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theangrypokemaniac · 4 years

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Since no one cares about Alola I can therefore say what I want.

Team Rocket's Pokémon are all worthless toss. That's such a surprise from this oafish writing team.

Remember when Jessie and James had two each, to offer variety? Permitting them even that is too much focus nowadays.

We don't what anything interesting going on, thank you. Repetition is what we and they deserve.

Arbok, Weezing, Lickitung and Victreebel are spinning in their graves.

Stufful was missing for three years and she displayed not the slightest pang of concern until its belated invention. Given her temper she ought to have torn the island apart searching for her baby, but no.

Not bothered about Bewear. It shouldn't really be in this list as it didn't belong to them, although catching has no value anymore.

A bit thick are we? Or conforming to the usual parental standards?

Well, she's sufficiently neglectful that she let it out of her sight long enough for it to be crushed under a tree, then was too idle to come to the rescue. In consequence he was obliged to wait days until one of Lusamine's lackeys arrived.

She's 'Mama Bear' though, isn't she?

It's based on a red panda, is partly the colour of a black bear and as strong as a grizzly, but all that is a mere cover for its true nature as a Bear-Face Ham.

The modern pretence is that everyone's a vegetarian (are they balls), and Ursa Major lives on fruit, not, you know, flesh.

Just because it there's no hibernating in the tropics doesn't mean it can get by without a salmon now and again.

The name is stupid, since a red panda is not a bear. A play on words isn't clever if based on what it isn't.

They should've called her 'Pandamonia', or 'Pandour', which is a brutal soldier.

It is at least redeemed by battering the klepto cockroach into the next dimension. Good on 'er.

Mind you, this is Alola, a cesspit of incest, so it's probably some sick arrangement, like Bewear being slipped the length by that previously unmentioned Oakie-Dokie clone.

He's the spit of Jimmy Savile, thus every depravity is on the table.

Where's Stufful's dad? He buggered off too?

What kind of name is 'Stufful'? What's it made from, 'stifle' and 'suffocation'? 'Stuffed'?

Thanks for that. Whenever I see its ovine face I'm reminded of taxidermy.

Were Ursa Minor and Bewear described as mother and son, or were they 'friends'?

A series of games involving breeding and the 'anime' is too squeamish to even imply animals live in families.

I don't care either way for Stufful, but I'd like it better if its mouth wasn't a camel toe.

I understand it's a sea creature, and the contents of the oceans are their own brand of peculiarity, but looks like a limbless, undead spaniel plagued with extra teats. Its 'ears' resemble distended mammeries.

Hey, remember that interesting, original Pokémon James had called Victreebel? Let's do it again! And again! AND AGAIN!

Victreebel is a venus fly trap: an anomaly in nature as a carnivorous plant. It makes sense that the Pokémon version would be a bit more full-on in catching a meal.

New law: Team Rocket are required to collect monsters as ugly as themselves.

Hurting James was its personality quirk, particularly to it, fitting its nature, its 'thing'. It was never meant as a template for most of what he caught in the future.

Something is funny if it happens once, and can be now and again if done with a least a little flair.

Nothing repeated as a constant leaden thud is remotely amusing, but this is an unknown fact to Nintendo bone heads. They think certain events are utterly hilarious in themselves and require no finesse in application.

They have a checklist of moments obligatory to each episode, which explains the plodding lifelessness. Tick 'em off to keep the fans from being ticked off. All we supposedly care about is each gong struck, not how we got there.

At least Victreebel used to vary its behaviour:

Occasionally it even did as told without any chomping preamble.

It didn't do the exact same action every single time it was involved!

Mostly it swallowed James.

How long was it once Victreebel was chucked out on its leafy arse before Cacnea arrived?

Oh look, it's a Grass Pokémon and attacks James!

Sometimes it ate Jessie.

Carnivine got in on the action before Cacnea's run was even up: kick 'em when they're down why don't yer?

Oh look, it's a Grass Pokémon and attacks James!

Now we have Mareanie. Wasn't there a few in between? No, shush, they don't exist anymore.

Every bloody time it came out, it turned round and punctured him.

Every bloody time.

Ah, it's not a Grass Pokémon. That makes it totally new!

Oh yes, it's the complete opposite of Victreebel. It's Poison instead. Not like it at all.

Every bloody time it came out, it'd gnaw his head off.

Every bloody time.

That's endearing.

Oh but it is! It's just showing him love!

As that makes it alright!

If a muscular man squeezed his girlfriend so tightly he cracked her ribs, is that 'sweet' because he 'meant well' but his feelings overwhelmed him? Or is it A.B.H.?

Every bloody time it comes out, it injects James's head with toxin until it swells up into purple pustule of disease.

Every bloody time.

I never took Victreebel's assault as affection. To me they were real attempts to devour James, especially with the accompanying frenzied screech. Interpreting that as a positive emotion is bizarre to me.

At soon as James found it wedged in a Breeding Centre cage and opened the door it grabbed him, which appeared to be Victreebel lashing out in anger for what'd happened in the intervening period.

What Mareanie does is worse than the other three put together. At least they delivered mere bite marks or pinpricks, but it infects James!

Whole episodes of this programme have involved a Pokémon falling foul of Poison Powder and being on the verge of death, with all done to preserve it until Ash hunted down the cure, but now it's a big laugh, apparently.

Not one character ever has the wits about them to carry an Antidote, otherwise the writers wouldn't be able to fall back on the tired old race-against-time scenario, which is no such thing as we know they won't die.

Is it likely that James is always going to end up picking a violent Pokémon, of all the individuals of a race, of all the lifeforms in the universe?

Aren't his allowed to come with their own personality, or is there a set pattern they must follow, and when caught they absorb it, for fear they might be memorable?

Mind you, it's interesting the reactions these abuses provoke:

Victreebel eats James: Aw, it's so kyewt!

Cacnea impales James: Aw, it's so kyewt!

Carnivine chews James: Aw, it's so kyewt!

Mareanie poisons James: Aw, it's so kyewt!

Meowth claws James: Aw, it's so kyewt!

Jessie beats James: Aw, it's so kyewt!

Jessibelle whips James: EEVUL BITCH!!!

Mimikyu should be opposed for breaking it's own world.

To us, Pikachu is the most famous Pokémon, belonging to Ash, the protagonist, and the franchise's mascot.

To them, Pikachu is just another middling Pokémon hundreds of young Trainers catch, and holds no greater value.

It's blatantly a reference to Pikachu's real-life status, acknowledging itself as fiction. No Pokémon would hold the same significance for this design to work but him.

Otherwise why would Mimikyu, when it has the choice of every Pokémon that exists, and, if meant to be a believable world, every Pokémon we don't know exists, choose Pikachu to ape? Why wouldn't it pick a Legendary?

Alola Pikachu is looking off colour.

It's not even this specific Mimikyu, it's the entire species!

What, they work to a hive mind, incapable of individual tastes and opinions?

Do they all hate Pikachu too, even though the entire mouse population of Alola has been rounded up by that loon and trapped in a valley, or were we lumbered with the lone demented obsessive with a severe complex?

Is it well jel that Pikachu's a real one, whereas it can only manage to knock up a bog-standard costume with a face daubed by a chimp paralytic from scrumpy?

Well stop imitating it then! Invent your own design!

Oh come on. The animators can't even do that, hence its creation. You can hardly expect it to display inspiration if born from its absence.

