#Scarecrow Week 2022

[wolvenjay]

Scarecrow Week 2022 Day 2 - Friendship with the Rogues

They're probably talking about psychology... nerds.

[enigmatic-robin]

Liquid Fear

Scarecrow Week 2022

Day 1 of Scarecrow Week

Established Jonathan Crane / Edward Nygma

1633 words

-

“Well, this is quite the predicament” Edward noted, smiling nervously at Nightwing, who had an iron grip on the collar of his shirt.

“That’s one word for it. What’re you doing in my city?”

“Oh, you sound just like Batman. I’m not here to do anything, I’m quite content to keep to myself here”

The grip on his shirt tightened, an escrima stick in the other hand keeping him from even attempting to free himself.

“And how am I supposed to believe that? You’re in Blüdhaven with no ulterior motives?”

“Now, I believe I said I wasn’t here to do anything, not that I didn’t have ulterior m-“

Edward was cut off by his back slamming into the wall of the alley, knocking the wind out of him.

“I don’t want to play games, I want an answer!”

“And I told you, I have no business here!” He reiterated, eyes darting for a moment before The Riddler visibly calmed.

“Then why are you here?”

“I had business here. He came along to make sure the deal stayed fair” another voice explained, but the source was nowhere in sight. Edward’s grin practically split his face.

“I haven’t done a thing wrong. Isn’t that right, dear?”

“Indeed it is. Such harsh treatment for someone who didn’t do anything. So, I’d suggest getting your hands off him”

The blue clad vigilante stilled, feeling cold, sharp metal against the dip of his throat.

“Scarecrow, how nice of you to join the party!” Nightwing smiled over exaggeratedly, trying not to let a single muscle in his throat move.

“What’s wrong, cat got your tongue? Or maybe you’re just a little afraid to be on the receiving end of… this?”

The metal on his throat, now identifiable as a syringe, poked a bit harder.

“It’s just a little liquid fear- makes the heart pump faster. Now we haven’t done a damn thing today, nothing you can hold us here for. Let. Us. Go.”

Dick frowned, looking down at Edward.

No, this was a Gotham problem, not his own.

“Across the bridge. You have a half hour to get out of Blüdhaven.”

Edward rolled his eyes, nodding as he was released.

“You wrinkled my shirt.” He huffed,smoothing it back down as best he could. “Do you know how much this is worth? I put a lot of effort into my appearance, you know.”

Nightwing sighed, clearly gathering all the patience he had in his body.

“please leave”

“… you know what? I think we’ll take our time” Scarecrow drawled, finally pushing the needle in. By the time he’d taken a step back, it was already taking effect- or Nightwing was reacting in anticipation. Either way, the way he stumbled back into the wall was satisfying.

Seeing someone so strong crumble by his hand was always a sight he reveled in, watching them shudder and stammer little words here and there, enough to give him slivers of a story or enough of a description for him to get an idea of what they were seeing. Piecing their nightmare together, knowing what he caused? It might be the best part.

“Jonathan, we can’t stay” Edward cut through his thoughts like a light through a fog, and he let himself be dragged away by the hand around his wrist. Hopefully he’d be able to hear the vigilante scream, that would echo for at least a few streets, give him something to hang onto. Alas, that wasn’t the case.

“Thank you for stepping in. I didn’t even do anything, he just accosted me!”

“I know you didn’t do anything, I was watching” Jonathan informed him.

“You- why?!”

“This isn’t Gotham, you don’t know your way around as well, but people are just as, if not more violent.”

“Well, I suppose I don’t mind the company.”

Jonathan shook his head, reaching the fire escape to their building and helping Edward up before pulling himself up.

“Wouldn’t matter if you did. Anyways, Nightwing’s probably right ‘bout us wanting to get out of here”

“You already got everything you came for?”

“Edward,” Jonathan slung a bag over his shoulder, securing it in place. “You underestimate how much of what I need is renewable and can be renewed not just in Gotham, but in my lab.”

Edward smiled, taking the overnight bag he’d brought with him and following Jonathan back out the way they came, down to where Jonathan had parked three blocks down, ever cautious of vehicles getting associated with him.

“I suppose I should only expect the best from you. After all, being considered a match for the Riddler is no easy feat- partner-wise, of course, not a match in the sense that we could go head to head mentally.”

Jonathan turned the car on, face deadpan.

“You know, it isn’t too late to drop you back in that alley and give Nightwing the antitoxin”

Edward took his seat, grumbling under his breath but not pushing the subject.

“… you fed the cat before we left yesterday, right? Filled the bowl all the way so she’d be good until we arrived home?”

“Yes, Edward. The cat is going to be just fine.”

��If she isn’t, if she’s hungry, you feed her right away or Selina hears about it” he huffed, looking out the window as they drove onto the bridge.

“…wouldn’t it be awful if Joker decided to bomb the br-“

“Edward, you want what Nightwing’s having?”

“Not particularly” he huffed like an annoyed child. “Though you do have to tell me at some point what exactly your ‘liquid fear’ does.”

There was a long moment of silence before Jonathan spoke.

“It causes visual, auditory, and olfactory hallucinations while affecting the amygdala to create the fear response. The hallucinations correspond with your subconscious by taking the form of your greatest fear or taking advantage of deep-seated trauma.

“So what’s Nightwing seeing, you think?”

Jonathan paused for a moment to think before replying.

“It changes. He’s got a few worst fears and traumas, I’d think. He calls out for Robin semifrequently, has since… some time before the blond girl Robin. Cries for his mother, same as most Robins do at some point. Just- lot of things”

“What do you think you’d see? If it still affected you?”

He thought back, all the regrets and terrors he’d faced. Maybe the crows again? His great grandmother? But he’d owned crows since, loved them. And she was just an old woman, a dead one at that.

“Something practical, most likely, since I can’t really be scared by anything irrational. Something like…”

He thought back, back to Black Mask pointing a gun at his head at a deal gone wrong. Ivy, constricting his throat after he’d clipped a plant he didn’t know was hers. Croc grabbing him by the face, nails digging in when he’d contaminated the water supply without thinking of what it’d do to the sewers. Moments he’d almost died. He glanced at Edward out of the corner of his eye.

Edward, who’d stepped in out of nowhere and mediated the exchange between Black Mask and him. Who’d hit Ivy over the head with his cane hard enough that her vines went limp and dropped him. Who’d set off a small explosive in the sewer, distracting Croc and getting Batman’s attention to keep him occupied further.

“You know what? I don’t like this game”

Edward’s eye glinted dangerously.

“That means you have one. You know something that would scare you and you don’t want to look vulnerable” Edward accused, and Jonathan’s silence in response seemed confirmation enough. “You don’t trust me?”

“I do trust you”

“So it’s about me.”

Jonathan tensed, stopping the car where he always parked and quickly but silently heading inside, Edward keeping pace beside him all the while.

“I wouldn’t betray you”

“I know you wouldn’t”

“I wouldn’t abandon you”

“I know”

“I wouldn’t die on you”

Jonathan hated how the words died in his throat, how he couldn’t lie about it. There was a long pause before a heartbroken sounding ‘oh’.

“Jonathan, Do you think I’m going to get myself killed?” Edward asked slowly. He didn’t get a response.

