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sunlit-squid · 3 years

Note

I don't care about everyone else! i care about you, SQUIDWARD! (simping softness asks)

For those who don’t know, my ask box is open. Send me a simping softness prompt, and I’ll write a short sbsp ficlet for you. ✰

so, uh -- i might have gotten a bit carried away with this prompt. it’s definitely longer than a ficlet, but oh well. either way, it was a lot of fun to write! selfish spongebob is so rarely explored.

fic under the cut. also, just in case, cw: drinking, drunkenness, etc.

Spongebob rose bright and early, long before his foghorn alarm went off at 7:00 a.m. With a cheerful shout, the poriferan jumped out of bed, earning a disgruntled “mrow” from Gary, who was still asleep nearby. Stretching vigorously, the sponge leaned down, planting a soft kiss atop the snail’s shell.

“Gary,” he whispered, practically vibrating with excitement. “Today’s the day!”

Turning away, Gary simply replied “mrow”, in a disdainful way that most certainly meant “whatever.”

Undeterred, Spongebob ran to his calendar. Sure enough, the day’s date -- July 14th -- was circled in bright-red, permanent marker, with the words “My birthday!” written neatly across it. And just below those words, was a tiny drawing of Squidward’s face, with dozens of little red hearts surrounding it.

Making his way over to the window, Spongebob gazed out at Squidward’s moai in the distance. He sighed, dreamily. What was Squidward doing right now? Probably sleeping, in that adorable dress of his.

The sponge lingered there, staring dazedly out at the moai, for perhaps a moment too long. Then, remembering himself, he sprinted to the bathroom. Once inside, Spongebob pointed a finger at his own reflection in the mirror.

“Enough beating around the bush, Mr. Squarepants!” he yelled -- much to Gary’s annoyance. The sponge lowered his voice down to a soft whisper. “Today, you tell him how you feel.”

His reflection simply shrugged. “I mean, okay,” it said. “But this is like, the 57th time you’ve said this.”

“Oh, shush.”

-0-

The party was supposed to start at 6:30, but Spongebob, in a manic cleaning fit, had the entire house ready by noon. This year, the party was themed around As The Tide Turns, a very polarizing-but-popular soap opera, especially in Bikini Bottom. If you were a Bikini Bottomite, you either watched the show genuinely, or ironically -- there was absolutely no in-between.

Spongebob and Squidward both genuinely enjoyed the show. It was one of the first things they bonded over, back when Spongebob started working at the Krusty Krab. Through the window to the galley, the two coworkers would talk for hours about the show, and whatever drama was center-stage for that season.

It got to a point where Mr. Krabs -- who only watched ATTT ironically -- got on them both, for shirking their duties.

“If yer gonna flirt,” he’d said, “do it on yer own time.”

So, Spongebob started coming over to Squidward’s house on Friday nights, when the new episodes would air. In fact, even when the show was between seasons, Spongebob still came over, just to watch reruns. It was one of the few times Squidward would (begrudgingly) let Spongebob inside, with no complaints.

Spongebob hummed softly to himself, his eyes scanning the small clipboard in front of him. Food, decorations, party games … Check, check, and check. Everything was present and accounted for -- and he had to admit, the house looked spectacular.

Every room was themed around a different, iconic arc in the ATTT series. His living room, filled with chalk drawings, crime scene tape, and red-string boards, was inspired by the murder mystery arc. His kitchen, decorated with leftover Halloween gear, was inspired by the vampire arc … and so on and so forth. Each and every room had its own particular, careful design -- and in all, it was probably Spongebob’s most intricate and detailed party to date.

That was because it had to be. Spongebob had a plan, a carefully detailed plan -- one that was sure to sweep Squidward Tentacles right off his … er, tentacles. And it went like this:

Squidward and Spongebob’s favorite arc, in all 42 seasons of As The Tide Turns, was the murder mystery. In the arc, the dashing Detective Heartthrob, accompanied by his sidekick-slash-lover Joey, must bring a heinous mass murderer to justice. At the climax, it is revealed that Detective Heartthrob is the true killer -- having been hypnotized by a witch, who was also his evil twin sister, for some reason. In the end, Joey must kill Detective Heartthrob, in a tragic display of love and sacrifice.

The season was thrilling, silly, and emotionally traumatizing, to boot. For months after the finale, Squidward and Spongebob would not shut up about it -- much to the annoyance of Mr. Krabs.

Either way, Spongebob had set up an elaborate, original mystery game, inspired by the events of the show. Each attendee would get a “random” card, assigning them a different role in the story. Squidward would be Detective Heartthrob, and Spongebob would be Joey.

Together, they would embark on an original mystery, one that Spongebob had devised all by himself. After he and Squidward solved the mystery together, and the party was over … Spongebob would finally, finally confess his feelings.

Of course, Spongebob had, more or less, rigged the game to ensure this would happen. Which was cheating, sure, but this was for love! So it couldn't possibly go wrong.

-0-

It went wrong. Almost immediately, in fact.

For one, the party started at 6:30 -- and, nearly two hours later, Squidward had yet to show up. Spongebob spent those first two hours lingering by the door, staring out the window towards the moai, and forgetting to refill the punch bowl. Sandy, ever the observant one, noticed immediately.

Pulling Spongebob aside, she asked, in a hushed voice, “Hey, partner. You good?”

“Oh, I’m -- I’m great!” chirped Spongebob, putting on his worst, most unconvincing smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Uh-huh,” said Sandy, flatly. “This about Squidward?”

Spongebob blushed, immediately. The squirrel sighed.

“I thought so,” she mumbled, folding her arms across her chest. “Did he say he was gonna come?”

The sponge nodded. “He said, ‘I’ll see if I can make it work’, which in Squidward-speak, is practically a yes!” groaned Spongebob, staring up at Sandy with his huge baby blue eyes. “He’ll come, right, Sandy?”

Sandy hesitated. She didn’t really know Squidward that well … but he did seem to have a soft spot for Spongebob. Awkwardly, she replied, “I mean … I can’t say for sure, but he did say he would try. Let’s be patient, okay, Spongebob? Maybe he just got caught up with something.”

Spongebob sighed, then repositioned his face into its usual chipper smile. “Alrighty. You do usually know what’s best, Sandy.”

“I sure do,” she giggled. “Oh, and Spongebob?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t cut his cable this time,” she said, before walking off to get more punch.

-0-

By 9:30, the party started to go a bit haywire. At this point, practically all of Bikini Bottom was at Spongebob’s house, except for Squidward -- and Larry thought it would be a great idea to play Truth Or Dare: Extreme Edition. The rules were pretty much the same as Truth Or Dare: Standard Edition, but with one exception: each subsequent truth or dare had to be more extreme than the last.

It started off alright. A few people were dared to take off their pants, or do a somersault down Conch Street while blindfolded. However, as the game progressed, the stakes grew astronomically. At one point, Patrick was dared to eat half of Spongebob’s pineapple. Later, Sandy was dared to juggle three of Plankton’s bombs, while riding a unicycle. Even later, Larry and Mr. Krabs were dared to switch shells and wrestle -- which wasn’t really destructive. Just disturbing.

The dares were stupid, but if there was one thing Bikini Bottomites had, it was a complete lack of common sense. Or any sense, really.

It certainly didn’t help that as the night progressed, the partygoers grew more and more … inebriated. The punch itself was non-alcoholic, but apparently, Karen and Plankton had taken it upon themselves to bring their own alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol.

By 10:30, Squidward still hadn’t shown up yet. Several people had either passed out or thrown up. And the pineapple was a complete disaster.

Spongebob sighed. He was seated on his living room sofa now, watching as the partygoers reveled inside (and outside) his home. Of course, the sponge was happy they were enjoying themselves -- but this day was supposed to be about him, and … well, nothing had gone as planned. His entire house was destroyed, it would take days to clean up the mess -- and Squidward hadn’t even bothered to show up! The nerve.

“Hey Patrick,” muttered Spongebob, waving a tired yellow hand at his drunken best friend.

Immediately, the starfish stumbled over to him, drink in hand. “Wha… haha … whasss’ up, Spunchblarb?” he slurred.

Spongebob pointed to the drink in Patrick’s hand. “Could I have that?”

Patrick grinned widely. “Yeeeeeahh! Now -- now, yer talkin’, buddy!” And with that, the starfish handed Spongebob his first drink of the night.

-0-

About three drinks in, Spongebob Squarepants was well and truly intoxicated. Which was nice, in a way. Now, the world was a weird, misty haze, and he didn’t have to worry about his pineapple being destroyed, or his party being ruined, or Squidward, or whatever. Now, he could just be peacefully drunk and stupid, just like everybody else in his house. Blissfully unaware of the world around them.

As the night went on, Spongebob began losing track of time. What time was it? Midnight? 3:00 a.m.? Did it even matter?

Over the course of one very stupid evening, Spongebob made more than a few bad decisions. For one, he bought like, ten mops online. Which was both counterproductive (he was a sponge) and financially irresponsible (he was also a frycook). Later, the sponge swam to the surface of the ocean to see how long he could breathe without water. He fainted within the first ten seconds, and had to be retrieved by Larry. After that, the night became a dizzying blur. Spongebob was certain he had been driving, at one point, and also dancing, and maybe singing?

Either way, several hours later, Spongebob was still dancing in his living room, a lampshade stuck on his head, when he felt something on his shoulder. Turning woozily, the sponge tried to get into “kara-tay” position, and ultimately failed.

“Who -- what -- stay back! I’m warning you!” shouted the sponge. “I know … er, kar .. karat … carrots?”

There was a familiar sigh, then a soft chuckle. “Oh, you moron,” came a voice, a voice that Spongebob loved so dearly, even in this drunken state. “You’re drunk, aren’t you?”

“Squ … squib … ?”

“Yeah,” said Squidward, wrenching the lampshade off of Spongebob’s head. “It’s me. Sorry I’m late.”

Spongebob looked up at Squidward -- and in his inebriated, hazy stupor, he couldn’t take it. He loved him so much, and for so long. It hurt. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes. “Squi -- Squidward, you -- you came,” the sponge stammered, his bottom lip quivering. “I -- I didn’t think …”

“Hush,” said Squidward, looking around the room. “This is, uh … wow, you really had a rager, huh? I didn’t think you had it in you, Spongebob.”

Stepping away, Squidward began picking up random items off the floor -- the punch bowl, some photographs, and a spilled carton of milk. The octopus had to step over and around several bodies, which were lying passed out on Spongebob’s floor.

“Listen, I’m gonna try and find a way to get everyone home,” said Squidward, sifting his way through the pile of garbage and bodies. “Everyone else is knocked out -- ”

Spongebob had had it. He’d had enough. He’d planned out this whole day perfectly, just for Squidward to not show up, for his whole house to be demolished in the chaos. Sure, he was glad everyone had a good time, but deep down, Spongebob was a little selfish, and deep down --

“I don’t care about everyone else!” shouted Spongebob, clenching his fists at his sides. “I care about you, Squidward!”

Squidward, startled, nearly dropped everything he was holding -- and before he could properly respond, Spongebob fell over, unconscious.

-0-

For once, Spongebob didn’t wake up to the sound of his foghorn. Instead, he woke up to the sound of the television nearby. Very soft dialogue wafted its way over to the sponge, bathing him in its pleasant familiarity.

“Why, Joey, I think you’re right -- the killer is closer than we seem to think!”

“Then we best get cracking, Detective Heartthrob!”

Groaning, Spongebob sat up -- a dull, throbbing pain coursing through his skull. Dear Neptune. What happened last night? There was the party, the drinking, and … Squidward, maybe? Spongebob felt his heart drop at the thought of his neighbor, and sighed. He hadn’t gotten to tell Squidward how he felt. Attempt 57 had failed. Miserably.

Blinking slowly, the sponge looked around, and with surprise noted that his bedroom was not a mess, like it had been during the party. In fact, it was squeaky clean. The only thing out of place was the living room television, which had been moved to the end of Spongebob’s bed. The TV was playing an old rerun of As The Tide Turns, from the murder mystery arc. A smile tugged at Spongebob’s lips. How ironic.

Wait a minute. Who moved the TV?

Just then, there were footsteps on the stairs -- the tell-tale pat-pat-pat-pat of someone with four legs. Squidward. He was still here! Steeling himself, Spongebob sat at attention, gripping the blankets tightly.

When Squidward entered, he was holding a tray of food and wearing a long pink apron. When he saw that Spongebob was now conscious, the octopus jumped, nearly dropped the food, then steadied himself just in time.

“Squidward!” said Spongebob, cheerily. “You’re here!”

“Of course I’m here, you nitwit,” muttered Squidward. “Who else was gonna clean up that messy party of yours?”

Squidward crossed the room to place the food tray on Spongebob’s nightstand. Once there, the octopus shoved a glass of water and two pills into the poriferan’s hands, with one simple command: “Drink.”

Spongebob did so, gratefully. Then, he asked, “The party … what all happened?”

“I don’t know, but it was a mess,” sighed Squidward. “I’m pretty sure half the town was completely passed out by the time I got here. I’m surprised the cops didn’t get involved.”

“Oh,” said Spongebob, feeling very guilty all of a sudden. “Did -- did everyone get home okay?”

“Yeah,” said Squidward. “Listen, don’t -- don’t worry about it, okay? I took care of everything. Your house is clean, Gary is fed, everyone got home. That’s all.” Squidward’s cheeks were stained red.

Spongebob smiled, his heart jumping happily in his chest. “Thank you, Squidward.”

After a moment of silence, Squidward brought the food tray up to Spongebob’s lap. “You should … you should eat that,” he muttered, then took a deep breath. “Look, I … I’m sorry I was so late, alright? The truth is, I … I got caught up.”

With a mouthful of food, Spongebob asked, “Wif whaf?”

Squidward grimaced. “You’re disgusting,” he snapped, then looked away, blushing brightly. “Anyway, I … was trying to get ahold of your birthday present. It was supposed to be delivered here, to Conch Street, yesterday -- but I guess there was a mix-up, and it was instead delivered to Conch Road, which is … in an entirely different town. Several hours away.”

Spongebob blinked. “You drove all the way to get it?”

Squidward scowled. “Whatever,” he snapped, pulling a small red present box from beneath Spongebob’s bed. “Either way, it’s here. So, I guess … open it, maybe.”

Shoveling down the rest of his food (much to Squidward’s disgust), the sponge quickly shredded the pristine red wrapping paper to reveal -- a boxed set of the entire As The Tide Turns series. The extended edition, with all the bonus scenes and commentary tracks. And to top it all off -- the box was signed by the stars of the show.

Spongebob looked up at Squidward, eyes shimmering with shock and awe. “Squidward, this is -- this is amazing, I thought they didn’t sell these anymore!”

“Oh, trust me,” said Squidward, shuddering. “You have no idea what I had to do to get my hands on that.”

“Let me guess,” said Spongebob, holding up two yellow hands to form finger-guns. In his best Joey impression, the sponge said, “You had to kill a lotta folks, didn’t ya, Detective Heartthrob?”

Squidward chuckled immediately. In one suave motion, he leaned against Spongebob’s bed, and pointed a finger-gun of his own. In his best Detective Heartthrob impression, the octopus replied, “I did, and I don’t regret it at all, Joey!”

The two laughed for a good long while. Then, suddenly embarrassed once more, Squidward looked away. Taking a deep breath, the octopus said, “Look, Sponge, I -- last night, you said something kinda weird, and I wanted to know if -- if maybe --”

“Huh?”

“You said -- you only cared about me, not anyone else, and I -- I wanted to ask,” stammered Squidward, “... what exactly … you meant by that.”

Spongebob’s eyes widened. Oh, barnacles. Did he really say that? Well … there was no hiding it now. Gripping his sheets tight, Spongebob steeled himself for what was to come. “It means I … I wanna keep hanging out with you, Squidward,” said the sponge, staring down at his yellow knuckles. “I wanna hang out with you more than anyone else.”

Squidward swallowed, hard. “Sponge, what are you saying?”

Spongebob looked up. Their eyes met. “I like you,” said the sponge, smiling nervously. “A … a lot.”

A long moment of silence passed. Spongebob’s heart hammered furiously at his chest. Then, Squidward sighed, and picked up the ATTT boxed set. Walking over to Spongebob’s TV, the octopus inserted the first disc, grabbed the remote, and returned to Spongebob’s side.

Lifting the blankets, the octopus said, “Scooch over.”

Spongebob blinked, then did as instructed. “Why?” he asked.

“You really are an idiot,” muttered Squidward, climbing into bed with him. “It’s a Sunday, the Krusty Krab is closed, and we have a whole boxed set to watch together. Might as well start now.”

Spongebob smiled, happily. “So -- so you -- ”

Squidward rolled his eyes. “If you must know, yes, I … I like you,” he snapped. “I’m not gonna drive halfway across the ocean floor for just anybody, you know.”

Spongebob grinned stupidly. “I guess not.”

With that, the show began, its melodramatic theme tune echoing pleasantly across Spongebob’s pineapple home. And just below the bed, Gary let out a soft, contended meow -- which almost certainly meant “finally.”

-0-

References:

The line about cutting Squidward’s cable is a reference to the episode “Party Pooper Pants”, in which Spongebob cuts Squidward’s cable to get him to come over for a party.

#sbsp #my fics #spongebob squarepants #squidbob #spongeward #spongebob #squidward #ask #asks #sunlit-squid

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marvelousstevetony · 3 years

Note

Can you make this with sick Steve “Can you pronounce anything correctly right now?” “Ndo. *sniff* See???”

Eeep, so sweet! Pls imagine this in a non-powered au with professor!Steve and Tony who has his Stark Industries work thingie💖

Between meetings that have run too long and several overdue deadlines that he finally caught up with, Tony is more than ready to declare it the end of his work week even though it’s only Thursday. Pepper had shot him one glance and nearly winced at how exhausted he had looked after that last meeting and then decided to let him off until Monday.

And for that, Tony is truly grateful, because it means that he can have a lie in the next morning. It subsequently means that he will be fully energized for date night with Steve tomorrow evening and not have a million things hanging over his head, distracting him from spending time with his boyfriend for the first time in what feels like forever.

While Tony has been caught up in business with Stark Industries, Steve has spent the majority of every day, and probably most nights, too, grading his students’ assignments or preparing for his lectures, and from what Tony has been able to detect through Steve’s texts, he’s just about as ready for the weekend as Tony is.

***

The next morning, Tony wakes up late, as expected. What is the point of having a day off if you can’t sleep until noon anyways?

He checks his phone first thing and is excited to see a text from Steve. His excitement plummets when he reads it, though.

Hey, Tony. I think I’m gonna need a rain check for tonight. I’ve come down with something and I don’t want you catching this. I was really looking forward to seeing you, though… miss you.

Tony’s heart sinks a little in sympathy, but also because he really misses Steve. They haven’t seen each other all week. Tony can’t even remember the last time they spent more than three days apart, but they’ve both been so busy with work that they didn’t have the time. Hence they had planned date night once both of them were off work.

Aww, I’m sorry you’re feeling bad, baby. I miss you too. So much. We don’t have to go out, though, we can just stay at yours and eat take out and watch movies. I won’t even tease you when you inevitably fall asleep on me half way through.

Tony sends the message and gets a reply less than two minutes after.

First of all, I don’t fall asleep on you. Secondly, you really don’t have to come. Not that I don’t want you here, I do, but I’m pretty gross and 100% contagious. Trust me, you don’t want this.

Tony can’t help but smile to himself as he imagines Steve curled up on his couch, wrapped in a million blankets, blonde hair all messy and disheveled and his nose and cheeks flushed pink. How could Steve think he would ever want not to be with him when he’s like that?

I don’t mind, Steve. I miss you and I want you to feel better. I’m coming over, okay?

You do fall asleep on me, by the way, but I’ll pretend you don’t since you’re sick.

Placing his phone on the beside table, Tony gets up and immediately starts pulling his clothes on. He’ll need to go the store to grab a few things before heading to Steve’s place, like the super soft tissues Steve never buys for himself, and probably some more tea as well.

Tony is just about to leave his apartment when Steve responds after a couple minutes of silence.

Okay. Thank you, Tony. I love you.

Warmth flooding in his chest, Tony types out a quick reply before turning the door knob and going out the door.

I love you. Leaving now, see you in a bit.

***

Tony doesn’t even bother knocking as he lets himself into Steve’s apartment. It’s basically his apartment as much as it’s Steve’s, really, if you look at how much time he spends there in comparison to his penthouse.

It’s not that he doesn’t like his own place, because he does. It’s luxurious, it gets cleaned twice a week, and it’s large enough to fit all of Tony’s crap, which is objectively a lot.

Steve’s apartment is different. It’s smaller, and older, and could definitely use an overhaul in a few places, but it exudes warmth and comfort and feels homey in a way Tony’s place at the tower never could, which is probably why they spend most of their time at Steve’s.

