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#honorary goopy
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okay i have to admit this. Bellatrix is ADORABLE?? I swear i need to practice mewtwos to give bellatrix fanart for realsies. >:0 but i have to ask you, what made you decide on bellatrix? :0
The name itself? It’s been mentioned before that the name means “female warrior” which
Yeah I don’t have to explain that much lmao
But it’s also the 3rd brightest start in the Orion constellation I believe? It’s a small callback to Newt pushing herself to her limits in the movie, but also found it funny since (minus Callie and Goopy they’re more like…honorary) she’s the third Mewtwo intro’d on the blog
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theharpermovieblog · 1 year
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#HARPERSMOVIECOLLECTION
2023
I re-watched From Beyond (1986)
I was in the mood for weird and gross and just awesome. I was gonna watch something else, but honestly nothing will ever be better than this classic, so why risk being dissapointed.
Scientists working in the attic of a large house, use a resonator machine to bring forth things from another dimension, in this film loosely based on an H.P. Lovecraft Story.
How can Stuart Gordon possibly top ReAnimator? From Beyond is the answer to that question. Is it less funny? Yes. Do I love it more? Yes.
With a great cast, awesome special effects work and just every bit of craziness being pulled from it's story, From Beyond is one of the absolute best B-horror films ever made.
Barbara Crampton and Ken Foree are fantastic (as always) in supporting roles, but it's Jeffrey Combs who once again proves he's one of the best actors horror movies ever gave us. Combs always brings his all to every role and is completely aware of the movie he's in. The guy deserves an honorary Oscar at some point. "Most entertaining and committed actor".
Stuart Gordon as director easily blends humor, horror and insanity into a brand new genre, same as he did with ReAnimator. If there is a trilogy Gordon should go down in history for, it's the three best films he made with Combs and Crampton. ReAnimator, Castle Freak and From Beyond. All three are windows into Gordon's wild and weird movie mind and all three hold up as strangely engaging B-Horror. But, it's From Beyond that goes the furthest into imagination. Weird creatures, freaky transformations, literal worm-like third eyes, and lots more. It's all on display and played for gross-outs and laughs and just pure oddity.
The practical special effects work is fantastic. It is more than enough proof that practical horror effects will always be more visceral and effective than CGI work.
No matter how obvious those practical effects are, if they are done well like they are here, they can make us cringe and laugh and imagine in a way that CGI often fails to. It's just more fun.
Ultimately, Gordon's talent is to entertain and he does so with mad scientists, gross and goopy special effects, some boobs and not caring whether the audience screams or laughs or does both.
From Beyond is my favorite of his because it has no limits, no end to the monsters and mayhem. It also manages to be a decent enough story told by some very talented, but lesser known actors.
If you are a B-Horror fan or a fan of 80's horror or just a fan of weird and gross stuff, you absolutely need to see this. Seriously, I love this weird fucking movie and one day I'm going to rent a theater and show it back to back with Lawrence of Arabia and talk about filmmaking as an art form, on both ends of the spectrum. But, until that day I'll just keep watching this movie once a year.
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laurababesley · 2 years
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It’s so much fun to think about how different the campaigns are from each other. How the Might Nein were SUCH assholes and kept pissing people off left and right around the first 15 episodes during C2, while the Bell’s Hells, while being a group of chaos gremlins, charmed the Green Seekers into making them honorary Seekers and joining them to fight goopy 60-foot ceiling slug mamas deep in the tunnels of Jrusar during the same amount of time of episodes.
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c0rruptedbones · 2 years
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seeing as how he's an honorary member of the idiot squad he feels comfortable enough to approach his goopy boss. "mind if i stay with you for a while? my dad is picking fights with other gasters."
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"I see no issue with this arraignment Cross, stay as long as you wish...just don't disturb my show times."
He's thriving off the fighting right now.
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firaknight · 3 years
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Today I’m gonna quickly talk about the gifts Adeleine gets on her 16th birthday (see: previous post about Adeleine getting a special bottle from Queen Ripple that allows her to live for longer).
Kirby gives her a Wheelie Scooter and she almost starts crying. Little man basically hands her a pet she can ride anywhere she wants. She names them Camille :)
Dedede gives her a robe like his own (but tailored to fit her) and a cool hammer like his Masked Dedede one! The exception is that it’s lighter so she can lift it (he’s been teaching her how to use one and she’s pretty good at utilizing the weight of it to her advantage!)!!!!!
Meta gives her a funky dimensional cape that works a little differently than his. She can wrap it around herself and disappear for a bit! It doesn’t allow her to warp tho because she’s a little clumsy and could warp wrong and hurt herself! It’s comfy and she likes how tough she looks in it!
Bandee gives her a bandana and a basket of gem apples (the basket is from bumper crop bump!) that have little ribbons tied to the stems! She thinks it’s super sweet and the basket brings back a TON of fun memories for her!
