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gilbirda · 5 months

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what are your thoughts on watcher’s new announcement?

So.

I've been watching the Boys since they started back in 2016 (i think around that era), and honestly I'm very conflicted about the decision. I've read so much stuff in favor and against the announcement and I don't know if my answer will satisfy you.

I have managed a community and I have the blessing and curse of being somewhat of a Name, experiencing the ordeal of being Known, and I can tell you that 1)you can never please everyone 2)people will always rush to crush you the second you do something they don't agree with 3)people will always twist everything you do with the worst faith in mind and 4)fandom forget very quickly that at the end of the day you are just human.

I think they made a calculated risk based on a purely economical viewpoint. I think they considered their loyal fanbase and how willing people have been so far with spending extra cash to support them — The live shows, the exclusive streams (like the Valentine's Too Many Spirits) and Patreon. How much of their fanbase was the "broke students" tumblr claim they are and how much was people with spending money willing to pay extra for them.

I also think that the decision seem stupid if you look at it from the perspective of "why the hell would I pay $6 to watch such little variety of content?" and that's a Correct Assumption, but Observe — they have been very slowly pulling everyone that made Buzzfeed famous and enrolling them in. Very recently they gathered the Worth It boys, the second show that kind of carried Buzzfeed back in the day (apart from the Try Guys). I think they can't talk about it right now, but the goal is to relaunch Buzzfeed but without ads and without making it the soulless content machine it became. I think their dream and goal has always been making what Buzzfeed could have been with better management, kind of like "If I was the Management in this company, things would have been better" dream fulfillment. That's why they made the direct jump to a streaming service instead of the logical steps of Patreon-exclusive content or even jumping to Nebula like other youtubers. It was never meant to stay one single channel, it was supposed to be bigger.

Is the projection of making a "better Buzzfeed" worth risking this step? Time will tell. I don't know. I personally never cared about anyone except Buzzfeed Unsolved. I still watch Unsolved on repeat. Is my comfort show. Maybe they are overestimating how much people care about other shows not hosted by them.

Although they did hint that "we want shows not hosted by us". This tells me that they are settling down, they want to ramp down a little bit, do the hook with Ghost Files aka Unsolved Supernatural Lite for the streaming service, and once people are hooked, launch more shows by the old-school Buzzfeed people. Won't be as big as a show hosted by Shane and Ryan, but it will still make people feel like they are getting their money's worth.

I would forgive all of this if only they didn't use the excuse of "if we want to do Netflix-level productions we need money". I'm sorry but that means nothing to me. We loved them when it was a powerpoint slide show with 2 idiots in a set. We didn't fall in love with the toys or the trips or the high tech. We didn't fall in love with the fancy animations at the beginning of Ghost Files episodes that they are so proud of. That was all their idea.

I've seen this trend of content creators ramping up their creations to an unsustainable point, completely crash and burn and then having to apologize about having to step back. Then making it the moral trap of an argument that they have been doing their best to bring quality content to their audience, and of course making it impossible to argue against. If you speak up and say "well we never asked you to break your back" then you are ungrateful audience. That's exactly what's going on in here with the Watcher announcement — "true fans" criticizing people who point out the fact that they created this money problem on their own. Is not the fanbase responsibility to cater to a company's bad money decisions. Is not our fault that they decide to scale up their operation to a point they "haven't been making a profit for 2 years". It's unfair that the fans are at each other's throats for daring stepping back and saying "I don't want to be part of this".

I don't think Watcher Entertainment is actively wanting to collapse their fandom like this. I don't think this was a calculated move. But I do think that they are a group of adults trying to make a career of something they enjoy doing. I think they made this move with the perspective that fandom is not end all and they can always rebuild it.

— And that they are planning on making a machine that can work without them, and that requires breaking something in the fans, it requires kicking themselves out of the pedestal fans have put them on. They know they won't be allowed to have a normal life until people stop looking at them waiting for them to say their phrase.

In conclusion I think they made a choice that made sense if they are planning on separating Watcher Entertainment from "The Ghoul Boys" fame, and it makes sense if they are aiming at something bigger than what they've been doing now. Money of course is the goal and the reason presented, but there's a lot that they are not saying and we will not know until it happens.

Until then, it does feel like they have just shot their careers in the foot.

Also I'm salty that I can't join the service because I'm outside the US.

#gil answers #miki-meh #watcher entertainment #watcher #you don't have to agree with me this is just my 2 cents #so far they've done everything right and this feels out of nowhere and very dumb #it makes me think there's A LOT they are not saying #they are planning on something bigger and riskier and they need to know how many of their fans would blindly follow #i also think they will step back from hosting in like 1-2 years or so #all the contemporary youtubers are stepping back right now #havent you guys noticed?#always the same 2 excuses #'the stress is taking a toll on my mental health' and 'ive been doing this for 10 years i want to move on'#i think they are preparing for making that step and dont want to say it

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themissinghand · 1 year

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Dr Stone: Young and Free

Requested by: @yumiko0987

Summary: In which Stanley and Xeno meets a Walking Encyclopedia that can stand side-by-side with them. Or a duo becomes a trio, and the puzzle pieces fit together.

Or Stanley falls in deep.

Pairing: Stanley Snyder x Female! Reader!

Note: Takes place in Xeno and Stanley's childhood, way before the petrification happened. Hope you enjoy!

Warnings: Spoilers for the characters, but no plot. For anime watchers, don't search up Xeno or Stanley if you don't want to be spoiled!

Stanley has always been smart.

Top of the class in both academics and physical capability, he was the perfect kid that everyone praised.

Rather than feeling burdened by his excellence, he was proud of his work and proud of himself for his own accomplishments.

So when the new semester of school came, Stanley continued to work hard as he’d always been.

“I’m handing back the test.”

Everyone always watches the teacher to see who he’s going to return the first test to. After all, the first one to get it back is always the highest scorer.

So of course, Stanley anticipates getting his test back first.

“Xeno.”

Stanley immediately turned around in shock, it was someone he never saw in his class before. For the first time, his name wasn’t called first, and someone else got a higher score than him.

“Stanley.”

When Stanley got his test back, he swore to work harder to be the best once more.

“Xeno.”

Is that guy Einstein? What the hell?!

No matter what Stanley did, Xeno was always one step ahead.

Sure he was superior in gym class (Xeno couldn’t even compare) but was Xeno’s head made of books? How is he able to get a perfect score on every test?

He had to be cheating. There’s no way!

“Xeno and Stanley.”

But Stanley didn’t feel the same satisfaction as before.

Damn!