Sometimes Tony wonders why they haven’t moved in together after being together for nearly three years, but maybe they’re just not there yet. And it’s not like it would change a whole lot, honestly. The only time they spent apart is on weeks like this one where both of them are too busy and caught up in their own things that neither of them have the time to make the short trip from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

Tony knows that he wants to, though. He wants to move in with Steve. Or have Steve move in with him. But that’s a minor detail and doesn’t really matter to Tony. What does matter, though, is that Tony won’t ever have to say goodbye to Steve when he goes back to the tower, and that he gets to slip into bed next to Steve every night regardless of their schedules.

And if they lived together, Tony wouldn’t have to rush from his place to Steve’s to take care of him when he’s sick either, because he’d already be there. Anyway, that’s a discussion for another time. Right now, Tony has other things he needs to take care of. Steve, for one.

Tony toes off his shoes and pads into the kitchen, setting the shopping bags on the counter. He might’ve gone a bit overboard and bought an excessive amount of sick-person-things, but Tony has never claimed not to be over the top, especially when it comes to Steve.

From the kitchen, he can hear the tv playing in the living room room, along with a series of incessant sniffles, and Tony figures Steve has already reached the end of his tissue supply. He grabs a box of Kleenex and heads towards the living room where he finds his boyfriend huddled up on the couch.

An empty mug and countless crumpled tissues litter the coffee table, some are on the floor, too, and Tony instantly thinks it looks like every episode of every bad sit-com he’s ever seen where one of the characters is sick. In the center of it all is Steve, who now has his face buried in the crook of his elbow, eyes narrowed into slits, his expression twisted into an anticipatory frown as his breath wavers. After a few seconds, his eyes close fully and he gives into the rush over sneezes.

“ehhCHshoo! H’uhh—uh! chuh’SHhoo! ehh… EISHhh’oo!”

The last sneeze of the triple is strong enough that Steve’s body snaps slightly forward with it, shoulders visibly tensing.

“Looks like you could use these,” Tony announces his presence, waving the Kleenex in the air, and goes to sit next to Steve on the couch, then drops the fresh box of tissues into Steve’s lap. “Bless you, sweetheart.”

Steve still looks a little taken aback by the sneezes and blinks at Tony a few times to clear away the woozy feeling. When he still hasn’t moved after a few seconds, Tony reaches to pull out a few tissues and hands them to Steve.

“Oh, umb… snff! Hey, Tody… snffSNF! Thangks,” Steve says thickly as he accepts the handful of tissues. “I didn’ evend hear you ged id.”

Tony flashes him a soft smile as he brushes a few strands of blonde hair away from Steve’s forehead. “Yeah, you’re probably all bunged up, hm?”

And he really is. His voice has gone all low and he sounds like he’s breathing through concrete. His nose almost looks swollen, too, what with all the congestion that seems to have settled in his head.

Steve sighs stuffily and nods a little. “Yeah, I’mb, uh… snf! snf! oh, ‘scuse m-mbe— huhh-CHshoo! eiiSHH’uhh!”

Sniffling does nothing to stop the tickle from building, in fact, it just coaxes it out. Steve catches the sneezes in the tissues, both hands steepled over his nose and mouth. He gives an experimental blow afterwards, but that just makes him cough, and he gives a few congested snuffles, then coughs some more.

“S-sorry,” he sighs when Tony blesses him and gives him a concerned look. “I’ve beed sndeezing— SNF! all day, ad I’mb… snf! ugh… I’mb jusd so gross.” Steve looks close to a pout, but he can’t keep his mouth closed for more than a few seconds since his nasal airways are completely blocked and impenetrable.

Tony’s worried frown just deepens. “You sound so sick, honey,” he mumbles, brushing a finger across Steve’s nose, putting a light pressure on the maxillary sinus, then strokes it with his thumb. “Can you pronounce anything correctly tight now?” he asks, only half joking.

It makes Steve chuckle, though, a husky, low sound, but it makes his eyes go soft, and Tony feels himself melt a little.

“Ndo,” Steve replies, proving his point and sniffles again. “See? SNFF!”

Tony can only smile at the self-deprecating tone to Steve’s voice and the bashful expression that crosses his face. His already pink cheeks flush a deeper shade of red, and the smile he gives Tony is bordering on shy. Blue eyes are fully fixed on brown, and despite the glazed look to them, there’s still that distinct sparkle that always appears when he looks at Tony.

After a few seconds of intensely gazing into each other’s eyes, Steve ducks his head and looks away. “Stop,” he laughs when he looks back up to find Tony still staring at him.

“Stop what?”

“I doad snfSNF! kndow… You’re mbaking mbe nervous,” Steve says, rubbing his neck and smiling sweetly. Then, suddenly, Steve wrinkles his nose, his entire face scrunching up in irritation. He scrubs his nose against the back of his wrist before quickly bringing the rest of his arm closer to his face. “h’h’uhh! huhESCHhiiew! snffSnff!”

“God bless you, Steve…” Inching closer, Tony drops a kiss to Steve’s cheek. It’s a little warm, but nothing too bad, at least not yet. This close, he can see how the hairs on Steve’s neck raise as he places another peck on his jaw.

“Just relax, okay?” Tony whispers, and Steve hums contently in reply. “I missed you,” he adds, just because he hasn’t told him in person yet. Somehow, it feels like a confession.

“I missed you, too.” Steve grabs Tony’s hand, linking their fingers together and giving it a tight squeeze.

“I know it’s barely been a week, but I really hate not seeing you every day.”

“I kndow… mbe too,” Steve admits and catches his bottom lip between his teeth. He almost looks uncertain for a second, but then he takes a deep breath, steadying himself. “What if you just… stayed? Here. With me.”

Steve looks a little nervous again, watching Tony’s reaction closely.

And, to be honest, Tony’s nervous, too, all of a sudden. “You mean…?” Tony starts, dumbfounded and eyes wide. Steve’s nodding. Tony swallows around the lump in his throat. “Are you— are you sure?”

“I mbean, you basically live here already. And… sniff! It would be nice. Not having to miss you.”

“Steve…” Tony breathes.

“We don’t have to stay here either… we could… snf! We could stay at the tower, or find somewhere else. Not that— I mbean, if you snf! don’t want to, that’s… that’s fine t—“

“Steve,” Tony repeats, this time more confident. “Yes. Yes, I want to stay here. With you.” Tony’s tone is level as he answers. He doesn’t recall ever being so sure of anything, apart from the fact that he loves Steve above everything else.

“Oh,” Steve says and lets out a relieved chuckle. “Thad’s… great. Amazing, even. I-I’mb…”

“Yeah, me too,” Tony says and leans in to brush his lips over Steve’s. “But let’s celebrate later, okay? Right now, you’re having tea and medicine, and then we’ll put on a movie so you can fall asleep on me.”

Steve rolls his eyes fondly. “I don’t fall asleep on you.”

“Oh, yes you do.”

#my fic #stevetony #another fic that was written while I was half asleep #oh well #hopefully this is somewhat enjoyable lol #ask box #anon #sorry for any typos etc #I’ll fix them later

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plaidbooks · 4 years

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SFW Alphabet - Nick Amaro

Requested by no one, but whenever I’m stuck on a fic, I seem to turn to headcanons, so here we are. I hope y’all enjoy some Nick headcanons!

Taglist: @the-baby-bookworm @beccabarba @thatesqcrush @itsjustmyfantasyroom @stardust-fray @permanentlydizzy @infiniteoddball @ben-c-group-therapy @glowingmess @whimsicallymad @lv7867 @storiesofsvu @cycat4077 @barbasimp

(gif by @dwaynepride)

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Nick’s pretty affectionate—he likes to sit with you on the couch after a long day, arm wrapped around your shoulders. His love language is words of affirmation, so he’s constantly giving you compliments and telling you how much you mean to him. He also loves massaging you, whether your neck, shoulders, back, or simply your calves.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Nick’s always there for you if you need him. He’s mastered the art of listening to you vent and rage, or just sitting with you in silent comfort, whichever you need. You met Nick while at the park—he was with one (or both) of his kids, just a bonding day, playing. You were walking your neighbor’s dog at the time, and the kid(s) became enamored with it, asking to pet and play with it. The dog needed a good run, and what better way than with a child? So, you let it off the leash, and you and Nick idly chatted while watching them play. You quickly exchanged numbers, so that the kid(s) and dog could play again some time (and so Nick could have an excuse to talk to you)

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Nick likes to cuddle on the couch, but more so in bed. The only problem with cuddling on the couch is that one or both of you have to get up too often. In bed, however, he can hold you close to him for hours, his nose nuzzled against your neck.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Nick’s always been in a relationship—he doesn’t know how to not be. That being said, he hates cooking. He does it (and does it well), but it’s his least favorite thing to do. As for cleaning, he’s a bit of a neat-freak. He’s gotten Zara good at cleaning up her own mess (though her room is a different story), and he’s on top of messes in the house. He’s quick to clean anything that happens, and knows how to mix chemicals safely and effectively to clean any stain.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

Nick would keep his cool, collected façade the whole time—in person, of course. But, as soon as he’s alone, he breaks down crying. He’d be civil about it, making sure to get your things back to you quickly and efficiently so that you don’t have to go to his place.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

After Maria, he’s a little wary about marriage. He doesn’t want to make any mistakes again, so he’ll take it slow. He’d make sure you were really the one before proposing, and even then, he’d wait to marry you. And unless you were really into a big wedding, he’d probably just take you to a small chapel, with his mom, Zara and Gil, and your family as witnesses. But he doesn’t necessarily believe you have to be married to be in love.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

For the most part, Nick is gentle as can be. Because of his upbringing, he knows what it’s not to not have that. Though, sometimes work can get to be too much, and he’ll come home pissed, yelling and screaming. Once his anger passes, however, he’s apologizing profusely, holding you and caressing you gentler than ever. Even so, no matter how mad he gets, he’d never think to raise a hand to you.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Nick loves hugs, even if he won’t admit it. He’ll hug you on days you need it, rubbing your back and resting his head on yours. And on days he needs it? He won’t ask for a hug, but if you do hug him on rough days, he fucking melts against you. Sometimes, he forgets how much love and affection can be in such a soft touch, especially if he’s expecting something rougher, more violent.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

It takes him a little bit to say it, but he shows it quickly. It’s evident in everything he does. And after he finally mutters it to you, it’s as if he’s seeing a door that was painted the same color as the walls. Of course, he loves you! Why didn’t he say it earlier? No matter, now he has all the time in the world to make it up to you, saying it constantly.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Nick is the epitome of jealous. He trusts you, sure, but he doesn’t trust anyone else. If a man so much as looks at you for too long, Nick will wrap himself around you, pulling you in for a dominating kiss. And if it’s a friend/coworker looking at you? Well, then that just means Nick has to take you home and mark you as his, so that those prying eyes will see his mark on your neck.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Nick’s kisses as rough and dominating, yet somehow tender and full of passion. His lips are soft against yours, his hands cupping your face, neck, hips, ass, pulling you closer to him. But his tongue is in your mouth, massaging yours, leaving you completely breathless by the time he releases you. Besides on the lips, Nick loves kissing your hands/knuckles/arms. He watched Tom ‘n’ Jerry as a kid, and saw that one episode(s) where Tom kisses the girl cat from hand up her arm to her face, and he loves doing that to you, especially because it makes you giggle.

Nick has a ticklish neck and loves when you kiss/nibble his neck/throat. It makes him laugh and he feels so warm and loved. And if you mark him? He plays it off as if he’s embarrassed, but he secretly loves it.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Nick’s the best dad! He has infinite patience with both his kids, never getting mad with them. Yes, he can be strict with them, but that’s only to make sure they’re taught right. He’s also never too tired after work or on days off to play with them, or read a bedtime story (for Zara). His only downfall is that he can’t be around them more. Nick also embarrasses them both with the worst dad jokes.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

On days that he works, Nick Is up early, making sure Zara is ready for school (if he has her). Then he’s shaved, dressed, and ready for work. He makes breakfast for both of you (and Zara, if she’s there), and then is on his way.

On his days off, and without Zara, Nick will stay in bed with you, waking you up with sleepy morning sex. If he can get away with staying in bed until noon, he will. Otherwise, he’ll get up and ready for whatever he needs to get done that day.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Sometimes, Nick needs to be held. When the cases are bad, or when he wakes up in the middle of the night from nightmares of his childhood, he’ll sob softly against you while you cuddle with him, telling him how much you love him.

Other nights, Nick will take you to bed and spend half the night rememorizing your body, the noises you make. He’s gentle, tender, whether you have sex or not. If not, he’ll just caress your skin with his big, warm hands, massaging you muscles slowly. And if you do have sex, then he’s slow, loving, his touch tender against you.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Nick’s pretty guarded—he’s been hurt before and is afraid to be hurt again. He’ll tell you important things first, like that he has two kids, and that’s divorced, but you won’t learn about either mom for months. He’ll also tell you he’s a detective, but he won’t tell you what department, nor what kinds of cases he gets. He compartmentalizes his work life and his home life. It’s not until he gets super defensive around his kids that you can put two and two together.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Surprisingly, Nick’s not easily angered…at least in his home life. He’s quick to anger if his children or family are threatened, but otherwise, he’s pretty chill. That being said, things at work, and his conversations with Maria, can get under his skin easier than anything else. But once he blows off some steam, he’s pretty quick to apologize, making it up to you or anyone else that was a recipient of his verbal lashings.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Nick’s brain is a steel trap. He remembers most things, even little details you didn’t think were important. Sometimes, though, he gets his facts a little mixed up (“I thought you said you loved ranch?” “Yeah, only as a dipping sauce, not as a salad dressing”). But he obviously tries, and you’re shocked that his years as a father didn’t completely destroy his brain.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

Nick got called in on his day off, and his mother was busy. In desperation, he called you to watch Zara, which you happily accepted. You had a great day with her, and she loved hanging out with you. When Nick finally came to pick her up, she didn’t really want to leave. “Can I come stay with Auntie [y/n] again? I love her!” Zara said. Nick picked her up, holding her against his side, heart swelling. “Uh, I don’t know. Would you like—” “I’d love to watch Zara again. Anytime,” you replied, and Nick fell completely in love with you at that moment.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

Nick tries to make every date special, he really does. But if he had a dollar for every time he got called away halfway through a date, then Zara would be able to afford college no problem. If you’ve been dating for a long time, then he’ll slowly start giving up—though, he’d be sure to do at least something special that night. Gifts are always special with Nick—he puts extra thought into every single one, and they’re all incredibly touching.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Nick relies on takeout too much. Man hates cooking, and since he doesn’t have Zara 24/7 anymore, he doesn’t eat super healthy anymore. Which isn’t a problem for him—he goes to the gym and works out. It’s becoming a problem for you though. He also tends to turn to alcohol if he’s had a bad day.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Nick is well shaven and keeps good hygiene. It’s not that he’s concerned with his looks, it’s just simply taking care of himself. Sometimes, he’ll let the scruff grow out into a neatly trimmed beard, mostly because he knows you love it. But this man was slumming in Narcotics for a bit—he doesn’t care what he looks like, as long as he’s dressed for the correct occasion.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Once you’ve joined his family, you’re a part of the Amaro clan. It’s not so much that he would feel incomplete (though he would), but he wouldn’t know how to tell Zara. Poor girl has already had so much heart break in her short life; she doesn’t need to deal with that again.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Nick loves watching cartoons with Zara. He’ll sigh and roll his eyes when she picks out a movie or show to watch, but he sings along with the opening credits, and has matching shirts with the characters on them with Zara (you are to never tell anyone that). You once came home while Nick was off and Zara with her mom, and he scrambled to change the channel from Spongebob to sports, but you had already caught him red-handed.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Nick will never be with someone who’s abusive, whether verbally, emotionally, or physically. While he understands venting and releasing pent up anger, he’s dealt with that for too many years of his life to deal with it from a partner. And if you so much as looked at Zara or Gil wrong, you’re done.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

Whether it’s paternal instincts or because he’s been in a relationship so long, you don’t know, but if you and Nick are in bed together, he’s touching you. More often than not, he’s wrapping his limbs around you, holding you close. It’s only rarely that his back will be pushed against you. No matter how hot it is in the room, Nick is on you.

#nick amaro x reader #sfw alphabet #law and order svu #my writing #have you ever come up with a random af headcanon?#then just fucking doubled down?

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dragonofyang · 5 years

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Let’s Voltron Ep 185 - Mitch Iverson Interview: Voltron Legendary Defender Comics Transcript

The following is a complete transcript for episode 185 of Let’s Voltron: the Official Voltron Podcast in which hosts Marc Morrell and Greg Tyler interview VLD writer Mitch Iverson about the comic books, posted July 11, 2019.

The full text is below the cut, or you can read it at https://www.teampurplelion.com/lets-voltron-ep-185-mitch-iverson-interview-voltron-legendary-defender-comics-transcript/

@voltronisruiningmylife @crystal-rebellion @leakinghate @felixazrael

[Intro music: VLD opening theme]

MM: Welcome Voltron fans! This is Marc Morrell, your host for Let’s Voltron, the Official Voltron Podcast. We have another exciting interview with somebody who created content for Voltron, and this time we’re talking about the comics. So, I gotta get my cohost on, Greg Tyler. Welcome, Greg!

GT: Marc, I’m so glad you didn’t call me your comic relief.

[laughter]

GT: That would’ve been a perfect end, but anyway, yes, um, welcome to all of our listeners and fellow Voltron fans. We’re gonna talk comic books in this podcast and, uh, yeah! It’s gonna be a lot of fun. As many of you know, Voltron: Legendary Defender had three five-issue volumes of a comic book, uh, made by LionForge Comics and we’re gonna talk with one of the people who was involved in every single issue.

MM: Awesome! Awesome, so let me get this straight: every single issue?

GT: I believe so.

MM: Yeah. All fifteen. He was.

GT: Yes, all fifteen.

MM: That’s right. So, what kinds of things do you think our listeners would want to know about the comics?

GT: I don’t know! Wha--what are your thoughts?

MM: I think, uh, one of the first things people always ask about is, ‘Are there any easter eggs?’ You know, like references to other types of things like sci-fi shows or fantasy or other types of things like that.

GT: Mm-hm.

MM: So I-I think that one has to be one of our questions.

GT: Sure, th-that’s a great question. I would say that if there’s one thing--now I-I--it’s not something we can ask our guest--but one thing I think tha-that somebody might ask is ‘are they any good’. And I know that sounds silly, but I’ve heard a lot of people just say, “Eh, I don’t wanna read those comics, those are dumb.” [laughter] But you know what? If you give them a try, they’re a lot of fun in their own right. The dialogue is very natural, the characters are saying and thinking and doing things that are very in-tune with the TV series. They are interesting side stories that, uh, fit between different episodes of the show, so they do have, uh, a-a place in the story arcs, and yet they’re not so confined by them that they can’t do their own thing. And the artwork looks great, and the stories are a lot of fun. So to answer that question, if anybody out there has that, in my humble opinion, yeah, they’re good! They’re a lot of fun. What do you think, Marc?

MM: I think it’s just fun to say things like “fripping bulgogian”.

GT: [laughter] Yes. There are some wonderful sci-fi-ish terms in the comics, just like in the show, and yeah, a lot of fun.

MM: And there’s some wild alien races that you’ve never seen before on the show, and it’s just amazing in how many different wild directions they go with the comics.

GT: Yes, I agree, it, uh, yeah. There’s some really good stuff in there.

MM: Yeah. So, we’d like to bring Mitch Iverson on.

GT: Absolutely.

MM: Alright. So here comes your next guest.

[Mechanical lion roar sound effect, which then turns into Voltron robot noises and the Voltron theme]

MM: Well, Greg, I would like to introduce a former writer of Voltron: Legendary Defender on Netflix, and of course the comics that we’re going to be talking about in this episode. He was also a writer on the up-and-coming Fast and Furious animated show, and he’s working on a top-secret project for Netflix.

GT: Ooh, top secret, sounds awesome!

MM: [laughter] Everybody welcome back to the podcast Mitch Iverson! Welcome, Mitch!

MI: Hello! Thank you for having me on!

GT: Hello, Mitch, welcome back to the podcast.

MI: I’m excited to be back.

GT: Well, we’re excited to have you on. We reread the Voltron: Legendary Defender comics, all three volumes, all fifteen issues, and are--we’re just really excited to talk with you about them.

MI: Awesome. I’m excited to talk to you guys about them.

GT: So what have you been up to in Voltron circles since? We heard that--that there were rumors of a fourth volume, and then that--that fell through or something? Can you tell us anything about that?

MI: We had talked about doing it, but you know, the license… there was something going on with that, and uh, DreamWorks decided, “You know what, let’s just let Voltron: Legendary Defender be what it was.” I think everyone creatively felt like, yeah it’s a--it’s a told story. You know, now that it’s over, going back is just kind of like trying to fill in between lines that don’t necessarily need to be filled in. Like, it is--it’s an awesome story, it’s done.

GT: That’s fair. That’s fair.

MI: I will say, if I were allowed to write Monsters and Mana comics [laughter] forever, I would.

