#they were afraid to make hunter culture different in many ways aside from the whole burial rituatls and the like

[rotzaprachim]

thinking about hunting subculture in uh the cw’s supernatural as something both fundamentally centered around the need to help people, to serve strangers, to put your life again and again in danger in order to save the lives of people you have never met and who will never thank you, and also as a culture profoundly rooted in violence and the cycle of violence and sexism and misogyny in which one generation’s assured early death is by nature of the job passed onto the next as inheritance in a form of intergenerational child sacrifice that, if they don’t do, means that hunting subculture dies out and looping back to the beginning those people aren’t saved those strangers aren’t alive 

[foxymuses]

how does your muse feel about not being cis or straight? are they content with it, proud, ashamed? would the situation be the same if the culture or surrounding support systems were different? (Dean)

it was very hard for dean to admit to himself that he may be bisexual. like, impossibly difficult. he was young, think like fourteen, when he first found himself attracted to a guy, and it’s not that he was afraid of john’s response (but he was) because of john being phobic or anything (which, you know, is up for debate). it was more that like... as much as one can within the hunting life, john was very traditional minded? like he often dismissed sam’s more emotional personality, and it’s canon that he fashioned dean essentially into an obedient solider, so dean kind of had this idea that like... being not-straight was Bad. which isn’t to say he thought of other sexual identities as bad in general, because even if he’s a little awkward around it, he accepts it. in fact, the awkwardness stems from his own refusal of his identity. but like, for instance when he’s trying to help charlie flirt with a guy to get into dick’s computer, and she admits that guys aren’t her thing, dean just rolls with it and continues to try to walk her through it. AND CAN WE FUCKING TALK ABOUT THE SIREN EPISODE PLEASE, like i know the siren was trying to give dean the ‘brother he wanted’ but come on. the fact that he chose to be a guy over the usual chick he’d been playing?

i digress. my point is that like, the only time dean was ever caught off guard or strange about someone’s sexual orientation is when it was in some way directed at him, even indirectly. for instance during fan episode where the musical literally included destiel and dean was like ‘what the fuck’, or when there was the spn convention at the hotel with chuck and dean was thrown off by the two guys who were pretending to be hunters being in a relationship. these things were not about dean, but they connected to him in a way, and that felt really weird to him, but otherwise, generally sexual orientation doesn’t matter as long as it’s about other people

so you know, he didn’t tell anyone about these feelings, aside from maybe a passing comment to bobby about his thoughts on the matter, which bobby casually was like ‘it don’t matter’, because you know bobby probably knew immediately what dean was getting at. but then he didn’t bring it up to anyone again, and that’s a large part of why he desperately slept around, had so many hookups, because he thought, you know, if he could sleep with a ton of girls, he could convince himself he was straight. i wouldn’t say he was necessarily ashamed of his feelings towards men, but more that he was scared of what it meant, worried it would ‘ruin’ his tough-guy act, make him seem weaker for some reason, because his whole life was about being strong and “manly” or whatever.

in fact, my personal headcanon is partly in line with the ship that i have with @gavrele but it’s that dean doesn’t even begin to acknowledge that he’s bisexual until like... however old he is in s13. at that point, you know, he’s getting older, he’s tired, he’s been through so much shit, he’s stopped having random hookups and one night stands, and if he weren’t a hunter, this is when he’d be ready to settle down with someone special and take it easy. so he’s got that mindset in that he’s mature enough, surrounded by people he mostly trusts, that maybe he can... start to be okay with it. but like 30+ years of denial don’t just go away over night, and, still referencing his relationship with gabe since that’s really the only solid ship dean has atm, things start off very small and secretive and behind closed doors or in the shadows, evolving slowly into being affectionate in front of other people, letting it be more obvious.

and some of this also explains why dean is bad at being vulnerable, why he doesn’t open up to emotions easily and has a hard time admitting he loves people, too. as he learns to accept his interest in men, he’s also slowly recovering that part of him that craves affection, that wants to be openly in love and happy and emotional. but as ever, it’s a slow process and i don’t know if he’ll ever be completely comfortable with labeling himself bisexual.