“Looks like both of us got a perfect score, Stanley. How elegant.” Also, why does he speak like he’s an old man?

Stanley approached Xeno, curiosity burning in his eyes.

"Hey, Xeno," he started, standing before him, "How do you do it? How do you know so much about everything?"

Xeno blinked then smiled, recognizing Stanley's genuine curiosity.

"I've always had an insatiable thirst for knowledge," he confessed, and Stanley’s already wondering what ‘insatiable’ means.

"But for me, it's about understanding the world around us. There’s so many unsolved mysteries and things that we as humans don’t understand. I just want to explore it all…isn’t it exciting? To find the answers to the questions that even scientists can’t solve?"

That when Stanley realized that Xeno wasn’t someone like him, no, he was much better than Stanley. Xeno was looking far far into the future, somewhere that Stanley cannot even imagine.

It’s childish and stupid now that Stanley thought of it, while he was competing with Xeno, Xeno had much bigger plans.

Ha. Stanley couldn’t help but admit it, Xeno is smart, much smarter than he will ever be.

Even so, Stanley couldn’t help but stick to him because he was curious to see where Xeno is going to be in the future, and he wanted to be beside him to see it.

“Stanley, look!”

“Run you idiot!” Stanley had to pull Xeno out from the explosives’ range not once, but three times.

“How elegant, if only we could use the lab…”

“Come on, let’s break in.” Stanley suggests, and although they were caught in the end, it was most definitely worth it seeing the science teacher get dosed with eggs and vinegar.

Days become weeks and weeks become years. Now both were in their high school years where they truly became inseparable.

While Xeno remained at the top of every class, Stanley still had him beat in any physical activity. They never felt jealous of the other (okay, sometimes), but they worked as a duo for everything, from experiments to learning about the unknown, and to pranking others for revenge. It was a great time.

One day, a foreign student joined the class in the middle of a semester.

“Hello, my name is (Y/N), and I hope to get along with everyone.”

(Y/N) definitely stood out with her foreign looks and her Japanese background. Despite her differences, she easily fit in with everyone, in fact, she was captivating the entire school with her intelligence and charm.

Not only was she hard working, kind, and social, she had no issues in trying out new things, or even introducing her culture to them.

As well, for the first time, another person stood side by side with Xeno in the STEM competition.

“How elegant. It’s a pleasure to another smart and curious individual, (Y/N).” She smiled and shook the extended hand.

“Pleasure’s all mine Dr. Xeno.” She jokes lightly, gaining an amused laugh from Xeno, “It’s nice to finally meet the famous Einstein-reincarnate.

Seeing both of them on stage, Stanley was suddenly reminded that he was not part of that picture.

Damn.

To think he would feel like this during such a happy occasion for Xeno…

“This is Stanley, my best friend who has helped me with my experiments, and someone I could not imagine without.” When Xeno introduced him to (Y/N) with such respect, Stanley’s self-depreciation seemed to melt away.

Stanley should feel ashamed of himself really.

That’s right, Xeno never thought of him as someone under him, but as his equal.

“Nice to meet you Stanley.” (Y/N) reached out her hand with a polite smile, and when he shook her hand, she continued, “It’s a pleasure to meet the Football King at school.”

“Wha-” Stanley initially cringed, but felt embarrassed when Xeno chuckled and looked at him with a look of amusement.

“Well, Dr. (Y/N) isn’t incorrect at all. Isn’t that right, Football King?” Stanley twitched a brow at the name. While they aren’t wrong, it sounded way too corny.

“Ha…to think I’m getting bullied by the Einstein-reincarnate and the Walking Encyclopedia. This world is coming to an end.”

When both of them laughed at his jab, Stanley was both surprised and relieved.

Sure, his Football King title was going to be a thing, but so is Einstein-reincarnate and Walking Encyclopedia.

(For a long long time)

After their conversation since the STEM competition, (Y/N) easily joined their group as the “third wheeler” as she would say often.

Her addition to the team was so natural that it felt like she was there the entire time. She was like another Xeno, but at least her explanations sounded like English most of the time.

Of course, there were times where she would scream in Japanese out of anger, but that’s all Xeno’s fault.

Stanley’s just making sure everyone is alive.

It was really fun with another person in the group.

Xeno seemed more energetic with another intellectual mind by his side, and Stanley felt more included in the conversation as she patiently explained everything in simpler terms.

Through the ups and downs, of pranks and achievements, they stayed together as a group.

Just like that, a duo became a trio.

Before they knew it, they became roommates that lived under one roof.

“Hey Stan the man, I need you for a second.”

“(Y/N), it’s literally 12am, what the hell?” Stanley was rudely pulled out of bed one night after his final championship football games. It was a long and competitive game but he and his team managed to win.

As the quarterback on the team, he naturally played a big part in the victory, and he is currently not alive enough to deal with his best friends’ shenanigans.

“C’mon, trust me, you don’t want to miss this.” (Y/N) dragged him down the stairs, though almost falling due to his weight.

“I sure can.” Stanley yawned, “This better be quick.”

“Yea yea, I got it, Football King.”

When bright lights blinded him in the kitchen, Stanley got hit with a bunch of balloons and cheers.

“Look who’s here, Mister Football King!”

“Who says you can sleep by yourself you asshole!”

“What the f-” A large glass of beer was shoved into his face.

“If it weren’t for our Football King here, we wouldn’t have clutched at the end, cheers to our King!”

It took a moment for Stanley to process everything, but when he finally came to be, his world erupted with bright colourful lights, loud cheers, head bumps, high fives, and alcohol splattering all over him.

“Hey, if it wasn’t for the Walking Encyclopedia to suggest this, we wouldn’t be able to break in so easily with Einstein’s traps everywhere!”

(Y/N) simply grinned smugly, whereas Xeno rolled his eyes (but Xeno was smiling regardless).

“Hey, whoever drinks the most shots gets $500!” (Y/N) started and it riled up all the guys, including Stanley.

The next thing they knew everyone was absolutely wasted including Xeno, who somehow got drunk from drinking very little.

“I didn’t know you drink this much. Damn.” Stanley winced from his pounding headache as he lay on the countertop. Across from him was (Y/N) who was doing the same.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her hair was all over the place, making her seem like a crazy cat lady.

“Call it a tie? Half half?” While Stanley wanted to win due to his competitive nature, he knew that he would die if he drank any more.

“Fine.” She laughed as her eyes became dazed.

“Hehe, you’re one of us okay~?” She drowsily said, then put one hand on his head to touch his hair.

Stanley was surprised at her sudden bold move, as (Y/N) is not one to hug or touch so carelessly. She would always wait for them to initiate the gesture before she would return them.