“I wouldn’t-“

“But you could. And I can’t be there every time.” He pointed out. “The time Harvey held you on the edge of that building, what if the coin landed on the other side? I wasn’t there. Or the time with the Joker, what if Batman didn’t get there?”

“Holy shit, you are scared”

“I can barely remember what fear feels like. But I’m pretty sure it wasn’t this”

“You remember what it was like to feel afraid for yourself. Did you ever have anyone you got close enough to to be scared for?” Edward knew the answer; no, he was the first.

What did he feel? Was it as visceral and all encompassing as his own toxin, just muted, on a smaller scale? Was it barely anything, just feeling like more since it’d been so long since he’d felt it?

Edward sighed, pulling Jonathan to the couch, guiding him to sit before curling up next to him. A little bell was his only warning before a third body joined them, the cat laying down on their legs and greeting them softly.

“I thought I missed the feeling. I guess I forgot what it felt like first” Jonathan finally said, running his hand over Maze’s ears.

“That was different. Fear for yourself has this adrenaline to it, that’s what you want. Fear for someone else though, it’s soft, underlying. Not as much adrenaline.”

“Does it go away?”

“Not as long as you care for the person, no”

Jonathan sighed, paying his head on Edward’s.

“Then I guess I’m stuck with it. Just don’t give me a reason to worry.”

“I make no promises.”

[unclewarwick]

i am making this an art blog now, so i thought i should actually start posting my art here. i finished this drawing today and the rest of the art in this post is from newest to oldest. this post is most of my batman-related art since the last time i posted a big amount of batman art (which was december 2022).

i have a heavy preference for drawing batjokes but am trying to draw more and more of the rogues gallery. i have my own vague storyline ideas that include both batman and the joker being trans men, but in my story he is called bruceman/bat wayne.

2024-07-10 -- i do an annual redraw of this meme. this was the fifth version. the first time i drew it (in 2021) was the first time i had tried to properly draw either of them, despite having a deep batman interest for a long long time, and drawing for even longer.

2024-06-28 -- i spent 41 and a half hours on this one. my first big attempt at pixel art. it was from a bad chronic illness week so it was meant as a purposely ugly and simple drawing but it spiralled out of control.

2024-07-05 and 2024-05-11 -- my concept art for the scarecrow.

2024-04-22 and 2024-03-21 and 2024-02-11 -- the joker taunting bat wayne, an argument with alfred, a community meme redraw that i didn't like the end result of but was unwell while drawing so i give myself a break.

2024-02-08 and 2024-02-06 -- the riddler being desperate for attention on social media, my two-face concept art

2024-01-27 -- my take on the oft-parodied the amazing spider-man #601 cover art.

2024-01-18 -- joker thinks he's being sneaky but doesn't know he's with the same person twice.

2024-01-11 and 2024-01-10 -- catwoman being fun and sillie (from before i redesigned her weird mask and goggles that i originally tried to give her)

art from 1 and 8 december of 2023 that i posted on here

both from 2023-09-10 -- a couple of quick low effort drawings from when i was feeling funky

2023-08-06 and 2023-08-13 and 2023-08-18 -- mini comic where you can see the comic formatting skill developing in each part.. just a small story idea i had revolving around a double joke about bat wayne's Identity. and still figuring out how to draw the riddler.

2023-08-02 -- my first depiction of riddler & first drawing of har-lee (my name for harley quinn) out of costume.

2023-06-18 and 2023-06-15 -- my first drawings ever of har-lee; i did not stick with this costume design for her because i fixed it and made it actually look good and make sense at all a whole year later (character design is my weakness), and also just a simple meme.

2023-06-15 -- i don't have an animation program, so making this was a real struggle.

2023-04-28 and 2023-04-23 -- bruceman picking up tampons in the middle of a fight, bruceman and joker "fighting".

2023-04-04 and 2023-03-21 -- Earring Magic J, joker being the autistic, gay, trans dad of autistic, gay, trans pee-wee herman (including muffin the cat from batman: legends of the dark knight #50)

all from 2022-11-14 -- a comic Not about being trans, no, not at all...

2022-11-27 -- a fully rendered version of the last panel.

there's more that's not included here because of the 30 image limitation, but those are mostly further concept drawings of har-lee that i didn't like, and lower quality joke drawings. one bigger thing i've left out are stills from an animatic/animation project i started quite a while back (it's not even my only WIP of that kind) and haven't continued progress on for a while. i would prefer to share that all at once whenever it's finished.

[imposterogers]

if u were to put the live action batman adaptations on a graph u would see a clear correlation between how competent the trio (bruce jim gordon and alfred) are compared to how crazy gotham is. the batman 2022 characters have thick skulls and the criminals are noticeably pretty mid. the nolan verse characters generally have their shit together but have the joker, scarecrow, bane, league of assassins to deal with. gotham 2014 has arguably the most competent & unhinged main trio, and in return gotham itself is batshit insane with supernatural forces pseudoscience corruption & ten rogues per week. its a very delicate ecosystem 

[birdsthatsingaftermidnight]

Today, in UK Politics

I'm going to have to start putting a date on these things. I'm referring to 20/10/22.

The Prime Minister resigned. She lasted nearly nine Jane Greys (8.889 if you want to be exact), or 4.4 Scaramuccis.

So anyway, Liz is out and this means there's someone new to come in. Yay! Hopefully this is the last new PM before Christmas.

In the July leadership contest, when the Tories finally realised that maybe, just maybe, Boris was a terrible Prime Minister, a candidate has to be nominated by 20 Tory MPs to be included in the first round of voting's ballot. They then held the vote, and anyone with less than 30 votes was withdrawn from the competition. Voting continued with the MP with the lowest number of votes being withdrawn (and others withdrawing even if they did scrape in) until two people were left, and then all Conservative Party members, that's MPs as well as paid up members, then voted. It's obviously a lengthy process (this started in July and ended with Liz Truss the winner in September).

This time they've decided it'll all get done by the end of next week. Nominations close on Monday, and anyone with 100 nominations goes through. Given that there's currently 357 sitting MPs, that obviously means a maximum of three people going through. "If three candidates reach the threshold there will be an vote of Conservative MPs. The top two will then be subject to an indicative vote of Conservative MPs before going froward [sic] to an online vote of Party members. This will be completed by 28 October 2022. If only one candidate secures the required nominations there will be no confirmatory vote of Party members and the candidate will be confirmed leader on Monday 24 October 2022."

In case the last two bullet points were too lengthy, here's the TL;DR - I've had colds last longer than this leadership contest.

But why take your time over an important decision like who should run the actual country. It feels like something you should rush, right?

Jeremy Hunt says he doesn't want to be in charge. Probably very wise of him, honestly. (Seriously, though, remember when he was the worst Tory MP you could think of?! What sweet summer children we were!).

Neither does Michael Gove (remember when he was also in the running for worst Tory MP you could think of? Ah, the naivety of trusting vaguely to the political process).

Jacob Rees-Mogg, allegedly the Business Secretary, but we all know he's really the Minister for the 18th Century / a Victorian scarecrow haunted by a dead Victorian industrialist, is said to be encouraging people to nominate Boris Johnson, who apparently does appear to be in the running.

Boris Johnson.