now, i do have a verse where dean was not raised to be a hunter, and he spent most of his childhood with bobby and ellen instead of john, and therefore he grows up openly bisexual, having had several boyfriends and girlfriends. i firmly believe that it’s the mindset of having to be a hunter, having to be strong and tough and hardhearted that affected his comfortability with the identity, and so having bobby as a firmer support, having more freedom in what to do with his life and what’s okay, it allows dean to be more open and vulnerable and accepting of his interest in men. so yeah, a different support system would totally change his views on the matter.

that got long sorry, but by god thank you for asking

[bellringermal]

What sort of man is Gerhman for you? (Same question as with Maria)

He is a handsome piece of trash and I love him. THE END.

Oh, if only things were that simple! :P I will try not to turn this post into the ramblings of a shameless fangirl but I promise you nothing.

What I want to clarify right here at the start is that Gehrman is, overall, a good man. Yes, he is flawed, yes he is a closet pervert and yes he never really felt guilty for the slaughter of Fishing Hamlet. But all of this is what makes him the more human and relatable character in the Soulsborne series in my opinion and what intrigued me in the first place.

So, lemme give you some juicy and 100% fanmade backstory for this bad boi :P

Gehrman’s character and personality are definitely the results of his upbringing. Born frail and sensitive, he was forced into martial training since a young age and denied to pursue what was probably his true calling in life, that of the artisan. He had to ‘grow up fast’ to help to sustain his family (Gehrman’s childhood/teenage years follow the disastrous conclusion of a war between Carim and a foreign nation) and because of that he never got the chance to assiduously attend school. When he got hired at Byrgenwerth as a handyman at the age of 16, he could barely read and write. This poorly paid job was for Gehrman a pivotal turning point, because it allowed him to escape the clutches of his overly strict father and gain access to a world of higher-cultured people such as the students and personnel of the college.

And as time went on and Gehrman proved himself a skilled and hard-working lad, he forged a long-lasting friendship with the college’s gatekeeper/janitor Edmund and the sinister but caring scholar Dores. These two, are easily the most influential people in his life beside Master Willem. Dores and Edmund encouraged him to get back to study, lending him books and laboratory equipment so that he could put his -rusty, but brilliant-  skills at use in his free time and asked Master Willem to grant him the permission to attend lessons alongside the students. Finally able to express himself without neglecting the martial training he got from his father, Gehrman quickly became essential to Byrgenwerth as a whole, serving both as a groundskeeper (and trust me, you need someone like that when your college is located in the middle of a damn forest!) and custodian. Everything that ever mattered to him, everything good that ever happened to him and that gave Gehrman some sense of pride or accomplishment was tied to Byrgenwerth and to the benevolence of Master Willem who provided him a place where to stay in exchange for his services. No wonder the soon-to-be First Hunter would become fiercely loyal to the Byrgenwerth’s cause to the point of self-detriment.

When the scholars unlocked the entrance to the Tomb of the Gods and faced the horrors of the Labyrinths for the very first time, Gehrman was right in the front line, clueless an unprepared. That first ‘hunt’, that resulted in dozens of students getting killed and our ‘hero’ crippled and scarred for life, was an experience so horrifying and traumatizing that most people would’ve just called it quits “Fuck the college, I’m outta here, I don’t get paid enough for getting my face eat by giant undead werewolves”-style. But Gehrman, somehow, probably out of fear of losing everything he ever cared about now that Willem considered him useless because of his injury, endured. He swore to himself he would find a way to fight the beasts and vanquish them and as his leg healed after the amputation he spent months researching and tinkering with weapons at his (at the time, quite small and disorganized) worktable. During that time, Willem hired several groups of mercenaries hoping that they would be able to clear at least the first floor of the Chalice but obtained no concrete results. Still bound to his wheelchair, Gehrman observed their equipment and strategies, trying to grasp what those experienced warriors were doing wrong and what he himself would do wrong in following his father’s teachings. Once able to stand on his two legs once again, Gehrman asked the captain of the mercenaries to listen to him, offering some advice and explaining what he had learned from the Pthumerian texts Dores was able to translate. The mercenary scoffed him at first, but then decided to listen to what the young man had to say and asked him for a demonstration. Impressed by the rudimental but quite efficient trick weapon (Gehrman’s first creation was the Saif, in my headcanons. Not the Burial Blade) the captain allowed Gehrman to train with his men and share his knowledge and tricks with them. The next expedition in the Chalices would be their biggest success so far and that very night Gehrman would come back to the college with a wide smile on his blood-smeared face and the severed head of a Scourge Beast as a trophy. He was 24 years old :3

