Omma XIV. One Night (Reprise) XV. Epilogue  

※ ※ ※

Cat and Mouse (completed)

Characters: Luhan x You x Chanyeol   Genre: Romance, Action, Drama, Angst   Number of Chapters: 7

You are a trained assassin.  He is a top ranking police officer.  

Table of Contents:

Forwards I. Heartbeat II. So Close III. Forgotten Souls IV. Replacement V. Decoy VI. Park Chanyeol VII. Epilogue

※ ※ ※

Temporary Affairs (completed)

Characters: You x Kai Genre: Romance, Light-Hearted Comedy, Fluff Number of Chapters: 17

In which Kim Jongin is your tall, dark, handsome, and sexy husband to be…of course…due to an arranged marriage…  

Table of Contents:

I. Mismatch II. Lee Sohee III. Puppet IV. Your Offer V. Lovesick VI. Lovesick II VII. Lovesick III VIII. Breathless IX. Chicken Feet X. The Ex XI. Sweet Potato Pie XII. Head Over Heels   XIII. Resolution XIV. For Better or For Worse XV. First Night XVI. The Fight XVII. It’s Okay, That’s Love 

※ ※ ※

Temporary Affairs II (completed)

Characters: You x Kai Genre: Romance, Angst, Fluff, Family Number of Chapters: 13

In which you married the man of your dreams, got pregnant with his child, yet still don’t really know if he loves you…  

Table of Contents:

I. Unasked Questions II. Lucky Charm III. Perfect Imperfection IV. The Fated and The Unexpected V. The Caretaker VI. Self-ie-conscious VII. Kim Yoona VIII. Those Three Words IX. His True Love X. Friends Not Foes XI. Little Miracle XII. The Proposal   XIII. Happiness

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still trying to figure out why these don’t work :( please bear with me.

Beautiful Distraction (completed)

Characters: You x Tao Genre: Romance, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Addiction Number of Chapters: 8

Disclaimer: This story may contain themes that may cause discomfort in younger readers (for example, sex and addiction).  

When reality is just too much and parts of you begin to slip away…

Table of Contents:

I. Distraction II. Illusion III. The Role IV. Addiction V. Consequences VI. You VII. Separate Universes VIII. Epilogue

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The Lucky One II (completed)

Characters: You x Sehun Genre: Romance, Angst, Slice of Life, Fluff, Family Number of Chapters: 22

One night that granted you a lifetime of blessings, happiness, sorrow, and heartbreaks with the love of your life.  

“I love you,” he spoke and you melted into his arms, believing every word, every syllable that slipped out of those soft lips.  

Table of Contents:

I. Oh Baby, Baby II. Our Little Adventure III. Birthday Surprise IV. Innocent Love V. Hidden VI. Abandoned Hearts VII. Surprise Present VIII. The Protector IX. Blood and Water X. Wake Up Call XI. The Half Truth XII. Maternal Instincts   XIII. Young Love XIV. Young Love II XV. Omma’s Martial Artist XVI. Sweetpea XVII. Formal Closure XVIII. It Was Perfect XIX. True Love XX. Pieces to a Whole XXI. Mending the Wounds XXII. Epilogue

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Skinny Love (completed)

Characters: Yoona (You) x Youngwoo (a.k.a. Kai’s daughter x Sehun’s son) Genre: Romance, Angst, Slice of Life, Fluff, Family, High School Drama Number of Chapters: 20

“When you’re around someone so much, for so long, they become a part of you and when they go away, you don’t know who you are without them”.

Table of Contents:

I. The Chase II. The Protector III. The Confession IV. Oh Youngji V. Realization VI. Maybe VII. First Love VIII. The Resolve IX. I Love You, Kim Yoona X. Painful Decision XI. The Break XII. Losing Him   XIII. Whenever It Rains XIV. When Love Falls XV. If We Are Together XVI. Separation XVII. To Have and To Hold XVIII. Telepathy XIX. Forever Yours XX. Art of Seduction

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One Thousand Years (completed)

Characters: You x Chanyeol Genre: Romance, Angst, Fantasy, Friendship Number of Chapters: 15

A thousand years of rain that span three lifetimes…When predestined enemies fall in love…invisible barriers are pushed aside.  A relationship doomed from the very beginning.  

Table of Contents:

I. The Bunny and The Wolf II. Predator Instincts III. Love IV. Love II V. Separation VI. Forbidden Love VII. Vows VIII. Inevitable Fate IX. One Thousand Years X. Melodies of Love XI. Jade Bunny XII. Home XIII. Forbidden Love (Reprise) XIV. Happy Ending XV. Epilogue

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Glass Flower (completed)

Characters: You x Suho Genre: Romance, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Family Number of Chapters: 7

Disclaimer: This story may contain themes that may cause discomfort in younger readers (for example, abuse).  

You were his flower and he was your water.

Table of Contents:

I. Invisibility II. Water and Flower III. Seed IV. Seed II V. Rebirth VI. Second Chance VII. Epilogue

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STORY MASTER ARCHIVE PART 2

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If some links don’t work on tumblr mobile app, please visit my Stories Back Up Tumblr I will try to organize it soon.