The good news is, the suggestion of nominating Boris has immediately split the party. Because that's what they need. More divisions.

BBC political correspondent Ione Wells said that some senior Conservatives have said they would consider standing down and thus triggering by-elections if Boris gets the job back. On the other hand, Cabinet Office Minister Brendan Clarke Smith insists that the former prime minister was a proven winner who could restore his party's fortunes. This must be true, because everybody's favourite Boris fan, Nadine Dorries, says he's a winner! Her credibility - for want of a better term - is currently a little shot right now.

Penny Mordaunt, currently the Leader of the House, appears to be in the running, and so does Rishi Sunak, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer until he resigned in July and kicked off the whole getting rid of Boris things.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his party was on an election footing, with a manifesto at the ready. I imagine they've been getting it into electioneering-ready status amidst the surprise that the Tories, handed a metaphorical rope by Labour's tabling amendments on the fracking legislation that had to be voted on, put said metaphor around their own necks and started shoving each other off the equally metaphorical battlements.

Also demanding an election is Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, and Wales's First Minister Mark Drakeford.

Not that they can force one, unless Labour can convince enough Tories to vote with them in a vote of no confidence, which they're unlikely to try for anyway. It's so much more useful for them if the Tories keep shoving people who cannot do the job into the PM job and burn their own party down from the inside.

Which will make a nice change for Labour, who over the last few years have been cheerfully engaging in the left wing's favourite hobby - schisming. Gosh, but the left love a good schism.

The next general election is not required to take place until at least 2024 (and by January 2025 at the latest) and, at this stage, it looks unlikely that date will be brought forward.

Because we're British, this is also happening, and it is magnificent.

[every-character-ever-poll]

WEEK SEVEN LINEUP

Soooo. I've been gone a while. What was supposed to be Week Six became more like "Two Months" Six. My bad. I can't promise that random breaks won't happen, but I'll do my level best to not let them become longer than a week if they do (knock on wood - the last time I said "I'll try not to take anymore random breaks" i dipped for a month).

Anyways, here's a very delayed Week Seven! Thank you to everyone who stuck around while I vanished.

Darkiplier - Markiplier

The Puzzler - Generation Loss

The Extinguisher - Jerma's 2022 Holiday Awards Show Extravaganza

The Giant Rat - Rat Movie: Mystery of the Mayan Treasure

Candace Flynn - Phineas and Ferb

Venus aka Kanamori - Heaven's Design Team

Han Ying - Word of Honor

Michealangelo - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

Carrie White - Carrie (all media)

Steve the Trooper - Chuggaconroy’s Pikmin videos

The Thunderhead - Arc of a Scythe

Haruki Nakayama - Given

A - Tomorrow Will Be Dying

Doris Frances Barbara - Blood & Syrup: A Vampire the Masquerade Podcast

Juliet Capulet - & Juliet

May - & Juliet

Castiel Supernatural - Supernatural

Derek Hale - Teen Wolf

Lúthien Tinúviel - The Silmarillion

Potamos - Wedding Peach

Jiang Cheng - The Untamed

Poe Dameron - Star Wars

Asterion - Baldur's Gate 3

Dalian - Dantalian no Shoka

Shulk - Xenoblade Chronicles

Solid Snake - Metal Gear Solid

Zanza - Xenoblade Chronicles

Kuu - Haibane Renmei

Cole MacGrath - Infamous

Captain Olimar - Pikmin

Raku-chan - Nyan Neko Sugar Girls

Annie Wintersummer - Unprepared Casters

Yona - Akatsuki no Yona

Shane Schofield (Scarecrow) - Scarecrow and Jack West Junior

The Medic - Team Fortress 2

Sailor Jupiter - Sailor Moon

Orbulon - WarioWare

Mike - WarioWare

Cure Honey - Happiness Charge Precure

Crazy Barks - Drawn to Life

Ninjini - Skylanders

Cure La Mer - Tropical Rouge Precure

End (Endymion) - Beyond the End

Kansuke Yamato - Detective Conan

Mr. Crow, AKA Aldous Vanderboom - Rusty Lake/Cube Escape

Vega - Street Fighter

Izumi Miyamura - Horimiya

Aldark - Drawn to Life

M. Bison - Street Fighter

Aoi Inuyama - Yuru Camp

Klara - Pokemon

Virginia Lewis - The 10th Kingdom

Muriel - Good Omens

Nene Kusanagi - Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage/Project Sekai

Michiko Malandro - Michiko to Hatchin

Suzuki Shinya - 10 Dance

Miles Maitland - Bright Young Things

Diavolo - Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

Burly, Blabberwort, and Bluebell - The 10th Kingdom

Natsume Takashi - Natsume's Book of Friends

Faust - Guilty Gear

Sugiki Shinya - 10 Dance

Cure Finale - Delicious Party Precure

Igarashi Vice - Kamen Rider Revice

Mitsumi Iwakura - Skip and Loafer

The Corinthian - The Sandman

Shizuku Hinomori - Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage/Project Sekai

Mickey Muldoon - The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns

Natsuki Shinomiya - Uta no Prince Sama

Sasha Braus - Attack on Titan

Virtue Courtenlock - Krillverse

Goop Lyn - veryextraincorrectfegbaquotes.tumblr.com

Jean-Francois - Bunny Maloney

Tome Kurata - Mob Psycho 100

Seras Victoria - Hellsing

Pang Pawaret - The gifted

Viren - The Dragon Prince

Brawne Lamia - Hyperion

Dai Lee - Let Dai

Haruka Kiritani - Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage/Project Sekai

Minori Hanasato - Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage/Project Sekai

Cube - Gather Ye Power

C-53 - Mission to Zyxx

Cynte - Endoparasitic

Ged/Sparrowhawk - Earthsea

Sniff - The Moomins

Soren Baltimore - Camp Here & There

Mellow - Endacopia

Eunhyung Song - Let Dai

Rufus - Deponia

Sheik - The Legend of Zelda

Lee Ping - Detentionaire

Kasane Fuchi - Kasane

Shigure Sohma - Fruits Basket

Aymeric de Borel - Final Fantasy XIV

Meta Knight - Kirby

Luka Couffaine - Miraculous Ladybug

Satō - Ajin: Demi-Human

Mudkip - Pokemon

Death of the Endless - The Sandman

[sheriffclownkins]

Scarecrow Week 2022 day 1: Liquid fear

your worst nightmares for only $3.99!

[winged-wolf-s-collection-of-arts]

pinned post! latest edit: April the 10th

Howdy!!! Call me whatever name you’ve heard. Any pronouns are fine!

I have an unreliable sleep schedule/forgetful/message notifications don’t show up- so if you need me uhh keep yelling until I notice? Aaahhh...

I put reblogs in a queue or schedule!! If I like an art post of your but don't reblog, don't worry, it'll be out in a week or so. Probably

--

Tag list, ordered by most common to least common in each category. Starting with my personal tags, then general navigation tags.