But the real story begins almost 20 years later. 20 years that Gehrman spent devoting himself to the Hunt completely, perfecting his techniques, forging new weapons and taking the place of the captain of the mercenaries becoming, in fact, the Hunter Chief of the group, now composed of more than thirty members, all students of his. He came from nothing and crawled his way up to the top, taking pride in his accomplishments despite the fact that he had to put aside everything else, including his private life (which had been quite depressing and lonely since his childhood friend, Therese, married someone else) and with the constant awareness that everything he has is still just a kind concession of Master Willem and that he could lose everything in the blink of an eye. His workshop, his money, even his comfy studio filled with mechanical creations, everything belongs to Byrgenwerth.

Even now, as a grown-ass man with a reputation and devoted students of his own, Gehrman is still very much the same insecure boy he was when he joined Byrgenwerth. He still holds a grudge towards his father (it’s a mutual thing) is a walking disaster around women, is very dependable on Dores and Edmund and never questions Master Willem’s orders, not even the more despicable ones. And trust me, Willem often asked him, Dores and Edmund to do things that are, to put it simply, quite fucked up. For science, of course.

Overall, Gehrman means well. He does his best, tries to be impartial when it comes to his students and genuinely cares about their safety and well-being. He has seen many of them die in the course of his career and always blamed himself for their demise. Even if they signed up a contract knowing what they were getting into, that doesn’t make the departure of a colleague or friend any less painful for him, reason why he takes upon himself the responsibility of finishing off his students on the battlefield if there’s nothing that can be done for them. He is a really demanding teacher (which reminds him of how his father used to treat him and Gehrman kinda hates himself because of that. Yep, he definitely has daddy issues) and someone who wouldn’t hesitate to kick you out if you don’t behave, but he would do this only because he doesn’t want to see you dead.

Surprisingly, all the above also applies to Maria. No matter how much into her he is, during training, he never treated her differently than his other students. Never went easy on her because of her higher social status or the simple fact that she is a woman. (I mean, Gratia, Izzy and Henriett are women as well and they know that Gehrman doesn’t give a damn and they are glad he doesn’t.)

Speaking of which, it’s time to make this post even longer and spend a few words on Gehrman’s mania. He immediately found Maria extremely attractive since their very first encounter, and in a genuinely perverted way at that. He immediately had his mind filled with all sort of naughty thoughts while his reasonable side was there to remind him to “keep dreaming bro, that ain’t going to happen”. And at first, he was kinda okay with that. No matter how beautiful she was, Maria was a real pain in the ass at first and not someone Gehrman would’ve wanted to form any sort of relationship with. So his thoughts were, for quite some time, just thoughts. And not even particularly intrusive ones. But as time went by, the more he got to know Maria the more he realized that she was literally everything he ever looked for in a woman. That was the moment the whole drama began because at that point he became afraid of what Maria would’ve thought of him if she ever found out about his infatuation with her.

That is the point in the story when he began to hide, lie and avoid her while still dying to see her. This part is my favorite because Gehrman is very conflicted and does a bunch of dumb shit in pure cheesy Period Drama style. The worst thing he does is probably idealizing Maria beyond belief, putting her on a pedestal where no one (not even himself) can touch her while gloating about the idea that he is the one responsible for her talent. Which is relatively true, but doesn’t excuse the ‘ownership’ he claims over her skills. On a good note, he is very aware of how twisted his feelings have become and feels guilty about it, reason why he acts cold and distant towards Maria. A behavior that doesn’t fit with that of the other hunters who are now friendly and well-disposed towards her at this point in the story.