I wonder if it hates Raichu. And Pichu. And Plusle and Minun. And the rest of the Pikachu derivatives, although it is one.

(As an aside, I don't know why Raichu, Marowak and Exeggutor were redrawn for this era, but not Pikachu, Cubone and Exeggcute. Why does the sweaty climate affect only evolutions?)

Here's an idea: make Shiny Mimikyu have a different get up, not colour.

You can have that free, Game Freak. I'm too lenient with yer.

Presumably, Mimikyu hatches (already dead?) in all its eye-bleeding nastiness, and instinctively reaches for the discarded yellow bedsheet and pack of crayons that just so happens to be nearby, and the scissors to make the peep holes.

Them inbreds know how to litter.

Flippers?

Nah, it's probably hooks.

How is it born aware of a Pikachu's face, and why is it compelled to copy them?

Knowledge of his own ugliness is innate, thus he must cover his nakedness before it lays waste to the forest inhabitants.

Yet if you breed 'em, it emerges wearing it, like the cloth formed from left-over albumen and stained with yolk!

What's it reaching with? Paws?

Mittens?

Oh, and there was a deceased specimen in the series, so it's either a ghost, and nothing but bedsheet, or a zombie, and it's repulsive carcass has upped the ante by putrifying.

Even its name doesn't fit. Apart from the unsightly spelling, what's 'Mimikyu' about? It's not mimicking me.

Mimikyu? It should be Mimikchu!

And you know what? Even Nintendo agree their own inventions aren't good enough, because they made return almost impossible.

They hate these more than they do even the pre-Unova Pokémon, most of whom were condemned to a dark existence within the iron corridors of H.Q. and haven't been seen since.

• Growlie is such a beloved figure in James's life he's been involved all of twice.

• Dustox got pensioned off.

• James was practically bullied into gifting Cacnea to that cloying bitch Gardenia.

• Whilst he still tecnically owns Chimecho, it's as lost to him as any of them.

Remember Seviper, Yanmega, Carnivine and Mime Junior?

Hell, remember Woobat, Yamask, Frillish and Amoonguss?

Or Gourgeist and Inkay?

Of course, since the makers appear to have the Reverse-Midas Touch, Team Rocket still took that useless, wincing lump Wobbuffet to Galar instead of dumping it over the sea. Apparently we're stuck with it forever.

Arbok, Lickitung, Weezing and Victreebel got shafted, but THAT survives?

Yes? That's more the writers do. In current canon these Pokémon never lived at all. Dead memories in the haze.

#Team Rocket #Bewear #Stufful #Mareanie #Mimikyu #Wobbuffet #Alola

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i-will-physically-fight-you · 5 years

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The Stress of Falling Out of It Fanfic

Title: The Stress Of Falling Out of It

Summary: It’s been one year since Virgil decided to duck out (quack). He takes a moment to reflect on the events that led to that fateful day and what has happened since.

Pairings: platonic lamp

Word-Count: 3497

Warnings: Anxiety, Self-deprecation, Deceit, Angst With a Happy Ending

This fic was originally written several months back for the @spookyson-zine, please check out the zine in its' entirety! It was a fun project to participate in, and there are a lot of amazing writers, artists and cosplayers involved! <3

A loud, persistent noise penetrates the depths of Virgil’s murky unconsciousness. He lets out of a groan, displeased to be disrupted so soon from the bliss that is sleep. As the embodiment of Anxiety, he has a love-hate relationship with the function. So much could be accomplished if sleep isn’t necessary—so much time wasted. He couldn’t deny though that sleep provides a needed break from the world, even it is like all good things—temporary.

It takes him a few tries to find the off button on the alarm clock; his movements impeded by his half-asleep state. The urge to sink back into the covers and sleep is strong. Any other given day he’d give into such urges, but then he remembers what day it is.

Today’s the day. Just a year ago today is when he decided to “duck out.” (He can’t even think that phrase without an echo of Patton’s voice imitating a duck. It makes him inwardly smile.) It has sneaked up on him so stealthily. He has known it was coming up and yet…he is still surprised.

Perhaps it’s because a part of him hadn’t expected the day to arrive and still be accepted by the others. Where they hadn’t realized it had been a mistake. Where he hadn’t regretted trusting them enough to reveal his most treasured thing—his name.

He can’t help that part of him. It’s who he is. He is the Voice in the back of Thomas’ head that is the Pessimist.

As poignant as the day is, his mind is still in the dregs of waking up. He sits on top of his bed, feet dangling over the edge. He’s not sure how long he sat there in a trance. But at last, he takes a deep breath and rises from the bed. He lumbers towards his private bathroom, grimacing at his hair in the mirror.

As much as he teases Princey about how much he gripes about having the perfect hair, Virgil’s a big hypocrite. He is just as bad, if not worse than Roman. He knows it doesn’t look like it, but he worries a lot about appearances. The others saw him as the bad guy and so he looked the part of the bad guy.

As he takes a quick shower, his mind of course has to drift back to dwell on his pessimistic past. Not just one year back, but all the way back into his existence. A concept that is murky for a being that makes up for part of a personality.

It’s hard to say when he is, in a sense, born. Humans after all remember very little if at all anything as babies. The same thing applies to Virgil. He doesn’t know when it occurred. Logan would know. He’d go on a whole spiel about it. But Virgil isn’t him.

The more simple answer is that he’s always been there. Fear is something all things experience, even at a young age. And that is what Virgil is at his very core; fear.

He begins life known only as Fear, the natural flight-or-fight instincts that every human possesses. He is the Fear of the dark and of monsters lurking underneath the bed. The Fear of abandonment and of thunderstorms.

It’s his job to keep Thomas from those fears—those dangers. Fear, in the right amount of dosages, is healthy. It’s necessary for human survival. The others hate him for it. Or at least, they don’t seem to understand.

“Why’d you have to go and make him feel scared? We were going to go on an adventure!” Princey crosses his arms with a huff.

In those days, they all went by different names excluding Roman; Logan went by the Brain and Patton called himself Heart. Roman has always went by either Prince or Princey, the prince aesthetic never dying from his spirit. He is Creativity, yes, but it’d be uncreative if he simply went by the name of his function.

Fear swallows a lump in his throat, floundering a bit under the intense gaze of Princey. He knows Princey would be upset by it, but he’d hoped he wouldn’t have gotten too mad by it. Fear is just trying to keep Thomas and the others safe. He doesn’t want to see them get hurt.

“But the forest is big. Thomas could get lost, there could be monsters--”

“Pft! Thomas could fight them!” Princey scoffs, “Right, Brain?”

Brain has his thinking face on; his face void of expression as he watches Thomas stumble away from the edge of the forest and back to the campsite.

“Fear’s right--well maybe not on monsters, but Thomas is just a kid, he could get lost by all himself and no one would know where he is,” He says and before Princey can throw a tantrum he adds, “we should see if one of Thomas’ family members would like to go walking in the woods with him.”

“Yeah! It’ll be a lot more fun than if Thomas was just by himself.” Heart agrees, clasping his hands enthusiastically.

Virgil--Fear is still uncertain. Bad things could still happen. What if they get lost and something happens to Thomas’ family member? Thomas should just stay at the campsite, where it’s safe and much more familiar than the looming woods. But they refuse to address his concerns, to reassure him.

“B-but it’s muddy, what if Thomas trips and falls--what if there’s a grizzly bear--”

“Don’t worry, Fear! We’re going to have so much fun!” Heart interrupts, beaming.