But perhaps she is as drunk as him, and both didn’t care about anything in the world, so he let her play with his hair.

“Pretty…” She whispered, and Stanley felt embarrassment rush to his cheeks, especially if she complimented him looking like that.

“You know…you’re one of us right?” She pushes his forehead slightly, making him roll back a bit.

“Just because Xeno is Einstein, and just because I’m good at some things~ You are crazy smart too, and you can play football~ To me, you’re the best!”

She gave him a thumbs up before she giggles stupidly.

“So don’t look at us like some lost puppy m’kay? Xeno loves you! And I like you very very much.”

Stanley’s mind is running at a million miles per hour, was this a confession? Who knew (Y/N) was so open and careless when she was drunk!?

Then she put a finger to his lips and winked.

“It’s a secret okay?”

Before she could say anything, she fell asleep, leaving Stanley alone to process what the heck just happened.

But, he doesn’t dislike this feeling, after all, he was familiar with it.

Since the moment their duo became a trio, he had always respected and admired her for her patience. She always made sure he was included in their talks, and made sure to make Xeno try out some of the things that Stanley liked to do.

She was like a connecting puzzle piece, something that bridged the gap that Xeno and Stanley had.

“Idiot.” He poked her forehead with a drunk smile, and hoped that when they wake up tomorrow, they would remember.

The next morning, when it smelled like vomit and smelly socks, he woke up facing (Y/N) who was sleeping peacefully beside him.

Remembering last night, his face flushed in embarrassment, and he quickly hid his face in case his team mates saw him.

“Oh Stan, I can see that you’re awake.” Stanley slowly turned to face the smirking Xeno freaking Houston Wingfield who sat on the stool like he knew everything.

“So?” Xeno took a sip from his mug with a smug expression. At this point, Stanley knew there was no point in hiding.

“Shut up. Pass me water.” Stanley stood up, noticing that some of his teammates left, but some were still knocked out.

Xeno obeyed, his expression unchanging, as if waiting for him to say something.

“Fine. You win.” Stanley gives Xeno $250 grumpily, and the other takes it without any hesitation.

“I told you, she would confess first. Scientifically speaking, (Y/N) is more bold and-”

“Whatever.”

Xeno still had a look on his face, as if he’s saying “really?”.

“So Stanley, my dear friend, when is it going to be official? I cannot bear to see this crush of yours last for eons.”

“Shut up, I’ll confess soon.” Stanley looks away with his arms soon. His eyes soon naturally went to the sleeping girl on the floor.

Stanley let out a laugh and shook his head before walking over to her. He knelt down and covered her with one of his jackets and sighed.

“What am I going to do with you? Let’s hope you remember what you said, Walking Encyclopedia.”

When (Y/N) woke up, let’s just say that she had a pleasant surprise, but was it really?

When she remembers everything, and needless to say, maybe she had run out of patience too.

And Xeno?

He suddenly became the third wheeler that (Y/N) always joked about.

#manga #anime #anime and manga #dr stone spoilers #dr stone #drst #stanley snyder #xeno houston wingfield #au #childhood #stanley snyder x reader #female reader #fanfic #high school #dr stone fluff

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themushroomgoesyeet · 8 months

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I apologize for breaking schedule already; this took me a while to figure out and I guess I accidentally forgot to actually write this up yesterday (Sunday is going to be the day that I post these, unless I decide otherwise btw)

Anyway!

Arcana characters as cryptids

(see I told you it wouldn't all be Disney)

Asra - the Loch Ness Monster

Water theme? Check

Mysterious to a mind boggling degree? Check

Is it a dinosaur that the asteroid missed? Is it an ancient Celtic creature with nebulous shape-shifting magic? Is it just a hoax? Who knows! Certainly not us, and I feel like this fits Asra's "no gender only magic and adventure" vibes

Both of them have an increasingly frustrating ability to disappear at random and only be seen when they want to

Julian - Mothman

Big, blanket shaped, black and red color palette, sexy for some people

Did I just describe Mothman or Julian?

Both also have a bad habit of materializing from/melting into the shadows

I think if Julian were to find this post likening him to such an edgy, mysterious creature he'd be thrilled

Muriel - Bigfoot

I mean is there really even a question about this one

Literally all you have to do is make Muriel hairier and have bigger feet and you're all set

Both of them live out in the middle of the woods & don't seem to care for company

Bro basically is a cryptid to some Vesuvians

Lucio - Goatman

I feel this needs even less explanation than Muriel's tbh

Especially since a nice chunk of this fandom double as BuzzFeed Unsolved fans

Fuck you goatman

Nadia - sphinx

Ok so I'll admit this is where I started running out of ideas

Hear me out tho

I know that some of you will say that sphinxes are mythological creatures and not cryptids, and personally I disagree; I bet in a thousand years archaeologists and the like will look back on our cryptid studies and be like "man, these guys had a weird mythology"

So long story short sphinxes are just ancient cryptids

There are two flavors of sphinx, both of which I think fit Nadia well

Greek sphinxes were usually portrayed as guardians - usually of cities, gates, and doorways - and (in the case of Oedipus) challenged people with riddles. As ruler/protector of Vesuvia, I think it's safe to say that Nadia slots into the guardian role quite nicely

I'm not as familiar with Nadia's route but I imagine she'd also enjoy riddle games

Then there's the Egyptian flavor of sphinx; while these are also guardians (of tombs and temples specifically), they are also representations of Pharos and their closeness to the gods, as well as symbols of their strength and ferocity

And of course we love the strong & independent queen that is Nadia

Portia - Tonttus/Nisse/Gnomes

For those who don't know, Tonttus are creatures from Scandinavian folklore; they look like tiny men with white beards and colorful, conical hats

While their description doesn't fit Portia (aside from being incredibly small in stature), their actions and temperament certainly do

If treated well, Tonttus will become guardians of homesteads and farms, helping with chores, caring for livestock, and warding off danger and misfortune.

If treated poorly or insulted, Tonttus will instead cause mischief in the place that they live, playing tricks, stealing from the family, and sometimes even killing livestock

Now Portia may not go as far as killing animals, but she's definitely got a short temper at times and is a wild prankster

I almost forgot about these homely little creatures but I'm glad I found something that fits Portia's cottage core vibes so well

#the arcana #the arcana game #arcana #muriel of the kokhuri #count lucio #asra alnazar #nadia satrinava #portia devorak #julian devorak #the arcana as _

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thehauntedinfirmary · 6 months

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Fic Rec Friday Edition 32

Welcome to Fic Rec Friday! With this series, we're aiming to make a contribution to fic reading and engagement within the Shyan fandom by publishing a periodic recs list containing fics selected by our members. So sit back with a tasty beverage of your choice and welcome in the weekend with this week's selection - and feel free to like and reblog this post to spread the word!