Art tag: wolfys art (my art), 2022 artchive (specifically my art from 2022)

Cool art by pals: grand showcase of arts

Doc says something: wolf chats

All art month challenges: Just Here To Have Fun

Kiley and co stuff (commonwealth setting): little wastrels

NOTE the au is getting rebooted so old stuff is not canon.

second fallout au (island setting, custom location for an rp): badlands crew

My main story stuff, not fallout: Split Fates au

posts that vaguely relate to my ocs: jeanposting, jerposting

-

Other aus- SCP Jailbreak!, museums monsters n marvels, voidspace crew, When Multiverses Collide, eternal spring

I kind of hit my story with a hammer and it shattered into a million pieces. oops

--

Misc fandom tags: fallout, whump stuff, bg3, doctor who, ace attorney, hermitcraft, qsmp, warrior cats, good omens

Misc common tags: described (posts with image or video ID), michaelnordeman (his animal photography), birds, food

important tags: reblogging for future reference (general tips), promo (friends news), boost (donation posts), flashing, eyestrain, psa

"You have to reblog!" And similar phrases: rebait

Subcategories of tips tags: drawing tips, writing tips, fave (personal favourites), cooking tips, health tips, tech tips. (more to be added soon)

Note- these are not tagged reliably: ghouls, zombies, blood, skeletons, suggestive, insects, spiders, guns, drug use, smoking, all caps, partial nudity, death

--

Characters that frequently appear are... ( updated 10 April, more descriptions to be added soon, please hold!)

Rabbit: A human-sized anthro rabbit! Light grey and white fur, green eyes. Usually in a grey suit with a green tie and gold scarf- or in white robes with gold jewelry. Sometimes drawn with long curved gold colored horns.

Wolfy: A cartoony anthro wolf, exactly five feet tall! Medium grey fur, has oval mirrors (with two shine marks) in place of eyes, and has grey and purple wings and a bird tail over his wolf tail. Always in a medium grey suit with a purple tie. Sometimes drawn with deerlike antlers.

Parsure: Looks like a blonde and light skinned human dude with dull blue eyes! He has shoulder-length hair with jagged bangs, and has a goatee and mustache. Always wears jeans, a white t shirt, red converse shoes, and a leather jacket. There's a large red bullseye on the back of the jacket. There's patches on the left sleeve: A red X symbol, and a night sky with a black stripe down the right side. On the right sleeve: A yellow axe symbol, and grey hexagon with a blue and orange background.

Jerome Drew (should be updated to Jerome Heulwen, I'll get to it soon), <- my main guy :D

Rev -(belongs to hollyrosecheeks),

Vince: A were-snow leopard! Um. Imagine a snow leopard, but with gold eyes.

Jodie: A were-pine-marten! Like a ferret but bigger, brown furred with white patches on the face and chest.

Kiley: (new oc, aaaah- I will redo my reference soon)

Jean: (probably) human dude with short brown hair! Wears a full mask that looks like a crow’s face. Usually wears a white shirt, grey vest and tie, grey slacks, and brown dress shoes. Sometimes wears a simple black jacket. Or a scarecrow's hat and black gloves.

--

Psst if you have a spare dollar can you pass it along to my pal Fern!

Cashapp: cash.app/$AustinToach

PayPal: paypal.me/AustinStidham

Venmo: venmo.com/u/Austin-Toach

uh if you show me you've donate something I'll draw you a doodle-

--

End of the post! Have a good day, wahoo

[oh-surprise-its-me]

@aki-draws-things

Here’s an incomplete list of things Ron has said while in a fever state.

(Ron, like me, sometimes forgets that you’re really not supposed to drink on NyQuil. That’s the result of some of the crazier ones.)

“But what if the dinosaurs do come back and they decide to eat everyone besides me and then I’m alone.” This is said while crying after watching jurassic Park in a fever state that they didn’t know about

“But what if the cow decides to come inside?” Not actually a crazy question, Chris was looking after a calf and it needed bottle fed. Chris did end up bringing it into the bathroom. Tom came home and just stared for a while before deciding not to ask.

“What if I wake up and you aren’t here. It was all a dream and I’m in my dads house and I’m 12 and never going to escape.” This one is said sobbing. Chris and Tom both cry when they hear it. They feel horrible that they can’t convince him it’s real.

“Why is Jake so tall. He’s just a baby.” This is said while holding Jake. He doesn’t realize he’s holding the 2 year old so Chris takes Jake back.

*2022* “if I was a worm would you still love me?” Tom and Chris both think maybe he’s dying. Jesus what the fuck Ron.

“If I wanted to I could marry you. I would. Fuck my dad I’ll marry you.” This is said to a scarecrow. Chris and Tom drag him back inside and make him lay back down for a long time.

“Get the kid.” Chris ends up bringing Jake back with him. “Noo wrong kid the other kid.” They stare at each other for a good minute. Tom from the kitchen asks if he means the goat. “Absolutely the goat. I would ask for chickie if I wanted Jake? But I always want Jake. I’ll take both.” The baby goat is dropped off a few seconds later. Jake holds onto the goat while sitting and sniffling in Ron’s lap.

“Baby if you became Batman would you still love us?” 15 year old Jake just shoves his pa back down onto the couch.

“If I die you get everything important to me. You’ve gotta take care of them. Promise me.” This is said to Tom in 1998. Tom refuses to acknowledge that it was ever said to him but he of course agreed.

“If this doesn’t work. You’ve gotta make sure Tommy doesn’t follow me. You’ve gotta keep him with you. Keep him alive.” This is said to Chris during the same fever. Ron truly thought he was going to die. He was in the hospital for a week.

“Bring me the cat I want to kiss her head.” This is how they know he’s sick the one time. He loves the cats but damn. Not enough to admit he wants to kiss their heads. (He kisses their heads privately.)

“Jakey why haven’t you kissed Bradley yet. It’s painful to watch.” Jake staring at his father wondering if smothering him with the pillow would get him in trouble. “Because I haven’t and he doesn’t like me?” Ron pats his face and nods. “You’re as bad with feelings as Tommy sometimes chickie.” “HEY.”

“I love you two more then the moon and the stars.” He gets a kiss for this one. And then a week later gets to take care of two sick idiots who insist on kissing him when he’s sick.

[bangtanficarchive]

2022 Halloween Fanfiction Collection

Helllloo again!

Welcome everyone to Bangtan Fic Archive's 2022 spooky Halloween fanfiction collection!!!! We are thrilled to have this master post again! Once again spooky season has arrived and we all know what that means; spooky fanfictions!

This is a master post compiled of horror, supernatural, and fantasy content for your enjoyment! Check them out below and don't forget to give the author some love!

Enjoy!