Marx gives her a shard of his wings and she is very shocked. Said shard can grow back. It looks cool and sometimes glows rainbow colors really fast. Serves almost no other purpose besides that.
Gooey gives her a slightly sticky twig he found (the stickiness is unspecified but assumed to be from him holding it with his tongue). Adeleine fucking cries again over this. She keeps the stick in a safe spot in her house and cherishes it despite everyone else insisting that it’s just a fucking stick it’s not that speciAL BUT IT IS THE GOOPY DARK MATTER BUDDY IM FRIENDS WITH GAVE IT TO ME AND I CARE HIM!
The animal friends trio give her a tuft of fur, a pin feather, and a large fish scale respectively! She keeps them in a little jar on the mantle of her fireplace!
Ribbon gives her a bigass chunk of opal she found in Great Cave Offensive (don’t ask how she found it she just scrambled through a tight space and came across it). Adeleine has no idea what to do with it but keeps it on her nightstand because Ribbon is her best friend.
Dameta replicates his sword somehow and gives her the copy. She now owns 2 weapons and isn’t afraid to use them. He’s very proud of his armed daughter and is working on teaching her how to harness the mirror ability of the sword to her advantage.
Daroach came next and he tried to make it a surprise. Adeleine was fitted with a hat and cloak similar to Daroach and was also fitted with a bell sporting the Squeak Squad insignia on it. He announced that she was now an honorary Squeak Squad member and she fucking sobs. Straight up cries. They all jump around loudly singing the Squeak Squad theme afterwards.
Magolor gives her a depleted Energy Sphere (it’s still moving but it’s inactive and cannot power anything) and a Grand Doomer feather he found (how the fuck he survived that is beyond everyone). Adeleine keeps both in a safe place, probably in her room.
Taranza gives her clothes and flowers, as well as seeds for her to plant wherever she wants! He teaches her how to care for the plants and also explains that the leaves can be used in tea! She’s very happy afterwards :)
Susie gives her a small mech similar to the ones Kirby used and Adeleine gets fuckin PUMPED. Bigass metal mech with high defense capabilities that can take things out in just a hit or two is a MASSIVE win for her fragile self. Susie says it’s an apology for being a douche sometimes and she teaches her how to use it! She keeps it stored under the longer roof of her house.
Queen Ripple of course gives her the spring water that will slow her aging.
Adeleine cries a lot that night out of joy :)
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brideofcthulhu10 · 4 years
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Next up on our list my lovelies is Paul! A special thank you to @trescharmant-mydear for helping me with brainstorming ideas when writers block had me stumped! I hope you fang babes all enjoy the next boy in our child birth saga!
Lost Boys Fem!S/O Gives Birth [2/4]
Paul
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The whole pregnancy thing was undoubtedly a massive shock when you had finally told him. At first he wasn’t even sure it was his. Granted you slugged him for even suggesting you had been having an affair but he couldn’t help it! The idea of impregnation was pretty much impossible as far as they knew. He had no heartbeat, the blood in his veins was dead and black, he kind of assumed by that point his gun was shooting blanks. That is until you began rejecting anything that wasn’t blood or meat. Every day he could see more of that reality coming into play. At first he thought maybe he had just imagined it, but when your stomach grew in really sank in. 
 He was terrified beyond belief knowing he’d soon be responsible for a living, breathing thing- er baby- guh! The word freaked him out. No one even warned him what came with it. Well, Dwayne tried to but those books were nasty. Especially the pictures. Paul tried his best to sit through them but it just stressed him out! There wouldn’t be a doctor! There would be no sterilized hospital bed where a team of nurses would be on standby if there were complications- hell, they wouldn’t be able to know if there even were any complications! That’s what scared him more than anything. You both were utterly in the dark. Were you healthy? Was the baby healthy? Could this kill you if they weren't careful? Ultrasounds were out too, so he couldn't even know if it was a boy or a girl. The uncertainty of it all was torture!
The only way he knew they were still alive was from his own bizarre connection to them. Sure his mental powers were never as clean cut as David’s, but he could still feel their emotions inside you. It was raw. There were no clear thoughts. Even the emotions would pile over each other. Hungry, tired, anxious, hyper, mad, happy. It was almost like there was more than one consciousness in there, but he just figured it was your own heartbeat and emotions clouding the baby's.
Hormones were wild between you both. You wanted sex more than you ever had before, and at first he was all for it. Being the mother of his unborn child brought out a desire that was utterly foreign to him. Yeah he loved you to death before, but now… he couldn't keep his hands off of you. The first few months it was wild, but the bigger you got the more worried he was that something could happen if he lost control. Okay, well, as long as he was careful right? But, things did not go exactly to plan when a firm kick pressed on his erm… Needless to say it certainly freaked him out. Then came the morning sickness.
