#Bunnicula Strikes

[eliaskahtri]

LOCATION: The Pines TIMING: Current PARTIES: Elias & Marcus (@thenavysealkie) SUMMARY: Elias is obsessed with researching the strange and unknown, and drags Marcus along on a hike for an aniukha Warnings: None!

“Oh my God, it’s Bunnicula in the flesh!”

To say that Elias was becoming obsessed with learning all he could was a massive understatement. He had printed headlines from Wicked’s Rest whether it be a copy from the library or printed out online, he had it all out on his coffee table and dining table. It was even spilling onto the kitchen island, leaving no room for him to prepare food. He had completely engulfed himself in a determination to understand the supernatural for what they were. He didn’t want to harm them. No, far from it. He wanted to know what they were, to understand it from the inside out truly. It had become all-encompassing, and Elias couldn’t stop. 

In the middle of looking at new headlines that had come out from the local paper, Elias barely registered the knock at the door. He’d heard it, but he was almost done reading. It was a headline about a pack of wild rabbits that someone swore sucked their blood as if they were a bunch of bunniculas. Elias shuddered, remembering the book from grade school. It had terrified him to the point of having a massive fear of rabbits. Of course, he was made fun of for it, but it had improved in recent months. There were worse things to be afraid of than rabbits, like these blood-sucking ones, for instance. 

He heard the door unlock and open and whirled around from his laptop to come face to face with Marcus, who had let himself in after being ignored after knocking. Twice. “Oh,” Elias spoke, realizing that it had been days since he’d last spoken to Marcus. “Hi.” His voice was guilty, realizing that he had been neglecting his relationship to research into supernatural leads. “I… meant to text you, I just got… into stuff.” He looked around at all the papers, there were no clean surfaces that didn’t have newspaper headlines. “Sorry?” 

__

It had been literal days since Marcus and Elias last spoke together, and it wasn’t from lack of effort on Marcus’s part. For a little while Marcus would at least get a “read” notification, which still stung a little, but was now only being left on delivered. He knew Elias was still going through a lot, but this was a serious backslide in behavior, and he began to worry something genuinely terrible might have happened to him. 

He was grateful Elias trusted him with a key to his apartment, as he was now trudging up the stairs intent on doing a wellness check. “Elias, if you’re alive in there, I swear I’m gonna kill you” Marcus said under his breath as he approached the door. He knocked once, then twice. Silence was all he got in response. Fuck. He knew Elias was a private person who liked his space. He didn’t want to have to use his key, but this certainly constituted an emergency. 

After unlocking the door, Marcus stepped into a dimly lit apartment building with papers and news clippings scattered everywhere. Any table space seemed wholly unusable. Somehow, it was worse than anything Marcus had been preparing for. Elias was physically okay, probably, but his change in decor was starting to give off serial killer vibes, and not the hot kind. 

Finally, he saw Elias, who turned around to offer a weak greeting to him. “Into stuff?” Marcus responded. “You tied an anchor to your feet and dove headfirst into the deep end. What is all this?” “Mysterious animal” attacks, reports of people forgetting their own names, stories of the dead walking amongst the living, and enough Irish folklore to entertain every pub in Dublin for years to come were strewn haphazardly across the entire building. 

“How about some fresh air? Sunlight? Human interaction? C’mon, we gotta get you out of this apartment.” 

__

Elias frowned, realizing how crazed he appeared to anyone who didn’t know what he was doing, who didn’t know the truth behind the madness. “No, they’re separated into patterns!” He explained, walking over to the coffee table. “Vampire attacks,” he explained, reading out headlines. “Woman left with two holes on her neck after walking into Nightfall Grove at night.” He walked over to the dining table. “People who have lost their names. Fae.” He quickly skittered to the kitchen island. “Sightings of animals that shouldn’t be. All the beasts that exist around here aren’t just a normal species.” He held up the article about the aniukhas, a name he didn’t yet know. “Bloodsucking creatures that look like rabbits.” He shuddered again, thinking of Bunnicula. 

“I don’t need sunlight, Marcus! I need answers!” His tone was desperate and pleading, throwing the article back down. “If I want to keep myself safe, I need to know. I want to understand. And the only way to do that is to gather evidence.” Elias walked over to Marcus and took his hands, eyes pleading. “Please, I need to do this.” Elias whipped around and grabbed the article outlining the Bunniculas, holding it out. “Let’s go on a hike. See if we can find them!” Elias was practically begging, folding the article up and putting it into his pocket. “Please, I need to do this. It’s… it’s the only thing that could keep me alive.” 

If Marcus was trying to get him to calm down, he wasn’t listening. Instead, he was throwing on his hiking boots and grabbing his newly purchased camera. “Come on, let’s go!” Elias was already halfway out the door, turning to see that Marcus wasn’t following him yet. “We can… talk about it after, just please follow me with this.” He clasped his hands together as he walked back over to Marcus, taking his hands again. 

__

Marcus tried to understand Elias’s path of reasoning, but could only stay silent as he listened to him ramble about vampire rabbits, of all things. “Elias, you’re trying to speedrun an encyclopedia’s worth of information in a few days. I know you’re scared but…” But what? Did he tell him the truth? That no matter how hard he worked to protect himself and learn every danger that could be lurking around the corner that there was no way to guarantee anybody’s safety? Was that really what he needed to hear right now? “But sometimes you need to give your brain a rest. Otherwise, nothing’s going to stick, ya know?” 

“You want to stay safe from the dangerous vampire rabbits…so you want to go hunting for them?” He understood wanting to study them, but they weren’t animals behind a glass or in a cage, they were wild and were very capable of attacking them if given the chance. Still, Elias needed some sort of comfort, and maybe this could provide that for him. “Alright fine, why not? You seem like you want to go with or without me, so I might as well tag along for some protection. 

“Where exactly are we hiking? Is there a particular spot this attack reports are coming from?” Marcus asked, hoping that they’d at least be headed somewhere familiar.

Elias nodded his head with a bright grin that reached his eyes, more than he’d been capable of in some time. Whether or not it was healthy for the level of obsession Elias had reached or not, it made him happy to find something that excited him again. Sure, maybe he needed to dial it back several notches, but he was getting somewhere. “Yes!” He exclaimed before tugging on Marcus’s hand and dragging him out the door, only barely remembering to stop and lock his door before continuing down the hall to the stairs and his car. 

The drive was silent as they listened to the radio, Elias tapping his finger on the steering wheel. “It’s out near the pines,” Elias explained as they neared the location. “A hiking trail.” He added, that before turning into a preserve parking lot, there were only two other cars in the lot. “Come on!” Elias practically jumped out of the car with excitement, grabbing his camera and heading toward the trailhead. 

Elias bounced excitedly as he pulled out the article, wishing that he had someone like Maggie to draw them. An idea popped into his head after that. What if he got pictures of these creatures, and asked Maggie to draw them in her style? They could collaborate on a Wicked’s Rest encyclopedia of beasts! Elias looked to make sure Marcus was following, then started down the hiking path. “It was somewhere near the middle of the trail,” Elias further explained as they walked along, taking care to look around the bottom of trees and brush. “Keep your eyes out.” 

__

Marcus had a bad feeling in his gut. He and Elias could handle a vampire rabbit if it really came down to it, but there was no guarantee that was all they’d find during their hunt. Nature had a habit of being entirely unpredictable, and wouldn’t just hand deliver exactly what they needed when they needed it. 

Still, seeing Elias being excited about something instead of wallowing around as a shell of a person made Marcus overwhelmingly happy, and he certainly didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize this development. At least he had something to be passionate about now, dangerous though it may be. 

“You ever see those pictures of bigfoot? The super grainy ones taken from 10 miles away? I’m hoping we can get better pictures of these rabbits than those pictures.” Marcus knew Elias liked Bigfoot, and was hoping to use that to encourage him to take high-quality pictures even when he inevitably gets spooked.  “Who knows? Maybe we can even get famous off of them. Of course…there’ll always be those people explaining why they’re fake in some way or another.” 

They walked along to the part of the trail Elias said they should be at. Marcus stopped and listened carefully for any signs of movement along the path. His eyes scanned the brushline as he tried to pick out anything out of the ordinary. 

__

Turning the camera around in his hands as Marcus talked about making money off of photos, Elias was quick to shake his head. “I don’t want to make them public. I… don’t think a lot of people would be able to deal with it like I couldn’t once.” He explained, frowning. “But I think that if I could put together some sort of catalog or something, then when something happened, we could reference it with what we knew.” Elias looked toward Marcus, shrugging his shoulders. “But making money off of it and freaking people out? I don’t think that’s the solution.” 

There had been enough people who had tried to tell Elias that it was too dangerous to know the truth, but Elias thought that it was the exact opposite. For him, at least. That didn’t mean the same for others. “So for now, we keep whatever we find to ourselves, alright?” Elias nodded his head once he felt satisfied that Marcus was on the same page, then kept walking. 