His internal turmoil is the reason why I do find Maria’s reaction to his extorted confession absolutely brilliant (props to Daisy who wrote it

Now, I could keep on rambling about these two for hours and about how the Old Blood and its effects on them (and the setting) affected the story but this post is already TOO long XD

[its-btrz-blog]

Six of Crows (by Leigh Bardugo) Book Review

Six of Crows is the first of two books in a new duology by Leigh Bardugo, published between 2015 and 2016 by Henry Holt and Company, the second book being Crooked Kingdom. It is set in the Grisha universe, the same as the Shadow and Bone trilogy by the same author.

What made me want to read it:

Both books have been well voted in the YA Fantasy Category of the Goodreads Choice Awards and have been praised to hell and back. Everyone seems to love it. In addition, after reading Shadow and Bone, and more or less enjoying it and being drawn to the universe, knowing there were two more books set there that everyone said were much better, I had to come read it.

What is it about (no spoilers):

In the city of Ketterdam, Kaz Brekker, known as Dirtyhands, is part of a street gang called the Dregs. His reputation gets him an impossibly dangerous job offer: to break into an impenetrable fortress in a hostile country and retrieve a high security hostage. To do so, he will to reunite a crew who can help him pull it off, enticed by a very high reward.

What I thought about it (no spoilers):

First of all, I have to say, I thought this was much better than Shadow and Bone. I really liked the world building on that one, but the whole chosen one saves the world plus a love triangle is a bit overdone already, in my opinion, and while it was entertaining I wouldn't say it became a favorite of mine.

Now this book, I think, managed to expand on that world building and take what it already had and create a good story upon it. I like that we have multiple nations, with individual languages and cultures (as I thought it had been a missed opportunity in the first series) and that we have characters from different backgrounds.

Now, on to the main characters. There are six of them, though only 5 get POV chapters, and I'll say right away that I thought their interactions felt real and were fun to read, and that each of them has their own motivations and their own development apart from the main plot. Which is a good thing.

OK, Kaz first. He's the main character, out of the six main cast. I'm going to say I didn't like him. I don't know exactly how to explain, but sometimes it seems a book is too much in love with their main character and so, tries to make the reader feel the same too, at the expense of it being very forced. He's 17, and he's already this super criminal, although he only started at about 15 or so (I think). That could be fine, he could be a really good manipulator and pick pocket and con artist. But it's the effort of making him the “demon” (as another main character calls him) and someone to be afraid of and make him too awesome that fails. We get enough scenes to see he's not really a (typical) hero or a good person . He's greedy, he has personal grudges, he targets innocents, people die and get hurt because of his actions. We see the plans he conceives, we see him being the gangster he's supposed to be so there really is no need to keep telling us (and exaggerating) what you are already showing, as the telling gets to be too much. Aside from that, which I think diminishes his character, there's my personal tastes, in that, I'm a bit over the bad boy with no feelings (they're just really hidden, but OK) thing. But if he were not put so much in a pedestal I think I would've liked him a bit better.

Moving on to the two girls in the crew: Inej and Nina. They are both strong characters on their own right and I have to say I liked them. Inej is known as the Wraith and is the best gatherer of intelligence of the gang, moving as a shadow and being good with knives. She's had her problems and now she's part of the Dregs and is loyal to Kaz and respected and liked by the crew. Despite her being a strong fighter, there is thankfully none of the “not like other girls” stuff nor she degrades things associated with female gender. Since this seems to be a trend with these types of characters, I was surprised with not seeing it here. Nina is a Grisha, who left Ravka after the Civil War in unpleasant circumstances. Being a Grisha, she is powerful and beautiful. She knows she's beautiful, she loves to eat, she's funny, she can flirt and she builds a friendship with Inej. Again, positive, since it's not usually how things happen in YA.

Mathias is an interesting character, morally speaking, having been a Grisha hunter, basically, and now struggling with his new position in life, that questions his core beliefs and the way he was brought up and educated. Love plays a part in it, but it's not in a love-fixes-all kind of thing and I actually like that despite everything he is, at his core, an honest person.