Fuck whatever liar came up with that name. “Morning”? Try morning, noon, night, and the ass crack of dawn. Twenty-four seven. He hated seeing you hugging a trash bin, panting between excruciating heaves that made your stomach spasm. Paul could only hold your hair back while you gurgled out sobs. It was even harder knowing he was partially responsible for putting you in this position to begin with. Afterwards he’d carry you back to your bed. Yeah, bed. All the guys had felt that you needed something way better than a couch to crash on. There were more pillows and blankets than you could count. Piles on the bed, scattered on the floor, stacked up in the corners. With a bit of searching they’d found a pocket-cave branching just off their own that kept you out of sight and even better, nearby. What Paul really couldn’t account for was how frickin’ clumsy you were! 
Oops you just banged your knee! Well looks like you accidentally nicked your hand while peeling a freaking apple! Paul nearly ripped a guys head off for bumping into you on the boardwalk just to cut in line with his stupid friends. Eventually he just refused to leave your side during the second trimester when he found a bruise on your stomach. You didn’t have the heart to tell him those were from the baby kicking. While the guys went hunting he’d just lay beside you in bed gushing over your taut belly. The baby always stirred when he spoke, even more so when he’d serenade them. His voice always made your face heat up, and inside you could feel your child eagerly pressing up. While Paul was certainly uneasy about his encroaching parenthood he was over the moon the first time the baby really kicked. Even if it seemed scary he was so excited he could hardly sleep most nights. Every day he'd wonder when they'd get here, bombarding you with thousands of questions.
"Do you think they'll have your eyes? I bet if it's a boy he'll be a bad ass like his dad, huh," he asked. There was almost a glee to his voice, it was so adorable to watch him shed that panic for just a moment to fantasize about the baby. Anything. Teaching them to play guitar, taking them on their first hunt. He didn't care if it was a boy or girl. Part of you really hoped it'd be a little girl. 
“They probably won’t get any eye color until the fifth month I think,” you’d remind him, flipping through the aged pages of a baby book. "I do know if it is a boy he's gonna be so much like you."
"Unless it's a girl," he pondered, tapping your belly like it was an over ripe melon, watching it stirr with life. "Oh god you'll break so many hearts. But no boyfriends. Or girlfriends. Only dad."
"Babe thats not gonna be for years," you assured, petting his head. "You can't keep them from dating when they're old enough."
"Uh, the fuck I can't," he retorted, his hand kicked again. "Yeah I said it. No dating for you"
As they grew you could feel something was.. Off. Granted you couldn’t do much to check but, it almost felt like there was more than one heartbeat...
Your due date was slowly rolling closer as summer shed it's long, hot days for the chilled season of autumn. Tonight was a late, stormy October night. Most of Santa Carla was holed up at home hoping it wouldn’t rain tomorrow on Halloween. Paul grumbled slurping at a blood bag laying on his side as he propped his head on his hand, currently bored out of his mind while you carved at a pumpkin with Marko. 
“I think it needs more teeth,” you’d say to yourself out loud.
Marko peeked over, titling his head to the side. “More eyes too.”
All the guys decided to stay back tonight. It wasn’t just the rain, all of them were nervous to leave you alone. None of them were doctors, but even they could tell your stomach was much bigger than expected. Dwayne was flipping through an old book while David had just gotten back from a hunt. 
Ever since you hit your third trimester each of them took turns gathering blood. A few blood bags alone would not cover it for four hungry vampires and an honorary vamp who had a ton of cravings. Instead they'd carry four or five empty milk jugs that'd be filled to the brim with sloshing, goopy red fluid. 
"Guys, you oughta go get something to eat, you don't need to watch me twenty-four seven," you insist, carefully dragging the knife through the thick gourd's flesh. 
"This wasn't up for debate last time, it’s still not now," David retorted, tossing one of the jugs Dwayne's way. Marko caught a second one, eagerly knocking back a swig. The sight made you want to throw up again. It was slow, like a thick molasses dyed crimson with globs of congealed plasma. Okay looking at the pumpkin again before you had to puke. 
"Don't worry about us, Y/N," Marko insisted with red stained teeth, tossing the now half empty jug to Paul. "It's only a few more months. Blood is blood."
Paul stood up, swooping behind you with his arms around your shoulders. "Speakin' of blood kitten, you need to eat." You looked at the jug as he set it on the table and immediately scrunched up your nose. Now, it'd been seven and a half months of drinking it, so you'd gotten used to the bizarre taste of salty, vinegary cherries with a metallic aftertaste. It always made your body heat up, the feeling itself was better than any booze you'd tried. But the texture. Oh god the fricking texture! Blobby, goopy, slimy- no! 
"Uuuugh," you hesitated, only to have Marko push it towards you. “Can’t I just have a raw steak or something, it’s not nearly as gnarly as straight blood.”
"Don't be picky, you need to eat."