[laughter]

MM: That would be cool.

MI: But I don’t know that those would, uh, would warrant the sales. [laughter]

MM: You also have a history with Dungeons and Dragons, can you tell us about anything you’ve done recently with Dungeons and Dragons?

MI: I’ve played it. [laughter]

MM: Alright.

MI: Yeah, I have a group of friends that meet once a month, uh, every month, on a Saturday. We get together at about noon and we play until about 10 p.m. There’s usually some wine, maybe a little scotch every now and then. It’s really fun, definitely snacks that are really unhealthy for you, lots of laughs.

MM: Nice.

MI: Lots of good storytelling. It’s a, it’s a great group.

GT: I think that’s the best part of roleplaying games, isn’t it? It’s the friendship.

MI: Oh, I thought you were going to say snacks.

[laughter]

GT: Oh, okay.

MI: I mean I would agree.

GT: And the wine.

MM: You can’t have a guy like Hunk as your caterer at every Dungeons and Dragons night, right?

MI: No, you can’t.

[laughter]

MM: So you would love to do Monsters and Mana comics.

MI: I’m being semi-serious. I mean I just love that episode so much and I had so much fun with it, but you know, it did--a lot of its magic was that it was just kind of a one-time adventure, but, uh, I do truly just love that kind of, like, whimsical fantasy element. I thought that was a lot of fun.

MM: Well, the funny thing is that the “Monsters and Mana” episode was one of the few episodes that tied in with the comics.

MI: Right. Yeah.

MM: Because they mentioned the Yalexian pearl.

MI: Right, yeah.

MM: Mm-hm.

MI: You’re, uh, you pay attention.

GT: Yeah! There were a lot of terms that, uh, were expanded upon in the comics, that one being probably the most prominent, but uh, one thing that surprised me a bit in the comics, we had an issue that was told from Lance’s perspective where he is a D&D kind of, sort of sorcery hero. And he rescues the princess, there’s a dragon, the dragon is the princess--spoilers--and, and it’s just--it’s really cool, but one thing that-that kind of surprised me after “Monsters and Mana” is in that episode, Lance acts like he wants nothing to do with th-the game at first, and in the comic world he’s thinking in those terms. So is Lance a closet nerd?

MI: I think he is, and the thi--well, just to--just to make a quick joke, usually you say “spoilers” first, not-not after. [laughter]

GT: Well, yeah, I spoiled the spoiler.

[laughter]

MI: Oh, I’m just messin’ around. But Lance, I mean the reason he’s trying to act like he doesn’t like fantasy is because he wants to seem cool in front of Allura, and then she’s like, “This sounds fun!” and he’s like, “Oh, okay.”

GT: [laughter] Oh, yeah, that’s cool.

MI: And I mean, you know, he’s always playing that video game and he’s got, like, a--a, you know, at the end, he sticks around to play another game. So...

GT: Oh yeah. Yeah, he does.

MM: In that comic, it says, th-the narrator says, “With Lance’s unerring nose for adventure-finding and quest-detection, the lions quickly reached the most likely spot on the planet Krell for a princess rescue.” And of course they chose a picture of a tall tower.

MI: Mm-hm.

MM: Of course, that’s the perfect place for a princess rescue.

GT: Sure!

MM: This particular princess was a little unusual of sorts, wasn’t it?

MI: Yes.

GT: Yeah, I think I already spoiled that, unfortunately.

[laughter]

MI: Whiffed on that one, huh, little button. Yeah, that was, you know in the first two iss--first two books, and then I wrote them together, we broke all the stories together, but we each took a different issue. We were both a lead on a different issue, and that was an issue he took the lead on and I didn’t know that he was gonna do all that Lance narrating stuff, that was totally him, and I remember reading it and laughing and like, “You are a genius, sir.”

[laughter]

MI: I was like, “Wow, man, he--he is awesome.”

GT: Yeah, I-I think what I really like about--one of the things I really like about the comics is that they, you know--Voltron at its core tends to be sort of an action/adventure sort of property, you know, with sci-fi/fantasy elements and all that, but one thing that I really liked is that a lot of the comics were, you know, had unique twists that made them not just, you know, fighting. There were puzzles to solve, there was “Wow, you know, this thing isn’t really a monster. It’s not trying to… It’s just--it’s just hungry, let’s feed it.” Um, you know, there were all these, these twists that make it not just “giant robot punches the crap out of a giant monster”, you know? And at the same, Voltron has formed in almost every single comic which is also cool, so--

MI: Awesome, yeah.

GT: --so was that a conscious effort on your part and Tim’s part for the first two volumes, to shake things up a bit and make them a little different from the show?

MI: Absolutely. And the--and the thing is, though o-our belief in that is-is you watch a show and a giant robot beats the crap out of a giant monster, that’s awesome. But in a comic book, it might not be as fulfilling we thought. We thought, “You know, this is a little more cerebral” because, like, you’re not gonna get to actually see the-the, all the in-between moments, you know. You can get key images of the fighting, but we thought, like, this needs to ha--we need to, like--we need to, like, make this its own kind of fun thing. Not that it isn’t the show, I thought there were lots of awesome elements like that, but you know, the other thing is in the show, it’s--into its--this is me giving a--I just love this about the show--i-it was so… plotty and it wasn’t like “every episode is fighting a monster”, but then--but, like, Tim and I, we love monster-fighting, so we were like, ”How do we get as much of that in without it feeling like every issue is just solved by punching” like you said. So, we put a lot of thought into ways of making that try and be the case.

GT: Well, I love that juxtaposition where the robot is around all the time, I mean in all, like I think thirteen out of fifteen issues--I counted--and I just kept thinking, “Wow, this is so cool, how many times does this happen?” And so you have that, and yes you have the very awesome-looking variety of giant creatures which is really cool, I mean as an old school fan the more the merrier, and yet it’s not repetitive, it’s not formulaic, it’s not just punch, kick, sword, et cetera. There is still a lot of humans, humanities and problem-solving a-and there are enough plot twists to keep it more than robot-on-creature repetitiveness, and so I really enjoyed that juxtaposition.

MI: I think, by the way, if DreamWorks ever makes another Voltron show, they should make it Voltron: Punch, Kick, Sword, Etc.

MM: Ooh.

[laughter]

GT: You heard it here, listeners.

[laughter]

MM: Alright, so going back to what you were saying, Greg, then sometimes those monsters are somebody’s mother or somebody’s baby.

GT: Mm-hm!

MM: And sometimes Voltron ends up getting into a fight with a monster they probably shouldn’t have.

GT: Yeah.

MI: Yeah.

GT: And that’s also cool. And like, at the end of the very first issu--er was it… yeah, the very first issue, I think--they went to planet Krell and uh, defeated this monster and then these little creatures come out and say, “You’ve killed our guardian”. [laughs]

MM: Yeah.

GT: “Huh?!”

MM: “Huh?”

GT: Yeah.

MI: Hm-hm. [laughs]

GT: Yeah, i-it’s just neat. I-I like the-the juxtaposition there. I-I’m using the word “juxtaposition” it’s a new drinking game, everyone. [laughs] But on the subject of the planet Krell, I’m an old-school sci-fi fan as well and Forbidden Planet is one of my favorite films. Was Krell a deliberate tip of the hat to that film or was it just happenstance?

MI: We--please don’t pitchfork me--I have never seen that movie.

GT: No problem.

MI: Now, Tim may have and that may have been, like, a deliberate nod toward that from him.

GT: Okay.

MI: I don’t-I don’t know, though. Sorry. That may not have been satisfying

GT: Yeah, no problem. That’s perfectly satisfying. It’s the right answer. It’s your answer, so [laughs].

MM: So was there anything specifically that you used as a reference in any of these three volumes?

MI: I’m sure there was, it was just so hard to remember. You know, like, I know that we definitely had a section where every--for every issue we would either go out and ha--or for every arc we’d either go out and have drinks or go get, like, go for, like, a meeting session and we would just, like, talk for, like, a long time about, like, you know, sci-fi things we loved or fantasy things we loved. You know, the other thing we have on that, in there, that is--I should mention that I think is just so great--is, like, many elements that we used were things that we had ideas for the show that it was just like, “You know, we’re never gonna get to fit it in there ‘cuz it’s just not gonna, like, fit with all the stuff going on”. So, you know, like, Josh, May, all the writers who contributed on Voltron, we would always have these powwows and we would talk about, like, different elements that could be in the show, and there would be, like, notecards on the wall that would be, like, “planet cracks open--monster”, that was just, like, a notecard sitting on the wall forever. And it was like, “when are we gonna use that?” And it’s like, “I don’t know if we’re ever gonna get around to using that,” so, like, there was all these ideas that had been kind of, you know, in the aether that we then just say, “Hey, you know, we’re never gonna use these for the show, maybe we put ‘em in the comic book.”

MM: Right.

GT: Yeah, I love that idea where the planet was basically an egg. It was cool.

MI: I think that was Josh Hamilton’s idea.

GT: Oh, neat.

MI: He gets no credit and no money, mua-ha-ha-ha.

[laughter]

GT: Your evil plan worked again. [laughs]

MI: No, we asked him. We asked, “Can we take that card down and put it in the comic?” and he was like, ��Yeah!” [laughs]

MM: And one of the cool things is in-in the comics, Pidge actually gets to say “Form Voltron”.

MI: Yeah!

MM: And that doesn’t happen in the show.

MI: Does it never happen in the show?

MM: I’d never heard Pidge say, “Form Voltron”.

MI: Oh, wow.

GT: I’ll take your word for it, but yeah, that does sound like something that would not have been said very often. But yeah, very cool.

MI: Now I’m trying to think does anyone that ever say it besides Keith and Shiro, and Allura? Does Lance ever say it, or Hunk?

MM: I don’t think Lance or Hunk have ever done it.

GT: Ooh. Listeners, if you remember any of these things, and we’re not remembering, please let us know.

[laughter]

MM: But that first volume of comics was actually made into motion comics, too.

MI: Yeah! Wasn’t that cool?

MM: That was awesome.

GT: Yeah, how did that--how did that happen? How did you guys find out about that? Were you involved in-in planning that, or was that surpris--a surprise to you guys?

MI: It was a semi-surprise. We were told they were gonna do it, a--uh, you know, later on, and the way we were kind of told was they put on the recording schedule, like, “Oh, we’re gonna get the actors from the show to come in an-and do that.” So it was like, “Oh, cool, that’s really exciting. Like, that’ll be fun.”

GT: Yeah.

MI: And I thought those things turned out really cool.

MM: Yeah, so cool.

GT: Yeah, it gave it a whole different dimension, didn’t it?

MM: Yes.

MI: Yeah.

MM: It was so cool in fact, that many people had asked are we gonna do this with the other volumes as well?

MI: Yeah, that would’ve been fun. There was always, like, um, strategies, and, like, a lot of the stuff we did on the side was to help promote the show, you know?

GT: Yeah.

MM: Mm-hm.

MI: And, you know, enrich brand experience. And so it-it’s not a hundred percent correct, but, you know, like, in a way the--probably shouldn’t say this ‘cuz it’s gonna come out wrong--but, it’s like the comic books were almost like, in a way, like, a form of advertising and engagement. But the--

GT: Well, sure.

MI: --I know that’s not a perfect analogy because it’s, like, you know, people pay for those, but then with the motion comics that was another way to, like, keep fans engaged, you know, because we’re not always going to have new Voltron content coming out, so it was a way to be like, “Yeah, remember? Don’t forget about us, and don’t forget that, like, the show’s gonna come back in a few months.” And so by the time all that stuff had gotten done, I think the show was probably rounding a corner and, you know, like, it wouldn’t have made sense to do that, t-to invest that money, to give away basically a product that was just gonna be advertisement for a show that was, that was, you know, ending.

GT: Yeah, that makes sense.

MI: If that makes any sense.

GT: Yeah that makes perfect sense. Yeah, absolutely.

MI: DreamWorks is very smart, and they did a really awesome job, I thought, you know, getting the word out to the fans and helping us, like, helping us find ways to engage in cool, different, unique ways, so, that was like, you know, that was like a surprise. It was an awesome surprise.

GT: Yeah, it was great. A-and there have been Voltron motion comics in the past. Several years ago, I-I’m trying to remember the publisher now, but there were two different animated comics there--that were adaptations from prior, um, Voltron iterations. Not from a show directly, but kind of a-a more serious bend on the original show.

MM: You’re talking about Devil’s Due Publishing, right?

GT: I think so, yeah.

MM: The Revelations comic?

GT: I think so, there were a couple different, uh, motion comics that came out, and I must tell you, I had a really hard time getting through them when I finally got around to watching them in the last few years. And it’s nothing about the comic, it’s just that the adaptation didn’t have the same quality in terms of dynamic motion. It was much more static. The music was more stock-sounding rather than using the composers from the show, or any show, I mean just felt stock, et cetera. And so the Legendary Defender stuff was a definite cut above what had been made before, and I really think it kind of breathed a different sense of life into the comic story a-and was very exciting in its own way.

MI: Th-thank you, that’s really cool. I mean, you know, when you get, like, Rhys Darby or Jeremy Shada or Bex, er, they’re--you know, Josh, like, they’re all amazing, it’s like--to have them lend themselves to that, it’s just like--it definitely elevates it, too, you know. That was so great.

MM: Yeah, and Pidge in volume one where she establishes that she has this dossier that she’s been building, assessing the strengths and vulnerabilities of her fellow Paladins, that was a really interesting character moment for her.

MI: Yeah, and, uh, I will say--okay, you were looking for things where I got inspiration from. Hopefully I don’t get in trouble for admitting this, but to me, I’ve always thought of Pidge as kind of the “World’s Greatest Detective”, she’s kind of--

MM: Like Batman!

MI: --like a Sherlock Holmes or like Batman, yes. And uh, and Batman, I think at some point, had a dossier on the Justice League, and that was, like, a storyline.

MM: Oh, yeah.

MI: And so, I was like, “You know, that’s just--that rings true.” Like, that’s something that Pidge would do, you know? So… I don’t wanna say “ripped off”, but homaged. [laughs]

GT: Yeah, a-and that’s cool. I really enjoyed it. And then in a later volume--was it volume three? They’re starting to blend together over just two evenings--there was the plot where she wanted to turn o--that was in volume three!--turn off the shield in the SPRAWL, the Galra shield, and she had her memories temporarily wiped. So that was another interesting twist on something you wouldn’t expect. Someone who was as intelligent as she is and the world’s greatest detective, having to figure out not only what to do, who her allies are, but uh, you know, all this while not even knowing who the heck she is.

MI: I had that idea, and I thought it was a really, really cool idea, and then I was terrified about how to pull that off. I was like… it’s… and I hope I did, I still am like, am like, “Is anyone going to understand what’s happening?” Like, “Is this cool?”

MM: Why is she saying “who am I?”

[laughter]

MI: And I was like, “Oh, this could be very… I hope it works!” And so… I’m glad to hear you liked it. That means a lot.

GT: Yeah, it was uber fun. And it also touched on, uh, something she said back in season 1 where Allura is trying to get Pidge to tell her, uh, the secret that Pidge is really a girl, and instead, you know, she says, “I like peanuts, don’t like peanut butter” or whatever that was, and then she says, “I sweat a lot.” [laughs] And in this issue, she sweats off half of her clues that she had written on her arms.

[laughter]

MM: Yep.

MI: Ey, you remembered! Cool! Yeah!

GT: Yeah! You guys did a great job with the continuity. Now obviously, having worked on the show, it was, you know, still fresh on the brain there, but, uh, to work in those references and the character dialogue i-is so spot-on, too. I could hear the actors, you know, reading the dialogue for every single one of the issues, it was really neat.

MM: So did you ever think what it would be like if maybe the show had a longer run, you know, than the two and a half years it was on, and that you would’ve been able to actually take one of these comic issues that you had written, and adapt it back into an episode into the show if you still had those things rolling together like they were?

MI: Yeah, totally. Anytime you get to see stuff be, like, read by actors is fun. [laughs]

MM: Yeah. So you’re taking what was done with the motion comics and you’re taking it to the next level and you’re not only adding motion and voice and sound and all that kind of stuff to it, but the actual animation.

MI: Yeah, that’d be cool.

GT: It would. And so I gotta ask in the, uh, in volume two whose idea was it for Alfor to be a nud? [laughs]

MI: Oh man, that had to be Tim.

[laughter]

GT: Where he takes the, uh, shaman or the healer of the--and I don’t know how to pronounce this word--Davdibal, Davdibaw?

MM: It looks like “Davdabhau”.

GT: Yeah.

MI: I’m gonna go with “Davdabhau”.

GT: Alright.

MI: [laughs]

GT: But the--he takes, you know, he goes into this lab, specimen lab, where Alfor had been keeping all these things he’d gathered over the-the years, and he, uh, I just love how he just calls Alfor basically a nerd, which is hilarious. I mean, Alfor, especially later, you see him as this gallant warrior, the original Paladin, and nah, he’s a nerd.

[laughter]

MM: That was when he picked up the Nomo virus, right?

GT: Uh, yes, yes.

MM: So, another thing that kinda tied into the show, you know, Coran had developed the slipperies on the show. But in the comic he develops the Nomo virus, and it actually ends up saving them in the end.

MI: Uh-huh. [laughs]

GT: Well, the slipperies had, too, right?

MM: Yeah.

MI: Y-yeah.

MM: Yeah.

MI: Yeah, he was getting around.

GT: Yeah.

MI: Moving at an incredible pace.

GT: [laughs] And he lubed up the, uh, teludav lenses or whatever. [laughs]

MI: Yeah.

GT: Yeah, that was funny.

MI: We, uh, loved that slipperies so much, which was a Josh Hamilton episode, I believe, and that was just so funny. We wanted to, you know, sort of repeat that kind of--that kind of tone again.

GT: Yeah, and I-I gotta ask. In volume three, we see some of the Coalition ships, um, and we see on one of them Matt Holt and Captain Olia, and then there’s this Unilu who we see throughout the TV show. Uh, I think it’s a female Unilu, she seemingly only has one eye, a bandana or a heads--like an orange colo-colored, sort of head wrapping--and eventually in the show we see her as a bridge crew member on the Atlas. Does that character have a name? Does anybody behind the scenes have a name for that character? I always thought that that there was a very interesting look. I was very curious about that character.

MI: I know the character does, um, I’m struggling to remember the name, though. Oh man. I would have to look that up for you. I’m sure there’s a name, and I’m sure we had one, but I’d have to look through, you know. One thing that happens--alright, so I don’t work for, uh, DreamWorks anymore, and when I left, I had a DreamWorks email address and like a DreamWorks, uh, like, storage thing, and that’s where all of the scripts I wrote were, and now I’m always like, “Oh, well, let’s look that up and see where that was!” and it’s like, “Oh, I don’t have this anymore.” [laughs]

GT: Oh, bummer!

MI: I’m sure if I were to go, I’m sure someone there would be nice enough to go through with me and find them again and… but it would definitely be troubling.

GT: Yeah.

MI: And it’s on the tip of my tongue, I know there’s a name.

GT: Yeah, I was just curious. I-I-I remember, uh, Lauren Montgomery’s been very kind enough to answer some of the-some of those kind of questions. It’s just--it helps build out that universe just a little more. So, just something I just noticed in one of the panels, and I thought, “Oh, I love that character, even though I know nothing about her.”

MI: Yeah, Lauren would know for sure, I believe L--that was, like, one of Lauren’s favorites. I could be wrong--

GT: Oh, okay.

MI: --you know, the other thing is, it’s been, like, two or three years since I worked on Voltron, so it’s like, you know, the memories get a little hazy over time.

GT: Oh yeah. And so how would you compare your creative freedom in writing one of these comics versus an episode? I mean, were the comics--because they have to be kind of sandwiched between episodes--were they more constrained as a result or were they less constrained because they didn’t necessarily have to fit the overall story arc of the show? How would you compare and contrast that?

MI: We--it-it’s funny, because that constraint of fitting inside of, like, continuity, it’s very similar to when you write an episode to the show anyway because we have it so plotted out it’s like, you know, you know your beginning, you know your end, the whole team works on what it--what the journey’s gonna be like to get between those spots. So that’s, like, that’s kinda similar. Uh, I would actually say there are very, very comparable in terms of the process because, you know, we still had to have a lot of people sign off on it, it was a lot of, like, there’s a lot of collaboration. I had, uh, you know, Tim and I worked on it together, just like on the show, and we even had Josh, I believe, read versions of things. And, uh, it just--it-it felt very seamless as a transition. Now I will say that writing comic books was something Tim and I had never done, so in terms of, like, the formatting and thinking visually, that was totally different and I c--and it was, and it was very challenging. Like, when I write a script, I can see it in my head clearly and if I know what I’m going for, it kinda just flows out a lot of times. Sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes it’s very difficult, but it’s like, you know, I hear Pidge’s voice and so I can, like, you know, Tab, P, Enter, line, Enter, move on. Like I know how to, like, just, like-like, fly through a script. But with, uh--and then, you know read it and rewrite it a bunch of times, et cetera. But with the comic, it’s like, so hard to think, like, “Okay, a photo needs to describe everything, and I have to describe it all in detail, and, like, and then--” It was just so--such a different mental muscle that I had to get used to. And I will say, like, honestly, like, when I went back and read the comics, like, Tim and I, when we read the first comic and we were very proud of them, and Lion Forge was so awesome to work with and so helpful. But even after all of that I was still like, “You know, there’s a few things that if I-if I’d really known how this was gonna look, might have written it differently so it might’ve been a little clearer” you know? Or, like, a visual joke could’ve planted, because it was a totally new process to me.