“You’re just being a scaredy-cat!” Princey says, and that’s that.

The memory, as faded as it is, hurts. He tries to get his mind off of it as he shuts off the water faucet. He thinks about how things are different now as he dries himself off. He thinks about how Roman now tries to cut back on the name calling. He slips his clothing back on and turns on the hairdryer. He thinks about how Logan helps him out with cognitive distortions.

He thinks, and yet those thoughts aren’t strong enough to hold off memories he’d rather not remember.

As a kid, Thomas’ fears are small. Of course, they’d been big at the time. But looking back they were so small and seemingly easy to fix. Virgil misses those days. As the years progress, there is more and more things to worry about. So many things to keep track of, so many potential failures--it is too much.

He’ll never forget the first time he uses his distorted voice to keep Thomas from going to a party in high school. The others had been terrified. He could feel the fear pulsing through their veins. He himself is afraid of the power he wields.

He flees into his room shortly afterwards. As he closes the door behind him, he hears muffled clapping. He slowly turned around to see Deceit standing in the middle of his room.

“Bravo,” Deceit says, “that was quite a performance. You make for a better villain than even myself.”

“What do you want?” Virgil scowls.

Deceit is just as loved as Virgil by the others at the time. At first, they’d been amused by his blatant lies that the sky is green or that dogs meowed and cats barked. Even Virgil took comfort in knowing it wasn’t possible for those to be true. But things weren’t so fun anymore when the lies turned to half-truths, when they could be real and hurtful things. Then it got even less funny when Deceit gained the ability to literally silence others.

Virgil’s relationship with Deceit has always been...complicated. Many times his lies have soothed Virgil’s fears. But the other way around is just as true, if not more times than the first.

“I just wanted to congratulate you, Virgil,” Deceit says, running his gloved hand over the edge of Virgil’s bookcase, “You finally got them to listen to you.”

He doesn’t look at Virgil, instead he inspects his gloved hand for dust with a bored gaze.

Virgil doesn’t respond. Deceit sighs, before clasping his hands together behind his back.

“Virgil, please don’t dust your bookshelves.” He says before sinking out. Virgil glares at the spot where Deceit stood moments before.

As much as he hates to admit it, Deceit has a point. They listened to him because he’d been too scary to ignore. He’d kept Thomas from attending a party filled with people he hardly knew. He prevented Thomas from a chance of embarrassing himself in front of strangers. Yet he’d been painted in the narrative as a villain for it. But every story needs a good villain, after all. Everyone loves the villain--loves to hate the villain. If it keeps Thomas safe, he could handle the loathing.

Virgil huffs, rolling his eyes at his past self’s thoughts. That’d been the biggest lie ever. He wonders if Deceit chuckles about it in his darkened corner of the mindscape.

He shuts the hairdryer off, and applies his makeup. By now he’s given up; he’s letting his mind wander wherever the hell it wants. Apparently it seems dead set on going down miserable memory lane.

Because Virgil knew it’d hurt, but he didn’t know it’d hurt that much. The insults flung by Roman, the dismissive tones used by Logan, Patton’s wavering smiles at the sight of him, all of it. The only thing that keeps him going was that it was for the others’ benefit. A small part of him knows it isn’t right, that it is bad and he feels bad doing it. His inner Patton, so to speak. But he has convinced himself it is the only way he could protect the others.

For years, that thought is the only thing that kept him going. Then Thomas decides to do a youtube series focusing on him talking with the Sides through his issues. At first, Virgil is certain that it is a terrible idea. But as the videos progress, Virgil comes to a realization: he is holding them--holding Thomas back.

Rather than helping, he is more of a hindrance. It is clear none of them wanted him around. Aside from Patton, of course, who loves everyone. After that realization, it becomes harder and harder to convince himself that playing the bad guy is doing anything but hurting them.

All this time he has been worried about outside forces, when the greatest danger he needed to protect Thomas from, is himself. He can’t convince himself that Thomas needs him any longer. That would be lying to himself. The last thing he wants is to attract the attention of Deceit.

He trusts the others to fill in his stead, Logan most of all. Virgil and Logan have always had a fluctuating relationship with one another. On some points they agreed on, and others they are in contempt. Logan has always been smarter and more grounded than the others. He’s sure Logan will be able to look out for risks like not walking alone in the dark or drinking responsibly.

Patton...if anyone will miss him, it will be Patton. As Morality and the center of Thomas’ feelings, Patton has always cared for others. Even Virgil. He’d never allowed Patton to get close, for fear of his facade cracking. Despite that, Patton never quite gave up on Virgil. He hopes Patton will understand. Maybe Patton will breathe a sigh of relief, glad he doesn’t have to pretend to be nice to Virgil.

If Logan’s and Virgil’s relationship is shaky, then Roman’s and Virgil’s is the wobbly Jenga tower threatening to collapse any moment. Insults is the common language grasped by them both, that blame could hardly be placed solely on one side. Roman has always seen him as the morose and gloomy Debbie Downer, the one who ruined everything. At this point, Virgil can’t blame him. He can only hope Roman will be happy with him gone. That Thomas will happy.

Virgil sighs, before scrutinizing his make-up in the mirror. The eyeshadow underneath his eyes mask his natural dark circles perfectly. He exits his private bathroom, in search of his jacket hanging on his bedpost. The jacket is a comforting weight on his figure. He plays with the zippers on the sleeves. He debates whether or not he should make an appearance outside his room today.

Is it wishful thinking for him to hope the others are unaware of the significance of this day? Probably. There’s so much white noise in his head today. More than usual. He doesn’t know if he could handle social interaction. It isn’t unusual for Virgil to spend a whole day in his room. The others know that sometimes he needs his space. Perhaps they would be thankful for the reprieve. He knows even now his input can be a bit much.

Virgil settles for staying in for the day. He already has a few protein bars stashed away for occasions like this. Although admittedly he wasn’t feeling hungry at the moment. He eyes his headphones before picking them up and plugging them into his phone. He selects a random playlist and hits shuffle. “Why Worry” by Set It Off plays, ironically enough.

Of course, he thought Thomas and the others would be better off without him. He ducks out (quack) and goes deep into the subconscious. The subconscious isn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows. It’s full of the stuff that Thomas suppresses from his conscious, whether he is aware of it or not. In this case, it’s Virgil who suppresses himself from Thomas’ consciousness. He is tired. All he wants to do is sleep for days on end. He stumbles around for awhile, before collapsing onto a pile of half-forgotten memories.

Before he can lose consciousness, he feels a sharp tug. Logan. He’s always been bad at smooth, painless summoning. It happens again moments later, only more insistent and demanding. Roman. Virgil is confused, why do they calling him? It happens a third time, sweeter and gentler, no doubt from Patton.

Is something wrong? Should he--no. They’ve made it clear to him, that they don’t want him around. Whatever it is, he’s sure they can handle it by themselves. He closes his eyes once more, attempting to quell his anxiety. It is far from quelled when he can sense them, in his room. With Thomas. He can’t ignore that.

“What are you doing in my room?!” He pops up, frantic.

The story from then on...well, you know the rest. Everyone including himself initially assume with him out of the picture things would be...better. But instead they realize that he is important. They realize his contributions matter. Thomas tells him he wants to work with him. It’s weird hearing them grovel at his feet. Especially weirder when Roman, who has never said a nice word about Virgil once, says some nice words that day.