You glanced back at Paul who was just pouting behind you. "Come on babes, drink up."
Once again. Thick, soupy but warm fluids ran down the back of your throat. Everything felt heated, spreading from your stomach to each of your limbs. This time you felt an ache in the base of your abdomen. It was enough to incite a small gasp. And with that suddenly each of them had sat up. 
"What's wrong, what's going on," Paul quickly asked, placing a hand over your stomach. 
Marko had stood up, looking at you with a furrowed brow. "Is it-?"
"Guys, guys," you interrupt. "I'm okay, I swear. It was just a cramp."
It wasn't even a surprise when Paul lifted you up again bridal-style. "Paul,c’mon, I’m fine, really."
"Nope, nope I am not even risking that shit babes. C'mon kitten I'll lay with ya," he insisted, kicking anything on the floor out of his way. But again it ached. This time it lasted two minutes. You clung to him, trying to take a breath. This wasn’t your average false contraction that would only occur maybe every hour. "Paul- Paul it's not stopping."
"Wait wait wait what," Paul asked in rapid following, gently setting you down. Marko had gotten up to help you stand with Paul on the other side. A sharp pain wrapped around your waist. Now another two minutes. It was enough to make you double over with your hands over your stomach. 
"Shit oh shit wait hold on." Paul was in a panic. He wasn't ready! The baby wasn't supposed to be there for another month! It was too soon! 
You, on the other hand, were far too busy trying to keep yourself standing. It wasn't just your abdomen. It was your stomach, all the way up your back, your womb felt like it was being torn open from inside. Dwayne jumped over the sofa when the two blondes failed to move, lifting you up. Your jeans were soaked, sharp pains were faster, harder, any time another contraction squeeze you let out an agonized cry. 
They all made a mad dash for your room, propping you up against a pile of pillows. "No,  no wait, don't look," you insisted to the others as Paul tried to help you get your soggy jeans off.
"I'm about to help you push a baby out, and you're getting embarrassed by us seeing your underwear," Dwayne questioned
"Shut up, turn your fuckin head," Paul snapped. Carefully he draped a blanket over your legs, pulling off your jeans. There was utter fear across his face. He was so afraid of what this could do to you.
 "Hey.. its okay," you assured him, cupping his face. Well, okay was a bit of an overstatement. Still, the tender touch seemed to provide some small ease as he placed his hand over yours. Again, you assured him it'd all be okay. Marko came running in with a bucket of warm water, David was grumbling about carrying over a mountain of towels, Dwayne leaned over Paul tapping him hard on the back of his shoulder. "Paul you need to check how dilated she is."
"WHAT?"
It was time for both of you chiming in disbelief. "No no, wait Dwayne man, I can't-!"
"If she pushes before she's ready, the baby will get hurt in the process," he interrupted him, grabbing Paul by his shoulders. "You gotta do it, man, I can't do it for you."
"The fuck, why me?!"
"Paul?!" It was your turn to question his logic and the blonde threw up his hands, clutching at his head trying to think.
"I'm sorry! I'm panicking!"
"Dude Paul," Marko shouted.
"What?!"
"Listen, man, this can't be good for either of them. Nut up, dude," he assured him, patting his back. Paul looked at you, still trembling on your bed. You were just as scared as him, bottom lip trembling, he could even see your shoulders shaking. "...okay…" 
The feeling was so uncomfortable. You couldn't even focus between the throbbing pains that shot up your back and the tearing pull between your legs. Tears burned your eyes, you thought you might pass out. Marko was rapidly wiping away sweat from your face, letting you hold his hand. Even if you broke it, unlikely, it'd heal in an hour anyways. 
"Okay how many fingers can you manage," Dwayne asked, getting a strange look from Paul. "Just tell me how many, you asshole.:
"It's like, all my fingers man I dunno what that means."
"Go to her man, I got this," he assured, pushing him up to you. Paul climbed up on the bed beside you holding you tightly in his arms with your shoulder nestled against his armpit with one arm over your shoulder and the other you immediately snatched his hand, panting rapidly. "Shh slow down baby, slow down."
"God it fucking hurts," you whine, throwing your head back on the pillow. Blood stained the bed, a thick pink-red spot on the blanket spreading out. Your face was completely flushed as a tight pressure slowly dragged down your back that made your toes curl. If Paul wasn't pinning you in place you would be writhing. There was a horrid fire in your body, there were no words left in you, only screams. Dwayne's urges to push were muffled, the ache in you back slowly pulled lower until you were able to hear them. A thick gurgle followed by high pitched, raspy wailing. While Dwayne had pulled the infant into a thick, fluffy towel something felt wrong. It still hurt. Your stomach felt no relief, in fact you felt it pull and ache again. "Wa...wait i.. no it's-it's not done, I'm not done," you whimper in a panic.
"Wait what the hell do you mean you aren’t done?! I thought there was just one?!”
