#I saw it with a kid I would have waited to watch it online eventually otherwise

[g4rchomp]

my review of the mario movie

fun and entertaining with really really beautiful animations

bowser musical number(s). kids screaming laughing crying in the room

plumber sex joke within the first 10 minutes of the movie (in the french version at least)

embarrassing 'I need a hero' moment, you will never be shrek

on the topic of shrek: toad is basically just donkey

amazing orchestral music pieces from the games

3 real life songs that clearly say "we want to appeal to millennials who listened to their white dad's music"

dixie kong on screen for a few seconds <3 I love her so much

fun easter eggs you know are gonna appear in every IGN listicles for the next 3 months

fun overall :) kids around you will sing the bowser song for the next 5 days (practice your dramatic villain skills)

[pendragonsclotpole]

i’ve watched the first three episodes of the pjo series and then decided to wait. ostensibly this is because once season one is done i can binge it all in one go like i read the book, but i have a confession to make. i can’t stand to watch it.

hear me out: i read these books when i was in grade school. tlt? fifth grade. the rest of the original series? powered me through sixth grade and into seventh. hoo? eighth grade and first year or two of high school. i was a baby. percy jackson and his friends were either my age or older than me and doing shit i could not even comprehend.

i’ve seen a lot of discourse online about the changes made in the show and how they don’t align with how some fans remember the books, and i think that criticism perfectly echoes my feelings on this series. when i read pjo, i saw myself in the characters and saw my interactions with people older than me in their interactions with adults or older characters. case in point sally and luke.

i’m gonna have to make another post about my feelings for show!sally vs book!sally (tldr: book!sally reminds me of how i thought of the adults in my life and their complicated relationships with other adults as a kid, show!sally shows me that things were never so clear cut, surviving/being a survivor is mastering how to balance on a tight tope into adulthood, and sometimes the monsters we remember from our childhoods are a lot more pathetic than we ever realized. don’t even get me started on how i spent my whole life thinking of sally as a woman in her late twenties/early thirties with nothing in her life put together. seeing her in the show was a slap to the face for that notion, because sally seems so much older, but also so much closer to my age than percy in terms of maturity if not actually and what does that mean for me?)

but now about luke. jfc he looks so young. i think it was so easy to demonize luke because he was older, described as college aged, and perfect and popular and a mentor. he felt so responsible, so caring that the betrayal from him in tlt felt so much worse because as a reader i inherently related to percy, annabeth and thalia.

but growing up is realizing i’m now older than book!Luke in tlt and if i was faced with the loneliness of not having at least one good parent, i might be just as bitter as him. heck i do have one good parent, and i think i’m just as bitter as him about somethings. i’m older than him and somehow still feel so much younger. and also, show!luke’s actor is so young looking! i didn’t expect that to be such a hard pill to swallow, realizing the actor is actually 19 made me want to roll up into a ball and cry because fuck, did i look that young at 19??? i’m still in my early 20s, but somehow you do so much growth in the span of those years that just blows my mind. it isn’t fair and it feels like loss and at the same time, i think i understand why rick riordan and the rest of the writing/production team made the choices they did. on the one hand, they could have stuck to the books as faithfully as possible and recreated word for word the story we remembered from when we were kids, but on the other hand, they had the chance of portraying the story as it was and now would be now that we’re the grown ups.

i’m gonna finish the season, eventually, but i don’t yet have the emotional maturity to not hate every little change.

[preciadosbass]

6/8/24 [did quite a few crafts today — pics at end … this read does get more interesting over time, i promise.]

woke up at 10 and laid aimlessly in my bed thinking about having to see my prevision. i’m never usually very active in the mornings, as is obvious in my other entries, but i’m especially not when i have to see a keyworker. i eventually step foot out of my room and sat outside with boris for 20 minutes. i would’ve been out there for longer, but i was paranoid my prevision would turn up early and see me on the driveway without me being prepared.

while i sat there with boris to my side i looked through the new gerard way photos/videos and made a highlight on |nsta of [mostly] faceless pictures of myself because i’ve been meaning to put my outfits online for a while — [@/iloveechicheng]. i went back inside at 10:50 to get dressed and sort out my hair as the straightening had long worn off from when i went to zoo. i also stress out over my outfit when this particular prevision comes round as allegedly her son dresses the same way as me. it honestly feels like a dress to impress with her because of that and it’s kind of tiring.

i took a while debating what shirt to wear as i didn’t want to repeat the same outfit as last week, i ended up going for my new slipknot shirt. this person i met at a sailing ‘expedition’ [it was almost the same as those camps that teens get sent off to and abused] got me it for my birthday. i hadn’t worn it before because i didn’t know how to style clothing in that colour but i ended up wearing it with these really baggy black jeans [of which have a barn owl keychain on a carabina among with other things which, i guess, make them more interesting], my zip up mcr hoodie, a can tab necklace, alien socks, and spiked cuffs. it was a pretty low effort outfit but i honestly couldn’t be too bothered to do much more.

my provision got here at near 11 and i took a few minutes to prepare to see her. i went out to living room with my dad and she attempted to make small talk but we were both clearly feeling very awkward so she brought out uno flip and we had two games. the second game ended up being over an hour and a half, maybe two hours long. which dosent sound like it’d be draining or scary, but it is - she’s still a stranger to me and you could literally feel tension in the air. she left at 12 and i spent a bit of time with boris until i decided i was going to tag along to my sisters asthma appointment because i felt like going out and she didn’t mind.

we left at 12:15-19 and i listened to mcr demos on the way to the hospital. i’m trying my best to excessively listen to as much mcr and fall out boy as possible for that tribute concert coming up. we got there at 12:25 and i briefly watch a skateboarding competition on the tv infront of us in the waiting room until i felt awkward by the silence and showed my mum some of gerard’s stage outfits. she seemed to think they were cool. we were called in for the appointment at 1, and i don’t have much to say about it, it was what you can expect, it’s self explanatory.

on the way out of the childrens section i saw that a few kids younger than me were colouring in a picture of pikachu so i asked my mum to ask if the receptionist had any spare copies. she luckily gave me two which means i can colour one, and decide whether i prefer it plain or not for it to go on my wall. i’m not even into pokémon, i know absolutely nothing about it, but i think the designs and things are cool. we walked back to the car and left for town at 1:45 or something along those lines.

once we got into the shopping centre i headed to hmv to check a few things. i wanted to check if there were any new magazines or discounted shirts, as the last time i came i got a fall out boy magazine and a reduced silverstein shirt from the so called ‘bargain bin.’ there weren’t any magazines i was interested in because all of them were related to glam rock however there was an asking alexandria shirt. i decided not to get it because i wasnt keen on the colours and i have a purple one similar. i looked at some of the other shirts that were on display and fell in love with a specific five nights at freddy’s shirt and a nightmare before christmas one. i wasn’t willing to pay over £40 for the both so i took a picture to remind myself to check for them on ebay/vinted/depop.

i went to get my safe food at 2:20 because there isn’t anything for me to eat at home even if i wanted to and got boba at 2:30 because i found out that this specific brand isn’t even too high in cals, well not for what it is. once we’d payed and gotten our [me and my sisters] drinks we set off for home. we got back at 3 and i cuddled boris on the sleeper again. it unfortunately started to rain almost as soon as i got out there so he crawled under my dads car, meaning i couldn’t stroke him anymore, so i went back inside.

my sister followed me back into my room and went through all her pokémon cards with me and let me keep the ones i like as she dosent ever plan on using them. i felt bad ultimately taking her cards even though she wanted me to. once i’d gone through them all and wound down from being outside surrounded by people my age, i decided to look through this 2000s arts and crafts book i must’ve gotten from a bootsale or something as a kid. i didn’t find anything to do at the time so i went out to my dad and asked him to paint my nails as id picked off the excess from last week, or whenever they were last done.

its only been up until recently that i’ve ever had them painted. i mean, it’s nothing fancy, just black — but i like it. i also wanted them repainted because at this point in the day i thought i was going bowling but that didn’t end up working out as it would’ve been too much hassle. also ignore that i cant paint my own nails.. i have the worst hand coordination *cries* / after theyd dried i went back into my room and remade that can tab necklace with the skull bead on it with a bigger tab. it took longer than the original did as i had to manipulate more metal and make a loop for the actual string of the necklace to go through. [pictures at end]

once i’d done and shown my parents, i continued looking at the book at 5 and saw a homemade trinket box shown on it so i started cutting up a cat food box into various rectangles until i had a lid, base, and the sides of the box ready. my hot glue gun and tile were still in their places from when i made those hot glue pins so i got started and glued the thing together. i finished at 5:30 because the gun took ages to get hot/i kept on accidentally burning myself/i had to adjust the sizes of the card multiple times during gluing. after id finished with that, i painted the box black. it took me barely any time at all and i left it on my windowsill to dry.

i went outside with boris while i was waiting to be able to customise it. i got a little nervy as he kept on going further away from me and more out into the driveway to be around the grass. i walked myself back to my room at 7 and looked through a few band font/logo things to draw on the top of the box. i settled on my chemical romance’s text font in the black parade era. i ‘rehearsed’ the writing a couple times on a scrap envelope and used a red paint pen on the actual box. it didn’t turn out like the actual thing, as i noticed that one’s drawn in a paintbrush kind of style, but i’m not disappointed with how it came out, i like it. [pictures at end]

while i was waiting for that to dry i collected a few examples of raccoon tails on dyed red hair to show my parents and hairdresser. i also found out that she [my hairdresser] had found the straighteners she’s been planning on giving me as the one i use is at least 20+ years old and has cut the fronts of my hair to the size of my pinky 😭, so it’s good i’m getting something that’ll take that out of the picture and prevent it from looking as fried as it does now.

that didn’t take long at all so i drew spirals on either side of the box while the top was still drying. it isn’t perfect as i had to go over the hot glue i used which makes it mismatched but i much prefer when spirals are ‘messy’ so i’m not bothered. id drew on the longer sides of the box multiple times at this point, but kept on painting back over it. so while i was waiting for that to dry to have a fresh start, i made a friendship bracelet. [pictures at end]

the technique was in that same arts and crafts book but it was so much more confusing. with the box i just looked at the end product and easily knew what to do because like.. it’s just a box. so i thought a bracelet would be the same, but no - i ended up having to get both of my parents to try and work it out but my dad eventually figured out what i needed to do, and once i’d done it a few times i got the knack. i made it out of yarn in black, medium light blue, and gray. i finished that at 10:20 and took pictures of all the stuff i’ve made today.

i started writing about my day [finally] at 11 on a draft, but while i was halfway through and had already written in detail about a number of things, it deleted itself. i had to re write and re word everything, which took up until 11:50 before i went upstairs to ask my parents questions about boris. i know it took over an hour today, but i don’t know how many more minutes after that. i think it was a lot as we all kept on getting sidetracked.

i went downstairs at 1 something and made toast while speaking to boris about my day/apologising for going out and everything else i need to address. i unintentionally switched up the routine a bit today because i obviously couldn’t brush my teeth before having food. i finished at 2 and got into bed a few minutes past 2. i had to end off this entry so i did that and actually went to sleep at 2:20.

have a good day/night O_o

[itsahotminuteinbetween]

Okay so I'm seeing a lot of 'Sun sucks at cooking he he can't make cereal properly leave the cooking to Moon he's the best at it' in domestic aus

And that's great! I love that idea! But consider the following: absolutely none of you know anything about cooking.

I mean, sure, Sun's been cutting apple slices with peanut butter for so long he's got it down to an art, and his PB &J sandwiches are to die for. Moon's got directions to make tea and applesauce and instant jello for the kids that they share in their headspace. But that's pretty much the limit for their cooking expertise. So put them near a toaster? Yeah, they can figure it out. A microwave? Moon put a fork in it to see what would happen after Sun saw something about it online and got to 20 seconds before you slam into the kitchen and shut it off. And then talk their audio receptors off by scolding them for putting metal in the microwave and being in the kitchen without your supervision.

