#maybe a bit more for the disney black cauldron specifically

[notmoreflippingelves]

Why is it that my rare pair tendencies are not limited strictly to my hyperfixations of the moment but in like 99% of media that I consume? It's not fair. I just get a tiny little urge for like a day to read a fic or see an art for a specific pairing before returning to my main interest. Only to find that particular pairing that my stewpid brain had convinced itself "must be huge in this fandom because how could it NOT BE?" barely exists--if it even exists at all and I have clowned on myself yet again.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

A CHICKEN RUN Workprint & Such

Quite something that the year CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET comes out, we get a look at never-before-seen behind-the-scenes stuff for Aardman Animations' debut feature film...

This channel contains a workprint for the film that has quite a few alternate versions of scenes, alternate lines, and plenty of storyboarded bits to fill in the gaps. Temp music throughout, too. You know, the usual animated movie workprint stuff.

Even more enticing is an over hour-long collection of early test footage, of how the characters move, all on various sets, some of which very rough and simple, and likely intentionally so. Almost like a pitch pilot. There's even some CGI in there, for figuring out how the more mechanical things in the movie - such as the makeshift "crate" plane - work.

CHICKEN RUN has long been a favorite of mine. I saw it in the theaters when I was turning 8, and I absolutely loved it! I watched the VHS over and over, I even had a CHICKEN RUN lunch pack! It had Rocky on it, flying through the air on his tricycle. I've enjoyed all of Aardman's films, but this debut feature really hit the ground running. Just so good, so tight, everything about it is just so cool- BUT this isn't a review of Nick Park and Peter Lord's groundbreaking stop-motion made-of-plasticine movie, I could waffle on about this one for days... Anyways, a favorite of mine, and to see all this behind the scenes stuff is great.

I absolutely love watching workprints and rough cuts of animated movies, and reels of test footage and other such components. Up until YouTube came about, the closest I feasibly had to that was the carefully-edited "Work In Progress" version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, which was available to *me* via the 2002 DVD release. The actual workprint, as in what a specific audience saw at the New York Film Festival in mid-1991, was preserved on the original home video release's deluxe edition... Which I did not have back in the day. The DVD has a sweetened version for a more casual viewing audience. There was also the full rough cut of HEAVY METAL that was available on its DVD release, complete with an audio commentary by Carl Macek. Just so much informative stuff in what you're seeing alone...

It's been a great time for fans of this kind of stuff. This year, we also saw a partial workprint of THE LITTLE MERMAID from around mid-1989 get out online, which curiously capped off with the trailer for the movie that appeared on the VHS release of BAMBI later that year. A workprint of ALADDIN, made sometime after Jeffrey Katzenberg's complete rip-down of the project in 1991, floated around YouTube for quite some time. A full LION KING workprint, made around the time the whole middle section was being reworked in mid-1993, can be found on Archive. A good chunk of Richard Purdum's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is around, too. As for Pixar, there's some TOY STORY and A BUG'S LIFE rough cut stuff going around as well...

One big lost media drop, for me, was last year with THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE's fifth season, like several VHS tapes of dailies and rushes that was like a day's length.

What I would like to see drop next?

Any Disney animated movie would certainly suffice, particularly some holy grails, like a pre-regime change version of THE BLACK CAULDRON that has the infamous melting soldier scene in it and all those extra Fflewddur Fflam dialogue bits. Or KINGDOM OF THE SUN, the film that was thrown out in 1998 and retooled into THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE.

DreamWorks and Sony, too. A full workprint of the Chris Farley SHREK? Maybe B.O.O.: BUREAU OF OTHERWORLDLY OPERATIONS, the almost-done movie from 2014-15 that was completely scrapped? I've seen various completed scenes of it via various animators' resumes on Vimeo. Whatever was completed of BOLLYWOOD SUPERSTAR MONKEY and LARRIKINS, that too.

What I'd like to see, like on my mind right now... Two particular pre-acquisition Pixar movies... TOY STORY 2 and FINDING NEMO.

Like, a TOY STORY 2 that still had Al's Toy Barn in the suburbs and not right across the street from the penthouse ("all the way to work!"), a TOY STORY 2 that still has that weird Godzilla roleplay scene that landed Woody in the yard sale by accident, I want to see more of what that version looked like. An earlier version of FINDING NEMO with unfinished no-water scenes and wonky-looking humans is something I'd be down for, honestly. I love seeing this sort of stuff in the raw, before all the refinements. It gives everything a bit of an alien quality, honestly, that only makes it all the more fascinating.

Those, off the top of my head.

[usssnarfblat]

Lazy Disney Designs Rant: The clothing in "Cinderella" (1950)

This rant does not pertain to everything in the movie.

"Cinderella" absolutely deserves its status as a Disney masterpiece, for Mary Blair's gorgeous background designs; that castle; the famous ballgown transformation scene (Walt's favorite piece of animation); and that pumpkin carriage. That. Friggin. Pumpkin carriage!

ut I guess something had to give, and spending all that time and energy on those things meant slacking on some others. Like the clothing.

Now I did mention Cindy's rags, homemade dress, and ballgown in my "Eilonwy" rant. They're better designs than hers, since Cindy's outfits at least give you a clue. But "The Black Cauldron" is a pretty low bar.

With what Disney was capable of in 1950, and the fact that this movie really needed to be a "hit" to save the company, it's a bit surprising that Cinderella's ballgown is so simplistic, and that her "rags" are...not, really.

The Rags:

Both Snow White and Betty Boop look far more beaten down. Disney's Cinderella looks like she could take that apron off and walk right into town. (For the record, Betty Boop's "Poor Cinderella" short dates to 1934, before even "Snow White," long before Disney's "Cinderella.")

Granted, Betty Boop's "Poor Cinderella" is only ten minutes long, and Snow's rags are onscreen for probably less than that. But surely just one or two more rips, or some patches? Maybe dull down that baby-blue blouse?

Fairy Godmother:

In 1934's "Poor Cinderella," Betty Boop's Fairy Godmother floats out of a candle flame, and has a more elaborate getup than I'd expected from a "Betty Boop" short!

Walt Disney's first fairy was its ethereal Blue Fairy in 1940's "Pinocchio." That same year, "Fantasia" showed us a host of gods and cherubs.

Since "Sleeping Beauty" came nine years after "Cinderella," I won't count those (vastly superior) fairies.

But with all the different magical entities viewers had seen onscreen by 1950, when it came time for the famous Walt Disney company to adapt the tale of the original "fairy godmother"--in a movie that, again, specifically needed to be a "hit" to save the company-- the best they could come up with was Mr. Smee in drag.

Yes, I know "Peter Pan" came after this, but whatever.

Even if they wanted her to be unassuming and humble looking, they could at least have come up with....I don't know, something. Something besides a marshmallow in a bowtie.

The Ballgown:

Oh sure it sparkles, and the transformation scene is brilliant. But for a fairy tale where the ballgown is so iconic to the story, and it being adapted by the most famous animation company in the world, it's surprisingly simplistic.

I've talked before about the little details Disney managed to give past characters' outfits, despite the limits of animation in that era. Even Cinderella's twin Katrina Van Tassel at least has some lace stuff.

And recall that Cinderella's ballgown isn't onscreen for much longer than the "Sleepy Hollow" short, or any segment of "Fantasia."

And recall that Snow White wore that outfit for most of her movie.

By the way, here's Betty Boop's ballgown--again, from 1934.

Yeah, Disney Cindy's dress is more sparkly and elegant, but look at the ruffles and details on this. They couldn't have given Disney's Cinderella something like that, underneath the glitter?

Even Betty Boop's evil stepsisters had more elaborate outfits than the bland one's the Disney stepsisters wear, but I can't put more than ten images in one post, so you'll have to use your imaginations.

In Conclusion,

Walt Disney's "Cinderella" has some stellar animation in terms of the backgrounds, the magical transformations, and that pumpkin carriage; but they slacked major on the "costuming."

This concludes this "Lazy Disney Designs" rant. Atlantica, I'm coming for you next.

[notveryglittery]

birthday prince (3)

summary: virgil decides roman deserves a day off.  words: 2,100 / ship: prinxiety (roman/virgil) author’s note: this is part three of my Giving The Gay Anything He Wants series for roman’s birthday (june 4)! all ships are written implied romantic but i’m not stopping you from interpreting it otherwise. check the end notes on ao3 for credit on these gifts (bc i don’t know where to put them in this post)! i hope you enjoy!!

part 1 (roceit) | part 2 (logince) | part 3 (prinxiety) part 4 (royality) | part 5 (dlampts)  read on ao3

— — —

“Best two out of three.”

“I thought this was a birthday gift!”

“Yes and?”

“So why don’t I automatically get to pick the first movie?”

“Because I know you’re on a princess kick and full offense, if I have to deal with a talking animal as the comedic relief sidekick, I might actually die.”

“... Okay. Fine, okay, that’s fair.”

“On shoot.”

One, two, three, shoot — Virgil’s scissors versus Roman’s paper meant that the birthday boy did, in fact, not get to pick the first movie. He feigned upset for only a few moments longer before flopping back into their pillow fort. He supposed, given all the hard work Virgil had put into this, he could put up with one non-princess Disney film.

Earlier in the day, Virgil had rather unceremoniously kicked Roman out of his own room, claiming he had something important to do. Were it not for how close they’d grown, Roman would have been upset and suspicious; he trusted Virgil now, though, and knew that nothing would go wrong. He’d spent an hour playing cards with Logan and Patton before Virgil shouted for him from upstairs. When he’d arrived back to his room, it looked almost unrecognizable. It was mostly illuminated by fairy lights, providing a cozier feel than what he was used to; the floor to ceiling windows looked out into a rainy forest instead of the usual rolling hills; his bed had been turned into a truly impressive collection of blankets, pillows, cushions, and stuffed animals. The canopy had been removed which bothered him a little but only until he realized the projector that had been set up, pointing at the ceiling. There was a basket at the foot of the bed, filled with snacks and bottled drinks. Roman figured they could stay here for the next twenty four hours and be perfectly fine.

Surrounded by what was possibly every soft thing to be found in the Mindscape, Roman clutched Mrs. Fluffybottom to his chest as Virgil got the movie set up. She’d been his favorite plushie for the entirety of his existence; he’d taken her on many adventures over the years but she’d comforted him through a number of breakdowns too. He swore there was actually something magical about her.

Virgil threw himself down next to Roman; he had swapped out his usual hoodie for one that was fully dark purple and had even longer sleeves. After Roman had stopped gawking around his room, Virgil had tossed a sweater at him. It was so bright it was practically neon but it was rainbow print and he loved it. He’d immediately changed out of his t-shirt and had grabbed Virgil in a tight hug. Roman definitely intended on starting a sweater paw fight at some point during their movie marathon.

“You good with Hercules?”

“No comedic relief sidekicks, huh?”

“Phil is not a sidekick!”

“What? Are you trying to tell me right now that Philoctetes is a main character? You can’t say he isn’t comedic relief! He gets hurt just for laughs way too often!”

“No! I mean. Maybe?”

Roman laughed, bumping his shoulder against Virgil’s. “Whatever, you dork. Of course I’m good with it. You could have picked The Black Cauldron and I would’ve been good.”

“Talking animal. Comic relief. Sidekick. Gurgi checks all of those boxes. I would’ve been going against my own word.”

“Hmm, fair,” Roman said, humming a little.

As the Muses began singing them through the opening, Roman took a moment to appreciate everything Virgil was doing for him. The basket of goodies was stocked with every one of Roman’s favorite snacks, including enough chocolate to make him sick. In fact, it’d been the first thing he’d decided on, before Virgil could even tell him what the plan for the day was. Not that it was really much of a plan, anyway. Today specifically had been set aside just for Virgil to spoil Roman however he wanted. That apparently meant marathoning Disney movies, napping as much as they pleased, and eating all the junk food they wanted. It was a far cry from how Roman usually spent his time; what with all of the projects he was constantly juggling, or the content he had to help Thomas produce, or the issues to take care of in the Fantasy Realm. He didn’t really realize even how hard he was always working.

Apparently, however, Virgil had.

Something was shoved into his face, startling him out of his thoughts. He shot a glare at Virgil, who was watching the movie and acting totally inconspicuous. The item turned out to be a stuffed dragon, one he didn’t recognize from his usual pile of plushies. The scales were shimmery, a nice ombre of purple and blue shades, the wings were tucked against the body, and… Holding his hand against the stomach was warmer than the rest, as if it had a belly full of fire. That was so cool! He squeezed it tight in his arms and went back to watching the movie, feeling even comfier than before.

With the credits rolling, Virgil ushered them both out of bed and into a couple minutes of stretching.

“I’m not having you complain to me later on when your bones start creaking.”

“You make it sound like I’m so old, Virgil!”

“Older than me,” Virgil teased. He ducked out of the way of a thrown cushion. “Oh, is that what we’re doing?!”

Roman took a face full of pillow and suddenly it was on. He couldn’t begin to guess how long they fought for, darting around the room and over the bed, swinging their feather-filled weapons at each other. He did know that by the time he collapsed on the floor, he was breathless with laughter. Virgil was so far gone that he’d dissolved into alternating between wheezes and complete silence. Eventually, they did manage to get back into their nest of blankets, though there was plenty of shoving, poking, and tickling as they did so.

“I dunno if I’ll make it through this next movie so pick one that I won’t mind falling asleep during.”

“You besmirch the name of Disney if you think there’s a single film boring enough to allow that!”

“You dozed off the first time we watched The Good Dinosaur.”

Roman spluttered. “I had just come back from a week-long quest! And that’s Pixar!”

Virgil actually cackled. “You can’t pull that excuse! Disney owns Pixar!”

“Stop bullying me,” Roman cried, “it’s my birthday!”

“It’s two days before your birthday, actually, so I can bully you all I like.”

“I’m picking The Black Cauldron, then! See how you like dozing off during your favorite movie.”

It perhaps hadn’t been his best choice. With Virgil snuggled into his side, warm and soft, the sound of his even breathing accompanying the utter lack of any songs… Well, Roman really didn’t last much longer. They found each other in the Dreamscape. Edges were fuzzy, sounds were muffled, and touch was electric. The Dream Palace was a blurry shape in the distance, attracting his attention every so often when its crystal spires caught the light. Virgil sort of just appeared, as if created from the colors of the setting sun. Roman had a feeling he was made of the field of flowers he’d woken up in.

“I like it here,” Virgil said, sitting down next to Roman.

“Remy does a nice job with it,” Roman agreed, slowly picking daisies and dandelions to weave into a crown.

“You do, too,” Virgil argued. “You have a hand in almost everything, you know.”

Roman frowned at him. “I do not.”

“Yes, Ro,” Virgil insisted, “you do. The Memory Archives look the way that they do because you and Logan watched one episode of Doctor Who together and had the inspiration to redesign.”

Roman chuckled, a little nervously. “I guess.”

“Memory Lane doesn’t hurt Patton because it knows better than to hurt anyone you love. It might be connected to him and his room, but you’re the one that created that safety net.”

“Virgil…” Roman tried, voice slightly strangled.

“I just need you to know how important you are. You aren’t told enough.”

“It’s fine—”

“You’re important, Roman. You matter. You make a difference.”

Roman finally stopped trying to tie together the stems of the flowers. Virgil took his shaking hands into his own and held them tightly. It was just enough that Roman could actually feel it versus the tingly sensation that the Dreamscape normally worked with.

“We love you. We appreciate you and your hard work.”

If it weren’t for that everything around them was already blurry, Roman might not have noticed his vision swimming when tears filled his eyes. It was hard to not know suddenly that he was crying, though, regardless of how physically present he was in this space.

Virgil let go of his hands and instead, cradled his face gently. “I know I go against you sometimes but in the long run, I want you to be just as happy as you make the rest of us.”

He waited a moment longer before smiling and squishing Roman’s cheeks. Roman giggled a bit in response. Virgil gave him two careful pats before pulling away. Picking up the flower crown Roman had abandoned, he set to work on finishing it. Roman wiped his tears away and sat still in the sunshine, content to simply let himself soak it up until he was completely warm from the inside out.

When they woke, the screen projected onto the ceiling was displaying a screensaver of 3D pipes. The forest outside the windows had been replaced with a cliffside view of the ocean. Virgil stirred next to him, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He absentmindedly pressed a kiss to Roman’s cheek before getting out of bed. He was gone for a little while, during which Roman found two more plushies that he didn’t recognize. They were a gryphon and a lion, both extremely soft to the touch, and with fierce expressions that reminded Roman of how Virgil looked when he was in fight mode. He wondered how these new stuffed animals kept sneaking into his collection but he certainly wasn’t complaining.

When Virgil returned, Roman burst into laughter, because yes, he supposed there was no chance of sneaking that one into the pile.

“There won’t be any room for me in bed, Virgil!”

“Guess you better get used to sleeping on the floor then,” Virgil said, dropping the massive Simba plushie on top of Roman.

This just made Roman laugh harder. The fabric on this one was fluffier than on the others, something he could sink his fingers into if he wanted. It was nearly as big as him, or maybe it just felt like that right now since it was smothering him. Before he could move it, though, Virgil sank himself down onto it as well.

“Virgil!!” Roman gasped between snickers. “Get off, you fiend!”

“Hmm…” Virgil hummed, pondering. From where he was laying, he could just barely look directly into Roman’s eyes. This made it all the funnier when he finally decided, in the most deadpan tone, “nah.”

After some wrestling, which led to them both falling out of bed and Roman bumping his elbow and howling for five minutes about his funny bone before Virgil kissed it better, they were finally settled back in to continue their movie marathon.

They watched Moana, Tarzan, and, Mary Poppins before sleep began to take them once more. Seeing as the sun had sunk below the sea quite some time ago, it was safe to assume it was late enough to call it a night.

“I got you…” Virgil paused to yawn. “Got you one more thing…”

“Vee—”

“‘S not much.” He held out Mrs. Fluffybottom for Roman to take. “I just… I made it so that she can never be hurt.”

For a moment, Roman’s lethargy was chased away by astonishment and surprise. He could feel the enchantment just from holding her, though it was passing by the second as the magic was fully absorbed.

“I know you… take her on adventures a lot. Fightin’ bad guys ‘n stuff.” Virgil shifted further into the blankets as sleep continued to take hold on him. “Wanna keep her safe. Know you will, anyway. But jus’ in case.”

Roman rolled onto his side so that he was facing Virgil. He kept the bunny plush tucked between them and took one of Virgil’s hands in his. “Thank you…”

“Love you. Happy birthday, princey,” Virgil told him, papping him once more on the cheek.

Sleep settled over them quickly after. Roman would wake in the morning, feeling more secure and warm than he had in quite some time, surrounded by plushies and Virgil’s arms, and know that he had so much to be grateful for.

[shellku]

Film Challenge

Okay guys. Finally did it. As requested.

Have you ever left a theater before the movie was over?

Yes. Only once.

If you ever left a theater what was playing: Savages

Craziest (Random) movie you’ve ever seen:

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

“And thanks for all the fish” -Dolphins

Most disturbing film you’ve ever watched:

Crimson Peak

A film you only watched because (Tom Hiddleston ) was in it: Crimson Peak

A minor role (or movie) with a major actor you greatly enjoyed: Sebastian Stan as Jefferson/The Mad Hatter in Once Upon A Time.

A minor role (or movie) with a major actress you greatly enjoyed: Emma Watson as Pauline Fossil in Ballet Shoes

A movie everyone should see at least once: The Princess Bride

A movie you thought everyone has seen but apparently not: Who framed Roger Rabbit?

A movie you’ve tried multiple times to watch but never get through it: Silence if the Lambs

A movie that legitimately surprised you:

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. While it came out in 1980 I didn’t see it until much later obviously. I wasn’t even ten when I watched it the first time, I and was genuinely shocked.

Movie that you enjoy, that surprises people you enjoy: Scream (1996)

A movie you associated with Religion and it turns out that tracks: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

A movie you watched a lot as a kid but your not sure why exactly you watched it so much:

Hook. (And) The Sandlot.

My first movie that made me question my sexualité: The Priâtes of the Caribbean.

Sections

Anime

First Anime: Fruits Basket. Vampire Knight.

Anime I watched with my (brother): Full Metal Alchemist

Anime I tried to get into and couldn’t: D Gray Man

Anime I was surprised I enjoyed: The Neverland Promise. (And) Soul Eater

Anime I always liked (even when it confused people): Black Butler

Anime that makes me cry: Your lie in April

Anime that I love but now makes me sad too: Sword Art Online

Anime I’m just not into: One Piece

One that was recommended that I enjoyed:

Blue Exorcist

One that was recommended that I was ehh on and did not finish: Attack on Titian

One I probably should watch: Pandora Hearts

One I watched Randomly : Castlevania

One that I did not watch until (college) that everyone seems to have watched: Sailor Moon

Cartoons

Cartoons Everyone should see:

- The Peanuts.

- Garfield.

- Scooby Doo.

- Tom and Jerry.

- Pink Panther.

Cartoon I never liked: Spongebob

Cartoon I hate now: Kiayu? Idk. The one with the bald kid that whines a lot. Ugh.

Cartoon I can make myself ‘watch’ with the (niece/nephews): Paw Patrol

Films you would Recommend:

80s: The Breakfast Club

Book Adaption 80s: The Outsiders

Murder Mystery:Murder on the Oriental Express

Jim Henson pick: Labyrinth

(Suicide) Satire:Heathers

Romance: Titanic

‘Horror’ Movie: The Lost boys

Horror Movie: The Nightmare on Elm Street

Spy Flick: Saint (1997)

Mind trips: The Sixth Sense.(1999) Donnie Darko.

Stephen King: The Dark Tower

Stephen King Miniseries: Rose Red

Studio Ghibli: Howls Moving Castle. Or. Kiki’s Delivery Service.