Paul looked over at Dwayne, who in turn ran to David and passed the swaddled newborn his way much to his dismay. “Just hold them for a minute man, we weren’t exactly expecting more!
“I got it,” Marko volunteered, climbing off to bed to hold the baby carefully in his grasp. Your screams tore through, a second wave of pain reviving old agony. There was little relief as the same horrid tension in your back spread out. Paul coaxed you through it, but somehow it hurt even worse than before.
“No,” you cried, shaking your head. Your face burned, tears streaming down your face leaving your vision completely blurry. “No no no, I can’t, let me go! I can't, I can’t! Paul, I can’t-!”
“Baby, listen you can do this! You got this, yes you fucking do,” he yelled over you holding your head to his shoulder. “Listen to me. C’mon you fucking got this, kitten! Don’t you give up, don’t you dare fucking give up now!”
With everything you had you screamed until your throat felt raw, pushing as hard as you could until finally, finally… it stopped. A huge wave of relief made your muscles go limp. Two. You just had given birth. To twins. The realization had finally hit Paul asw he looked up at Marko still holding his first born. “Are they…”
“Dude, you got a girl,” he beamed, carefully passing the swollen new born half-awake clinging to the towel. Occasionally her grey eyes squinted open, making trembling whimpers until she nestled back into sleep.
You managed to catch your breath, Marko helping you lay down while Dwayne circled around with your son. A boy too. You couldn’t help but laugh through tears, finally able to see his face after so many months of waiting. Paul couldn’t even hold back tears, laughing like an idiot as he pulled you both in his arms. “Fuck man… oh shit I’m a fucking dad,” he choked out, trying to hide his tears.
“Let it out man,” Marko teased, patting his shoulders.
“Shit man I can't stop crying... they’re so perfect.” Paul ran a hand gently over his son’s head still softly crying in your arms, watching him soothed as he clung to his finger. He looked you in the eyes, both of you just in utter awe that you brought not one, but two lives to the world. Nothing but tears and smiles between you. It was October 31st, 2 am, and you had spent the past four and a half hours of Hell to bring your twins (Girl Name) and (Boy name). Paul could not even fathom the amount of love he was feeling, trailing kisses all over your lips and cheeks. “Happy Halloween, kitten.”
You couldn’t help but laugh, laying your head back against his chest just unable to tear your eyes away from your beautiful new family after so many hours of grueling pain, so much waiting, in the end it was worth more than either of you had ever dreamed.
 “Happy Halloween, babe…”
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exkernal · 4 years
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Ode to a 6,000 Ft. Fire Squid
"Yo, how much longer?" Jason pants. "My arms are getting sore."
"Jason, we are literally going to hell," Michael says, struggling to keep the irritation out of his voice. Jason means well. He's just worried about Janet. And he's the only friend who's never doubted Michael (he still can't get over the look of doubt in Eleanor's eyes. That she, of all people, would doubt him).
"But can't we, like, take a magic elevator or something? I thought hell was suppose to be down?"
"That's not how it works."
"Aw, dip."
It's only Michael, Jason, and poor goopy Glenn on this empty stretch of railway. As much as he loves Jason, the kid's not his first pick for Bad Place infultrating companion. That would be Eleanor or Janet. Janet for her steadfast knowledge, Eleanor for her emotional support. Well, Eleanor used to be his emotional support. Now he's not sure any more.
Michael doesn't have a heart, but if he did, it'd be beating like crazy. The last time he was in the Bad Place, he nearly destroyed himself. Willingly, too. He remembers Eleanor, standing in the blue glow, the fear and confusion such a strange look on his one time foe's face.
How could he be so afraid of the place he'd once called home? Maybe because it never felt like home to begin with.
"Oh, dip, you know waht I just realized?" Jason says with all the subtlty of a Molotov cocktail. "We'd get there a lot faster if there was someone who was, like, 6,000 feet tall with tentacles."
Michael sighs. "Jason, buddy, for the last time, I'm not taking off the skin suit."
"Come on, Mike! It would be the dopest thing I've ever seen, and I once saw a gator on a jetski."
He regrets ever telling them about his true form. From the moment the humans became his friends, he vowed to never, ever tell them. That was the Old Michael, the Demon Michael (never mind that he technically was still a demon. That was one of the 1,785,919 things he tried not to think about). New, Honorary Human Michael had nothing to do with that, except that maybe his skin suit was a little warmer to the touch than the average human's.
But Eleanor, fiesty little thing that she was, hadn't given him a choice. When she barged into his room, demanding he take off his skin suit, he wanted to flee the Medium Place with his tentacles tucked between his...other tentacles (okay, that metaphor doesn't work).
Maybe he should've lied about it, like that time he told the humans "demon" was a racist term. Oh, it was so funny watching Chidi sweat over using that word in his presence. But then he might get in trouble for lying again, and they'd be even madder at him.