“I’m sorry for ignoring your texts, I just get… so engrossed in things once I get started,” Elias explained, continuing to fiddle with the camera that he had in his hands. “I don’t mean to do it, and you were right to check on me. I got a bit… carried away.” His voice trailed off, realizing that it was far worse than simply getting carried away, it was an all-out obsession. “I love that you’re too stubborn to give up on me, but I still feel guilty.” 

Elias walked slowly in line with Marcus, taking a leisurely pace instead of searching incessantly for the creatures like he desperately wanted to. “I’ll do better. I’ll get better at answering my phone. I’ll turn the ringer on and everything.” He put a hand up as if he were swearing an oath.

__

Marcus simply shrugged his shoulders at Elias’s comment. “Truth’s already out there. Pictures or no pictures, people are going to have to make a choice to believe their own eyes or explain everything away ‘rationally’”. He was convinced there were many people who he could shift in front of and they still would think it was all some elaborate act. Some people were beyond convincing, and Marcus figured that was to his benefit and the benefit of other supernaturals around him. “But yeah! A little Wicked’s Rest bestiary sounds like exactly the kind of thing this town needs! Can’t know what to look out for if you don’t know it exists.” 

Marcus was down on his hands and knees looking for any signs of bloodthirsty bunnies. Admittedly, this was probably a stupid idea as he was putting his neck perfectly at fang level for them. He quickly realized this mistake and stood back up again as he heard Elias’s apology. “I don’t ask for much. Just an ‘I’m still alive’ text every day isn’t going to hurt you. But apology accepted. I can understand getting so engrossed in something like this, you’ve sort of had your whole worldview turned upside down recently. 

Just then, Marcus picked up on a slight rustling sound from the grass. It was faint, but he heard it, from the direction of a tall tree. He put up a finger to Elias, indicating for him to be quiet before he quickly peered in the direction of the tree to try and spot any hint of what they were looking for. Initially, there was nothing. But then, suddenly, the rustling started again, much faster than the last. And it was moving straight for both of them.

Thinking about the term bestiary, Elias decided to file that idea away for later. He did like the idea of calling it an encyclopedia better, but Marcus may be onto something there. Before he could continue the conversation, Marcus was holding up a finger for Elias to stay quiet. Elias readied the camera and searched the ground, snapping photos when something lept from the brush and attached itself onto Marcus’s face. “Oh god!” Elias cried, snapping photos before dropping the camera and rushing to help Marcus. 

As soon as Elias was able to yank the thing off of Marcus’s face, he took a look at the creature, eyes wide. “Oh my God, it’s Bunnicula in the flesh!” Elias exclaimed, throwing the creature to the ground in a hurry, horrified. Elias felt his legs begin to shake as his heart started racing, the fear that it really was a vampire rabbit who was there to drain him of his blood and kill him and Marcus. He really should have thought this through better. He knew this was what he was looking for, but now? Now he was in the thick of it and he didn’t know how to get out of it. 

Elias quickly scrambled to pick up his camera and took more photos of the creature, one of them was of it leaping straight for the lens, which Elias would later look at as a masterpiece. But for now, it was terrifying. For now, Elias needed to get Marcus and get out of there. Elias smacked Bunnicula out of the way and leaned down to grab Marcus’s hand and drag him along. “Come on, there’s bound to be more, let’s get out of here before that happens!” He told Marcus. “I got the photos, we’re golden!”

__

Marcus was in a daze as he felt the fangs finally release from his face. It was a very brief attack, but not one he was expecting. How was he supposed to know such a tiny little rabbit could be so strong? He heard Elias’s voice telling him they needed to go, and it took his brain a few moments to process what was actually happening. Finally, however, he was able to bring himself back up to his feet with Elias’s help and brush himself off quickly before booking it the hell out of dodge. 

They ran and ran until it finally seemed as if they were in the clear. They surely must have broken some sort of running record in the process with how fast they sprinted out of there. Catching their breaths quickly, the pair kept moving until finally returning to the car. 

“Well…I have to say I’m not a fan of the up close and personal method of getting pictures. But I will admit that the quality is great! There’s really no refuting that sort of thing. And people will have a great idea of what to look out for if they’re ever in the woods.” Would it really help people when the little bloodsuckers like to keep themselves hidden? Not really, but if it made Elias feel more comfortable and safe, Marcus was willing to roll with it. 

“I do have one request. If we go hunting for anything bigger, let’s protect ourselves a little better, yeah? I don’t exactly want to become anything’s dinner if I can help it.” 

__

As soon as they were back in the safety of Elias’s car, Elias took deep breaths to catch his breath, eagerly looking through his camera to find the photos he had taken. He’d done it, he’d gotten it on camera. Elias let out a laugh, astonished that he’d been able to capture it so well. He showed Marcus and grinned widely. Finally, Elias had a purpose again. He was going to do this, whether people told him to or not. And Marcus? He was along for the ride. He wasn’t stopping him, only telling him to be better at defense before going after more dangerous things.  Elias’s excitable grin melted into one of love and appreciation, then leaned over the console to press a kiss to Marcus’s cheek. “Thank you.” Was all he said before turning on the car and heading back to the apartment. He had a long way to go, but this was a good first step in getting somewhere. And wherever that was, Elias didn’t quite know yet, but he was eager to find out.

[haveyoureadthismgyabook]

Series info:

Book 1 of Bunnicula

Book 2: Howliday Inn

Book 3: The Celery Stalks at Midnight

Book 4: Nighty-Nightmare

Book 5: Return to Howliday Inn

Book 6: Bunnicula Strikes Again!

Book 7: Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allen Crow

[xoxoemynn]

I was tagged by the wonderful @spirker to share the first line of my last 10 fics and see if there are any patterns. Let's go on an adventure!

In another life, Stede preferred nighttime to day. (Good Morning, very short fluff ficlet about Stede waking Ed up with morning kisses written for a prompt from @blakbonnet)

Roses are red, violets are blue, Stede Bonnet has no need for romance, neither do you! (Stede Bonnet's Lonely Hearts Club Sleepaway Camp, friends to lovers/pining while fucking written as a gift for @ghostalservice)

In the past week, Stede Bonnet has developed an insatiable craving for clocks. (Playtime, part 3 of clock boys, probably the most educational porn I've ever written)

The calendar wasn’t even the one Stede had ordered in the charity sale—that had been the Moths of the World calendar. What he got…. (Too Hot (Hot Damn), a super fun collab with a whole heck of a lot of the very best people)

Still, still, still. (Still, Still, Still, short reflective piece from Stede's POV during the mermaid scene)

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. (Roach vs. Rabbit, AU where Ed's bunny survives and is Bunnicula with chaotic crew shenanigans)

The day began, as they always did, with a kiss. (all of these lines across my face, mind the tags but may be the best thing I've written, explores grief and mortality and memory, actually v much gives me post-cancellation bittersweet vibes now)

Dear Tooth Fairy, My name is the Swede and I am 42 years old. (A Fairy Tale, come get your whimsy, Ed and Stede are fairies on a magical adventure)

"Bye, Bonnet!" (Here's to the Night, nostalgic romcom style meet cute set during Y2K)

There’s nothing Edward Teach loves more than a big, beautiful clock. (Clock Strikes One, part 2 of clock boys, nursery rhymes get a bit unhinged)

Patterns...apparently I really like to use some version of Stede's name in the opening line. Also, cock/clock puns, but that's kind of a given with the clock boys.

I'm slow so I think I've already seen all my writer friends do this, so just tagging anyone who feels like joining in on the fun. 💕

[whomstwedointheshadows]

Season 6 Nandermo Prediction: Monty Python to Seinfeld to the Office Finale

In Honor of Reality TV House Flippers, I Present Vampires in Court TV

*CRACK ATTACK*

To honor Serial Killer Guillermo and the show subverting the reality/ sit-com format, I need the Staten Island Gang questing to face off the Big Bad. The Big Bad has a Network. They track them down, expanding their own territory, nutty vampire death sentences and leaning in to dark humor. Gore, bodies, glory everywhere. Evidence to one former familiar, everywhere, as vampires now help with cleaning up as as they are more equal in the house.

The Big Bad is revealed to be a holy terror and also cute as a bloodthirsty bunny. Bunnicula, the Big Bad, if you will.

See Murder Husband dream fighting together, Guillermo pledging to do whatever it takes to survive and come home together, overcoming this comically adorable foe. The fight is more glamor shots, inspiring questions of fan service and striking home Yes This Is Homoerotic and Camp until they win, plot feels rushed to audience but it’s clearly just a set up for Big Confession Time. Obviously they are Fully Realized and Ready for It, now show us!!