BTS OT7

Spooked by @alpacaparkaseok →You + all 7 members of BTS visiting a haunted house. What could go wrong? | PG | fluff | horror | humor |

Kim Namjoon

Ensnared by @jamaisjoons →Dragged out by your friends the week before halloween, you hunt down the elusive slenderman. However, none of them know, he’s much closer to you than they think. | M | smut | horror |

Fear - You're My Tear by @springalwayscomes →Cursed and condemned, he couldn’t do anything else but take lives and souls away, killing them with their deepest fear. With her though, it didn’t seem to work. Was she even scared of something? | M | horror |

Kim Seokjin

The Chanting Man by @springalwayscomes →Stopping the car in the middle of a foggy road on Halloween’s night is creepy. Even a shadow standing in the middle of it is creepy, let alone if the shadow turns out to be incredibly beautiful, slides into your car humming a creepy tune and asks you to guide him home. | PG-13 | horror |

Little Red by @lily-blue →The classic story of a girl who pays a visit to her grandma in her red cloak with an itsy-bitsy twist in roles a.k.a. the big bad wolf isn’t that scary anymore. | PG-13 | angst | violence | horror |

In The Woods Somewhere by @7ndipity →A camping trip with your boyfriend takes an unsettling turn when you can't shake the feeling of being watched | PG-13 | angst | horror | violence |

Min Yoongi

The Hunt by @thedarkfactory →"Want To Know Why I Love Playing In The Dark?” | PG-13 | horror | angst |

Scarecrow by @bubmyg →You’re going to keep telling yourself (and Yoongi) that the maze is targeted towards literal children or the one where yoongi growls at a fake scarecrow. | PG | fluff | humor |

DreamCatcher by @jimlingss →When your dreams are more or less nightmares, monsters inside your head that eat you alive, it seems like the only person who can help you is Min Yoongi, professional dream chaser. | PG-13 | angst | horror | fluff |

What the Water Gave Us by @hobivore →What was supposed to be a quiet Tuesday night in the middle of a hectic week is ruined by the sudden arrival of a strange man. | M | angst | horror |

Jung Hoseok

"If This Movie Is Scary, I'm Breaking Up With You" by @joheun-saram →Hoseok loses a bet and now has to endure watching your favorite horror movie. | PG-13 | fluff | horror | humor |

Potions and Poisons by @jjungkookislife →Reviving your memories last Hallows Eve was just the beginning for you and your warlock husband. You’ve quite settled in nicely to your life as his wife and even found a town where you won’t have to fear for your lives. Everything just seems to be falling into place while you simmer in marital bliss. However, your magic still needs some fine tuning… | M | smut |

Park Jimin

Blessing and a Curse by @btsmosphere →You are the unlukiest person you know. Park Jimin seems to be the exception to the rule. But when strange dreams start haunting you, Jimin begins to piece together the events that have followed you your whole life… | PG-13 | fluff | angst | romance | humor |

The Cave Dweller by @girl8890 →It started out as a curiosity, then you met a being that took up your interest altogether. You’ve always been the type of person to comfort those who are lonely, you just didn’t expect your new found friend to be a cave monster. A monster that teaches you tricks of magic, and you eventually teach him your own dirty tricks. | M | smut | angst | horror |

Lovely Demons by @kpopfanfictrash →As penance for a crime committed long, long ago, the Witch Council banished you to the feared Tholoss forest. Your sentence was one hundred thousand days of solitude – or death, whichever came first. Your only hope of salvation comes from the demon names routinely sent your way; creatures who escape the inner circles of Hell and pose a threat to the mortal realms. For each demon you kill, days are removed from your sentence. For years you’ve existed, biding your time, until one morning you receive a name which throws your entire world into chaos: the name of Park Jimin, High Prince of Hell himself. | M | smut | violence | angst | fluff |

Kim Taehyung

Visitation of a Lover by @flowesona →It just so happened that through death that they would be brought together. | PG-13 | angst | horror | violence |

Reset Character by @almostkoo →Oc gets dared by friends to spend the night in a supposedly “haunted” mansion that used to belong to a upcoming actor in the 70’s, Kim Taehyung, oc comes face to face with the spector himself and has questions about the broken veil. | PG-13 | angst | horror | fluff |

Jeon Jeongguk

What, Are You Scared? by @honeytae →You vowed a long time ago to stay away from scary movies… | PG-13 | fluff | horror | romance |

Virgin Sacrifice by @girl8890 →Since the day you were born, your parents prepared you for your sacrifice. The whole village knew, and with that everyone stayed away from you. Thinking even just looking at you would make the demon in waiting mad. The demon that has been praying on you since birth, but not for what you expected. | M | smut | horror |

Deal by @jeonstudios →What do you do when your teenage brother’s cancer is too far gone? well, you summon a cocky crossroad demon to make a deal; your life for Taehyung’s. | M | smut | angst | horror | violence | fluff |

House of Cards by @cyberdva →A vacation by the shore with a break from constant labor was all a young couple could dream of and when that time finally presented itself it was exactly what they pounced for. A tiny community on the edge of a coastline caught the attention of a young idol and his hidden lover, yet the all but homey atmosphere chipped away at an alarming rate past their arrival. Small happenings caught the eye of the sharp-witted woman, more and more occurrences kept shoving chilling encounters her way. Something was brewing and with the faith of next to no one it was in her hands to keep the life of her dearest at bay along with the force of a menacing spirit having ties to hundreds of myths, it might just be too late. Was it time for a final goodbye? | PG-13 | fluff | horror | angst |

Bangtan Fic Archive does not own any of the fanfictions or photos featured in this post. All rights reserved to their original creators.

[cosmixsoupmix]

A Deep Dive into Gorillaz's "Hallelujah Money" (repost)

I have already written this post on my main blog (@cosmixbun) but I am putting it on this one so I have it here too !! (originally written in 2022-2023)

For those who don’t know the song ‘Hallelujah Money’, it is a song released by the band, ‘Gorillaz’ on the ‘Humanz’ album on January 17, 2017. Or more known as the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration (keep this in mind, it’s very important.). The majority of the vocals were sung by Benjamin Clementine, the rest of course, was 2-D. The lyrics can be found here, if you want to read them. The music video can be found here. I suggest watching and reading both before really looking into this.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a big music person, I only find music video interest in the Gorillaz music videos. If I say something that you do not believe or have differing opinions, great. This is just what I bring to the table all these years later. There’s plenty more where I come from.

THE VIDEO:

I’m going to explain as best as I can with both parts so bear with me. Again, it would help to watch the video to see the background and the emotions in the video as portrayed by Benjamin. So, in the music video upon opening, we see the only person who will be the center of the whole music video, Benjamin. We see him in a shiny, gold building. This hallway, in the building, is a reference to the Trump Tower and Benjamin is portraying Trump, or at the least his ideals. The background images that are used in the music video are disturbing and can sometimes set an uneasy feeling. I’m not going to go super in depth on each image or video because there’s a lot but you can find the breakdown somewhere. In the music video we see flashes for symbols or things that symbolize power, such as the pyramid with the eye on the back of the US dollar bill (which is said to represent God or the illuminati, so pick one), a cowboy, and even a creepy clown video (not really a ‘power’ in a societal sense, but they affected how we lived for a while.) While the videos and pictures are shown in the back, the lyrics are being said. The majority of the time, the video and pictures have somewhat no connotation to the lyrics being sung. The end of the video ends with a clip of Spongebob screaming and crying, this was taken from the episode called ‘Karate Choppers’ from season one. The clip is right after Mr.Krabs, his boss, tells him that he’s fired. “You’re fired.” is one of Donald Trump’s signature quotes.