Light My Way by breathtaken Complete | 31k words

He remembers Ryan in his body, Ryan in his head, and he doesn’t know any spells to help him get over that.

open all your doors by apologeticallybourgeois Complete | 8k words

Shane was almost sure that Ryan didn’t actually cast a spell for it to happen, if only because the price he’d have to pay would probably be counted in, like, human limbs instead of a couple of small animals.

The Genius of the Western River by Siria Complete | 14k words

Shane’s totally working on being flippant about all those times he joked about Ryan’s godlike physique, never suspecting how true those jokes might be—the two of them just have to defeat a supernatural serial killer first. (A Rivers of London fusion AU.)

Your Heart Inside of Mine by MiraclesofPaul Complete | 51k words

They're placed into the Witness Protection Program after a bomb was found on the set of Unsolved. The only way to stick together is to lie and say they’re engaged. Years go by. Things change. Things transform.

Dancing With A Stranger by breathtaken WIP | 20k words

“I find myself in need of a private investigator.” Ryan almost laughs. If their positions were reversed, he doesn’t think he would have come here if Shane were the last private investigator in Los Angeles.

waiting for the sunlight by sarcasticfishes Complete | 18k words

Sara had always known, growing up as both an only child and a princess, that she would likely not marry for love.

accidentally, the whole thing by Matriaya Complete | 5k words

Shane knows it’s illogical, that there are twenty thousand other explanations for the noise Ryan made and the way the sound of shifting fabric is now issuing out of his phone’s speaker. He sucks in a breath as he tries to parse what to do next, but it evaporates in his lungs when he hears it. His own name. “Shane.”

it was all by design (cause i’m a mastermind) by Anonymous Complete | 7k words

His connection with Shane is something he can’t ignore or deny, which only means one thing: Ryan has to go out of his way to make this guy a permanent part of his life.

My Heart's a Honeytone by Anonymous Complete | 7k words

Shane is in quite the predicament. Upon consulting new evidence, it turns out that ghosts are totally real. Also, he was in a devastating car accident and never told Ryan how he feels and now it's too late, but holy shit, ghosts are real. He's gotta at least find a way to tell Ryan that.

Want to learn more about The Haunted Infirmary? Check out our pinned post!

#shyan #skeptic believer #shyan fic #shyan fic rec #otp: we took an oath #friday fic recs #haunted fic recs

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thatoneluckybee · 9 months

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OKAY PROPAGANDA TIME! @yttd-enjoyerNo pressure for any of these lol, I added a lot because rambling and procrastination. I’m copy-pasting some descriptions from another post of mine. I was trying to look for some with good lore and magic systems, or that had great characters.

Cursed Princess Club: This one is adorable and hilarious. It’s a fantasy and comedy. The Pastel Kingdom has four children. The eldest, Maria, is 18, and so beautiful that forest animals follow her when she sings. The second oldest, Lorena, is 17, and so beautiful that flowers grow where she sleeps. The third child is prince Jamie, who is so beautiful that he is constantly GLOWING (literally.) And his twin sister, Gwendolyn, is the sweetest and perhaps most loved of all! The three sisters are happily engaged to the Plaid Princes. When Gwen meets her soon to be betrothed, though…. he finds her to be really, really, ugly. Gwen has to learn to love herself as she is with the help of a club for cursed princesses (and one prince who wants to change the club name desperately.) It’s hilarious. Someone swallows her fiance whole. Jamie can taste feelings through food and keeps accidentally violating HIPPA. Lorena beats the crap out of a bunch of clowns. Gwen keeps getting mistaken for an evil witch. There’s a really spoiled drunk llama named Laverne. Maria buys merch of her boyfriend’s fanclub. There’s an omniscient clam. It’s a glorious disaster. (Also that was what the screenshots I was losing my mind and spamming last night. I relate to the plaid guy on an eerie level. This one has INCREDIBLE character arcs and parallels and foreshadowing and details and AUGH)

Space Boy: This one is one of my all-time favorites, and I believe it deserves an award for it’s realistic character arcs and characters. I’d be convinced if you told me they were real people. Sci-Fi Romance. (A lot of romance. Not a particular favorite genre of mien it’s just like 70% of all Webtoons.) In the far future, humanity is exploring the furthest reaches of space using the freezing sleep thing (real thing, forgot name.) Amy lives happily on a mining colony in deep space, until her father loses his job, and she and her family are sent away from the colony, and everyone she knows, back to Earth, where she wakes up 30 years later (frozen sleep thing.) Amy is adjusting to life on Earth, the new technology, and trying to come to terms with the fact her best friend is now in her 40s and she’s missed it all in sleep. Amy’s identifying trait is synesthesia: to her, people have flavors to match their personalities! Well, everyone except a strange boy she meets a school, who refuses to speak to her, and doesn’t have a flavor, Oliver. Amy decides that she WILL find this kid’s flavor if it kills her, and manages to get herself roped in the most chaotic mystery involving ancient cults, alien artifacts, unsolved murders, a government conspiracy, and whether or not Oliver is actually who he says he is. It’s so sad but I love it so much and I want to send everyone to therapy. I don’t even like sci-fi usually so this was amazing for me.

Nomads: ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES. The concept is your stereotypical “there were five kingdoms after a war 100 years ago:” the Sun, Sea, Sand, Sky, and Snow kingdoms. To maintain the peace, traveling between the kingdoms is banned for average citizens. You may, however, choose to become a Nomad, and travel for a price: you can never have a permanent home. Lance of the Sea Kingdom REALLY doesn’t want to be a Nomad. However, his little brother Mikah goes missing, and Lance has to find him in one year (once Mikah turns 18 it’ll be impossible to find him.) It’s going well and dandy until some unfortunate circumstances result in him, his new traveling buddy Satra, and a magic talking cat-thing being mistakenly accused of kidnapping a prince. And now they’re wanted bounties. (This comic is HILARIOUS so many shenanigans and I love Satra so much.)

Castle Swimmer: Can’t reveal TOO much of this ‘cause spoilers but it’s a really really good story. It’s a fantasy romance too. In this society of “Mers” (merfolk), every kingdom has long awaited the day a mysterious, mythicaeing known as the Beacon arrives. He will grant each kingdom’s prophecy, be that granting them fortune or saving their lives. When the Beacon arrives, though, turns out he’s literally just some kid named Kappa who has no idea what he’s doing. Siren is the prince of the shark kingdom. They have a curse that will cause them to suffer and become covered in scars and eventually die. The only way they can break the curse is whenever the Beacon arrives—and Siren, as predicted, will kill him. The only problem is that Siren REALLY doesn’t want to be a murderer, and Kappa REALLY doesn’t want to die, and they both are pining HARD.