Action Comedy: Miss Congeniality

Adventure Comedy: Jumanji

‘Dark’ Comedy: The Addams Family

Romantic Comedy: Legally Blonde

Tim Burton

Tim Burton Animated: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Tim Burton Live Action: Edward Scissorhand

Tim Burton Musical: Sweeney Todd

Dreamworks

Favorite Dreamwork’s Film:

Rise of the Guardians (and) How to Train your Dragon

Disney:

Unpopular Recommendations:

The Black Cauldron (and) The Great Mouse Detective

One that is still rather disturbing: Pinocchio

Best Soundtrack (Golden Age): Fantasia

Best Soundtrack (Modern): IDk?!

Classics (Golden) everyone should see at least once: Snow White (and) Bambi.

Wartime Era Pic: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr.Toad

Silver Age or Bronze Age: Both!!!

Disney Renaissance or Post Renaissance: Both! If I absolutely had to choose though, Renaissance.

Moana or Lilo and Stitch: Lilo and Stitch

Frozen or Tangled: Both

Soul or Monsters Inc: Monsters Inc

Toy Story I and 2/ or/ 3 and 4? Toy Story I and 2.

Underrated: Candleshoe

Disney Holiday:

Live Action Halloween - Hocus Pocus

Live Action Halloween Series- Halloweentown

Animated Halloween- Frakenweenie

Live Action Christmas- Miracle on 34th Street (and) Eloise

Animated Christmas- Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas, Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas, (and) Winnie the Pooh: A very merry Pooh year.

New: The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. (2018)

Disney Reimagined/Live Action:

First that made you rethink the story: Maleficent

Favorite ‘Princess’ Story: Beauty and the Beast

The Surprise: Cruella

The one you worried about but we’re happy with in the end: Lady and the Tramp

The one you worried about but ending up enjoying anyway: Aladdin

The one that was good but you could have done without: The Lion King (which really surprised me!!!I like it but I didn’t love it. Which for me was so strange since I’m a fan of the original and the play.)

The one you had high hopes for and had a mixed reaction too: Mulan. (Ended up really liking it, but I miss Mushu. )

‘Modern’ Shakespeare Adaption:

10 Thing I hate About You (The Taming of the Shrew)

Clueless (Emma)

and

The Lion King Series. (Kid appropriate)

The Lion King: Hamlet

The Lion King 1 1/2: Rosencrantz and Guildenstein

The Lion King 2: Romeo and Juliet

Vampire Pictures:

90s: Interview with a Vampire

2000+: Twilight Series

Tv Series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Vampire Action Series: Underworld

Classic: Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Dracula with a Twist: Dracula Untold (2014)

Fun Supernatural Flicks :

Witches: The Craft

Male Witches: The Covenant

Fairytale: Red Riding Hood (2011)

Ghost Hunters: Ghostbusters

Multiple Supernatural: Van Helsing (2014)

Werewolf Romance: Blood and Chocolate

Kid Friendly Live Action: Casper

Kid Friendly Animated: Hotel Transylvania

Supernatural Series:

Multi: Supernatural

Animated: Sabrina The Teenage Witch. (And) Scooby Doo.

Witches: Charmed

Fairytale: Once Upon a Time

Darker Fairytale: Grimm

‘Superhero’ Movies:

90s: Batman. (And) The Crow.

Series: Marvel’s Cinematic Universe

Classic Animated: Batman the animated series

Modern Animated: Harley Quinn

Girl Power: Wonder Woman. (and) Birds of Prey.

Something Different: Deadpool

Younger Audiences/Nostalgia: Teen Titans (animated)

Harry Potter

Favorite Film: Idk. Can’t choose honestly.

Least favorite character portrayal: .. Ginny Weasley?

Someone you loved: (so many..) McGonagall

Someone you loved hating: Bellatrix LeStrange

Someone you just hate: Dolores Umbridge

First time you cried: I cried for Sirius and Remus in Prisoner of Azkaban.

First time you jumped: Snakes or Basilisk. Chamber of Secrets. (I think I was 12?)

Someone who was so spot in acting on you can’t see them as anyone else now: Luna Lovegood

Someone who was so good even if the look wasn’t perfect: Emma Granger as Hermione OR Alan Rickman as Severus Snape.

Someone who’s injury hit you harder than the books: Colin Creevy.

Someone who’s death hit you harder than in the books: None. They hit but not as much as the books.

A scene you found just breathtakingly pretty: Christmas at Hogwarts

A scene you found creepy (even when you knew it was coming): Nagini uses a corpse as a mask.

For any Potter heads. Some things that bothered you about the Harry Potter films:

- Where is Charlie Weasley?

- Where is Peeves?

- Where are Neville’s parents?

- The green/blue/brown eye thing. (This is not against Radcliffe. Some special effects could have fixed this easily)

- HarrY DiD YOu PuT YoUR NaMe IN tHe GoBlET of FIRE?! 🔥

- In Sorcerers Stone, Why did you change the snake at the zoos breed??

- “Voldemort” versus “Voldemor”. The silent t.

- Hermione’s. Yule. Ball. Dress. Color. Blue. Not pink. She specifically changed the color.

- Fluffy. Hagrid’s adorable Cerberus was originally bought from a Greek man. Why change it to Irish? I like Ireland but it was a Greek man due to where Cerberus’s initially came from right???

- Harry’s first Weasley sweater color

- Why does Harry only see his parents in the Mirror of Eirsed? Where’s the rest of the family?

- The Underage magic rules aren’t well explained in the movies making the 3rd year summons even more bonkers sounding

- The Patil Twins Yule Ball Outfits. They could have been soooo beautiful. Like this is the Yule Ball! The Twins would have (in my opinion) much more elaborate traditional Indian styled dress robes?? Idk.

- Love Movie Hermione! But some moments take away from Ron. Like when Ron defended her in the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione didn’t know what the slur “Mudblood” meant in the books. Ron had to explain it.

- Dobby needed more screen time. Some stuff Dobby did went to Neville because so many Neville scenes were cut.

- Where’s all the secrecy from the books when communicating with Sirius- “Snuffles”? Something Harry’s godfather insisted on to keep him safe.

- Snape’s title of “The half-blood Prince” is not explained. Neither is it made clear that Severus was also abused horribly at home throughout his childhood. Also that like Harry Dumbledore did nothing to help Severus when he was a student. (Or maybe Tom Riddle when he grew up in an orphanage. I’m sensing a pattern)

- Dumbledore should have still spelled Harry during Dumbledore death scene. No way would Harry just stand there if given the choice.

- Ron was not quite as ‘dumb’ in the books and a lot of his funny moments were cut from the movie. Which makes his jealousy moments all the more unbecoming. He also comes off a bit more arrogant in the movies. (This is not against R Grint. Who is awesome) The movies gave Ron the short end of the stick.

- Weasley/Malfoy Fued. Who else wanted to see Arthur and Lucius have a fist fight in a bookstore? Exactly.

- Albus Dumbledore isn’t all Sunshine and Daisys. He does some really messed up stuff yet no one ever seems to question this.

- Remus was the last Marauder. Yet his and his wife, Tonk’s, deaths are barley acknowledged.

- Also Teddy. Harry’s Godson.

- Harry’s and Ginnys relationship is not built on. It’s just there. Ugh. Heck Movie Ginny isn’t that great. You don’t know much about her except: She’s the only girl in Ron’s family. She’s the youngest Weasley. She’s obsessed with Harry. She’s a good Quidditch player. She has a temper. She was possessed by Riddle’s Dairy when she was eleven. She’s obsessed with Harry.

- Draco is essentially Harry’s antithesis. Where is he in some critical scenes in the movies?

- Where’s the Luna love???? Harry’s pretty rude to her in some scenes.

- There is no S.P.E.W. And Hermione’s more ruthless side is gone.

- The guys hair in The Goblet of Fire. Get a hair cut. Please.

- Some of Molly’s less than Stellar Moments. (Ex. When she believed rumors about Hermione and so treated he coldly. How horrible she was to Fleur. Ect)

- Fleur. Fleur and Bill still get married but the objections to the wedding aren’t as presented in the movies. Not is Molly’s and Ginny’s extreme dislike of Fleur. Or when Arthur apologizes to Fleur. Or really any of Fleurs best moments. The whole courting process is skipped.

- House Elves. The House Elves of Hogwarts.

- Percy Weasley. The ‘betrayal’. The returned Weasley sweater. Him turning to protect his family and fight for Hogwarts at the last minute. All gone. Which involves being forgiven by the Weasley Twins not an hour before Fred dies.

- The connection of the Black sisters. Specifically Adromeda - mother of Tonks. Who is Sirius cousin. Who married Remus Lupin. Tonks and Remus the parents of Teddy.

- Dean Thomas is pretty much gone.

- Rita Skeeter. Illegal Animagus. Hermione kept her in a jar.

- The movies didn’t allow Radcliffe to be sassy and sarcastic enough. Harry Potter is one of the sassiest boys to ever walk through the halls of Hogwarts!

- Harry didn’t fix his wand in the last movie.

- The history of the Marauders.

- The history explaining why Snape could never be comfortable around and trust Remus Lupin.

[fanatic-kay]

Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover

Pairings: Pre-romantic Prinxiety, brothers!analogicality Word Count: 1535 Rating: General Audiences Summary: Roman works at the Disney store when a shady looking person walks in.

Read on AO3 Here!

Roman Prince loved his job. Sure, the work of retail could be especially tedious at times, but at the end of the day, it was worth it. As long as he could see the young children coming in, eyes full of stars, as they tried to comprehend the overload of Disney paraphernalia staring back at them. How they would jump up and down, tugging at their parent’s sleeve before running towards something that caught their attention. How their older siblings, usually teenagers, would pretend to act cool or annoyed since they were ‘too old for this stuff’, but even they would let their inner child shine through as they perused through the racks. Sometimes they even got adults, never letting the Disney spirit die, excited to shop for themselves. No matter how old you got, everyone could relate to the excitement Disney lit in your soul. Well… almost everyone.

It was his turn to stock shelves, not that Roman minded. He was mostly left to his own devices, singing along with the music playing overhead, but sometimes a lost child or confused parent would ask him for the location of specific items.

“Thank you!” A charming young girl gushed at him as he handed her something from the top shelf.

“Of course, princess! Have a magical day!” Roman smiled, waving goodbye. He turned to return to his work, and that’s when he saw him.

Really, Roman wasn’t sure how he didn’t notice him walk in. The boy stood out like a sore thumb. Between all of the colors and happiness, he seemed to exude angst, wearing all black, like some sort of… emo nightmare. It was a punk, bad boy look. He would’ve been described as attractive by some. Roman couldn’t help but be suspicious, watching the other’s moves like a hawk. He knows he shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, Beauty and the Beast taught him that, but something about him was giving Roman a feeling he couldn’t quite shake.

He subtly watched him look around as if he were searching for something. He picked up a Lion King t-shirt, surveying it before placing it back down. His eyes, a deep brown, almost black, scanned his surroundings. His hair was dyed purple, and an eyebrow piercing glinted in the store lighting. Paired with his ripped black skinny jeans, studded leather jacket, and steel-toed combat boots, he seemed to be the depiction of ‘troublemaker’. Maybe he was trying to steal something? There was no other obvious explanation to his shifty demeanor.

Roman tried to focus back on his task while glancing at the hypothetical thief every few seconds. However, he must’ve not been as observant as he thought, as he nearly jumped out of his skin when someone cleared their throat behind him. He bit back a string of profanities when he realized it was the boy he had been watching earlier.

He mustered up his customer service smile, the one he used when he was dealing with a dragon witch of a Karen that demanded to speak with his manager, and in his best false cheer said, “Hello! Do you need any help?”

The emo raised an eyebrow unimpressed, “No, I just wanted to get your attention for the hell of it,” he snarked.

Roman immediately dropped the niceties. “You know, Hot Topic is just three stores down,” he gave him a once over, “they’re probably a bit more your style.”

“I have eyes, I can see where I am,” the other shot back. “I was just wondering if you had any Black Cauldron merch in here.”

Roman blinked, trying to process his question for a count of three before shaking his head slowly, “No, we don’t.”

He scoffed, “Figures, it’s one of the most underrated Disney movies of all time, even if it is the best.”

“Yeah,” Roman nods, “it’s a shame it doesn’t have a bigger fanbase.”

Out of nowhere, two boys, twins, Roman realized, sporting matching glasses, appeared. One attacked the emo’s middle and the other let out a long, sufferable sigh at the action. He took that as his cue to resume his restocking, involuntarily listening in to their conversation.

“Virgie! Look! I found the Winnie the Pooh stuffie! And Lo-Lo got a Baymax one!” one exclaimed. He was the complete opposite of his- older brother, presumably- dressed in a soft, pastel sweatshirt and a knee-length skirt. He pushed the stuffed bear up for him to see.

“Virgil can see that, Pat,” his twin stated. Despite the fact of being so little, he wore a collared shirt and blue necktie, like a mini businessman, though there was a light of excitement in his eyes too as he hugged his own plushie.

Virgil laughed lightly, “Patton’s just excited, let him be, Logan,” he ruffled Patton’s hair as he continued. “And it’s great, Pat. Are you both happy with what you found?” The twins nodded enthusiastically.

“Did you find what you wanted?” Lo asked, both looking up at their brother with large, expecting eyes.

“Uh, no, no Black Cauldron stuff here,” he replied, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Patton’s shoulders slumped, “No Gurgi or Hen Wen?” he asked, sounding so upset, as if he was the one who longed for the merch instead of his brother.

Roman felt his heart drop, he did take this job to see the smiles of kids- and the discounted Disney items- but mostly the smiles.

“It’s alright, kid,” Virgil gave him a half-hearted smile. “I’ll just get something else. Maybe a Nightmare Before Christmas poster.” Patton, however, seemed unconvinced.

Roman could sense Virgil’s gaze on the wall of posters behind him. He subtly tried to follow his gaze and saw it land on the matching posters of Jack Skellington and Sally. They were limited edition, Virgil obviously had good taste. All of the posters were almost sold out, the shelf where they had been, empty. Roman had managed to nab the last one, placing it in one of his boxes to purchase once he got off of work. Was it fair? Not really. But he had wanted them really bad! They would look perfect on his wall!

Virgil chuckled humorlessly to himself, patting the space where the item would have been. “Or not.” Patton looked as if he was about to cry, clinging to Virgil’s legs. Even Logan looked mildly upset by the outcome.

At that moment, Roman realized he had royally messed up. Virgil wasn’t trying to cause trouble. He, like most everyone else, grew up with Disney and was sharing the magic with his younger brothers. He should’ve known better than to judge him by appearance. Disney was never wrong in their teachings. He made the split-second decision to help make the twins smile, and perhaps even give a proper apology to Virgil.

“I’d hate to interrupt,” Roman started, ignoring the questioning look Virgil sent him, as he crouched down to address Patton. “But did you say you liked Gurgi?”

Patton looked at him with his big sad eyes, sniffling before nodding.

“Well, we don’t have any Gurgi plushies, but,” Roman pretended to tap his chin thoughtfully before brightening as if an idea had struck him. He searched through one of the boxes he had still yet to stock, and in his, rusty, but decent Gurgi impression he said, “Munchings and crunchings in here somewhere.” This got a small giggle out of Patton, even his twin seemed to brighten at the quote. They both tried to peer over Roman’s shoulder to see what he was getting, but he blocked the view.

He grabbed the poster he had put away for safekeeping. He supposed there would always be new posters he could buy later on. He dramatically turned on his heel in his crouched position. He pulled the rolled tube into view as if he were unsheathing a sword and held it out to the twins with both hands.

Patton gasped in delight before looking down a bit confused, his enthusiasm ever-present. Logan, however, smiled in recognition. “Virge, it’s the poster!”

Roman looked up to meet Virgil’s eyes with a small smile, standing up and offering it to him. “Lucky for you, it's the last one. Worthy for a dark and stormy knight like yourself.”

Virgil’s gaze softened considerably at Roman though he rolled his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips. “If I’m the knight who’s the prince?”

He opened his mouth to speak, about to gesture to the twins when Patton beat him to it. “He is, silly!”

Virgil and Roman both widened their eyes, fighting blushes, realizing the implications of the statement. Virgil wouldn’t meet Roman’s eyes as the employee tried to remedy the situation. “I- I mean, I won’t deny that I’m a prince, but I was talking about you little princes right in front of me.”

Patton and Logan both grinned at that, as Virgil cleared his throat. “We should get going, Mom will be calling soon,” he said, rounding up his brothers and pushing them to the direction of the checkout lines. He looked over his shoulder, sending Roman a crooked smirk. “Thanks for the posters, Princey.”

Roman swore his heart skipped a beat. “You’re welcome.”

Taglist: @starry-knight-skies @space-captain-lars @viana-dascolli @wistful-wish

[losille2000]

Hoot and Howl, Chapter 2

TITLE: Hoot and Howl CHAPTER NUMBER: 2/? AUTHOR: Losille2000 CHARACTERS: Actor!Chris Evans/OFC GENRE: Paranormal Romance (more on the magical realism side?) FIC SUMMARY: Chris goes on a camping trip to calm the noisy anxiety in his head, but it ends up leading him into his own messed up version of a Disney movie. When he said he wanted to be a Disney prince as a boy, this was absolutely not what he meant. Especially considering that the princess is also, well… about that… RATING: M (sex, language) WARNINGS:  Nothing. AUTHORS NOTES: Thanks to everyone for being awesome with the first chapter back. Enjoy this one. The OFC’s name is pronounced Nay-shaw.

Previous Chapter - Also available on Archive of Our Own!

Chapter 2

Nascha stood over the bubbling concoction in her cauldron, closing her eyes to the steam rising and curling pleasantly around her chin and cheeks. She’d spent too much time outside in the forest last night, and her skin still felt tight from the cold weather. The soothing warmth was just what her body needed, though it was not enough to rejuvenate the stores of energy she had depleted during the exercise. She only hoped she could make it until the end of the month and her next scheduled volunteer visit to Boston. Falling off the wagon now was not an option. Not without a suitable replacement for her extremely specific needs.

 A disgusted teenaged voice filled Nascha’s head then, drowning out her nagging thoughts. I hope you know I hate when you make that, Nae.

Nascha chuckled and glanced back at the fluffy feline lounging on the cat tree across the kitchen. The cat momentarily paused from painstakingly grooming her luxurious white fur—long enough to glare in accusation at the chuckling person.

 It smells like dog breath, the voice continued.

 “Well, yours smells like old tuna,” Nascha reminded, “so you have no place to talk.”

 Ugh, whatever.

 Ash loved her bored and disgusted teenaged one-liners. The cat could give any teenaged human a run for their money in that department, but there were certainly times when Nascha wished other people could hear it, too, just to understand the pain associated with listening to it all the time. Not that anyone would ever believe what they were hearing. They were more likely to check themselves into an institution than believe that it was possible for a cat to talk back to them. But cats did talk back. All animals did. They understood human languages just fine. The trouble was that Great Spirit had taken away the ability for the animals to respond in kind because of a terrible indiscretion long, long ago.

 Or so the story went.

 It didn’t really matter to her, because she still heard it. She heard all of it. The squirrels, the birds, the lizards and snakes… she heard them. This was her curse. 

 Nascha placed the large wooden spoon she’d been using into the ceramic holder on the stovetop, thinking once again how nice it was to have modern conveniences like electricity and gas to power her needs and keep a constant heat on her work. The ancient medicine woman who taught her this recipe while she’d still been living on the reservation had refused to cook it anywhere else but in a cauldron over an open fire. Maybe it ultimately changed the efficacy of the potion, not using the inherent energy of an open flame to create it, but Nascha was a modern witch. Modern witches innovated. After all, innovation was the only way she’d been able to survive off the reservation that had hidden her—and hurt her—for so long. She was pretty damn good at it all by now.

 A soft electronic chime drew Nascha’s attention away from her thoughts. She reached for her cell phone on the opposite counter as a notification alert popped up on the screen. The motion sensor on her front door had detected some type of movement. Clicking over to the video capture, she saw an old beat up pickup barreling down the driveway at a speed almost too high to take the curve into the clearing where her house sat. She didn’t recognize the vehicle, but whoever was driving clearly had an emergent purpose.

 She watched a moment longer as a very hairy and muddy man jumped out of the truck, reached inside, and withdrew a dog. Well, that explained the rushing in on a Sunday afternoon.

 “Where’s Smoke?” Nascha asked Ash.

 How should I know? Ash said.

 “Will you please find him?”

 Ash rolled over onto her back. If she had the ability to roll her eyes, she would have done that, too. He’s probably watching Star Wars again. Nerd.

 “I have to sit with this for another minute or two,” Nascha said, motioning to the pot. She did not want to waste the ingredients she’d used by overcooking it. Getting the same ingredients would require a visit to a grocery store or the local occult shop; store-bought ingredients never adequately replaced those she picked herself during her nightly exercises. “Please go see what’s wrong.”

I hate going out there, Ash responded. Humans are all idiots.

 “Ash…”

 The cat stood up and stretched languidly, clearly unconcerned, like a senator at an impeachment trial.

 Nascha grabbed the cat—carefully, of course—and set her on the ground. “I would like to remind you of our deal. I agree to feed you, catch small rodents for you, and let you sleep in a warm bed. In return you occasionally help me out around the clinic.”

 Yeah, yeah, yeah, Ash said, flicking her tail unhappily, but walking toward the door into the hallway. And if I don’t, you’ll turn me into a human. Blech.

 “And don’t you forget it!” Nascha called as the door swung shut, even though Ash knew it to be an empty threat. No one, magical or not, could change another creature into something else unless they were born with the genetic ability to do that. Ash was as feline as they came, and she would stay that way until she used all her nine lives.

 Nascha returned to her cauldron, but in her argument with Ash, she’d neglected it too long. It was now splitting and congealing into a gelatinous black goo giving off a putrid smell, not unlike a dog’s breath with periodontal disease. Just like Ash had said. She sighed heavily. “Well, so much for that.”

 She grumbled to herself and pulled the cauldron off the heat to cool down before she could clean it out and start over. Smoke finally appeared in a feathery flurry, landing on his perch.

 There’s a guy outside with a dog, Smoke intoned, but then made a chirping noise not native to an African Grey.