Vampires done vamping with the fallen head home, masses of dead-dead/undead cut up, ready for further dumping. Incriminating, but just the usual work for a familiar now shared. Matching gore and relief for Nandor and Guillermo, a picture of intimacy.

All these dead in the name of Flirting, they openly acknowledge, laugh together. Nandermo is here, the scene is tipping in to a Big Confession, Big Kiss… something…

In swarm the police, Humans, incongruous immediately with sense of culmination of fifteen years of pining. Trucks, helicopters, tanks against stakes. Completely lost the romance, dark humor into a Gritty True Crime NARRATIVE.

Narration of Colin Robinson expressing ACAB, but an energy vampire has to feed, won’t it be great when this airs? First acknowledgment the footage is broadcasting somewhere and he feeds from the viewer.

Too tired to kill them all, too many to immediately hypnotize. Nandor bats, at Guillermo insistence, now begins comical on-the-run and hypnosis witness tampering from the vampires. Wackiness includes decorating courtroom based on family side, sculpture and blood fountain delivery… but Guillermo somehow gets one day house arrest with his mother, Nandor does his best to arrange a tender Spa Day and they’re summoned back to night court. Night Court is of course, more nebulously supernatural and quickly kicks out of Mortal Prison into Farce with Consequences.

Mainly: Can someone explain the relationship of a rampaging slayer to his vampire former-master-warlord as they’re claiming new territory? How safe is the wider supernatural community, and are they like, a new conquering force or …another Thing? What to do about this?

Return of lawyer Lazlo, reference to hating the English during all the court proceedings (and damn isn’t this the ending of Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Seinfeld? -that was only because they were cowards that ran out of budget or wouldn’t get characters together, classic comedy half hours end with a wedding), public acknowledgement Guillermo’s a fucking slayer/serial killer to Silvia de la Cruz, seemingly friendly with Nandor and show of being peaceful amongst the crowd of supernaturals and, rather than fury of a Van Helsing, she shares she knew Memo had it bad for his boss. (Clearly, the Slayer bloodline doesn’t activate into killer mode, or is more controlled, when she understands them and isn’t surprised.)

Cue talkback scenes about an effing clip show in court as evidence, Nadja mostly focused on famous like OJ and explaining the web of who was horny when because what when presented with evidence, wearing matching wigs with Lazlo. Mimics Office Finale allowing for further commentary, still centered around present character interests. Definitely charting the course of Nandermo, getting more off camera stories of observing the Pining. Murder is framed in the context of caretaking and making Nandor horny, like they’re going out of their way to explain (to Silvia?) how involved her son is in their unit and vampire relations. Also, he’s a badass so no one fucks with him or those under his protection. Thank g- there’s this badass footage that doesn’t show Memo in too much danger or really, really hurt.

Cross examination of Nandermo by Lazlo, first kiss revealed years ago off screen, fucking all season, I love you’d exchanged but ‘I’ll be with you forever, whatever it takes’ WAS exchanged in the previous episode before battle, thus honeymoon glow and downright joyous-sexually charged battle.

Lawyer Lazlo: Do you think we have a fucking documentary crew and now we worry about courtrooms? Gizmo killed a theatre of vampires to save us and we took over the fucking council. Yes, we’re callous, we’re cruel, we’re insensitive to mortal and immortal suffering if it doesn’t concern ourselves. We’re killers, including our dramatic slayer here who’s the youngest but catching up on body count, and we’re a family. We love each other. We will protect each other. We’ll end anything that gets in our way, whatever it takes. Nandor, you’re up.

Nandor: *to put a button on the unable to drink blood, totally able to slay Guillermo arc, see previous fights up to Bunnicula, reference to be together forever, whatever it takes.*

Obviously Nandor has already discussed a big celebration for a possible yet-not-planned turning, but Guillermo suggested simple and ‘like a courthouse wedding, yes’ - Both understand the offer is on the table and Guillermo just says when he’s ready, and it’s okay if that turns out to be never. His hesitation has remained his ties with his Mom. It’s yes to all his life with Nandor, vampirism second concern when he’s accepted and ready as he can be for the consequences, specifically loosing his mom, who is not brain scramblie’d and here today, seeing all of Guillermo and his vampires.

Nandor, a strategist: welcome to our wedding!! Look at the public awe of your many conquered foes! You’re so amazing as a warrior and my closest friend. I am PROUD for EVERYONE to know you’re incredible and I’m head over heels for you, forever. Everyone includes your mom, as my family too, who is not killing all vampires on sight now! And everyone knows if they fuck with your vampire or slayer family, we’ll kill them and enjoy it together! Do you appreciate my intricate ritual of planning a wedding after you went and said yes to forever before I could propose after our many escalating battles together?

Guillermo: so, even with the documentary crew, we’ve always kept our intimacy for us. Yes, it was kinda toxic, but Nandor is my idiot, except when he’s a genius. And it feels good. To be proud of us. They celebrated me. So, let’s party.

Cut to everyone dirty, raunchy dancing, sloppy kissing, exceedingly graphic reception cut for rating. New glitter portrait of vampiric Nandor and Guillermo, kissing, sparkly bare chests in the Tigris, captioned ‘Honeymoon’

___

++Would love to see a parallel for the death of the historian in Monty Python leading to an arrest of King Arthur/Knights and the dead camera crew members leading to excessive workplace safety fines being the only lasting damage determined by the court.

+++Collin Robinson is somehow working for the prosecution, a corporate media outlet, and as expert testimony. No one is ever clear what the ‘trial’ actually is, he’s just fond of objections. Framing moves from court tv to royal wedding coverage, slowly edging the viewer wanting Nandermo confirmation about [yes, that is a glitter portrait from Nandor to Guillermo on 10 anniversary as master and familiar and here’s another one from later on their second anniversary.. of what? Well, how one can define a relationship is complex… oh! Let’s go frame by frame on these clips of their hands! ] confirming the bigger picture, Has segments devils advocating himself against Nancy Grace angry emotional vampire.

*** this is specifically a Crack!fic ideas playing with the idea all of Nandermo must be on camera, the viewer is primed for the next big step to be a confession or kiss, but what if we just jump straight to just married the dirty grinding, sloppy drunk kissing in public with all your family watching. Strikes me as a f-you to all the sweet chaste network gays, this is the suck and fuck show, babe

**** this is also a subversion of Guillermo resolving his arc as a vampire, having to be ‘ruthless’ enough, instead it’s about being assured in himself, what he wants, and cherished by those he loves. His found family accepting and making space for his family, because they care about his decisions and maybe he doesn’t have to choose, so they try. He’s gained the confidence in himself and is celebrated, welcomed, and supported by those he loves.

*****Listen, Nandor, was it kind of toxic to let your boyfriend get arrested and did you maybe plan a slaying rampage for the ‘gram- no one can quite prove, but good thinking if it was spur of the moment after the arrest, it tracks that a former warlord would yell about how awesome his spouse is and don’t fuck with us so they can have a bubble of peace due to the terror

[detectivereads]

Halloween/Fall Season TBR 2023

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to write down my TBR for the fall/Halloween season and mention some of the new books that are coming out this year. These titles are the ones I read every year and I highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for a scary book to read (or really any murder mysteries, it feels like this is the prefect season to read Murder Mysteries).

~Books that are on my TBR~ : (Pretty much I recommend everything on this list)

Coraline by Neil Gailman

Halloween Tree by Ray Bardbury

Pumpkin Heads

Nancy Drew (This and the next few are perfect for the cozy weather)

Judy Bolton

Dana Sisters

Connie Blair

Hardy Boys

Scary Godmother

Edgar Allen Poe

The Invisible man

Nightmare Before Christmas Long Live the Pumpkin Queen

Bunnicula

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

Garlic and the Vampire

Garlic and the Witch

Halloween Party by Agatha Christie (first time I am going to read this)

Sherlock Holmes

Then there was none by Agatha Christie

Addams family

Goosebumps books

Mirror Lake By Juneau Black

The House of Lost Horizon Sarah Jewell mystery

Sleepy Hallow by Washington Irving

Harry Potter (I also read these around Xmas time too)

~OP Books I recommend~

The Shady Hallow mysteries. I love this series and it feels like you can read this series no matter what time of year but the big ones that I recommend from this series are Cold Clay & Mirror Lake.

I love Mirror Lake the most out of the series and the description of food and the autumn ambience is wonderful.

~Soon to release books (I hope)~ :

DeepHaven by Ethan M. Aldridge- I saw the artwork that this author has been posting and I thought it was gorgeous. I did some digging but did not really want to spoil it too much for myself. I am getting very Eldritch horror vibes from the artwork.

Unfamiliar vol 2 by Haley Newsome- I am in love with this series, it has magic it has witches it has food. What more could I ask for.