Wylan comes from a rich merchant's household and is, naturally, out of place among the band of misfits. He has however unexpected talents and a role as a type of hostage. Basically the naive kid among other kids who've been trained as soldiers and have had their circumstances turn them to rough street living with dangerous skills. Although we don't see that much of him, and he's not a POV character, I kind of liked him and am hoping to see more of him.

Finally there's Jesper. My favorite out of the six, and I guess, by now I know I will just like this type of character: deeply flawed with an addiction problem that he recognizes but can't easily get over, but who actually cares for the ones with whom he works (and it's clear they like him too) and sometimes feels under appreciated. He's part of the Dregs gang and good with guns. At first you don't really understand what someone with a noisy talent is doing in a stealthy operation but you soon see.

A note here: I like the grey morality of this series. Many characters are not good people, or do bad things while knowing that they're doing them. They don't always think of the “greater good” or of what is best for others or of who they're hurting and that's refreshing to see. Anything else would've been out of place. Of course, some of them are good people and do care about others, but even so, their actions are sometimes contrary to this.

As for the plot itself. I said the saving the world thing is getting old for me and I'm glad that we got to see this complex universe used for a different kind of story. Before we get to the operation itself we get a glimpse of the workings of Ketterdam's underworld and gang politics and I have to say that attracts me. As we move on and the pace picks up, you won't get many dull moments, since there's a good balance between action and in-between bits of  the characters' backstories, showing us more about who they are as individuals, what are their motivations and ultimately, what is at stake for them with the mission. It's thrilling to see the mission unfold, and how they deal with the unexpected obstacles that appear in their way, and the book transmits a sense of excitement in the reader. There is, however, a problem here, concerning this. Of course, as the mission goes on, many times something goes wrong and you're supposed to feel the tension and try to figure out how they're going to get out of it and be surprised when they come up with a clever solution. Only, you see, most of those times, it turns out things didn't really go wrong, it was totally planned, Kaz saw it coming and already told someone what's the plan (you didn't know because the POV character also didn't know or just decided not to think about about it) and that kind of drains the enjoyment of things. Like, fine, he's this super criminal genius and all, but deliberately hiding things from the reader, repeatedly, just for the surprise factor… meh, I feel cheated. I'd have rather known what the plan was and see the characters getting themselves out of the problem without there having been a hidden solution everyone but me, the reader, knew.

Then there's the romance. I feel like a senile old person repeating herself over and over, but romance just for the sake of it is… bland. There are many fantasy books out there who could still keep their story and appeal without the romance but at this point it justs seems a rule that every YA book needs romance. Every character needs to be in a romantic relationship by the end of a book/series. To me, personally, most of those romances aren't appealing and feel unnecessary and I know others who think the same. Friendships, rivalries and all kinds of relationships other than romance ARE appealing and interesting to read. But expanding on that and specifically, on this book. There are six main characters. Of them, 4 are already basically paired up since the beginning. Meaning, they are in love already and aren't together merely because there are still some obstacles (that will obviously be overcome next book) to the relationship. You don't really see them developing feelings for each other (in one case, there are some flashbacks but… well there are more important things to deal with then) you are just informed they are already there, and then get to know what are the impediments to their love. This isn't enough for me to get invested in these relationships. Incidentally, the two remaining characters will, of course, by the laws of YA, end up together, but although I saw it coming from the very beginning, I'll say that it's actually the relationship I care most for (or will, I don't know if they actually end up together yet, I just started the sequel, but as I said, laws of YA). Because, those characters only just got to know each other, and I can see the transition from strangers to forced acquaintance to eventual friends and whatever comes next. The fact that it was also not a speed-of-light romance (you know, I've known you for 2 weeks but you're the love of my life) also makes me like this more. Although reviews are of course subjective, this paragraph specifically deals more with my personal tastes on the matter, I guess. It doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book, only that this is a point that exasperated me when I read.

Conclusion:

I found it a very good book (4 stars) and to anyone who liked or found Shadow and Bone interesting, I definitely recommend it. To anyone who didn't read it/doesn't feel like doing it, although I think it's a good foundation in terms of world building (more on the Grisha front and backstory on their situation), I also recommend it, because I find it so different. It deals with a separate situation, it's less cliché overall (or less obvious about it) and the characters feel more real and likable. A narrative that escapes some of the tropes of the previous series and that manages an interesting story that makes a better use of the universe created.