GT: Yeah.

MI: I mean, I still feel very much like a novice in that regard.

GT: Yeah, you were talking about having to describe things visually, with individual panels and all that. Whose-whose idea--since it was introduced in volume one but followed up in volume three, whose idea was it to depict Pidge’s computer-like thought processes as sort of, like, a-a command prompt on the-on the panel?

MI: Yeah, I think that was actually me because I read Tim’s, uh, Lance issue, and I thought and I thought that was so awesome, and I was like, “Oh I’m ripping him off.”

[laughter]

MI: And I was like, “Oh, if Lance is gonna look like that,” hers has to look kinda… it has to be Pidge and I was thinking, you know, Pidge is sort of, like, a techie, and whenever I think “techie” I immediately go to The Matrix, so I ripped off Tim and The Matrix.

MM: And when you have your characters wearing specific outfits, like in the second volume Pilgrimage, Coran gets to go back and wear that, uh, fancy cape outfit--

MI: [laughs] Yeah he does.

MM: --that he wore when he was trying to get to ride Red Lion. So, do you say in the script that he has to be wearing that outfit?

MI: I believe we did call that one out specifically.

MM: Okay.

MI: Honestly, the comic books, one of the things that, you know, when you write a script you can kind of be a little more evocative sometimes. It depends on the situation, it’s always different. But overall you can be a little more, like, you don’t have to fill in all the blanks on things. But with a comic book, they prefer you do. You wanna know, like, the blocking, you wanna know, like, you know, where people are situated. You can-inside the script you can put, like, comp art that you wanna use so the artist has some, like, help because they’re basically gonna go draw--I mean, it--that same thing happens in animation in a way, somebody draws a picture of it. But in animation, there’s like, a whole team, like, you know, and meetings, and there are storyboard artists before it even gets animated. It’s all in motion. But like, with a comic, it is like, you are handing a script off to someone that you might not ever get to talk to, and then they have to, like, read it, and get a pretty clear idea, so the more detail you give the better. And as a very lazy person, that was hard for me.

[laughter]

MM: So you didn’t get to really collaborate with digital art chefs on this?

MI: Not really. I mean, I never got to talk to any of the artists. I mean, I’ve met some people who’ve worked on the comics at cons, just it’s like, you know, and it’s always awesome to see them, it’s like “Yay! You did such an awesome job!” and they’re like, “Aw, thanks!” It’s like, yeah--but yeah, it’s like--they’re always sweet moments, but in terms of the actual collaboration, it was more like we turned in a script and then one day we got to see the comic. Which is, you know, that’s how it is. I know, I mean there’s more to it than that, I’m making it seem… [laughs]

MM: Uh-huh.

MI: But it-but it is, like, you know, we didn’t get to, uh, to talk or-or communicate really directly with the artists.

MM: Okay.

MI: Which is, you know, that’s-that’s not unheard of and-and, um, you know, in writing, you know, oftentimes you write a script and it’s just, like, you know, you get to go watch it on TV and see what happened with everyone else someday.

MM: I was gonna say, that happens with some other professionals, like sometimes the voice actors, they do their thing, and if they didn’t have to do an ADR session on something, they wouldn’t know what was going on, and they find out something happens to their character through--for the first time watching it when everybody else watches it.

MI: Mm-hm. And crea-creating a TV show is such a collaborative effort, and it has got so many moving pieces, and it-so, you know, there can be something that’s changed in boards, changed in, like, so many different aspects of the show where even in ADR it’s like, it’s still shot the same but the dialogue has changed, and that dialogue changes the tenor of everything. And so those moments, like, like the show is always an evolving process, and, like, luckily on Voltron, like, you know, like, I felt like every-every step of the process just got better and better. It was such a great team to be a part of.

MM: So I gotta ask you, uh, we had mentioned at the top when we introduced you that you had done some work with Fast and the Furious and you have left that since then and you’re now working on a top-secret project for Netflix. Has your position changed at all?

MI: I have, um, I have gotten a title bump from that. That’s one of the reasons I, uh, de-decided to-to take a new job, um, and so yeah. [laughs]

GT: Well, good for you. Congratulations! That’s great.

MM: Yes, congratulations on your promotion!

MI: Thank you, thank you. It was fun working on Fast, that was a great scene, and, uh, that show is gonna be so awesome. [laughs]

MM: And that comes out soon, right?

MI: No, I don’t know if I’m allowed to say what the release date is or not. I don’t even know if I know the release date for sure, I ha-ha-I have something in my head, but I could be wrong about it. I know a teaser recently was released and, uh, it’s like, woo yeah.

MM: Right. Yeah, that was a pretty cool teaser.

MI: Mm-hm. I don’t know if you guys know this, but Tim is, uh, the showrunner of that.

MM: Yes! Yes he is.

GT: Very cool.

MI: Yeah.

MM: We do know that. [laughs] So, if you had had the chance on this Voltron story that you had written, you know, in volume three--Absolution, right?

MI: Mm-hm.

MM: At the end, Allura basically says that, you know, the universe is safer because the information Lotor provided us, “It seems we might be able to trust him. It’s time to use even more of his information and finally put an end to the Galra Empire.”

MI: Mm-hm.

MM: So, if you had had a chance to go to a next issue right after that, do you think it would’ve been something related to something that was going on in the show? Or a totally different storyline after that?

MI: Well, my thinking was the next thing that happens after. Maybe not the very very next thing, but when they go to that Glara facility in the next episode of the show.

GT: That’s where they were flying around in those tunnels underneath the…

MI: Yeah, with the lava.

GT: Yeah, I know which one you’re talking about.

MI: “The Prisoner”. Yes. So, my plan was maybe there were a few extra missions that would’ve happened, but the next episode that that would link up with would be “The Prisoner” and when they’re on that mission to go in the Galra facility, that’s information from Lotor that they’re using again.

MM: Right, right. That was the first thing that they learned that they could trust him, because it worked out exactly the way he said it would.

MI: Mm-hm.

GT: That was really nice. I think that that one tied in most directly with the plot probably of all three of the volumes, because we see something that actually motivates Allura to have a change of heart.

MI: Yeah. I hope it worked.

GT: Yeah! It totally did. I think the comics a-are so fun in adding some side stories to the overarching plot without, uh, taking anything away from it. I think the-the generally standalone approach with the tips of the hat to what’s going on in the main plot are-are a really nice compromise between, you know, ignoring what’s going on, of course, with the show, which would’ve been kind of hard to do, and uh, getting way too deeply connected to it so that someone who had only read the comic wouldn’t know what was going on, right?

MI: Aw, thanks. I can’t remember if the-if we pulled it off as well--er, one of the intentions we had in the second comic was, um, the second volume comics, was that the castleship is, uh, damaged. So that’s, like, the next episode was going to be, uh, “Green the Cube”, which starts with them out there trying to fix things on it. And so--

GT: Ooh.

MM: Oh, yeah.

MI: --the idea was the castleship in the-the midst of all that action. That’s why they were out there repairing it when the-the uh--the spore with the hidden information arrives.

MM: Cool.

GT: Very nice, love it.

MM: And I-I did notice that there was an ongoing theme with the aliens in the comics. They were very animal-like.

MI: Yeah! We’re always looking for, like, inspiration in nature and stuff like that. One thing we did on the, uh, on the show, or one thing that I did on the show that I always liked, was I had these, like, D&D monster manuals in my office from all the different var--uh--versions of Dungeons and Dragons. And I would just, like, pull them out when I was kind of, like, bored or thinking about things, and I would just look at weird monsters in there and think, like, you know, “What if this monster were in space? What would that look like?” And, you know, it didn’t always evolve from that, but sometimes that could start the, like, a conversation where maybe it was like, we would come to, like, a cool new unique monster from that.

MM: That is pretty cool.

GT: Yeah. Marc had mentioned that one of the giant creatures that, uh, that was encountered was a baby. A gigantic, gravity-producing baby with a much larger mother. And it--was that inspired by anything in particular, or was that just… awesomeness? [laughs]

MI: There might’ve been one, but I just don’t remember. I do think that--you know, one of the things that me and Tim talked about many times was, like, just ‘cuz we have this, like, scale where we think things are big to us but if you’re a big thing, they might not seem that big to other big things, you know, and that was something we always wanted to play with. We always, like, thought that was a fun concept. And another thing that I always just like--was thinking about was, like, you know, the Paladins, you know, if you’re a human being, a hundred years is a very, very long time, but if you’re a creature that lives for a thousand years, that’s not as long to you. You’re a creature that lives for a million years, a hundred years is like a blink of an eye, you know?

GT: Oh, yeah.

MI: Zarkon, like, he’s been conquering for ten thousand years or whatever, you know, it’s like--so somebody who’s been around for a million years, that’s like, “Yeah, that new kid on the block, Zarkon.” [laughs]

GT: Yeah, that’s a good point, a-and I think Kythylian Mu from volume one--that character that Coran had known and pretended as though Coran owed all that gambling debt to--he had been around for thousands of years, too, which was really cool.

MI: Right. Yeah.

MM: There’s not a good chance of running into somebody that you owe a debt to ten thousand years later where they can actually add the interest to your debt.

MI: No, that would be very, very expensive.

MM: So now you owe him a Yalexian pearl.

MI: Yeah, and he’s gonna get it.

GT: So one of my favorite creatures that you guys came up with was, uh, Gantomor, the ancient Davdabhau--I’m trying to get that pronunciation--who protected the sacred grounds and was-and challenged Keith in the, uh, training deck of the Castle of Lions, and then challenged Voltron, and then challenged Coran’s sneeze.

[laughter]

GT: And the-the idea that this creature could transform itself to match its opponent was a really cool thing, was-was that inspired by anything in particular, or was it j-just… where did this come from?

MI: I don’t remember. I think that that was based on just weird conversations Tim and I would have about, you know, like, uh, the idea of like, what would be, like, a fun thing to fight? And it’s, you know, that’s kind of like a, I feel like a fantasy or sci-fi trope of, like, you know, there’s the thing that can match your power, so, like, having to beat the thing that can beat you. I think we even kind of have that, well, sort of, to a degree, in the ep-in the issue where Pidge has to fight her friends, you know, and it’s always like, “How do you beat these scenarios?” So we would try and lock ourselves creatively into a corner and then try and figure out if there was any way we could solve it.

GT: Yeah, that’s really cool.

MM: Plus that scene, okay, y-you have to suspend yo-your thoughts about, you know, can people survive in space for a little while because Coran comes flying in on a kotka, right? One of these huge things with wings and he--[laughs]--he’s wearing that uniform that we had mentioned earlier, but it’s definitely not a space suit, per se, and of course he’s got this virus that he-he needs to, like, sneeze on-on this monster in order to expose him to the virus.

MI: Mm-hm.

MM: So, we’re sort of like, “Okay, Coran’s going through space with no-no spacesuit on, okay. I’m okay with that.”

MI: He’s also, you know, he’s an Altean. They’re pretty strong creatures.

MM: Yeah. [laughs]

GT: I was about to ask you that. Is-is his ability to breathe, sneeze, and talk in the vacuum of space an ability that’s unique to Coran or or is this something that a-all Alteans have?

MI: I am not--I don’t have high enough rank to answer that question.

[laughter]

MI: I mean, I-I think that there’s a little bit of maybe just, you know, whimsical magic happening there.

[laughter]

GT: There’s nothing wrong with that. I was just asking. [laughs]

MI: Tardigrades can move in space. The little water bears, you know what I’m talking about?

MM: Yeah.

MI: The inspirations for the, uh, “Ark of Taujeer”.

MM: The Taujeerians!

MI: Yeah, uh, the tardigrades.

MM: Cool.

MI: The water bears. I don’t know if you’ve ever looked at those things, but th-they’re really weird-looking, but they can live in space.

GT: Yeah. And uh, yeah, the Alteans are great explorers, Allura said so herself, so, uh, talking in space in undoubtedly a very, very uni-unique gift to have.

MI: I don’t know if we’ve ever talked about this before, but one thing that I always thought was funny that is, um, early in the show they fight that, uh, training droid.

GT: Yeah.

MI: And Allura says, “This is fit for an Altean child!”

GT: Oh, yeah.

MI: “This is fit for an Altean child.” And it seems like she’s making a dig at them, but then you find out later she’s super strong. [laughs] And it’s like, “Oh! Maybe that was set for an Altean child.”

GT: Yeah, that’s a good point.

MM: That is a good point. Maybe she wasn’t digging them at the time.

[laughter]

MI: Well, maybe digging them, but digging them with facts.

MM: Yeah. GT: Yeah. Facts that they would not yet know, yeah.

MM: Back then we were questioning as to whether or not Allura was actually controlling that-that droid at the time,

MI: Oh, interesting.

MM: Yeah.

GT: The way they staged that where the droid just collapses and Allura is right behind it, it does-it does sort of, at first glance, y-you kind of think, “Hm, yeah. Was she manipulating that thing or did she just happen to be standing there?” [laughs]

MM: We kind of thought she was the one fighting them, almost.

MI: Maybe she was.

[laughter]

MM:I loved it when they went out in the lions for the first time a-and she-she’s, like, throwing all the Castle at them, you know, like, all th-the weapons that the Castle can-can shoot. She’s firing them.

MI: She’s being so positive.

[laughter]

GT: S-so now that you have, uh, working with Tim and then of course working solo, fifteen comic books under your belt, have you thought any more about writing comics for any other property or maybe going independent? What-what are your thoughts about that medium?

MI: I would love to write more comics some day, and I-and I really want to, but right now I’m a little busy and I’m a little stretched thin. And I also, it just has to be the right one, but I would love to do it again. It’s a really fun experience, especially, like, you know, the company Lion Forge was so great and they were so great to work with, everyone over there is so nice. It’s a really positive company and so, like, maybe if-if I could find something with them someday tha-that that could be really fun, but, you know.

MM: Did you hear about their merger with Oni Press?

MI: Oh! No, I didn’t.

MM: Yeah.

MI: When did that happen?

MM: That was just recently.

MI: Oh.

MM: Apparently they had been either acquired or merged with Oni Press.

MI: Huh. Cool.

MM: Yeah.

MI: Well, I hope, that just makes them even more powerful and awesome.

MM: Yeah.

GT: [laughs] These comics, re-reading them was just a blast. I remember enjoying each of the volumes as they came out and, uh, it was just a lot of fun to revisit them. One--when I first read the first two volumes, I did them through, you know, print, but when volume three came out, I tried at first to buy an e-comic, that was my first ever experience with that, and I don’t know that I--maybe I’m too old-school--but I really, I went ahead and bought the print versions later a-and re-read them that way. Are you into e-comics at all, or do you prefer paper, or… what are your thoughts on all that?

MI: I go back and forth. I-I don’t know if you did the guided comic experience, but if you have an iPad and you do the guided comic experience where, like, it moves between panels and it’s curated really well--

MM: Yeah.

MI: --that can be such an awesome way to experience a comic. Like, I use Comixology, I love it, and I have don-I have done that before, but there’s just nothing that beats going into a comic book shop, talking with the guy that works there, having the paper comic, going home, reading it. I said guy, it could be, you know, any--girl as well, I know for a long time I used to go to Meltdown Comics. There was a really sweet lady that worked there tha-that gave just awesome recommendations. She recommended the comic book Two to me, which I loved, then you go home, you read it, you come back and you’re like, “Thank you for the recommendation”. And it’s just, you know, it’s such a great experience, like, I, I-I don’t know, I could never completely give that up. But, that being said, as I said, there can be some really fun motion comics to read, too.

MM: Yeah, I have a subscription to the DC Universe and they have a comic reader in that that you can watch on TV.

GT: Really?

MM: Oh, yeah. It’s great, and it’s, like, the guided comic, like you said, it goes from panel to panel. You can do it either way, you can do the guided or you can do the regular where you see the whole page at a time.

GT: That’s amazing.

MM: Yeah.

MI: That is awesome. I didn’t know about that.

MM: And they’ve got the whole library of, like, twenty thousand DC comics that are in there.

MI: Wow.

GT: Huh.

MI: Wow. You know, I, at first, was so hesitant to use digital comics, and I was like, “You know, I’m old-school” and I had tried that guided comic experience, and for whatever reason, whatever comic I use, I didn’t really like it as much. I was like, “No, no, no, you should have the page,” you know? And then later on I had a friend tell me, like, “No, no, there are some really cool ones out there,” and I was like, “Okay,” and he recommended one to me--now I can’t even remember--but I went through and did it again and was like, “Oh, oh! This is awesome! Okay.”

MM: Yeah.

GT: That’s cool.

MM: That’s pretty cool.

GT: I wonder if it depends on--I mean, di-di--I wonder if they have to manually stage each of those comics, it’s guided so that it guides you appropriately, you know? In other words, is there a human being involved in taking a comic that’s completed and making that experience the best that it can be, or is it something they can fully automate? In which case, you know, one person might do a better job giving you that guided experience versus another, you know?

MM: Yeah.

MI: There has to be a human being that does it, you know, because it moves so oftentimes it moves from, like, like face to face with speech bubble to other face. And sometimes it, like, you know, i-into a-and then, like, of--it lets the panel build sometimes in certain ways, and sometimes it gives you the whole panel because it, like, you want all this information at once and you don’t want to overmove the, the i-image around, you know. A-and then sometimes, like, you want that splash page when that comic tends to be, like, “Woah!” you know? Like, it’s--there’s no way to-I think that could happen without someone, like, being involved in that.

MM: Right, and then sometimes there’s a lot of information in that speech bubble that takes a while to read, and then other times it’s just, like, one word, and sometimes th-that word is like a shout or something like that and it’s written in big letters and you wanna emphasize it by bringing it into the panel real quick.

MI: Yeah.

MM: You know, or something like that.

MI: It’s funny, it’s not--it’s just so interesting to me how there’s always so many people involved in creative endeavors, like, you know, if you wanna--when you’re watching a TV show, the amount of people that were involved in that, that worked so hard on that, it’s truly impressive to me. I mean that’s one of the reasons why at the end there’s all those credits, you know?

MM: Mm-hm.

MI: But similarly in comic, you know, there’s artists that work on it, there’s inkers, there’s colorists, sometimes that’s all the same person, sometimes not, you know, there’s letterers, there’s, like, it’s--and then, you know, for even to the level of, like, there’s probably somebody that helps curate that motion comic experience. It’s very cool, I think, to, you know. There’s a-there’s a--as a writer, there’s always a part of me that thinks, like, “You know, one of these days I’m gonna write a novel and it’ll be just, like, my thing, it’ll be my book.” And it’s like, yeah. Sometimes I think, yeah, that does sound really fun, but also, like, it’s really fun to work with other people. It’s really fun to see sometimes, like, you have an idea and it might come out different than you expected, but it be even better. It might have been plussed by someone else, you know?

GT: That’s a great point.

MM: The whole is better than the sum of the parts.

MI: Yes. Which, I mean is, I think, apropo when talking about Voltron.

GT: No doubt.

MM: Yes.

[laughter]

MM: We are always stronger together.

MI: Right.

MM: So, one thing I wanted to do before you leave, Mitch, is I wanted to thank you for all these years where you’ve been signing comics for us, an-and you and Tim and everything, and then providing these signed comics for prizes as, you know, for our listeners of the podcast, so I wanna-I wanna thank you for doing all that over the last few years.

MI: Oh, it’s been my pleasure. I should be thanking you. Thank you for all the support, you’re such a great person, you’re such a great fan. Both of you, I-I--it means a lot to me that you guys, you know, uh, like this stuff, you know. We work really hard on it, so when somebody appreciates it that means the world to me.

MM: Oh, yeah. It’s not hard to appreciate it all because you did such a good job.

MI: Aw.

GT: Absolutely.

MI: Keep going.

[laughter]

GT: Well, as soon as we learn about this top-secret project, a-and enjoy that and enjoy Fast and the Furious when it comes out, we will have more to say. Even more to say than we already have. [laughs]

MM: Right.

MI: Yay!

GT: [laughs]

MM: So, we will be watching your career with much interest.

MI: Thank you.

GT: Alright, Emperor Palpatine.

[laughter]

MM: We also look forward to the day when Monsters and Mana has its own comics line.

[laughter]

MI: You know, I-I’m not sure that’ll happen, but maybe, you know, as time goes on, I’ll find the time to do fanfiction for it or something. As long as DreamWorks doesn’t sue me. [laughs]

MM: Okay.