Twilight Falls by Juneau Black- This is one of my highly anticipated books that are coming out this year. I love the Shady Hollow Mysteries series, this come out after November, but I am still super hype for it.

 Tim Burton’s Nightmare before Christmas the Battle for Pumpkin King by Dan Conner- I have been collecting anything really Nightmare for a few a years now and when I saw this I freaked, I can’t wait for it.

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree- I loved Legends & Lattes and when I found it there was going to be a 2nd book, I was thrilled I can’t wait for it.

Catch me If you Candy by Ellie Alexander- Recently I have been wanting to get more cozy mysteries and this series is like one of the biggest series I have seen. I am hoping to start collecting the series soon.

~New Books~ :

Most of these books are going to be Cozy Mysteries. I love Mysteries and Cozy Mysteries are right in my alley. First of all, I will not spoil mysteries for anyone if I can help it, so I will keep description vague. Most of these books are new to me and I am keeping myself blind incept for like the over storyline. (These are not new releases they are just new to me)

Fatal Fudge Swirl by Meri Allen- this is the third book in the Ice Cream Shop Mysteries books, I am trying to collect the others and read them in order. So, this mystery takes place around Halloween and there is a wedding, and tragedy strikes at the wedding.

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah- this is another cozy that takes place around time Halloween time. Halloween time is here, and our MC Lindsey is not really jazzed about it, because she lives in the town spooky haunted lighthouse, so teenagers make it a test of courage to come up and scare each other silly.  However, this year her best friend asked to do a spooky episode for her social media what was supposed to be a night of ghost hunting and fun scares turns sinister.

One Poison Pie by Lynn Cahoon- Now this one doesn’t take place on around Halloween (as far from what I know I haven’t not read this book yet, so I fix this later if I am wrong) but it’s having to do with witches and what’s better she is an amateur detective kitchen witch. Mia is our main character and right now she has hit a rough patch in her life when boyfriend has left her greener pastures and she is now jobless. So, she heads back home to her grandma’s house. It’s the first book in this series so I don’t know too much about it.

A Batter of Life and Death by Ellie Alexander- the only thing I know is that this book takes place in fall and I just starting to get into the Bakeshop Mystery series. So, I am keeping my self-blind and I can’t wait to read it.

No Parm No Foul by Linda Reilly- this is the second book in the grilled cheese shop mystery, and it takes place around Halloween. I read the first book and I like it, so I want to try to get the second to see how it is.

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

A black cat and a Calico, especially a predominantly white one, would be very symbolically and visually nice! And also I'm kind of biased towards it because I have both of those lol. There's also... hmm well if we want to get particular about cat genetics, most of the cats that have the "siamese" point coloring aren't part of any of the breeds that have them as a signature, they're just regular cats with a mutation that gives them partial albinism (happens in rabbits, mice, and guinea pigs too), so wouldn't it be so fucked if both of them were black cats, one just had a mutation to cover up most of the black so Kamado couldn't tell. Although in either case, imagine how much it'd suck to have light colored fur and have to roll around in the mirelands.

I love the idea of Kamado hating the Survey corp in general, because it's literally harding cats. Oh man, poor Cyllene would be miserable in the heat though. Maybe a lioness instead? They're group cats like domestics, and the females are the main hunters both of which would lend well to being a team leader. Though I will say, if we make Counterpart a Calico, you know what'd be cute? If Cyllene was an African wild dog, which are also notorious for being excellent hunters who work extremely well together, but have the bonus of looking like she took one look at a Calico kitten and decided it was her child now lol. Laventon is a Scottish fold, I mean look at him. Kamado I was thinking either that or a grizzly bear lol, though wolves do lend themselves more towards high leadership roles.

He's really more of a Bunnicula in terms of predator lagomorphs, but nobody'll ever convince Melli of it after his many run ins with Ingo in the dark. His posture really does look like he could be getting ready to break into a sprint at any given moment, but no, people are surprised to learn that it's apparently unrelated (hopefully not a back injury, but if it's to avoid being so tall his ears would constantly be down too. I imagine he and Emmet utilize their stature and long ears to help people pick them out of a crowd, plus it cuts a more striking figure during battle on the subway, but being a flagpole might not lend itself too well in Hisui). That's a good point of it probably being something of a social faux pas though, didn't even think of that. Maybe they just notice that he doesn't run or jump even if he's clearly caught by surprise or in situations where people of every sort really should be running, like Ingo please get away from the ghost foxes, you don't need to feed them, they can feed themselves and if you keep doing it they might start snacking on you instead of the mushroom cakes and berries they beg from you (no but for real I think about that part where the zorua/Zoroark uses Mai's form to trick you into giving it mushroom cakes all the time lol, and Ingo seems like the sort of person they'd clock as easy to sucker into giving them treats)

Also, re: clothes, I think that pants might be a little hard depending on the kind of legs you give them, flat on their feet or up on their toes like dogs, so most people probably wouldn't bother with them, but given how prominent and important the clan tunics are, I figure almost everyone at least in Hisui would be wearing some sort of top, especially if it's a little on the long side like the tunics. Things like skirts or kimonos would also be easy to wear and that seems to be a common Jubilife style. Specialized footwear might also be needed in cases where, for instance, a non-cold adapted animal like Ingo, Adaman, or the Galaxy team (and possibly Sabi? She's bundled up way more than any of the Pearl Clan folks so I assume she's either so baby she doesn't have her winter fluff or she just isn't a species that's inherently fitted to the cold) needed to go through the Icelands, or in busy cities to avoid burning paws on too-hot pavement or getting your toes stepped on, or working in construction jobs. I don't think clothes are strictly necessary, so it wouldn't be especially weird to not have any on like if the protagonist showed up without any because Arceus stole them from their bed, but most people do, especially in Hisui where it's part of how they show clan alliances

the survey corps is literally herding cats ashskjhsjh that's so funny. i was actually thinking about pallas' cat laventon (possibly with some minor alterations to face markings so he looks perpetually-worried instead of perpetually-grumpy) but also consider: laventon as a lion (or some other highly social cat) and cyllene as a highly solitary cat who has been Tricked into having a Family and is very confused and mad about how that happened. (laventon: "cyllene look! a kitten fell out of the sky! we need to look after them!" / cyllene, completely disinterested: "not my kitten, don't care.") though it's also very funny if cyllene's Definitely Very Social but is trying to act like she doesn't care anyway. everyone can see your happy body language cyllene stop trying to act aloof

i love the idea that they use their height+tall ears to be easily visible in crowds, lol. i imagine if they're trying to get someone's attention they start twitching their ears very fast like a wave. ELESA WE'RE RIGHT HERE JUST LOOK TO THE LEFT DON'T MAKE US SHOUT ACROSS THE CROWDED STATION. oof and then he's slouching and keeping his ears back to seem smaller... or maybe he's doing it bc subconsciously he feels really exposed in hisui. he's not used to space being so empty! he's used to crowds and enclosed spaces! it's not something that makes it to his conscious mind but that's part of why he looks so keyed-up constantly. this is actually my hc for canon but if anything it works even better here

"Specialized footwear might also be needed in cases where, for instance, a non-cold adapted animal needed to go through the Icelands" oh man but you know whose paws are absolutely not equipped for snow at all. does the pearl clan like, realize right away that they should probably give him boots? or does he have to get frostbite first. that could actually be another reason for the bad posture: he started doing it as a balance thing to compensate for stepping very gingerly/not being 100% able to tell where he was putting his feet while they were healing, and then it just stuck. or even worse, he's just got a permanently messed up gait because his paw pads are permanently uneven and lacking sensation.

re: clothes being a means to show faction affiliation, i could also see that most of that is replaced by some kind of like, necklace or other trinket, bc most of the pearl clan is cold-adapted and would probably overheat in a tunic. they would probably still make some tunics though, for the odd member that's born a different species (usually the roulette is pretty good abt accounting for environment, but it getting it wrong is also definitely not unheard of.) aww i love the idea that sabi is "so baby she doesn't have her winter fluff" too lol.

[godzilla-reads]

October 21, 2021

Vampire rabbit? What could go wrong?

[ramblinseahorsey]

Top 10 fandoms go

Hmm, rating fandoms as a whole can be difficult, since ppl usu think of bad things first when they think of things memorable that have happened in fandom, and I'm no different in having that bias when I think about fandom. The squeakey wheel gets the grease and all! Instead of mentioning the fandoms themself, I'll ramble and will tell u my fav shows, games, movies, and books that I am technically a part of the fandoms of! Or, am adjacent to enjoying the stuff, dunno how involved, if at all, ya gotta be to call yourself a part of a fandom, or just, an enjoyer of the media in question.