In short, go read it.

[My review for this book can also be found here.]

[phenyxsnest]

Legend Debunkers

@awesomecat42 on Fan...demon: I'm not really that into bands or anything, but if you replaced BABBA with, say, the Mythbusters or something, this is exactly how I would react! Mythbusters... OMG SWEET GRUNKLE OF ALCOR YES YES YES!!! What if the TAU had it's own version of the Mythbusters and after the Transendence they also started busting myths about real supernatural things and magic and stuff cuz that stuff was real now and what if one time they summoned Alcor for a myth and you just know that adorable little nerd would totally geek out over the whole thing and everyone would just be like what even and this needs to be a thing and I really want to write this now but I can't write worth crap and please write this fic please please please I'LL GIVE YOU MY BLOOD!!!

Every so often, I manage to deliver. Goals for 2017: deliver on random fic requests.

On AO3 // On FF.net

Legend Debunkers had been on for years. It had a dedicated following and over three hundred episodes to its name, alongside a cemented, permanent spot in pop culture.

They'd moved on from urban legends a few seasons back, focusing on movie myths and viewer submissions for the most part, though occasionally returning to their roots. They were more than enough to keep the show going, even after the Transcendence hit and everything had changed, as people began to adjust.

But the viewer requests were changing, and there was a cry for help in most of them.

The world had changed, and suddenly many of the myths, the ones that were supposed to be superstitions or stories, were true. And people didn't know how to deal with that.

And while the hosts, Aaron and Jared, might not have known anything about magic, they did know science, and get enough of that and you could figure out just about anything.

Finding volunteers to help test some of them were going to be difficult. Neither host particularly wanted to do the myths that might end in someone getting hurt, even if said someone was supernatural. They and the build team might have taken stupid risks now and again in the heat of the moment, but keeping everyone involved safe was still important.

So no myths about 'does x hurt y' or 'will x part of y supernatural creature really do z', though they were considering testing ones like 'can vampires cross running water'.

It was a balancing act – which myths would help people, which would hurt people if it were common knowledge, and which ones would lead to Aaron and Jared being able to make things explode.

Plus, think of all the things they could blow up now that they had magic!

Of course, it took awhile to get all of it going. The production team had to find experts in the area of magic, and those weren't exactly thick on the ground just yet. Despite everything, some things really just couldn't be tested without an expert around, and magic wasn't understood enough yet to mess with.

With magic so new to the rest of the world, most of the people who knew anything about magic had been the weirdos in the old world, witches or freaks or crackpots, and some of them were still bitter enough about how they'd been treated to refuse to share their knowledge with others yet.

Of course, there were others, eager to spread the word, but there were also people out there spreading false information to further their own agendas, make people afraid of this new world and try to change it back.

Well, Legend Debunkers wasn't going to stand by that if they could help it. They'd helped people before, with their episodes on what to do if you were in a sinking car or myths about holiday trees, so they could do it now. No way they were just going to stand by while people spread around false information if they could help it.

And blow things up in the meantime, but just as a bonus. These explosions were sparkly, now that they had magic!

It took them four seasons before the demon myths began coming in.

That...was a problem.

Because while Jared and Aaron were willing to do some pretty dumb things for this show, summoning a demon was crossing the line by a bit.

But people were clamoring for answers, and their mailboxes were overflowing with requests.

Eventually, they were going to have to cave.

It took months of pursuing leads, examining information they had been given and found to be incorrect, before the production team found a possible lead.

Demons were treacherous, and no matter what precautions one took, it seemed that they always twisted everything to their advantage.

But, it seemed, they may have hit on a possible answer.

It was dangerous, and had a higher than comfortable possibility of going wrong, but it was also about the only thing that was going to give real answers.

They were going to summon up a demon, and they might have found just the one to fit their needs.