All you have to send them is a look and they decide to leave the oven alone.

Speaking of your skills...

Well.

While you're no 'master chef', you've picked up enough to scrape by. A few years on your own will do that to you. Compared to what your boys know, you're practically a god in the kitchen.

So you, with your grand total of maybe 15-20 recipes (half of which have cottage cheese or yogurt incorporated into them) are appointed head of the kitchen.

You're really only slightly better than the boys, but you at least know how to turn on a stove. Still, your skill level is really only enough to make the same few meals throughout the week. So, you all decide to figure it out together.

You look up some recipes online, grab some stuff from the store and dump it all onto the counter. The ingredients are nothing you haven't seen before (the boys regard the flour as some foreign and ancient play-doh from the stone ages), but you can't remember the last time you bought some of this stuff.

After you take in the wonders of vanilla extract and brown sugar, you pick something hopefully easy enough that it'll be impossible to mess up. Cookies aren't that hard. You remember making them when you were younger, and they usually came out alright.

You also remember that you were 9 and had adult supervision to make sure you didn't screw up.

And now you're the most competent adult in this operation.

You try not to picture the apartment going down in flames.

It doesn't actually go terribly. You manage to handle it pretty well, all things considered. Moon grabs your wrist before you pour the eggs into the flour, reminding you that you're supposed to do your dries, then your wets, and then your chips. You're pretty sure he only reminded you so he can keep sneaking chips into his cheeks when you're not looking, but you let him have it. You also elect not to say anything when you catch them pouring more chips into the bowl when you're not looking.

Sun spends the entire time obsessing over the shape of the cookies, making sure they're all perfectly rounded and spread out on the pan. Moon wedges a chocolate chip deep into the center of a few of them, watching his brother panic over the now 'ruined' cookies. He gets over it eventually, though, joining his brother in front of the oven to watch the dough rise and expand as the torturous waiting for them to bake begins. You pull out the tray and inspect your work.

They're...not that bad, in all honesty. There are little things that could be improved, but otherwise, you're pretty proud of your guy's progress.

You're not as happy about the mess, though. It looks like a hurricane has stormed through your kitchen, a fact that is quickly brought to the attention of your boys as they scramble to wipe down countertops and toss eggshells away.

...

I dunno how to end this cuz my endings suck so there it is, thank you for attending my ted talk.

[sea-of-dust]

Hello I hope the event is still open. I saw that you write for Vrains and I thought of this cute idea that I hope isn't too complicated. Basically Skye (or Aoi if you watched the sub) is e-dating the reader and they decide to meet up irl for valentines day. But it turns out they already knew each other irl and were friends and Skye is all insecure like "you must think i'm lame when i'm not blue angel" but the reader loves her even more like this. Thank you in advance if you decide to write this I hope it isn't too complex.

Blue Angel/Skye x GN! Reader

Dating her online and meeting her, you couldn't help but say you called it

N: YUGIOH REQUEST GUYS WERE SO BACK!!! THANK YOU ANNON IM GONNA BEGIN TO FLY AGAIN YIPPEEE

You'd always notice something up with her. How she's ready to bolt out of a classroom with this cotton candied haired kid that looked like he wrote angst on the side. As soon as she'd bolt out the classroom you'd lock in to take notes for her making sure it's colorful and summed to the important bits. After those odd days you'd usually log onto vrains with hopes of meeting a certain blue celeb, only to find her offline. When she is online tho she'd be all over you. "You're always so early what's your secret" "well..." You pull non existent hairs on your chin "I don't have fans that chase me around for a duel" she huffs "you need to work on better routes to cut em off" you place a hand onto her board running a finger over it. "I'll try" she sighs placing a hand over yours.

She would say things that made you think she was Skye. Like how her classmates had covered a tab for her, how she spoke similarly to you in real life. She'd end up mumbling about you so much you try to take her mind off of it by dueling her. "If I win you have to promise me a date!" "I've been looking into a spot anyway!"

By valintines day while watching a replay of blue angels duels, Skye seemed to shuffle around alot, trying to hide her face with her hair, eventually tapping a finger to one of yours. "Can you help me out with something..." "Sure what's up" you pause the replay "when there's someone you want to ask out" she grips her tie "how do you..." she pauses reading herself to speak up "how should I ask them to meet me" she sighs unable to make eye contact, you turn to her fully. "Well~" at this point you were heavy suspecting her to be your girlfriend online smirking as you respond "tell that lucky person that you wanna meet them, I'm sure the words will fly out your mouth"

As soon as you get onto vrains, you meet a clearly nervous Blue Angel. "What's on your mind?" You creep up to her playfully "it's almost valintines day..." You smile waiting for her to continue speaking "I want to meet up with you" "oh?" Smiling you sit down onto the nearby ledge "where do you have in mind?" Instictively she sits with you her hands tightly gripping eatchother. "You know that hot dog stand?" "I'm a frequent" "the one with the-" "guy with the purple hair?" "Yea" reassured she continues on "at 4 pm let's meet there" "alright" you take her hand gently bringing it up to your mouth "I can't wait to meet you" you place a soft kiss onto her hand

The next day you finally strike a conversation with that one cotton candy kid, while waiting for her. Getting two hot dogs for you two along with drinks, gripping the gifts you brought. Checking your phone back almost every two seconds seeing a familiar figure near run to the table. "Skye?" Trying to act surprised you watch as she bolts to you, hugging you tightly but loosing her grip secounds later. "I bet you think im lame" "Why would I think that" she let's go of you looking away "I'm not blue angel right now, I bet you'll only think im cool if I'm blue angel, let alone want to date me" you scoff "Skye, if I didn't think you were cool I wouldn't have met you here" she looks up as if a bit stunned. "To be honest you kept talking about me to me it made it pretty obvious who you were" you take her hands "and even after the fact that I basically knew your identity I still stuck around" she looked with wide eyes unsure of what to say. "Even if you weren't blue angel, even If you were just a normal person in and out of vrains, I'd still love you all the same Skye" she nearly falls onto you, small droplets plopping onto your shirt, she grips its fabric. "I'm glad" she's able to mumble out between sniffles "really glad" with words no longer needed you hug her letting her cry all she needed to.

[asterkiss]

ello, dear fellow!

you please mind doing fake dating prompt 3?? thank you lots!

Woops, forgot about this. Also had an anon askign for this prompt as well so here we go:

Sequel to Homecoming. Still a high school AU.

- SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN

The homecoming party had gone off without a hitch - or actually, no, that was a lie. There had been at least six hitches, with the last one being Mabel spilling the punch bowl all over her dress and the floor.

But most people seemed to believe she and Bill were dating at least, and it had been worth it to see the look on Pacifica's face as she danced with her hot date.

And, as keen as Mabel was to get changed out of the stained and damp dress she couldn't pass up when they were invited to an after party by the popular kids.

But Pacifica seemed to still have it out for her, and had led the groups crusade in shoving the couple into a closet for Seven Minutes in Heaven. Was this to test if they were really dating? A tube of lipstick had been shoved into Mabel's hand last second before the door was slammed shut.

It was dark, with only a thin sliver of light filtering in through a gap in the doorway over one side of her face.

'So....' She began, glancing aside. She could just make out the silhouette of her fake boyfriend.

His eyes slid in her direction before he grabbed the lipstick out of her hand. She blinked, watching as he smeared it over his lips without a word and leaned towards her.

'Hey, whoah, wait, what are you doing?' Her back pressed against the wall of closet as Bill continued to advance, planting his hands either side of her head. The light shone over his face now instead and she saw the amusement dancing in his eyes.

'Cm'on kid, even you know how this game is played. Pucker up.'

'Sure I do, but can't you be more romantic?' She wasn't against kissing the guy but come on now.

Bill blinked, and almost seemed puzzled by her request. 'I can't exactly take ya to a candle-lit dinner right now.'

'I know, but...' She shrugged, playing with a piece of her hair whilst she glanced aside with a blush. 'You could say something sweet or flirt a bit.'

'You first.'

Oh. Uh. She floundered for a only moment at the sudden request before breaking out into a grin. She leaned closer, placing a hand on his chest where she could feel his steady heart beat beneath her fingers. Time to put those online flirting classes to work, girl.

'Are you a parking ticket? Because you've got "fine" written all over you.' Wink.

He arched an eyebrow but didn't seem particularly swooned off his feet. Hm. Mabel tried again.

'Kiss me if I'm wrong, but dinosaurs still exist, right?' She pushed herself up on tip-toes, leaning her face closer in anticipation as she pursed her lips towards the guy.

Bill merely blinked. 'If you're talkin' about that old fart Sixer who teaches physics, then yes.'

Mabel stared at him. He stared back.

'Just kiss me already,' she demanded, giving him a fierce look.

'Alrighty.'

Without any hesitation he smashed his lips against her with a force that would surely take anyone else off their feet. But Mabel wasn't just anyone. In fact, it was her who took Bill off his feet as she shoved her body against his own frame, causing the taller boy to stumble back against the side of the enclosed space. She followed suit, hands finding the wall behind him to balance herself as their legs tangled together.

The blond ripped away from her, and although she couldn't see his expression in the dark she was sure he looked bewildered.

Eventually, he just said: 'Jesus, how strong are you?'

'Uh.... Well, I can still pick up Waddles and he weighs 190lbs! Is that a lot?'

'What the fuck?'

Again, she couldn't see his expression but she could only imagine how he was regarding her right now. Most of the guys she crushed on tended to get weirded out when she showed how easily she could pick them up like a bag of grapes.

Oh well. Their loss.

At that moment, the door to the closet was thrown open. Mabel turned her head aside to see Pacifica staring at them in surprise. In the light, their position did look rather comprimising with her pinning him against the wall and their clothing crumpled.

She glanced back at Bill, whose lower face was smudged in red make-up. He paid no attention to the blonde girl, with his blue eyes instead fixated on her.

'Oh my god, look at the lipstick all over their faces,' one of the girls whispered.

Mabel felt a hand around the back of her neck, and barely had time to register it was Bill's before he was pulling her back towards him. She heard Pacifica release a grunt of annoyance as she slammed the door shut again, enveloping the pair in darkness once more.

And yet Bill's mouth remained on hers for much longer, the sensation of his lips sending a tingling feeling down her neck and spine. Her legs felt like jelly as she leaned all her weight against him, but he didn't seem to mind as he pulled away to speak.

'I like a girl who can kick my ass.'

Her face flushed. Okay, now that was a good pick up line. She cleared her throat, trying to appear smooth. 'I think they bought it, we can leave now. I mean, if you want.' Or maybe they could stay in here and kiss more? No, she didn't say that bit out loud. Behave, Mabel. This was a fake dating situation after all. It was purely to get back at Pacifica (on her end) and Dipper (on his). She didn't want to ruin it just when it was getting good!

'Are you kidding? it's barely been five minutes. I have a reputation to uphold. Gimme that lipstick again.'

Reputation? Wasn't his only reputation being an asshole? What was he talking about?

But Mabel didn't bother arguing, instead passing the lipstick over as he proceeded to yank her close and leave marks across her face and throat.

It was worth the yelling she got from Dipper later.