These aren't in order of how much I like them, just top ten of each. As is obvious, I am a simple basic gal who's eternally a sucker for animation, happy endings, kids content, and to be completely honest, a lot of popular stuff. Opinions and personal taste, it's ok if ya completely disagree with me on anythin!

Movies:

1 The Iron Giant-Excellent writing, excellent humor, very moving. Watched it like 7 million times as a kid, have it memorized. Will never get sick of it!

2 Cats Don't Dance-So sweet, simple and darling, great music, characters, everything. I love sappy found family, love the animation, also have the whole movie memorized, not just the songs, everything, though Tell Me Lies is what I'm most likely to sing to myself

3 Kiki's Delivery Service-Good cheer me up movie, encouraging, delightful, timeless

4 Atlantis: The Lost Empire-One of the most quotable movies ever, every character is just so dynamic for what little screen time they get

5 Raggedy Ann and Andy:A Musical Adventure-So, so so cute and innocent, and some of the best animation you'll ever see

6 Steven Universe: The Movie-YES. JUST. YES. THE WHOLE SOUNDTRACK, ONNNNN LOOOOOP!!!

7 The Cat Returns-Funny as heck, uplifting and lighthearted

8 Howl's Moving Castle-Literally every good thing anybody's ever said about it, unexaggerated, I usu don't go for romances but Ghibli just does it right

9 How to Train Your Dragon-Clever, well paced, bangin music, fun, eye pleasing, technically better than the books, but man I wish they'd kept the original plot and made it a tv series

10 The Secret of Nimh-Gorgeous, well paced, whimsical, classic Don Bluth majesty.

11 Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders-Really fun, very nice dialog, feels more "real" than a lot of scooby contents dialog ever felt, without being crass, yknow? Like, they're still the same nerdy goody two shoes meddling kids, but at the same time, it's got that same smooth, natural feel only Zombie Island, Witch's Ghost, and Where's My Mummy really shared, typical friend group banter and well meaning teasing like Daphne sticking her nose up at Velmas taste in men, Crystal trying not to sound judgey (and failing) at Shaggys name being Norville. Cute, silly romance, good pacing, I'm totally not biased by nostalgia or anything no sir

Books (I haven't read book in awhile outside of school cause no attention span, so bare with me here, lots of nostalgia skewed choices

1 Holes-Literally perfect. Blessed with one pf the few ever actually good and accurate movie adaptations, but the books still better. Such astoundingly good writing. Got me emotional. The sequel Small Steps is great too

2 How to Train Your Dragon-The whole series tbh, amazing plot and characters, better than the movie series plot honestly, but no where near as funny, very clearly set to the humor of 3rd grade boys, some poo jokes and the like, not for everybody. I like kids content, lol, will forever mumble "I'm a jellyfish in a skirt" to myself

3 A Series of Unfortunate Events-Whole series, Quirky, clever, strange, sad. Exactly what you'd expect from the pen name Lemony Snicket. I love his random tangents nsskjcsjdj

4 Bunnicula-Whole series, but especially Bunicula Strikes Again, very funny, wholesome series, very quick read, can't recommend enough. My favorite book series ever.

5 The ABC Mysteries-Gonna call myself out here, only Agatha Christie book I've ever finished, I'd usu just watch the show with my parents, lol, which is also quite good. As clever as you'd expect from the great Hercule Poirot.

6 The Hobbit-Dad read it to me when I was very very teeny so it barely even counts, IM GONNA READ LOTR ONE DAY I PROMMY I JUST GOTTA GET MY BRAIN WORKIN THOSE BOOKS INTIMIDATE ME. What I do remember was quite nice though, love the ragtag group teasing Bilbo.

7 Do dogs in general count as a fandom? Lol, I love to peruse this giant Dog Encyclopedia I got when I was 10 at Christmas, gives dog biology, histoey, care,, and breed knowledge, lists every single breed and its possible colors, needs, size, past use, whether good with kids, etc. I love Labrodoodles. They never look real, even in person.

8 Howl's Moving Castle-Everyone is extremely sassy all the time, it's awesome

9 Redwall- Really immersive, transports you to a different world well, also read Mattimeo, always liked the birds, if the old timeyness or the 5000 sequels intimidate you I suggest the show, it's more relaxed dialogue wise but despite being a kids show, it doesn't skimp on the on screen(? dang memory) deaths, so be careful.

10 Bone-Full series, Graphic Novels, quick, thrilling reads, some ducktales vibes, a beautiful fantasy epic, but most memorable for the great humor and characters. The world might end but Smiley cannot be darned.

Games

1 Undertale-One of the most amazing subversions of not just video game storytelling, but storytelling, period. Your choices have a consequence in Undertale, and it makes the characters feel real in a way many games can't. All you take for granted as instinctual game logic will be called to question in Undertale. The concepts of family, forgiveness, choice, loyalty, identity, Undertale does not let you escape anything without making you think. Nothings wrong with more relaxed games where you can just thoughtlessly be a little evildoer without much consequence, or at least not consequences emotionally, but if that's the only kind of game you'll like, Undertale isn't for you.

As powerful as the games story is, and the tension that haunts you for replaying despite its immense replay ability, the game isn't too somber, it is very, very funny, and very hopeful, depending on how you play it. Love the puzzles, but beware if bullet hell games stress you out. Also, there are themes of suicide within the game, so trigger warning for that, and child death.

2 Wandersong.-A pure delight. One of the most happy, hopeful games you'll ever play. Brightly colored and lovingly made, like Wander Over Yonder, there's a new color pallete in each area. It's gorgeous to look at, and some of the most fun gameplay ever. A very forgiving game, doesn't ever send you back very far if you mess up, not a game to cause stress. The singing and dancing is endlessly fun, the love in the details is boundless, you'll never believe it was made by only three ppl.

Very good story too, it can get serious at times, with talk of war and death, but it never pulls down the sense of hope throughout the story. The game may seem simple at first, but the story has some very interesting twists I didn't see coming. Wonderful characters, wonderful songs, wonderful everything. You get to play a bard and save the world, what's not to like? You will spend ALOT hours just dinking around in this game, it's great.

3 Hollow Knight-On the opposite end of excellence, Hollow knight is almost Wandersongs mirror, equal in enjoyment imho, but opposite in every way. It also will also give you countless hours of entertainment, and is very emotional and wonderful, but in an extremely melancholy way. While there is joy here and there, this game is very dismal, and not to be played of you are not ready for many characters to get sad ends. It also is not very forgiving, you will need to be patient to beat this game, and very skilled to see extra story bits, or willing to just youtube some cutscenes, lol. Very good atmosphere, if Wandersong feels like a joyous pop up book bring to life, Hollow Knight feels like a beautiful collection of detailed oil paintings.

4 Smile for Me-Not too difficult, not very long, nice eclectic cast of characters, very adorable, with some sprinkled in sinister. Also I'm just so in love with how the characters talk. Not just the goofy sounds they make as they speak, but the bonkers things they say, everyone's weird and I love them.

5 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky-The power of friendship man. It just never gets old. Very good writing, both in script in plot. A LOT of story too, lots of twists and turns, mysteries and revelations, and your only halfway done when the main story's done. Incredibly living, earnest story, really puts a smile on your face. The partner is the biggest sweetheart. Also, you get to be a pokemon!!! Heck yeah!!!

6 Wind Waker-Absolutely amazing, everyone knows it, lots of game play, amazing artstyle unique for a zelda game, with very expressive characters, good humor and countless side quests, your very own boat. A good time.

7 Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility-Nostalgia def coming in big time with this one, but it's just so cute man, you build rainbows ride ostriches and can get married and have 5 pets and go mining and buy a big ol rancher hat. Live off the land and say there there in a cutsey voice when you pet your cows. Makes me happy.

8 The Dog Island-Why does everyone always act so surprised that the plot of this game is so dang good?? People have been writing stories about animals dealing with the concept of death for forever, why does this one shock them? Besides, it is one of if not the most lighthearted stories on this list, you get to pick your dog breed and go on a magical adventure to save your sibling in an adorable fantasy world! Its very fun and laid back, it's got great music and characters, no gender locked items, and while sniffing will need to be done throughout the whole game, there are plenty of other game mechanics, fishing, bug catching, races, etc. Petasi is perfect in every way and we don't deserve em.

9 Portal 1 and 2-Duh! One of the best game series ever made! Despite the gloomy setting, it's not the kind of game to bring you down, Glados is the most character ever and you'll never get enough of her, great puzzles, great everything, the cake may be a lie but the hype isn't.

10 Celeste-A treasure that hits close to home to those with anxiety. A beautiful, emotional platformer game that may take you awhile, but is more than worth it. It's made perfectly for ppl with anxiety too, a very hard game at its default, but with all kinds of settings to make it easier so you don't have to be an epic gamer toplay it. Very touching, very good gameplay, homey 8 bit artstyle.