THE LYRICS:

Going into the lyrics I will also tie into the things that I had talked about in the music video. The lyrics in the beginning are more of acknowledging that the US is a growing country and that everyone is allowed here, except for `The scarecrows that come from the far east”. Benjamin then sings that to keep them away “Is by building walls, Walls like unicorns In full glory and galore” making a reference to the wall Trump had promised in his campaign that he was going to build. A lot of people in the states were looking forward to this and as it states, it was going to be a big project that would be looked at by many. Benjamin at this time in the music video is calm and collected and seems to be confident in what he is saying. He is also singing his thoughts about the American Dream, and how it is only for the starving, To me, this is saying that the people who don’t have it bad in this country don’t even have to think about the American Dream because they think they are already living it. Those who are struggling to get by everyday dream about the day where they won’t have to get up and wonder what their next meal is or even if they will see next week. Those people have their own dreams about the American Dream. He then thanks the people for trusting him, a reference to the fact that he is going to get inaugurated the next day. I’m going to skip 2-d’s parts for now and skip to the next time Benjamin starts to sing. The next verse that Benjamin sings is ‘Trump’ saying that even though this is how life is, we can’t do much about it, everyone in the world just wants power. We can’t be upset over something that is bound to repeat itself. He even says, “And the whole beasts of nations desire, Power”. In some way or another we want power. Trump definitely understood this and had taken it to a whole new level.

Now going into 2-d’s parts he sings both bridges in the song. In both parts that he sings he is singing directly to Benjamin. He’s asking these questions that we still ask today, “When the morning come, We are still human, How will we know? How will we dream? How will we love? How will we know ?” These questions are from the people and they are asking that if the world is so corrupt, how will we ever be able to love each other if all we can do is fight and argue. The first time 2-d comes to ask these questions, all Benjamin can do is listen. 2-d sits in Benjamin’s silhouette and Benjamin stays still. The second time he sings the same lyrics, Benjamin seems uneasy and  worried, scared, and fearful. Benjamin’s hands are shaking and the book he’s holding, he is weary about. The music becomes more, ‘anxiety filled’. Then not too long after 2-d is done, Benjamin goes back to normal. Symbolizing that in his campaign and unknowingly, the years to come, he was going to be questioned and under heavy watch because not only was he a public figure, but a lot of allegations and scandals came up about him. In the same moment, he starts to sing, “Hallelujah Money” and rub his hands together in a way that you would say money, with your thumb, pointer, and middle finger. This was then showing that even after all of that, he still had support and his fame, all the efforts did nothing to him. He wasn't phased by a single thing that came towards him.

MY THOUGHTS:

So what are my thoughts on this music video? Three words.

Absolutely.

Fucking.

Incredible.

This music video was not only amazingly made, but Benjamin did the entire music video in one take. But coming away from that, the message that this brings to the table about how the former president saw the American Dream? How he felt about power and wealth? I think it captured it perfectly. The imagery that was used in the back of the video is stunning. The way they used the analogies in this was so intricate, but it worked and fit so well. The way that they went into it and went, ‘Ya know what. Let’s give it to em’.’ My absolute favorite part of this was the lines used to describe the different sides of the American Dream. The way they also used the tree analogy in the beginning to describe the idea of western prosperity just really sold it for me.  The way this song was produced and how it sounds like a choir is singing with Benjamin to me is just the opinions of the people who agree with Trump and his ideals and them being like, ‘yeah, for the money.’ The kind of tone that song has is kind of 'rejoiceful' but having that hint of that ‘uneasiness’ that I had mentioned earlier. It just makes you think that it’s a normal Gorillaz song. The entire song is just powerful to me and after seeing it once again and hearing the song once again, and celebrating 4 years of the album...My appreciation only grows for it.

That’s pretty much it but I would like to close out with a quote from none other than Murdoc Niccals himself:

"In these dark times, we all need someone to look up to. That's why I'm giving you this new Gorillaz song, a lighting bolt of truth in a black night. You're welcome."

[wolvenjay]

Scarecrow Week 2022 Day 1 - Liquid Fear Fear toxin seemed too easy, so have Y1 right after the comic.

[enigmatic-robin]

Monster Mash/Creature Crane

Day 3 of Scarecrow Week

Can be read as Jonathan Crane/Edward Nygma OR close friends

Words: 1230

-

“Pamela, you don’t want this.” Edward muttered nervously, backing away as she stepped toward him. “I’m not here to do any harm to your plants”

“Why else would you be here? You don’t seem the type to just stop and smell the roses” she shot back, a large stalk forming behind her. Tendril-like vines split from it, splaying out and creeping towards The Riddler.

“Please, you do not want to do that. I don’t mean you any harm, but harm could be done by someone I do not control trying to protect me. Just- please?”

That gave her pause. The Riddler, begging. Not a common occurrence. He was worried- extremely, if he was driven to beg. Nonetheless, she continued on.

Edward stopped moving away, giving a concerned look, but she didn’t stop. A vine reached out for him.

The only warning was a low rumble before something jumped, sharp teeth the size of her hand biting down and severing the vine. Edward flinched back, but didn’t move as the creature placed itself between them.

It switched from four legs to two, staring menacingly through milky blue eyes as it let out a clicking growl. It snapped at another vine, which jerked back too late.

Ivy’s mind reeled as she tried to figure out what she was seeing, pulling her vines back for their protection.

“I’m alright, I’m not hurt.” Edward insisted, his voice seeming to relax the creature. It made a chuffing noise like a tiger, turning to him to look him over.

“Safe?”

“I’m safe, Crane. not even injured.” Edward confirmed.

“What… is that, Edward?” Ivy interjected with a hiss.

“Professor Crane. Mind you, with cosmetic changes, a bit of brain fog, and much more instinct and emotionally inclined. Blame Oswald. We’re just here because we really needed the outside, but without the public.”

He put a hand out, letting the creature- Scarecrow nudge his face into it contently. Ivy fought back a slightly hysterical laugh.

“This was your best idea?”

“You were in Toxic Acres, didn’t think you’d mind.”

“Bullshit! you knew I’d mind. You just didn’t care.”

“Well that could also be true.” Edward admitted, leaning on the much larger creature. “But this doesn’t happen often, if you have issues with it, take it up with Oswald. You think Jonathan wants to be a large, hulking, terrifying creature? I mean- wouldn’t put it past him, but I’m sure he’d like to be lucid for it.”

“You’re really lucky I don’t want to fight…” she made a vague gesture at Jon.

“The Scarebeast?”

“… Sure, Scarebeast. You’re spending the minimum possible amount of time here, understand?”

Edward offered a charming grin she didn’t like in lieu of an answer, but she took it as an acceptance, since refusal wouldn’t end well for him anyways. She left before she’d have to hear another word from Edward.

—

“You did wonderfully” Edward praised, petting Jon’s clawed hands to soothe the ache this form had on his joints, getting a chuff in return. He laid down by Edward, large and imposing even curled up as he was.

The Scarebeast was something to behold.

A powerful, bear-like body allowed the creature to easily stand on two legs or all four as it pleased. Its skull was shaped like a lion or tigers, with teeth as long as a human hand. Long, clawed fingers ended in deadly points, and toxin poured from its nares when it was angry.

It was magnificent. Or it would be, if it didn’t cause such agony in Jonathan.

Whatever Oswald had done to him couldn’t be stopped immediately without shocking Crane’s system, possibly killing him. He needed to be weaned off it, slowly. At least one day every two weeks until it was stable, then they’d move it to three weeks, then four, slowly.

Impossibly slowly.

At least it seemed they’d found a place they could use- probably a few times, Ivy didn’t seem keen on confronting Jonathan like this.