[tieria-erde]

i finished rewatching gwitch! here are some of my final thoughts, broadly and in no particular order

~7.5/10 show. i enjoyed it a lot and i would recommend it to others even if i feel that it fell flat thematically in a number of places

suletta is an unbelievably good protagonist. i do not have particularly charitable opinions on the portrayal of women in the gundam franchise, so when this show was first announced i deliberately kept my expectations very low. i'm glad i did, but i really didn't need to, because holy shit they knocked it out of the fucking park with suletta

similarly, i still can't believe that they made a yuri gundam and the yuri is FANTASTIC. they got lesbian married and everything. no notes. when the finale first aired i saw a baffling number of people complaining online that gwitch was queerbait, ostensibly for not having an outright confession or kiss scene. to those people i have to say: GOD YOU ARE STUPID

i started this rewatch because this show's stance on parents has bothered me since i first watched it, and it made it hard to properly recommend it to people. i will, eventually, make a very long post about this, but i think i've successfully made peace with my grievances about this specific topic, for the most part

...however i still find the trajectory of guel's character arc egregiously disappointing

this show did not spend enough time on earth

when gwitch was first airing i saw someone point out how norea expresses a really potent grief over the idea that "earthian lives are cheaper than spacians'", and that line hits really hard, but then... the show proves her right by having earthian characters be basically the only deaths in the cast by the end. that's always stuck with me. i mean, it's fucking true, jesus

i said something midway through season 2 along the lines of "the rest of this show is too heavy to have earned the ending it got" and i don't know if i still believe that. for one, i've said this before and i'll say it again: the lesbian gundam show ending with a literal rainbow light show is FUCKING FUNNYYY

for two, i do think it became kind of hard for this show to kill its characters off at a certain point because they REALLY wanted to drive the point home of "you can't run from your past mistakes, you have to move forward" and a character kind of has to be alive to move forward... oops!

i ALSO said something about "run and gain one, move forward and gain two" being a "flawed adage" or something, and that was kind of me misremembering certain aspects of the story... i thought they condemned prospera's little motto at some point, but it actually continued to in fact basically be the message of the whole show...

i found it kind of hard to connect whatever prospera was doing to the political goings-on of the plot... to be honest, throughout the whole quiet zero thing, i kept thinking to myself, "god, i wish we were looking at the political situation on earth instead right now"

I Should Read The Tempest BTW

this show's character writing is straight up fantastic. i feel like almost every single character was memorable and charming in some way

for some reason, though, ojelo's name is only said once in this entire show. i'm not kidding. they tell you his name when they introduce him and then never say it again. i know this because i heard his name in his first appearance, forgot it, and then spent the rest of the show waiting for them to say it again so i could remember it. it never happened. do you know who ojelo gabel is? no, you don't. because they ONLY SAY HIS NAME ONCE.

also, unpopular opinion, but i don't really care for prospera. i don't know if i'm insane for this, but after watching it multiple times i STILL don't understand that scene where all the ghosts from the prologue are talking to prospera and suletta's like "you chose eri's future over revenge, and i can't fault you for that!" like, holy shit, i genuinely don't get it. she didn't do that at all. she killed people? she actively declared that she wanted to get revenge on delling rembran and Kill Him? am i missing something. this scene doesn't make any sense. if this scene makes sense to you legit please explain it to me

i had fun yay ^_^ ok thanks for reading

[sealbirdy]

A long Gravity Falls feelings rant because I am full of emotions rn.

This rant is mostly about my experience with the show and what it meant/means to me as someone who's watched it since pretty much the beginning, not really the show itself. I Also won't go into any plot details of the show or the book.

I just finished reading book of bill, and also with everything happening tonight I'm just so full of emotions, I just need to get it out somewhere.

First of all, the moment I found out about the whole website thing that's happening, I was already super hyped. I felt like I was back in my teenage years eagerly waiting what's happening next and theorizing with other people about what's goin on. Even my boyfriend commented that it was nice to see me so excited about something (I've been having kinda a hard time lately so this was a nice surprise for tonight). Then someone gave me a link to a pdf file that had the whole book of bill and my night just got better. I do want to get the actual book at some point too, but I don't really have the money rn.

At first I was just kinda reading the book quietly to myself, but then there was something that made me laugh so much I wanstd to readi it for my boyfriend too, and ended up reading almost the whole book to him out loud. I skipped a few parts (my eyes couldn't focus and some of the pages in the pdf file were kinda blurry) But I'm going to read the whole thing once I get my hands on the actual book). My boyfriend was aware of gravity falls existence before and had seen a few episodes, but wasn't really in the fandom like I was growing up. (I made him watch it with me after we started dating though and he liked it).

I had so much fun and got really into character while reading out loud. I even noticed a couple things that seemed like they could be references to some things that happened in the fandom back in the day, and had to stop reading just to explain them to him lol (I'm so happy to have found someone who would just sit there while I read almost the whole book to him lol and actually seems interested when I explain stuff to him). It was the most fun I'd had in a long time. And then a bit after I had finished the book, I got super emotional over it (I'll explain why at the end of the rant)

I've watched gravity falls since pretty much the beginning. My mother got us disney channel in 2012 and I still remember seeing the first trailers for gravity falls and being intrigued by it immediately. I also remember being super annoyed by episode two because sometimes if felt like it was the only episode they aired lol. Even now when rewatching the series, I still skip it because I got so bord of it as a kid lol. My boyfriend and I share this sentiment and also skipped the episode when we watched gravity falls together. He didn't really watch the show as much in the long run, but even he remembers that episode being shown over an over again and it getting really boring lol.

At one point I started watching the series from online, because it felt like the fastest way to see new episodes (every time I watched disney channel it always seemed to be the same episodes over an over again). I mostly watched them from youtube with bad quality, but I wasn't really aware of other sites to watch it from. I still remember the moment I saw dreamscapers for the first time, because I almost screamed when bill was finally revealed, after wondering about the zodiac wheel image for too long. the quality was horrible, because I was watching it in the middle of the night from my tiny phonescreen, but that moment has stayed in my memory clearly through all these years. Eventually my mom got rid of disney channel (sometime after season 1 ended), which meant I had no choise but to pirate it. It's actually a huge reason why I finally learned english, since obviously the pirate sites and youtube uploads obviously didn't have subtitles in my language. I stayed up so many nights just watching the episodes and at one point always had Sock Opera playing in the background when i finally went to sleep. some of my favorite Christmas presents to this day were a gravity falls necklace and a pillowcase (both had the bill cipher zodiac wheel image on them). I wore that necklace every day and even when i slept for so long, until it broke. the pendant itself fell somewhere and I never found it again. I still have the pillowcase though, and I actually have it on my pillow rn lol. I even felted a bill cipher out of wool at some point (pretty sure I still have that somewhere too).

At that point some of my classmates had started bullying me for liking the show. Well looking back on it I'm pretty sure they had tried bullying me before too, but I never really realized it so it didn't affect me. But since gravity falls was suddenly really important to me, now they could use it against me. It was mostly just them insulting the show and characters in different ways to my face, which as an adult doesn't sound as bad, but to me the show meant everything and they were clearly saying those things to me, because they knew it affected me. But if there's something I'm proud of my younger self for, it's that I never let it affect my love for the show itself, and I never started hiding how much the show meant to me.

I ordered myself journal 3 after I had already moved out. I hadn't really engaged with the series or the fandom in a long time, but the moment I finally held that book in my hands, I felt so much joy. I wanted that book so bad when it first came out, and that moment made my inner child cry of happiness.

And that's kind of what I felt after I finished reading the book of bill today. I really feel like it healed some part of my inner child/teenager. Especially when my boyfriend let me read it to him out loud and I could just get into character while reading. Even though I to get bullied a lot for something that meant the world to me, I can now still enjoy that thing, and even share it with someone who will just sit and listen for like two hours while I read the book to him, and also listen to my side tangents if I something reminds me of some random thing that happened in the fandom (that he wasn't even a part of) back in the day.

There's been multiple shows and franchises I've been obsessed with during my life, but only two have stuck with me in this way through the years. One being Gravity Falls (and the other one fruits basket).

I just feel so grateful rn. Grateful for Alex Hirsch for creating the show in the first place. Grateful for my younger self for continuing to the series even if I got bullied for it. Grateful for my boyfriend for being such an amazing partner. If you read this far, thank you for reading my sleep deprived ramblings lol (it's like 5am so sorry if I repeat some stuff multiple times).

[tariah23]

Man………… Scrolling by that video of that little girl (she looks at least 9-10 bro) doing a full face of makeup on TikTok talking about her “love life,” and “juicy texts,” um… I feel so unwell rn.

Apparently, her mother manages her TikTok as well… and her comments are full of predators. It just breaks my heart, man. There truly isn’t a place on the internet for children to go on anymore. I mean, there hasn’t been so for a very long time anyway. The last generation to be affected by this are the youth who are in their early 20’s and below, too.

Most people my age did not grow up playing on IPADS and carrying around fancy smart phones (we didn’t have them but also, most parents got their children cellphones for safety reasons or they just got them a track phone and called it a day. As long as you could call your parents and be called back, that’s all that really mattered.) I didn’t get my first phone until much later in my life since I’d always been the kinda person to live off of the grid and didn’t really care to contact others. I still don’t even like being on the phone like that and I’m a slow responder both through text and online DM’s and it’s just always been me. We had a lot of social media back then and the internet was no safer back then than it is now but there were also TONS of websites specifically heard towards children. Disney channel and Cartoon Networks websites back then were really good for kids and had a ton of fun games, as well as educational games, to play. There used to be so many video game websites… bro, I used to be so obsessed with blingee 😭!!! I used to cry to go to the library so that I could watch the Naruto abridged series on the computers there lol. My uncle gave us one of his fat white computers but my brother ended up messing it up so she eventually bought us a brand new one so that we could stop begging to go to the library. Most people didn’t have access to computers outside of going to the library or using them at school. At school, my teachers used to let me get on the internet because I wasn’t misbehaving and the other kids used to be so PISSED lmfao. All I did was watch the Naruto and YYH abridged series, bro. Wait, also anime of course in the classic 3 parts as well as AMVS 😭… no celebrity shit or fandom stuff. Just my interests that any other kid would be interested in. Mom didn’t even monitor our computer time fr but it’s more like we knew what was bad and stuff like that.

We really used to play outside, man. Like, I remember crying to go play outside!!! One time, my sister and I were playing across a giant grassy field with friends and their mother told them that it was time to go into the house since It had gotten dark… I remember feeling sad, not wanting the fun to ever end. I went home and mom was making dinner (macaroni, fried chicken, and potatoes I believe) and my brother had already made it back into the house and I just remembered my mom telling me to go get my sister since it was time to go in. But when I made it back to her, I didn’t tell her at all because again, I didn’t want the fun to end 😭. We ended up playing with some other kids who were playing outside a few houses around the corner facing the street (two little boys who were outside playing on their skates and they were trying to teach my sister and I how to skate lol. It was so fun! Then we saw the flashing lights from the police car about an hour or so later and got nervous and said our goodbyes. We made it back home and my mom had called the police 😭… she was furious and I remember she was about to whoop us by her friend who lived across the street from us somehow managed to calm her down and we were spared lmfao. That was still crazy that we didn’t get in trouble for that knowing how my mom was at the time, omg 😭.

Catch lightning bugs was so fun. Our friends who lived across the field from us had an uncle who used to play with all of us and passed out large jars once and had us catching as many lightning bugs as we could 🥺. Then we let them go whaa…

We used to play made up games with the kids from the neighborhood we barely knew, (one time, my mom through my sister and I a huge birthday party for our 6th b-day and got us a Black Barbie cake. We named the little girl on the cake “Ashley,” and she instantly became a new character in our Jerry springer ass doll play time lol. Literally every kid from the neighborhood showed up even though we didn’t know most of them but it was all so fun, we didn’t even care, man. Our cake was huge and we had a good time running around and getting dirty. I remember our apartment being filled with a gazillion balloons that my mom and her friend at the time, helped blow up together.