 Nascha looked at him, “I thought you were watching a movie?”

 Smoke bobbed his head and clicked his tongue before speaking aloud, “Alexa turn TV off.”

 The house became more silent and Nascha looked at her other housemate. “Go tell them to wait. Ash is already out there.”

 Was it wise to send her out? Smoke asked.

 Nascha shrugged. “I’ll be right there.”

 Smoke, who was quite a bit more dutiful than Ash, unless his favorite TV shows were on, immediately soared out of the room to take care of business. Nascha washed her hands and checked her appearance in a tiny mirror before she reached the door that led into the surgery suite. Ash sat there flicking her tail, annoyed and waiting to give a report.

 “So?”

 The idiot was attacked by a bear. Name’s Dodger.

 “Thanks.” Nascha frowned, reaching for the waiting room door. A bear? Hardly looked like a bear attack from the video image. But he wasn’t the first patient to exaggerate how he’d been injured, and he wasn’t going to be the last. “Stay close in case I need you.”

 Ash jumped onto the chair in the corner of the room and lifted her own paw to lick lightly. She didn’t care. And honestly, Ash wasn’t going to be much help anyway. Only the bipedal assistant that worked for Nascha Monday through Friday would be any help— seeing as it was Sunday, Nascha worked with what she had. Because she was innovative… not just as a witch, but as a veterinarian. Still, this emergency would be the first true test of her weekend “help.” She didn’t get a lot of emergencies out here in the middle of nowhere.

 Nascha breathed in deeply and let it out as she opened the door to survey the situation before her. She swept her attention to the pathetic looking brown and white dog, the bloody rag around his paw, and the human male who looked completely beside himself. By way of introduction, she said, “I’m so sorry! I was in the middle of something that couldn’t be put down.”

 The hairy, mud-caked man looked familiar to her, but she couldn’t quite place him. Even so, his spirit gave the room a frenetic energy like a geyser bubbling and about to blow. Everyone knew it was about to happen, could sense it, but it was the sickening anxiety and bated breath before the eruption that bothered her. She’d never felt it to this degree.

 “My dog, he—”

 She swooped into action, flicking her eyes down to Dodger. She hummed and reached for him. “Let me take him back and have a look.”

 “Can’t I go back?” The man asked, reluctantly handing the dog over to her.

 She cradled the dog to her chest; Dodger didn’t struggle as she spoke softly. “It’ll be okay, Dodger.”

 Dodger looked up at her as he snuggled into her arms and said in the most delightful old-time Southern drawl, How y’all know my name?

 “You look as white as a ghost,” Nascha said then to the man, ignoring the canine’s drawling voice. She got it. This dog very clearly meant a lot to the guy, but she had procedures. And her procedures included not giving someone a reason to call an institution when she started talking to animals. “You need to sit down and calm down. You’re not going to be any help to your dog or to me if you’re freaking us both out during an exam. Let me look at the injury and stop any active bleeding. Then we’ll talk.”

 Nascha did not wait for approval and swept back into the surgery where she set Dodger down on the metal exam table. “Dodger, what’s your human’s name?”

Chris, he responded, big brown eyes meeting hers. Y’all really understand me, don’t ya?

She chuckled. “Yes, I do. Now. Were you really attacked by a bear?”

 Dodger whined and shifted just enough to hold out his injured paw. It was terrible, Doc. He was fixin’ for a fight.

 Nascha carefully unwrapped Dodger’s paw to find that the bleeding had stopped, and under all the mud, a long laceration across the side of the paw consistent with a tear of some kind originating from his dewclaw… but definitely not from a bear fang or claw. “If a bear had done this, you would have lost your paw.”

 I’m tellin’ y’all. A huge brown one!

“Do I need to ask Chris?”

Dodger whined again. After some hesitation, he looked away and moaned forlornly. Fine! A fish jumped and smacked me in the face. I fell.

Nascha laughed. “And?”

I dunno. It happened when I fell off the rock into the river.

“Alright,” Nascha said. “Do you think it’s safe to call your human in?”

Nah, I reckon he’s ‘bout as useful as a screen door on a submarine right now.

She couldn’t hold in her laughter at his expression. How had a Southern dog gotten all the way up here to Massachusetts? His owner did not have the same slow drawl. In fact, he’d sounded distinctly Bostonian in the few words they’d exchanged in the waiting room. “How about I get it all cleaned up and stapled, then call him in?”

 How can y’all understand me?

 Nascha did not have time to explain the ins and outs of her abilities. Though this wound was not life threatening, it did need attention sooner rather than later. “That’s not what I asked.”

 “Um… excuse me?”

 Both she and Dodger froze, turning their attention to the doorway. The door remained closed, but judging from the voice, he was directly on the other side of it. “Yes?”

 “May I please see my dog?”

 Nascha exchanged a look with Dodger, who then laid back on the table, resigned to not getting an answer right away. “If you promise not to pass out.”

 “I can handle a little blood,” he remarked as he stepped into the room.

 She noticed, quite suddenly, that he took up a lot of physical space. More than she had realized out in the waiting room. He wasn’t overly tall, but at least six foot, he was taller than her. His shoulders were broad and sturdy. And he was a mess, covered in blood, mud and likely freezing. His brain, however, had not really noticed that last bit because he was so worried about his dog; she could still feel the turbulent energy rolling off him. He was in shock, or pretty near to it; now it was a matter of two patients, rather than one.

 “The good news is that he’s fine,” she said. “Bad news is that I need to do major clean up and staple his leg.”

 “Nothing broken? He’ll be okay?”

 She nodded. “He tore his skin, mostly. Once I get it cleaned up, I’ll have a better picture of everything, but it otherwise seems fine. I can do a radiograph if you would like to make sure nothing’s broken. But from palpating it, I don’t feel anything out of the ordinary. And Dodger didn’t complain.”

 The man’s whole demeanor deflated. He crumpled onto the bench beside Ash, who had been as silent as a dormouse through the whole process. “Thank god. I thought—”

 “I am also worried about you,” Nascha added, coming around the table to crouch down in front of him. She set a comforting hand on one of his he had rested on his knees, but instantly regretted the decision. Touching humans was always a risk for her. This was different, though. A different she couldn’t quite fathom. “Are you okay?”

 “I’m fine.”

 “You don’t look it,” she replied, securing her hold on him. He turned his palm up, grasping her fingers like they were a tether to reality. She noted that his were mostly soft hands—office worker hands—but there was a degree of roughness there that suggested he might have hobbies that took him away from a desk. His fingers were long, the nails bitten but not to the extent that they were horrible to look at. As a matter of fact, they looked like very pleasing hands and she had the brief irrational thought that they probably took great care of whomever he loved.

 She’d held a lot of hands in her time, but most of those were gnarled and old, at the end of their journey when their owners asked her for assistance. His, in contrast, were vital. Alive. There was nothing sick or dying about him. Freezing cold from the elements, yes, but strong and alive, nonetheless.

Nascha wanted to hold on longer, not least of all because she now felt his frenzied energy oozing into her skin and up her arm, curling and mixing with what was left from her last trip to Boston.

It had been too long since she’d fed. The exercise in the woods last night had taken too much out of what little she had left. And he… he was potent.  

She wanted to moan in delight as his energy began to fill the empty voids within her, but clamped her lips shut at the last second.

That would have been embarrassing.

The man released a shuddering breath and laugh-groaned when he looked down at himself, the tension releasing from his broad shoulders. Slowly, he turned his attention up to hers. Soft blue-gray eyes with the longest eyelashes blinked back at her. They were the kindest blue eyes she’d ever beheld. “I am a little cold.”

 She finally succeeded in pulling her hand out of his, severing the connection, reluctant to let go. It would have been so easy to hold on for longer. The consequences of that, though? She shuddered at the thought. She’d made a promise to herself a long time ago to never take without asking—or being asked—first. Technically, she’d already broken it.

 “How about a blanket, a fire, and some coffee? That is, if you feel comfortable enough sitting in my living room while I work on Dodger.” 

Never mind that she did not feel comfortable with his intrusion. Having someone around meant she had to watch what she said and what she did. It was a mental load she wasn’t prepared to handle. Still, the words had come tumbling freely from her lips. She silently hoped he would decline and instead go back to the regular waiting room.

 He surprised her by saying, “I would love it.”

 Nascha eased back up to her full height, doing a quick mental survey of her living quarters. Had she left anything out from her work earlier that would be too difficult to explain? The cauldron was definitely an issue, but it was close enough to Halloween. She could explain it away as experimenting on something for decorations or a Haunted House or something, though she never decorated for the holiday because she didn’t celebrate it.

 “Good. Let me put Dodger in a kennel and I’ll get you set up,” she finally said as she turned back to the dog.

 Dodger yipped at her. I don’t need to be put away.

 Nascha shook her head. “You’ll be fine for a little while, Dodger.”

 No, I will not.

 “He’s fine,” the man, Chris, said through a shaky laugh. “He hides out in his kennel back home when he wants to get away from me.”

 Yankee traitor, Dodger mumbled.

 “Does he want to, uh, get away from you a lot?” Nascha asked by way of conversation.

 She began to scoop the canine back into her arms, but Chris held out a hand to stop her. “I can carry him.”

 Nascha picked up Dodger anyway. “I’m stronger than I look…follow me.”

 She pushed her way out of the exam room and into the back work area of her home. The previous owner—also a veterinarian—had built this addition on long ago to house his country practice. It consisted of one exam room, one clean room for surgeries, and a small lab equipped for only the most basic of pathology tests. The stainless-steel kennels lined one wall of the lab.

“You have a nice little setup back here,” he said.

“Thanks,” she replied, not elaborating. She could say that the previous owner had given it to her as a gift, but then she’d have to explain why he had given it to her. And that would be impossible to explain without scaring the shit out of anyone. Even though Dodger’s owner had calmed down considerably since she had held his hand and siphoned off his frenzy, she did not want to create another problem that would bring the anxiety back.

She couldn’t be trusted to hold his hand again. Next time, she might not be able to let go.

Nascha turned her thoughts to the heavy animal in her arms. She cooed softly at Dodger as she placed the dog inside a clean kennel on top of a thin cushion. On top of him, she wrapped a large towel to help him conserve some warmth before she could get back. Dodger accepted her kindness by licking her wrist and letting out a heaving sigh. He didn’t say anything else.

 “You’re sure he’ll be fine?” Chris asked as she closed the door.

 “In two weeks, you won’t even know there was a problem,” she said. “Except for the hair that will still be growing back.”

 “Okay,” he breathed out.

 Nascha gave him a small smile that she hoped was comforting and set her hand on his back, in the middle of his flannel-covered shoulders. It was a familiar move she wouldn’t normally have made, but he seemed appreciative of it. Maybe she was, too, now that she could feel the hard sinew beneath the damp flannel covering his torso. Office worker hands or not, the man clearly did many physical things with his body.

 “How about we get you warm now?” she asked.

 He nodded and shivered. It was enough of an answer for her, as she motioned for him to follow her down the hallway toward the living portion of the house.

[miguel-manbemel]

Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 20: The Pact - Part 2

Here comes part 2 of the story I released some days ago as part of this fanfic blog inspired on Sanders Sides by Thomas Sanders, Joan S. and the Foster Dawg Team. Fun fact, the main premise of the story is that Thomas gets terribly sick with high fever... and it was premonitory because I wrote the basic draft of the story last week and I, myself, got really sick this week with high fever. When I published part 1, I was still recovering. I’m totally fine now, but how did this venture into the future happen? Maybe, subconsciously, I was seeing it coming and it flew into the story? I don’t know.

Gotta say that letting the writing rest unpublished for these past three days has allowed me to do so many tweaks and improvements to the story. Maybe I should make this the norm and wait five days after I finish any writing to improve it and make it better. There were so many parts I wasn’t entirely satisfied with that have turned so much better thanks to these improvements. Who would have known? For instance, one thing I have decided here is to start giving proper names to the Sides’ counterparts in the shorts, specifically the Prince Guy which as this point has become a regular character in the fic. I decided to give them names that sound similar to the Sanders Sides but not exactly the same. If you want to see what name I gave him, just keep reading the episode. That’s one of the improvements I was talking about, among many others. Anyway, now I leave you with this part of the story. As usual, if you want to check previous entries, including part 1, you can find them right here. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next time.

SYNOPSIS: The Dark Master has left the Mind Palace, and as a result Thomas is seriously ill. If the Sides, with the assistance of Joan and Talyn, don’t find a way to make him return to the Mind Palace before it’s too late, Thomas will die.

WARNINGS: Prinxiety. Thomas is featured with an illness that has some intense moments of angst, including moments where Thomas is on the verge of dying. Remus appears, but due to the nature of the episode he will be forced to ally with the other Sides, so he’ll be a little less nasty than usual. Scenes of violence and animal cruelty are mentioned.

EPISODE INDEX

[flashback of the final moments from the previous episode]

DARK MASTER: Be careful with what you wish for. Your wish was to get rid of me. And now you will. I’m leaving this Mind Palace to live in the real world. Too bad that a host without one of his two Masters… cannot survive.

ROMAN: [distressed] Oh, no! Thomas!

DARK MASTER: By the way, the ingredients and cauldron were just to set me free. I am a Master. Turning Dark into Light is child’s play for me. I could have turned you into a Light Side permanently all the time. So long, guys! I’m gonna enjoy my freedom!

[The Dark Master flies away, carrying the bag with the cauldron with him]

ROMAN: Wait! Come back!

[Thomas suddenly loses balance and has to be grabbed by Logan and Patton]

THOMAS: I’m… I’m feeling so cold…

PATTON: [putting his hand on Thomas’ forefront] My God, you’re burning! You have high fever!

ROMAN: [approaching Thomas] I’m sorry, Thomas. This is my fault.

THOMAS: [weak voice] It’s… okay… But, guys, please… take me home…

[Thomas faints]

ROMAN: [horrified] Thomas? Thomas!? Oh, no, what have I done!? Thomas!!

[intro sequence]

ROMAN: Thomas? Thomas, please!

LOGAN: It’s okay, he’s still breathing.

VIRGIL: Why haven’t we fainted with him?

LOGAN: He hasn’t totally passed out, he’s still mostly conscious, only too weak to open his eyes.

PATTON: We need to take him home, kiddos.

LOGAN: And we need to contact Joan. They and Talyn are the only ones in the real world we can ask for help.

[Ira and the Prince Guy arrive]

PRINCE GUY: How did it go…? [scared after seeing Thomas lying on the ground] What’s happened!?

ROMAN: Roland, I mean… brother, help us! We need to take Thomas home quickly. This has been a disaster as you can see.

PRINCE GUY: Ira, use your sprite form to travel faster, go fetch the royal carriage, quick!

IRA: Aye, aye, my liege!

[Ira turns into a sprite and flies away]

PRINCE GUY: Your emissary told me about the pact and where I could find you. What’s happened now, Roman?

ROMAN: I was tricked! It was a plot orchestrated by the Dark Master, and I fell into it like a fool. And now Thomas is gonna die, and it’s all gonna be my fault!

VIRGIL: Don’t say that, Roman.

ROMAN: But it’s true! I condemned us all for my stupid gullibility!

VIRGIL: We still have something to say in this situation, Roman. This is not over yet. We’ll make the Dark Master pay, somehow.

LOGAN: [invokes a thermometer and puts it on Thomas’ head, then checks the result] He’s got 105ºF, which is 40.5ºC. We need to lower his temperature now. Patton, have you got a handkerchief?

PATTON: No, I left it in my room.

LOGAN: It’s okay. [Logan takes his necktie off] Take this. Immerse it in the pond and put it on Thomas’ forehead. The water in the pond looks clean. I hope it is cold enough.

PATTON: Okay.

[Patton immerses the necktie in the pond and takes it out soaking wet. After squeezing it a little bit, he puts it on Thomas’ head. He starts shivering]

THOMAS: [plaintive groan] …no, please… so cold…

LOGAN: I know it’s cold, Thomas, but this is mandatory. This is for your own good. Hold on. [invokes his old necktie and puts it on] I’m not myself without my necktie, but there’s nothing I wouldn’t sacrifice for Thomas’ well-being.

PATTON: This is the worst situation we have ever been into. If Thomas dies… we will all die with him.

LOGAN: I know… But he’s not dead yet, Patton. Let’s not lose hope so soon.

[Ira arrives with the carriage]

IRA: I’m here, guys! Quickly, put Thomas in!

[Thomas is held up by Patton, Logan and Deceit and placed inside the carriage. They all get in and the carriage goes away. In a matter of minutes, it reaches the door to Sandersia. Then they get Thomas into Roman’s room]

IRA: Okay, we can’t get beyond this point. Take care of Thomas, okay?

ROMAN: We’ll do. Here.

[Roman invokes a crystal ball and gives it to the Prince Guy]

ROMAN: This crystal orb is connected to me and will show an image of the room where I am every moment. With this, you’ll be able to see how everything’s going in the outside world, so that you can stay informed.

PRINCE GUY: Thank you, Roman. Now go, and take care of Thomas.

ROMAN: I’ll do my best, but…

[tears fall down Roman’s eyes. The Prince Guy hugs Roman]

PRINCE GUY: Hey, hey, come on. You can’t afford falling apart right now. Thomas needs you. We all need you. Be strong for me. Will ya?

ROMAN: [cleaning his eyes] I will… I’m sorry.

PRINCE GUY: It’s okay. Now go and be great. You can do this. I love you.

ROMAN: I love you too. Bye, Roland.

[Roman closes the door and approaches Thomas]

PATTON: Roland? Your brother’s name is Roland?

ROMAN: Yes, that’s my brother’s name. You didn’t think his name was “Prince Guy” did you?

PATTON: Yeah, but you never used his name before today, so, like, I kinda assumed he was nameless at this point, like the early Disney princes…

ROMAN: Of course not, Patton. It’s just that he doesn’t want his name to be featured in the shorts, that’s why we never use it. But earlier it just slipped out and… [looking at Thomas] okay, that doesn’t matter now. We have more important business to attend to. [leaning down towards Thomas, speaking with a soft and sweet voice] Thomas… open your eyes, please. Can you do that for me?

THOMAS: [very weak voice, opening his eyes] I’m… so cold…

ROMAN: I know. It’s the fever. But you must make an effort. We can’t get you out to the real world, you must get out yourself.

THOMAS: I… I can’t.

ROMAN: Yes, you can. You are strong and brave. I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t. Come on. You can do it. Just this once, and then we’ll let you rest, okay?

THOMAS: I’ll try…

[Thomas closes his eyes. Then he starts sinking down]

ROMAN: Well done, Thomas, you’re doing it.

[Thomas disappears. Then the Sides sink down and they all appear in the living room. Roman and Patton place Thomas on the couch, Patton sits down next to Thomas]

ROMAN: Well done, buddy… I’m so proud of you. Now rest. You’ve earned it.

THOMAS: [a tear falls down his cheek, his face is blushing because of the fever] Don’t go away from me… Don’t leave me alone… I’m scared.

PATTON: [tearing up, holding Thomas’ hand and kissing it] I’m here, Thomas and I will never leave you. I’ll be with you all the time, kiddo.

[Logan picks up Thomas’ phone and calls someone]

LOGAN: Hello? Is it you, Joan? No, I’m not Thomas, I’m Logan. Listen, this is an emergency. You and Talyn must come to Thomas’ home quickly. Thomas is in mortal danger right now and needs help… I can’t give you more details by phone, time is short. Yes, we’ll be here. Hurry up, please.

[Logan hangs up]

ROMAN: Do you think they will be able to do something, anyway?

LOGAN: I don’t know, but what else can we do? They are our only allies in the real world. We need them.

[Deceit brings a basin full of water with a couple of little towels floating on it]

DECEIT: Here, I filled this with cold water.

LOGAN: Good idea, Deceit. Keep putting cold compresses on his forehead, and replace them when they get warm. We must fight that fever. Virgil, go put an effervescent tablet of ibuprofen in a glass of water and make Thomas drink it. Perhaps that will be of help too.

VIRGIL: Okay.

[suddenly, Remus storms in the living room]

REMUS: Where is it!? What did you do with it!?

ROMAN: Remus, it’s you. What are you doing here?

REMUS: Enough with the “what are you doing here”! I know you’ve been in my room! Where did you put my black cauldron!?

ROMAN: The Dark Master has it.

REMUS: Oh, no! You fool! How could you let the Dark Master put his hands on my cauldron!? Don’t you see what you’ve done!?

ROMAN: Yes, I do. Look at Thomas.

REMUS: Yes, that’s my point and that’s what I feared!

ROMAN: Now you care about Thomas? I thought you hated him.

REMUS: Don’t jump to conclusions! It’s not what you think, you idiot! I don’t care about Mr. Sunny-boy anymore than I care about any of you, and I don’t mind putting Thomas into all kinds of mental misfortunes! But I would never physically harm him, cause if he dies, we all die! And I don’t know about you, but I am too young to die! I raised that barrier to protect the cauldron from falling into the Dark Master’s hands, and you ruined it! I hope you’re proud of yourself!

[Roman shows a face of remorse]

VIRGIL: [angry] Hey, Mortimer Re-Mouse! Cut him some slack, will ya? If you care so much about your own safety, you could try to be constructive for once in your life!

THOMAS: [weak voice] Guys… don’t fight, please…

PATTON: How are you doing, Thomas?

THOMAS: I’m still feeling so cold…

LOGAN: Let me see…

[Logan puts the thermometer on Thomas’ forehead, then checks the temperature]

LOGAN: 103ºF, or 39.4ºC… It’s a little better, but it’s still high fever. But I guess the ibuprofen is doing some work after all…

THOMAS: I’m sorry I cannot be of use to you now, guys…

PATTON: [sweetly petting his hair, all wet because of the compresses, speaking with the sweetest, relaxing voice] Relax, kiddo. The only way you can be of use for us now is by getting some rest.

[there’s a knock on the door]

LOGAN: That must be Joan. Virgil, go open the door.

VIRGIL: Okay.

[Virgil goes to open the door. Joan and Talyn come in]

JOAN: Where is Thomas? What is going on?