“You make us...better.”

By the end of the ordeal, Virgil finds himself opening up enough to trust them with his name. A mere twenty four hours ago, he wouldn’t have dreamed of such a thing. And yet, it happens. He is accepted by the others. They really do start listening to him. It isn’t easy at first, but they work through it.

There is a happy ending to the story. So why does he feel...discombobulated?

He’s in the middle of pretending to read a book when there’s a knock at the door. He lets out a short yelp of surprise, the noise startling him.

“Opps, sorry kiddo, didn’t mean to scare ya!” Patton says from the other side of the door.

“N-no it’s okay,” Virgil says, clearing his throat, “uh, what’s...up?”

Patton opens the door just enough to pop his head in, “The ceiling!”

He grins as Virgil rolls his eyes at the overused joke.

“I just wanted to see if you’d like to join me and the others for lunch. No pressure, though, if you’re not feeling up to it!” He says, and Virgil knows he means it.

It’s one of the things he loves about Patton is how...genuine he is. There is never any double-meanings or half-truths in his words. Just, pure, unabashed honesty. He knows that Patton would not be offended if Virgil chooses to decline. He might be worried if it’s been a few days since Virgil left the room. But only that and nothing else.

He’s not sure if in this mood he wants to interact with others. Sometimes that just makes things worse. But something he’s learned in the past year is that sometimes being around the others can help lift his spirits. If only a little. He’s still gloomy Anxiety, after all.

“Umm, sure.” He finds himself saying.

“Great!” Patton’s grin widens, “Lunch will be ready in a few minutes. Hope to see you then!” Patton sinks back down, to the kitchen presumably.

He leaves the door wide open--typical parent move. It amuses Virgil more than it frustrates him. He glances back at his book, noticing somehow he got through a third of the book without remembering a single thing he read. Sighing, he flips through the pages of the book back to its’ earlier bookmark. He closes it and tosses the book onto his bed. Maybe he’ll try getting off his phone earlier tonight and read for an hour before bed instead. Fat chance of that happening, but he can dream.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he heads downstairs. He could simply close his eyes and appear there. But why do that when walking allows for the sense of dread to build up inside of him? With each step down the stairs, he regrets his decision. Patton wouldn’t be too upset if he backed out. He hears the voices of the others in the kitchen already. They sound jovial and wonders if the conversation will die at the sight of him.

He’s at the second to last step when he decides, screw it, he might as well go down the last two at this point. He turns around the bend, expecting to see the kitchen. He does see the kitchen, but he doesn’t expect to see it adorned from top to bottom with purple and black decorations. A banner is hung above the table spelling out V I R G I L in a fancy purple font.

Virgil ventures closer, still not quite believing his eyes. By now the others have noticed his presence. Roman and Logan are already at the table, while Patton is attending to something in the oven.

“Surprise!” They all cry out, Logan’s more monotone compared to the other two.

“Surprise?” Virgil echoes. He wonders if he should pinch himself. This has to be a dream.

“Why can’t it be real?” A Surprisingly Not Negative Voice in his head asks. To which Virgil finds himself without a response to.

“Hello Virgil,” Logan begins, adjusting his tie, “I know unexpected events can lead to increased anxiety for you, but Patton and Roman insisted that this would be the best course of action.”

“It’s a surprise party, not a business meeting, Nerdinator.” Roman snorts.

Logan’s lips twitch, and before he can blink the two are neck deep into an argument. It is by no means serious. He can tell by their relaxed postures and the inanity of the argument it itself.

“Virge, you okay?”

Patton is standing by the oven, his hands still clad in oven mittens. On top of the stovetop appears to be a homemade pizza cooling.

“Y--yeah. I just---never...had a surprise party before.” He finishes lamely, and Patton’s eyes are already tearing up in sympathy. Which, shit. Virgil doesn’t want Patton to start crying because of him.

“It’s okay, I mean I’m Anxiety--” He starts.

“No, it’s not okay,” Patton interrupts fiercely, loud enough to garner the attention of both Logan and Roman. “You deserve all the surprise parties in the world.”

“Virgil,” Logan says, avoiding eye contact, “we failed you. You shouldn’t have had to go to such lengths before we realized how important you are to us and Thomas.”

“What’s more, is that you trusted us with your name even after the way we...I treated you,” Roman softly says, his eyes pained, “that itself is an act of bravery.”

“So we wanted to throw you a surprise party to celebrate your name day,” Patton says, “maybe it won’t make up for lost surprise parties--but we’ll throw a party every day if we have to.”

Virgil stares at them all for a whole solid minute, his mouth agape. There’s so many emotions rattling inside his chest. It’s too much. A sob breaks from his throat. Patton steps forward, arms wide and Virgil accepts his embrace wholeheartedly. Roman and Logan join in, until Virgil is cocooned on all side by the others’ warmth.

He starts out this morning lost in the painful memories of the past. But now, he can draw a sigh of relief; knowing his family now has his back in the present. For once, that’s enough for him.

#thomas sanders #sander sides #virgil sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #deceit sanders #ts deceit #kat writes #this is old #so I am unsure how I feel about it #heh #I'll post the tag list in a separate reblog

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sapphire-mage · 3 years

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Halloween Recommendations: Intermediate Mode

The following recommendations are for Halloween or horror movies for the month of October. Movies listed here will have spoilers and general warnings. Movies listed under 'Intermediate' will involve horror movies that will be scary, but I will provide warnings. Due to the increase of difficulty, jump scare warnings will not be provided.

TAKE NOTE THAT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE FOR ADULTS AND YOUNG ADULTS NOT FULLY COMFORTABLE WITH HORROR! THIS IS NOT MEANT FOR KIDS!

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Conjuring 2 (2016) movie:

If you managed to go through the ‘Easy’ list only to question why this is on the Intermediate, it’s because this movie is slightly harder for one reason: Valak. Valak is the infamous ‘Nun’ of this movie. I know someone who legitimately went from “Conjuring 1? This stuff is for babies!” to “Nope. I’m done watching horror movies! That nun thing freaked me out.” So I can tell you right now: If Valak the demonic nun is too far for you to handle just on general phobias and expectations alone, then I would steer clear of this one. That said, I adore this movie. It is my favorite in the series.

Okay, general plot: A family in London is suddenly being tormented by a demon that is following them wherever they go. When they call upon the help of the Warren family, evidence proves that this spirit may be connected to the hauntings and murders of Amityville (if you don't know the story of Amityville, let the movie explain it, cause the real ACTUAL thing is legitimately scary). The Warrens must find a way to stop this demon before it can harm not only the family but the Warrens themselves.

This is certainly scarier than Conjuring 1. Jump scares are a bit more frequent and heavier than 1. Take note that not only are we dealing with the nun, but also The Crooked Man.

Warnings:

-Child Endangerment

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Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) movie:

Ah, a classic! If you know nothing about this movie, I will explain briefly: The teenagers of Springwood are experiencing bizarre nightmares involving a man in a striped sweater with knife claws hunting them down. When the nightmares begin to lead to grizzly murders, the kids soon learn the horrific legacy of Freddy Krueger.

It should go without saying in a film involving a guy with finger blades, but expect a little bit of gore. I was almost tempted to put this in the ‘easy’ section, but the opening and closing murders are plenty scary. Also, the prospect of being murdered by your nightmares is fairly creepy and has gotten to plenty of people.