Tv shoes

1 Wander Over Yonder-My favorite show ever. EVER. The animation, the humor, the characters, there is nothing this show can do wrong. Elastic, smooth, rich movement, countless gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous backgrounds, color schemes, extremely creative background characters, complete goofballs for main characters, yet you get so attached to them, take them so seriously. And the show is constantly improving throughout! Craig McCracken being an animation beast, like always. Peepers needs anxiety meds.

2 Over The Garden Wall-Dare ya to find a flaw with this series. Dare ya. Dripping with atmosphere, gets you so in love with the cast in just 10 episodes, so many easter eggs and clever foreshadowing, Gravity Falls and Steven Universe levels of you can never watch it the same way twice. Stunning voice cast, hilarious, timeless, gorgeous, I recommend it to literally anyone and everyone. Woy is my fav, but Otgw is the best, if that makes sense? Wander is glorious, but attracts a specific audience, would not make people who don't like sillyness happy, and does make plenty of more recent references. Although it doesn't rely on them, they are often. Despite the countless cultural references such as Dantes Inferno and rubber hose and the like, Over the Garden Wall will never age.

3 Infinity Train-Insane levels of creativity, boundless opportunity in its amazing setting, and uses it to its fullest. An emotional rollercoaster, always keeping you on the edge of your train seat, amazing character designs, and even better writing. Not the funniest show on this list, but some of the most clever humor, if that makes sense. Wanders cancellation hurt a lot too, but that ending felt a lot more solid, while Infinity Train didn't leave on a cliffhanger, all the questions it left with drive me crazy, esp when Owen wanted 8 seasons. You should still watch it tho, each season can stand on its own, although the ways they connect are awesome, like that ever present darn cat. No, I shall not grace her with her The, cause even though she's amazing I'm mad at her.

4 OK K.O. Let's Be Heroes!-One of the funniest shows on this list, if not the funniest besides Wander and Gumball. Like Wander, it's very wholesome, like Gumball, it starts off just sweet, but gets way more unhinged as the series goes on, and the writers really start to realize what they can get away with, not in a dirty way, but in a, can we pull this insanity off in 11 minutes and not fry anyone's brain? Not as cynical as Gumball, just shares the memey fast paced meta humor. When a joke falls flat, which is rare, like Gravity Falls, you barely notice, cause a new better joke is already happening. Good story, good characters, the cancelation is sad, but doesn't leave you hanging or anything.

5 Sym-Bionic Titan-CANCELLATION VERY MUCH LEAVES YOU HANGING OR ANYTHING. Freaking amazing series, but get attached at your own risk, plot does NOT get resolved. Great action, characters, humor, typical awesome Genndy Tartakovsky extreme facial expressions, cute romance.

6 Gravity Falls-What can I say that hasn't already been said? Amazing characters, mystery, suspense, very rewatchable, all around loved. Had a lot more fat jokes in it than I remembered though, very disheartening.

7 The Amazing World of Gumball-Laugh your self silly humor, gets better as the series goes on, doesn't let the cynicism ruin the show or its surprisingly wholesome moments, endlessly creative and a treasure visually, right when you think there's no way they can break the 4th wall in a way they haven't already, they do, plot sneaks up on ya once in awhile. Like We Bare Bears, it's mini arcs, not a full length plot, you you can watch out of order, but I don't recommend it.

8 We Bare Bears-Charming and dear to my heart. Usually a good comfort show, but once in awhile feels come and punch you in the gut. Great characters, humor, nice rainy day show.

9 Ducktales-Francisco Angones, one of the main writers on Wander, has done it again, him and Matt Youngberg made a modern masterpiece, one of the most well rounded shows I've ever seen. No bad episodes. The writers are huge nerds for the old series and comics, esp the comics, and it shows! It's insane how many characters they're able to bring back without hurting the plot. So much happens, and it all fits so seamlessly. Constant nods to old duck artwork, a cohesive mixture of the entire Duckverse (marvel wishes), goof troop, dark wing, tailspin, the life and times of scrooge mcduck, Donald's diary, rescue rangers, gummi bears???? EVERYONE IS HERE!!!!! Amazing animation, quick, smart humor, superb plot, and as always, a great series puts its focus on its characters. Would suggest to anyone oddly enough, never strays too far into silly or serious to be for one group, like Gravity Falls or otgw.

10 and of course, as you saw coming if you've so much as glanced at my blog, STEVEN UNIVERSE!!!-Where do I even start. I can not begin to express how this show gets my emotions. How much I think about the characters every single day. Rebecca Sugar writes emotion like no one else. Everything feels so palpable, so close to your own heart, the characters are vastly interesting and complex, and the cast is just full of richly fascinating and morally grey characters, like, actually morally grey, not edgy anti hero who wants everyone to die and who's few connections are killed off for shock before you even got attached to them. Characters who's actions are understandable but not excused, characters who live a story full of hope, that declares you can break the cycle of abuse, you can find love, even for yourself.

This is gonna sound like a pretty darn crazy take, and just to remind, this is all opinions, it's okay if you disagree, but I think Steven Universe is the best written show out there besides Otgw. I mean it. The realistic writing of kids, the honest writing of trauma, the amazing pacing (which, anyone who's ever been ticked off by CNs stupid scheduling or doesn't like "filler" character development episodes will kick and scream at hearing given any praise), the natural, charming dialogue, down to the awkward pauses, dad jokes, soft humph of someone picking something up, leaves out no details that could keep you from feeling a part of Steven's Universe.

I think a lot of the hate the shows writing gets for anything other than season 5s ending (which would have felt a lot less rushed if CN let Rebecca have more seasons like they wanted, I'm still mad about the chest CN), comes from people equating not making them happy personally as written bad.

A lot of people suggest SU to friends applauding it as a space war drama, but they fail to mention its also very consistently a comedy. If you don't like comedy, if you don't like sillyness, you won't like su, I'm sorry. You can't just watch the plot episodes and feel satisfied, the characters development and drop fed foreshadowing is what makes the emotional and plot pivotal moments really hit. Episodes that seem filler besides character bonding to get you attached to them turn out to be VERY important later. A cherry picked Universe has no punch. If you don't like su season 1, it's nothing wrong with you or the show, it's just not your genre. The only problem with season 1 is Cat Fingers and Frybo being so close to the beginning of the show, quite the tonal whiplash.

I never understood people saying season 1 is bad but future is good, the whole show is an unapologetically weird lil comedy, future is the only season as crazy as season 1, as the show always follows Steven's mental state, and he's as lost as he was with his powers at s1. People don't realize it's not the humor thats the problem, the show just doesn't usually meet their preferred angst level. I hate the sentiment a shows only well written when it's sad. If you don't like sillyness, this show isn't for you, and that's fine! But if you do. Holy Moly. There will never be a show like Steven Universe. It has a depth I cannot describe, the only way you can fully take it in, is to watch.

[carbonpressure]

So, while I was conceptualising my Bunnicula human vampire hunter AU, I did a quick browse of AO3 to see if anyone had already done a similar idea before. And what I did find out from that is that apparently not only do people actually ship from this book series, but one of the most popular of those ships is Chester/Bunnicula. Now this haunted me, so a while ago I was fixating on this concept and I realised - we all know that at the end of the last book in the series (Bunnicula Strikes Again), Chester, much like Harold has always been, ends up falling into a parental role for Bunnicula. It’s literal text that Bunnicula finds in Harold and Chester a replacement for his biological mother. Which means that any Chester/Bunnicula ship ought to have Daddy kink, send post.

[howardhawkshollywoodannex]

Robin is sick and tired of being a sidekick to Batman, so he strikes out on his own in Teen Titans Go To the Movies (2018).  

Jimmy Kimmel was the voice of Batman, and Scott Menville was the voice of Robin.  Scott has a whopping 271 acting credits, from :additional voices” on Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo in 1979, to a voice on Infinity Train (2020).  Almost all of his credits are for voices, including 33 episodes as the voice of Spanky on The Little Rascals, 13 episodes of Popeye and Son, 15 episodes of The Flintstones Kids as Fred, four episodes of The New Yogi Bear Show, 16 episodes of New Kids on the Block as Joey McIntyre, 23 episodes of A Pup Named Scooby Doo, 37 episodes of Peter Pan and the Pirates, eight episodes of Rugrats, 113 episodes of Captain Planet and the Planeteers, 63 episodes of Teen Titans, 13 episodes of New Teen Titans, 37 episodes of Randy Cunnhigham:  9th Grade Ninja, 44 episodes of The 7D, 27 episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 24 episodes of Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, nine episodes of Bunnicula, 27 episodes of Spider Man, and 252 episodes of Teen Titans Go.