VIRGIL: He’s on the couch.

[Joan and Talyn go to the couch]

JOAN: Oh, my goodness, Thomas! You look so bad!

THOMAS: [weak ironic smile] Hello, Joan… thank you for your compliments…

JOAN: What’s wrong with you?

LOGAN: He’s got a high fever. We have managed to keep it under control, sort of, but he’s far from recovery, I’m afraid.

TALYN: We need to take him to a hospital.

LOGAN: I’m afraid that wouldn’t be helpful. His illness is not of organic origin.

JOAN: What’s happened?

LOGAN: The Dark Master has set himself free. He’s left Thomas’ Mind Palace to wander around in the real world, and Thomas cannot survive without him. If we don’t find a way of making the Dark Master return to the Mind Palace, Thomas will die.

JOAN: What? But how could this happen?

ROMAN: [giving Joan the magic scroll] Maybe this will explain it to you.

[Joan reads the contract]

JOAN: I don’t fully understand. So, you made a deal with the Dark Master to become a Light Side again? And for that you gave him these shirts and that black cauldron? Why would you do that?

ROMAN: I told them already, he tricked me! I didn’t know he was the Dark Master! I would have never participated in this if I had known! Do you honesty think that I would have sold Thomas, my friends and the Side that I love to make my wish come true? You all are more important to me than me being Dark or Light! You should know that!

VIRGIL: I know. We know, Roman.

JOAN: Yes, I know… I’m sorry if I made you feel otherwise Roman. I also forgot that you don’t speak Tagalog, the Filipino language. As you know, my family is of Filipino origin. Even though I only know a few words of Tagalog, one of them is “Madilim”, which means “Dark” in Tagalog, so I quickly identified he was the Dark Master, so the shock made me assume that you would have known too… I’m terribly sorry, Roman.

ROMAN: It’s okay. I wish I would have known the language too, so I wouldn’t have fallen prey of his tricks. I wouldn’t have given him that dang cauldron if I had known the truth.

DECEIT: What was in that cauldron, anyway? How could the Dark Master use it to free himself like that?

REMUS: When Roman left me in the island, I was still a Light Side. As time went on, I realized I was slowly turning into a Dark Side, the more Roman tried to repress me. I tried to counter that change by projecting my dark energy out of me into that cauldron. At first, it worked, as I turned back into a Light Side, but the repression kept happening again, and again, and every time stronger than the previous one.

DECEIT: That must have been angsty.

REMUS: There was a moment when the cauldron was so full of Dark Energy, that I could not fill it anymore, or it would corrupt myself, so I finally gave up and let the transformation happen, until I became a Dark Side. At that moment, my room in the Dark Realm appeared. I came there to check out, and the Dark Master confronted me. He tried to force me to submit to his will with his whip and all. But you know me already. I’m too kinky to be tortured. I was totally unaffected by his physical chastising, I even enjoyed it.

PATTON: Why am I not surprised?

REMUS: So, he eventually gave me up as impossible and just allowed me to stay in my room without messing too much in my life, just checking out what I was up to from time to time, and forbidding other Dark Sides to approach me, as he didn’t want my rebellious attitude to spread out among them. But one day, he noticed my cauldron. He wanted it desperately. As he told me when trying to bribe me into giving it to him, he could use all the concentrated Dark Energy inside to set himself free. If combined with objects belonging to the different Sides, not only he could be free to get out of the Dark Realm. He could also get out of the Mind Palace itself.

LOGAN: Why was the Dark Master so open about his plans? It doesn’t make sense.

REMUS: He probably thought I was so demented and so thirsty of revenge against Roman, Thomas and the Light Sides, that I would give him the cauldron without further question. I may act idiotic, but I’m not stupid! I knew what would happen to Thomas, and by extension to all of us, if he did that. I couldn’t destroy the cauldron, as that would have set free a wave of Dark Energy so strong that it would have destroyed Sandersia, which would have wounded Roman and by extension me. And if I destroyed it in the Dark Realm, I would have only been making it easier to the Dark Master, as he could just absorb the Dark Energy and perform his plan, so I raised the barrier around my room, a barrier only Creativity, that is, Roman or I, could cross and allow others to cross. I figured that a ton of bricks like the ones Roman used in his Dream Factory, which I also was able to create, would be enough to keep the cauldron safe. I didn’t expect that Roman would eventually mess everything up, and not only by getting the cauldron out of the barrier, but also willingly giving it to the enemy! And then it’s me who they call demented!

VIRGIL: As I said, it would be better for all of us if you were constructive, and not destructive as you usually are!

REMUS: I am what I am, emo! And right now, I’m an angry octopus, that’s all!

VIRGIL: Octopus?

[tentacles appear from Remus’ back]

REMUS: Yes, octopus! Oh, did my tentacles scare you? You can thank Roman for them, I wouldn’t have had them if I hadn’t been turned into a Dark Side!

[Remus hides the tentacles]

VIRGIL: [with voice of disgust] I… I’ll just pretend I didn’t see that.

LOGAN: [scared] Guys, Thomas is getting worse!

THOMAS: [loud breathing] I’m finding it hard to breath…

PATTON: [scared] Thomas, please… hold on.

JOAN: Where the f… [bleep] are we going to get some oxygen for him now? We need to call an ambulance, Logan!

THOMAS: No… no… it’s okay… it’s getting over… it was only a moment… I can breath again now…

LOGAN: [angry] Guys, you’re wasting time! Thomas is fading in front of our own eyes and you’re all just behaving like bratty babies as if we had all the time in the world! Instead of arguing or blaming yourselves or others, it would be better if we made a plan of action! He is running out of time!

PATTON: Well, Logan, you’re Thomas’ logical thinking. No one better than you to set a course of action.

LOGAN: All right… first, we need to find the Dark Master. But that’s easier said than done. Gainesville may not be a huge city, but it’s big enough to help someone hide. And he will probably be disguised to go unnoticed.

REMUS: You don’t have to worry about that. Didn’t you have a little green firefly, or something?

LOGAN: You mean Ira?

REMUS: Yeah, Ira or whatever. That b… [bleep] , I mean the Dark Master, not the green b… [bleep], and now I mean Ira, not [pointing at himself] this green b… [bleep] …

PATTON: [annoyed] Cut to the chase, you b… [elongates the B letter] ...b-b-biscuit!

REMUS: [beat] As I was saying, before daddy interrupted me, the Dark Master has used my own energy to set himself free, which means your sprite friend could easily trace him, as long as he’s still holding my black cauldron. If he isn’t… well, he’d still be traceable for a couple of hours more, while remnants of my energy are still on his body, then he’ll be gone for good.

LOGAN: I doubt he would want to get rid of that cauldron. He would have simply left it in the forest if he hadn’t found it useful or didn’t think it was dangerous for him to leave it behind. He’s still carrying the cauldron, I’m sure.

ROMAN: Okay, Ira, did you hear that? I know you’re watching from the crystal orb. Come here now, we need your ability again.

[Honesty appears]

PATTON: Oh, Honesty, hi. Long time no see. It’s been a while since you last showed up. Are you okay?

HONESTY: Why are you asking that? I’m fine. Besides, that’s not important now. The important thing here is to make sure Thomas is okay right now.

PATTON: You’re right, but us being worried about Thomas doesn’t mean we cannot be worried about you at the same time. Is anything wrong with you lately? Why don’t you want to show up?

HONESTY: [concerned] Well, I…

PATTON: You don’t intend to fade away for another eight years like the last time, do you?

[Honesty doesn’t have time to answer, as Ira’s sprite appears]

PATTON: We’ll talk about that later, but you bet we’ll have that conversation, mister.

DECEIT: If we’re still alive by then… Sorry, did I say that aloud? I totally didn’t mean it…

REMUS: [a little scared, to Ira] Stay away from me, Stinkerbell!

[Ira makes a loud jingle bell sound that reminds of a raspberry noise]

VIRGIL: You can see him? Then that means you’re not a Dark Side. Not completely at least.

REMUS: Of course I can see him, and want him away from me! His bite still hurts on my neck and it’s the only non pleasant pain I have ever felt!

ROMAN: Okay, easy, Captain Poop. Ira, can you do what Remus said? Can you detect the Dark Master’s trace? We need to find him…

[Ira starts flying up and down, as if nodding to say yes]

LOGAN: However, we mustn’t just go running blindly on the hunt of the Dark Master. We need to think beforehand what to do when we find him. Otherwise, he could harm us.

ROMAN: No, he couldn’t.

JOAN: Why not?

ROMAN: The pact. It says that he can’t actively hurt us, or else everything would turn to be as it was before. That could be a solution… with good things and bad things. The good thing is that that would send the Dark Master back to the Mind Palace, saving Thomas’ life. The bad thing…

VIRGIL: What?

ROMAN: …the bad thing is that I would turn back into a Dark Side again.

REMUS: What? You were a Dark Side?

ROMAN: Yes, and it’s all your fault, by the way. Something happened when we fused that corrupted me into a Dark Side when we split up.

REMUS: You’re saying it as if I was the only one to blame. I didn’t put a gun on your head, did I? You wanted to fuse with me as much as I did, so you’re as guilty as I am. Besides, I love that that’s happened to you. Now you will know how it feels, cause that’s what you did to me when you tried to repress me, and, unlike me, you did it on purpose! I guess karma is real after all.

ROMAN: [sighs] I guess you’re right, cause it really looks like a karmic punishment. That doesn’t matter, anyway. If I have to turn into a Dark Side, then so be it. I prefer being a Dark Side rather than getting Thomas killed. Anyway, this is all just speculation. He would never attack us knowing what’s on risk for him, and I would never put any of us in danger of getting harmed by him, so…

REMUS: You know what? I’m tired of waiting!

ROMAN: What?

REMUS: You guys are just standing here talking about life and doing nothing! I’m not a man of talking, I’m a man of action! And I’m gonna destroy the Dark Master with my own hands! [invoking it] And this Morningstar!

LOGAN: That’s not a wise idea. We should form a plan together to…

REMUS: [yelling] Don’t tell what to do, you’re not my boss! I do what I want whenever it pleases me, and now what pleases me is getting out of here, okay? Bye!

[Remus gets out of the apartment]

ROMAN: Wait! Urgh! Why does he have to be so dramatic all the time? I can’t believe it’s me who’s said that… He’s right in one thing, though. We don’t have time to form a plan of action. We must get moving right now.

LOGAN: [sighs, looking at Thomas] I think you’re right…

ROMAN: Okay, guys, we must divide forces. Joan, Talyn, Logan and Patton, you will stay with Thomas. Take care of him and if he gets worse, take him to a hospital if it’s necessary. It may not do any effect, but at least he’d be under control.

LOGAN: Okay.

ROMAN: [invokes another crystal ball and gives it to Joan] Here. This is another crystal orb like the one I gave my brother, so that they could check out what was going on. You will see all that is happening to us through it, okay?

JOAN: Okay.

ROMAN: Virgil, Deceit and I, and Honesty too, of course. We’ll follow Ira and face the Dark Master when we find him. We must be careful, we don’t know what he may be up to. He can’t harm us purposely, but he may try to harm innocent people instead or use them as hostages. We mustn’t let him do that, okay?

VIRGIL: Got it.

JOAN: Won’t it call people’s attention to see four clones of Thomas Sanders wandering around Gainesville?

ROMAN: Don’t worry, Joan. We’ll be invisible when we are moving around Gainesville, and if we have to be visible, we can assume any shape to go unnoticed.

JOAN: Okay.

THOMAS: Be careful, guys…

ROMAN: We will be, Thomas. Okay, guys. Let’s go. Thomas, we’re borrowing your car, okay?

[Honesty disappears into Deceit, then Roman, Virgil and Deceit get out of the apartment. The sound of a car is heard outside going away]

THOMAS: [to Logan, with a weak voice] It’s the first time they are gonna get away from me in the real world… Are you sure they can do it?

LOGAN: Don’t worry. We can move around Gainesville at will. In fact, and sorry we’ve hidden this from you, this is not the first time at all. We have already done this once or twice, always staying invisible of course or shape-shifting into ordinary people. I have visited the library several times thanks to that. How do you think I get the knowledge of things you don’t even know about sometimes?

PATTON: Yeah, and I got some good cooking recipes in the library too. If I had waited for you to start learning how to cook, I would still be doing Playdoh cookies, you know?

THOMAS: And that… doesn’t affect me in any way? I mean, Virgil just clocked out and I became a whole mess. Wouldn’t it be worse if you literally wandered miles away from my body?

LOGAN: Well, it does affect you. Have you ever felt like distracted, with your head figuratively in the clouds? It was probably because one of us was hanging around out there. But, as long as we don’t leave Gainesville, or the city or town you’re staying at the moment, we’re still in contact with you, even if we’re far away, that’s why you don’t become a complete mess like when Virgil switched himself off.

THOMAS: I’d be a little mad if I wasn’t feeling so bad… You guys have to bring me up to date about these secret escapades of yours… that is, if I get out of this one…

TALYN: Of course you’ll get out of this one, Thomas. Don’t lose hope.

THOMAS: I don’t… I trust my Sides and I know if they set their mind on saving my life, I couldn’t be in better hands…

[there’s a knock at the door]

JOAN: What? Who can it be? Here, Talyn, hide the crystal orb. You, Logan, Patton, go invisible.

LOGAN: Done.

PATTON: Ready.

JOAN: I can still see you.

LOGAN: Don’t worry, Joan. We can be seen only by the people we want to be seen, and that’s Talyn and you exclusively.

JOAN: Okay, I’ll go to the door.

[Joan goes to open the door]

JOAN: Oh, Dahlia, Dominic, it’s you.

DAHLIA: Joan? What are you doing here? We’re coming to talk to Thomas.

DOMINIC: Yeah, he has to give us an explanation!

JOAN: An explanation? About what?

DAHLIA: He has been around Gainesville, doing the most disgusting things. I didn’t want to believe it at first, but I saw it with my own eyes an hour ago. He kicked a little dog on the back and left it in pain. And he left laughing just like that.

DOMINIC: We took it to the vet. Thank God the poor boy is not in danger. We called Thomas, but he’s not answering the phone. We assumed we’d find him here at this time of the evening.

LOGAN: They must have called while we were still on Sandersia. The outer world signal can’t reach there, that’s why I had to wait till we got out to call Joan.

JOAN: Guys, I think you are completely wrong, Thomas could have never done something like that.

DAHLIA: Yeah, I thought that too, but we saw it with our own eyes, Joan. Now, are you going to let us in or not?

JOAN: I mean that he could have never done that, because he has been here all the time. He’s sick. Talyn and I have been nursing him all the evening.

DAHLIA: What? I can’t believe that!

JOAN: See it for yourselves. He’s now on the couch with a high fever. Come and see.

[Dahlia and Dominic enter the apartment. When they see Thomas on the couch they sport a confused face]

DAHLIA: Thomas?

THOMAS: [weak voice] Hello… Dahlia.

DOMINIC: You look awful…

THOMAS: Thanks for noticing, Dominic…

JOAN: As you can see, he couldn’t have left the house in his condition. He can barely move.

DAHLIA: No… I guess not… and besides you’re right, it was such an out-of-character thing to do from Thomas… He adores dogs…

DOMINIC: But if it wasn’t you… who was that person? He looked just like you. Dahlia and I saw his face clearly, and it was exactly your face, only with a malevolent expression that chilled the blood.

TALYN: Are you sure he looked like Thomas? Perhaps it was just someone who reminded you of him.

DAHLIA: No, Talyn, I’m telling you. It’s not just that he was similar to him, or I could have had any doubt he was someone else. I’m telling you he was a clone of Thomas, like a twin brother or something. Heck, he was even wearing the same shirt you’re wearing right now! How is that possible?

DOMINIC: Are… are you guys hiding something from us? Cause I’m not buying that you don’t know who that doppelganger is.

LOGAN: Thomas… don’t worry, they can’t hear me yet. But I think the time has come to tell them the truth about us.

THOMAS: Are you sure, Logan?

DAHLIA: What? Logan? Who is Logan?

DOMINIC: Who are you talking to now? Don’t tell me you’re gonna start talking to the thin air like the other time!

TALYN: [nervous] I… I think it may be the fever, he is probably delirious…

LOGAN: Don’t worry, Talyn. I think we can trust Dahlia and Dominic. They’re your friends after all. And they have already seen too much. They’re already suspecting. Something tells me they’re not gonna stop until they find out the truth one way or another, and I think they deserve to know the truth from us, don’t you think?

THOMAS: Yes, I think you’re right, they deserve it…

DAHLIA: Deserve what?

THOMAS: Okay, Dahlia, Dominic… I’m going to level up with you, but you must promise that you will never ever tell this to anybody, promised?

DAHLIA: Tell what?

THOMAS: Promised?

DAHLIA: Okay, I promise.

DOMINIC: Me too.

THOMAS: Okay, don’t be afraid now.

DAHLIA: That’s a phrase that never works when someone says it, Thomas.

THOMAS: Logan, you can show up.

LOGAN: Good evening, Dahlia. Salutations Dominic.

[Dahlia gasps and has to sit down on the other couch due to the impression. Dominic is too stunned to react]

DAHLIA: What? What is going on? Who are you?

LOGAN: My name is Logan. And I am Thomas’ logical Side.

JOAN: Do you remember Thomas’ stories about his Sanders Sides? The videos he makes in his YouTube channel?

DAHLIA: Yes, I do. I also remember that sometimes he started talking to himself in his living room as if he was sustaining long conversations with someone. But I thought he was only rehearsing his acting abilities for those videos.

DOMINIC: As you know, Joan, I saw Thomas once yelling outside as if he was talking to someone. So… the Sanders Sides from his stories… are real? And you knew this all this time, Joan?

JOAN: It’s okay, guys. Talyn and I were as surprised as you are when we first found out. You wouldn’t believe everything we’ve seen these last few months. And Dominic, if it serves as something, when you told me that, I still didn’t know anything about the Sides. But it was precisely that what prompted me to find out the truth. It’s a long story, though.

DAHLIA: So that guy we saw earlier… it was another of your Sides? Your nasty Side or something?

LOGAN: Not exactly, although it is indeed a close definition. The one you saw calls himself the Dark Master. It is a concentration of Thomas’ evil self, the evil part that all human beings have inside themselves to one extent or another. Thomas had him repressed in his subconscious, but he set himself free and now is wreaking havoc around Gainesville.

PATTON: That’s right.

DAHLIA: [startled] Oh! I didn’t see you coming.

PATTON: Sorry, kiddos. I’m Patton, I’m Thomas’ Morality.

DOMINIC: By the way… you also look almost exactly like the guys in Thomas’ shorts…

PATTON: Yes, kiddo. Thomas got inspired on us to make these shorts.

DAHLIA: You all have the same face… isn’t it weird to you, Thomas?

THOMAS: Oh, it has never been weird to me. They have been with me all of my life since I was a child. I never found them weird at all.

[Thomas takes a deep breath as if he was running out of air]

LOGAN: Thomas, you shouldn’t speak so much. You should save your strength. You’re ill, just in case you forgot.

DAHLIA: What’s the matter with Thomas?

JOAN: Thomas needs the Dark Master to survive. That’s why he’s sick right now. If we don’t find a way to make him return inside of him before it’s too late, Thomas will die.

DAHLIA: What!?

DOMINIC: What can we do to help him!?

LOGAN: Some other Sides of Thomas have gone to fetch the Dark Master. And that reminds me… Talyn, you had the crystal orb, didn’t you?

TALYN: [pulling the crystal ball out] Yes.

LOGAN: Let’s see how they’re doing. I hope they found him already.

[everyone starts looking at the crystal ball which shows the following images. Roman, Virgil and Deceit are in front of a guy around whom Ira is flying]

ROMAN: There he is! Show yourself, Dark Master, there’s no use in hiding anymore!

DARK MASTER: [changing back into his real form] Very clever of you! I should have spared Ira’s life. It was a mistake to let him transform into this and call me out.

ROMAN: Too bad for you, Dark Master. We got you, and you won’t get away this time.

DARK MASTER: You certainly took your time, though. I’ve been sporting Thomas’ form for the last couple of hours, and only disguised myself a few minutes ago.

DECEIT: Why would you do that?

DARK MASTER: Because it was fun to destroy Thomas’ reputation while I was on it. I want to make that vicious Light Master pay for everything he’s done to me. I want to destroy him socially and revel in his suffering before he ceases to be a nuisance once and for all.

DAHLIA: If we needed any more confirmations, now we have them. I’m sorry I have ever doubted you, Thomas.

DOMINIC: Me too.

THOMAS: It’s okay, guys… let’s keep watching.

ROMAN: You truly are a sadist, and if you think we’re gonna let you do that…

DARK MASTER: And what are you planning to do to stop me, Princey? You can’t do anything to me. I’m too powerful for you and without your Light Master, you’re nothing. You should fear me.

ROMAN: Heh, neither you can do anything to us, remember? If you touch us, the pact would be broken and you’d turn back into what you were before, a fragment of yourself trapped as a simple character in Sandersia. That’s what you were as Madilim, weren’t you? I bet it stung. The once all powerful Dark Master, forced to be a secondary character in my stories.

DARK MASTER: [furious yelling] SHUT UP! [putting himself together, turning back to his mocking attitude] It’s true that I cannot touch and you cannot touch me. So we’re tied on this one. Or so you think. Because I just have to wait until Thomas perishes, and then you would all perish with him, and I’d be the winner, so the joke’s on you.

VIRGIL: If we die, you will die too!

DARK MASTER: Wrong! That’s a little extra from the spell. I’m totally independent from Thomas now. I’m just gonna dance above your grave!

DECEIT: You won’t get away with this! Somehow, we’ll take care of you!

DARK MASTER: Oh, do you think so, snake? Excuse me… [checks his watch] Three… two… one…

[Thomas starts running out of air again]

LOGAN: Thomas, hold on! Try to breath!

DARK MASTER: See? I can sense that already. Thomas is facing his final moments. Soon you’ll be history.

VIRGIL: Oh, no, Thomas!