Of course, it wasn't going to be that easy – they were going to have to blur out a lot of things so no one watching would be able to copy the circle they were using, and both blurring out their mouths and covering their words with bleeping was going to be expensive.

But with editing and time constraints...they may just need that footage, blurred and edited as it was.

To increase their chances of a good summoning, the production team sent out inquiries to Gravity Falls, hoping someone there, in the town their chosen demon had claimed as his own, would be willing to help.

Alcor was somewhat unpredictable, but there were enough stories and documented instances of fair deals, being kind to children, and the like to make them choose him as their final informant.

Demon hunter Wendy Corduroy, only twenty five but already gaining a reputation, answered their call.

No one was quite sure a demon hunter was the best choice for summoning a demon, but Corduroy assured them over and over that she and Alcor were cool, and that he'd talk to her.

And since Jared and Aaron were still hesitantly enthusiastic but not sure about doing this, well...

Calling on an expert seemed like the best idea if they were going through with the episode.

Though the fact that she had them ordering so much candy to do this with made them wonder about Corduroy's expertise. Why did they need so much candy to summon a demon, anyway? Shouldn't they have to get, like, more pigs or something?

Either way, if they didn't get killed doing this, it was going to make for an amazing episode.

Corduroy showed up, just as promised, though the production team did have to pay for her flight both ways from Gravity Falls and send a rental car to pick her up from the airport.

She sauntered in, waving at the crews setting up as she went, and introduced herself to Jared and Aaron, standing hip-shot and listening as they went over basic safety protocol and how filming worked.

“Okay, so you dudes want to film your opener then?” she asked when they were done. “I'm just gonna get this circle drawn, oh, and make sure your crews don't get a good look at this circle, 'kay? Alcor's kiiiiinda picky about who uses this version. I've got a sort of truce with him so I can, but he'll be pretty upset if it gets broadcast.”

“Don't worry, we're not showing anything, it's all getting blurred out,” Aaron was quick to reassure her. “And here, we've got the bleep helmet for when you do the summon,” he added, holding out a helmet. He plopped it on his head and flipped down the front, and a plastic strip with curse word replacement symbols landed in front of his mouth. “See? And we'll be bleeping out the words. Only safe way to do it.”

“You guys are really taking this seriously,” Wendy laughed, accepting the helmet. “Dorky, but practical. Did you get all the candy I asked for?”

“Over here, Ms. Corduroy,” a production assistant said, gesturing. “Why don't we go over it with you and get everything set up while Jared and Aaron shoot some of the interim sequences, then we can film your introduction and get things started?”

“Okay, first things first,” Corduroy, who insisted they call her 'Wendy', said as the hosts and crew gathered around the circle she'd meticulously drawn on the floor. “I want you to make sure you cut out the summoning. You can show Alcor showing up, but not how I got him here. And make sure you plaster this thing with warnings, 'cuz Alcor knows me and we get on so he's gonna be fair with me, but he's still a demon, yanno? Gonna be different if you're not from the Falls and you try summoning him for a dare or something. He puts up with a lot from us. Seriously, he puts up with all  kinds of stuff for Gravity Fallers.”

“So it's like bringing a bomb into your house and hoping it doesn't explode,” Aaron said helpfully.

“Exactly!” Wendy said brightly. “I'm assuming you read over the stuff I sent you, so we're good on that front. Okay, dudes, let's get this get this party started. Oh, and you might want to let me do the talking when he first gets here. I'll let you know when you can take over.” She dug out a small lancet, pausing when Jared spoke.

“Wait, don't we have to sacrifice something?” he said. “I'm all for not doing it if we don't have to but still. We need to do this right the first time if we can.”

“Eh, just a bit of blood'll work to get him here, since we're not asking a lot, just information,” Wendy said with a shrug. “If you have something around that'll work, I'd rather not poke myself again.”

“I'm sure Jared has something,” Aaron said, adding to the camera as Jared walked off, “probably his lunch. The Hymeran satisfies his primal hungers in a civilized fashion.”

Joking aside, Jared did find some blood somewhere, enough to use to summon Alcor. No one wanted to ask where.

It didn't take much blood, not with this circle.