-

The first thing Jonathan was aware of when he woke up was the pain radiating through his body. The aches settled over his entire body like a blanket, making him wish he could just fall back asleep and be unconscious to the pain again. Unfortunately, his discomfort would never allow it.

A hand ran over his upper arm, pressing lightly in a clear attempt to try and soothe his aching muscles.

“I can see your eyes moving behind your eyelids, Jonathan. There’s no shame in accepting help while you’re conscious.”

Jonathan opened his eyes begrudgingly, taking everything in with the bleary part of his mind not tired or in too much pain to concentrate.

Jonathan was in his own bed with a light blanket draped over his body, likely for modesty. Painkillers and water sat on the nightstand with a bag of pretzels, a weak attempt to lighten the hit that the calorie-burning transformation would have on his already emaciated body.

And of course Edward, as always, was sat in his desk chair that had been pulled up beside the bed. He looked put together, only the discoloration of the skin under his eyes suggesting that he was in anything but perfect shape.

“Morning. You look dreadful.” Edward stated matter-of-factly, holding the painkillers out. Jon sat up slightly, just enough to swallow them and chase it down with the water.

“You alright?” Jon asked, as he always did. And as always, Edward became clearly exasperated.

“No, you didn’t magically change your mind and start attacking me. I’ve told you, you’re quite loyal in that form. In fact, Ivy came around and you protected me. So I’d appreciate it if you stopped asking that question.”

“Ivy?”

“Mhm. I think she’s intimidated by that form. Good, better for us that she is.”

Edward passed the pretzels over, and Jon took them without argument, knowing by now it was useless.

“I suppose it suits us just fine.” Jonathan agreed, pulling himself into a sitting position and taking the clothes he’d laid out yesterday in preparation. He didn’t bother to ask Edward to turn, knowing full well that there was no way he’d gotten Jonathan all the way back to his own bed without seeing more than enough.

“We should be fine using the botanical gardens for some time. If you start thinking we’re close to upsetting Ivy again, I say you tell Harley. Her good will towards you meshes well with Ivy’s inability to say no to Harley.” He pointed out, checking Jonathan over as he dressed to make sure he hadn’t been injured at all in the night.

“I’ll consider it.”

Edward nodded, knowing better than to push him more.

“Try to get some more rest now that you’re more comfortable. Hopefully those painkillers will kick in when you wake up and we’ll actually get you out of bed.”

Jon was all too happy to lay back down, sprawling out in a mess of thin limbs wordlessly. Edward smirked, shaking his head.

“Rest well, alright? I’ll be here when you get up.”

If Jonathan leaned slightly into the hand that brushed his hair back, Edward was mercifully quiet about it. He nodded, earning a small smile as Edward made himself comfortable in his chair.

“Rest well, I’ll see you soon.”

Jonathan allowed himself to be pulled into unconsciousness, allowing a reprieve from the conscious pain.

He’d be safe, with Edward here.

[llama-fluff]

Scarecrow Week 2022 day 1:Liquid Fear

Tried to experiment with some stuff,but didn’t turn out how I wanted it.

[woobienation]

Jancy Week 2022: Woven/Sweaters Ficlet

Jonathan Byers fell in love with Nancy Wheeler on an overcast autumn afternoon in October, 1979. It was Halloween eve, actually, "Devil's Night" to the criminally mischief element of Hawkins, Indiana, although when his mom couldn’t come up with the extra money to pay for the off-the-rack Spider-Man costume he’d had his eye on at Melvald’s General Store since early September, Jonathan decided that he was too old for the holiday anyway.

Halloween was kids’ stuff. Now that he was twelve years old, he didn’t have time for kids’ stuff. He had a job to do.

Presently, he was carefully raking around the gray plastic gravestones in the Wheeler family’s front yard while Mrs. Wheeler repositioned two cheerful, store-bought scarecrows in rocking chairs on either side of her front door. Mrs. Wheeler had told his mom that she would pay him five dollars if he would rake up all of the fallen leaves and an extra fifty cents per bag that he hauled away to his own backyard to burn.

“Jonathan? When you’ve finished with the raking, will you help me bring out another pumpkin?”

Mrs. Wheeler stood back to appraise the decorations. Sighing and stretching, she rested a hand on top of her pregnant belly, which pressed out against a tent-like maternity jumper embroidered with dancing orange and red leaves and smiling candy corn.

“The last one that Mike carved is too heavy for me to carry.”

Annoyed, she blew her feathered, straw-blonde bangs back off of her forehead. Sweat and a swirling autumn breeze had clumped them together and stuck them there, and they fell back down limply, clinging to her temples.

“The pumpkins are too heavy. The groceries are too heavy. The laundry baskets are too heavy. Even the candy bowl is too heavy this year. Everything is too heavy--just like this baby.”

She frowned and straightened a scarecrow’s red gingham collar, then arched her back uncomfortably. Jonathan glanced at her quickly from across the yard, then lowered his eyes to the leaf pile. He actually thought she looked pretty like that: flushed, fussing over little mom-nothings, put-out, and heavily pregnant.

“Sure, Mrs. Wheeler, I can help you.”

He finished sweeping up the last brittle leaves into a pile with a wooden-handled rake several inches taller than he was and then followed Mrs. Wheeler into her family’s tidy, vacuumed living room.

Mr. Wheeler was still at work, and Nancy wasn't home from school yet. (“Where is she?” Jonathan wondered, because he and Nancy were in the same class, and school had let out over an hour ago. And then, when he didn’t hear the usual joyful cacophony coming from the Wheeler’s basement game room: “Where’s Will? Aren’t they finishing their Elder Tree campaign today? He was so excited. He couldn't stop talking about it at breakfast.”)

“Well, here is the pumpkin Mike carved last night,” Mrs. Wheeler said, leading him to the kitchen island.

It’s enormous, bigger than a Thanksgiving turkey, with thick rectangular eyebrow cut-outs slanting downwards into a ferocious scowl and an open, jagged mouth with yellow pumpkin guts spilling onto the clean kitchen counter like vomit.

Mrs. Wheeler sighed and shook her head, unrolling some paper towels so that Jonathan can carry the pumpkin outside by the base and stem without losing hold of the slippery, stringy gore.

“I wish Mike were more…well, more like you, actually, Jonathan. More responsible. Not so into fantasy villains and blood and filthy stuff he finds in the woods and turns into weapons…”

Mrs. Wheeler trailed off, and Jonathan ducked his head, hiding a small smile while he carried the large pumpkin back through the house and placed it beside the others on the front step. He was thinking of the VHS tape waiting for him at home on top of the VCR: "Halloween,” with all of its gore and bloodshed and an implacable, blank-faced villain intent on evil. Jonathan knew that if he lived with pretty, pregnant Mrs. Wheeler, he would have a tidy, vacuumed living room, unwrinkled laundry, weekly piano lessons, and probably an off-the-rack Spider-Man costume to wear to school tomorrow on Halloween, but Mrs. Wheeler certainly wouldn’t be willing to stay up late with him to watch a horror movie on the couch while she hid her face behind an old pillow like his mom, laughing at herself every time she screamed and spilled Jiffy Pop onto the cushions.

“Mike’s a nice kid, Mrs. Wheeler. He looks out for Will.”