THOMAS: [voice of suffocation] I… can’t… breath…

PATTON: [crying] Thomas, hold on, please!

DAHLIA: What are we gonna do?

DOMINIC: Should I call 9-1-1?

[meanwhile, a stranger approaches the Dark Master]

STRANGER: Excuse me, sir, could you tell me how to get to the Vam York Theater? I’m a little lost in this town and…

ROMAN: What? Who’s that dude?

DARK MASTER: What? Get lost!

[the Dark Master pushes the stranger and makes him fall]

STRANGER: [getting up] Hey, you don’t have to be so rude! I’ll teach you some manners, mister!

[the stranger slaps the Dark Master in the face]

VIRGIL: Uh-oh… [yelling] Sir, get away! That man is dangerous!

DARK MASTER: [angry] You’re gonna regret this!

[the Dark Master points at the stranger with his finger]

ROMAN: [horrified] Oh, no, I know that gesture! Don’t do that, Dark Master! He’s an innocent!

DARK MASTER: As if I cared about that! Die!

[the Dark Master shoots a black beam at the stranger, it crosses him through the chest]

ROMAN: [suddenly in pain] Aw! It hurts!

VIRGIL: [scared] Roman, what’s wrong with you?

DARK MASTER: What? What’s going on here?

STRANGER: [with a mischievous smile] I got you… Dark Master.

[the stranger falls to the ground, then transforms into Remus. Roman also falls down, sporting the same wound Remus has on the chest]

VIRGIL: [leaning towards Roman] Oh, no, Roman! Remus, what have you done?

REMUS: What had to be done! I got my revenge both on the Dark Master and on my brother, finally! I’m sure Thomas can survive without creativity, at least he’ll be alive to tell it.

DARK MASTER: Oh, no, but if you’re Remus, then that means…

REMUS: I’m not a friend of Roman’s, and he doesn’t truly consider me a relative, but we are connected. By hurting me, you have hurt Roman, so the pact is broken. Eat this!

[the bag flies away from the Dark Master’s hand and falls on Roman’s hands, then the Dark Master starts sinking down]

DARK MASTER: [full of angst] No, no! I don’t wanna go back in there again! No!

REMUS: [blowing him a kiss] Bye, bye, blackbird!

DARK MASTER: NOOOO!

[the Dark Master sinks down completely. At the same time, Thomas starts regaining his breath]

THOMAS: [relieved] It’s over… I can breath again…

PATTON: Thomas, are you okay?

THOMAS: I’m still a little weak, but I can feel myself getting better by the minute. I already feel the coldness fading away…

LOGAN: Yes, even as we speak, you’re starting to look better. [he puts the thermometer on Thomas’ forehead, then checks the result] 98ºF which is 36.6ºC. You don’t even have fever anymore. The Dark Master is back into the Mind Palace. They did it!

[Thomas’ friends cheer, but Patton makes gestures to them to be quiet with a worried face]

PATTON: Guys, look at the crystal orb! Roman and Remus are wounded!

[everyone stops cheering and look at the orb. Deceit has grabbed Remus and put him next to Roman]

VIRGIL: Roman, your face! A half is turning into… a fox!

ROMAN: Well, that confirms it… I’m a Dark Side again.

REMUS: Well, you’ll just have to deal with it as I did. You can’t have everything, you know?

ROMAN: It doesn’t matter, anyway… I think we’re not getting out of this one. I hope I can make a good red sprite…

REMUS: Oh, do you think so? Think again, bro.

[Remus touches his wound on the chest and the wound starts healing itself. At the same time, Roman’s wound starts healing itself too]

ROMAN: What? What is going on?

REMUS: Sticks and stones can’t break my bones, brother. The Dark Master tried everything to subdue me, but I just healed myself again and again and just moved on. He can’t do me any harm if I don’t let him. That’s the power of intrusive thoughts, you can never destroy us. And that applies both for the Dark Master and the Light Master.

[after a few seconds, Remus rises up totally healed. Then helps Roman rise up, he’s also all right]

ROMAN: You… saved us all.

REMUS: Nah, don’t read too much into this. I was just saving my own butt, that’s all.

[Roman hugs Remus]

ROMAN: Thank you! Thank you, Remus!

REMUS: [surprised by the hug, a little startled] Look out! If you hug me like this, we’ll fuse again!

[Roman doesn’t listen, he still hugs Remus]

DECEIT: It’s weird. Nothing’s happening.

VIRGIL: I guess something happened when Thomas broke your fusion so abruptly. Perhaps you can’t fuse right now.

REMUS: Oh… do you think so, emo? [hugs Roman back, letting go a little brief smile of joy] Okay… [pushing Roman away after a couple of seconds, faking annoyance] Okay, let go, let me breath!

[Roman lets go, looking at Remus with a loving glance that makes him blush and look away bashfully]

VIRGIL: Let’s go back with Thomas. I hope he is okay now.

[The Sides jump into Thomas’ car, Remus gets on the wheel]

ROMAN: Are you sure you know how to drive?

REMUS: Bro, I was born to drive!

[Remus starts the car which goes away at high speed while Deceit screams in fear like a little girl. The crystal orb turns off then]

THOMAS: If Remus harms my car I swear…

PATTON: Glad to see that you’re okay, Thomas.

THOMAS: Guys, I suddenly thought… What has the Dark Master done while he was on the loose? How many people are going to hate me for things I didn’t do? And even if we explain it wasn’t me, how are we going to explain the presence of someone who looks exactly like me? This is gonna be tricky…

LOGAN: I think I’ve got an idea. I’m going to need Roman and Deceit’s help, though, they are the best actors among us.

ROMAN: [suddenly opening the front door] Thank you for your compliments, Logan!

THOMAS: How fast were you going, Remus!?

REMUS: I don’t know… Is it normal that the car emits smoke and fire from inside the hood?

THOMAS: [horrified] What!? My car!

REMUS: I was kidding! You should have seen your face, Thomas! [starts laughing like a maniac]

THOMAS: If you weren’t virtually indestructible, I would kill you…

ROMAN: [noticing Dominic and Dahlia] Oh… whoops… did… did I miss something?

THOMAS: Oh, don’t worry, Roman. Dominic and Dahlia are on our side, they’re our allies now.

ROMAN: Oh, okay… I got scared for a second.

THOMAS: Guys, let me introduce them to you. This is Virgil, my Vigilance, although I’m still fond of calling him my Anxiety. This is Deceit. Inside of him, there’s Honesty. It seems he doesn’t want to show up, but you’ll get to know him someday. And these are Prince Roman and Duke Remus. Together, they form my Creativity.

DOMINIC: Nice to meet all of you.

DAHLIA: Same.

THOMAS: Now Dominic, Dahlia, remember your promise. You must never ever tell anybody, not even the rest of our friends or families. I don’t wanna become some sort of laboratory guinea pig. Okay?

DOMINIC: Don’t worry, Thomas, your secret is safe.

DAHLIA: You can count on us, our lips are sealed.

REMUS: Well, this was fun, now I gotta go. Give me back my cauldron, Roman.

ROMAN: [giving him the cauldron] Here you are. But before you go, let me tell you that you got your facts wrong.

REMUS: About what?

ROMAN: You thought that it was me being wounded what broke the pact. It wasn’t. As the Dark Master didn’t touch me and didn’t know he was gonna harm me, that wouldn’t have counted as “actively harm” me. If the pact was broken, it’s because he directly harmed you, because you are my brother, and now I finally feel you like my brother. I hope you see it as a proof and give me a chance to start over again with our relationship.

REMUS: [shows a brief emotional smile, then tries to mask it with his usual attitude] I just want to make something clear so that you don’t get mistaken. I am what I am. I still am Thomas’ intrusive thoughts and the part of creativity he doesn’t like. I’m not gonna dulcify myself like Virgil and Deceit did, because that’s not how I work. I can’t change who I am. In fact, I don’t wanna change who I am. See ya later, Thomas, cause you’re gonna see me soon, whether you like it or not…

[Remus sinks down]

ROMAN: [sighs] That’s something I’ve always known, but this is a start anyway… Now, what were you saying about me being a good actor? Not that I disagree or something.

LOGAN: I didn’t say you were a good actor. I said you were the best actor among us, alongside Deceit. Not counting Thomas, the bar is not that high in this Mind Palace, anyway.

ROMAN: [beat] Fair enough…

LOGAN: Listen, this is the scene you are gonna perform. I want Deceit and you to go to the Taco Bell that is located in that downtown avenue and say this. [gives them a paper with some lines] I also want Thomas’ friends to show up, to give realism to the scene. This will help clean Thomas’ name.

ROMAN: Hmm… I don’t know, Logan, these lines do not let me show off my acting skills. Couldn’t I tweak this a little bit, just for a better show?

LOGAN: [rolls his eyes] I know it’s hard work for you, Roman, but this has to be realistic.

ROMAN: Are you implying that I can’t act realistically?

LOGAN: Are you implying that I’m implying anything different?

[Roman emits some offended Princey noises]

DECEIT: I’m not good at memorizing lines, Logan. Remember how I was barely able to remember the details in your outfits when I tried to impersonate you. I can’t do this.

LOGAN: [sighs] Okay, then Roman will memorize his lines, and if you don’t remember the exact words, improvise, but try to stick to the ideas in the text, please.

ROMAN: Why do you let him say what he wants and not me!?

LOGAN: [angry snapping] Because I’m the dramaturg, writer, producer and director of this play, and you’re gonna obey my orders, got it!?

ROMAN: [pouty face] Okay, got it, but this play’s gonna suck!

VIRGIL: It’s cool that that is gonna get fixed and all… [sad voice] …but…

[Roman looks at Virgil with a sad face]

ROMAN: I know… Even if now I can spend short amounts of time with you because I’m no longer emitting so much Dark Energy… We are forced to live separated again. It’s not fair.

THOMAS: At least we’re all alive and well and we have time to think on something to fix this that doesn’t imply me catching a lethal cold again.

ROMAN: Yeah, sorry again, Thomas. You have gone through so much because of me. I don’t know how to apologize…

THOMAS: It’s okay. All’s well that ends well.

ROMAN: If only it had ended well for everybody… I wish there was a way to fix this other than recurring to that monster. For him it was so easy, he said that he didn’t even need the objects, he… [suddenly opening his eyes wide] …wait a second…

THOMAS: What?

ROMAN: He also said that for a Master it was child’s play to turn Dark Energy into Light Energy… Thomas, you’re also a Master! If the Dark Master was right, you also have the power to turn me back into a Light Side!

THOMAS: What? But… how?

ROMAN: I don’t know, Thomas, you are the Master, not me!

THOMAS: I don’t know how to use these powers! I didn’t even know that I had them in the first place!

LOGAN: And yet you have used them already, at least once, and now everything’s making sense.

THOMAS: What?

LOGAN: Thomas, it was you who unconsciously turned Roman into a Dark Side. While you forced the separation, you used some ability that made the transformation. You have the power in you to revert that transformation.

THOMAS: But I don’t know how to do that!

LOGAN: It’s okay. Now that your life is not endangered, we have plenty of time to help you learn how to use your Light Master powers. We’ll help you in the task the best that we can. It’s only a matter of time.

THOMAS: But are you sure you’re gonna be all right in the mean time, Roman? You’ll have to be separated from Virgil, who knows for how long?

ROMAN: Yes, it’s gonna be torturing, but at least I have something I did not have these past few days: hope. Now I know that, sooner or later, Virgil and I will be reunited.

THOMAS: You have so much faith in me… I don’t know if I deserve it.

PATTON: Of course you do, kiddo! You can do so much more than what you give yourself credit for!

ROMAN: I do have faith in you, Thomas, because Patton is right. Quoting what Christopher Robin told Winnie the Pooh, “you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think”. If you weren’t, we wouldn’t be here, remember?

THOMAS: Thanks, guys.

DOMINIC: And we’re gonna help in anyway we can, Thomas.

THOMAS: Thanks to you too. The truth is your help is gonna be greatly appreciated.

DAHLIA: It’s okay, Thomas.

THOMAS: [to the camera] Well, to all of you out there…

DAHLIA: [confused] Who are you talking to now, Thomas?

JOAN: It’s okay, Dahlia, I’ll tell you later.

THOMAS: Thank you so much for watching, and until next time, take it easy, guys, gals and non binary pals. Peace out!

[end card]

[It’s the morning after. Joan, Dominic, Dahlia and Talyn are with Roman and Deceit, disguised as Thomas and as a copy of the Dark Master respectively, in front of the Taco Bell in the street]

ROMAN: [yelling] How could you do this, cousin? You’ve besmirched the name Sanders!

DECEIT: I’m sorry, Thomas! I didn’t mean it! I… You know what happens to me when I drink!

ROMAN: Yes, you become a blatant jerk, but that’s no excuse! Do you know how many people has phoned me saying horrible things to me because they confused me with you!? Among all my family members, why did I have the misfortune to be a perfect look-alike to you!?

DECEIT: I’m sorry, I don’t deserve to live! [mumbling] This is not humiliating at all… [yelling] Tell me what can I do?

ROMAN: What you can do? Easy! You will go back to Montana and never return! Gainesville doesn’t want people like you, and certainly neither do I!

DECEIT: Okay, as you wish, Thomas! I’ll pack my bags and leave, and never return!

ROMAN: And if you want some advice, stop drinking, or they will also expel you from Montana! You are lucky that no one has denounced you here! Don’t push your luck!

DECEIT: Farewell, Gainesville! Farewell, cousin! Bye!

[Thomas is watching the scene from his car, with Patton, Logan and Virgil]

THOMAS: [frowning a little bit] Wow, overacting much?

PATTON: Well I did like it, it got me all emotional!

VIRGIL: Dad, you’re always all emotional. It’s okay, though, Thomas. It’s true that their acting wasn’t on point today, but I think it will help add a sense of freakiness to your “cousin” and make him more believable, somehow.

LOGAN: Okay, I recorded everything on my phone. Now I just have to send it online, share it anonymously with a few of your friends and, with some luck, it will go viral and clean your name.

THOMAS: But what if my family watches the video? Won’t they be asking questions about who that “cousin” is?

LOGAN: You can always tell them it was an acting and editing exercise. You told me that nothing about the Dark Master’s doing reached them, so they will believe that.

THOMAS: I hope so.

[Roman and Deceit approach the car]

ROMAN: Okay, did you get it all?

THOMAS: Yes, we did, Roman.

ROMAN: I was great as usual, wasn’t I?

THOMAS: [affected voice] Sure… so great…

DECEIT: Okay, can we go home now? Groveling out loud like that has been so humiliating.

ROMAN: Yeah, your acting hasn’t been on point either. Don’t worry, you’ll get the grip on it next time.

DECEIT: [annoyed] My acting!? What about your acting!?

ROMAN: What do you have to say about my acting!?

DECEIT: [sweet but at the same time sarcastic] Nothing. You have been the best actor I’ve ever met, and certainly you do not deserve a Razzie for your performance…

[at first Roman shows himself flattered… then he realizes that it’s Deceit who’s said that and emits some offended Princey noises]

THOMAS: Guys, guys, don’t start again! Just get in the car and let’s go home. We have a lot of work to do!

[Roman and Deceit jump in the car with pouty faces, then the car goes away]

[thethingwewrite]

Choose Your Side

Part 1:  Witch?

Summary: (Y/N) didn't know what she was getting into when she found the book in her locker. Would using it be just all the fun she thought she could have or something darker than she except?

Pairing: Dean x Reader (in the future)

Word Counts:  2817

Warning: Bullying, little angst

A/N: Hey guys, here is the new fic and series, I was working on. As you know its a charmed crossover but they aren't in the first part but in the next one, the same is for Dean. There is only Bobby in this part so bar with me, I like her to discover the whole new world first then bring anyone yet. Like I said it was supposed to be a co-writer fic with @secretlyfurrydragon . She inspired me a lot and I really believed she is a great writer. Thanks to @mrswhozeewhatsis for betaing this as always she is just doing a great job with me :). I hope you will enjoy this and let me know what you think about it.

Tag: @dr-dean , @helvonasche, @wevegotworktodo, @thorne93, @aprofoundbondwithdean, @faith-in-dean, @roxy-davenport,  @fangirl1802, @percywinchester27,  , @girl-next-door-writes, @kittenofdoomage, @supernatural-jackles, @mysupernaturalfics, @izawrites,  @jelly-beans-and-gstrings , @ariannnawinchester, @thing-you-do-with-that-thing, @jensen-jarpad, @secretlyfurrydragon, @thisismexxo,  @wonderfulworldofwinchester, @just-another-busy-fangirl, @mrswhozeewhatsis

Spn Tag Sheet: @thinkwritexpress-official , @itsemmyb , @ezauraemmaline, @charliesbackbitches, @deandoesthingstome, @deerlululucy, @walkingencyclopediaoffandom , @gryffindorable713 , @manawhaat, @growleytria, @thegleegeneration, @samtomydeanwinchester , @supermoonpanda , @sis-tafics , @amaranthinecastiel , @becs-bunker  , @meganwinchester1999 , @samanddeanwinchester67 , @ferferelli, @iridianuniverse , @the-morning-star-falls , @ackleslaugh , @fangirling-instead-of-working , @hellbentcrowley, @eyes-of-a-disney-princess , @kayteonline ,  @spnsimpleman,  @mamaimpala@for-the-love-of-dean , @winchesterfiesta ,  @salvachester, @sleep-silent-angel,  @gadreelsforbiddenfruit , @trenchcoats-and-bees  , @curliesallovertheplace, @jencharlan ,  @skybinx-blog,

March 1998

It was a dark, raining night filled with thunder every now and again. From the window of your room, you observed the scenery and wondered if you had been the reason the rain started in the first place. You bit your lips and glanced at the night table you converted into a ritual table surrounded by candles. You did not know whether you could be happy about it or worried, so you slowly decided to walk to it and read the page you used to cast a spell. You took a deep breath as you reread it for the third time.

You had been practicing witchcraft for a whole week now. So far it's only been fun. Any little trick here and there, but you never dared to try the bigger one until now. Being 14 year old, (y/h/c) and plus-size was never easy. So when you found the book in your locker a week ago, you thought someone was pranking you, especially with the weird note, you discovered with it

“(Y/N). You had been chosen to use and protect this book. Make sure it never falls into the wrong hand. Also, This book is a gift and can also be a curse too. If you have good intentions, you will only face minor consequence in your life, if not, get ready for a lifetime of nightmare and losing your loved one.”

That note worried you, mainly because no one knew your locker code but you. You made sure of it. So you quickly put the heavy book in your backpack and went to the library. Stupidly thinking the book belonged there and the look the librarian gave you, it was something you never want to do again. So you left quickly without the book and did everything to avoid the odd look you received on the way to your class.

The whole day, you had received comments from your classmate calling you a witch or fat witch, particularly because the book pop up at any particular moment, even though some of your teachers confiscate it from you and you also throw it in the trash bin on the way home but found it on your bed. You had stopped freaking out after the third time and after receiving from one of your teacher a note to be in detention. You were just bothered and annoyed by everything, so you just gave in and opened the book.

A rumble of thunder startled you and brought you back into the problem. You slightly smiled as you noticed that this spell would only last 12 hours.

“Good,” you said to yourself then closed the book.

You smiled and promised yourself that you wouldn’t use the book anymore, while cleaned and put everything that was on the night table in your closet before going to sleep.

The next day like you predicted, the storm stopped around 9 am and you were pleased to know that the weather came back as it's expected to be. After that, nothing major happened other than two of the four kids that bothered you didn't come into class that day, you did not mind. You figured that they were sick or something, but while you had your lunch break, the two left came to your table.

“Where are they, fat ass!?” Joyce queried

You raised an eyebrow “Who are they? ” You asked back

Joyce grabbed your arms and put pressure on it, you wanted to react, but her boyfriend pressed a knife against your side under the table “Don’t even try anything. Or Jamie will deflate you before you even have the chance to say a word” She threatened you, “Again. Where are they?”

Your heart thundered in her chest while you grimaced slightly in pain while the blade of the knife pressing against your side. “I...I swear I don't know who you are talking about Joyce” You implored her.

“Babe, is she that dumb?” Jamie grumbled “Jack and Jerry.”

“What about them?” you quavered

Joyce didn't have the time to say anything that the janitor came in the way. “Is everything ok kiddo?” He questioned

Jamie narrowed his eyes “She is fine! Now move grandpa” he spat

The harsh look the janitor gave Jamie made the three of you widen your eyes. Joyce let go of your arms and Jamie slide away from you. Both of them left the table without looking back at you.

The janitor’s face smoothed slightly and changed into a concerned look. “You ok kiddo?” he asked one more time

You nodded “Yes, thank you Mr…" you trailed off

“Singer. Bobby Singer,” he introduced himself “Don’t let those idjits…” He started, but he was interrupted by a black male came into the conversation

“Bobby. We need to go” He said not even paying attention to you

Bobby nodded before turning back to you, but once again he didn’t have a chance to speak anything that the man grabbed his shoulder and took him away from you. You observed them leave, linking Bobby already even with the little talk you had. He had saved you today.

Two days later

After the incident and Bobby’s help, nothing significant happened, aside from breaking your promise not to use magic again, but this was an emergency some of your classmates had been slowly disappearing. That’s when you understood what Joyce accused you of being behind those events. She was wrong, at least you hoped even indirectly related to the disappearance you didn’t want to be the one to blame for it. Now here you were with your book open on a tracking spell. All of the incantations were in Latin, and you weren't sure that you pronounced them correctly. Because let's be honest here Latin was the only class you had been failing this year and the fact that those spells even if they were fun to try were in Latin, didn't help you at all. Not to mention you barely understand any of it, you only hope it wasn't something wicked.

You took a deep breath before, chanted the last word of the spell as you dropped the powder inside the cauldron. A small explosion could be heard, and some smoke moved up, you waved off, then grabbed the white stone inside the container before putting it on the map. The second the rock touched the map. It melted like it was burning from the inside and turned into a silver liquid which moved around the map to form a circle around a group of houses. You frowned, it wasn’t specific, but at least you knew where those houses were.