GT: Until then, keep the faith, right?

MI: Right. I can’t believe I got to do that episode at all, that was such a pleasure. So, you know, l-let’s focus on the good we have. [laughs]

MM: That’s right.

GT: That’s right.

MM: That’s right. Can--I can’t believe they paid me to do something that was so fun.

MI: I’m--that’s how I felt, I mean, I was like, every day, finish my stuff, then I got to sneak in little things that were, like, names of people that I play D&D with, their characters, and like, little inside jokes from, you know, people I played D&D with for ten years, so that was, like, tha--I mean, pretty much from the second I was told I got to write a D&D episode until now, whenever I think about it I have just a big smile. I’m really, really grateful for that.

MM: Nice.

GT: Yeah, so cool.

MM: Awesome. So thank you very much once again for joining us on Let’s Voltron, the Official Voltron Podcast.

MI: Thank you.

[mechanical lion roar]

[outro music: VLD theme]

MM: Well, I have to tell ya, I talked to Mitch Iverson so many times in the past few years, but i-it felt a little bit bittersweet this time, I think. Knowing that we might not get a chance to talk to him again without another Voltron thing.

GT: Yeah? I mean, I think the same is true for a lot of the guests that we’ve had on i-in recent months. You know, Voltron: Legendary Defender is done. I mean, it’s-it’s not dead as long as we remember it and enjoy it, continue to watch it, and share the stuff that we like with our friends and family and all that good stuff. It lives on just as the original show and other iterations have. But yeah, it is a little bittersweet, isn’t it?

MM: Yeah, but I mean there were so many great episodes in there, and of course we talked a lot about “Monsters and Mana” because it was one of Mitch’s favorites to write. You know, that’d be like “Space Mall”--

GT: “Crystal Venom”.

MM: --”Crystal Venom”, “Reunion”--

GT: “The Legend Begins.”

MM: Right. All these great episodes that we loved from the show and everything, they each had a writer and Mitch’s favorite was “Monsters and Mana” and I know there’s a lot of fans out there who had said, you know, we could just do a Monsters and Mana, like, type of show and we would love to see that.

GT: Yeah, a-and you know, people were saying the same thing about the Blade of Marmora, maybe some spinoff novels or tie-in novels or whatever. Yeah, I mean there’s so much richness and variety in the Voltron: Legendary Defender universe that yeah, I mean there’s so much potential. But, uh, I guess at this point a lot of that’s up in the hands of fans to maybe pick up with their own fanfiction and if they haven’t already written a lot of that crazy stuff.

MM: “I wanna be a Paladin again.”

GT: Ah, there you go. Yeah. A-and I recall y-you’re kind of fond of the Black Lion, right?

MM: Yeah. Yeah. Always bet on Black.

GT: Ye-yeah, I’ve always been fond of the Yellow fellow, as, uh, Hunk called it in Voltron Force. Yeah. Old Yellow. [laughs]

MM: I thought that was pretty funny that, uh, there was actually a line from the comic where Hunk mentions the fact that, “I-I don’t want to tell everybody out loud, but I may have wet myself,” and Lance says, “Well, you do fly the Yellow Lion.”

GT: [laughs] Yes, I do love that.

[laughter]

MM: And it reminded me of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. “I’m so scared I soiled my armor!”

GT: [laughs] Yeah, I remember.

MM: And then later on, “I soiled my armor again!”

GT: [laughs]

MM: Yeah.

GT: Yeah. Interestingly, Lance in the comic, and, uh, of course, none of the characters in “Monsters and Mana”, none of them encountered the knights who say Ni!

[laguther]

MM: No. No. Hunk, though, he had a couple of the Davdabhau that had wanted to marry him.

GT: Yeah, he was a popular guy for a while there.

MM: And at one point, he actually says to them, “Well, I don’t think I can marry either one of you, and it’s mostly because, well, number one you haven’t met my mom. An-and there is this rock girl.”

GT: That was really interesting, wasn’t it? That he actually flat-out says it.

MM: Yeah. That was great.

GT: Yep. [sighs] I so love Hunk, I truly do. And apparently he had a pappy at some point named Herschel.

MM: That’s right! I was wondering where Herschel came from and I was thinking to myself, the only Herschel I can think of, there was a character from The Walking Dead that was named Herschel.

GT: Yes, I remember there--isn’t there an astronomer named Herschel, too?

MM: Yeah. I was trying to wonder where Herschel came from, but, I guess we could’ve asked Mitch, huh?

GT: Yeah, where the writers came up with it. Of course in the fiction, Hunk says it was, uh, one of his pappies from the past. A apparently departed pappy, but yeah! Yeah, there are so many more questions we could have asked Mitch, but there’s only so many, uh, only so many minutes we can do these podcasts and, uh, you know, maybe, maybe some things are best left as mysteries.

MM: Well, you know, we do have to give a proper review to these comics, right?

GT: Yeah, that’s true.

MM: So, why don’t we get together in our next episode and talk about these comics a little bit more in detail?

GT: Yeah. We’re gonna dive into all of them, aren’t we?

MM: Yeah, we are.

GT: Yeah. For our listeners who aren’t into the comics, don’t worry, there won’t be fifteen podcasts, one per comic. There won’t be three, one per volume. We’re gonna-we’re gonna cram ‘em all into one, and, uh, it’s going to be a lot of fun. Uh, you know, th-the comics are definitely worth checking out. I know that, uh, there’s some who, you know, who kind of dismissed them outright, but, uh, I hope that, uh, people will give them a look now. They really are fun. You can get them as e-comics on favorite places like Comixology, or you can still find them at, uh, favorite online vendors, or maybe even in some local comic shops.

MM: And you may still even find them on the Voltron store, or Amazon, or many other places that have comic books.

GT: Yep. Yep, yep, comics are fun, and so are the, uh, these Voltron ones, as well.

MM: So, we think we set it up really good with the Mitch interview.

GT: Yeah.

MM: So, thank you Mitch Iverson for joining us on Let’s Voltron, the Official Voltron Podcast, and we’ll get right into the comics next week.

GT: Alright.

MM: We wanna thank you all for joining us on Let’s Voltron. Don’t forget to visit us on Twitter at @LetsVoltron. We’re also on Instagram at @letsvoltron. We are also on YouTube, the Let’s Voltron YouTube channel. And we also have a Let’s Voltron store on TeePublic. We’re also on Facebook. We also have a skill on Alexa where you can just say, “Alexa, open Let’s Voltron,” and you get a cute little quote that is, uh, one of up to a hundred quotes that are possible that you will get.

GT: Awesome, awesome.

MM: And of course you can listen to our podcast on many different places like Google Play, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, also Podbean, Stitcher, and of course on Alexa. You can also say, “Alexa, play Let’s Voltron, the Official Voltron Podcast,” and you can listen to it right on Alexa.

GT: Or, of course, go to letsvoltron.com

MM: That’s our favorite place. Letsvoltron.com

GT: Yeah, I can remember that one. [laughs]

MM: Because that’s how you get to all of our other things, like we just mentioned.

GT: That’s right. We are all over the place.

MM: So, thank you for joining us once again, and we’ll see you all next time on--

Both: Let’s Voltron!

[outro piano music]

#teampurplelion #transcript #let's voltron #vld #voltron legendary defender #vld comics

33 notes · View notes

edenofmonsters · 6 years

Text

nyctophobia | one.

nyc·to·pho·bi·a | [nik-toh-foh-bee-uh]

definition:

extreme or irrational fear of the night or of darkness.

subject:

wraith | gasouel

notes:

originally documented january 22nd, 2018

6,550 words | 01 part | s. f. w.

a seemingly harmless blackout proves to be an experience you have never considered existing beyond horror films. a monster lurks within the darkness, and it ensues a morbid game of tormenting you while vulnerable.

*✧🌙✧*

Nichole has taken the liberty of your phone pass-code to snap an atrocious selfie and appoint it as her own contact portrait. Truth be told, you don’t have the heart nor incentive to change it. It had taken time to ignore the scrutiny thrown your way, many times which consisted of ducking out of vicinity and of the like. At least her ringtone compensates for the source of embarrassment and entertainment. The wistful chorus of Patrick Swayze’s “She’s Like the Wind” echoes through the wood of your nightstand, a patterned vibration joining the melody. It’s tempting to ignore her call, especially since it’s already 11 p.m. on the night before a breakfast date with Mom.

Before deciding to answer her, you rid your mouthful of minty froth and smear on an even coat of face clay, allowing the chorus to play twice more, both times you sing along to. Either someone is dying on her end or she’s drunk, neither reason serving as good intention to call you. Once finished, you amble into your room and flounce on your bed with all the flourish of a tired individual.

“Babe, the bridal shower is next week, and I still haven’t got a dress!” she says the instant the call connects.

The volume of her voice makes you grimace, her dilemma even more so. Familiar with her procrastination tendencies, you aren’t as surprised as the next person would be. In no way does it lessen the degree of the problem, sadly. You determine how you’ll fare in the morning if the call hypothetically escalates past an hour.

Picking dirt from your nails, you ask, “Please tell me you have potential selections?”

The white, digital numbers of your alarm clock continue ticking closer to midnight as she sends you pictures of dresses she modeled in earlier that afternoon and lists off the pros and cons she’s found with each. You would make this task easier on the both of you with physical moral support, and by that you mean you would have forced her to buy one before the trip, but Nichole is out of state for her sister’s special event, and you happened to deplete your slot of vacation days for the year. After some back and forth bickering, you finally convince Nichole to narrow it down to a few dresses. With a vow to get back to you when she decides on the winning dress, the two of you exchange an “I love you” and “goodnight”.

Sliding out of bed, you make way to the bathroom and rinse off the crusted paste of your now creased face mask with lukewarm water. Once cleansed, you clear excess droplets from your eyes with a single wipe and freeze when pitch blackness greets you. Your heart thrashes for a second. After experimental flicks of the light switch, it's obvious the power is out. This aspect isn’t entirely surprising; it’s been raining all day, the menacing storm threatening to down the roof with the harsh pelting. You’ll just have to make do without charging your phone tonight or an alarm.

Blinded helpless, you use your outstretched hands to inch through the dark, hoping to not stub your toe on anything. By a miracle, you find your way to your door, fingers touching the worn wood.

Did I…close the door? You pause, filing through recent memories. I know I left it open. Not willing to ponder the oddness of it all right now, you settle for blaming the blackout for disorienting you.

That night, you have a peculiar dream about a spectral figure hovering at a fair distance. You may be standing in the abyss of your thoughts, but you feel oppressed just by looking at the figure. It looks to be a lean, masculine silhouette draped in a hooded robe that sways to a nonexistent breeze and falls in misty tendrils. You dare a look inside the hood to see a clean slate face void of details. Chills prickle through your nerves. He doesn’t have any distinctive features, but you feel eyes gouging you, and it leaves you rigid in trepidation. You wake up to your table lamp casting a disc on your ceiling.

Breakfast with Mom is pleasant, Nichole falls in love with the perfect dress, your phone can charge throughout the night, and there’s no dream of the apparition.

Tuesday evening, your lights flicker dead while you’re cooking dinner. It lasts but a few seconds, and in those handful of seconds you swear the air ices over, but it’s gone just as quick as the waning of the electricity. By Friday, you begin to contemplate calling maintenance to inspect for any issues with your apartment. You bring it up with the other tenants and are alarmed when they report no trouble with their power. When you do decide to call maintenance, they report nothing out of the ordinary. The electrician reassures you he will return if you begin experiencing actual problems. You can see he doesn’t appreciate his time being wasted, but he’s polite enough to not say what’s on his mind. His visit leaves you bitter for more than one reason.

You find yourself washing off face clay over your sink for another night. When your eyes open, the light is on; however—you glance into the mirror, see that black character from your dream and vault yourself to the side in a panic. You tumble from your haste, clashing down to the glossed tiles with your heart pounding in your ears. Of course, no one’s there. People imagine ‘things’ from the edge of their eyes all the time from paranoia, but this disturbs you on spiking levels. It shouldn’t unnerve you this much, you tell yourself, and yet you race into the safety of your bedroom and slam the door shut. The image is burned into your eyelids, whether they’re closed or not.

A week passes, each night projecting that damned phantom who does nothing but watch at you. Last night was different, though. You dream, and he isn’t there. He hasn’t proven to be a threat in past dreams, but you can’t brush off the layering fear after the mirror episode. Every which way you look, movements slowed to that of limbs swinging under the density of water. A certain trace of desperation urges you to locate the shadow cutout. You aren’t sure how the notion birthed, the idea that you’ve become the sheep in a hunt, but it’s there.

Here.

You pivot around just as the blackness lunges at you, and you jolt awake screaming. Shaken by the nightmare, you remain fastened to your bed until well into the noon.

It storms again, this time more rageful than the last. You tense, holding your phone in a cartilage-white grip when an especially powerful thunder splits the silent sky far too close. The apartment tremors, your glassware tinkling to the movement. A week has slipped by since that horrendous nightmare. Thankfully, you haven’t been plagued by anymore aside that one. To distract yourself from the storm, you peruse the channels for anything eye-catching. Unsurprisingly, the TV cuts off and dark swallows you whole.

A brief note of panic assaults your chest, a cowardly reaction you will away with a struggle. You can’t help falling victim to fear, no matter how severe you berate yourself for being ridiculous. What is a little darkness going to do to you?

Steeling your nerves, you snatch up your phone, turn the flashlight on, and go hunt down for a candle you remember seeing in one of the kitchen drawers. You locate it with quick success, gathering the untouched stick into one hand. You could have sworn there was a lighter in there somewhere, too. It’s apparent you can’t search for said item with both your hands occupied. You set the candle on the kitchen counter and rummage through the drawer a second time. Just as your fingers wrap around the lighter, the waxen rod rolls right off and onto the floor with a startling clatter.

You determine you can be as young as five or as old as fifty, and you’ll still be uncomfortable with the dark. Long ago, you established there was nothing to fear but the invented creatures you yourself conjured, but you also learned how dangerous imagination could be. It’s what led you to cower under the false safety of your blanket as a child and to avoid the ominous alleys tainted by horrific stories as an adult. At this moment, however, you have every right to be afraid. The past days have pushed you further toward the edge, and you’re waiting when you might fall into the chasm of whatever it is that has been haunting you.

It takes a moment to ease your throbbing heart. As you crouch to retrieve the dropped candle, you detect the weight of another presence in the room with you. There’s a subtle shift in the air that seems to be making room for the second being. You notice the beam of artificial light quivering and realize it’s because you’re shaking. You want to cast the light around the kitchen to see if you can catch a glimpse of anything at all, but you’re stricken frozen by fear. The moment passes, and you scoff for believing you’re in any possible danger. Just as a safety measure, you pan the kitchen with your meager light source. Of course, there’s nothing to jump out at you.

You gather your senses, the materials and make leave for your room. Once alight by the candle, you settle into bed and dive into the fictional world of a novel in your hands. You aren’t aware of how much time has passed, fully immersed with the story playing out in your mind, but a faint sound harshly extracts you from the book. You’re overcome with stillness, ears honing onto the distinctive thud.

These walls are known for giving tenants the privacy they need; thus, you shouldn't be able to hear your neighbors unless they directly pound on the separating plaster. The neighbors on the left are currently out of town for the week and the neighbor on the right has a night shift, so he shouldn’t be home at this time.

Fear and curiosity can go hand in hand; however, the two are warring for the chance to influence your choices of either exploring or hiding. You don't understand how the silence has suddenly become eerie, but it's enough confirmation to allow fear to win. You discard exploring and eagerly hole into the haven of your bed. The candle won't last the night, maybe until you fall asleep if you aren't overwhelmed by apprehension. Remaining in bed seems the less evil of the two choices, but you’re rolling around in the festering thoughts of the worst-case scenario. You should have grabbed a knife when you had the chance.

Oh, come on. What's to be afraid of? Ghosts? You laugh, a forced laugh at that. A minute goes by. Fine. I'll just look around to prove there's nothing that can hurt me. Resolve cemented, you peel away from your blanket and grab the lit candle for your journey, notably ignoring your jittering nerves that make you tremble.

As soon as you peek into the short hallway, whispers of cool air wash over you, setting off a shudder or two. The flame restricts your view to a mere foot radius, giving you the impression of being stuck in a claustrophobic sphere. You leave your door cracked and take a confident step forth. Immediately, that same chill swipes at your spine. You can’t decide if it’s terror painting the horrific thought of a lone finger tracing up your back or not. Regardless, you jump so hard you’re surprised your bones aren’t broken at the joints.

What the fuck was that? you think, flattening to a wall as if it might decrease your vulnerability by a smidgen. Stupid Victor and his stupid horror movie nights. Yet as you throw the blame on your friend, you know better: you just need something tangible to fault, something you know that can be a rational factor to your delusions. But your instincts won't allow you to deny that you aren’t living a fantasy moment, you’re not suffering the side effects of a jump-scare film.

The dark is crawling all over you, seeping into your skin, and dragging you deeper into a thick pool of dread. The steady heat fails as a source of comfort; rather, it seems to be laughing at you. Just then, the mini fire sputters, dancing a chaotic pattern, like someone has walked by.

There’s something inside with you.

Ice skims along your cheek and the candle tumbles from your hands. The dark devours you up, leaving you cold and on the brink of going mad with fear. Quickly, you fall to your knees to search for the candle. You know you aren’t alone but can’t pinpoint how or why, you only know. The figure from your dream comes to mind, and a broken whimper escapes your lips. And then the hairs of your arm stand. You used to think of it as ants navigating underneath your clothes, but it isn’t ants this time, it's a hand running along your limb.

Right here.

You bolt. The slam of your door is so loud, you expect the entire complex to shake. You clamber for your blanket, hurry to light the candle, and wedge yourself into a corner. There you remain, eyes refusing to close. Seconds, minutes, hours, and the thud resounds again. It begins distance, stops at your door, and disappears altogether. The longer you sit there, the more the fear augments to a staggering degree, yet nothing has plowed through the door and attacked you. You refuse to break free from your stiff position, though, staying perched where you are.

You don’t know when you fall back asleep or how you gave in to the need, but the moment of peace is broken by a third pound. The most recharge you gained was by hovering just beneath the first layer of unconsciousness. Instantly, you notice that the candle has gone out. Reaching for your phone, you turn the flashlight on again. Initially, the first thing you notice is the low battery percentage, and then the time (1 a.m.), but once you look to your nightstand, you almost drop your phone.

The candlestick is burned only half way through. It's impossible for it to drown and extinguish in its own pool of wax, because it's a lone stick supported by a holder. Your windows aren’t opened to invite a draft, and you know your sleeping habits as well as Mom does, so you had no play in blowing the flame out. Someone did, something thing.

You hear a soft touch, pulling your attention back to the door. You imagine a palm pressing into the wood. Not a second later, the handle twists ever so slowly. For some inexplicable reason, you can't move, helplessly watching as the handle turns all the way to unlatch. Any moment now, you wait for the door to slam open. It doesn’t. It remains twisted. And then, as if the hand holding it in its place has let go, it abruptly turns back without warning. You fling to the wall you’re already embedded to. As afraid as you are, frustration sidles up to your mind, and possible anger.

“What do you want?” you ask, voice tight.

The handle turns slow, the door opens, and it closes the door just as softly. A cry croaks from your throat from witnessing an invisible force committing the action. Gentle steps travel across the floorboards to you. The bed sinks, and you cry harder.

“What do you want?!”

That same figure from your dreams manifests right before your eyes, ripping a gasp from you.

“You.”

Cold, hands latch onto your ankles to yank you forward and you shriek—

“Babe!” Nichole is shaking you awake, her face creased in concern.

You’re gulping for air, desperately clawing at your bedding. After you calm down some, you grab onto Nichole to reassure yourself she’s real. You think about those hands on your ankles. They felt just as real as the woman before you. A single sob falls from your mouth, leading to uncontrollable weeping, prompting your friend to support you to her chest. She holds you without a word.

You tell her you’ve been having nightmares but don’t specify them, afraid Nichole will suffer the same fate if she knows. You treat it as a curse. It takes some effort on your side to convince your friend you’ll be fine. She leaves, albeit reluctantly, only because you’ve promised to call her if anything happens. You almost kick her out, so she won’t be late for work. She only came by to retrieve her charger she left when she spent time with you yesterday.

You can’t decide if you’re glad or not that she doesn’t live with you. The two of you roomed together after graduating college, but as soon as Nichole nabbed a boyfriend, you wanted out. You wouldn’t mind sharing a living space with them if it came down to it; Victor was good and played the older brother you never had. You just don’t want to invade their relationship. Nichole took it hard. According to her, you came first before Victor, but you know how much she loves him.

Your random thoughts skid to a halt when you return to your bedroom and zero your attention onto the candle still on your nightstand. Burned only halfway through. In a bout of boiling rage and terror, you swipe it away. It hits the wall and cracks in two. Nothing makes sense. Are you going insane? Are you being haunted? You’ve never had any reason to believe in the supernatural in the past, but that idea is becoming more likely. This is out of your league. Tears shed again. For a moment, you think a salted globule has been wiped away by a finger.