Playing at the park (I used to HATE when the big kids would show up because they wouldn’t let us get off of the giant tire and would continue to spin us around like crazy until it was scary 👎🏾.) Going to the candy stores was also fun… (my mom used to also run the most POPULAR candy store in the hood 😭. My siblings and I used to sneak into the snacks that she’d buy in bulk from the warehouse and hope that she didn’t find out before putting them on the shelf before opening up the store. Kids were running in and out of our backdoor (it faced the street and my mom kept the door open all day until she closed the store. All of the snacks were pushed up against the wall on a giant shelf as soon as you walked in. I think my brother’s father stole the self tbh) all day and my little brothers father used to be the one to cook all of the ground beef and warm up the cheese for the kids who I wanted to buy chips with cheese. Fun times)

I’m all over the place but man, I just wished that the world was kinder, especially to children. They’re so sensitive and any fucked up thing can changed the trajectory of their entire lives. And you have awful parents who are so desperate for attention, living vicariously through their little girls and boys, actively putting them in harm’s way for follows, likes, and views. They don’t see their kids as worth protecting, only toy. The sad thing is, these people know exactly what they’re doing by exposing their children to the world. You run your child’s account and see house comments from very obvious predators calling your child sexy and shit. It’s just… :(. I know that not everyone was fortunate enough to have a decent childhood (we were poor as hell but were happy) or parents who loved you enough to not put you in harms way and I am so sorry for that…. because you deserved better. But fuck. It’s so dark, man. It shouldn’t not be normalized to see little girls wearing full face makeup and long nails, trying to look older than what they are. And they don’t even know what they’re doing. They’re just babies, man. They should be playing outside and catching lightning bugs. Getting dirty from playing in the mud and dirt. Playing red light, green light and shit. Not worrying about if their contour is applied correctly. It’s bleak. The parents are getting younger and the grandparents; same boat. There’s no place left on the internet for the youth to be children and in rl, they’re clued to their phone screens and tablets all day. It’s… is it so over? I don’t fucking know, man.

[golbrocklovely]

I apologize in advance for how long this ask is going to be but your post about going to zumiez reminded me of the one time I heard about snc in public (as someone who doesn’t leave the house much lol). About 4 years ago right after snc made their switch to haunted content I was in high school and I was the socially anxious new kid so I was trying to keep my head low and let people come to me. In my one elective class (that I got involuntarily stuck with that no one liked bc the teacher sucked) we had a lot of time to talk and there were three students at my table (two girls and a guy). The one girl in particular was always trying to make fun of me and the other girl would laugh along but I’ve always had a talent of acting like I don’t care in the moment and eventually she finally stopped making fun of me because I wasn’t fun to insult anymore. Anyway one day the meaner of the two girls was out sick and the other girl was being nice (as she normally was when the other girl wasn’t around) and her and the guy (who she had a crush on) were watching Youtube since they had finished their work early. Eventually the girl brought Sam and Colby up and talked about how she loved their videos and I froze in the moment because I was so surprised she watched them too and the guy said that he tried to get into them but it’s annoying how they fake their videos. And as rude as it might sound the way her face visibly fell made it hard for me to not laugh. She very quickly changed the subject after that and never brought up snc again. Also not too long after that I saw Jake Webber merch in public and I was very surprised because in my head he was a much smaller content creator than sam and colby and therefore I should have seen snc merch before Jake’s merch lol.

haha you're totally fine for the long ask. i don't mind.

first off, sorry that person was mean to you in hs. honestly, hearing back things like that, or thinking back on who was mean to me in hs, always make me laugh bc like….. yall really did that shit and thought you were cool.

anyway lol

that's the thing - i'm so used to solitary snc talk (ie me and someone online) that in person i get so uncomfortable at the mere mention of them. idk why, but i guess it's bc it's hard to indicate is this someone into them like i am or are they just someone that vaguely knows who they are which are two very different sides of the snc fandom spectrum.

also i think bc i've never met someone that knows who snc are, minus two very small instances, it's always weird to physically see someone recognize them to me (like pointing out me wearing merch) bc i'm like… wait, you guys are real? i'm not just talking to myself online??? lmao

side note idk why but this story made me remember another time: i work in retail and in like 2019/20, somewhere in there, i saw a little girl wearing colby's merch. she was only like 10-12 max, so i didn't want to be weird and say anything, but i remember being like "omg i'm not the only one".

[arjaandsimoni]

Flying Free

Downtown Cincinnati

Stephanie and Arja walked out of the cinema onto the streets of Cincinnati, the Indian girl finishing off her coke before tossing it in the garbage. “Huh, those movies were a lot different from the games.” she shrugged, “Nice to actually see it early though. Normally I have to use a VPN or wait months for them to reach India.” she grinned.

“Yeaaaaaah, you think they’d be better at getting them out now. I mean the freakin’ internet exists.” replied Stephanie, shrugging her shoulders as they walked through the city. She was still watching for the naga (first rule of being a hunter: if you don’t find a body DON’T ASSUME ITS DEAD) but so far the coast was clear. She’d had a bit of a freak out moment when they heard a hissing noise earlier, but it turned out someone had driven over a busted bottle and blew a hole in their tire.

The two had met up earlier that morning and gone out to see Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and now were basically two kids in the city looking for anything to occupy their time.

“So… I did some research online about Hanuman after last night…” she nodded, “He’s really your ancestor?” asked Stephanie.

Arja grinned at her, “Yep! Dad’s mortal, but my mom is like me. They met years ago when he was an explorer in India. He found a path that led to the supernatural world reflection of our homeland and almost got killed by a rakshasa, but my mom rescued him and the two just sorta hit it off. Few years later I’m there and dad retires from exploring and gets into his family’s business of politics and such. His family act as diplomats for India but are also one of the noble houses in Jaipur.” she nodded.

“Oh, neat. Clan Fullmoon is a bit different… we don’t have a divine ancestor, it’s more of a long-standing pact with one…” replied Stephanie, and she went on to explain.

Centuries ago, before the rise of the Roman Empire, back even before the Iron Age, Ireland was not a very good place to live. The Fair Folk preyed on humanity with reckless abandon and dark forces lurked around every corner, but the worst of it all were the werewolves.

These days packs of werewolves were much more civilized. They stayed to the virgin forests and wild areas of the world or learned to blend in with humanity, but in the old times they were wild and vicious beings, true monsters who saw humans as just another form of prey no different from wild deer or boar.

The legend went that a village, the name lost in the distant past, was slaughtered by one of the wolf packs, only two people able to escape from it: Aidan and Deirdre, two young lovers recently wed to each other who hid under the rubble of their collapsed home while the werewolves killed and ate their friends and family.

As they fled their souls cried out for vengeance and justice against the monsters who’d destroyed their lives, and Morrigan heard their plea. The Maven herself appeared before them and offered them a pact. They pledge themselves and all their descendants to her, and she would grant them power so that they would never again need fear the predations of the dark creatures of the night.

Aidan took on her aspect as a Goddess of War, becoming stronger than any man in Ireland. He became able to beat a werewolf to death with his bare hands if need be, his skin toughening like hard leather and gaining stamina enough to run through the woods for three days and nights without tiring.

Deirdre took on her aspect as the Queen of Ravens, gaining the power to transform and become capable of flight as well as to command storms and winds. While her husband fought their enemies directly she would harry them with gale force winds, swirling tornados, and bright crashing lighting clouds.

Eventually Deirdre became pregnant, and they discovered that their child had inherited the Maven’s gifts as well. They had a son, then a daughter, both of whom had the same powers as their father and mother respectively, and eventually those children grew, wed, and had children of their own, and the line continued on and on to the present day.

“… and as the family got bigger we became famous among old Ireland for hunting down rogue werewolf packs. We got a reputation as ‘Those Who Hunt By The Light of the Full Moon.’ Bit of a mouthful in Gaelic though so it eventually got shortened to just ‘Clan Fullmoon.’” she nodded. “I dunno how true it is that Deirdre could actually make entire lightning storms and such though, none of the Clan I’ve ever met could pull THAT off. Most I can do is localized windstorm and those ‘mine’ things you saw me use on that naga the other night, also fly. I can’t actually fly fly, I’m just using my magic to lift myself up in my bird form by catching my own wind under my wings.” she nodded.

“Yeah, see, that sounds exactly like the garuda I know back home! Only difference is they’re all Indian like me, and their wings are green, not black.” replied Arja. “Its just so wild, how is it your family and their people have the same things?” she scratched at her hair a bit.

Stephanie shrugged, “Heck if I know. Sometimes stuff is just weird. My big brother Nelen has been all over and he’s seen all sorts of crazy things. Heck he helped us stop this crazy faerie woman from taking my cousin last spring. She was this little girl looking thing that could summon toy-monsters.”

Arja raised her eyebrow at her, “… seriously?” she asked, “So what, like a fanged Playstation?”

“No no, like older-style toys. Like teddy bears the size of real bears and stuff.” she clarified.

“… riiiiiight.” chuckled the Indian girl. “Must’ve been a crazy fight.”

Stephanie nodded, thinking back to how that fight ended and what she saw her brother unleash to defeat Isolde, “… yes… yes it most certainly was…” she muttered. “… hey wanna get ice cream?” she asked.

“Yogurt for me, but sure!” grinned Arja.

Meanwhile back in Edgewood

Catherine was making lunch with the news playing in the background.

As she finished up her pasta on the stove she paused, hearing the newscaster’s voice.

“In other news, Monsters at the Levy? Covington has had a lot of bizarre stories lately but this one takes the cake. Eyewitnesses state they saw some sort of ‘giant snake thing’ fighting a…” the newscaster stopped to check the notes, “… ‘golden monkey and two bird kids…’ We only have a small photo from someone’s camera, and its hard to see but you can make out… well… SOMEthing…” he said.

She felt a chill go down her spine, turning to look at the small television on her counter next to the stove.

Sure enough, it looked grainy as hell, the camera must have been shaking badly… but there was no mistaking that flame-red hair.

“Monsters at the riverfront? I dunno Tom, that looks like a job for Superman if you ask me.” chuckled his co-host.

“Yeah Tina, probably just some publicity stunt for a movie but I’ll say this. Hollywood has our attention.” he grinned.

Behind her, her phone began to ring… the caller ID showing a number with Ireland’s country code…

Back in Cincinnati

Arja and Stephanie were at Fountain Square, sitting next to the fountain itself.

The fountain was a popular tourist destination and hangout for locals as well. There was usually a band playing there on the stage and the spray from the fountain gave a pleasingly cool mist even in the hotter summer months. The two had finished off their treats by now and were just enjoying the rest of their day. “So…” said Stephanie, “How long are you and your dad gonna be in town?” she asked.

“Oh, yanno… a day or two, maybe. He likes to take his time on these trips when he can. He was an explorer back in the day so he always enjoys just, well, exploring. Looking around. Believe it or not he’s a big nut for smaller markets… um… I think they’re called Flea Markets in this country?” she tried, Arja looking up in thought at that.

Stephanie giggled, “No way, really?! He’s like some bigshot in India isn’t he?”

“Hey! He got into exploration to find rare and unusual relics and those places always have antiques and such for sale. He’s found some really neat stuff just browsing around those.” Arja laughed back, “Really, our house back home is kinda half-museum.”

Stephanie smirked, “Sounds like something my brother would like. He’s always got this messenger bag with him filled with all sorts of crazy stuff. He did some sort of spell on it so the inside is huge, like truck sized.”

Arja grinned, then paused as her phone buzzed. She looked at the front and sighed, “Uuuuugh…” she huffed, looking upwards, “Dad says one of the bigwigs from that Proctor and whatsits company invited us to dinner. I gotta go play the meek little Indian girl for his business buddies…” she huffed, “He knows I hate it so he’ll make it up to me but… uuuuugh…” she rolled her eyes.

Stephanie’s smile faltered a bit, “Well… its your parents, what can ya do?” she shrugged.

Arja nodded, “Yeah… I’d better head back to our hotel. Thanks for hanging out today.” she grinned, leaning in and kissing Stephanie on the cheek, then hopping up and heading off into the crowd, following the GPS on her phone.

Stephanie’s eyes went huge at the kiss, her face flushed. “Sure… no problem…” she muttered, staring into the fountain’s spray as Arja took off. “Anytime…” she added.

A bit later she got onto a metro bus back to Kentucky, mumbling, “My pleasure Arja, we can do it again tomorrow…”

When she transferred from the metro to the TANK (Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky) bus she was whispering, “Anytime…” over and over under her breath, she hadn’t blinked in a while either.