I can’t recommend any of the sequels, purely because I haven’t seen them all. I’ve seen Jason vs Freddy, which I can’t recommend unless you like both series (Kelly Rowland memes aside). And don’t watch the remake. I’m not someone who craps on remakes very much (hell, I might even recommend a few), but there is nothing of particular value outside of Quentin Smith (of Dead by Daylight fame).

Warnings:

-Child Endangerment

-Implications of child death

-Sexual predator

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Friday the 13th movie series:

I’m just going to kind of bundle the entire series here. I’m going to be real with you: This series deserves its legacy as being a horror legend, but acting like this series is quality horror is like acting original Lays potato chips is fine dining. Sure, it tastes good, but there are better options, especially for rookies. Although, I’d say the seventh movie in the series (Friday the 13th VII) is closer to ‘Wavy Lays’ or ‘Barbeque Lays’ chip quality, meaning it’s surprisingly good.

When young Jason Voorhees drowns in Crystal Lake due to the negligence of some camp counselors, a dark legacy is born within the campgrounds. Countless horrific murders befall the camp. Could it possibly be the lumbering corpse of Jason, brought back to life for revenge? Or is it someone else entirely? For those who don’t know: Not every Friday the 13th movie is Jason, but most of them are. The first one, in particular, is a different case.

These movies are basic and classic slasher flicks. A bunch of teens hang out like nothing is up, while Jason (or somebody else) goes around violently murdering a majority of them. Only real recommendations I can give:

-The first two movies give a standard explanation of who Jason is. To be fair, almost every Friday the 13th movie explains it, but still, if you’re dying to know. Just take note, I wouldn’t exactly call those two quality movies, and the lore ain’t that deep.

-Friday the 13th VII: A movie where the final girl is different because she’s a telepath! That’s right, Jason Voorhees goes to battle with a teenage girl who can move stuff with her mind. Not going to lie: It’s kind of awesome. And you don��t need any lore outside of basically what I’ve told you.

-Friday the 13th VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan: Absolutely hilarious and stupid. Granted, it’s still the same kind of movie, but Jason inadvertently ends up in Manhattan and just starts murdering people there. What makes it great is the bizarre sense of humor it has throughout, ranging from Jason confused as to why there is a billboard with a hockey mask (his infamous mask) on it... to Jason falcon punching a dude’s head off into an open dumpster.

Honestly, most of the movies are pretty mid in horror, but high in gore. There is also the remake that came out years ago, but I’d say that that one is a bit harder in terms of horror, as most of the ones I’ve mentioned are cheesy. I don’t find the remake ‘good’, but… it’s there and definitely not the worst remake.

Warnings:

-A LOOOOOOOT of sex, but then they get murdered five minutes later.

-Murders vary greatly

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Halloween 2 (1981) movie:

Following up the events of the original movie, Laurie Strode finds that Michael Myers is not yet done with her, and that her connection to him is a lot more real than she could ever believe. Michael returns to hunt his ultimate prey within the confines of Haddonfield Hospital.

This movie is definitely a step up from the low body count and gore of the previous film, but I still prefer the original. From this point on, Halloween becomes a bit more similar to most slasher flicks, but somehow, Michael just makes it entertaining. Halloween 2 manages to be about as creepy as the first. Hospitals are already pretty creepy, so having an entire slasher flick in one with an established horror legend just works. Only problem is that the gore is amped up, ranging from violent stabbings to somebody being completely drained of blood. But if by some chance, the events of Halloween 1 left you wanting a conclusion, this is just one direction you can go. JUST TAKE NOTE, THIS MOVIE IS NOT CANON TO THE EVENTS OF THE RECENT HALLOWEEN MOVIES OF 2019 AND 2021! If you want to go in THAT direction, you will have to enter ‘Hard’ difficulty.

If, by some chance, you’re interested in this series:

-Halloween 3 is an original story without Michael Myers. It has a bit of a cult following after it was considered the worst part of the series for the longest time. It’s certainly not my favorite horror flick, but feel free to look into it. I can assure you, it is not the worst ‘Halloween’ movie. This one didn’t have Coolio.

-Halloween 4 and 5 follows its own canon where Laurie had a daughter, died, and now the daughter is Michael’s new target. Honestly, these are pretty good, especially because Jamie (Laurie’s daughter) has a telepathic link to Michael, leading to some supernatural goodness. Just… don’t watch Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. It ends Jamie’s story in a terrible way and is just… horrendous, no matter how much you like Paul Rudd.

-Halloween 20 Years Later, or H20, follows a story where Laurie didn’t have a daughter or died, but instead, Laurie has a son and is still alive 20 years after the events of Halloween. Of course, Michael is here to start shit and hunt both her and her son. This is followed up by Halloween Resurrection, which is just… HILARIOUSLY AWFUL!

-I will mention the Rob Zombie remakes and the new series in the ‘Hard’ difficulty. I recommend the new series more than the Rob Zombie series, but take note that I would rank all of them on a hard difficulty due to the sheer brutality some of them thrive in.

Warnings:

-Shockingly more violent than the first one

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Trick R Treat (2007) movie:

When this movie came out, I loved it, but I noticed that not many people liked it. Over time, this movie has become a cult classic, and that fascinates me to not end. Trick R Treat is a movie that deals with several storylines happening at the same time. I can’t really go into every story without spoiling some of the awesome surprises. All I can really say is that a bunch of messed up stuff happens on Halloween night in this one town.

This one doesn’t have very many jump scares. Most of the horror comes from the sheer gore and brutality of it all. This movie isn’t afraid to murder kids and quite a few die within the film, but it manages to be a really fun and crazy Halloween ride all the way. And Sam, the ghoulish child spirit of Halloween, is a fantastic mascot. And the Red Riding Hood storyline is one of my favorite story endings in most horror anthology stories.

Honestly, the main thing that’s scary about this one is the gore and the opening scene. Rest of it is just kind of a wild ride of blood and guts taking place during Halloween.

Warnings:

-Child endangerment

-Child death

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Doctor Sleep (2019) movie:

If by some chance you took my recommendation to watch the Shining or you’ve seen the Shining in general, this movie is the follow up.

Dan, the boy from the first movie, has grown up and managed a steady and safe connection with his abilities. However, his abilities suddenly lead him to find a group of similar powered adults who hunting down and murder children who have the same power. Dan must work with a little girl who may be the next target to find and stop these murderous bastards.

If I’m being perfectly honest, I would say this movie is less scary than the Shining… if it weren’t for ONE SCENE! As I mentioned, the villains of this movie hunt and murder children, and this movie has a scene where the villain group up and stab a little boy to death. It is horrifying. The boy begs for his life and sobs as they stab him over and over, feeding off his lifeforce/powers draining from his body.

The actor they got for the scene did such an amazing job that the actors playing the adults would stop during filming and ask if he was okay, the kid would be like, “Oh yeah, I’m fine! Keep going!” with a smile on his face, and it would freak everyone out. Honestly, it’s a funny behind the scenes story you can read about, and it might help take the horror of the scene into a lighter perspective.

If by some chance, the visual image of a young boy being violently murdered while begging for his life sounds too horrible for you, then by all means skip it. I do like this movie quite a bit, but if that scene is too much, it’s certainly not worth it.

Warnings:

-Child endangerment

-CHILD DEATH!