Now he half-wishes he'd lied. Jason hasn't shut up about it ever since.
"No," Michael says.
Jason huffs. "Okay, Michael, I know you don't wanna talk about it, and normally I'd respect that--"
"You would?" Michael says.
"--but I need a distraction. It's a long ass trip, and I can't stop thinking aobut what they're doing to Janet."
Michael sympathizes. He also dosen't want to think about Janet's current torture, and unlike poor naive Jason, he actually knows what the Bad Place is capable of.
Michael pinches his nose, digging his glasses into his human skin. "Okay, okay, but nothing about my skin suit. Lemme think...oh, I know! Why was Eleanor so upset that I lied? I thought humans lie all the time--for good reasons, I mean. Like when the truth will hurt. So why did Eleanor...look at me like that?"
It's been weighing on him.
"Look, man, I think it's like this. I told a lotta lies in my life. Like, 'No, Donkey Doug, I didn't frame her with those boagie boards. What's a boagie board?' Or, 'I swear, officer, I don't know how 200 prescription pads got on my dash.' But I always kept it real with Pillboi. He was my boy. You always keep it real with your boys and your girlfriend, and Eleanor's kind of like both to you."
Michael was stunned. He thought he'd been helping Eleanor, protecting her from the Bad Place's schemes and his own miserable shortcomings. It was still strange that he had to relinquish control over their afterlife, whether as a the puppetmaster demon or benevolent whatever he was.
Finally, he says, "She's not my girlfriend, but thanks. I think I understand."
"I don't know," Jason says. "The way you look at her is like how I feel whenever Janet bings into the room."
Michael's angry but he's not sure why.
"No," he says flatly. "She's not."
"Whatever you say, dude," Jason says. He doesn't like the skeptical look on the human's face. Though he should be satisfied that Jason isn't scared of his scowl; it means he's not that demonic in his friend's eyes.
Michael decides to drop it.
"It just hurts. That Eleanor didn't trust me," Michael admits.
"But she trusts you now, right?" Jason says.
"I think so. She hugged me."
Before he left that morning, Eleanor met him in the hallway of Mindy's house.
"Hey, demon buddy," she said, wrapping her arms around his back, pressing her tiny body against his. He let his chin rest atop her head, and savored her Eleanor scent, which for some reason smelled more like nachos than shrimp today.
"Are we good?" she asked into his chest. He wanted to squeeze her tighter, but not in a torture-y way. He never wanted to let her go, even though he knew he had to. Why? It wasn't like that with the other humans, as much as he loved them. Something about Eleanor made him want to hold onto her forever.
"We're good," he said.
"I'm gonna miss you," she said. "You saved my ash so many times running this place."
"Yeah, well. You saved mine."
He loved it when she smiled.
"Homie, that's great!" Jason's voice crashes over the memory. "So don't bug out over it, alright?"
"Yeah," Michael says. So why does he still have this itchy, heavy feeling? It's like he's wearing one of Chidi's too small sweater vests--but maybe that's becasuse he always feels this way around Chidi, or specifically, Chidi with Eleanor.
There's a fleeting moment of silence. Then Glenn gloops. Then Jason opens his mouth.
"Sooo, Mikey," he says. "Since I helped you, could you answer some questions for me? Like squid pro quo."
Micheal hides his face in his hands, unable to look Jason in his dopey, earnest face. He doesn't look up until his shoulders stop shaking.
"Fine. One question."
"Are the teeth on the tentacles or somewhere else?" Jason asks. "What kind of juice? Does it taste weird after you brush your teeth? Can you still wear your bowtie? Do all squids wear bowties, or just demons, cuz I never seen Squidward with a bowtie. Did you ever destroy a city like Godzilla? Can I ride on you back? How does a 6,000 foot fire ma jig fit in a people sized suit?"
Demons shouldn't get headaches, but boy does Michael have one now.
"I fit because demons aren't physical beings," Michael says once Jason pauses for a breath that he doesn't technically need. "We're essence. It's like pouring water out of a big glass into a small glass."
"Oh, dip, I get it," Jason says, though Michael isn't sure that's true. "Now what about--"
"No," Michael growls, "only one."
Surprisingly, Jason doesn't argue back.
"Hey, Michael?"
"Yeah?"
"You know we all still like you, right?"
"What?" Michael snaps his head up.
"We'd still like you even if you were something totally lame like a snow hamster. Actually, that sounds cute. Hey, are those even real?"
"Jason," Michael says.
"Right. Point is, no matter what you are, we still love you, man. Even Eleanor. So don't, like, hate yourself, okay?"
Michael's skin suit feels tight. He smiles.
"Oh, Jason," he says. He hears the hitch in his voice--something that would've shamed his former self. "Thank you."
"No problem, homes," Jason says.
For one blissfully short moment, Michael forgets where they're going, and simply enjoys the shared moment with his friend.