Suitor Armor: This is a romantic fantasy but I like it because it doesn’t feel boiled down to JUST a “will they won’t they.” Fairies and humans have been at war for as long as anyone can remember, with heavy losses on both sides. A Lord rescues a child, a little girl named Lucia, to be his daughter, Kirsi’s, lady-in-waiting until Kirsi marries a nearby king. The only issue? Lucia is a fairy, and she and the Lord must hide that if she wants to live. After they’ve grown up, Kirsi and Lucia go to the nearby kingdom to prepare for the wedding, where Lucia meets their mage’s newest creation: an enchanted, sentient suit of armor named Modeus. And now we’re all aggressivley shipping a tin can with one of the coolest women ever. (And I LOVE the magic system in this… we don’t know everything yet, it’s being revealed as time progresses, but it’s amazing in my humble little opinion.)

Homesick: Recommending this one since you’ve read School Bus Graveyard! It’s almost a “sister series” in that the fanbases overlap lots and the creators have done collabs too! Disclaimer that it’s mature for a reason. It covers a lot of dark topics and is a HORROR FOR A REASON. School Bus Graveyard is incredibly dark, but it sort of eases you in to the terror while Homesick tosses you in like a flailing child. If you do choose to read it I can provide trigger warnings, though it may spoil some plotlines a bit. Rayne (my pfp!) wakes up on a rooftop with no memories at all and meets a boy named Samael, who quickly informs her that it’s the apocalypse. Cannibalistic creatures called murks roam the land, feeding on anything that makes eye contact. Rayne and Samael form a deal to survive, but things get really, REALLY messy when they encounter someone from Samael’s past and get wrapped up in something that might just be worse than the apocalypse. On top of it all, Rayne has noticed some strange things about herself, including terrible headaches that warn her of murks… (It’s so good I love it but good lord it gets dark. I really want to say more about it but the story doesn’t jump right into the main action or plot right away so I CAN’T WITHOUT SPOILING IT SOB.)

Okay limiting myself to six for now sheesh I typed a lot.

#fambles #webtoon #webtoon recommendation #space boy #space boy webtoon #cpc #cursed princess club #nomads webtoon #homesick webtoon #suitor armor #castle swimmer #webtoon propaganda

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kinocharlley · 1 year

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Well it's seems like not many people aside from me and my friend have this opinion, but I'm going to say it anyway.

Season 2 of Ghost Files is below mid. Just because it's more produced and generally has a bigger budget doesn't automatically mean it will be better. To me it feels like Ryan and Shane locked themselves as "buzzfeed unsolved guys" and they don't want to break something that brings them views and therefore safe money (which is understandable).

I literally zoned out of almost every episode up to today and so did my friend with whom I was having a watch party.

Those episodes are too long for no reason and the solo investigation got so repetitive, wahoo rayan got scared and Shane did something "funny". I want to be a believer but nothing convinces me (I won't fucking let go of that very obvious animal in one of the previous episodes and it being the evidence).

If you have fun, well good for you. But I feel like I'm watching a ghost hunting TV (reality) show that would air at 2 am on discovery channel and that's not something I came for.

#kino speaks #ghost files #ghost files season 2 #i just felt like being a hater #honestly i don't care if you have different option from me lol #watcher #buzzfeed unsolved #ryan bergara #shane madej

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fraeuleintaka · 1 month

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AAIC Nintendo Dream Magazine Cover

This is the 60th post in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Countdown: 21 days left until release!

Today's topic: the Investigations Collection themed Nintendo Dream magazine cover!

The Japanese Nintendo magazine Nintendo Dream (unsurprisingly) covers the Investigations Collection in their September and October issues - including an entire exclusive cover drawn for the latter. As you can see above (and below) it looks incredible! The cover version sadly hides Gumshoe behind a bunch of writing (poor guy) but luckily the magazine comes with a poster version of the artwork as well so that you can enjoy it in all its glory.

Look at it! Isn't it gorgeous?! I love it! I honestly want this magazine just for this poster alone. Let's talk about how amazing it is in detail.

First of all, they picked the characters included in the art well. With AA's large casts promotional artworks like this can often feel too crowded and overstuffed and the two Investigations games have a sizeable main cast all on their own so it can be difficult to decide who to include and who not to. In this art they really brought it down to the few most central characters: the protagonist Miles, his two sidekicks Gumshoe and Kay and the two main rivals of the two games Shi-Long and Justine (Verity). Perfect choice! I might miss some other characters I love (like Sebastian (Eustace) or Franziska) but I honestly think it's better for it, this way the characters can really shine.

The view is from slightly above so that the characters look a little upwards towards the "camera" which not only looks nice but works well to put a little more focus on what they're standing on: a chessboard, or a chessboard-like patterned floor at least. Of course, we're not gonna stop with the chess theming now 😄 I do think it's a great choice though, especially because it's not black and white like your usual chessboard but (burgundy) red and white, following Miles' colour scheme. Very nice thematic background!

On to the characters, we start, of course, with Miles Edgeworth himself front and centre. He has a very confident smile on his face, you could almost say he looks a little cheeky, and he wears it well! Logic genius extraordinaire, no crime goes unsolved, no criminal uncaught when Miles is on the case - and he knows it, too! His pose also expresses that confidence, with his crossed arms, angled slightly to the side and that one pointer finger raised like he doesn't even have to try to destroy your argument. It's somewhat reminiscient of his thinking animation, only combined with his confident smirk in a way that is very Miles-specific. Very badass, I love it!

Behind Miles, essentially framing him on either side, are our two main rivals, Justine on the right and Shi-Long on the left, both angled towards the centre. Justine looks comparatively serious and neutral. One of her arms is outstretched towards the viewer, hand open, while the other is placed on her chest. It gives her a very gracious vibe, as if she was offering you mercy hoping you would realize your errors and return to the righteous path. Perfectly fitting to her attitude in the game, extremely sure of her own correctness, serious but not brutal as long as you agree with her "correct" view. And elegant above all else!