That evening, you force yourself into a tub of scalding, sudsy water, attempting anything to ease your mind, because you still believe it’s all part of your imagination. You shut away the world, focusing on the rhythmic strokes of the bath loofah dragging along your limbs. Some time during the process, ghostly hands join in. You stop, and it stops.

It’s fake, it’s just fake, you chant, scrubbing harder until your skin becomes red.

When you dream this night, the apparition is there. This time, he disappears. Alarmed, you seek for him, afraid he might harm you. Just as sudden, he reemerges behind you. You buck, but he holds you steady.

“Please, don’t hurt me!” you cry.

“Hurt you?” he whispers, a wispy sort of sound with an echoing quality. He constricts his embrace harder, eliciting a grunt. “You’ve already done that to yourself,” he continues, attesting the statement by soothing touches down your scrubbed raw arms.

If you weren’t so afraid, you might have thought he was genuinely worried for you. The sweet wickedness in his words is nothing short of mockery.

“No, I have far more different intents for you.”

One moment, you’re in his arms, another moment, you’re being thrown to the floor. You can’t feel pain, just the pressure. Regardless, you become dazed by the impact. The figure looms over you with an unseen smile. You don’t have the chance to scramble away, losing that opportunity by hesitating. He pounces on you, and you fight.

“Shh, I won’t hurt you.” He testifies by caressing you with the touch of a lover.

You wake up in a sweat, gasping, and unable to forget the gentleness of his gestures.

The dreams persist, becoming more and more vivid until you can no longer tell reality and dream apart. Not before long, they intensify to actual phantom touches out of dreamland but strictly after the sky is dark (he never makes an appearance until then). The second time he touches you while you’re awake and aware of your surroundings, you’re doing laundry. His hands cup your waist, pressing his fingers just so you can see invisible prints of his touch crinkling your shirt. He leaves, but not before kissing your shoulder.

You call an exorcist; he fails to find the smallest traces of any paranormal activities, although he blesses you with a prayer before taking leave. The words spill in one ear and out the other. The second exorcist concludes with the same results as the first.

“Don’t make me leave,” he whispers after you bid the exorcist goodbye.

You whirl on him, and any nasty words you want to spit dissolves at discovering his invading proximity. Your breath hits against his flat face, echoing the warmth back to you.

“Oh, don’t be afraid. Haven’t we met before, once upon a dream?”

You grow stiff hearing the quote from Sleeping Beauty you watched yesterday. “Why are you doing this to me?” you ask in a brittle voice, brimming with mental exhaustion and anguish, because you’ve given up.

He falters from the question, sensing the loss of fight within you. “I’m alone, so alone. I have nothing and no one,” he drifts around you in a melancholic circle, like a drapery shifting in murky waters, “I don’t remember who I am, but I know I’ve done evil, which makes me what I am. I suppose not all of it has withered away. I won’t deny that I find it thrilling to torment you. Your fear is exhilarating and so delicious.”

You can’t see the twisted smile he grants you, but you feel it there, and it makes you weep.

“However,” he swoops down to gather you into his phantom arms, somehow carrying you into the air, the shadow cloak wrapping around and pulling you further into the being, “your tears also make me sad,” he says, streaking the wetness away with his own cheek. “Why is that? Why does your pain please me and hurt me all at once? Tell me.”

You struggle uselessly in his strangely comforting arms. “I don’t know,” you say, feet kicking above the floor. “Please, put me down.” You strain your face away when he tries to wipe your tears again.

His chest heaves, as if he’s huffed with resignation. “Fine.”

In a whirlwind of blurred colors, the phantom whisks the both of you to the living room in a mere blink. It takes you a second to regain your bearings, a spell of dizziness disarming you. You come eye-to-eye with the hooded face and come to realize you’re on your feet but still trapped in his arms. You try wrestling free from his impossible grip.

“Don’t push me away. You’ve been enjoying your dreams so far, and this isn’t any different,” he says against your temple. You will never understand how he can speak without a mouth.

Shame burns your face. “You’ve been forcing them on me! I can’t help what my body reacts to. If you hit me, I can’t pretend it doesn’t hurt,” you grit out, wincing from the tightness of his constricting embrace.

“I know, I know it all. Stop closing yourself from me—”

Both of you freeze at the startling sound of the front door opening. You’re about to scream for Nichole, but the apparition vanishes into nothing. Said friend stumbles through the front door and pauses.

“Are you okay?” she asks, walking to you.

“Yeah, just, I thought I saw a mouse,” you lie.

Her face scrunches up. “You better call for extermination just in case. Anyway, I know I should have sent you a text beforehand, but wanna grab a drink?”

You agree. On your way out the door, his hand briefly clutches for yours, tracing a sardonic plea into your knuckles.

Don’t leave.

You rip your hand loose, shut the door, and walk away. You crash over at Nichole and Victor’s and remember what it means to laugh and have fun. You spend the following day with them and return home much later that night, although reluctantly. Your heart stops when you notice the door is ajar.

He wouldn’t be able to escape, would he? Regardless, you ease your way into your apartment. Nothing seems out of the ordinary, except some things have been moved. You tiptoe to your bedroom and flick the light on. You gasp when the phantom comes into view right in the middle of your room. He turns around from his rummaging through your draws, and he’s not the ghost. The stranger is dressed in black, hauling a backpack, and wielding a knife that glints at your eye.

You jolt to action when he growls and sprints for you. He’s quick, snatching at your hair and jerking you around to a stop. A shrill cry burns your throat, forcing the man to flinch.

“Shut up—”

His poised knife never makes it into your flesh; no, instead, a ghostly hand spears through the man’s chest. There is no blood, for there isn’t a wound in sight, but his life is gone regardless. You watch the hand wrench away from the body, ripping away a black mass with identical qualities as the phantom with it. That’s when you glance toward your unlikely savior who has been taunting you. You are wrong to believe he was terrifying before: he is the epitome of hatred and fury. He’s blacker than black, heaving like a beast, and, to your shock, there are red eyes as the only visible feature within the swirling darkness of the hood. The slits heighten the staggering aura wafting from him, and you curl within yourself.

“Begone.” The single word is pure venom.

He squeezes the blackness in his hand until it falls apart in smoky ribbons, hits the floor and dissipates to nothing. You watch in horror as the body materializes away in the same manner, leaving the clothes and items behind as the only evidence of the man ever existing. The dark figure suddenly roars his anger out, a simultaneous ear-splitting slice and rumbling bellow that sparks your electricity dead, leaving you in the dark, which is beginning to become a familiar setting.

You wait, anxious and wondering if he will finally kill you. You’re wild when his arms vine around you, cradling you into his ghostly form and lifting you from the floor. He’s now frighteningly serene, acting like he wasn’t furious just seconds ago. In the dimness, the phantom is more solid than ever before, neither constricting his arms nor releasing you. He hums a tuneless lullaby, shushing into your ear until you still.

“Hush now, you’re safe.”

The adrenaline leaks away, replaced with tears, in which your savior kisses away. You can’t decide what kind of relief it is that you cry from—is it relief that he’s saved you, relief that you’re alive, relief that he isn’t as evil as you assumed? Whatever reason it may be, this moment of cathartic release lightens your heart.

The clothes and knife are gone the following morning, and your belongings are stored to their rightful places. You aren’t as averse to the ghostly touches as your previously were, although it took you time to welcome them. He gives you peace throughout the day and even during your dreams. Sometimes he embraces you as you go about your nightly chores, adhering your body like your own cloak.

One night he brazenly slips into bed with you, intimately pressing against your back. You fidget in his hold. You’ve built a strange trust with this supernatural being and you don’t want to go back to cowering from it.

“Stop,” you whisper, pulling at his hands that have found way around you and are tracing circles into your arms.

“Why?” You have no answer, so he resumes his loving strokes. “Haven’t I been patient enough? Kind enough?”

“Why are you even doing this, why me?” That makes him pause.

“Even I surprise myself. My kind are as old as the earth, meant to exist as creatures of evil. Yet the longer I persisted my game with you, the faster my resolve crumbled away. Do you have any sense as to how wrathful I was seeing that foul human attempt to hurt you? I thought to let him be, let him destroy himself from his own deeds, and then you waltzed in.” He turns you to face him. “I suddenly couldn’t bear to see you turn into a lost spirit. Perhaps I was jealous, perhaps I wanted to turn you myself, but then I can never feel your warmth again.”

You recoil, thinking yourself an idiot for believing he might harbor the tiniest sliver of good in him. He keeps you still when you begin to escape, planting his forehead to yours, his hood tickling your hairline.

“I tired of haunting and torturing the evil humans, so I thought to play with someone whose soul wasn’t as black. I settled for you by chance. Before I could stop myself, a drop of your goodness tainted me, leaving me impure. I am no longer wholly evil. Now I understand why my kind despised and cowered from the light, not only because it could destroy us to nothing, but because it would save us, and we evil wraiths are not meant to be anything but. What have you done to me?”

You can say nothing, only breathe and stare into red eyes. They make rare appearances, but when they do, you can’t help but imagine them as garnets. You can only think of one question.

“What’s your name?”

He doesn’t speak for a moment, whether from hesitation or contemplation. “Gasouel, call me Gasouel.”

*✧🌙✧*

“Have you always liked your apartment this cold?” Nichole asks, shivering as she does so.

You hardly notice the temperature now. You only shrug in response, cleverly placing a drink in front of your friend to distract her.

“Any colder and you might turn this place into a freezer,” Victor laughs good-naturedly, while patting your shoulder and giving you a playful shake.

You open your mouth to quip a remark but freeze when Gasouel appears behind Victor and phases through the unsuspecting man. A violent shudder rakes through his body.

“Fuck, that was a bad one,” he mumbles, shoving his hands into his pockets before making his way to cuddle next to his girlfriend currently swathed in one of your spare blankets.

You toss a glare to the wraith who is quite unapologetic.

Later that night when the clock hits midnight, you lecture the idle wraith.

“I told you to leave them alone,” you hiss.

He grabs your face and rubs his forehead on yours. “I would never hurt them; I know how much you care for them.”

It’s a bit odd to see him jealous. You suppose it will just be another facet to accommodate to, along with his affectionate inclinations. A couple months have passed by since the day he saved you. You still have trouble overcoming the disappearance of the burglar. While you never even touched the man, you know you’ve played an indirect part in his death. After all, Gasouel had killed him for your sake. If not for you, he’d still be alive. Although, recently, you find it hard to pity the man. In fact, while your ghostly companion did destroy his soul, it saved him from suffering the fate of becoming a wraith and saved the world from the existence of another dark creature.

That aside, you’re convinced Gasouel will leave one of these days, either from boredom or in fear of losing his entire purpose as a being of evil. If he stays long enough, you wonder what will happen to him when you’re gone.

“What are you thinking?” His question brings you back to the present.

“It’s…nothing,” you say, extracting yourself from him.

Displeased, he flies to stop you from walking away. “You can tell me,” and he pairs this with a kiss to the corner of your mouth.

You still shy away from any affections, not having such devout attention since your last relationship, which was well over two years ago. Gasouel knows this, too, spurring his efforts.

“Come now, don’t be shy,” he whispers, hugging you close.

You relent. “Will you ever leave me?” Immediately, you regret your choice of words—you sound desperate for him to stay.

“Do you want me to?” he asks, more amused than troubled.

“I don’t know—”

He chuckles. “That’s enough for reconsideration.”

And you blush. If you want him to leave, you wouldn’t be unsure. Even the smallest amount of hesitation is proof that you do want him to stay, regardless how insignificant that wish is now.

“I was afraid of you for a long time, and then you saved me. You’ve proved to be good, even if that only pertains to me. I won’t lie, I’ve come to enjoy you being with me, whatever this is. But how long are you going to stay? I know for a fact you wouldn’t want to stay forever.”

“And if I want to stay forever?”

You laugh a humorless huff. “I won’t live that long.”

“You think I would be sad if I stayed and watched you grow until your death?”

“I—I’m not implying that—”

“You are,” but you can hear the smile in his words, an impish one at that.

Growing frustrated, you cut to the point, not wanting to suffer a bout of taunting from him. “What I mean to say is, you’re wasting your time with me. There’s no point in staying with someone who will just ruin what you’re supposed to be.”

“You want me to continue my villainous deeds?”

“Damn it, Gasouel, no! I just…I don’t really know what I’m trying to say anymore.” You turn to leave but are swept into his arms before even taking a step.

“I have wasted centuries wandering and tormenting. I would stay with you whether it meant the end of my existence or not; I would rather stay and lose you than not having stayed at all. Don’t you have any hope that I have a chance of dying with you?”

You laugh. “Who would have known you could be such a romantic?”

“Is it so bad?”

“No.”

“Is it so bad that I stay, regardless what may happen?”

He makes you look into his eyes. It never occurs to you that he may be tired, and he’s only just realized because of you. “No,” you say.

“Then I’ll stay right where I am.”

*✧🌙✧*

When Nichole asks if you’ll ever date again, you merely shrug, glancing at Gasouel who lazily circles you as you slice some vegetables. You’ve grown used to his invasion. Victor makes some teasing remark you can’t even remember because you must hold onto the wraith’s cloak to prevent him from maiming the poor man’s soul. Gasouel still hasn’t warmed up to Victor.

You don’t think dating will prove to be wise, not with your embarrassing attraction for your ghostly companion that grows by the day and not with Gasouel’s possessive streak charging out when a man sends any form of flirtation your way (yes, you discover he can roam outside your apartment during the nights). You think it’s impossible to pursue a relationship with him, so you might have to convince him to back down when you go soul searching. He doesn’t ever give you the chance to consider another human partner, he doesn’t even give you a chance to approach him about the subject for that matter.

You don’t recall how it happens, but one moment you’re debating taking on a coffee date with one of the new tenants a few doors down (he’s rather cute) and the next, as soon as you step inside your apartment, you’re being cornered.

“Have you become my tormentor now?” Gasouel hisses, hovering close in all his furious glory of red eyes and billowing cloak, yet he doesn’t touch you.

You shrink away, not from fear but from the intensity of his emotions. “W-what?”

“You think I haven’t noticed, did you? You couldn’t be more obvious with your blatant staring and the longing on your pretty face. I suppose I am at fault for depriving you any human partners, but why settle for that when you have me?”

Your face burns. He’s known all along.

Despite the mischievous tone, you can tell he’s been playing the patient predator. For how long, you don’t know. Before you can get a word in, he yanks you into his arms. You watch with fascination as he molds himself a mouth. He doesn’t waste time to finally, finally kiss you. It’s everything fervent and heartfelt, and it leaves you unable to stand. Gasouel’s touch isn’t anything new, but unlike before, they can’t even compare to the strength and desperation of his hands now. That night, you release yourself from any inhibitions and give in to him.

Come morning, he’s still there. One taste and he can’t seem to have enough. At one point, the reality and insanity of it all makes you laugh while he makes you see stars. He doesn’t find it as funny as you do, all too consumed with absorbing your warmth and listening to your blood pound underneath his ears. When you realize you love him, it’s the exact moment when he stops for a second to look far into your eyes. He must realize it, too, because his intent slows to a tender passion. He moves with deliberation, wanting to memorize this moment and every part of it. The two of you are closer than ever, not an inch of space existing between your bodies as he lays atop you. Of all the nights you have spent with him, this particular night brings you to overjoyed tears.

Nichole notices a difference about you. You smile because he kisses your cheek, unseen by the woman. Mom initially worries about your lack of boyfriend, translating to the lack of a husband, but if you’re content then she is (although, she would really want to see some grandchildren running around and to spoil rotten). When Nichole marries Victor, not once are you envious. You catch the bouquet and laugh. Gasouel makes love to you the same night, absently tracing your ring finger in the afterglow. The passionate nights eventually stop, but you hardly mind. Being with him is more than enough. He still holds you every night while you sleep, even as you lay in the crisp whiteness of a hospital bed at the age of eighty. He tells you he loves you while the sun is high. His existence doesn’t even waver in the light. You return the words and close your eyes just for a moment. A warm hand touches your cheek, and when you open your eyes, you see a man.

“I always knew you were handsome,” you say.

He laughs, and his smile is exactly as you imagined.

*✧🌙✧*

fin.

*✧🌙✧*

thoughts:

i came up with the brilliant idea to format my posts as if i were writing a field guide to mythical creatures i encounter! that aside, the last half of this piece is fairly censored, thus some ideas have been changed accordingly. i hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless.

resources:

monster masterlist by thespelia

encyclopedia of monsters by thespelia

#terato #exophilia #monsters #monster love #monster romance #monster boyfriend #horror #romance #fear to love #wraith #oc: gasouel #writing

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papermoonloveslucy · 4 years

Text

ORSON WELLES RADIO ALMANAC

March 9, 1944

“Orson Welles Almanac” (1944) is a CBS Radio series directed and hosted by Orson Welles. Broadcast live in California and Arizona via CBS West Coast studios, the 30-minute program was heard Wednesdays at 9:30pm beginning January 26, 1944. Its last broadcast was July 19, 1944. Orson Welles Almanac presented readings from classic works, drama, music, sketch comedy, magic, mindreading, and personal commentary by Welles. Many of the shows originated from US Army camps where Welles entertained the troops. Welles had an ongoing battle with the program's sponsor, Mobil Oil, which shortened the life of the series. Twenty six broadcasts were produced; all but four shows have survived.

This is the seventh episode of the series, aired on March 9, 1944. Previous guests were Groucho Marx, Lionel Barrymore, Ann Sothern, Robert Benchley, Hedda Hopper, and Victor Moore. Lucille Ball would return to the series to guest star on May 3, 1944. Unfortunately, this is one of the four lost episodes.

CAST

Lucille Ball (Guest Star) was then filming Ziegfeld Follies for release in 1945. Her films Best Foot Forward and Thousands Cheer (both released in 1943) were then in local cinemas. Ball was in her fourth year of a rocky marriage to Desi Arnaz, who she would divorce in September 1944, although the papers were never officially filed. The week prior to this broadcast, Ball guest starred on Bing Crosby’s radio show “Music Hall”.

Orson Welles arrived in Hollywood in 1939 when Ball was a contract player at RKO Studios. To squelch rumors that he was a homosexual, the studio sent Lucy to escort him to a premiere to be photographed. He later recalled,

“We went to see the opening of some movie or other—I simply picked her up at her house and we went to the movie and got photographed and came home and I said ‘Good night,’ and that was the end of that. That was the end of that romance, but it was the beginning of a long friendship.”

A veteran of the theatre, in 1941 the actor / director completed his magnum opus film Citizen Kane. In the 1950s he was under contract to Desilu to film a pilot for an anthology series called “The Fountain of Youth,” which wasn’t aired until 1958 and did not result in a series. Despite that, it won a Peabody Award, the only pilot to ever do so.

On February 5, 1956 Lucy and Desi appeared with Welles on Ed Sullivan’s “Toast of the Town.” They were there to promote their film Forever Darling. Welles was there to promote his revival of his King Lear at New York’s City Center, which he initially performed in a wheelchair due to injuries to both ankles. By the time he performed it on “Toast of the Town” (aka “The Ed Sullivan Show”) Welles was using a crutch.

When the Oscar-winning actor and director was down on his luck he was invited to stay in the Arnaz guest cottage. Notorious for his drinking and rude behavior, Lucy had to find a way to politely get rid of her guest so she decided to have an episode of “I Love Lucy” written for him so she could pay him a salary. With that in mind, Desilu paid him the exorbitant sum of $15,000! Ball’s memories of Welles were mixed. “I had a real love-hate relationship with Orson,” she said towards the end of her life. “His mind was awesome…but he was also a pain in the ass.”

At the time of this broadcast (March 8, 1944) Welles’ film Jane Eyre was playing in cinemas.

Ella Mae Morse (Musical Guest) was signed by Jimmy Dorsey at the age of 14 (she lied about her age and said she was 19) and was subsequently fired after discovering the truth about her age. Her recording of "Cow Cow Boogie" was the first million-selling single for Capitol Records in 1942. Her biggest hit was "The Blacksmith Blues" released in February 1952. The song she sings here, “Shoo-Shoo Baby” (written by Phil Moore), would be heard in the about-to-be-released film South of Dixie in which she played Barbara Ann Morgan.

Agnes Moorehead (Prudence Pratt / Miss Grimace / Swoon Club Girl) was a member of Welles’ Mercury Theatre on stage and radio as well as starring in Welles’ films Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons. She is best remembered as Endora, Samantha’s mother-in-law on TV’s “Bewitched”.