[thriftbookish]

http://thriftbookish.blogspot.com/2017/04/book-review-bunnicula-strikes-again-by.html

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

What other fandoms are you familiar enough with to use as an AU prompt? Pokemon Trainer AU? Homestuck AU (they'd still probably die but at least there are lots of ways to come back to life)?

I’m not that familiar with Homestuck, definitely not enough to do an AU.  I read the novelizations of the Pokemon show as a kid but never saw the show or played any of the video games.  I did play the super-obscure Pokemon board game, but most of my trading cards were printed in Japanese (I had a strange childhood), so my experience there is, uh, probably not quite overlapping with everyone else’s.

Anyway, if you want list of all my fandoms… Boy howdy.  I don’t think I can come up with them all.  However, I can list everything that comes to mind between now and ~20 minutes from now when I have to end my procrastination break and go back to dissertating.  So here it is, below the cut:

Okay, there is no way in hell I’ll be able to make an exhaustive list.  But off the top of my head, the fandoms I’m most familiar/comfortable with are as follows:

Authors (as in, I’ve read all or most of their books)

Patricia Briggs

Megan Whalen Turner

Michael Crichton

Marge Piercy

Stephenie Meyer

Dean Koontz

Stephen King

Neil Gaiman

K.A. Applegate

Ernest Hemingway

Tamora Pierce

Roald Dahl

Short Stories/Anthologies

A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery O’Connor

The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka

I Am Legend, Richard Matheson

Dubliners, James Joyce

Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes

Who Goes There? John W. Campbell

The Man Who Bridged the Mist, Kij Johnson

Flatland, Edwin Abbott

I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream, Harlan Ellison

To Build a Fire, Jack London

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Ambrose Bier

At the Mountains of Madness/Cthulu mythos, H.P. Lovecraft

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle

The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving

The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury

Close Range: Wyoming Stories, E. Annie Proulx

The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson

Bartleby the Scrivener (and a bunch of others), Herman Melville

Books (Classics)

Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neal Hurston

The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The Secret Garden, Francis Hodgson Burnett

Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

The Secret Annex, Anne Frank

Nine Stories, J.D. Salinger

Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison

Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut

The Stranger, Albert Camus

The Call of the Wild, Jack London

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

Lord of the Flies, William Golding

Atonement, Ian McEwan

1984, George Orwell

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith

The Iliad/The Odyssey, Homer

Metamorphoses, Ovid

Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne

The Time-Machine, H.G. Wells

The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, Hamlet, MacBeth, Othello, and The Taming of the Shrew, William Shakespeare

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Thomas Stoppard

Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett

Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood

Books (YA SF)

Young Wizards series, Diane Duane

Redwall, Brian Jaques

The Dark is Rising sequence, Susan Cooper

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Diana Wynne Jones

The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis

Abhorsen trilogy, Garth Nix

The Giver series, Lois Lowry

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

Uglies series, Scott Westerfeld

Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt

A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin

Song of the Lioness, Tamora Pierce

A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L’Engle

Unwind, Neal Shusterman

The Maze Runner series, James Dashner

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Patricia C. Wrede

Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Louis Sachar

Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine

Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card

The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster

Coraline, Neil Gaiman

Among the Hidden, Margaret Peterson Haddix

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Avi

Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice

Poppy series, Avi

The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd

Tithe, Holly Black

Life as We Knew It, Susan Beth Pfeffer

Blood and Chocolate, Annette Curtis Klause

Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie

The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

Haunted, Gregory Maguire

Weetzie Bat, Francesca Lia Block

Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White

East, Edith Pattou

Z for Zachariah, Robert C. O’Brien

The Looking-Glass Wars, Frank Beddor

The Egypt Game, Zilpha Keatley Snyder

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

Homecoming, Cynthia Voigt

Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll

The Landry News, Andrew Clements

Fever 1793, Laurie Halse Anderson

Bloody Jack, L.A. Meyer

The Boxcar Children, Gertrude Chandler Warner

A Certain Slant of Light, Laura Whitcomb

Generation Dead, Daniel Waters

Pendragon series, D.J. MacHale

Silverwing, Kenneth Oppel

Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Define Normal, Julie Anne Peters

Hawksong, Ameila Atwater Rhodes

Heir Apparent, Vivian Vande Velde

Running Out of Time, Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Keys to the Kingdom series, Garth Nix

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Joan Aiken

The Seer and the Sword, Victoria Hanley

My Side of the Mountain, Jean Craighead George

Daughters of the Moon series, Lynne Ewing

The Midwife’s Apprentice, Karen Cushman

Island of the Aunts, Eva Ibbotson

The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern

The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm, Nancy Farmer

A Great and Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray

A School for Sorcery, E. Rose Sabin

The House with a Clock in Its Walls, John Bellairs

The Edge Chronicles, Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

Hope was Here, Joan Bauer

Bunnicula, James Howe

Wise Child, Monica Furlong

Silent to the Bone, E.L. Konigsburg

The Twenty-One Balloons, William Pene du Bois

Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters, Gail Giles

The Supernaturalist, Eoin Colfer

Blue is for Nightmares, Laurie Faria Stolarz

Mystery of the Blue Gowned Ghost, Linda Wirkner

Wait Till Helen Comes, Mary Downing Hahn

I was a Teenage Fairy, Francesca Lia Block

City of the Beasts series, Isabelle Allende

Summerland, Michael Chabon

The Geography Club, Brent Hartinger

The Last Safe Place on Earth, Richard Peck

Liar, Justine Larbalestier

The Doll People, Ann M. Martin

The Lost Years of Merlin, T.A. Barron

Matilda Bone, Karen Cushman

Nine Stories, J.D. Salinger

The Tiger Rising, Kate DiCamillo

The Spiderwick Chronicles, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

In the Forests of the Night, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

My Teacher is an Alien, Bruce Coville

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, Julie Andrews Edwards

Storytime, Edward Bloor

Magic Shop series, Bruce Coville

A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket

Veritas Project series, Frank Peretti

The Once and Future King, T.H. White

Raven’s Strike, Patricia Briggs

What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy, Gregory Maguire

The Wind Singer, William Nicholson

Sweetblood, Pete Hautman

The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White

Half Magic, Edward Eager

A Ring of Endless Light, Madeline L'Engle

The Heroes of Olympus, Rick Riordan

Maximum Ride series, James Patterson

The Edge on the Sword, Rebecca Tingle

World War Z, Max Brooks

Adaline Falling Star, Mary Pope Osborne

Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo

Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi

Parable of the Sower series, Octavia Butler

I, Robot, Isaac Asimov

Neuomancer, William Gibson

Dune, Frank Herbert

The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Emily M. Danforth

The Martian, Andy Weir

Skeleton Man, Joseph Bruchac

Comics/Manga

Marvel 616 (most of the major titles)

Marvel 1610/Ultimates

Persepolis

This One Summer

Nimona

Death Note

Ouran High School Host Club

Vampire Knight

Emily Carroll comics

Watchmen

Fun Home

From Hell

American Born Chinese

Smile

The Eternal Smile

The Sandman

Calvin and Hobbes

The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For

TV Shows

Fullmetal Alchemist

Avatar the Last Airbender

Teen Titans (2003)

Luke Cage/Jessica Jones/Iron Fist/Defenders/Daredevil/The Punisher

Agents of SHIELD/Agent Carter

Supernatural

Sherlock

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Angel/Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Firefly

American Horror Story

Ouran High School Host Club

Orange is the New Black

Black Sails

Stranger Things

Westworld

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Movies

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Jurassic Park/Lost World/Jurassic World/Lost Park?

The Breakfast Club

Cloverfield/10 Cloverfield Lane/The Cloverfield Paradox

Attack the Block

The Prestige

Moon

Ferris Bueler’s Day Off

Django Unchained/Kill Bill/Inglourious Basterds/Hateful 8/Pulp Fiction/etcetera

Primer

THX 1138/Akira/How I Live Now/Lost World/[anything I’ve named a fic after]

Star Wars

The Meg

A Quiet Place

Baby Driver

Mother!

Alien/Aliens/Prometheus

X-Men (et al.)

10 Things I Hate About You

The Lost Boys

Teen Wolf

Juno

Pirates of the Caribbean (et al.)

Die Hard

Most Disney classics: Toy Story, Mulan, Treasure Planet, Emperor’s New Groove, etc.