You arrived at the house's neighborhood a few 25 minutes later. Your bike stopped near one of the houses, this area was new construction, and nobody would come here for any reason because some of them still needed to be built. You glanced at them one by one not sure which one you should check first; luckily you took the map with you, you pulled out of your backpack and opened it. You noticed the big circle slowly started to get smaller, as you walked and pushed your bike.

Night had come quickly, by the time you arrived in front of the right house. A big old house, you raised an eyebrow and tilted your head to the side ‘What the hell?’ You thought, wondering why this house was still there in the middle of all those new houses. You stared at it for a few minutes as you walked toward the manor, nervously because it was giving you the creep and you couldn’t shake a strange feeling. You walked into the house after a few moments of wrestling with the door.

Now that you were inside the house, the creepy feeling you had earlier was getting stronger. The door slamming shut itself, startling you. You placed your hand on your chest and tried to calm yourself. Your eyes traveled around the dim hallway, too dark for you to be able to see anything or your eyes to adjust to it. You took your backpack and searched for a lamp, but you didn’t seem to have anything else but the book when you realized the book was there one more time.

You sighed and shook your head ‘Shity book’ you thought.

Even though it was starting to get on your never, you pulled the book when you noticed the book was shining a little. Maybe you could use to walk around or just to find a spell to use, so you have lights in there? You ran the thought in your mind for a few seconds before kneeling down on the floor and putting the book down then flipped the pages until you found the right one.

You smiled “ ego indigeō lucis” (I need light) you repeated three times

You looked around for several minutes as nothing happened, you frowned and closed the book thinking you would just have to carry it around. You closed the book, but it wasn’t shining anymore. Magic was so complicated that you weren’t sure if you still like it. You put the book back in your backpack.

“How Am I going to see anything?” You wondered out loud.

Like someone turned the light on, your hands started to shine the same the book had a few moments ago, you widened your eyes and looked at your hands impress with everything. A smirk appeared on your face; you grabbed your backpack before starting to walk with a hand extended in front of you. As you walked into the vast and dark hallway with the only company the light shining from you had, you got startled by some rats running past you. You watched them go like there was something off about that. Well, rats running away has usually been a sign of danger.

“Hey You!?” someone called out

You turned to face a man, you weren't sure where you saw him before, but you didn't care because the look on his face when he saw your hand shining wasn't good at all, especially because he pulled his gun out “No don't! I am not here to hurt you" you quickly said, holding your hand up, but it wasn't a good idea because your hands started to shine more and slightly blind him making him groan

“Like hell you are!” He barked

Call it intuition or weird feeling, but you didn't feel like staying there and feel the consequences of this, so you turned around and ran away from him, and you were right. You heard the sound of the wind when a bullet came near you. You knew you made the right decision; you ran as fast as you could, not caring where you are going before falling your face first as someone jumped on you to pin you down on the floor.

“Please don't “ You begged as the person gripped at your shoulder to hold you on the floor

“Well, I’ll be damned”  The voice you recognized cursed

“Bobby?” You asked, surprise

“Watch her hand!" Another voice

“Get up" Bobby ignored the man and stood up. You obeyed putting your hand down not wanting to show them, but Bobby grabbed them, and the shining light was on again, “How can you do that?” He asked as the other male came next to you.

You barely had the time to say anything that the other man beat you “She is a witch! Bobby! I told you a witch was behind this” He grumbled showing Bobby the book he found in your back

You shook your head“No! I am not behind this! I am here to help them,” You protested

“Right! We are dumb and Dumber” the other man sneered

“Andrew. Let her answer” Bobby said then turned to face you “Listen (Y/N), we are not going to hurt you…” He began before being interrupted by Andrew  again

“Like hell we aren’t!” He hissed

You shrank back; Bobby let you have a small space between the two of you. However, he was still holding your hand “We are not going to kill you…Yet” Bobby corrected

You palled and tears formed in your eyes. You weren't sure if you were supposed to be happy or not with the fact that the place was dark “What!?” You fretted

“Just tell us where the other kids are and we might consider if you live or not” Andrew  maintained

Your breath quickened, and you pulled one of your hands away from Bobby’s grip “I.. I swear I didn't do anything to them. I… I just want to save them…. I used magic so that I could see in this hallway. Please don't kill me” You begged while your tears fell down your face

Bobby took the book from Andrew  “You know those books are dangerous. There is always a prize behind every spell this book does” He tried to calmly explain it to you.

“That’s not what the note says. I am not allowed to use this for personal gain otherwise I would lose people I care” You confess

“(Y/N) How can you not think about this being weird when you receive that kind of message” He scowled

Before you even had the chance to open your mouth, an invisible force thrown the 3 of you apart from each other. You gasped, and your heartbeat quickened, with a long bang your head hit furniture. All dizzy and barely able to stand with your arms falling along your side, a loud high sound in your ears as you tried to focus on your surroundings, yet failed as you passed out. Occasionally coming in and out, every time you did, you had to concentrate which take her almost all her strength each time. Only some images remained in your mind, with Bobby and Andrew fighting the best they could something, you weren't sure what exactly before you fainted for good not able to hold the pain in your head anymore.

You woke up after a few hours with the sound of the two voices bickering over something you barely or didn't care due to a huge headache you had. You tried to listen. However, your head didn't allow you to sneak on them. It needed too much concentration, and you didn't have the strength to do that. You just gave up and sat up in what looked like a bed “Could you keep down so my brain could rest a little” You said not caring whoever it was

“See Bobby Cinderella is awake now,” Andrew  said sarcastically

You massage your temples, trying to make the pain more bearable, of course, it failed as you watched Bobby come to you and sat next to you. “You look like I did something bad,” You told him

“More like several bad things. Princess” Andrew  said

“What my partners mean is, even though you saved our lives. You did put everyone's life in danger” Bobby said

You widened your eyes and shook your head “No. No, I didn’t hurt anyone. I promise” You blurted as tears came down your cheek.

“The spell you use of that book where market each time you used them. Do you even understand what they mean?” He asked

“Some I did,” You said as more tears fell down

“Oh please,” Andrew grumbled, “Listen, those were dangerous. You were sending each of your friends to a demon!” He fumed

“I...I am sorry” You sobbed “I...I didn’t know. I won’t do it again.”

Bobby nodded “Alright, as long as you stop that I am ok with that” He sent a glare to Andrew

Andrew shrugged “Yeah, don’t, or else we will have to kill you.”

You gasped “I promise I won’t,” You said

Andrew grabbed the book “We are taking this with us as insurance” He said putting the book in his bag before walking out of the room

You nodded, barely able to say anything as you only sob. Bobby shook his head at him, then helped you up. They brought you back to your house, luckily your parents weren't home, nobody to ask you any question. When you got to your room, the book was there again.

[callboxkat]

Quiet (part 19)

Author’s note: I’m not going to lie, the end of this part turns into tooth-rotting fluff. I hope everyone has their floss ready.

Warnings: selective mutism, college, food mention, reference to previous fights

Word Count: Somewhere around twelve hundred? Word is being glitchy again.

Masterpost!

Virgil pulled the new hoodie snug around him. It fit him better than his old one had. Had Roman really made this for him? Was that where he’d been the past two days? He probably would have accepted just the apology.

An idea occurred to him. But should he do it? Was it really a good idea?

Perhaps he shouldn’t overthink it too much, or his jaw would lock up on him.

“It’s Virgil,” he mumbled suddenly.

Roman looked over, confused. “What?”

“My name,” Virgil repeated, with only a miniscule increase in volume. “It’s Virgil.”

“Virgil?” Roman stared at him for a second, as if caught off guard, and for a second Virgil thought he might start laughing. Virgil started twisting the ends of his new hoodie’s sleeves in his fingers. He knew it was a dorky name, but it was his name! He didn’t know if he could take it if Roman started laughing, not right after—

“I like it,” Roman said, interrupting Virgil’s thoughts before they could spiral too far.

“Oh… good.” Virgil swallowed, hoping the wave of relief crashing over him hadn’t been too obvious.

...

“So…” Roman said after a while. “Would you want to reinstate movie night?”

Virgil glanced up from his phone, raising an eyebrow. Are you sure that’s a good idea?

Roman seemed to catch his meaning. “We don’t have to, I just thought… I mean, I know Patton misses them, and I’m sure Logan does too, no matter what that wet blanket says. Plus, it’d be nice to hang out with Joan and Talyn more.”

Virgil sighed, rubbing his wrist uncertainly. He had to admit it sounded nice. It could be like before everything had gone wrong. Perhaps better, even, now that the others knew that Virgil wasn’t just too arrogant to speak to them. But it could also be very awkward and strained, and what if another fight started? What if they decided Virgil was lying?

“Virgil?” Roman ventured at his side. “What do you think?”

He shrugged.

“We could even do one tonight. It’s Friday, after all. Or… or we could have it tomorrow night, or maybe wait until next week. Whatever works for you.”

Virgil bit his bottom lip. He had to admit it was a little satisfying, seeing Roman basically beg him like this. But that wasn’t why he was drawing this out: he really wasn’t sure.

“We could watch Nightmare before Christmas?”

Virgil chewed the inside of his cheek for a few seconds before asking, “D-do you have The Black Cauldron?”

Roman looked mildly offended. “You think I would have an incomplete Disney collection?”

Virgil rolled his eyes.

…

The two of them decided that waiting until the next night for their movie night would be better. It would give the others more warning beforehand, since it wasn’t fair to just spring the plans on them. They had probably made other plans for their Friday already.

After only a short while longer, in which time Roman had somehow managed to apologize about fifteen times and check repeatedly that Virgil really did like the hoodie and wasn’t lying, Virgil escorted Roman out of the building.

Virgil, leaning on the door, made a gesture in place of a verbal good-bye.

“Bye, Virgil. See you tomorrow.”

“Yep,” Virgil said, nodding awkwardly. “Oh, and Roman?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t tell the others where I live.”

…

Patton had been delighted to hear the news about V and Roman’s reconciliation –and the subsequently planned movie night!—but he had to admit he was nervous. This was their first movie night since the disastrous falling out between Roman and V, and Patton really wanted it to go well. He just wanted them all to be friends again, and for whatever reason, it felt like this movie night was the big deciding factor. He had a right to be apprehensive, though, didn’t he? Patton couldn’t help but dwell on everything that had happened.

Roman said that he had apologized to V, and that V had accepted it, but after such a long, drawn out fight, Patton just couldn’t find it in himself to believe that everything was just going to be okay again.

He sure hoped so, though.

…

Virgil nervously paced up and down the path that led up to the library building, waiting for Patton to arrive and pick him up. He didn’t have any of his school things with him this time, not bothering with the pretense that he had been working in the library. He was too nervous to bother.

“V!!” an excited voice called.

Virgil turned to see Patton, having just parked at the side of the road, closing his car door and jogging up the path towards him. He threw his arms wide, and Virgil found himself enveloped in a tight hug.

Virgil stumbled back a couple paces, bringing his own arms up to return the hug. “P—Patton, hi,” he laughed.

“I love the new jacket, kiddo! Are you ready to go?”

Virgil nodded, and then the two of them returned to Patton’s car. Logan was in the back seat.

“Salutations.”

Virgil made a peace sign in response, getting in the front passenger seat.

…

The three friends arrived at Roman’s house in only a few minutes. Virgil fought the urge to rub the back of his neck, a nervous habit, as they made their way up to the porch.

Roman must’ve seen them approach, as he flung open the door just as Patton was about to knock.

“Welcome, friends!” he said grandly. Virgil noticed he wasn’t wearing his prince costume, but rather, a simple t-shirt and sweatpants. “Come on in!”

Joan and Talyn were already inside, setting up a mass of blankets and pillows in front of the television. An array of refreshments were laid out on the coffee table, including a large bowl of popcorn, two large pizza boxes, an assortment of drinks, and a bowl of Halloween candy. This last was in spite of the fact that it wouldn’t even be October for another week, something Logan was sure to point out but which none of them would actually care about.

To say that that movie night went much better than the last one was an understatement. They had lots of food, watched a few movies (The Black Cauldron was up first, of course), and the five guests finally met Roman’s brother, a high schooler named Emilio, when he snuck in to steal some candy. Patton immediately invited him to watch one of the movies with them, which none of the others minded, except maybe Roman.

No one made mention of the fight at the last movie night, or of the two very tense weeks that had followed, but Virgil did get plenty of compliments on his new shoes and hoodie. And nobody asked him to pitch in for the pizza.

Just as the credits started rolling for the last movie, Virgil finally told the rest of the group his name.

The reactions were a mixed bag. Virgil thought that Patton might explode from excitement, and Logan went off on a tangent about how Virgil “suited him excellently” due to its resemblance to the word “vigil” and how the name was thought to come from the term “vigilance”—Virgil didn’t even bother questioning at this point why Logan would randomly happen to know such specific information about his name. Talyn only said that it was a nice name, not making as big a deal out of it as some of the others, and Joan just smiled. Roman was clearly trying to pretend that the name was news to him as well, and being the theatre nerd he was, knew not to go overboard in the act.

All in all, the movie night hadn’t been a disaster. He had finally revealed his name, and it hadn’t gone as horribly as he feared. He had his friends back, even Roman.

Maybe Virgil could survive this whole college thing after all.

Tag list: @patton-loves-coloring @starryfirefliesbloggo @purplesoul-at-hogwarts  @lotusthatexists @lizaelsparrow @awesomelissawho @amuthefunperson @faithfreedom  @bunny222 @syndianites @astraastro @momolinia @captainswan618 @hamilin-manuel-miranda @goldenkiddos @afilhadehades-blog @virgeofselfdestruction @theresneverenoughfandoms @iris-sanders-athena @super-magical-wizard @jesjessode @rainbow-sides @thefallendog @fanficptsd @zodiac-awesome @lookitsthatquietgirl @soft-boy-patton @nerd-in-space @pearls-of-patton @ab-artist @angered-turtle @im-so-infinitesimal @enby-kiddo-with-a-blog @raygelkitty @dr-gloom @whats-going-on-kiddos @spider-parker14 @oh-star-how-the-mighty-fall @fillyourteacup

[weaselbeaselpants]

Rewrite challenge: #10 and #19

#10 The Black Cauldron

Oh poor, poor Black Cauldron. All the “lackluster” Disney films (besides Chicken Little, that one sucks) I feel sad. Katzenberg vivisecting the film didn’t help matters, but the big problem is the world building in my eye.

Prydain feels so underpopulated in the film. I don’t remember any locations with humans in it that weren’t Horned King’s castle or the farm where Taran lives. This is a fantasy world! Where is everybody!? The world building affects our characters too because we don’t know anything about them besides them being a hero or a villain.

The Horned King is in DESPERATE need of a backstory. I’m not too big on Lord of the Rings, but I know that Sauron is connected to the One Ring which is why he’s trying to get it back and we have a pretty good idea what will happen if he gets it back and why everyone else wants it for there own. The motives the Horned King has for finding the Black Cauldron are clear: he wants to bring back an army of the dead…but…why? To rule? To fight? He mentions in the end that his army is moments away from victory. Is he just out to start a zombie apocalypse? What will having an army of the dead accomplish for him? Where’s the profit? Was this somehow explained in the book better? I don’t think so since from what I’ve read the Horned King is a composite character of two villains from the books.

My friend Amelia has the right idea of making Horned King tied to Prydain’s history. My version is a bit though. I’d rewrite the story so that he is the “dead” king whom Taran’s sword once belonged to. He sought out the Black Cauldron but it backfired and he now seeks it to bring back the army that he killed and rule again. After what’s probably been hundreds of years of exposure to black magic, he’s basically rotted from the inside out and his sanity has gone, as he’s now under the delirious impression that Prydain is just waiting to have it’s ruler back when in reality the country has moved on.

That’s another thing too! Is Prydain under-populated because of a war or something, one not specifically tied to the Horned King? That would be interesting. The rest of the world fears The Horned King of course but they don’t consider him much of a threat to their needs. Taran can be one of those people who’s more interested in being a soldier than an apprentice and pig keeper. Maybe the Horned-King-before-he-was-Horned-King started a war or conflict of it’s own centuries past and Taran and co. don’t find out until later.

You had the chance to make the Horned King a real bawss of a villain. Not a sympathetic one, just one with clearer motives and a horrible history. He could be like Sauron/Golem/The White Walkers all together but instead he’s just “the guy who’s gonna use this thing to do this other thing”.

But Horned King is at least interesting. Taran and Eilonwy are boring and it has nothing to do with them being clichéd good-guy hero kids (though I admit, a Black Cauldron starring Fflewddur does sound more unique). I kinda though Taran was gonna be more interesting cause when the film starts he’s all like “yeah I wanna fight the Horned King and be a hero” but the minute Hen-wen is stolen he remembers that he’s just a scared boy. When he finds himself in the Horned King’s castle and has to make Hen-wen use her vision he’s immediately like “I wanna go home nevermind!” I think it’d be more interesting if, once Hen-wen was safe, he was like “fts I’m going home” and wanted to nothing to do with the Horned King or the Black Cauldron but gets roped back in because Gurgi guilt trips him or something. Make him a reluctant hero who looses his wide-eyed wonder of the world but gains real confidence and strength. When he’s about to sacrifice himself to the cauldron it’s not really earned. It feels like he’s doing it because…he’s the hero.

Much as I hate Doug Walker now I remember his Disneycember from way back when mentioning how Eilonwy is a princess but of a kingdom we never see. We should really see that kingdom. There are two ways you could go with this: Make her an actual scullery maid disguised as a princess as a decoy to escort the weird light-thing away from Horned King, since that’s why he captured her in the first place – much like how Taran got roped into all this with Hen-wen; or make her the princess of Prydain and connect her with the going’s on of the outside world that don’t involve the Horned King. Like Taran, she’s also just looking to safely get away, expect once she learns of the Horned King’s whole plan and knows there’s gonna be casualties, she’s all “we gotta stop him!” and springs into action.

In both cases I think she could be a little more feisty – pissed and rage driven to be kidnapped or held prisoner for something that doesn’t even involve her. Make her a no-nonsense girl who has less tolerance for Gurgi and Fflewddur than Taran. Maybe she’s the one whose all like ‘Ima jump in the cauldron’ in the endbut Taran stops her and reminds her that she, like him, is just a kid. Also make her ball of light more connected to the overall story and world of Prydain as well. Something needs to be done with her because, as is, you can cut her out of the movie and nothing would be lost.

Also fix Gurgi’s voice. He’d be a fine character if he weren’t so hard to understand.

…that’s all I got! If it isn’t obvious I haven’t read the Prydain books to know what stuff apparently HAD to stay in despite the filmmakers already taking liberties with the source material. I don’t think I’m the right person to revamp this one as outside of Game of Thrones and Star Wars (it counts) I’m not a fan of high-end Euro-centric fantasy stories. If the movie is being remade than it better be done by someone who knows, likes, and is talented within that genre. Hire the Game of Thrones folks or someone who’s not Peter Jackson cause Peter Jackson’s lost his mind. IDK. Let poor Black Cauldron spread its wings and find it’s home rather than being a victim of cuts from a studio going through growing pains.

#19 The Book of Henry

If you’ve seen Folding Ideas video on it, you’ll know how much of a mary-sue Henry is and how badly this movie handles themes, tone, and morals. It seems like a fanfic written by a future rampage killer who doesn’t understand what about Henry’s actions are “bad”, and how NO ONE in the world has the solution to the problem except him. In a good movie, someone resorting to killing a child-predator as the only option could make a good story - it just has to have a little thing called consequences to it! No story that has implied child rape in it ends with happy goody-goody Butterfly #1 cliffnotes.

While I don’t watch him anymore, I remember Brad Jones made a really good point in his Midnight Screenings of that movie. That being: what if Henry was wrong about Glen, the adopted father. What if this was a misunderstanding and this kid was a psychopath. It would make for a good purposeful tonal whiplash. So here’s my rewrite:

Henry is the eldest, favorite child of a hands-off single mother Susan. Henry prides himself on the lie Susan tells him that he is the real provider of the house. He is mean to Susan (who takes it and says she deserves it) and lonely school cause his attitude isolates him from peers - though he thinks he’s too good for them anyway. Henry begins to grow interested in his teenage neighbor Christina after he hears her screaming in the middle of the night. He comes to believe that her step-father, Glen, is abusing Christina. He stalks the two of them and writes hundreds of notes and tapes about their house and his understanding of their living situation - that Christina’s mother is out of state and Glen is a kind of passive aggressive police chief who doesn’t get along with Christina in public.

Then Henry dies. Not by a tumor. In a freak accident.

Susan goes mad with grief while her remaining son Peter tries to cheer her up. She comes across Henry’s many notes on Glen and Christina. Susan does her own investigation and comes to the same conclusion that Henry did about Christina being abused and, through misguided encouragement from Peter, decides to kill Glen like Henry intended to do. 

Glen meanwhile tries to be a good neighbor by helping the grieving Susan anyway he can. He allows her to watch Christina while he’s at work. Susan, Peter, and Christina bond it up while Susan uses their visits to plan out Glen’s murder. Christina begins to feel more confident and comfortable with herself and even agrees to drive Peter to his school talent show. That same night, Glen is home alone after a long week of work and is unaware that Susan is setting up a sniper riffle from her porch. Before she can shoot, however, Christina comes home and stops Susan in the nick of time. Glen comes out when he hears the scuffle and Susan screams about all the evidence she and Henry have stacked up against Glen and what she was going to do. Distraught, Christina runs inside crying. Glen calls the police on Susan for attempted murder and assault on a minor. As they wait for the cops, Glen tells Susan the real story Henry was not privy to:

Christina was abused - by her biological father, whom her mother is currently battling in a nasty court case. Glen has been left to care for the traumatized Christina. What Henry thought was rape one night was actually Christina having an episode in which she almost killed herself before Glen got home and stopped her. Glen fully admits to not knowing how to take care of children and that Christina wears him out, but chastises Susan for trying to “save” Christina without doing the right thing and contacting child protective services. Susan, looking deeper into Henry’s notes, finds that Henry disliked Glen after he pulled him over one night for walking alone to the grocery store - Henry was channeling his desire to kill Glen through this false-fantasy of saving Christina.