Shi-Long is the complete contrast to that, rough instead of elegant but just as confident. His arm is also outstretched towards the front but instead of an open palm he has a closed fist with the pointer finger raised in a very commanding and attention demanding way. He stands with his legs apart, as he usually does, and just emanates charisma, also as he usually does. His expression is a wild wolfish grin, showing slightly sharper teeth, that makes him look at least as sure of himself as Miles is and very ready and eager to rise to any challenge that might be thrown at him including any pesky prosecutors that might get in his way. He does what he does how he sees fit and won't let anyone tell him different and makes sure to show you exactly that. You can also really admire his fluffy hair tips from this angle!

Directly behind the two main rivals is Kay with a wide happy grin on her face that perfectly fits her energized personality. She comes across like she's actively posing for something, trying to look cool or badass and having too much fun to really stay serious. Her arms form a cross in front of her chest, one hand showing the peace sign, the other with a raised pointer finger similar to Miles. That's definitely the kind of cool pose Kay would think of making for a group shot! Have I mentioned I love her yet?

Last but not least, we have Gumshoe standing slightly behind Kay but facing the wrong way and just now seeming to notice it. His neck is stretched out so that he looks awkwardly behind himself with a facial expression that says "Oops!", seeing the others and realizing that he screwed up. His arms are raised in front of him in a similar pose to Kay, one hand showing the peace sign and the other showing something inbetween that and a raised pointer finger as if he was trying to do the same pose but not really sure what it was again. Poor Gumshoe, he screwed up the badass group shot. Completely in-character for him though, hilarious and so cute 😊 I especially love that Kay made him do her cool pose with her and how the artwork shows off their adorable dynamic this way, it's so well done!

This is not the only amazing art you can get as a poster though, the September issue comes with a poster version of the Investigations Collection key art! I already analysed that one in an early countdown post so I won't do it here but it's another brilliant piece and I'd love to have that poster as well. All the new artwork for this collection is so beautiful!

#ace attorney #ace attorney investigations #ace attorney investigations collection #aai collection #ace attorney investigations collection countdown #21 days left

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itsbenedict · 1 month

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From the beginning | Previously | Coin standings | 23 | 11

You take a look at the guy who's awful at battering shrimp, and realize- no, that's referencing a filename. "INFINITY SERVER UNIT SECURITY", it says- and inside you find an email chain between EARTH INVADER and GRANT APPLICATION describing the security measures taken to protect the FERNINIT UNIVERSITY. There's a hidden elevator, and two security checkpoints underground staffed by a private security firm, NIL SOUL CO. Apparently the seven SCALY ECHOES DOCS have been entrusted to carefully-vetted HAZARD WICKS that EARTH INVADER selected to protect them. One of those "they all have to turn the keys" situations.

The imp with the marathon tips is concealing a research archive on the subject of "DIGITAL ANTHROPOMORPHISM", a controversial new field of research. Apparently, when using the EDEN SNAKE, the ATLAS DUO of a human being takes on the appearance of some kind of animal. In fact, since the EDEN SNAKE is just stripping away the IMAGERY DUELER of reality, these forms are more real than reality. Extra appendages like wings and tails are physically present, and explain a number of previously unsolved cases of mysterious injuries. Experimental subjects have even discovered that wings on their ATLAS DUO can be used for flight! There's some scholarly debate on whether the EDEN SNAKE can be allowed public distribution.

...Wait, so. You haven't been hallucinating that you're a hawk person? This- this is actually real?! Not an anagram for something you haven't solved yet? That's... that can't be right!

You go looking for more information, and seize the JINN CREST: BEG, FREE FOOD. This appears to be an email simply titled "DESIGN CENTER JOB OFFER", in which someone named GOOGLE AMAZON is offering GRANT APPLICATION a job in the private sector with the DESIGN CENTER on behalf of SEQUEL INJECTION. It cites her expertise with the EDEN SNAKE and names a mind-boggling salary- but her email rejecting the offer is curt and visibly offended. There's no information on this whole hawk business, though.

There's got to be some more you can uncover here- but something stops you in your tracks.

There's something approaching you.

It's the same pitch black as the undulating tail in the hall next to you, its massive silhouette broken up only by a pair of glowing white eyes. It's hard to make out the black-on-black, but it has a mouth, filled with rows of enormous fangs. It's the size of a semi truck, and takes up half of this massive hallway, almost crowded out by what must be its own tail to the left. It swims towards you, like an eel, through thin air.

You don't have a weapon. Avenues of retreat are limited. The gaggle of hallucinations around you are no help at all:

A stylish FREIGHT HEADBAND, emblazoned with the image of a train. You wouldn't mind wearing that, but it's of no use in a fight with a giant eel monster.

There's a small mountain, and it has a PEAK (IT JUTS). The top of it juts out and forms an overhang where you could potentially make camp if you weren't in blatant peril.

Some HI-DEFIANCE INFO is available for your perusal, but it's mostly just motivational platitudes telling you to stick it to the man. You don't think this thing is the man.

There's a sign advising you to RUN, OR TEETHE FLAVOR. What? Like, you'll be a flavor to the teeth? Yeah, you figured that much out already.

Continued

#lost in hearts

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murkystarlight · 4 months

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Dreamzzz season2 spoilers pt. 4

(And my personal comments)

Episode 8

Now. I wanted to end it all here. But I thought I'd separate the final episode from the others and so that we would have 5 parts :) (I just like the numbers like that. Okay?)

The name of the episode has so much meaning- oh god...

The deer- 😭 how did it even end up there?? And Zoey saving it- the tightrope (how did it even end up in the cyber realm??)

"Stop! Stop! Shoo!"

You're supposed to be saving it- but I guess you have to be alive to do so (also, the sounds it makes when it nibbles on the rope- lol)

"It's easy to get scared when you're all alone" (awh-)

[Bird sounds]

"There you are! You know, I could've used your help with this"

Zian is just trying to give you a cool moment on screen. Be nice

Zian is ADORABLE-

"Jeez. Always thinking with your stomach"

That's why Zian is so adorable

Mrs. Castillo is such a nice woman. Wise and kind and... and... smart?

"Izzie, if I tell you a secret, promise not to freak out?"

"[Sqealing] Tell me what it is!"

She is already freaking out-...

"The anticipation is already killing me"

I lover her eyes. When they go all big and sparkly. So pretty. And cute

Zoey taking about her problems to Izzie is so- aughhhh sshe trusts her well enough And- and stuff! She's sharing stuff like this to her because she now is able to open up to them

"What happened? Did he apologize? Did he explain where he's been? Did he reveal a dark secret that he's been leading a double life this whole time and he couldn't tell you in order to keep you safe?"

Izzie our trustworthy ally of an anime watcher. She saw enough shows to know this. And she is... very right about it. I didn't notice this before... wow. She- she guessed his entire life

"I'm curious what lava feels like, but I'm not gonna go stick my hand in it"

Why not Zoey? Why not?