And Glenn.
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haileigh-desire · 7 years
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a new beginning
It’s five o’ clock in the morning and instead of getting some sleep I’ve decided to start a new blog. I’ve taken a hiatus on writing for quite some time now and I think I’m finally ready to restart the process of carefully separating my words with spaces in the same way a spruce separates its needles, keeping them just close enough to hold the snow. I tend to write and rewrite the same things with just a slight variation, probably because birthing poetry- or really any kind of writing- can feel almost ritualistic to me. I do it over and over again until I sort out my thoughts in a way that makes me feel content. I am hoping that even after all this time left coagulating inside my head, my thoughts and ideas aren’t too stale and lifeless to mean anything anymore. I don’t know if I’ve been a writer who doesn’t write for too long but I know that I am ready to try again.
I guess it would be a good idea to talk a little bit about where I am in life at the current moment. I’m twenty four years old, living in an apartment next to a jail in Reno, Nevada and I am a mother. If there is a purpose in life greater than being a parent, I do not know of it. I was staying at a homeless shelter in Florida when I found out that I was pregnant and had no concept of the gravity of what that meant for me or of the direction it would catapult my life into. My pregnancy was divided up into chunks of time, each one spent in a different state. I carried my child to be with me while I moved from one place to another, across the country and back again all the while tracking her growth with apps that compared her to various fruits.  I believe she was the size of an apricot when I flew to Nevada for the first time to stay with a friend whom I had previously lived with before and had come to love as an honorary sister of sorts. Amanda and I both worked at the Buffalo Wild Wings across the street from our second floor apartment in Sparks and endured the misery of summertime in the desert with a broken air conditioner together. There is a picture somewhere of the both of us standing in a shower, my round belly sticking out far enough to leave only my toes visible while her tummy stands opposite of mine in all of its flatness and glory. We were so hot even in our own apartment that we resorted to taking cold showers together to survive. This is the primary chunk of time where I wrestled with the most difficult of choices- could I and should I keep this baby? I had kept the second passenger joining us in our new home a secret until I was already off of the plane and sitting in the drive-thru at In-N-Out getting my first taste of the notorious Double Double (which was everything I had dreamed it to be and more, in case you were wondering) and after I uttered the words,  “I have to tell you something,” Amanda guessed correctly right away. We briefly discussed my options and I was afraid to admit to her at first that a large part of me was telling me to keep the baby so I was very nonchalant about the situation initially in order to conceal my true intentions. The word abortion was thrown into the conversation and over the next few weeks I attempted to warm up to the idea. I knew that I was not only financially not in a position where I could support myself, let alone a baby, but I also didn’t have a place where the baby and I could live once they were born or the support/involvement of the baby’s father. At first he encouraged me towards abortion, stating that he was not ready and did not want to be a father and over the course of many phone calls to each other we argued about whether or not either of us would be able to live with the guilt and even though he tried to reassure me that it was just a clump of cells and wouldn’t suffer, I still believed in my heart that it was the wrong choice. We ended up driving to a clinic in California twice to terminate the pregnancy but due to either fate or coincidence I measured too far along for the type of procedure they offered and I used that as my excuse to get the hell out of there and never look back. As time went on and my baby grew from an apricot to a kiwi to a kumquat to a muskmelon and beyond, I began to get more and more attached to this little being inside of me and became more and more stressed out and terrified about what I was actually going to do about this whole impending motherhood thing. As each tiny flutter of what might have just been gas mistaken for movement grew steadily into what turned into unmistakable kicks and stretches and punches to the rib cage and my bladder, I fell further in love with the little glob that I got to see forming every few weeks on the ultrasound screen. I remember being amazed that I could see the spine and just looking at the face and tiny little hands and fingers curling and uncurling and being in total awe. Amanda came with me to almost all of my OBGYN appointments and when I finally got to find out the gender I closed my eyes and let the nurse show Amanda first. 