Hans Conried (Colonel Peabristle / Hotel Operator / Frenchman / Dr. Snake Oil / Flat Top) first co-starred with Lucille Ball in The Big Street (1942). After being a recurring guest on her radio show “My Favorite Husband” (1948-51), he appeared on “I Love Lucy” as used furniture man Dan Jenkins in “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8) and later that same season as Percy Livermore in “Lucy Hires an English Tutor” (ILL S2;E13) – both in 1952. The following year he began an association with Disney by voicing Captain Hook in Peter Pan. On “The Lucy Show” he played Professor Gitterman in “Lucy’s Barbershop Quartet” (TLS S1;E19) and in “Lucy Plays Cleopatra” (TLS S2;E1). He was probably best known as Uncle Tonoose on “Make Room for Daddy” starring Danny Thomas, which was filmed on the Desilu lot. He joined Thomas on a season 6 episode of “Here’s Lucy” in 1973.

The All-Star Jazz Group: Mutt Carey (trumpet), Kid Ory (trombone), Jimmy Noone (clarinet), Buster Wilson (piano), Bud Scott (guitar), Ed Garland (bass), and Zutty Singleton (drums).

John McIntire (Announcer)

EPISODE

Orson Welles introduces the episode, opening with a Household Hint by Prudence Pratt and a Wonders of Science fact by Colonel Peabristle. After the opening music and Mobil Oil sponsorship message, Welles summons his secretary Miss Grimace to tell him who is on the show tonight. She reports that it is Miss Lucille Ball, although she hasn’t arrived yet. Welles says she is filing her tax forms.

WELLES: “Can you imagine. The Government wants Lucille Ball to fill in HER form!”

Miss Grimace admits the three members of The Orson Welles Swoon Club. Welles interrogates them as to their whereabouts during his public appearances. He wants new members, promising them nylons.

Oops! Welles mis-reads the script, saying “nylon baby socks” instead of “nylon bobby sox”. He corrects himself with a laugh and says “For me, it’s booby socks!” Bobby soxer is a term for the wildly enthusiastic, teenage female fans of 1940s music, particularly Frank Sinatra.

Orson wants to know if they have gotten the new photographs he sent them. One of the Swoon Club compliments him on how he looks in his sarong - mistaking him for Dororthy Lamour in a Bob Hope / Bing Crosby picture.

Dorothy Lamour was nicknamed ‘The Sarong Girl’. In 1936 she donned her soon-to-be-famous sarong for her debut at Paramount, The Jungle Princess (1936), and continued to play similar parts through the war years and beyond. The most famous of these was in the popular Bob Hope / Bing Crosby "Road" pictures - a combination of adventure, music, and slapstick.

The Swoon Club feel sorry for Orson that he hasn’t won an Oscar, so they knit him a tie - which started out as a pair of socks.He dismisses the club.

When the 16th Academy Awards were distributed at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Thursday, March 2, 1944, neither of Welles’ 1943 motion pictures were among the nominees: Jane Eyre and Journey Into Fear, which he also co-directed and co-wrote. Welles shared a 1942 Oscar with Herman Mankiewicz for writing Citizen Kane, a bone of contention between them, since Mankiewicz later claimed he wrote the entire script. The backstory is explored in the modern film Mank (2020).

Miss Grimace reports that the Hotel Carlton is suing him. After he did a magic show there, the two rabbits ran rampant and did damage! Orson calls the hotel operator (Hans Conried) and learns that the hotel is now called the Carlton Rabbit Farm and the manager’s eyes have turned pink! Welles asks Miss Grimace to send Lucille Ball roses. Miss Grimace says they are too expensive and he should send her something simpler, like phoenicia vulgaris. Welles says no because it sounds too dirty.

Here Welles ad libs, causing Agnes Moorehead to break character and laugh. He mentions Lewis Titterton, the NBC censor and says “If you had a name like Louis Titterton anything would sound dirty. Let’s get back to the script.” They try, but it takes a moment for their laughter to subside.

A Frenchman from a reducing salon (Hans Conried) approaches him for an estimate on a new body. He measures Welles’ body with a tape measure. He was once the girdle coordinator at Bullocks basement for 15 years.

FRENCHMAN: “If a size 44 tries to get into a 38, I help push!”

Announcer John McIntire does a live commercial for Mobilgas with some driving tips.

PART 2

Before a musical introduction, Dr. Snake Oil (Hans Conried) gives a tip about dislodging a fishbone caught in the throat.

The All-Star Jazz Group plays "Bésame Mucho" ("Kiss me a lot"), a song written in 1940 by Consuelo Velázquez. It is now considered one of the most popular songs of the 20th century and of all times. It is also the most recorded and covered song in Spanish of all time.

Welles welcomes Lucille Ball to the show to studio audience applause. Welles says he’s written a sketch full of romantic love scenes. Orson improvs a commercial for a sponsor Krunchies, a noisy breakfast cereal that gets soggy in milk. He introduces...

“THE CASE OF THE BLUE BLOOD STAIN”

Orson plays Mickey, a detective on his night off, reading the evening paper. Lucy plays his adoring wife, Dora.

DORA: “Mickey, where were you last night?” MICKEY: “Don’t be silly, you know how I feel about you. You’re the eighth wonder of the world.” DORA: “Yeah, well, just don’t let me catch you with the other seven, bub!”

Lounging in bed, Dora feels a cold hand which doesn’t belong to Mickey. She screams! There’s a dead man in their bed.

MICKEY: “You know how difficult it is to find a room these days.”

Detective Mickey notes that the dead man has 18 knife wounds in him and no holes in his shirt.

DORA: “Must have been an inside job.”

They push the body off the bed and decide to turn out the lights and go to sleep. In the darkness, they hear a squeaky door.

WELLES (aside): “Fine thing, a squeaky door in an oil program!”

The audience loudly applauds this ad-lib by Welles, and even Lucy chuckles.

Dora insists there’s someone in the closet. A body falls out of the closet and onto the floor with a loud thud. Someone throws a rock through their bedroom window with a note on it.

Except the sound effect of broken glass does not happen. Welles laughs a bit but forges ahead.

MICKEY (reading the note): “Keep your mouth shut and throw a thousand dollars out of the window or you’ll never get another sounds effect...no, excuse me... or they’ll be four bodies in your room.”

Another rock comes through the window - with a sound effect this time!

MICKEY (reading the note): "PS: I’ll settle for $950.”

A knock at the front door.

MICKEY: “That must be the murderer. Come in! I’ll take that line again: That must be the murderer. Come in!”

The man, Flat Top (Hans Conried), pulls a gun on them and threatens to shoot.

DORA: “Where’s your patriotism? You can’t shoot him. Don’t you know the government is trying to save waste fats?”

During World War II, the US government urged Americans to save excess fat rendered from cooking and donate it to the army to produce explosives. Fats are used to make glycerin, and glycerin is used to make things blow up.

As gunfire rings out, Welles does a Krunchies commercial, extolling their virtues with strawberries and cream.

WELLES: “You can have strawberries and cream. What do you need Krunchies for?”

Mickey is bleeding. During the commercial, Mickey has hit Flat Top on the head and called the police!

John McIntire does a commercial for Mobil Oil. He urges motorists to keep their car oil clean to avoid repairs.

PART THREE

Welles introduces Ella Mae Morse, who sings “Shoo-Shoo Baby” backed by the All-Star Jazz Group.

The song was also heard in the 1944 film Follow The Boys aka Three Cheers for the Boys sung by the Andrews Sisters.

Welles then takes a serious tone, dedicating the show to the premise that ‘every man belongs to all men.’ He reads from “Meditation 17″ by John Donne (1572-1631).

Nunc Lento Sonitu Dicunt, Morieris. Now this bell, tolling softly for another, says to me, Thou must die.

All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated; God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another. And therefore the bell that rings to a sermon calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come, so this bell calls us all; Who bends not his ear to any bell which upon any occasion rings? But who can remove it from that bell which is passing a piece of himself out of this world?

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Welles bids the audience goodnight.

#Orson Welles #Lucille Ball #1944 #Hans Conried #John Donne #Ella Mae Morse #Agnes Moorehead #Besame Mucho #Shoo-Shoo Baby #John McIntire #CBS Radio #Dorothy Lamour #Mobil Oil

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rdmfavcpls · 7 years

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Date Chapter 4 - Horror Animes

Story: Date

Category: Digimon

Pairing: Ami/Arata past Arata/Marippe

Rating: T

Summary: Nokia likes to imagine herself as a matchmaker, thanks to some well-time words, she got Yuuko and Fei together. They were easy. She didn’t have to worry about herself because Yasu was her boyfriend, Sakura finally got with Ryota. Yuugo was more focused on his therapy, so that just leaves Ami and Arata. Her toughest assignment.

Author’s Note: This story is dedicated to the fanfiction user Samrit for being the amazing reviewer on fanfiction for my Ami and Arata stories. I hope this matches up to your expectations.

Disclaimer: I do not owe any rights to the franchise.

Prologue/Chapter 1 - http://rdmfavcpls.tumblr.com/post/165453977177/date-chapter-1

Chapter 2 - http://rdmfavcpls.tumblr.com/post/165664175752/date-chapter-2-double-date

Chapter 3 - http://rdmfavcpls.tumblr.com/post/166734802492/date-chapter-3-picinic

~~Story Begins~~

Chapter 3 - Horror Animes

Nokia could see that Arata was getting jealous over other males giving Ami attention, but she thinks Arata is still trying to figure out his own emotions so she just leaves her two friends alone. Especially since she has more important things to consider. A horror movie event with everyone before Ami leaves for a month.

“So, two days before Ami leaves,” Nokia or Akkino said in their group chat, “We are meeting up at Ami’s apartment to watch horror movies until the next day.”

“Why horror?” a bee avatar called Streetgurl asked.

“So when we get scared, we could snuggle our dearies,” Akkino responded, her candy head shaking back and forth.

A nautilus shell spoke next, “What if we don’t have a dearie?”

AI@BA spoke, “I have plenty of pillows and blankets we can use.” Her avatar giggled, “To further showcase our loneliness.”

The shell known as Sl33p3r let out a sigh. “I don’t know why, but that sounds really reassuring coming from you.”

An onigiri head avatar spoke, “It’s a very Ami response. Ami responses makes people feel warm and fluffy, not fuzzing, fluffy.”

Blue Box got them back on topic, “They aren’t movies, per say, but I do have some horror animes, the complete series of them.”

Akkino commented, “That doesn’t surprise me...geek.”

The dog avatar barked at them, “It’s a great idea!”

Munchies the onigiri spoke, “It is?”

The dog, Shiba, was typing when AI@BA made a comment, “How many horror animes are out on disc?”

“I don’t know,” Blue Box responded the avatar's eyebrow arched. “Why?”

“That was a weird question” Streetgurl commented, the bee buzzing around.

“I’ve seen all horror movies in Japan, both old and new, so I was just wondering,” AI@BA said.

“Are you a horror junkie?” Sl33p3r asked.

“Yep!” AI@BA spoke jumping up and down. “Dark Mist is the only that can creep me out and make jump.”

“Horror movies are more date-worthy dates than horror anime,” Shiba said. “So horror animes is a great idea!”

“Fine, we’ll go with BB’s anime collection,” Akkino spoke. “AI@BA you’ll be in charge of all the food.”

“No problem!!” AI@BA said.

“The rest of us had better bring a lot of caffeinated drinks!” Akkino said. “That’s it! Meeting adjourned.”

AI@BA was the first one logged off, closed the lid of her computer, and stretched against the table at K-Cafe, a bright smile on her face. She put the computer in her bag before a voice spoke, “You are way too soft-hearted.”

She looked over at Arata who was partially glaring at her, “Because I agreed to be in charge of the food?”

“Yeah, I mean, there’s seven of us and-”

“They have this wonderful thing in stores known as oven-ready pizzas,” Ami said. “I think fourteen large pizzas should do the trick, put two in the oven, set the timer, and DING! They are done.”

Arata’s shoulders shook as he held back a chuckle. “Clever, but what about snacks?”

“Buy a couple of mixed bags of candy, some pizza bites, and large boxes of popcorn,” Ami replied with a bright smile.

Arata let out a chuckle, he couldn’t keep it in. “It sounds like you have done this before,” Arata commented.

“I have on shorter notices,” Ami said. “Trust me, having Takumi has a cousin has caused me to think quickly. Do you have any idea how many parties that man has planned and forgot about food until fifteen minutes before the party?”

“No and I really don’t think I want too. Hey, isn’t Dark Mist a recent horror movie?”

“Yeah, made in 03, first horror movie my mom allowed me to see,” Ami said. “Want to watch it?”

“Not really, I’ll stick to my animes,” he said with a grumble playfully.

“Arata…”

“Hmm?”

“You seem happier now.”

Arata looked at Ami, “Do I now? Must be because Mari got the hint. Or it could be the fact that I am going to be slowly making my friends become otakus with me.”

Ami laughed, “We'll see.”

It was just starting the second day of watching the horror animes, 1:44 in the morning, to be exact, when Arata felt Ami shift on the couch as they started a five episode series. They were the last two awake, Yasu being the last to fall asleep thirty minutes ago.

He looked over at her as they second episode started playing. “Scared?” he whispered teasing her.

“Yes! Congratulations, you have converted me to a horror otaku,” she whispered back. “Please don’t tell me that the delinquent dies.”

Arata looked back at the TV, seeing which character she’s referring too. “I won’t tell that he lives or dies. That would be a spoiler.”

“But I need to know so I know if I need to look away,” Ami whined staring at Arata.

“Still ain’t talking,” Arata responded enjoying the fact that Ami is sitting closer to him. Her pillow on the other side of the couch, forgotten. He can feel her arm’s body heat on his arm and he secretly longs for more contact.

“I hope you know you have created a monster in me,” Ami said now referring to her love of horror animes.

Arata chuckled lightly, “You aren’t paying attention to the show.”

The two watched in silence the series and upon the scene in the fourth episode, Ami grabbed onto Arata’s shoulder, surprising him. He looked over at her to see her face buried in his shoulder, one blue eye still open to watch the episode.

“No, why do they die? Why is all the good characters dying?” Ami asked whispering as she closed her eyes hearing the screams of her favorite character dying.

Arata looked at her and shook his head. She really is too cute sometimes. “Hey, look at me,” he said gently. Ami shook her head. “Ami, please.” She looked up at him as the ending credits played. “You can save him in the games.”

“There’s games of this series?” Ami asked.

Arata nodded, “This anime and their magna are based off of their games. Since you just so happen to be a horror junkie, I’ll get the games for you, okay?”

“No, that’s alright,” Ami said knowing how expensive they could be and than the sudden realization that she was clinging onto his arm came to her. She backed away quickly. “Sorry, I didn’t know I was doing that!”

Arata went to go make a comment, to tell her he was fine with it, but she was already holding onto her pillow. “I’m surprised you lasted this long,” he teased.

“Shut up, I don’t even know why I did it or when I did it,” Ami said. She hid her face in the pillow as the last episode started to play, hiding her blush. She’s still waiting for him to heal from his previous relationship before she sees if he’s interested in her.

If he’s not, than Ami will give Nokia free reigns to her non existent dating life. Nothing ventured, nothing gained works well as a detective motto, but not a ‘possibly going to date one of your best friends’ motto.

Late the next morning, their friends woke up and rubbed their eyes. They looked over at the couch to see Arata asleep and Ami nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s GM?” Yasu asked quietly. “What time did they even fall asleep?”

“They must have been the last ones awake,” Yuugo said yawning as the apartment door open.

“I brought coffee!!!” Ami said with a tired hype as she entered her apartment.

Nokia looked at her friend, “What time did you fall asleep?”

“Around 4:00 in the morning, I received a call at 5:30 and haven’t been back to bed,” Ami replied as she handed out the coffee. “I don’t know what time Arata fell asleep.”

“Thanks for the coffee,” Yuuko spoke grabbing the offered cup. “We’ll get our things and leave so you two can sleep.”

“You don’t have to worry about it,” Ami said with a smile. “Arata can sleep through anything.”

“Oh?” Fei questioned.. “How do you know this?”

“We’ve had sleepovers before,” Nokia explained. “He’s a pain to wake up.”

“And I still need to pack so I won’t be doing any sleeping soon,” Ami said.

They left her apartment and around noon, Arata was still asleep on the couch. Ami placed a blanket over him, like she did with all of her friends last night. She than went to her bedroom and started to pack, this way, she’ll have one day to double-check if everything is there and if she is forgetting anything.

Arata woke up in the afternoon, a frown on his face as he wasn’t met with flaming red hair. He knows he should feel guilty for repositioning Ami so he could hold her as she slept but she was whimpering and her body was shaking. She was pleading with someone in her sleep to take her, not him. Whoever this him is. She relaxed and calmed down when he touched her shoulder since he was going to wake her, to ask her what was wrong, than she mumbled an apology to him by his name. So, he had her laying against his chest, whispering, comforting words of ‘it’s alright’ and ‘it’s okay’ to her while rubbing her back, Once she quieted down and her breathing was slow and even, changing his to match hers, he fell asleep, unsure of the time but sure it was around 4:30.

He sat up blinking as his tired mind caught up to his thoughts, it’s not that it's a new behavior to him. He’s done it before, but not to her. He looked around trying to find her and heard her voice out in the hallway, talking to one of her neighbors, explaining the noises and apologizing if they disturb them.

She was safe and near, that was all Arata cared about. He wants to ask about the nightmare, but she’s busy and he’s hungry for something other pizza. He also needs to avoid the coffee so he can go back to a regular sleeping schedule.

He entered the kitchen and sees some ramen made on the table in a bowl, steam rising from it as a paper with his name stood in front of it. A sign to let him know it was his to eat.

He breathed out a laugh, “You are really too soft-hearted.”

#Digimon #Digimon Story #Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth #Ami Aiba #Arata Sanada #arata x ami #Nokia x Yasu #yuuko x fei #nokia shiramine #Yasu #Yuuko Kamishiro #yuugo kamishiro #Fei

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xpeppermin · 8 years

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SERVAMP Festival Fanreport (2/5) (Noon)

Now that I’m finally back home I can reorganize my points and write the full report! Take note this report contains only the noon session. Night session can be found HERE. And since it will be made into a DVD (that will be released on 28th June), it will be considered spoilers if you are intending to get the DVD so you don’t have to read it if you don’t want to! My report may or may not be a little Kimura Ryohei/Greed pair-centric since I unconsciously focus on them most of the time.

I should also mention that it might not be 100% accurate as it is based off from memory, so sorry if I mess up! I’ll only write what I can remember. And also because I fail at English and suck at writing a report it probably turned out being messier than I thought it would be.......sorry.

It’ll get pretty lengthy so I’m placing everything under a cut!! ↓↓

☆CAST☆

Shirota Mahiru - Terashima Takuma (Terashii) Kuro - Kaji Yuki Alisuin Misono - Shimono Hiro Snow Lily - Horie Kazuma Sendagaya Tetsu - Ono Yuuki (Onoyuu) Hugh - Murase Ayumu Licht Jekylland Todoroki - Shimazaki Nobunaga (Zakki) Lawless (Hyde) - Kimura Ryohei Belkia - Matsuka Yoshitsugu Sakuya - Suzuki Yuuto Tsubaki - Suzuki Tatsuhisa (Tattsun)

I’m not sure how much the SERVAMP fans know about the cast but please refer to it if you aren’t already familiar with their names! (and nicknames since I will also be using the bracketed nicknames as well)

There will also be some seiyuu-related jokes, and references/mentions of other seiyuus in which I will explain too.

☆INSIDE THE VENUE☆

Pretty flower stands, present boxes (there wasn’t one for Tanaka-sensei so I had to drop the fanproject off at the airport’s post office yesterday), and just outside the entrance to the hall! Lol the Mikuni and Jeje standees freaked me out I thought they were going to be special guests for a moment :’D The pairs are standing in the position shown in the photo (Greed pair on extreme left) during the event.

☆EVENT REPORT☆ (NOON)

They kick started the event by playing a video with Deal With as the background music, and then introduced the pairs in order. So there were stairs on both the left and right side of the stage, and the Eves/Tsubaki entered from the left while Servamps/Subclasses from the right.

♡ I didn’t pay much attention when the Sloth pair appeared first lol I was staring at their outfits since Terashii and Kaji’s matched!!? Their jackets both had ribbons on the sides (Terashii’s in orange while Kaji’s in blue). I think they hugged when they settled down in the center though!

♡ Lust pair entered next and when they got down the stairs to the center, Horie started stripping half his jacket (like Lily) XD

♡ Pride pair followed, and I think Murase is afraid of heights!? He was gripping on the support and taking slow steps down and Onoyuu was already waiting for him in the center. He then piggybacked Murase to the front of the stage!!

♡ Greed pair next, and when they got to the center Zakki did Licht’s famous angel pose with Ryohei doing Lawless’s ‘tadaa!’ one.

♡ Melancholy entered last and when they got to the center, Tattsun hugged Matsuoka and Yuuto’s shoulders to the front.

♡ During the introduction, Zakki asked if we were angels or devils and he said if we weren’t angels he will make us into one XD

♡ Tattsun said there were a lot of potential people and intends to make us all into his subclass.