Most Pixar classics: Up, Wall-E, The Incredibles

The Matrix

Dark Knight trilogy

Halloween

Friday the 13th

A Nightmare on Elm Street

The Descent

Ghostbusters

Ocean’s Eight/11/12/13

King Kong

The Conjuring

Fantastic Four

Minority Report/Blade Runner/Adjustment Bureau/Total Recall

Fight Club

Spirited Away

O

Disturbing Behavior

The Faculty

Poets

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Marge Piercy

Thomas Hardy

Sigfried Sassoon

W. B. Yeats

Edgar Allan Poe

Ogden Nash

Margaret Atwood

Maya Angelou

Emily Dickinson

Matthew Dickman

Karen Skolfield

Kwame Alexander

Ellen Hopkins

Shel Silverstein

Musicals/Stage Plays

Les Miserables

Repo: The Genetic Opera

The Lion King

The Phantom of the Opera

Rent

The Prince of Egypt

Pippin

Into the Woods

A Chorus Line

Hairspray

Evita

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

Fiddler on the Roof

Annie

Fun Home

Spring Awakening

Chicago

Cabaret

The Miser

The Importance of Being Earnest

South Pacific

Godspell

Wicked

The Wiz

The Wizard of Oz

Man of La Mancha

The Sound of Music

West Side Story

Matilda

Sweeney Todd

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Nunsense

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown/Snoopy

1776

Something Rotten

A Very Potter Musical

Babes in Toyland

Carrie: The Musical

Amadeus

Annie Get Your Gun

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

The Final Battle

Rock of Ages

Cinderella

Moulin Rouge

Honk

Labyrinth

The Secret Garden

Reefer Madness

Bang Bang You’re Dead

NSFW

War Horse

Peter Pan

Suessical

Sister Act

The Secret Annex

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Disclaimer 1: Like a lot of people who went to high school in the American South, my education in literature is pretty shamefully lacking in a lot of areas.  (As in, during our African American History unit in ninth grade we read To Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn… and that was it.  As in, our twelfth-grade US History class, I shit you not, covered Gone With the Wind.)  There were a lot of good teachers in with the *ahem* Less Woke ones (how I read Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Bluest Eye) and college definitely set me on the path to trying to find books written/published outside the WASP-ier parts of the U.S., but the overall list is still embarrassingly hegemonic.

Disclaimer 2: There are a crapton of errors — typos, misspelled names, misattributions, questionable genre classifications, etc. — in here.  If you genuinely have no idea what a title is supposed to be, ask me.  Otherwise, please don’t bother letting me know about my mistakes.

Disclaimer 3: I am not looking for recommendations.  My Goodreads “To Read” list is already a good 700 items long, and people telling me “if you like X, then you’ll love Y!” genuinely stresses me the fuck out.

Disclaimer 4: There are no unproblematic faves on this list.  I love Supernatural, and I know that Supernatural is hella misogynistic.  On the flip side: I don’t love The Lord of the Rings at all, partially because LOTR is hella misogynistic, but I also don’t think that should stop anyone else from loving LOTR if they’re willing to love it and also acknowledge its flaws. 

[ckell55]

Book Review: Bunnicula #6 - Bunnicula Strikes Again! by James Howe

Book Review: Bunnicula #6 – Bunnicula Strikes Again! by James Howe

8/10 In this sixth installment of the Bunnicula series, there is something dangerous afoot. After a reappearance of the white vegetables, Chester is once again determined to get rid of the vampire bunny. And this time, he’ll stop at nothing to end the vegetable-draining habits of our favorite vampiric rabbit. Harold and Howie are dragged along with the cat’s schemes, but Harold, who has never…

[zolganif]

@HEYBRITTANYsurveys made this survey and they are all things truly about me. go ahead and bold/ital/strike/make arrows with comments because i like that xoxo

If I am tearing up and someone tells me “it’s okay, go ahead and cry,” I end up sobbing. I spend more time at the walk-in clinic than with my actual family doctor. Some current scientific innovations really blow my mind. If you start a sentence online/in text with “um” I assume you are using a condescending tone. I am rarely ever out past 10 p.m. I remember Bunnicula books. I have crossed over a stream or gap by walking across a fallen tree. I prefer chocolate, vanilla, and caramel flavors to fruity flavors. If I never heard about Donald Trump again, it would be a dream. I’ve never taken a hiatus or break from Xanga.<-----I miss that website! :( Some traits that are necessary in someone I’m attracted to are intelligence, awareness, and caring about what’s going on in the world. I have clothes in sizes XS, S, M, L, and XL in my closet that all fit me. Some of the clothes that I wear are from the children’s section. A movie that I have no interest in seeing is Wreck It Ralph. When I am in a room full of people, I often forget I’m supposed to participate rather than just take everything in as a silent observer. Sometimes it’s like I forget that everyone can see me just as well as I can see them. I see myself focusing on school and myself rather than getting married/starting a family at a young age. It is difficult for me to empathize with beautiful celebrities’ complaints. I think Harry Styles and Taylor Swift make an absolutely terrible couple.  It has been at least two years since I have had a romantic relationship with someone. Something I have been anticipating for years finally happened this year. One of my favorite young celebrities is Ezra Miller. I don’t like to play shooting/FPS video games. One movie that I have seen many times and will watch many more times is Labyrinth. I would never date someone that is in the military, or is considering signing up. I think that it would be a cool job to be an ambassador representing my country. There is an obscure movie that I love, and I am always surprised when I find out other people love it, too. I have never been to a murder mystery party, but I would like to. There is someone I know that always seems to be out doing the coolest things. When I am not feeling well, I only like to watch happy and lighthearted shows and movies. One show that I have been watching a lot of recently is Adventure Time.   Sometimes I take a survey, but then I decide it’s too boring to publish. My sinuses bother me often. My goals for my future have changed significantly within the past two years. I have listened to One Direction’s new album, “Take Me Home.” I have become obsessed with a celebrity or band seemingly overnight. I would rather see Stephen Spielberg’s “Lincoln” than “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” I am passing at least one of my classes with a 4.0, this semester. One of my pets is definitely my favorite. I watch at least one show every week with a specific person. I tend to plan my outfits around themes, and dress in different styles day-to-day. I think that it would be cool to go ghost hunting. My desktop background is a picture of a person. It is not common for me to be attracted to macho and stereotypically masculine men. When I post on Facebook it’s usually just me trying to be witty and clever. Sometimes I still want to play pretend with toys. When guys talk to me, I always assume it’s just because I’m non-threatening/an easy target. When I am bored and at home with nothing to do, I just start thinking about all the things I dislike about myself. There is nothing interesting to me about making crafts. I know who Clover, Sam, and Alex are. If I learn that someone had a great high school experience, I become a bit wary about them. Sometimes I get really sassy when taking a survey. I really want to meet someone I like and by like I mean like-like. My hair is currently darker than my natural color. I have nightmares where I am still dating an ex, or that they won’t leave me alone. I honestly believe that I have some sort of psychic abilities, even if just a teeny bit. I think Gangnam Style is super annoying and not funny. I bought a ticket for the $500 million Power Ball lottery. If there is nothing in the house that I want to eat, I will starve rather than eat something I don’t want. I wish more people would make more surveys more often Sometimes when I hear about other people’s experiences I am envious, even if I know I wouldn’t actually enjoy myself in those situations. When I see someone with a talent (e.g., posting videos of themselves singing) I am proud of them, but it sort of just makes me wish I had a talent, rather than want to compliment them. I prefer Nintendo to other gaming brands like Sony or Microsoft. I feel guilty after eating unhealthy snacks. If you want to win my heart, compliment me on my intelligence. I think it’s pretty entertaining to listen to a police scanner. I think it would be fun to be a freelance photographer and go chasing news stories to take pictures of and sell them to papers. I love anything that’s reminiscent of a treasure hunt. I am more likely to buy things for other people than I am to actually spend money on things for myself. I love and admire Amy Poehler. I refer to my car as “my baby.” When I was a kid, I thought farmers just had a lot of farm animals as pets. I have had all sorts of orthodontia through the years. Sometimes I feel good but as soon as I come home to the quiet, I feel bad again.<-----When I’m feeling very down/depressed I find that I feel like that. :/  When people align their surveys to the right, I can’t see them in my subscriptions page. It is my goal, even if petty/rude/conceited, to be able to be the smartest person in the room at any given time. Sometimes I think the idea of an online relationship seems pretty nice and cute. Watching the show Catfish makes me sort of curious to see if I could get away with making a fake online persona. I have received a nice surprise in the past week. I have bought/am buying Christmas presents for friends that I only know online. It takes a lot of trust for me to be able to let someone else drive. Any conversation within the first hour of me waking up instantly irritates me. I hate taking a gamble on anything, I’d rather be safe than sorry!

[booklovingnut]

Bunnicula Strikes Again by James Howe

Bunnicula Strikes Again by James Howe

3.5 Nuts

Of all the BUNNICULA books this supposedly final (another book came along years later) book in the series is probably the most forgettable. Yes, I know, sad right? But of each of the other books in the series I have very specific memories, moments that made me feel this or that emotion. This book is connected to none of those feelings. It just exists.

This adventure of Harold, Chester,…

[godzilla-reads]

October 26, 2021

New challenge: Can I read the whole Bunnicula trilogy by midnight on Halloween? We’ll see!!