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Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) movies:

Hilariously, both of these movies can pretty much be two different genres of horror, but they should be put together. Alien is a slow burn of a horror flick where the crew of a slow moving spacecraft start to realize that an alien lifeform is inside their ship, and the lifeform is evolving. Aliens is the immediate continuation where the survivor(s) of the first movie are forced to team up with a unit of soldiers in order to combat and execute whatever aliens remain. In other words: Alien (1979) is a suspense horror sci fi, while Aliens (1986) is an action horror sci fi.

Neither movie is particularly ‘gory’, but it does have some gruesome events that involve alien impregnation, which is super gross.

I’m not huge on alien theme horror. I usually don’t find them particularly scary. However, I recognize this movie as an invaluable factor in the horror genre, along with another alien horror flick that I will probably mention here. Also, I wouldn’t recommend any other films of this franchise other than these two, unless you are absolutely DYING for more. Even then, the quality drops from here on.

Warnings:

-Gross alien stuff

-Child endangerment in the second movie

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Predator (1987) and Predator 2 (1990):

Calling these two action flicks a ‘horror movie’ is a stretch, but the Predator species have been seen as horror icons for some time, the same way the Xenomorphs are. So… I’ll count it.

Where Alien dealt with a lifeform that would attack like a violent animal, the Predator lives by a code that lets it kill violently yet efficiently but with a slight moral code. This fact leads to a very interesting monster that picks and chooses its kills, but when it does kill, it goes for either the most efficient kill or the most violent kill. Makes for an awesome horror movie monster.

This first one is essentially an Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie with an entire team of soldiers going against one Predator, as they get picked off one by one. The second movie deals with a Predator attacking the streets of LA, leading to a lot of police and gang violence. In other words, they’re both essentially action flicks.

That said, I can’t understate that these movies are gory. There is a lot of decapitation, spine removal, stabbing, shooting, and a large variety of sci-fi original kills. Also, some people get skinned, so that’s fun! But I wouldn’t recommend these if I didn’t think the Predator is such a cool monster design. Again, this is unfortunately a series I can’t recommend beyond these two movies, but… I do find the first Alien vs Predator to be a guilty pleasure.

Warnings:

-Heavy gore

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Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead 2 (1987) movies:

Horror fans might be blinking at me over this ranking, since this series is known for comedy more than horror sometimes. But you guys forget: The first movie had a girl being raped by a tree, and the first possession scene is pretty scary. Don’t question me.

Evil Dead is the story of a bunch of teenagers who decide to hang out in a cabin in the middle of the woods, cause who wouldn’t, and find the book of the dead in the basement of the house, cause who wouldn’t. When they decide to read it, all hell ensues.

This series is pretty famous for being a bit of a horror comedy, but I’ll be real: The first movie plays the horror straight. It is gory. It has jumpscares. It has deaths. It is a horror movie, as silly as it might seem sometimes. A lot of people tend to forget how gory and creepy the first movie is because everyone always praises the second movie a lot more, which… valid. But still, it’s there, and it’s not a bad movie.

If by some chance the first movie seems too extreme for you, you can skip to the second movie, which gives a ten minute recap of the first. The second movie takes place about… five minutes after the first. Like, it literally picks up right after. It is still violent and creepy (especially with the claymation scene), but the horror leans into this… Looney Tunes wackiness where the main character goes balls off the wall insane and slapstick starts taking place. It is a fucking ride! If gore doesn’t bother you at all, then I super recommend it, just because.

Also, if you do see Evil Dead 2, go see Army of Darkness. It’s an immediate sequel, it isn’t scary, and it’s basically a comedy.

And for once, I can recommend the remake… but that would be ranked in ‘Hard’ cause the gore and scares from that one are an entire tier higher.

Warnings:

-Heavy gore

-A girl gets raped by a tree

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The Exorcist (1973) movie:

Personally, I find this movie easy. I watched it as a kid, and the only thing that scared me was the face of the devil. Rest of it is easy as pie. But my experience of people who are afraid of horror movies are sometimes people who come from religious backgrounds, and the Exorcist is the pinnacle of ‘demonic possession’ movies. I’ve heard people call this the ‘scariest movie ever’, but really, it was just scary for its time. I want to say that I’ve seen demonic possession movies that are scarier, but I can’t say I’ve seen that many that are this iconic.

Most of the horror of this movie is purely the ‘inhuman’ aspect of the possessed girl. She’ll move around strangely. She’ll vomit on the priests. She’ll speak in the voices of other people. As a kid who didn’t grow up in a religious background, this movie was kind of hilarious and awesome to me. “She just told the priest to suck her dick! Kids can’t say that!” But make no mistake: Horror movies scared the crap out of me. I was just able to handle this one.

At the end of the day, a classic demonic possession movie is a classic demonic possession movie. And if you do watch it and feel like trying to laugh it off after, maybe consider watching Repossessed (1990), which is a parody of the same movie. Or if you want something slightly scarier, maybe Exorcist III. I haven’t seen it, but it’s widely considered a cult classic along with the original.

Warnings:

-Child endangerment

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Child’s Play (1988) movie:

When a serial killer casts an ancient spell within a toy shop in hopes to cheat death, the attempt leads to him possessing the body of a popular toy known as Buddy. When the possessed doll gets adopted by a young boy, the boy comes to learn that he is not playing with Buddy, but instead… Chucky.

Personally, I’ve never been scared of Chucky, but I know creepy dolls scare the crap out of people, which is fair. Unlike Annabelle, Chucky ABSOLUTELY moves around and kills. This series, in general, has become so silly and absurd, that I can’t in good faith recommend the entire series unless you absolutely love this movie. Not that I don’t watch them myself, I totally do. I find Chucky to be hilarious.

Most of Chucky’s kills are pretty tame. I’d say the worst is an electrocution scene where a guy gets electrocuted toward the point of bleeding out of his eyes and mouth, but that’s it. Honestly, the gore isn’t that bad. Can’t say the same for the rest of the movies, where the gore amplifies, but if you wanted to just do the first movie of this series, it’s pretty safe.

Just… for the love of god, don’t watch the remake.

Warnings:

-Child Endangerment

-Creepy doll

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Creepshow (1982) and Creepshow 2 (1987) movies:

This is an anthology series, and personally, it’s one of the best. Each movie involves multiple stories told throughout. I would say that almost all of them are pretty manageable, but each one tackles a different kind of fear.

The first movie deals with:

-A corrupt and horrible father coming back from the grave to exact revenge

-A man becoming infected with a plant lifeform that begins to consume his body (imo the weakest of the two movies, I always fast forward out of boredom)

-A cheating couple being tormented by the man stuck in their love triangle

-A terrifying monster in a crate frightens a man who desperately wants to kill his wife

-A germaphobe man getting attacked relentless by roaches and insects

Second movie deals with:

-The statue of a Native American coming to life to exact revenge

-A flesh eating blob feeds on a group of people on a raft

-A woman driving home alone is sought out by a violent hitchhiker

I feel like listing the stories might tell you if you’re down for these. I know people who absolutely cannot handle the monster in the box or the flesh eating blob, which I can’t judge because I can’t handle the roach one. So if you ever want to fast forward those stories, that option is always there.

The gore is pretty rough at parts. Quite a bit of decapitation. The scenes where the blob feeds on the swimmers is pretty damn gruesome. Honestly, the only deaths that ever really stuck with me in these movies are the deaths of the old couple in the Native American statue story, and those deaths are framed as a tragedy (the statue doesn’t kill them, some assholes do).