IT’S A GIRL! I could not have been happier in that moment. She was a girl. Deep down I think I already knew she was a she but it was still exciting to know for sure. As I came nearer and nearer to my due date, which was August 28th 2015, I got even more scared of what the future held. I started to believe that it was impossible for me to keep my daughter and raise her all by myself so I did the only other thing I knew to do- I contacted an adoption agency. I ended up meeting a very kind and understanding woman in the lobby of a Starbucks and after discussing the ins and outs of what adoption is all about, I was sent back home with a stack of books made by hopeful families for me to pick through and a little book of frequently asked questions about adoption. I started reading about the different homes that I could place my daughter in and imagining what kind of life she would have in each one and after some serious thought and consideration I landed on a gay couple from Las Vegas. Shortly after I told my adoption case worker that I would like to move forward with that particular couple, I ended up flying back to Michigan to move home so that I could be with my family during the last few weeks of my pregnancy and have them be there for the birth. Even though I had chosen what I considered to be the best family I could have possibly found to raise my daughter, I still struggled with the idea of giving away my baby that I had carried inside me for so many months and loved so unbearably much and leaving the hospital empty handed.  Every time I thought about that moment where I would have to say goodbye, I found myself unable to let her go. Even though I knew there were many things that this other family could offer her that I wouldn’t be able to, like trips around the world and a life of luxury, I still believed that I was meant to be with my daughter.  Once I was back in Michigan I decided to cut off contact with the adoption agency and the potential family. The caseworker continued to text me asking for updates and eventually after realizing that I got cold feet she moved on to instead text me to lend me support in whatever decision I was making, which was very nice of her. I did feel a great deal of guilt for essentially ghosting on a really awesome family that had been waiting to adopt for over two years, but I finally felt content with my choice to keep my baby and I was happy to finally come to what I felt was the right conclusion. Whatever it took, I was going to make motherhood work for me.  In the middle of the night on August 10th 2015, I woke up to the feeling of my insides being crushed in a death grip intermittently on and off and knew that it was time to get my ass to the ER. The baby was on her way! I rushed to the hospital and immediately upon arrival I begged for/demanded an epidural. I was told that I would have to wait approximately 20 minutes for a bag of fluids to go through my IV first and seeing as I was having a contraction every other minute, I calculated that I would have to endure ten more contractions before finally getting relief. Thankfully, God must have heard my prayers because after the tenth and final minute-long moment of the most unbearable and intense pain imaginable, a nurse finally came in with the longest needle I’ve ever seen in my life and jabbed it into my spine. Right as she inserted it, my water broke. It took a few minutes before my entire left side was completely numb and once I voiced my concern that I could still feel the other half of my body they propped my onto my side and eventually I could feel nothing from my boobs down. My mother showed up, along with my friend Casey and feeling sleepy I decided to rest my eyes and take a nap while I waited to dilate to a 10. A few hours later I was woken up and informed that it was time to push! There was a big mirror propped up so that I had an immaculate view of my own vagina and the top of my daughters head peeking out of it. A nurse gave her a little mohawk and I gave my first push. Her little head stuck out a little and then sucked back inside me and it took four pushes to launch her little chicken cutlet resembling body out of me and into the arms of the doctor. My perfect, bloody, goopy, screaming baby was born! I remember someone handing her naked little body over to me and placing her on my chest and I just kept thinking about how gross she was covered in whatever else was floating around inside my belly with her and I wished that someone would wash her off. I was surprised to see that she was not the cute little infant I was expecting, but some smushed, purple colored creature that was using those tiny lungs to voice her displeasure with being ejected from her home in my belly. Eventually she was cleaned off and dried up and she started looking more and more adorable. I took a picture of her in her first little purple hospital knitted hat and showed her off to everyone on  social media. I was so in love with her and I knew in my heart that there was nothing that would ever break the bond we had with each other.  August 10th 2015, the day that Charlie Mackenzie Sonego was brought into existence. The day that I became a mother. The very best day of my entire life.
It’s hard to believe that that day was almost two years ago. I look at my daughter now and it’s almost impossible to believe that she was the same baby that I was so nervous to take home with me from the hospital. She was so fragile and perfect, I was terrified that I wasn’t going to know what to do or how to take care of her. Somehow those mothering instincts just kicked in full force and I was able to learn how to do the diaper changes and the feedings and know how to keep her safe and alive with relative ease. Looking at her today, a toddler with all of her teeth and a mop of untamed curls on her head that reaches halfway down her back when wet, its mind blowing to compare this version of Charlie with the newborn version. Being a mother has gotten so much easier in some aspects, like now she is old enough to occupy herself by playing on my phone and watching her favorite songs play on YouTube. She even knows most of the dance moves that go along with each song! One of her favorites is Happy and You Know It. Shes talking more and more every day, sometimes babbling but she knows some words so far like mama, buh-buh, shoes, eyes, hi, bye, ducks, no, and poop! She loves to watch shows on TV and Netflix, especially Sophia the First and Trolls and The Lion Guard. She likes to color, both on the bath tub with her bath crayons and on paper with regular ones. One of her favorite things to do with her Mama is go play at the park and go down slides together and also going swimming at the pool. She can throw her own dirty diaper in the trash and can say please in sign language. She wakes up every morning and calls for her Mama to come get her out of her pack and play, even though I know for a fact that she can get out by herself because I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes. For some reason she is inexplicably fascinated with brushing her teeth and I have a hard time getting the toothbrush away from her after shes finished brushing. All in all, her personality is big and expressive and she gives me a reason and a purpose for living. The world just seems brighter with her in it. I see so much pure happiness inside of her and I pray that nothing ever stifles it.  So that is my update. What is new in my life these days? Motherhood, and all of the crazy adventures that comes with it. It’s been a wild two years and I would not change a single thing. 
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