Izzie looks so happy for her-..

And Zoey's frown-

"What class is this for?

"It's not for class. It gives me an edge when I face Astrid in the trials. Without being able to Dream Craft, I don't stand a chance against her"

"But! I got to thinking about how you're dealing with your missing memories, so I figured I'd try something totally different too. Totally unexpected."

"Like-... studying?"

"Exactly! [Doing a small jump] She'll never see it coming!"

Logan studying! So he can look good in front of Astrid(or to beat her. Or-... feel better about himself?)!

"He knows you actually have to read those, right?"

[Nodding]

"Logan, nobody wants to beat Royce's protégé more than I do,but I'll be honest, in this next round, you're going to be facing the most diabolical, most menacing, most insidious things you've ever seen"

"An alarm clock" with- a very serious voice

oh... wow. Okay

"Oh~! Squeal! It's so cute!" (Did she really say "sqeal"? Mood) "Look at those big, dreamy eyes!"

The clock is cute? No, you're cute! (...am I flirting with a lego? Y'know what forget it)

And Mateo and Cooper in the background- just staring at her blankly lol (the background is really interesting to look at in this season) and when they get told to stop Logan while he tried to catch the clock, Izzie's pose- it's so cute😍 and again, Mateo and Cooper just like- blank

The alarm clock went to 19 to 12 seconds a bit too fast...? I think

"Wah, wait. Why are you guys backing up? Is it my breath? Oh, nuts!"

The alarm wasn't a loud one. I guess it's just dream magic?

"If you and Mr. Oz are sort of the same, why do you stay here in the Dream World when he wakes up?" I was thinking the same thing! So many questions about Albert! Unsolved!!

We. Need. Answers!

"Isn't there a part of you that's always dreaming?" (But this doesn't satisfy all the questions I have)

So.... they're just training with all these random people being there with them?

Well unicorns! And Mateo's actually doing something! And Cooper- ...I thought you moved on from the vehicles (his face literally reads "yeah. I thought I did too. Why did I do that?")

Astrid has great neck movement(?). You think she can do the arm thing? Like the noodle arms or.. whatever you call it

"One may be able to conquer without being able to do it"

He read the books!! Hallelujah!

Zoey was here the whole time? I was honestly kinda surprised when I was the episode for the first time. What do you mean she was just standing there this whole time?

"This better not be BFF talk" what's bff talk? That thing exists?

Also, what does Izzie mean by "I won't ask about you dad again" again?? You mean- she just constantly kept asking about him? Trying to help Zoey? Ooh so nice

"We get to throw things at Logan"

"Oh man, there goes Cooper! This things gnarly"

The throwing-... and Cooper again. Why is he always the punching bag in the back? Poor guy... (also, if you wake up in a dream as an aware dreamer unexpectedly, or was forced, what's wrong with that? Can't you just... fall asleep again? Or... does some weird magic in the dream world stop you from doing that?)

Izzie, I thought you said you won't ask about her dad-

And do these kids really not know that they divorced or something? Or.. maybe something else happened? Idk

And-- Cooper's back? What- how does this work? Did he never wake up? Was it just a close call? If you can just fall back asleep, what about Mr. Oz??!

And Logan was literally under a couch. A darn couch

Logan being determined- and Astrid turning the alarm back on- she likes them. Shes not exactly a bully. More like a.... "it's TRUE I'm better than you. You have to be better than this" .....okay. that still sounds bad-

Zoey's aunt is- so kind

"Bro-ther.... you know those are poisonous for cats. Right?" And it's already going horribly

The pictures-

Is that red vines?

"Watching Astrid train seemed like a good idea, but man. I'm getting concerned"

"Yeah, I just feel worse now"

We've got these fella's

"Ohhhh~ pretty"

And her.

"Take it down!" *his eyes- look at his eyes in this scene

"What's your problem~ why you gotta ruin our target practice"

"Because that's my daughter!"

Woah- omg~ no wayyyy *shocked*

"What?!"

"I mean, I... I don't see a resemblance" -well of course not, you think he actually looks like a shadow??

"I had no choice. If the Nightmare king knew he would've use it against me!" Still has the same morals.... *sigh*

"Why do you think I kept letting her go?"

"To be honest, I just thought you were a lousy henchman" -I love you Susan, you beautiful nightmare thing

He admits it

"There~ he goes again"

"Ughhhh"

Look at Zoey smiling! She was happy her dad was there in the dream

And the fact that he remembered that she likes licorice as a kid- it's so cute and sweet

Afraid of getting hurt-

Beau probably already has a lot of experience flying. But he was acting(?) like he was so excited and this was his first time-... and Zoey hugging him- awwww father-daughter moment

"Hey, dad. I got some like.. a contest.. or test.. or something come watch it!"

Definitely sounds legit(the only trap. It is legit)

Beau being like- oh... um.... castle what? Uh-... mr Oz? Uh... um....

Eating hotdogs- I swear to god Cooper, food doesn't have to become your whole new personality!

Snot-bug heh cute

Logan being the only one running- like Oh....kay

The flying pizza-

I like how Mateo fell and hit the clock, rolling down the stairs... just like how you wake up. Not me. I don't have an alarm

Izzie and Zian is friends for a reason

Yay! Go Takashi~ also, the way they said his name?

Also, the dreamling costume is like- adorable! But how did he pull that off? You mean no one thought it would be weird that a dreamling is that big?

But Beau trying to be there and support Zoey is nice. Like he does care

But Mr. Oz, really? You don't have to eat off of the floor! (And I just realized. In the 18 years ago episode, Albert said something like "keeping the kids dreaming" or.. whatnot. So... Beau and Hannaha are pretty young back then. At least younger than mr. Oz. So.... does that mean beau talking to mr. Oz this whole time was... on purpose? "I'm going to be rude to him now! Hehe" and... how did mr Oz know that the night hunter was one of his past teammates? And how did he not connect the dots of Beau being the night hunter? And-)

I love how Zoey gets her confidence after seeing her dad. Because she still thinks that he couldn't come. Which in her case would make her feel even better that he did come. That he's really trying to make a difference. Because Zoey still thinks that her dad has to do other stuff that night. But despite that he came to see her! That's what Zoey has on her mind. That's how Zoey is seeing this. Which makes it even more of a... important thing to her

Which is... pretty cute

So they know it's just a costume?