Otherwise, there are some good scary stories with a wide range of horror. I’d recommend all of them, but approach with caution. And don’t be afraid to skip a story if you don’t think you can handle it. Like I said, I often skip the germaphobe one, cause that episode is GROSS.

Warnings:

-Gore

-Slight body horror

-Insect/bug/roach horror (my weakness)

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Haunting of Hill House (2018) Netflix series:

A family that once lived in a haunted house struggles through the trauma they experienced there. However, when one of the siblings dies shockingly, the hauntings return to torment each of them once again. A once broken family must reunite and return to the house that ruined their lives. Episode by episode, the mystery of what happened to Hill House is revealed to us.

I cannot recommend this show enough. As a horror fan. As a human being. As a drama fan. As someone who comes from a complicated family with a lot of siblings. This show is amazing. Now, I will admit that it is dialogue heavy, but that’s for a reason. The characters are struggling through their individual turmoils, and that gets HEAVY. The first few episodes will focus on each individual sibling, which is rocky at first since the two older siblings are kind of dicks (and they are the focus of the first two episodes), but they are absolutely necessary as they help establish what happened. While the first four episodes are quite good, episode 5 will blow your mind. And then you have to finish the show from there.

The horror is strong, but it mostly involves horror that you see coming or horror that is just emotionally overwhelming (in the sense of ‘oh my god, I can’t believe that happened, that’s so horrible’). I really wanted to put this on ‘Easy’, but I think one of the jumpscares and the overall emotional existentialism of this movie could be a lot for some.

Also worth noting: I can’t recommend Bly Manor, in good faith, unless you REALLY liked Hill House. Bly Manor is just not as good as Hill House, but it’s good if you want something more. If by some chance you watched both and were like, “Wow! I liked them, but for some reason, I just want to be MORE DEPRESSED!”, then you can go watch Midnight Mass.

Warnings:

-Child Endangerment

-Child Death

-Suicide

-Childhood Trauma

-Close Ups of Dead Bodies (not in a gory way, but in a ‘this corpse has hit rigor mortis and has white eyes, let’s get a nice close look just to creep you out’)

-Cat death

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silentasagrave · 7 years

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Liar, Thief, Killer and Warmonger

He was a liar. That was nothing new he had always been a liar. A thief a cheat and a killer. He hadn’t actually said he didn’t go to see his father while he was away but he may as well have had. He was misleading. He wasn’t sure if he felt bad about it or not after all it was his business. It wasn’t as if he was going to take someone along as she had suggested. Who would he take? The only person that came to mind was Scassira and he hadn’t seen her in months. They weren’t the closest of friends but he did enjoy her company more than he did most people. He made a mental note to try to track her down.

He was on the roof above his apartment fully armored in worgen form. He squatted low and stared at the street down below. He had went to see his father and had stayed a worgen ever since. It felt more natural. He was a worgen when he went to see his father too. The letter he hadn’t shown Risri said where he was. Northrend…

Dragaur had found him where he said he would in the forest of Grizzly Hills. He wasn’t alone. He and a group of men all warriors by the look of them had carved out a small place near the sea. It was bigger than he first thought as he approached it. A palisade built on an earthen wall. They had put a good amount of work into this and it was well built. Not big enough to stop a real attack force but enough to slow them down and to make any passing raiders think twice. Dragaur stopped at the gate and bellowed out his father’s name. “Jackson Graves!”

A moment or two passed and the gate opened. A few men with guns and a few more with axes or swords stared at him as he stepped inside. He stopped short of the lead man and snarled. One or two of the men gripped their weapon a bit tighter. “I’m here to see Jackson Graves…senior.”

The lead man looked him over and grunted before turning and motioning for him to follow. He was bald but bearded and had a sour look. “We’ve been expecting you I assume you are Dragaur…let’s hope you were worth the wait.”

Dragaur tilted his head slightly in confusion but said nothing. The inside of the small fortress was full of tents and lean tos but also a couple of proper buildings. It didn’t look like they planned to use this as anything permanent. Which was evident by the longships that were beached on shore or the slightly larger ships anchored aways off. They came to a larger building and the man opened the door. “Xrach…your man is here.”

Dragaur was slightly confused by the name but it made sense that he had an alias or three.The bald man turned and left after Dragaur stepped in. He heard voices in the back of the dimly lit glorified shack. After a moment a large man stepped out of the back. Same height as Dragaur was as a human but slightly thicker through the chest. He was undead but well preserved and looked very much like Dragaur except he had a full beard. His voice rumbled as deep as Dragaur’s. “So you’ve come at last…I knew you would eventually I’m just glad it was before we had to move on.”

Dragaur stared at his father, his breath quickened and his face contorted into a snarl of pure hate. He didn’t speak. He didn’t really have a chance before his father spoke again. “So you are a wolf…not surprising since you lived through that Gilnean nonsense.”

Dragaur shook his head. He knew it was unlikely that his father hadn’t already known he was a worgen. Still he took the bait. “Yes well I figured coming here like this might be safer…maybe I could smell your trap before you spring it…what do you want? Why did you approach Risri?”

“She was easier to get a hold of then you…skulking around trying to find me. I’m sure you would have eventually but I didn’t have the time for that.” He said somewhat condescendingly. “I have a job for you…perhaps a career.” He smiled as he pulled a cigar out from under the simple vest he was wearing over a blue plaid shirt. He looked more like a lumber jack then a horrible death knight. Though underneath the surface he was cold, calculating and deadly.

“A job ?! Are you insane…why would I work for you or trust you. Hell I’m the one that gutted you like a fish. Besides all that you made my life hell for your own selfish reasons. You beat me, made me kill people…you made me a criminal now I know nothing else!” Dragaur was sick of beating around the bush. “Why!” He roared. “Why are you back? Why are you fucking with my life!”

His father calmly lit the cigar and sat down on a chair off to the side. He tossed Dragaur a cigar and Dragaur grabbed it then looked down with a shake of his large head. “First of all…You are my son and despite what you think I hold no ill will toward you for killing me…you did what you thought was right. You beat me squarely. I couldn’t be more proud.” he said with one of his rare grins. “As for your life I know it hasn’t been easy and for my part in it I will apologize for the process but not the end result. Look at you boy you’re a killer… a warrior. You are my first born and I won’t apologize for helping to make you into the best at what you do. As for being a criminal…I suppose your elf and your…sister?” He said with an arched eyebrow. “Have helped make you into a more peaceful man…if not peaceful then at the least have made you more mindful of your actions. That can be useful…but never forget deep down what you are and what you are capable of.”

Dragaur couldn’t say anything he stood and stared at the man in the chair casually puffing at a cigar. His father took the opportunity to continue. “Now here we are in the wilderness with a host of warriors, warriors who are full of hate and full of the blood of Lordaeron and the other fallen kingdoms. These are patriots and they are also criminals…what I would like to do is to do what warriors are supposed to do…raid, kill and pillage. Specifically the horde though perhaps some others who give a little bit too much aid to the horde. This merry band is called The Sons of Lordaeron and I want to make life difficult for the horde and perhaps when this demon business is done...” He placed the cigar in his mouth. “…start a war.”

Dragaur stared at him and shook his head slowly. The thought did stir something in him he hated the Horde and he missed fighting. He couldn’t process this so he went back to his father’s previous statement. “You know Selise is your daughter right…there was never another man.”