By the time the bus squeaked to a halt in Edgewood the shock had mostly worn off, the girl grinning wide enough to impress her brother’s cat as she got off. She stood at the stop as it rolled away, then bunched up a bit and stomped her feet excitedly, “Ehehehehehehehe!” she squealed, then did a sort of twirl and whistled out a complex melody as all the nearby flowers suddenly got caught in a gale, the petals breaking free and swirling up into the sky.

"She kissed me she kissed me she kissed me she kissed me!” she giggled uncontrollably. If Isolde were here she’d be getting a contact buzz just by being in the same post code as those emotions, the girl practically dancing back home. “She’s just so AMAZING! She’s so cool and confident and powerful and she’s not afraid to stare down a huge monster like that and we actually can do stuff together and aaaaaaaaaaah!” she shook herself, ignoring the weird looks from passerby.

“Though…” she paused, “I suppose that could mean something different in India? Is India like France? Is a kiss on the cheek there just, like, their way of shaking hands?” she thought aloud, glancing up as she tapped her chin.

She blinked, then got out her phone, then looked it up. “… nooooo, huh… public displays of affection are banned there? Yikes…”

“Soooo, that means it means a lot… more there than it does here? I mean we were in public…” she blinked slowly, the blush returning to her cheeks, then she squealed excitedly, “EEEEEEEE!” she grinned, practically skipping up the path to her house. “Oh maaaaaaaaan nothing can ruin this day!” she giggled excitedly.

Then she got inside and the door slammed shut behind her.

Catherine Fullmoon was standing there, her face like the wrath of a vengeful deity.

“Stephanie. We need to TALK.” she said in a tone that suggested ‘I am calm now, but I am holding onto it by my goddamn TEETH.’

Moments later, in the kitchen

She slapped the picture down that she’d printed off her computer, pointing to the blurry image of a girl in the sky. It was nighttime so her wings weren’t really visible, but there was no mistaking that hair.

“YOU… YOU… FOOLISH LITTLE… YOUR GRANDFATHER WAS ALL SET TO DEMAND I SURRENDER YOU TO HIM! I HAD TO BEG HIM FOR LENIENCY!” she screamed, her face red.

Stephanie stared at the image. Dammit, how did she miss that? Okay yeah so there was a giant snake monster but she should have known better!

“I… w-well what was I supposed to do then?! Run to Steve's house and drag Roger down to the riverfront?” she demanded, looking up at her mother. “I was right THERE! I can do SOMETHING when that happens!” she shouted.

“Stephanie, I know… believe me I damn well KNOW! But Dad was… I’d never heard him so furious. He had photographic PROOF that you were violating his ban on magic use! As Patriarch he could have executed you!” she shouted, “Do you want to wind up like your brother?! On the run from my father and his crazy goon squad?!”

“Well why not?! He seems to be doing okay!” she shot back.

The Wulfshead Pub

Nelen looked up from his drink, then frowned and dug a finger into his ear, “My ears are burning…” he muttered.

Loren smirked, “ ‘s wut ye get fer usin’ yer demon ta clean ‘em cous…”

Nelen gave her an annoyed look, “I only did that once… and it was a really stubborn bit of wax.” he grumbled.

Behind them Dawn was doing karaoke again, a spirited rendition of ‘I Fought the Law and the Law Won.’

Edgewood

Catherine glared at her daughter, “I try and I try and I try… Stephanie. Its over.” she nodded, pointing to the fireplace.

She looked past her, then shrieked at what she saw. Catherine had found her hideout in the woods and cleaned it out. Her witch’s kit, the silver dagger, the shillelagh with the cold iron head, all of it was in it and the fire was roaring bright. “MOM! THAT’S MY… DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT WAS TO FIND THOSE THINGS?! I HAD TO MAKE THE STAFF MYSELF!” she screamed.

“I DON’T CARE STEPHANIE! ITS DONE, ITS OVER! NO MORE FLYING AROUND TOWN! NO MORE HUNTING! NOTHING! YOU ARE GOING TO GO TO SCHOOL AND LIVE YOUR LIVE AS A MUNDANE GIRL AND IF I EVEN SEE A BLACK FEATHER IN YOUR ROOM YOU’RE GOING TO BE GROUNDED UNTIL YOU LEAVE FOR COLLEGE!” she roared back.

Stephanie’s mouth opened and closed, then she turned and bolted up the stairs to her room. A moment later the door slammed shut.

Catherine shook her head, “Dammit girl, I know exactly what you mean, I know how hard it is to pretend I can’t see that happening… but I don’t want my mad father to kill you for it.” she sighed.

Stephanie was curled up on the floor of her room, her face pressed into her legs as she sobbed into her knees. She hated this, she hated having to do this. She wanted to use her magic, she wanted to fly, she wanted to fight back those things that threatened people. She wanted to SO damn bad… but…

… and then her phone rang.

Stephanie looked at the number, then answered it, “A-arja?” she asked.

“Heeeeeey, so… change of plans. My dad got called back to India…” she said apologetically, “Look I’m really really sorry, I would’ve loved to get to know you more but, yanno, can’t stay behind while he goes back home…”

She froze, the girl’s mouth moving but nothing coming out.

“… Stephanie? Are you there?” she asked, “Um… look, if this was about that kiss… just… l-look, you’re really great and stuff, I mean that was amazing how you just leapt in and helped me and my dad and all and… well… kiiiiinda got a weakness for that, not gonna lie… but… yeah… sorry, hope I didn’t get your hopes up. I mean… we’re not even from the same country… but… if we were…” she coughed awkwardly, “Um… anyways, I gotta go, we’re actually at the airport now. I’ll text when I can 'kay?” she said, then the phone clicked off…

Stephanie sat there, staring at the wall, a ringing in her ears. Her mother had wrecked her plans and outright forbidden her to use magic, her grandfather may try to kill her if she did, and this girl… this amazing girl… this girl whose kiss had made her feel like she could fly to the moon and back… was leaving… for another country…

Everyone has their breaking points, and hers had just been hit with a hammer.

She lept to her feet and kicked off her shoes, running to the window and pulling on it, then looking down when it refused to budge. Her mother was serious. She’d nailed the window shut!

Stephanie’s eye twitched, “No… no no no no no no NO!” she snarled, leaping back. A second later there was a tremendous crash and Catherine jumped up from the chair in the living room she’d been sulking in just in time to see her daughter’s bedroom window crashing into the backyard, with most of the wall still attached!

“STEPHANIE! STEPHANIE DON’T YOU DARE!” she shouted, running up the stairs and pushing open the door… and finding only an empty room with a destroyed wall, and her daughter gone.

The Skies Over Northern Kentucky

Its safe to say that Stephanie Fullmoon wasn’t really thinking very clearly at the moment. Her wings flapped as she whistled up a hurricane’s worth of wind, propelling herself towards Covington like a bullet. She could have done this in any number of locations nearer to her home, but she knew her mother wouldn’t use magic and she wanted some distance before she could get the car started and try to come after her.

She had to go, she had to get out, she had to find her… she said Jaipur right?! She heard her say it, and she knew... well… she heard Dawn say it and Nelen say it. She knew the passphrase even if she didn’t know what it meant!

The forests were a blur under her as the skyline of Cincinnati loomed ahead, the girl angling down and aiming for an alleyway, landing in it and looking around, her head pounding. “Alright alright… um… how’d it go… dammit…” she stammered, then put her hand on the wall. “I think it was like this… and…” she tried saying the words… then again… then once more… and finally on the fourth try the door to the Wulfshead Club materialized before her!

She shoved the door open and stumbled inside, then looked up at a loud grinding sound. Standing next to the door was a massive clay golem wearing a teeshirt, it's head turning to focus it's fiery gaze on Stephanie.

“S-sorry! Thought this was the Dairy Queen!” she said, spinning the dials frantically on the door until it read Jaipur India, then shoving it back open and rushing through into a throng of people in a city halfway across the world.

Loren watched as the door shut, then raised her eyebrow, “… nae, couldnae been…” she shook her head, then looked up as Nelen came back from the men’s room, rubbing hand sanitizer on his fingers (he couldn’t very well wash his hands around Merihim’s seal after all.)

“Sorry about that Loren, miss anything?” he asked.

Loren shrugged, “Eh, jus’ a doppelganger or somethin’ cous. Already buggered off.” she replied, downing her drink. Dawn meanwhile was keeping up the karaoke, singing ‘Run to the Hills’ by Iron Maiden.

Jaipur, India

Now that she was actually here the fire in her head was finally beginning to dissipate… and Stephanie realized how badly she’d screwed up. If a single grainy photograph had convinced Franklin she was violating his magic taboo having blasted the wall off her bedroom would definitely prove it.

Also, from the sounds and sights around her she forgot one maaaaaaaaaajor problem… she wasn’t Indian.

She stood out like a crow in a snowfield, and nothing she was hearing from anyone around her made even the slightest bit of sense. Everyone around her was speaking in Hindi, Stephanie could only listen in bewilderment.

Also she had no money, no extra clothes, thank GODS she at least thought to grab her PHONE…

She paused, then grinned. “My phone!” she gasped, then took out the phone and opened it up. Still mostly charged, but gods only knew how long that’d hold out. She got her phone but no charger! She opened the messenger app, then texted Arja.

‘So, rando Q… what’s your home address in Jaipur?’

After about three minutes, Arja responded.

‘Y?’

Stephanie winced, then replied…

‘I wanna send u something. It’s a surprise! ;)’

She technically wasn’t lying, this would probably surprise the heck out of her.

A moment later her phone buzzed.

‘Aww, u don’t gotta do that… but if u insist…’ and then there was a mailing address behind it.

Stephanie quickly copied it, opened the map app, and pasted it in, then activated the GPS and the directions and let out a woosh of relief. It wasn’t far.

‘Thanks! I hope u like it! :D’

She took a breath, then looked up. “… I am so screwed it is beyond belief…” she muttered.

Late That Evening

Rajesh’s private jet landed in Jaipur. He and Arja disembarked and took a car back to their home, a rather nice mansion house in the hills above the city.

As they rode along Rajesh called ahead, “Iravati my wild lotus flower…” he smiled, “Arja and I just landed and will be home soon my dear. Pity we could not stay longer but it will be wonderful to see you again.” he chuckled.

Arja rolled her eyes, but he was always like that when he talked to her mother. He called Arja his ‘little ruby lotus’ whenever he could get away with it and it always made her blush. Parents…

“Hm? Really? Someone has been hanging around the mansion? Some westerner?” he asked.

Arja blinked at that, looking over, who the heck could that be?

“She… claims to know Arja you say? Red hair?” he asked.

Arja’s eyes widened, then she looked at her own phone. Sending her a surprise, wanting to know her address. “… no way…” she muttered, then looked up as the car drew near the gates. Two of Rajesh’s security team were standing there… and a very familiar redhead was between them.

A bit later, inside the house

Stephanie sat on the bed in Arja’s room. Rajesh was suspicious of how a young girl could beat them there in a private jet, but Arja had said, in no uncertain terms, that anyone who didn’t want to look like they jumped into a Naan oven had better leave Stephanie alone until they figured out what the hell was going on.

Given that Arja was known for a bad temper and fire breath by the staff, they didn’t argue.

“… and...” she hiccuped a bit, “… and she burned it, all my gear, and said I had to just… stop using magic, at all. I just got so angry I couldn’t see straight, and then you called and said you were leaving and…” she gasped, her eyes red, “I… I just… something in my head just stopped working right and I blew the wall off my room and flew back to Covington and came here and now I can’t go home because my grandfather will kill me!” she sobbed, burying her head in her hands.

Arja sat next to her on the bed, the young Indian girl breathing a bit heavy herself after that, “Hey hey, its alright... we can let you stay here until we figure something out. There’s plenty of room.” she nodded, “Don’t worry about it.”

At the door however Rajesh coughed meaningfully, “Arja, my little ru-“ he paused as Arja gave him a look, “… daughter… she is not even from India. She ran away from home. I sympathize, I truly do. If her grandfather really is as she says I do not wish to simply turn her over to him, but this could cause serious problems. Her mother could report this as kidnapping or…” he started, then faltered at her expression.