At that moment, Jonathan heard a familiar sound: rubber bike wheels whizzing over pavement, followed by the hoarse shouting of happy boys, and--peculiar that this particular noise makes his heart beat a little faster--the cheerful, hollow clattering of the plastic spoke beads on Nancy Wheeler’s purple Schwinn bicycle.

"Mike, wait, no, that's not fair!" Dustin yelled, his voice breaking, "Tanar'ri demons are immune to fire. You just put that succubus in last second so that Will won't be able to use his spell slot..."

"He'll figure it out!" Mike hollered back, rolling up to the clean-raked lawn and dumping his bike onto a leaf pile, followed by Lucas, Dustin, Will, and Nancy. "He's smarter than you!"

The four boys are wearing monster face paint from a school Halloween carnival, and they're out of breath, sprinting across the yard with their heavy backpacks to be the first to the side door to the Wheeler's basement. "Hi, Mom!" Mike yelled, followed by a loud chorus of "Hello, Mrs. Wheeler!" And also from Will, smiling: "Hi Jonathan! Bye, Jonathan!" Nancy followed last, carefully lowering the kickstand on her shiny, purple bike and propping it up in the driveway. She is wearing plastic, flesh-colored, pointy ears and an orange sweater with a grinning jack-o-lantern face on it. Everything about her is small, sharp, and elf-like.

"Hi, Jonathan," she said, as she walked quickly past him, pink backpack slung over one shoulder. "Hi, Mom." Then, gently, pausing, placing a hand on either side of her mother's swollen belly: "Hi, Baby Holly."

It felt like a private family moment, and Jonathan realized that he'd been holding his breath while Nancy walked past, wondering if she'd say anything else to him besides 'hi.' Her wavy brown hair was drawn back into a low ponytail, and the wind gently lifted it up and tenderly placed it back down against her back, ruffling it like an affectionate parent while she spoke to her sister. Something twisted painfully within Jonathan's ribcage, and he suddenly felt like a clumsy voyeur, wishing he could stay within this warm family circle and be invited to touch Mrs. Wheeler's stomach, brush his fingers through Nancy's soft, windswept hair, whisper his own hello to Baby Holly.

He ducked his head, chewed on his inner lip, and crossed the yard, preparing to bag up the leaves before they blew away.

"Nance, C'MON!" Mike hollered up at her from the basement door. "And tell Mom to bring down the candy! We're starting!"

"Not without me, you're not!" Nancy hollered back. She straightened up, adjusted her plastic ears, and headed for the door.

"Nancy," Mrs. Wheeler said, "Wait. Hold on a second."

She ducked through the front door ahead of Nancy and returned with a crisp five dollar bill. "Will you give this to Jonathan? For raking the leaves."

"Mom," Nancy balked, eye wide, "Why can't you pay him?"

"Like this?" Mrs. Wheeler wiggled her toes and rolled her eyes. "You want me to cross the front yard--barefoot--with my feet and ankles swollen up so big I can't even get my house slippers on anymore? Really, Nancy? Just...give him the money, please."

Then Mrs. Wheeler's voice dropped low and quiet while Nancy remained standing with her skinny arms crossed at the threshold of their house, looking obstinate and embarrassed. "You know that Jonathan and Will's dad left them, Nancy. With all those debts. Their family needs the money. Why do you think I asked him over here to rake? Really, how selfish can you be?"

Her voice was low, but it wasn't low enough.

Jonathan overheard, and his cheeks and ears caught fire. His heart hammered within his narrow chest, and a lump formed within his painfully tight throat. He thought he might actually be sick right into a crumpled paper leaf bag.

Nancy is crossing the yard now, apparently shamed into bringing him the money that his shrunken family now needs so desperately. The awful thing is that they really do need it. The sleeves on Will's blue winter coat from last year are too short, the colors are faded and ugly, and kids are cruel, always cruel.

Jonathan is suddenly aware of his own secondhand sweater: brown, striped, threadbare, with a rip at the cuff and collar, and covered in bits of fall leaves. His mom bought it for herself on half-price day at the church-run thrift store. Last year.

"Um, here, Jonathan." Nancy shyly thrust the five dollar bill out towards him. "I, ah...I liked your poster about the Code of Hammurabi. I thought yours was the best one in our class, actually. Do you need any help with bagging the leaves?"

He shook his head and stuffed the money into his denim pocket. The tops of his scuffed sneakers had suddenly become very interesting.

"Okay," Nancy replied, but she doesn't leave. "Jonathan..."

"Yeah?" He risked a glance at her eyes, and they are wide, kind, and cautious. Her plastic elf ears are jutting out at odd angles.

"I think I know someone who needs your help. Here--c'mon."

Nancy grabbed him by the fraying sleeve of his brown sweater and tugged him across the cul-de-sac, up a cracked blacktop driveway, to a red front door with a pretty brass knocker and a front stoop covered in golden leaves. When they arrived on the doormat, she kept tight hold of him and knocked boldly on the door three times: clack, clack, CLACK. While they waited, Nancy threaded her arm through the crook of his elbow, and they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, bright orange interlocked with faded brown, him surprised and a little frightened, her with a set, tense jaw and fiercely determined eyes.

After what seemed like a very long wait, the door swung open, and Jonathan saw an elderly woman with a halo of soft, gray curls around her head standing in front of them in a floral housecoat.

"Nancy Wheeler," the woman says, "What a lovely surprise! But it isn't Halloween yet, is it? I hope I didn't get my days wrong! I don't have my treats ready."

"No, Mrs. Wheelock, we aren't trick-or-treating. You didn't get your days wrong. Halloween is tomorrow. Um, this is my friend Jonathan, and...he's really good at raking lawns. He charges less than the high school boys, only six dollars an hour, and he's more reliable than the bigger boys because he doesn't go away to basketball games or hockey tournaments or anything. He's always over here because his brother is best friends with my brother. And it seems like you could really use some help with your yardwork."

Nancy lifted her pointed chin boldly.

Her gaze is steady and insistent. Her spine is straight.

Jonathan glanced over at her, feeling the warmth of her arm woven with his, and it is this moment, while Mrs. Wheelock is nodding and agreeing that, well, yes, how lovely, she most certainly could use the help with the yard, and six dollars an hour is a very reasonable price--it is this moment that Jonathan realized that doors would continue to open for him if he can just find some way to stay beside Nancy Wheeler, and that his life, currently colorless and shrunken and arid, will become more expansive and bold if he can find the courage to hold on tight. And then he realized, when Mrs. Wheelock's door closed, and Nancy turned toward him grinning triumphantly with the autumn breeze playing with her brown hair and her elf ears on a bit crooked, than he had stumbled wonderfully, incurably into love with her.

[cr0w-28]

~SCARECROW WEEK 2022 DAY 7: FREE DAY~

Happy belated Halloween!!!

I felt like it was worth being late one day to create a finished digital drawing I like. This is actually something that my scarecrow would most likely do on a special occasion 👀 he’d only regret it after batman found his head in a bush and carried him back to Arkham.

I’d also like to quickly thank @jonathan-cranes-mistress-of-fear for hosting this amazing event! I’ve admired your blog and it’s honestly heartwarming to see my own content on there ^^ keep up the good work!

Hroo Hraa~

Crow