“Oh well yes I did figure that out eventually as I looked into the fellow a few years later….I’m afraid things had progressed to an unpleasant level of hostility between your mother and I by that time. A pity what happened to her. I also regret the way things ended with her.” He paused a moment and looked down at his burning cigar that sat between his fore and middle fingers. He looked back up at Dragaur and nearly smiled again. “Speaking of family…how would you like to see your brother.”

Dragaur who had been lulled into a neutral state growled and was instantly on alert he pulled his daggers and dropped into a crouch. He and his half brother hated each other they had vowed to kill one another at their next meeting. His father started to laugh and shook his head. “No boy…not that brother.”

Dragaur heard a noise from the rear room and the clank of plate armor. A worgen armored and armed stepped into the room. He bowed slightly and his blue eyes sparkled slightly as he smiled. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you brother.”

Dragaur stepped back and scowled. “Another one…how many bastards did you make. “

“Just the two as far as I know…meet Logan Belegor of Gilneas. You two might just get along better than you did with your other brother. I guess we'll find out If you work with us…you will be working together quite a bit.”

Dragaur looked out to sea from his perch on the roof top. He was to meet with a small ship tonight in the harbor and let them know if he was in. They would take word back to his father and half brother. He still wasn’t sure…no one would approve but what else did he have. Fighting was a part of him and so was the sea for that matter and unfortunately so was his father. He still had some time to think…

@risrielthron @selisegraves @sutherlandspitfire (shes not tech in this but since she got rid of Scassira before I got around to writing this...)

#Story

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junker-town · 6 years

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Jaren Jackson Jr. is going to be the best big from the 2018 NBA Draft

The Grizzlies found an heir apparent to Marc Gasol.

CHICAGO — The most valuable big man in the 2018 NBA Draft averaged fewer than 11 points and six rebounds per game. He played just 54 percent of his team’s available minutes all year. He wasn’t on the floor in crunch time as their season ended in a shocking early-round upset in the NCAA tournament.

If that sounds strange to you, it also sounded strange to Jaren Jackson Jr. He knew he was capable of a bigger role and better numbers at Michigan State. It ate away at him, so much so that he admitted he was leaning towards returning for his sophomore season.

As the rest of players projected at the top of the draft officially declared, Jackson remained radio silent for weeks. He leaned on his family and friends, including MSU forward Miles Bridges, who made made an unpopular decision last year to return to school despite being projected as a 2017 lottery pick.

“He was asking me every day, ‘What should I do?’” Bridges recalled at the NBA draft combine. “I was l like, ‘Do what’s best for you.’”

After getting more information from NBA personnel, Jackson finally realized the NBA was the best place for him. Pro scouts didn’t need to see him post the same gaudy stats as contemporaries Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III. Instead, the NBA — and especially the Memphis Grizzlies, who took him No. 4 overall — saw Jackson as a young big man with a skill set that fit perfectly into how NBA basketball is played today: small and fast, with perimeter players making lumbering bigs extinct.

It didn’t matter that Tom Izzo made Jackson ride the bench in the final minutes of MSU’s Round of 32 loss to Syracuse. It didn’t matter that his per-game stats were pedestrian, especially compared to the 20-10 lines put up by Bagley and Ayton. In the modern NBA, Jackson’s skill set is in demand.

Jackson can block shots. He hit nearly 40 percent of his three-pointers and 80 percent of his free throws. He showed a rare ability to guard on the perimeter for player with his size. He also flashed some ball skills that could take his offensive game to the next level. No big man in the draft has a game this complete, and that includes Ayton, the potential No. 1 pick who has major issues defensively.

Jackson might have wanted another year of college basketball for a time, but he didn’t need it. There’s only one place for a player with his gifts to grow. That’s the NBA.

Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images

Jaren Jackson Sr. took a radically different path to the NBA. He went undrafted out of Georgetown in 1989 only to become a quintessential journeyman, playing for nine teams in 13 years as a 6’4 shooting specialist. It wasn’t until he arrived in San Antonio in 1997 as a backup to Sean Elliott and Mario Elie that he found a home. The Spurs won the title in his second season. Three months later, his wife gave birth to a baby boy.

Jaren Jr. was never going to be the same player as his father. His rapid growth rate ensured that. But even though his son had big man height, the elder Jackson passed onto him the value of a jump shot at an early age. It was the one thing that kept Jackson Sr. in the NBA for more than a decade.

“My dad always had me shoot in the gym whether that was my role on the team I was playing on or not,” Jackson Jr. said at the combine. “I always made sure I stayed consistent in improving that and keep shooting with my pops.”

This is how a modern big man is born. It manifests itself in a player who shot 40 percent from three as a freshman. Yet so many of the other things Jackson brings to the table simply can’t be taught.

It starts with size: at the combine, he measured at 6’11.25, 236 pounds with a 7’5.25 wingspan. That made him the third-longest player in the draft. Texas’ Mohamed Bamba, with a 7’10 wingspan, gets all of the attention when it comes to rim protection in this draft. Jackson actually blocked a higher percentage of shots with him in the game — he swatted a shot on 14.3 percent of Michigan State’s possessions, which ranked No. 4 in America.

Athletically, Jackson is just scratching the surface. He’s able to get in a stance and slide his feet better than any big man in this class. He’s the perfect defender for this switch-heavy era, quick enough to stay with guards, but long enough to erase the shot if it goes up.

Jackson is also just realizing his potential as a ball handler. How many near 7-footers can take you off the dribble like this? Keep in mind that Jackson made this move with his weak hand.

Put it all together and you have a big man who can shoot, block shots, guard on the perimeter and maybe even handle the ball a bit. Jackson is aware the league is trending in his favor.

“You can see in the conference finals,” Jackson said. “There’s a lot of spacing. You got to be able to handle the ball. You can’t be a liability on defense or offense. Just me being out there, I feel like I can space the floor and help get my teammates involved.”

Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images

While Jackson’s per-game stats were unremarkable, his adjusted numbers were historic.

There have been 10 players since 1992 to post a block rate greater than 14 percent and a true shooting percentage better than 63 percent. Those other nine players combined to hit two three-pointers. Jackson hit 38 by himself as a freshman at MSU, making them at a 40-percent clip. Over the same period, only five players have ever made at least 35 threes and blocked more than 100 shots. Jackson is on that list, as well.

He did all this while playing out of position all season. Jackson spent 85 percent of his minutes at power forward, playing next to less skilled players in Izzo’s two big lineups. That shouldn’t be the case in the NBA, which should open up his game. He already has the length to matchup with any NBA big man, and he’s quicker than most of them, too.

Yes, Jackson was too passive at times. He lacks a “next play” mentality, often outwardly appearing too hard on the refs or himself when something doesn’t go his way. He needs to learn how to defend without fouling, too, which was one reason his playing time at MSU was so limited.

Give him time. Jackson won’t turn 19 years old until September, making him young for even his class. He already does so many things so well in comparison to his peers. Bagley and Ayton can’t defend like him. Bamba can’t shoot or handle this well.

Jackson is still coming to grips with how good he can be. The same player who thought about returning to school feels like a lock to go in the top four of this draft. He’s growing into his body and skill set at the same time, already showing the outlines of a big man who you can do anything he wants on the floor.

There are more explosive centers in this draft who will enter the league with bigger profiles and better numbers. None of them fit the league quite as well as Jaren Jackson Jr. The Memphis Grizzlies are now the beneficiary.

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