Arja held up a finger, “Stephanie, gimme a second, I need to discuss something with my father.” she nodded, then walked up to him and pushed him out of the room by his waist, then back against the wall. Then she shapeshifted into her monkey form and climbed up the wall with her hands and legs at his sides until her head was level with his.

“I just had to listen to a girl I really like tell me how her insane granddad is ready to KILL her for helping us back in America and how she literally fled all the way here because of it. You know those business things you take me to? Where I wear my saree and all that heavy jewelry and play your ‘oh so sweet and innocent daughter’ and stuff? If you send her home I am NEVER doing that again. Next dinner party I’m embracing mom’s side of the family and will totally let loose. Get me?” she growled, “She stays, or I become the living embodiment of the ‘reject humanity, return to monke’ meme right infront of those pompous, arrogant, ‘oh look at the cute little brown kid’ assholes you parade me infront of.”

Rajesh sighed, then smiled at her a bit, “… you are so much like your mother sometimes.” he chuckled. “Very well my dear… she may stay until we figure out some way to return her home safely and ensure she remains so.” he nodded.

Arja growled meaningfully, her tail thrashing behind her, then nodded slowly, “Good.” she nodded, then she hopped down and shifted back into her human form, going back in her room and flopping down next to Stephanie.

“He said you can stay until we find a way to get you home that makes SURE you won’t be in any danger and stuff.” she nodded, then grinned, “What he meant was ‘she can stay so my daughter won’t go fire monkey and scare the shit out of a bunch of rich white idiots next time I need her to behave.’”

Stephanie looked at her and gave a weak smile, wiping her eyes, then Arja pulled her into a tight hug.

They’d only known each other a few days, but the same could be said for any pairing of people early on. Only time would tell what would become of it. Friendship… or perhaps something much deeper.

Next Story

Previous Story

[whats-wild-to-you]

The Set-Up - Part 1

It’s been a while since Se-Ra appeared on tv. After ending her career as a child and teenage brand model by the age of 18, she led a quiet life. She moved to L.A, went to college and eventually returned to Korea. Every now and then people in the supermarket would look at her intently, like they recognized her from somewhere. Se-Ra would then laugh it off, claiming she has a very common face. Dating was a nightmare for her as well, since younger people usually tended to look at the internet for information. Oftentimes dates would search her name online and consequently find her old work. They would then ask her about it, not really caring about the person standing in front of them. Naturally Se-Ra would then stop seeing them, resulting in her never being able to date a man for long.

But everything changed when Se-Ra turned 30, or at least that’s what her parents tried to make her believe. Her mother insisted she knew many eligible bachelors and presented Se-Ra with a list.

Se-Ra was worried, even though she didn’t show it, that it would reflect badly on her if she let her mother determine who she’d marry. But taking that matter into her own hands scared her. Until she met Jay.

“The dressing room is this way. Once you’re done, give me a call and I will come pick you up, okay?”

The production assistant said and handed Se-Ra her clothes. Reluctantly, she closed the door behind her, checking the content of the clothing bag on the rack. Carefully she pulled out a black sweater and a black and white plaid mini skirt.

“You gotta be kidding me!”

Thankfully, she was always prepared, and so she opened her handbag, placing a tan colored pair of wide-leg pants on the chair. Dressed and ready to go she rang the production assistant who appeared at the door minutes later.

He noticed the pants Se-Ra wore but didn’t say anything. Rubbing her sweaty palms on her pants, Se-Ra followed the young man. They arrived on the set, and it was absolute chaos. Cameras and wires everywhere, people shouting all over the place. Se-Ra wondered if it was like this when she was younger but failed to remember.

Someone appeared by her side, putting a mic on her. Then she was assigned a seat at the long table and sat down waiting for the other guests to appear. Someone had approached her months ago, asking her if she wanted to be a guest on this show. Since it was food-related, Se-Ra wondered why they asked her to participate. One by one the other guests came in and greeted Se-Ra. They were either famous chefs, restaurant owners or bar owners. Her only connection to food was that she was once a brand model for cereal.

“What the hell am I doing here?”

She whispered under her breath, looking around, trying to find an escape route. Before she could make up her mind on whether to stay or leave, the last guest arrived. Jay Park had been the talk of the town recently. Within a year he established a soju company and single-handedly put distilled soju on the map.

Se-Ra had a low tolerance for alcohol and got tipsy by merely looking at it. She watched as Jay greeted every guest separately, respectfully bowing his head to the elders. That’s when Se-Ra noticed that the empty seat next to her would be the one Jay would occupy. Soon after he sat down next to her, flashing her a wide grin. The show started and Se-Ra tried her hardest to refrain from staring at Jay. In the past, she only saw him on tv and in magazines, but had to admit that up close he was gorgeous. By the time the show cut to commercials she noticed how he turned his head, staring at her. Immediately Se-Ra thought he recognized her, although younger people rarely did.

“Have we met before?”

Jay asked and Se-Ra couldn’t suppress a chuckle. Although it sounded like a lame pick up like, looking at his face Se-Ra realized Jay was deep in thought.

“I did a lot of advertisements when I was a child. You may have seen me in a commercial.”

She offered and Jay nodded content. The show ended an hour later, and Jay was the first one to excuse himself, citing another meeting as the reason. Se-Ra eventually ditched the other guests who decided to go out for drinks afterwards. Walking to her car she spotted Jay who got in the back of the car that appeared to pick him up. He stood next to another man and noticed her walking by, waving at her. Se-Ra reciprocated the gesture, sure that it would be the last she’d see of Jay.

“Who’s the woman you waved at?”

“Ah, her? I did the program with her?”

“She looks familiar.”

“She used to be a brand model when she was a child. I’m pretty sure my mother once bought cereal with her face on it. Anyway, let’s go. I need to get ready for the next meeting.”

“You also have dinner with your father tonight.”

Jay’s assistant announced and watched as Jay involuntary made a face. That was because Jay knew exactly how the evening would go. His father would start talking about how Jay was 35 and should get married soon and how him and his mother knew some really nice women, and shouldn’t Jay just meet them and see which one he liked best. Although Jay was not overly romantic, he thought there was more to it than just meeting women to see which one suited him best.

On the other side of Seoul, Se-Ra’s father prepared to close a business deal when Se-Ra barged in his office.

“Oh, excuse me. I didn’t know you had company.”

“That’s okay, darling. Let me introduce you to Mr. Park. He will be our new distributor.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

The man examined Se-Ra from head to toe, nodding approvingly. Not knowing what was happening, Se-Ra excused herself and left her father’s office.

“So this is your daughter? She’s a lovely woman, very polite.”

“And, as I said, single!”

“Yes, you mentioned that. But suddenly I’m not so sure her and my son have a lot in common.”

“Don’t worry about that. Once we’ve introduced them to each other you’ll see they’ll get along just fine!”

The two men nodded at each other, finalizing their plan, sealing it with a handshake. After Mr. Park left, Se-Ra’s father called his daughter again, inviting her to dinner.

“It seemed like you had something to tell me. Let’s discuss it over dinner.”

Satisfied, Se-Ra’s father ended the call, patting himself on the back. Setting up a meeting between their two children had been easier than he expected.

Back at home, Se-Ra laid down for a nap, setting her alarm for 7pm. Before drifting off to sleep, pictures of Jay invaded her mind. Knowing full well that they’d probably never meet again, she hoped for a casual meeting anyway. Maybe they’d run into each other in a trendy store or restaurant.

Se-Ra had to chuckle. Trendy wasn’t a word she associated herself with. She wasn’t someone who frequently socialized either. She preferred to live a quiet life.

At exactly 7pm her alarm went off. Groaning, she turned it off and peeled her body off the bed. Opting for tan slacks and a tan blouse she quickly showered and changed into her outfit. Thanks to her good genes and clean eating habits her face didn’t need any makeup. Tying her hair in a ponytail and spraying on some perfume, she grabbed her purse and left 30 minutes later. She arrived at the location soon after and went inside. Before she got on the elevator, her phone rang, prompting her to look for a quiet corner to answer the call.

Outside Jay’s driver opened the car door and Jay slid out, immediately disappearing inside. He pressed the buttons on the elevator and got inside.

Once he arrived on the floor of the restaurant, he went inside the private room his father always used, and was flabbergasted when he came face to face with a stranger.

“I see you’re busy, I’ll j-”

“No, no. This is Mr. Lee. I invited him to dinner.”

“I hope that’s okay.”

Mr. Lee said, smiling at Jay, urging him to join the two elders. He was a warm person, who immediately offered to pour Jay a drink. Instead, Jay took the bottle from him and poured the older man a drink first.

“Let’s toast! To new friends and to family!”

Mr. Park said and raised his glass. Just as the three men swallowed their drinks, they heard a knock on the door.

“Sorry for being late, fath-”

Se-Ra swallowed the rest of her sentence once she realized her father had company. Her heart did a strange thing when her eyes landed on Jay and she was certain that she was blushing.

“Nonsense! You’re not late! Come, come. Sit!”

Se-Ra’s father had to basically drag her to the table since her legs nearly gave out. There was one empty seat next to Jay and she sat down, bowing her head lightly.

The men’s previous conversation shifted from business to other, lighter topics. Se-Ra’s gaze was casted downwards, as she suddenly developed a keen interest in her food. But in her peripheral view she could see Jay stealing glances at her, at times smiling amused.

When the dinner ended, Jay and Se-Ra accompanied the two men outside, bidding their goodnights. Then it was just the two of them, standing in absolute silence, until Jay broke the ice by laughing contagiously.

“That was weird, right?”

“It was sweet! And bizarre.”

Se-Ra remarked and focused her gaze on Jay.

“Earlier today I wished I’d run into you again, and here we are!”

Jay didn’t respond, just flashed her his signature smile. It was enough for Se-Ra to know that he felt the same.

***

Part 2

[l0ngst0rysh0rt]

01 (March 10, '24)

all of my feelings rn

I've been having so many issues recently. I'm not happy, but I'm a little less stressed I guess. This is really just all of the things I'm struggling with right now and my thoughts on current events. I don't think that anyone cares but at least I can get my thoughts out. This is my version of the Broski Report.

Current Reads:

I'm currently reading Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan Mcguire. This is the 6th book in the Wayward children series and I am OBSESSED with this series. I like that the books are short enough that you feel like you're finishing something really quickly (the books are all between 120-200 pages). I enjoy literally every aspect of them. The representation and diversity is really encouraging, the world building is so good, the writing is beautiful. So many parts of each of these stories ahs been imprinted on me. They are so memorable which is really refreshing. I haven't had a book, let alone a whole series, be so memorable in such a long time.

I really want to create little miniatures of each of the covers. I saw someone on TikTok making miniatures of each of The Hunger Games arenas and god that is all I want to do. I'll do it eventually. Maybe it will be a summer project for myself.

Life Plan

I've come up with a new plan for my life. I think I would be such a good teacher not only because I love school, but I'm just really passionate about learning and education. I've been scared of going to school for teaching because I hear about all of these horror stories from teaching in schools and how bad it is right now and I just have little hope that it will be better in the next few years. I was watching another TikTok series from an elementary school librarian and something clicked with me. I want to be a school librarian. It just makes sense for me. I have always loved reading, literacy, and the library in general. There has always been a touch of the library in every part of my life. I think that I would still be able to get the feeling of teaching without having to also be in the classroom full time. I have done some research and the path is going to be hopefully smooth I just have to wait until the fall to start school again. I'm going to just finish getting enough credits for a general studies degree, then I'm going to apply for the online masters program for library sciences that also gets you the necessary requirements for being a school librarian.

Music that I'm loving recently.