Susan goes to jail. At the court house Christina calls Susan out for only caring about her because of Henry and trivializing her abuse as a means to kill her Step-dad. She even testifies against Susan in court showing her newfound confidence and will to get through life and confesses to Glen that she’s almost grateful to Susan for inexplicably helping her heal. She also pities Susan, who now has to live with the fact that she loved Henry as an ideal son and not for what he actually was - a trait that probably led to Henry’s sociopathic behavior. Christina wishes Peter well as he’s taken into foster care and promises him that things will get better.

[eldritchsurveys]

o91.

582. Can you make tonight the night that you do the things you always wanted to do? >> It’s really weird what pieces of this survey end up getting passed around. Like, this fragment doesn’t even start on a logical number. Anyway, no, that’s not even a logical plan.

583. Would you rather watch life on TV or LIVE it? >> Watching TV is part of living life, too.

584. What keeps you chained down? >> I wouldn’t say I was chained down. I have a lot of freedom, I just don’t always use it -- or, I don’t always know how to use it in order to get what I want.

585. What is the nagging feeling in the back of your head? >> I don’t have any.

586. Do you celebrate yourself? >> Not consciously, or anything.

587. Does everyone get the same opportunities in life? >> Of course not.

588. What would you consider to be better than sex? >> I don’t know, I don’t make a habit of comparing things to sex.

589. What evil is necessary? >> I don’t know. 

590. What’s your favorite one hit wonder? >> I’m not sure, really. Sometimes I only know one song by a band, but that doesn’t mean that was their only hit. I just don’t know any other ones.

591. What would you do anything for? >> ---

592. Do you celebrate the full moon? >> Nah. I like looking at it, though.

593. Have you ever gone in the water at the beach at night? >> Not in the water, but I’ve definitely been at the beach at night.

594. Are you ordinary? >> No.

595. What makes people want to hang out with you? >> I have no idea. I haven’t been hung out with in long enough that I’m not sure what my social strengths are anymore.

596. Have you ever felt like you’ve been a little bit too good to someone? >> Yeah, I’ve definitely felt that way. Still, I’d prefer to err on the side of being foolishly kind than being cruel to save my own ass. (Not to say that I’ll never be cruel, because I am cruel sometimes, and there will definitely be times that cruelty comes in handy -- but I’d like to keep that at a “sometimes” and not a “usually”.)

597. What book did you like that you had to read for school? >> The only one I recall actually enjoying was Their Eyes Were Watching God. I read it again recently and I still love it.

598. What book should everyone have to read in school? >> I really don’t care.

599. Do you like the store Old Navy? >> Not particularly, but their jeans can be comfortable.

600. What movie sequels do you like? >> I can’t think of a movie sequel I enjoyed.

601. Do you have a lust for life? >> I suppose. Something like that.

602. Do you want to get more out of life? >> I think I get quite a bit out of life already. I wouldn’t mind getting more, but I’m not lacking or anything.

603. Would you want to learn to:

Convert to Buddhism? >> I mean, not really. I can still use Zen (the branch of Buddhism that I prefer) in my daily life without having to be a Buddhist, per se. I’m kind of... too syncretic and all-over-the-place to really call myself any specific religion.

Cure a hangover? >> I don’t really need to know how to do that, since I don’t recall ever having one.

Lie persuasively? >> I mean, I could probably lie persuasively if I had to.

604. What character from a movie is most like you? >> No character is most like me. They’re generally not written complex enough for that.

605. Are you comfortable with the idea of your own death? >> No.

606. How do you feel about arranged marriages? >> I don’t have an opinion one way or the other. Sometimes things like this have a cultural relevance that I don’t have the understanding of because it isn’t my culture. I don’t think it’s fair of me to say that something like arranged marriages is “wrong” just because we don’t do it where I come from. I don’t have enough of a full picture to make a judgement call like that. --Also, I don’t particularly care, so there’s that.

607. What do you hate that everyone else seems to like? >> Milk chocolate.

608. What do you like that others seem to hate? >> Absinthe.

609. If you had to be named after a month, which month would you pick? >> August.

610. Is time more like a highway or a meadow to you? >> The highway analogy suits me because of Reasons, but really time is morre like an ocean to me.

611. What is your favorite movie? >> The Fountain / Interstellar.

612. Which would you choose to be back in the day: a warrior, an alchemist, a minstrel, a bard, an oracle, a peasant, or a merchant? >> I really don’t know.

613. What is your favorite song lyric? >> I don’t have one and I’m not going to try to think of one off the top of my head.

614. What will you never run out of? >> *shrug*

615. If you could force someone to fall madly in love with you, (anyone you choose) would you do it? >> No.

616. Have you ever seen the Disney movie The Black Cauldron? >> Nope.

617. Have you ever read The Black Cauldron by Alexander Lloyd (or any of his other books in the Prydain Chronicles)? >> Nope.

618. Have you ever written a paper the night before it was due? How about the day it was due? >> I mean, probably.

619. Is there a movie you have watched so many times that you can quote it line for line? >> Labyrinth, probably. Also The Crow, but I may have forgotten a lot of it by now. Event Horizon, maybe.

620. What is your favorite season? >> Autumn.

621. Do you mind being described as cute? >> Not necessarily, but I don’t want to be described that way by just anyone, either.

622. What is the tackiest object in your home? >> *shrug*

623. What do you think people are most ignorant towards? >> I don’t know what other people are ignorant about. That’s not my call to make.

624. What is it that makes you an interesting person? >> How I engage with my interests, the things I like talking about, how my experiences have shaped me as a person, my philosophies and musings, stuff like that.

625. What makes other people interesting to you? >> The same things, actually.

626. How open to suggestion are you? >> I’m always willing to hear one out, but I’m not always going to internalise it.

627. Is Michael Jackson black or white? >> Black.

628. Are you often lonely? >> Not necessarily often.

629. What’s the most unusual pet you’ve ever had? >> I haven’t had any unusual pets.

630. Have you ever threatened an authority figure? >> I don’t think so.

631. If you had to choose would you rather make all your decisions henceforth with your head only or with your heart only? >> I’d rather continue to make my decisions with a healthy combination of both.

632. How imaginative are you? >> Quite.

633. Do you like the Counting Crows? >> I think I like a couple of songs.

634. If you took this survey from the diary (5000 Q Survey V2.0) did you note me so I could read it? >> ---

635. Are you more tense or laid back? >> I’m generally more laid back than I am tense.

636. Does your happiness depend on anyone else, or are you happy no matter what any one says or does? >> We are a social and community-oriented species. As a member of said species, yes, my happiness is in part dependent on others. If it were otherwise, I wouldn’t even bother dealing with other people, right?

637. What do you think of the idea of putting the bible into the format of a fashion magazine to attract the interest of teenagers? >> A religion that can’t adapt to its congregation ain’t worth shit, in my opinion, so I’m cool with this.

638. How often do you drink to get drunk? >> Rarely. I usually slow down, if not stop completely, when I’ve gotten to buzzed.

639. Would you consider yourself to be diplomatic? >> Sometimes.

640. Do you think that most of the classes you have taken were taught in such a way as to make plain the relevance of the subject matter in your everyday life? >> No, which was a fatal flaw. But I don’t think USian public schooling is meant to teach one life skills, it’s meant to teach one how to be a cog in the capitalist machine. Sometimes you learn other things in the process, of course, but all in all, that’s the main point. (Mind you, that’s just my understanding.)

641. Do you remember Crystal Pepsi? >> I do.

642. When was the last time you spent a night away from home? >> When we were in Chicago for my birthday weekend.

643. Some people say that there is no such thing as a stupid question. Is that true? >> I don’t know or care, bruh.

644. What is the most interesting TV channel? >> I like Science Channel and Investigation Discovery.

645. Name one song you could live without hearing ever again: >> Oh, I don’t know.

646. Do your pets understand you when you talk? >> ---

647. What are three things you HAVE NOT done that might surprise people? >> Been out of the country, had a driver’s license, been sledding in winter.

648. Have you ever had a secret admirer? >> I don’t know. Isn’t that the point of them being secret?

649. Have you been to a museum this year? >> Yep, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

650. Do you ever watch porn? >> Yep.

651. Do you think that it would be a good idea if people served in the army, navy or air force for a while before they were allowed to vote? >> Noooooo.

652. If you were required to do this to vote, would you? >> Absolutely fucking not.

653. Do people often give you weird looks? >> Sure.

654. Do like Japanese cooking? >> I’ve liked what I’ve tried.

655. Do you care for stray animals? >> No.

656. Which animated movies have you seen and what did you think of them:

A Charlie Brown Christmas: >> If I’ve seen it, I don’t remember it.

A Garfield Halloween: >> Haven’t seen it.

The Secret of Nimh: >> Nope.

The Last Unicorn: >> Nope.

The original Lord of the Rings cartoons: >> I didn’t even know these existed.

657. Are you ambidextrous (equally good at using both hands)? >> No.

658. Do you always say; “bless you” after someone sneezes, or do you hesitate? >> I rarely say it at all.

659. If you and your friends could go away for 2 days over Halloween weekend where would you go? >> New Orleans, duh.

660. Which of these animated movies have you seen and what did you think of them:

Watership Down: >> I haven’t seen any of these except...

As the Wind Blows: 

Grave of the Fireflies: 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas: 

Spirited Away: >> ...this one, and I liked it.

661. Do you feel that society is male dominated, female dominated, or neutral? >> I don’t know or fuckin care, by this point. I hear about it all the time and I’m oversaturated to the point of pure apathy.

662. What words offend you? >> I don’t know, the usual ones, I guess.

663. They’re just words. Can you get over it? >> I don’t even have the patience to break down why this is a silly thing to ask.

664. Have you ever looked into different religions? >> Of course.

665. Which ones have you looked into? >> Enough of them that I don’t feel like making a list.

666. What do you think of Satanism as a religion? >> Ha, 666. It’s fine with me.

667. Do you like it better when your classes are taught sitting in rows or sitting in a circle? >> I think the circular configuration is more ideal.

668. Have you ever read your own tarot cards? >> Yep, many a time.

669. Which ones do you like better, the three old star wars movies or the 3 new ones? >> I like all of them, and the 2 of the newest trilogy that have been released so far. I’m not going to pit them against each other.

670. If you scream in outer space does it make a sound? >> Nope.

671. If you saw The Queen of the Damned did you want to be a vampire/Goth afterwards? >> I mean, I was a vampyre and a Goth when I saw it.

672. If you saw SLC Punk did you want to be punk afterwards? >> Nah.

673. What is your favorite zombie movie? >> Zombieland. Tallahassee is sexy.

674. Best kids birthday party: ceramics, chuck-e-cheese, roller rink, bowling, sleep over, movie theater >> ---

675. What were your parties like when you were a kid? >> I didn’t have any.

676. Best teen (about 15-16) birthday party: ceramics, chuck-e-cheese, roller rink, bowling, sleep over, movie theater, house party, catered in a hall, restaurant, family trip, concert >> ---

677. What are/were your 15-16 year old parties like? >> I had a “Sweet Sixteen” and it was awful because I had no input whatsoever. I didn’t even know any of the kids who were invited. It was like a party thrown for some projection of what my father wanted me to be, not a party thrown for me.

678. Best 18th birthday party: ceramics, chuck-e-cheese, roller rink, bowling, sleep over, movie theater, house party, catered in a hall, restaurant, family trip, concert, club, pool hall, college party >> ---

679. If you are 18 what was your party like? >> I didn’t have a party.

680. Best 21st birthday party? >> Sigh.

681. If you saw The Craft were you interested in wicca/paganism/magic afterwards? >> I’d already been interested in that sort of thing by the time I saw that.

682. What are your top 3 priorities? >> Hm.

683. If you saw fight club did you want to get into a fistfight afterwards? >> Nope, not even a little.

684. What is your favorite smell? >> Dragon’s Blood incense is nice.

685. Give everything below a humor rating (1 = laugh your ass off, 2 = lol, 3 = smile, 4 = lame, 5 = not funny, 6 = offensive):

People falling – >> Don’t want to. Also, humour is largely situational and dependent on delivery, the person making the joke, etc, so it’s not just about the content. NEXT.

Rape jokes – 

Sarcastic comments 

Blonde jokes

Dirty jokes 

God/religion jokes 

Long-ass jokes 

Death jokes 

Pain/sickness jokes 

Animals doing cute stuff 

Bodily functions 

Knock jokes 

Ethnic jokes 

Puns 

Ironic situations 

685. If you saw Cruel Intentions did you want to have lots of meaningless sex afterwards? >> LMAO nope.

686. Do you get at least three hugs per day? >> No. That’d be too many, anyway, unless they were in headspace.

687. What should someone never say to you/call you if they want to remain on your good side? >> I mean, there’s a lot of things. I don’t like to be insulted, even when my feelings aren’t actually hurt by it. It’s just fucking rude and unfriendly.

688. If you saw Trainspotting did you want to do drugs afterwards? >> I don’t remember. Maybe, lmao.

689. Do movies have a great influence on you? >> Sometimes.

690. Do you have a favorite reality TV show? >> I don’t think so. If I do, I can’t think of it. I like a few of them equally.

691. Are there certain roles that people are pressured to play in society or can they basically do whatever they want? >> Yes to both. Or something in the middle -- people can play a role in order to secure the freedom to do what they want when they’re not busy playing that role. That’s basically what gainful employment is, innit?

692. How does the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake compare to the original movie? >> I don’t know, I didn’t see either one.

693. Have you ever held a magnifying glass over an insect to burn it? >> No, but I sure wish I’d done that at least once in my life. (I mean, I stlil can, but I don’t have a spare magnifying glass lying around, or anything. Whereas my dad did, and I just never knew that that was a thing you could do with it.)

694. Have you ever pulled the wings off a fly, butterfly or any other insect? >> No. Never had one in my hands long enough.

695. What would you think of a guy (if you’re into guys) or a girl (if you’re into girls) who wanted to take you to the park to feed the birds and look at the turtles and fish in the water on a date? >> That’s adorable and sure, I’d go.

696. Do you use public pools? >> I avoid them.

697. Do you use public bathrooms? >> If I have to go, I’m gonna go. Like, come on.

698. Do you use public showers? >> If I’m at the gym or something, yeah, but I’ll definitely have shower shoes / flip flops with me.

699. How old will you be in 17 years? >> 48.

700. Would it effect you at all if you knew that a very large meteor was headed towards earth that would impact in 17 years? >> Of course that’d affect me, like... I don’t want to have that kind of dark cloud looming on the proverbial horizon for the rest of my life, fuck that.

[atthevogue]

“Tony de Peltrie” (1985)

The basics: Wikipedia

Opened: A landmark piece of computer animation, the Canadian short was part of the 19th Annual Tournee of Animation anthology that showed at the Vogue Theater in March and April of 1986.

Also on the bill: At least one Saturday in April, it was programmed in the 9:00 slot after Chris Marker’s Akira Kurosawa documentary A.K. and Woody Allen’s Sleeper, and before a midnight showing of Night of the Living Dead, which sounds to me like a very good eight-hour day at the movies. Otherwise, you could have had a less perfect day seeing it play after Haskell Wexler’s forgotten Nicaragua war movie Latino and the equally forgotten Gene Hackman/Ann-Margaret romantic drama Twice in a Lifetime.

What did the paper say? ★★★1/2 from the Courier-Journal film critic Dudley Saunders. Saunders described the Tournee as “a specialized event that shows signs of moving into the movie mainstream,” correctly presaging the renaissance in feature-length animation in the 1990s generally and Pixar specifically, whose Luxo, Jr. short was released that same year. Of Tony, Saunders singles it out as “one of the most technologically advanced,” and that it featured “some delightful music from Marie Bastien.” He then throws his hands up: "Computers were used in this Canadian entry. Don’t ask how.” Saunders was long-time film critic for the C-J’s afternoon counterpart, the Louisville Times, throughout the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. In the late 1980s, he would co-found Louisville’s free alternative weekly, the Louisville Eccentric Observer.

What was I doing? I was six and hypothetically could have seen an unrated animation festival, though I'd have been a little bit too young to have fully appreciated it. Although, who knows, I’m sure I was watching four hours of cartoons a day at the time, so maybe my taste was really catholic.

How do I see it in 2018? It’s on YouTube.

A four-hour-a-day diet of cartoons was probably on the lower end for most of my peers. I grew up during what I believe is commonly known as the Garbage Age of Animation, which you can trace roughly from The Aristocrats in 1970 to The Little Mermaid (or The Simpsons) in 1989. The quantity of animation was high, and the quality was low. Those twenty years were a wasteland for Disney, and even though I have fond memories of a lot of those movies, like The Black Cauldron, they’re a pretty bleak bunch compared to what was sitting in those legendary Disney vaults, waiting patiently to be released on home video.

Other than low-quality Disney releases, the 1980s were highlighted mostly by the post-’70s crap was being churned out of the Hanna-Barbera laboratories. Either that, or nutrition-free Saturday morning toy commercials like The Smurfs and G.I. Joe. Of course there’s also Don Bluth, whose work is kind of brilliant, but whose odd feature-length movies seem very out-of-step with the times. Don Bluth movies seem now like baroque Disney alternatives for weird, dispossessed kids who didn’t yet realize they were weird and dispossessed. (Something like The Secret of NIMH is like Jodorowsky compared to, say, 101 Dalmatians.) Most of the bright spots of those years were produced under the patronage of the saint of 1980s suburbia, Steven Spielberg. An American Tale or Tiny Toon Adventures aren’t regarded today as auteurist masterpieces of animation (or are they?), but they were really smart and imaginative if you were nine years old. Still, the idea that cartoons might be sophisticated enough to be enjoyed by non-stoned adults was probably very alien concept in 1985.

In the midst of all of this, though, scattered throughout the world were a bunch of programmers and animators working out the next regime. Within ten years of Tony de Peltrie, Pixar’s Toy Story would be the first feature-length CGI animated movie, and within another ten years, traditional hand-drawn animation, at least for blockbuster commercial purposes, would be effectively dead. That went for both kids and their parents. Animation, like comic books, would take on a new sophistication and levels of respectability in the coming decades.

I love it when you read an old newspaper review with the benefit of hindsight, and find that the critic has gotten it right in predicting how things may play out in years to come. That’s why I was excited to read in Saunders’ review of the Tournee that he suspected animation as an artform was showing “signs of moving into the movie mainstream.” His sense of confusion (or wonder, or some combination) at the computer-generated aspects is charming in retrospect, too.

Tony de Peltrie is a landmark in computer-generated animation, but its lineage doesn’t really travel through the Pixar line at all (even though John Lassetter himself served on the award panel for the film festival where it was first shown, and predicted it’d be regarded as a landmark piece of animation). The children of the 1970s and ‘80s grew up to revere the golden era of Pixar movies as adults, and the general consensus is that not only are they great technical accomplishments, but works of great emotional resonance.

As much of an outlier as it makes me: I just don’t know. I haven’t really thought so. I think most Pixar movies are really, really sappy in the most obvious way possible. The oldest ones look to me as creaky as all those rotoscoped Ralph Bakshi cartoons of the ‘70s. Which is fine, technology is one thing -- most silent movies look pretty creaky, too -- but the underlying of armature of refined Disney sap that supports the whole structure strains to the point of collapse after a time or two.

Film critic Emily Yoshida said it best on Twitter: she noted, when Incredibles 2 came out, she’d recently re-watched the first Incredibles and was shocked at how crude it looked. "The technoligization of animation will not do individual works favors over time,” she wrote. “The wet hair effect in INCREDIBLES, which I remember everyone being so excited about, felt like holding a first generation iPod. Which is how these movies have trained people to watch them on a visual level...as technology.” There’s something here that I think Yoshida is alluding to about Pixar movies that is very Silicon Valley-ish in the way they’re consumed, almost as status symbols, or as luxury products. This is true nearly across all sectors of the tech industry now, but it’s particularly evident with animation.

One of my favorite movie events of the year is when the Landmark theaters here in Minneapolis play the Oscar-nominated animated shorts at the beginning of the year. Every year, it’s the same: you’ll get a collection of fascinating experiments from all over the world, some digitally rendered, some hand-drawn. They don’t always work, and some of them are really bad, but there’s always such a breadth of styles, emotions and narratives that I’m always engaged and delighted. They remind you that, in animation, you can do anything you want. You can go anywhere, try everything, show anything a person can imagine. Seeing the animated shorts every year, more than anything else, gets me so excited about what movies can be.

And then, in the middle of the program, there’s invariably some big gooey, sentimental mush from Pixar. Not all of them are bad, and some are quite nicely done, but for the most part, it’s cute anthropomorphized animals or objects or kids placed in cute, emotionally manipulative situations. I usually go refill my Diet Coke or take a bathroom break during the Pixar sequence.

Yeah, yeah, I know. What kind of monster hates Pixar? 

I don’t hate Pixar, and I like most of the pre-Cars 2 features just fine. The best parts of Toy Story and Up and Wall-E are as good as people say they are. But when you take the reputation that Pixar has had for innovation and developing exciting new filmmaking technology in the past 25 years, and compare it to the reality, there’s an enormous gap. And it drives me nuts, because if this is supposed to be the best American animation has to offer in terms of innovation and emotional engagement, it's not very inspiring. Especially placed alongside the sorts of animated shorts that come out of independent studios elsewhere in the U.S., or Japan, or France, or Canada. 

Which brings us to Tony de Peltrie, created in Montreal by four French-Canadian animators, and supported in part by the National Film Board of Canada, who would continue to nurture and support animation projects in Canada through the twenty-first century. A huge part of the enjoyment -- and for me, there was an enormous amount of enjoyment in watching Tony de Peltrie -- is seeing this entirely new way of telling stories and conveying images appear in front of you for the first time. Maybe it’s because I have clear memories of a world without contemporary CGI, but I still find this enormous sense of wonder in what’s happening as Tony is onscreen. I still remember very clearly seeing the early landmarks of computer-aided graphics, and being almost overwhelmed with a sense of awe -- Tron, Star Trek IV, Jurassic Park. Tony feels a bit like that, even after so many superior technical accomplishments that followed.