With a firm nod, Wendy flipped the cover of the bleeping helmet over her mouth to obscure it from view and dripped the blood into the circle, calling the proper, formal incantation to call for Alcor.

“Stella splendida, te invoco. Te invoco ut facias voluntatem meam. Dico nomen tuum: Alcor!”

The circle sparked and smoked, and a ball of smoke rose from the center. Then, between one blink and the next, Alcor floated there, with less dramatics than anyone on the Legend Debunkers crew expected.

He looked on edge, claws bared and braced, but relaxed when he saw Wendy standing hip shot at the edge of the circle, smirking slightly.

Then he saw the Legend Debunkers and the crew.

Alcor's eyes went huge, and his fisted hands came up to cover his mouth before he began to vibrate.

Just as everyone was beginning to worry they'd somehow broken the demon, Alcor let out a high pitched squeal, happy fists shaking with excitement.

“Oh my gosh oh my gosh ohmigosh!” he squealed, shedding glitter, and Wendy coughed, a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

Alcor froze, a blush covering his face. He coughed into a fist, attempting to recover his dignity, still shedding glitter that was rapidly disappearing and slowly stopping.

“Wh̷y͡ have̸ ̧y͜ou ̡summ͠o̧ne̵d ͟me?͡” Alcor asked, a faint blush still coating his cheeks, and hoo boy that echo was going to play merry hell with the audio. “C̸òrduro͢y̡?”

“Don't look at me like that, dude, they wanted to talk to you,” Wendy said, pointing a thumb at Jared and Aaron. “I'm here as a go-between. Cameras are rolling, by the way. We've got candy over here to trade you for answers.”

Those eerie eyes went wide again, and turned from Wendy to the hosts, the echo dropping almost entirely from his voice. “Wait. You. Want answers. From me?”

Wendy gestured at them, obviously letting the hosts say their piece.

“Ah, yes,” Aaron said. “We have a few myths about demons to bust, and we needed experts. So we want a deal with you.”

Alcor was vibrating again, and Wendy rolled her eyes. “Chill, dude. We don't need you exploding into happy glitter again. There's way too many places to lose it here, they'd be finding bits of demon for years.”

Alcor stuck his tongue out at Wendy, but he did stop vibrating.

Aaron and Jared looked at each other doubtfully. They'd known Wendy Corduroy was from Gravity Falls and therefore somewhat used to having Alcor around, but this seemed far more familiar than they had expected.

“Look, dude, they got candy and it's time to make a deal,” Wendy was saying in the background as Alcor kept sneaking little glances at them. “I gave them the prep talk. Say, so much candy per hour?”

Alcor glanced around Wendy at the candy piled up in large, plain cardboard boxes, and they could all see him doing the mental calculations. “Those boxes all full?” he asked.

“I know you, dude,” Wendy said, crossing her arms and smirking. “All full, and each one's different.”

“An hour per box,” Alcor declared. “And I get to see the footage before it airs, and have final say over the episodes. You know, to make sure nothing dangerous airs. Oh, and I get to decide which questions I answer. And I want autographs from Aaron and Jared.”

“Two hours per box,” Wendy countered, “And final say over the episode, along with discretion over answers and what you have to deal with in terms of experiments, provided you play along to a point, for the autographs. Takes a lot of time and effort to edit these things, yanno. Plus an assurance you're not going to hurt anybody. I'll be sticking around, dude.”

Alcor eyed the boxes again, calculating. Each box was huge, roughly twenty five pounds each, and each box held a good five hundred bars.

It was a bit steep perhaps, but on the other hand, they would be pretty intense hours of testing and questioning, and it was possible they'd have to call Alcor back tomorrow to finish. At two hours a box, they should have enough candy for two days of experiment filming.

“Okay, deal,” Alcor said. He rubbed his hands together in glee. “Let's get started!”

The episode ended up as one of the most popular Legend Debunkers episodes in the show's history, despite the amounts of footage shot when Alcor, Aaron, and Jared began geeking out that later had to be cut and destroyed. (Although Wendy did claim a copy of it first, as part of her payment.)

It was completely worth trying to explain to the people in charge why they had such a massive bill for candy.