I've become such an Evermore girlie. I'm so obsessed some of the songs just scratch a part of my brain right now. I wish I had been more of an Evermore girlie when I went to Eras because I had Dorothea as one of my surprise songs and I wasn't all that excited. I wish I had also been in a better head space when I was at Eras because I wish I could have had a better time. I was going through a rough time and I just want to experience it again. I desperately want to go to Eras again but maybe I can find some people that will watch Eras with me and act like it's a concert.

Things that I'm struggling with.

I wish that I could slow myself down. I have always had issues thinking I am not in the right spot for someone my age even though nobody else expects more of me. I put so much pressure on myself and it sucks. It's one of my goals in therapy to give myself a break.

I really wish I could relive an average day when I was younger. I took it for granted and I would give anything to go back to being a kid. I really don't like this whole adult thing. I miss being taken care of. I feel like I am just surviving because I'm trying to get through everything and I'm so unhappy because I am constantly taking care of things and nothing is taken care for me.

In the same vein, I've been feeling awful about things I did and said as a kid when it pertained to my mom. My mom was an alcoholic when I was little. Now, she was a functioning alcoholic. She never lost her job or anything but she did drink a lot. She's been sober for over 10 years and I am so so so proud of her for that. I admire her for giving up her addictions. I want to be like her more when it comes to my addiction. Anyways, I said some out of pocket shit as a kid when it came to my mom and drinking. Some of the things I think about are like how my sister would roleplay as the drunk mom when we played house, after the tornado my sister and I made jokes about how my mom's beer can made it to the neighbors yard, I told people in Kindergarten that my mom was in Vegas and hurt her neck because she was too drunk. I feel awful about saying those things. How awful my sister and I must have made her feel. I would never be able to live with myself after that. I want to be clear not all of my memories are of my mom drunk- I only remember seeing her physically drunk one time.

I am so fucking hard on myself it makes me miserable but I don't know how to fix it. I'm so preoccupied with being perfect at everything that I don't give myself room to grow and do better than the last time. It's really exhausting. I wish I knew where this came from. My parents have been nothing but supportive in anything I've ever done. I exceeded any expectation they ever had for me. I somehow got it in my head that I can't be anything but the best or perfect at everything. It's been hard at this new job too because this is a whole new world I'm learning but I'm so obsessed with being perfect the first time that I'm not even really retaining why I'm doing the things at work that I'm doing.

I am so anxious all the time. It is such a big barrier for me and it affects every.single.second of my life. I'm constantly anxious about time, how I'm coming off, how I look, how I'm perceived. When Taylor wrote "I wouldn't marry me either/ a pathological people pleaser," I so so so feel that. I wish I could slow myself down more.

I have like zero sense of self. I have no clue who I am who people perceive me as. I feel like I have no friends to tell me that either. I'm a really lonely person right now but I can't get myself to fix that. I wish I didn't isolate myself so much. It really sucks.

Along with no sense of self, I want to wear different clothes but I have zero clue where to start. I have ideas but I don't know how to wear things the way other people do.

I think this is the end. This was really theraputic :)

[fancoloredglasses]

[RERUN] History of Doom (More hidden recording devices than even the NSA is willing to use)

[All images are owned by DC Comics and Warner Bros. Discovery. Please don’t sue me]

The final episode of Challenge of the Superfriends ends on a sorta-kinda high note. It’s another episode (kind of) dealing with time travel and visiting the origins of a few characters, in this case Lex Luthor, Apache Chief, and Giganta. We also see what would happen if the Legion of Doom actually won.

(Thanks to Pro Wrestling Fandom)

They get the tag team titles!

Wait...

Dammit, wrong LoD again!

Anyway, if you would like to see the original review, you may do so here. If you would like to watch the episode, Watch Cartoons Online has you covered!

We open on the ruins of Earth (with a montage of devastation worldwide), where we see this cheery headline.

It’s nice to know newspaper editors have their priorities straight. I can totally see Perry White at the Daily Planet screaming at his staff: “I don’t care that the world will end at dawn! We’ve got to get the Morning Edition out!”

Anyway, three aliens land in the ruins and start investigating how Earth came to be destroyed.

You can tell they’re aliens by their weird robes and the fact that their leader must be using some sort of futuristic mustache wax to get that much facial hair to suspend itself like that.

They eventually find their way to the Hall of Justice, which one of them recognize (though they don’t recall the name of the “group of super beings” that occupied it. Maybe their records keep mixing up Superfriends and Justice League as well?) They deduce that the Superfriends (or at least their records) will likely know what happened.

While searching through the remnants of the Hall of Justice’s computer, they stumble across Superman’s final recording, pinning the blame on the Legion of Doom. The aliens have never heard of them (THAT will be a blow to Lex Luthor’s ghosts’s ego!) so they check other parts of the computer’s damaged memory banks (that’s what they used before hard drives, kids!) to find out who the Legion of Doom are. I want to also point out that, once again, the writers, much like the aliens, can’t decide how the Superfriends are connected to the JLA, as the computer refers to the recordings as “Justice League memory files”

They stumble across Lex Luthor’s origins, and how he befriended Superboy.

[As a side note, ever since his creation in the 1940s, Lex Luthor has always been a redhead whenever he had hair, including on Smallville. (The movies don’t count, as he was wearing a wig by then). Nice to know DC reinforced the stereotype that gingers are evil]

When he saw that Lex’s makeshift lab was on fire, he used his super breath to put out the flames.

Unfortunately, Lex was inside and the chemical fumes were blown into him, making him lose his hair. He vowed revenge on Superboy and became a super villain (I guess bald jokes were more vicious than ginger jokes back then?)

[OK, I’m gonna hit the pause button here. During this origin, we have video documentation of Lex’s farm and Lex’s lab. Was the NSA keeping tabs on young Lex even back then?]

Next up, we have Giganta. (that’s quite a step down from Luthor. Were the tapes of the Riddler, Toyman, and Solomon Grundy destroyed?) Once again, the NSA recording devices are evident, this time on a Native American (I’m assuming Apache, since Apache Chief is involved) reservation. Exactly who are they keeping tabs on here?

(Thanks to Super Friends)

I know, not much of an origin story.

Next we see the origin of the Justice League Superfriends and the Legion of Doom. Superman pretty much gathers the heroes together and says they’re now Superfriends.

(Thanks to SuperVillainTelevision)

(OK, Superfriends debuted in 1973 (the clips didn’t have Wendy, Marvin, or Wonder Dog?), but the Legion of Doom wouldn’t start trouble until 1978. What were they doing for 5 years?!)  

We are then treated to highlights of previous episodes (obviously the animation budget was running low by now) that show the Legion winning just before the moment the deus ex Supershit kicked in...

...but no mention of what happened to the Earth. The aliens decide to find the Hall of Doom to investigate further.

Fortunately, the memory tapes told them exactly where to go. (So even though the Superfriends knew exactly where the Hall of Doom was (thanks to the NSA), they never once laid siege to it to capture the Legion?!) They find the memory taps and review “Attack Plan 1566″. (so they’ve come up with 1,565 plans that didn’t work? I think this would be beyond the point most would call it quits. At least they have tenacity)

Luthor plans on sending a rocket to the sun, (wouldn’t it burn up before it got there?) which will cause a solar flare aimed right at the Hall of Justice. ("How?” you ask? Trust me, that is the least confusing part of this plan)

The rocket reaches the sun in seconds. (those are some advanced engines on that rocket! You know, if this Luthor was the industrialist that post-Crisis Luthor was, he’d make billions off of NASA instead of slumming with a bunch of second- and third-rate villains no one heard of before this show started) Fortunately, the Superfriends have time to evacuate (ya think? I mean, it is traveling 93 million miles...), or would if Superman didn’t want to grandstand and take care of it himself. (can’t blame him. Thanks to the restrictions placed on cartoon violence, he hasn’t been able to punch anything for most of the season)

However, Luthor’s rocket (that should’ve melted by now) has a device that changes the sun’s color to red as Superman approaches the flare, robbing Superman of his powers! (you’d think Luthor would have done that earlier; also, the NSA has cameras not only in the Hall of Doom, but outer space as well? Exactly who are they spying on out there?!)

Superman somehow (given he no longer is able to fly...or breathe in space for that matter...) manages to get back to the Hall of Justice. (and no one has evacuated yet)

Green Lantern then activates the global force field (doesn’t he have an all-powerful ring that will do whatever he wants against anything that isn’t yellow? The sun’s red now, right?) which reacts to the flare, causing global devastation   (which the NSA happily records for posterity)

The aliens decide to go back in time to prevent the events of the episode from happening (wait, this takes place after Secret Origins of the Superfriends, which means not only is it documented that Flash and Black Vulcan can travel through time, but the Legion have their own time machine and Batman has Wayne Enterprises’ experimental Bat Flux Capacitor! They could have traveled back in time themselves to stop this!)...

...by shifting the moon’s orbit enough to cause an eclipse (why didn’t Superman think of that?)

The Superfriends cheer their good luck at the Legion’s miscalculation...

...when Luthor interjects (wait, so he can hack into the NSA recording devices in the Hall of Justice? And don’t even try to pretend the NSA wouldn’t have recording devices keeping tabs on them!) and says he didn’t miscalculate!

Kind of a fitting way for Challenge to end (this was the final episode of this Superfriends series, and the last original episode until Legendary Super Powers)

[aurumacadicus]

stony flowershop or bakery au pretty please?? 🙏🙏

There was a bakery across the street, now.

Tony stared at it, wistful. His flower shop had taken a bit of a hit when he'd switched from being a florist to selling live plants, but it had made a comeback as keeping plants made a resurgence of popularity. He had regulars now, like he had when he'd been making bouquets, different people, maybe, but happy to see him.

No one had really been happy to see him at the end of his florist days anyway, he remembered, lifting his hand to touch the scars on his jaw, still too afraid to reach any further up his face.

The bakery was bustling. Tony had found it online and seen pictures of beautiful cakes, large loaves of bread, rows of perfectly iced donuts, and a business commitment to giving the end-of-day leftovers to the local homeless. Tony wanted to go in, but he still hadn't gotten used to the stares he would get on the street because of his scars and missing arm. He didn't want to go into a crowded bakery and hear little kids ask their parents what was wrong with him, or watch people trying to glance at him surreptitiously to figure out the extent of his injury. Worse, what if the owner told him he was bad for business and asked him to leave? It had happened before, and while fury had simmered in Tony's belly as he'd left, the shame of knowing what he looked like kept him from making a fuss.

Rhodey had scolded him, saying he deserved to be there just like anyone else, but Rhodey also never had to deal with children's stares, people whispering behind their hands when they looked at him, the open disgust some people showed. It was just easier to leave sometimes.

Tony was opening up shop one day when he pulled the blind up on the door and found someone standing on the other side. He was not ashamed to admit he screamed bloody murder because it was six in the morning and he didn't open for another two hours technically but he liked his plants getting the morning sun. Luckily, he immediately heard muffled 'I'm sorry! I'm sorry!'s from the other side of the door.

Tony eventually stopped shaking enough to unlock the door, and he jerked it open so he could really give the guy a piece of his mind. "What the fuck--"

"I'm sorry," the man rushed to say again, and thrust something out toward him.

Tony fumbled for it with his one hand. It was a box. It said "R&B" in swooping letters on it. He blinked at it, then lifted his head to squint across the street at the bakery. Rogers & Barnes. He looked back at the man. Yeah, he looked like the guy he saw leaving some nights.

"They're donuts," the guy added helpfully. "I saw that you got up early and sometimes you look over at our shop when you open the blinds, but you never came in, and we never really introduced ourselves when we moved in, so I thought... maybe I should have waited until you opened..." he mumbled, shuffling awkwardly when Tony just gaped at him. "It's just, they were fresh, and I wanted you to have them before the icing went hard."

"Oh," Tony said, like an idiot. He stood in the door a moment longer, then took a step back to move out of the way. "Did you want to come in?"

"I should probably get back," the guy said, but he was also coming into the shop, peering around at all of the plants Tony had to offer. He shut the door behind himself.