Tony de Peltrie doesn’t have much of a plot. A washed-up French-Canadian entertainer recounts his past glories as he sits at the piano and plays, and then slowly dissolves over a few minutes into an amorphous, impressionistic void. (Part of the joke, I think, is using such cutting-edge technology to tell the story of a white leather shoe-clad artist whose work has become very unfashionable by the 1980s.) It’s really just a monologue. The content could be conveyed using a live actor, or traditional hand-drawn animation.  

But Tony looks so odd, just sitting on the edge of the Uncanny Valley, dangling those white leather shoes into the void. Part of the appeal is that, while Tony’s monologue is so human and delivered in such an off-the-cuff way, you’re appreciating the challenge of having the technology match the humanity. Tony’s chin and eyes and fingers are exaggerated, like a caricature, but there’s such a sense of warmth underneath the chilliness of the computer-rendered surfaces. Though it’s wistful and charming, you wouldn’t necessarily call it a landmark in storytelling -- again, it’s just a monologue, and not an unfamiliar one -- but it is a technological landmark in showing that the computer animation could be used to humane ends. It’d be just as easy to make Tony fly through space or kill robots or whatever else. But instead, you get an old, well-worn story that slowly eases out of the ordinary into the surreal, and happens so gradually you lose yourself in a sort of trance.

As Yoshida wrote, technoligization of animation doesn’t do individual works favors over time. To that end, something like Tony can’t be de-coupled from its impressive but outdated graphics. These landmarks tend to be more admired than watched -- to the extent that it’s remembered at all, it’s as a piece of technology, and not as a piece of craft or storytelling.

Still, Tony is the ancestor of every badly rendered straight-to-Netflix animated talking-animals feature cluttering up your queue, but he’s also the ancestor of any experiment that tries to apply computer-generated imagery to ways of storytelling. In that sense, he has as much in common with Emily in World of Tomorrow as he does with Boss Baby, a common ancestor to any computer-generated human-like figure with a story. When Tony dissolves into silver fragments at the end of the short, it’s as if those pieces flew out into the world, through the copper wires that connect the world’s animation studios and personal computers, and are now present everywhere. He’s like a ghost that haunts the present. I feel that watching it now, and I imagine audiences sitting at the Vogue in 1986 might have felt a stirring of something similar.

[lunarhayn]

...IDK what to call this

Ok, so this is my first fic on here. It's not the best, but I really like it and I hope you guys do too. Basically Virgil is having a super bad day which leads to an anxiety attack and, later on, lots of cuddles. TW: Anxiety Attack...I think that's about it Pairings: Mostly LAMP, a little bit of Prinxiety, and some Platonic Moxiety I have no clue how long this is Constructive criticism is appreciated ____ Virgil still wasn't good at opening up. Despite the fact that he was getting closer to the sides and he knew (or at least hoped) that they were finally accepting him, his walls still wouldn't come down. Too many years of being pushed away still weighed him down. Still, when Patton asked him to come down for movie night, he did. When Roman was brainstorming ideas with Thomas, he would do his best not to bring down their ideas. And the occasional times Logan needed help with Thomas's schedule, the anxious side sat with him for most of the day making sure the schedule would work. But today was just one of those days where he didn't even want to leave his room. Thomas has been working on a new video and things had been going wrong left, right, and center and the anxious side was just on the verge of a meltdown. They had been planning for weeks. Weeks!! Everything had been planned down to a T. But then Talyn got sick and had to cancel. Typically, this wouldn't be so bad. But Talyn had been the one doing Thomas's make up in the video and Joan didn't really know how to do it. Then, one of the lights stopped working. Easy fix, right? No. As everyone had been so focused on this new video, no one had really paid attention to the weather. So, the raging storm outside wasn't helping. And to top it all off, the power went out. Thomas and Joan had decided to save the video for another day. So, when the storm let up some, Joan went home. Virgil was too stressed to really do anything at the moment. He knew leaving his room wouldn't help at all either. With his mind being so vulnerable at the moment, really anything could cause an anxiety attack. So, when Patton came up to check up him, Virgil lost it. He jumped at the knock on the door, follwed by Pattons voice, "Hey, kiddo, you doing ok?  None of us have seen you today." "Yeah," Virgil paused, trying to control his shaking voice, "Yeah, Patton, I'm doing fine." There was silence for a moment. "I'm fixing supper, I'll bring you up a plate. I don't think you've eaten much today.“ “Ok.“ Virgil silently swore as his voice cracked and that's when Patton knew something was wrong. Virgils door slowly creaked opened, a stream of light brightening his room. Patton took one look at the anxious side and immediately ran to him. Remembering something Logan had said about not touching a person having an attack, Patton sat down close to Virgil, whose breathing was quickly picking up. Not knowing exactly what to do, the fatherly figure just started to softly talk. He figured the noise might give Virgil something to focus on. Time seemed to pass slowly as Patton did his best to help Virgil with the attack. He must have been gone for a while as soon Roman and Logan were at the door.  Logan saw Virgil first and immediately went to him, telling the others (or, Roman more specifically) to be quiet. "Virgil." He stated calmly, "Virgil, can you hear me?" All he got was a small, shaky nod. "Good. Ok, I need you to name off five things you can see." Virgil shakily lifted his head from where it rested on his knees and blinked slightly. He took a deep breath. "You..." He started, "...Patton and...and Roman." It took a few minutes before he spoke up again, "My...my moon light....and my desk chair." "Good, good. Now 4 things you can hear?" It took longer than it should have, but eventually Virgil managed to name them off. And the cycle continued until Virgil's breathing had evened out for the most part. Patton being Patton finally took the chance and wrapped the younger side up in his arms and just held him. Virgil didn't really know how to respond to this, so he just sat there letting Patton hold him as tears leaked down his cheeks. He did his best to stay quiet, not really wanting the others around. But Patton knew. The dampness on his shoulder from Virgil's tears were also a giveaway. So, Patton gathering the crying side onto his arms and pulled him onto his lap. And Virgil let him. The comfort of another person felt really nice at the moment. After a few minutes, Virgil felt the bed dip and suddenly a new pair of arms were wrapped around his waist. The figure pressed into his back and placed his cheek on Virgil's shoulder. Roman, Virgil thought, feeling the sleeves of his outfit, Roman is holding me. No one but Patti had ever actually hugged him and Virgil wasn't quite sure how to react. Eventually someone else took his hand and just held it. He figured it was Logan, knowing the logical side wasn't too keen on touch. They weren't sure how long they stayed there, letting Virgil silently cry over the day. But soon his tears were gone and he was just left shaking slightly. "Hey, kiddo," Patton started softly, "do you wanna go watch a movie? Get your mind off everything?" Virgil nodded, letting Patton slowly pull away from him. Logan had dropped his hand and was already at the door, "I'm assuming the usual popcorn, chips, and soda?" "Oh! And the cookies Patton made earlier." Virgil felt Romans chest rumble as he spoke. In a weird way, it was comforting knowing he was still there. Patton got up next, "Black Cauldron?" he asked, "And then maybe we can watch Coco and Moana?" "That sounds good." Virgil stated softly, pausing for a moment before saying, "Maybe Thomas can join us? I know today's been really crappy for him too." Pattons face lit up, "That's a great idea kiddo! I'll go ask Thomas, I'm sure he could use some love from himself right now." And with that, Patton was gone. "....was that supposed to be a dad joke?" Roman asked, pulling away from Virgil. "I think so." Roman let out a laugh and Virgil cracked a smile. Roman stood up and reached out his hand for Virgil to grab, "Come along now, Winnie the Blue, it's time for a Disney marathon!" Virgil grabbed Romans hand and let him pull Virgil up. Roman didn't let go, though. They walked out of the dark room hand in hand. At some point while going down the hall one of the other two had changed their clothes and everyone elses. Roman was suddenly in his ruby red and crown covered pajama pants and his comfy white tank top with a crown on it and Virgils skinny jeans had been replaced with his black, fuzzy pants. As the two neared the top of the stairs, they felt the familiar pull of Thomas summoning them. Virgil dropped Romans hand, giving him a small smile as the both appeared in Thomas's living room. There were blankets and pillows everywhere. A table had been set up with snack and Black Cauldron was on the screen, waiting to be played. Patton and Thomas were already curled up on the couch at one end, while Logan was seated on the floor in front of them, using some of the blankets and pillows to sit on and wrap up in. It was also obvious that the other two sides were in their onesies (which non one was surprised about). Patton, seeing them pop up, excitedly patted the open spot next to him. "Come here, my dark, misunderstood son.“ Virgil walked over, careful not to trip on the messy floor, and sat down next the moral side. Patton put an arm him, pulling Virgil close to him. Roman sat down next to the darker side, grabbing the remote and a handful of popcorn before hitting play. And that's how they stayed for the rest of the night. Cuddled up together, watching movies, and pigging out. Virgil, despite still being pretty upset about the day, was very happy with the end of it.

[mearnsblog]

“Treasure Planet” (2002)

"Treasure Planet" was a movie that Disney wanted to make for a long, long time. Well, specifically, its directors -- longtime Disney stalwarts John Musker and Ron Clements -- had been pining after this project for ages. This was the same duo that directed "The Little Mermaid," and they pitched "Treasure Planet" during the same meeting back in 1985. The Disney executives were less enthusiastic about the idea and kept kicking it down the road, assigning Musker and Clements to other projects, like "Aladdin" and "Hercules."

After years of success, Disney finally relented and let Musker and Clements create their passion project. They even got a huge budget for it too at $140 million, the most expensive traditionally animated film of all-time. It was a career milestone for these two Disney legends.

The end result, though? Ehhhh ... fine, I guess.

It's hard to evaluate "Treasure Planet" because there's not a great deal that is outwardly bad about it. It's a pleasant enough watch. Sure, the scenes of Jim Hawkins surfing on space sailboards through the cosmos look somewhat goofy and dated in a way that the "Lilo & Stitch" surfing scenes manage to avoid, though some of the background animation is admittedly very cool. However, the movie also relies way too much on the John Rzeznik song in a montage to demonstrate Jim and Long John Silver bonding*, forcing the audience to just kind of accept that they're close now rather than present it in a more natural way, and it's a bit too forgiving of Silver for his sabotaging crimes.

*In general, the Jim/Long John relationship is indeed one of the better parts of “Treasure Planet,” but the yada-yada montage was lame (and this is coming from a big Goo Goo Dolls fan, too). 

If anything, the movie's greatest flaw is simply somehow being generic and boring despite the fact that it's "Treasure Island" in space. That's such a cool concept in theory! The source material is superb fodder for great characters, but these folks are just bland as hell. Dr. Doppler and Captain Amelia cease being at least mildly interesting supporting characters at least halfway through the film, when it's decided that they're just going to eventually get together. They had more to offer when they were playing off Jim -- the semi-respected authority figure from home and the ship captain justifiably skeptical of what a kid could offer -- but to each other? Meh. And the less said about Martin Short's annoying robot who randomly takes over the story about two-thirds of the way through, the better.

The biggest problem working against "Treasure Planet" is that the Muppets and Tim Curry did a far superior kids' version of "Treasure Island" just six years prior. It wasn't in space, but I doubt that I experienced a single second of watching "Treasure Planet" without thinking in the back of my mind about how much I'd rather be watching "Muppet Treasure Island." The characters are better, the story and connections feel more organic, and Long John Silver steals the show without being completely let off the hook. As I was writing this, I was motivated to watch the scene of Long John and Jim's bittersweet farewell in the Muppet version, and Curry is just so good in it. I know it's not always fair to compare other actors to Curry, but it's such a contrast.

I do feel bad because I'm sure it hurt Musker and Clements to see their long-dreamed film turn into such a dud. Thankfully, they did not retire from the business just yet, and in fact would later turn in perhaps the best Disney movie of this century. Maybe that was the real gold that they sought at the end of their journey in animation.

Updated ranking

1. “Beauty and the Beast” (review) 2. “The Lion King” (review) 3. “The Little Mermaid” (review) 4. “Cinderella” (review) 5. “Mulan” (review) 6. “Sleeping Beauty” (review) 7. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (review) 8. “Aladdin” (review) 9. “The Emperor’s New Groove” (review) 10. “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” (review) 11. “The Jungle Book” (review) 12. “Lilo & Stitch” (review) 13. “The Great Mouse Detective” (review) 14. “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (review) 15. “Fantasia” (review) 16. “The Rescuers Down Under” (review) 17. “Tarzan” (review) 18. “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” (review) 19. “Alice in Wonderland” (review) 20. “Lady and the Tramp” (review) 21. “Pinocchio” (review) 22. “Robin Hood” (review) 23. “Oliver & Company” (review) 24. “Hercules” (review) 25. “Pocahontas” (review) 26. “The Rescuers” (review) 27. “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad” (review) 28. “Bambi” (review) 29. “The Aristocats” (review) 30. “Fantasia 2000″ (review) 31. “Dumbo” (review) 32. “Peter Pan” (review) 33. “Treasure Planet” 34. “Fun and Fancy Free” (review) 35. “The Fox and the Hound” (review) 36. “The Sword in the Stone” (review) 37. “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” (review) 38. “The Three Caballeros” (review) 39. “Make Mine Music” (review) 40. “Dinosaur” (review) 41. “The Black Cauldron” (review) 42. “Saludos Amigos” (review) 43. “Melody Time” (review)

[n0ttinghamshad0w]

It's not like I'm falling in love, I just want you to do me no good And you look like you could

ROBIN OLIVER HUNT (Name at birth: Robin Huang; Alias: Robert Oliver Gardner)

Birthday: March 12 1990 (Pisces) Hogwarts House (Primary):  Gryffindor Hogwarts House (Secondary): Slytherin Myers-Briggs: ENFP Enneagram: Type 8 Height:  5’9

Overview:

Mother:

1.       Unknown—Linda Huang, still alive, forced to give up her child by her conservative parents who did not want her raising a child out of wedlock, has not tried to make contact with her son.

2.       Mother Florence—the head nun at Nottingham Orphanage, firm, but kind; strict, but genuinely wanted the best for the children; had a soft spot for Robin, since he’d been there for like all his life.

3.       Barbara Economides—Robin’s first foster mom, had six kids of her own, but room in her heart for a dozen more

Father:

1.       Unknown—Ernesto Rosetti

2.       George Economides—Robin’s first foster dad, loving and hard-working man, who unfortunately did not have a very hard-working cardiovascular system. Died of a heart attack when Robin was ~12

Mother’s Occupation: he doesn’t care about his birth mom, but Barbara owned a bakery

Father’s Occupation: he doesn’t care about his birth dad, but George owned a bakery

Family Finances: well, none of the homes he was in were great financially

Birth Order: only child as far as he’s concerned

Siblings: N/A--(Stefan, Petros, Elek, Idola, Eileen, Karena...the Economides kids)

Other Close Family: None

Best Friend: Joan Woode (28)

Other Friends: Tuck Frere (26), Martin Maddon (18), Fakhir Azhar (27)

Enemies: all those who neglect/abuse their children

Pets: none, would love a bird or a fox tho

Home Life During Childhood: He was in an orphanage till he was nine, and it was not a bad orphanage at all, just massively under-funded. At nine, he was placed in a foster home, a large Greek family, and he was very well-loved and well-taken care of, but the father dropped dead of a heart attack when Robin was 12 and the Economides family had to move and they couldn’t take care of Robin. He shuffled through like four other foster homes, at least one of which he was badly abused in, till at seventeen, he just didn’t come home one day and the family never reported it and that was that.

Town or City Name(s): Nottingham, England

What Did His Bedroom Look Like: Never had a steady room, or one of his own. Always shared with someone else, always a small bed.

Any Sports or Clubs: Nah, he was the type of kid who hung out under bridges and threw stuff.

Favorite Toy or Game: Had a toy archery kit back at the Economides house

Schooling: left school at seventeen

Favorite Subject: History and English, loved old stories of Robin Hood

Popular or Loner: loner---’cept he was real popular with the “troubled” kids, the freak in freaks and geeks

Important Experiences or Events: When George died, the abuse at the other foster homes

Health Problems: None

Culture: English?? He’s actually Italian and Chinese, but wouldn’t know at all. Considers himself Greek, if anything

Religion and beliefs: The only time in his life when he was religious was when he lived with the Economides family and went to church on the reg, since then, he’s convinced that if a God does exist, he’s a shitty God and only people can really help each other

Your Character’s Character:

Bad Habits: smoking, drinking, commitment issues, def has ghosted girls before...oh yeah, uh, stealing things??? He’s also a pickpocket

Good Habits: very good with children, when he wants to be he’s very kindhearted, very charismatic, very charming, good sweet-talker

Best Characteristic: intense--has his set of beliefs and morals and will stick by them

Worst Characteristic: intense--to the point where he isolates himself

Worst Memory: The moment the Economides family left him at the social services office (also George’s death lbr)

Best Memory: His first Christmas with the Economides family

Proud of: the money he’s been able to give back to the orphanage

Embarrassed by: his lack of formal education

Driving Style: erratically, I don’t think he has a license but he definitely knows how to drive--does not get into accidents, but is hella reckless

Strong Points: passionate, believes in a cause, dedicated friend, charming, charismatic, quick-learner, good with his hands

Temperament: sanguine

Attitude: passionate, intense

Weakness: has a very specific mission, keeps people at a distance unless you’ve proved yourself to him, you can know him but never really know him

Fears: man, uh, not being able to make a difference

Phobias: abandonment issues~~~

Secrets: the fact that he’s a master thief

Regrets: not finishing secondary, not being like a better person or whatever

Feels Vulnerable When: talking about his past

Pet Peeves: tourists (but they make good bait), people who hate on people who use subtitles, americans, mac copmputers

Conflicts: his very idealistic moral code vs reality, his very idealistic moral code and mission vs caring about his own life/needs

Motivation: justice for children

Short Term Goals and Hopes: find Tuck’s family, steal from Tuck’s family, find Martin, find enough money to get Fakhir a good lawyer

Long Term Goals and Hopes: well shit, making a difference in the lives of people somehow

Sexuality: heterosexual, but could be convinced to fuck a bloke

Exercise Routine: just generally active, runs a fair bit, likes to play sports with friends

Day or Night Person — Night

Introvert or Extrovert — Extrovert

Optimist or Pessimist — Optimist

Likes and Styles:

Music: alt-rock, classic rock, rock in general, also some punk

Books: he likes old stories and folktales (ie; Robin Hood whom he modeled himself after), but does have a soft spot for some high fantasy books (he’s a big fan of Lloyd Alexander’s work--wait, I guess that doesn’t exist since The Black Cauldron is disney but IM SURE HE HAD SOME SORTA EQUIVALENT...The Beige Cauldron) and adventure novels

Magazines: GQ probs let’s be real. Never bought one, always knicked ‘em out of newstands. ALso probably playboy……...Recently has been into tech mags.

Foods: Greek food---reminds him of his time with the Economides family. Loves him a good lamb gyro with a big side of chips.

Drinks: Whiskey--straight up. Not a huge tea drinker, but likes a strong Turkish coffee. Also Gin and Tonics

Animals: Foxes and birds of prey. Tbh, kinda hates that the name the orphanage gave him is ROBIN for crying out loud it sounds so fuckin’ wimpy

Sports: big football fan, also into rugby, probably out of all my characters the one who follows sports the most jeez

Social Issues: def def a huge proponent for children’s rights, especially within the foster system; that’s his biggest thing, but he’s also really for Magick-Rights and against the pressing xenophobia and nationalism that’s rising in a lot of Western European nations

Favorite Saying: Faint heart never won fair lady; As you wish

Color: Dark forest green

Clothing: enough to maintain his image as a #rebel, but def does not invest toooo much in fashion. Lots of cool jackets, mostly darker colors

Jewelry: nah, mate that’s excessive (has this pendent that Barbara gave him that used to be George’s but that’s it)

Games: loves dominoes a lot actually

Websites: uhh reddit probably

TV Shows: probs into Game of Thrones and #epic period dramas

Movies: his absolute favorite movie is The Princess Bride, he loves good action flicks with a dash of epic romance--something with a real hero. Also probs a Star Wars fan. V for Vendetta

Greatest Want: to make a difference in the world, to make sure no child is ever hurt

Greatest Need: to let people in

Where and How Does Your Character Live Now:

Home: small studio apartment in Benbow

Household furnishings: sparse, probs just sleeps on a mattress let’s be real, has a hot plate and a mini fridge, uses a crate for a coffee table

Favorite Possession: his trusty pocket knife, one of the first things he bought with his own money

Most Cherished Possession: necklace that Barbara Economides gave to him that used to belong to George, it is a Greek Cross

Married Before: Nope.

Significant Other Before: the only serious one was this rather posh girl when he was 21. She ended up getting pregnant, but got an abortion and the relationship sorta derailed after that.

Children: nah

Relationship with Family: lol

Car: n/a

Career: no “career”--has worked service jobs and manual labor, was a bartender for a bit but quit bc of the Fakhir thing

Dream Career: god, he doesn’t know--maybe a social worker, tbh, or owning some sort of afterschool program for kids

Dream Life: he wouldn’t tell you, but being married to a beautiful girl, having a buncha kids, adopting a bunch too

Love Life: a string of one-night stands and brief dramatic love affairs that ended like smoke in the night

Hobbies : knife-throwing, wood-carving

Guilty Pleasure : women?

Sports or Clubs: not at the moment

Talents or Skills : wood-carving, bartending, bit of an amateur hacker, decent dancer and football player, decent at like climbing things lol, lock-picking, stealth talents

Intelligence Level: Never did well in school, but is quite very streetsmart and can read people very well, knowledgable on random things, courtsey of Tuck 

Finances: not as bad as you’d think, but still def the poorest out of my characters. He’s the type of dude who gives everything he gets back--always drops in coins for street musicians, always