♡ Starting from Ryohei, some of them introduced themselves quoting Mahiru’s famous “putting it simply...” line XD (actually I dont remember if this was the noon or night session oops)

♡ Terashii was worried about having this cast gather for this event because he’s pretty sure it’s going to become chaotic...he said it was pretty chaotic even in the backstage so he apologized in advance LOL.

After the introduction, the staff had to set up seats and tables etc. so the host asked the cast to move forward a little more but they moved TOO forward and someone was saying it would be bad if they fell off the stage.

☆SCENE REMINISCE CORNER☆

So for the first corner, the casts picked their favorite scene of their own character.

♡ Matsuoka picks Belkia in episode 1 where he was first introduced. Matsuoka explains that because it left a deep depression and that he had a lot of fun voicing Belkia there. He also said that it’s partially because he had the most lines there :’D Kaji then said he loves Belkia’s “hey you” in that scene and would often appear behind matsuoka, put his hand on his shoulder and say that to him whenever they met during recording for Servamp LOL.

♡ Suzuki Yuuto picks the scene in episode 4 where Mahiru chased after Sakuya into the forest-y place and they reconfirmed their friendship.

♡ Horie picks Lily’s fight scene with Belkia. He says the main reason why he picked it was because Belkia was interesting/Matsuoka was amazing LOL. Though the real main reason why he picked it was because you normally don’t see Lily getting angry but when he failed to detect Otogiri and failed to protect Misono, he was angry with himself. ...though however Horie and Belkia jokes start from here XD

♡ Sloth pair both pcked the same scene in episode 9 where Mahiru finally faced Kuro and ‘helped’ him.

☆TSUBAKI’S LET’S TALK ABOUT SOMETHING INTERESTING CORNER☆

Second corner is “If it’s a YES, press the button”. For this corner, if the cast (individually) agrees on what is shown on the screen then they should press the button (it comes in the form of a wire with the button on the tip). The others will not know who pressed it but the number of people who pressed the button will be shown on the screen.

They did a test first and if “I’m a cast in Servamp”, they should press the button. Of course everyone pressed LOL.

First question was “I think I am more fitted as the protagonist”.

Ryohei and Tattsun pressed the button of course XD (Tattsun even held the button up and showed it to us while he continuously presses it pfff)

Second question was “I want to change my current partner”. I think there were 4 people who pressed it?

♡ Greed pair DEFINITELY did not press the button and we all knew that from the start because Ryohei (and Zakki followed) were freaking swinging and playing with the wire (hinting that their hands were not on the button at all) lol.

♡ Horie admitted that he pressed it first and says that it’s because he wants to try forming a pair with Belkia XD Matsuoka stands and bowed to thank him.

♡ Matsuoka then admits he actually pressed the button too and you could see a sad Tattsun LOL. And when the host asked who does he want to form a pair with, he blanked out and started thinking --which let to everyone asking him “you pressed it when you didn’t have one in mind!?” and then he said Lily. Horie then stood up, and went over to hug him awww.

♡ Murase said he believes their bond is strong enough so he believes Onoyuu wouldn’t press up but that’s when he admitted that he actually pressed it oops. He then jokingly said (bringing back the Belkia joke) he wants to form a pair with Belkia coz he’s interesting.

♡ Shimono finally admits that he pressed it which led to a sad Horie --and Shimono said to him “didn’t you press the button too!?” He then said it’s not because he doesn’t like Lily but more like the person behind Lily (Horie) gives him problems XD

Third question was “I have something I want to say to another cast”. ....I don’t remember who pressed it but Zakki and Kaji did.

♡ Zakki admitted that he did before standing up and apologizing to Kaji. He explains that it’s because he caught influenza the week before and at that time he wasn’t allowed to work even though his voice was perfectly normal so it was very frustrating. He then said he had about 3 schedules with Kaji and because he couldn’t work, he might’ve inconvenienced Kaji because those schedules had to be cancelled.

Fourth question was “I feel like I’m very similar to my character.”. Everyone immediately pointed at Terashima.

♡ Terashii said because firstly, everyone (cast) around him is weird. He starts pointing at everyone and going, weird, weird, weird and when it got to Tattsun he’s like extremely weird!!! Just like Mahiru, he has to put up with the cast and keep them in control when they got too out of hand XD And the only people who actually helped him/cooperated with him were Suzuki Yuuto and sometimes Kaji LOL.

☆GAME CORNER☆

This corner is split into three different games: Telepathy (bond testing), Word Searching (cooperation testing) (noon session only), and Who’s Behind The Door (how well do they know their respective partner)

The Servamps and their respective Eves will form a team (or Servamp/Subclass for Melancholy’s case) and try to score as many points as possible. Each correct answer gives them a point. The team with the most points in the end will be rewarded through a bonus game (which I will explain the rules later).

For the Telepathy game, each person will be handed out a sketchbook. Then, according to the question, the teams would have to answer without looking at each other’s answers and both the Servamp and their respective Eve has to get the same answer in order to score a point. Since there are 3 people in Melancholy trio, if 2 of them gets the same answer, that would be a point. If all 3 of them gets the same answer then that would be 1.5 points.

The first question for this game was for them to write a 決めゼリフ (signature phrase).

♡ Greed pair was the first to show their answers. Zakki wrote Licht’s famous “Why? Because I’m an angel” phrase while speaking in Licht’s voice and doing the pose. Ryohei probably knew Zakki would write that hence on top of the same signature phrase of Licht’s, he also wrote Lawless’s “As expected from the Arch Angel Lichtan~!!”. One point for them.

♡ Lust pair was next. Horie wrote Lily’s “Now then, shall I strip naked?” while Shimono wrote Misono’s “Don’t strip!!” The objective of the game was for them to write the same answer so even though it is technically correct, they didn’t get a point. They did argue for a point (though failing at it lol :’D)

♡ Sloth pair next. Terashii wrote Mahiru’s “putting it simply, it’s me right?”. Kaji on the other hand LOL, he wrote “putting it simply, ----------”. He probably got too lazy to write out the full thing (just like Kuro lmao). They still got the point though, after arguing for a bit XD

♡ Pride pair next. Onoyuu wrote “Hugh always says good things” while Murase wrote “I always say good things”. One point for them!

♡ Lastly Melancholy trio. All three of them answered “Not interesting”. 1.5 points for them!

Second question was if whether they preferred cats or dogs.

♡ Melancholy trio first. Tattsun and Matsuoka both answered cat while Yuuto answered dog. One point for them!

♡ Pride pair next. Onoyuu drew a bat and Murase..........drew an unidentified animal (it looks like a cross breed between cat/dog/alien) and he insisted it was a bat LOL. The other casts gathered around to take a better look at the drawing but they still couldn’t tell what the heck it was XD No points, sadly.

♡ Sloth pair next. Both answered cats. Pretty sure Terashima loves cat even though he has an allergy to cat fur orz. One point!

♡ Lust pair next. Shimono answered dog while Horie answered cat. Horie got upset Shimono didn’t know because I think in the seiyuu industry (or among themselves), he’s a pretty well-known cat lover?? I don’t know much about Horie so I can’t say for sure but it seems like everyone knows Horie loves cats. Terashima even said “Oi oi, when you mention cats it’s definitely Horie-san y’know?” so...

♡ Greed pair last. Both of them answered hedgehog!! Even though it’s not a cat nor a dog, their answers still matched so it’s still a point for them!

Last question was “What will you give as a return gift on White’s Day?”

♡ Greed pair went first again. Ryohei said he wrote the (very obvious) cookies. Zakki then showed his answer and said he wrote cookies too even though on the sketchbook “angel’s wings” are very clearly written LOL. Ryohei then tried to cover up and said that meant cookies in angel language lmao. Zakki then agreed and said they’re cookies in the shape of an angel’s wings... Too bad no point for them XD

♡ Lust pair next. Horie answered cookies while Shimono drew a candy... and audience started laughing (because that’s very elementary school XD). Shimono then retorted and said he was told by his friends in elementary school that he should give candies to the girl he likes. And Sloth pair comments that he’s the real life Misono TvT No points!

♡ Sloth pair both answered cookies. One point for them!

♡ Pride pair next. Both Onoyuu and Murase answered candy! --Well given how Tetsu is still a kid and Hugh.....it’s no surprise XD Shimono then runs up to them and said “see! someone agrees too!” to the other casts lmao. One point!

♡ Melancholy pair last. All three answered inarizushi! (Tsubaki’s favorite food) 1.5 points!

Okay so the second game Word Searching, the Eves would have to find some placards with single hiragana written on them that are distributed to some lucky audiences (they would have to hold them up) with a binoculars while the Servamps will write them down. There are 11 hiragana words in total and they form a full word. So the objective is to find these hiragana placards and guess what the word is. Now the thing is, not everyone has great eyesight.....plus with the binoculars, their visions are greatly narrowed. Terashii for all I know, cannot survive without glasses. He doesn’t wear contacts either XD Plus with the light reflections from the stage and everything it was pretty hard to find so the cast had difficulty (although the audience in the front helped).

When you add up all the hiragana, it actually makes up the word 千葉県文化会館 (ちばけんぶんかかいかん; Chi-ba ke-n bu-n-ka ka-i-ka-n; Chiba Prefecture Cultural Hall), the venue of Servamp Festival. So obviously the fans started gesturing “here” to let them know the word they’re looking for is the name of the venue.

Melancholy trio got it right quite early I think. Greed pair got it right too. Sloth pair figured out what the answer was but they didn’t get the point because they didn’t find all the hiragana placards. Kaji mentioned that Terashima messed up bu for pu (〇→ぶ、✖→ぷ) and Kaji got confused and got some weird answer LOL. As expected of Terashii XD

I don’t remember much from this since it was pretty messy.

For the last game, Who’s Behind The Door, oh god this is my favorite. Definitely the cream of the crop. I haven’t laughed this hard in ages -my jaws hurt and I couldn’t breathe!!

So for this game, there are 5 numbered doors. In the noon session, the Servamps will go behind the numbered doors and the Eves will have to guess which door their respective Servamps are behind. 2 questions can be asked (first come first serve) and the Servamps behind the doors will all have to answer the questions thus giving hints for their respective Eves to make a better guess, or to confuse the other Eves. HOWEVER, the mics the Servamps are using will be heavily altered into some high-pitched voice used for censorship (Idk how to describe so I found a random video -it sounded something like that but way higher -probably their own doing lmao).

The big screen behind shows the audience where the Servamps were, hence the Eves were not allowed to look back at all cost. When the Servamps first went behind to decide on the doors, the Eves gathered in the center of the stage. Terashima then said something about them behind the new and improved Servamp XD And then Shimazaki started fooling around and running towards the right side of the stage to wave at fans (since greed pair is on the extreme left most of the time...) and of course since I had a hair color that stood out....... Zakki’s really nice T____T

Anyway, the Servamps behind the respective doors were:

#1 - Melancholy (Matsuoka, Yuuto) #2 - Lust (Horie) #3 - Greed (Ryohei) #4 - Sloth (Kaji) #5 - Pride (Murase)

Shimono asked the first question; if the Servamps preferred cats or dogs. I don’t remember what most of them answered since I was busy laughing -they were shocked by their own altered voices too lol!

♡ I do remember Ryohei saying hedgehog, in which Kaji tried to confuse the Eves by imitating Ryohei and saying he prefers hedgehogs too.

♡ Murase kept laughing at his own voice because it was so god damn high the Eves were like who the hell is this pfff. I mean, the chances of it being Murase is pretty high but then again it’s not like the others can’t use a higher voice to confuse the others right? It’s actually pretty hard to guess too, actually. But it was freaking hilarious when they were laughing into the mics oh my god.

The second question was asked by Onoyuu, who asked if they were old women (ババァですか？) LOL. Probably in relation to Hugh after he got defeated.. (plus Murase sounds like a girl so.)

♡ When Matsuoka and Yuuto tried to answer, Horie cut in and replied to Onoyuu’s question with “Hey...that’s rude.” (Horie is the oldest among the cast). Matsuoka then answered back to Horie with “Hey, that’s rude” too, leaving a flustered Horie XD

♡ Kimura!! Ryohei!!!!!!!!! In a very high and familiar voice, he said ババァじゃな～い！(Baba jyanai~!; I’m not an old woman~!) --He’s impersonating Yonaga Tsubasa, who’s a fellow seiyuu from his same song unit, Trignal. You can hear the original version by him here @1:49 albeit he’s saying onna no ko (girl) instead of baba (old woman).

♡ Kaji then followed Ryohei and said カッパでもな～い！！ (Kappa de mo nai~!; I’m not a kappa too~!) which is one of Yonaga’s nicknames XD

♡ Half-laughing Murase followed Ryohei and said ババァじゃな～い！(Baba jyanai~!; I’m not an old woman~!) too.

With those answers, the Eves had to take their pick:

#1 - Picked by Terashii #2 - Picked by Shimono #3 - Immediately picked by Zakki #4 - Picked by Onoyuu #5 - “Picked” by Tattsun

♡ When door #1 opened to reveal Melancholy Subclasses, Yuuto immediately said Mahiru....!! in Sakuya’s voice. He explains he picked #1 because normally Matsuoka/Yuuto would use polite speech (since they’re the juniors) but instead it was Kaji that used so he got confused... I think.

♡ The door #2 opened to reveal a half-stripping (jacket) Horie, I think. Shimono said he guessed it was Horie from when he said it was rude when Onoyuu asked if they were old women LOL. Sensitivity to age, perhaps? XD One point for Lust pair!

♡ Door #3 opened to reveal Ryohei and they immediately hugged aww!! Zakki said he knew it was Ryohei from when he was the first one to say he preferred hedgehogs over cats and dogs. The “I’m not an old woman~!” impersonation further proved him right. One point for Greed pair!

♡ Door #4 was revealed with door #5 at the same time...I DON’T REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED at door #4. I think Onoyuu was clueless hence he picked a random door :’D

♡ Tattsun got hugged by Murase when door #5 opened. Tattsun then said he actually picked door #5 because Terashii took door #1 which he wanted before he even had the chance to go over LOL....

Because Melancholy trio won overall since they had the highest points so they got to play a bonus game for the prizes. The staff pushed out some 9-tile board with prizes written on them. 5 tiles were prizes named according to the sins -the prizes would fall under that category too. The remaining 4 tiles were some random scrubbing brushes as prizes LOL. And each tile had different quantity too... (I think there were x1, x1, x8 and x20 wtf haha). They had to throw a ball from a distance and whatever tile it hits, they would get that prize.

All aiming for the Melancholy prize, Matsuoka went first and got x1 brush LOL. Yuuto went next and got the pride pair prize! The prize was a hot spring trip to the one where Tetsu’s is based off on! ......and Tattsun got a brush too HAHA :’D

☆LIVE READING☆

Theme for the live reading is “Valentine’s Day”. Story starts with Misono asking Lily if he knew what 14th February was. Of course Lily said it was Misono’s birthday but he’s like NOOOOOOO I’m talking about Valentine’s Day! He then said he found out it’s not just to lovers, but it’s also possible to give friends chocolate (tomo-choco) too. So he wants to give Mahiru and Tetsu home-made chocolates (while stuttering XD) but he doesn’t know how to make -so they ended up going to Mahiru’s place.

Scene changes to Mahiru’s place. Tetsu and Hugh drops by (I forgot why they did though oops). Misono comes barging in later saying the door was left unlocked so he just let himself in with Lily tailing behind. He was shocked to see Pride pair there and Mahiru asks him what brought him over. Misono whispers to Lily and asks him for help because he didn’t want Tetsu to know he’s giving chocolates to him but doesn’t know how hence he’s here to ask Mahiru to teach him. Lily said it was best to let the cat out of the bag so he ended up explaining the situation to Sloth & Pride pair. Though because he started with “Do you know what day 14th February is?”, Kuro responded with “Kisama-chan....don’t tell me you came all the way here just to announce your birthday...” LOL. Hugh said he’s heard of Valentine’s Day. And continues to say that it’s a day where you give friends chocolates by THROWING at them HAHA (he’s confused/mixed up with setsubun -a festive day where people would eat the number of roasted soybeans in accordance to their age. It was said that it used to be accompanied by a special ritual where people throw beans a disease-bringing evil spirits to drive them away). And OF COURSE Tetsu believe’s him :’D Anyway they go out to buy ingredients soon after.

Scene changes to the streets where Lawless was complaining about how Licht was dragging him to so many different stores just to get his hands on this limited edition chocolate that’s only for sale on limited time during Valentine’s and said he wanted a break and to make the next store his last. They enter and Licht finally finds what he was looking for -albeit the last piece left. He puts his hands on it the same time Tsubaki did. They started fighting verbally and comparing who has gone to more stores in search of le holy chocolates while snatching the last one available from each other. Lawless also starts fighting with Belkia verbally about glasses lmao. And then Sakuya tells them to shut up because the store clerk is glaring at them. He then ultimately gives up because he realizes those people were impossible and decides to leave. Just then wild Mahiru and Kuro walks into the store and bumps into Sakuya. Sakuya gets really excited from being able to see Mahiru again. Tsubaki ‘greets them’ and forgets about le holy chocolates for a moment. Licht sees Kuro, went “Neko-san.....!!!!”, forgets about the existence of le holy chocolates for a moment too and it fell to the floor and broke. Tsubaki gets upset. Verbal fighting ensues. Confused Mahiru asks Sakuya what was happening and Kuro thinks it’s better if they leave soon. Sakuya explains (and said it was nothing serious so it’s fine to leave them alone. Even though they technically broke something they haven’t paid for pfft.) Just then Lust pair comes in and Misono makes a big fuss upon seeing Tsubaki. Pride pair enters too and Hugh immediately comments on how Licht and Tsubaki were confirming their friendship for each other upon seeing the broken box of chocolates on the floor (he still believes in throwing chocolates at friends lmao). Tsubaki (or was it Lawless?) says it was getting lively with almost the full cast gathered and asks what the occasion was and Mahiru (?) explains that the were making chocolates hence they were out to get ingredients. Tsubaki then demanded Mahiru to make a similar chocolate as the one that (he and) Licht broke. Licht asks if Neko-san is going to give him anything lol XD Belkia sees the bags of ingredients Mahiru and co. had and comments on how there’s definitely more than enough for everyone in the store and asks if Mahiru intends to make more and give the extras to himself (as if he’s getting from girls in his class). He then calls him painful to look at pfft. Sakuya cuts in and *tries* to cover up for Mahiru by saying his homemade chocolates are probably the best in the world so there shouldn’t be left overs.......-but continues saying how he doesn’t recall Mahiru receiving anything from the girls in the class during Valentine’s Day either LOL. Someone then suggests everyone should make chocolates together. Licht immediately asks if Neko-san can eat chocolates as he’s heard that chocolates are poisonous for them....and Mahiru said Kuro isn’t exactly an animal so chocolate are perfectly fine. Sakuya gets excited and said he wants to make Mahiru some chocolates and started recalling how to get to Mahiru’s place from where they currently were at. Tsubaki suggests a genius idea for everyone to make chocolates and sell them!!! --HENCE started promoting the Valentine’s Day chocolate sets that were sold at the venue LOL.

Mahiru panics because he’s worried his house is not big enough to accommodate so many people (and vampires) but I guess regardless everyone’s still gonna go anyway XD Live reading ends with everyone heading to Mahiru’s place.

*Also, Suzuki Yuuto tripped over his words and messed up a little towards the end and it was adorable awww. *My memory of the Live Reading got a little hazy towards the end so the order etc. might be wrong....sorry.

☆FINALE☆

Started with announcements.

♡ Announced that Servamp Festival (both sessions) will be made into a DVD and releases on 28th June.

♡ Promoted the limited time stores and upcoming cafe.

♡ Promoted the upcoming character song CDs and played Tsubaki’s song in the background.

♡ Host wore Kuro’s jacket/hoodie and promoted it.

I think the noon session went over by 30 mins or so because it lasted about 2 hours long when I checked the time.. Night session was only an hour and a half iirc. Some of the casts didn’t manage to say their ending speeches too --I only remember Ryohei, Matsuoka and Yuuto but I think there were a few more.

I don’t remember what they said either but Shimono thanked us and apologized for making us sit through so much chaos and hope we were able to follow what happened. Ah, Ryohei and some others were also sexually harassing his man boobs (鳩胸ｗ) somewhere in the noon session lol XD (Male seiyuus love doing this to him for some reason lmao)

...Now it makes me wonder if they’re going to cut some parts of the noon session from the DVD to make it an hour and a half long....they might cut out the Word Searching corner but I’m not sure.... :’D

It think that’s about all that I can remember... Once again I apologize for bad English and the messy report! I do hope it made sense though (>_<)

Thank you for taking the time to read this and if you’re still interested in the night session, HERE is the link!! Be warned that the night session is A LOT more ridiculous though --so much more fooling around and crazy fanservices.

#servamp #terashima takuma #kaji yuki #shimazaki nobunaga #kimura ryohei #suzuki tatsuhisa #shimono hiro #horie kazuma #ono yuuki #murase ayume #matsuoka yoshitsugu #suzuki yuuto #seiyuu #servamp festival #japan217 #my posts

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