Tony stared at him for a moment, bewildered, then turned and walked over to the counter the cash register sat on and put the box down on it. He opened the box and was pleased to see a variety. There was even a cupcake in one corner. He'd save that for later, maybe.

"I'm Steve," the guy said, and Tony turned to find him staring very intently at a pothos. "Would you say this is a good plant for people who have been known to kill plants?"

"No," Tony said. "I'm Tony. You don't have to buy a plant because you feel bad for scaring me."

"Maybe I want to buy a plant because I like plants even if I'm a serial plant murderer," Steve replied mulishly. "Maybe I like green things. Maybe I like the way they brighten up a room."

"You don't have to buy a plant because you feel bad for scaring me," Tony repeated sternly.

"Just for that, I'm buying two," Steve retorted. He pointed at a philodendron. "What about that?"

Tony put his hand on his hip, scowling at him, but Steve just met his eyes, chin jutting out stubbornly. So, finally, he sighed, rolling his eyes. "Do you kill your plants by over or underwatering?"

Steve stared at him a little longer, then crossed his arms. "I forget about them until I glance over and see they're dead."

"Jesus Christ," Tony muttered, but he walked over to the shelves of plants on the opposite side of the store. He grabbed a snake plant and walked over to plonk it on the counter, then walked back to retrieve a spider plant as well. He walked behind the counter and gave Steve his best unimpressed stare. "These like to dry out between watering so they should survive you."

"Okay," Steve said.

"My register doesn't come on until eight, so you can come back and pay me later," Tony added, already mentally writing it off. Steve wouldn't be back. He just came to deliver donuts, got weirdly aggressive about apologizing, and they'd never see each other again except in passing. That was fine. He had a box of donuts.

"I'll be back," Steve promised, taking the plants into his arms. "I should repot them, yeah?"

"They're a good size now. You can repot them if they survive long enough to get bigger," Tony deadpanned, and ignored the warmth that filled him when Steve laughed, good-natured, and turned to leave. Tony followed him to lock the door, just in case someone else might try to come in before opening. He fully expected to never see Steve again.

Which is why he screamed and threw the watering can at him when he just appeared in the shop and said 'how much do I owe you, anyway?' three hours later.

[beyondspaceandstars]

The Military Dog Tag Dilemma

Relationship: Stucky x Reader Warnings: N/A, just fluff Summary: You just want to wear the military tags of both your men but Steve seems to run into some issues. A/N: I am also always a sucker for Stucky writing ok and this was my first personal attempt at it and i thought it came out well <3

masterlist

Bucky gave you his dog togs within weeks of establishing your relationship with him and Steve.

You loved to mindlessly play with them as the three of you cuddled up in bed, enjoying some pillow talk after, particularly long days. Steve spooning you from behind as you laid on Bucky’s chest, his arm thrown around you, running his fingers through Steve’s hair. Your fingers would fumble with the shiny tags, turning them over in your hand, watching the minimal moonlight hit them every now and then.

You didn’t know what it was about the tags that had you so captivated nearly every night. It felt so simple yet so intimate as you stared at your lover’s name and information engraved in them. While you weren’t exactly an expert on wartime, you knew the tags could serve as gifts to partners, assuring your heart to one another. The concept definitely drifted through your mind from time to time, but you never brought it up.

Bucky, however, seemed to be thinking the same thing. Wordlessly, one night, he slipped off the silver chain, tags clinking together musically, and slid them over your head. The coolness of them tickled your neck as the tags fell to the valley between your breasts.

You didn’t know what to say. Your heart was pounding as you ran your fingers around the necklace. Even Steve seemed a little shocked by the actions. But Bucky was fully pleased as evident by the cocky grin he wore watching you ogle at the gift. He had to admit — knowing you were walking around with his name dangling from your neck did something for him.

"Where are your tags, Steve?" You had asked after placing a loving, appreciative kiss on Bucky’s lips. Now that you obtained Bucky’s tags, it only seemed fitting you wore Steve’s as well.

Steve shifted. You looked up at him only to find him watching the wall across from the bed, seemingly lost in thought. "I-I’m not really sure, honey."

You let out a sad hum at the response. "Well, if you find them, let me know," you yawned, shuffling down in the bed to get comfier. "I’d like both of my men close to me all the time."

Since then, Steve had been on a mission to find dog tags. Going through archives, chain of custody notes, discarded boxes… Everything. There was just something about the entire thing that was driving Steve mad. He was honored you wanted to show off the claim your two lovers had on you but he was also deeply concerned about the fact that currently you only had Bucky’s to wear.

While Steve wouldn’t exactly call himself jealous in this situation, knowing you didn’t love him any less, the relationship was established the way it was and he felt you should still have something of his to truly show for it.

This led Steve on what felt like a manhunt for the "damn dog tags," as he kept referring to them when Bucky would check-in asking if all was okay. Nothing was really okay. He had looked high and low for them, going through every potential record in the database trying to at least confirm there was something to even look for.

He pounded his fist against the desk late one night. Steve had pushed you and Bucky to get some sleep, claiming he had some reports to look over before bed. You two had looked at him suspiciously but eventually agreed, planting loving kisses on his cheeks, and telling him not to stay up too late.

"I get cold without both of you there," you had mumbled with a sleepy yawn following. Your words almost made Steve give up for the night but then he caught a glimpse of the silver chain on your neck. Seeing you like that, using your tired, loving voice, he remembered what he was doing this for. It was you. It was all about you and your love for sentimental things.

He grudgingly agreed to be there in an hour and that seemed to please his two lovers. Except — it was way past an hour. The sky was close to daybreak when he hit the desk in frustration.

Pushing the folders away, Steve leaned back in the chair, sighing. Within seconds, footsteps came from the hall and Bucky appeared in the doorway, watching a frustrated Steve.

"Everything okay in here?" Bucky asked, leaning against the door frame.

"Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine," Steve nodded. "Go back to bed, I’ll be there in a bit."

But Bucky didn’t look the slightest bit convinced. He had a knowing look in his eyes which Steve tried to avoid by looking down at the now splintered desk.

"How are those reports going?"

Steve rolled his eyes, letting out an annoyed groan. Deep down he knew he couldn’t hide anything from Bucky but still, worth a shot.

He pushed all the folders away this time, leaving them at the very edge of the desk. "I did have dog tags, right?"

"That’s still bothering you, huh?" Bucky crossed the threshold into the office and made his way to one of the chairs in front of Steve’s desk. He took one of the folders and sat directly across from Steve. Casually, he thumbed through it, waiting for his partner to start talking.

Steve didn’t really want to get into it again as he had probably hounded Bucky about it all last week but acting like it wasn’t bothering him was getting him nowhere — obviously.

"Yes," Steve sighed. "I just want her to have something from each of us. It’s- It’s hard watching our girl…"

Bucky frowned, "I’m sorry, Steve. I should’ve waited to give them to her."

"No, Buck," Steve leaned forward, reaching his hand out. Bucky took the signal and leaned, placing his own hand in Steve’s. "You wanted her to have them. That’s your call. I just feel disappointed I have nothing to give."

"Well…" Bucky hummed, tilting his head in thought. Steve’s eyes furrowed, trying to get his partner to spit out whatever he was thinking. "What if we ordered you new ones?"

"Can you do that?"

"I honestly don’t know," Bucky chuckled. "But I don’t understand half of what you can do these days, so, I’d imagine there’s a way to get dog tags made."

Steve sighed, leaning back in his chair, disconnecting their touch. It seemed reasonable and would do the job except for the fact— "But they wouldn’t be in combat or- or from the actual military."

Bucky just shook his head. With an annoyed scoff, he said, "Do you think that really matters to her?"

"I guess not…"

"Steve, honey, I promise. It’s about the presentation, the show of it. Our girl is just looking for something personal from you to keep close to her," Bucky assured him. "Plus, I think we can get it updated and personalized. Maybe even write something nice just for her on the back."

Steve had to admit, his heart was jumping happily at the idea. He really couldn’t argue with anything and agreed to the plan. The only issue was — they were a bit out of touch with ordering anything online. You had always been the one to assure online packages and food deliveries arrived but now they had to take you out of the equation. While excited to surprise you, they were slightly unsure about ordering and had to enlist the help of the team who all turned out to be more than happy to assist once they explained their idea.

A few weeks later, you were laying in your shared bed, back against the headboard, body cozied up under the duvet. You were engrossed in a cheesy romance novel, waiting for Steve and Bucky to join you for the night. Eventually, the two came in, but they were still in their work attire.

You frowned at their appearance. "Aren’t you guys coming to bed?"

As you asked your question, you couldn’t help but note their unusual stance. The two men were side-by-side, standing at the foot of the bed, looking down at you. Bucky had his hands in his pockets while Steve appeared to be hiding something behind his back. You eyed them suspiciously.

"We will in a bit, doll," Bucky said. You watched him as he came around to the side of the bed. He sat down and leaned against the headboard, shifting right next to you, sneakily taking the book out of your grip. "But first, Steve has something for you."

"For- For me?" You asked, whipping your head around to face Steve. He had a bit of nervousness to him as he nodded, making his way over to the bed and sitting on the edge.

Silently, he handed you a small box. You eagerly accepted the item, turning it over and over in your hands. Giving it a light shake, the box made a jangling noise. "What is it?" You asked, wide-eyed looking between the two men.

Steve and Bucky both let out soft chuckles at your excitement. "You have to open it to find out," Steve said. He still had an air of anxiousness, running his hands up and down his jean-covered thighs, fidgeting.

To put your poor boyfriend out of his misery, you opened the box. At first, all you noticed was something slim and shiny. Eyes furrowed in confusion, you pulled out what appeared to be a chain. You could feel a slight heaviness to it — and then you saw it. Your jaw dropped as you tossed the box next to you. In your hands was another set of dog tags nearly identical to the ones you already had adorned on your neck — only this pair were inscribed with the name Steven Grant Rogers.

"Steve-," you gasped, staring at the tags laying in the palm of your hands. You were at a loss for words as you read the tag.

"Are- Are they okay?" Steve asked, his nervous hand came up to rest on your thigh, pulling your attention back to him.

"Are you kidding me?" You let out a breathy laugh. "They’re wonderful, honey, thank you so much."

"You’re sure?" He asked again. Bucky gave him a pointed look for his ridiculousness but that didn’t stop Steve from rambling. "I-I couldn’t find mine so, I got a new pair made. I know they’re maybe not as authentic or something but I still wanted-,"

"You had these made?" You cut in. "For me?"

Steve nodded, "You had Bucky’s, so, it was only fair you had something of mine, too."

You couldn’t hold your emotions back at his word. Tears began forming as you looked at your soft, loving partner. You let out little sniffles as you turned back to the tags, still soaking in their meaning. Bucky placed a light touch on your arm as Steve scooted closer, probably suddenly scared by your tears.

"They’re perfect, honey," you whispered as you looked back at him and leaned forward, placing a sweet kiss on Steve’s lips. He eagerly accepted, practically sighing from relief under your touch. "They’re going to go perfect with the tags from my other man." You mumbled and turned to now give Bucky a kiss, who felt very pleased to get a turn to lock lips with you.

Facing Steve again, you handed him the chain. He looked down at it, confused.

"Well, soldier, are you going to put them on me?"

Both of the men chuckled at your actions but Steve happily slid the silver chain over your neck, watching as the tags fell to your chest. Once they landed, they clang nicely with Bucky’s. It sounded like music to your ears.

"I love you both so much," you said, your hand mindlessly running over the pair of tags. "Thank you."

"We love you too, doll," Bucky said. Steve nodded in agreement.

Smiling, you gave them both quick pecks and said, "Now, are you guys coming to bed?"

Bucky scoffed, "How could we ever deny you?"

You giggled. "I don’t think you can seeing as last time I checked I was a special girl."

At your words, both their gazes dropped once again to the tags hanging between your breasts, seeming so at place there.

"You sure are, honey," Steve mumbled, placing a kiss on your cheek.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

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