Astrid and Logan bonding- ahhhhh

You can only use dream crafting (but- but-)

"Why, you stuck up little- so and so!" I'm telling you. The only reason mr. Oz doesn't swear, is because he's around kids all the time

"I don't need the win. I already got everything I wanted today"

So- ah! My hearttt the blurry picture-

Beau nearly cleaning up the cardboard cut out

And the never witch! She was gone for a while! Good to see you again you very cool designed evil witch villain that will probably cause a lot of pain to the characters. Welcome!

Also- does the night hunter voice and the Beau voice just.... switch on and off? Is Beau just capable of doing that?

The never witches staff is beautiful

Beau really want the secret identity thing a secret

"What I want. Is the one thing called... Mateo"

Ewww pedo what's wrong with you?? (I'm sorry that was the only reaction I could think of- but it is similar to my first reaction... I think)

Don't worry people who haven't watched this thing yet! She is not pedo!(or... hopefully she isn't) she's just a normal witch that want the boy for dinner! She's going to be making soup or potion out of him

Episode 9

Susan and Snivel fighting again

They're literally siblings

"I've missed this" yeah. Me too

And Nova! You're back! (Maybe she was in the hospital for lack of sleep again)

And Sneak too! Your family misses you Sneak. Please go back to them! Or... bring your two families together?

"What's taking so long!" 😡 he angy. He pissed

So I guess he's only out in the waking world now since he... *cough* isn't much help in the dream world at the moment-

"A few corrupted gummy bears are no match for my daughter" he says it with so much pride.... is this... okay? He caused them. And he... uh... okay??

Sudan and Snivel getting the front row seats to watch the show- with popcorn (really, how is this the candy realm? Just call it 'random food people like realm' ...no. that's a horrible name. Don't use that)

They could get sawed?? By the lollipop trees? Limbs go *poof*??

Oh- nope. Never mind. Sorry guys. The witch is pedo. (Mateo is going on a date👍"you got a date with the never witch")

The nightmare horse/alicorn thing!!

Mateo grunting- 😂

Mateo worrying about z-blob more than himself who is tied up and alone with a witch. Also what spell is the never witch even using?

*dramatic entrance*

"Late to the party my dudes"

Awww.... too bad. I mean.. I guess it's good?

"You handled things just fine without us!"

"Don't sound so surprised"

Why does everyone keep saying stuff like "you said teamwork. But this doesn't look like teamwork to me" as if we're going to have a similar situation from the last season, in this seasons finale too(and the way everyone automatically thinks Mateo left to see Z-blob. Just imagine how many times he did that for them to think this way)

"Mateo left again? Ugh, for the love of-!"

"Maybe- seeing Z-blob will help him feel ready for the next trial"

He's a good friend. A good friend

"Wouldn't it be dope if all of you made the final three?"

He's gotten jolly. Look at him, so friggin adorable-

"I have an... um... errand to run"

"Wha- where is she-?! Does everyone just do what they want around here?"

"Yep, it's part of our charm"

She's so chill

Zian knows-

"Arrogance, selfishness, anger. I will harness your worst tendencies to fuel my spell"

And folks. Here we have it.

Arrogance, selfishness and anger

Mateo's little flaws

I really like the coloring in this show

Did he really break that wood thing prison that he couldn't break with slime? I guess it's pretty hard-

Falling-

Oh, and falling again

Look! Zian's kind!

"What is this place?"

Creepy vine thing. But actually nothing big-

Here it is! The one... no. Not exactly one. The second! And... first clone? Madeo! He... really... ugh.. I don't know

Do the clones look like that only to us watching through the screen or do they actually look like that but the others don't care/think he changed his look by dream crafting?

"I'm the new top dog around here" he sounds like... Mateo. But with a lot of autotune(I don't know with the colors)

But did he really snarl? Like- dude... why??

"Greetings witch! Loved that soup. Spicy!" He ate the- his own- um... flesh and memory stew?

This part is great. I love it. It's so funny

Ticklish Mateo laughing. I wonder if he's ticklish or if the vine just has good skills

"Wait, how did you know I was here? And who's the weird dude?"

The night hunter making dad jokes

"I got nabbed by the night hunter-"

"What?! I will end him"

The night hunter: 😔

Also the night hunter:

"Whatever I can do to help, I will"

Then secretly when no one's watching 😒

Oh- so this is where the giant raven set comes from! That set looks amazing btw

Takahashi making flowers- why is he so cute? Why does he keep popping up? Why is he still here? Is he playing a part?

*super cool landing. Sling the giant pencil on shoulder. Grin. And make it evil*

"Um, are they like friends now?"

Yes. Yes they are. And they seem to be bonding very well. Good for them!

And my favorite(? I think so. Its definitely the funniest) part

"Dude, was your brother always so dreamy?" (Its always this line. Always. Ugh...... I like it though)

"Mateo?!"

"Dreamy?"

Cooper's just surprised. Like. Dude. What?!

And Logan's more like... 'she called him dreamy?' It seems like he's in love. But I'm no expert. It seems like a potential love line the creators are trying to make.... (and if it is... how does it work? Astrid is from Berlin. Right?)

[Intense music playing] lol

[All swooning] okay. What?

The hairflip- ahhhggahg

He's good at football now. Wow.... that is real improvement the never witch made on him 😌

The flowers again-

"Smooth!" No! Cooper! Not the time to be a supportive friend! Is he jealous? Or supportive? Or what?

"Ew, that's my brother. Gross!"

See? What did I say about those sibling bonds? It's great. (And what do you mean gross? Just grossing out that "Mateo" acting is like that. Or the fact that Cooper said "smooth")

"Dude, who are you?"

Izzie really-

"Your brother, sister"

Yeah- no. I'm pretty sure no one calls they're siblings "brother" and "sister" without a reason

"No, and I'm loving this new you!"

Wait- what? Iz? I thought you- wait. So... she was calling out Cooper for saying Mateo was being "smooth" with the flirting? And stuff??

"How'd you get over your Z-blob flunk?"

Yup. And we got Cooper. Either being the logical one as always, or just... continuing to be a supportive friend

"Oh~ this and that. No biggie"

Yeah- okay. Gotta agree tho. These clones are fun. Look at that personality! Whoo!

"Well whatever you did, it's good to have you back buddy"

Alright. Supportive friend it is. And- no. No he is... the opposite of back. He's not even the same guy-

(Also, can we wave a little flag for the dude? I feel like he having the identity crisis right now🏳️‍🌈)

Malicious smile.... ehhehe

Meanwhile. The real Mateo:

"So... Beau. Mind if I call you Beau?" (Another cliche one)

Beau: 😑🤨 (long speech)

"He would never hurt me"

He... already has....;;

Izzie was sad when her balloons were taken then her face brightens up once she sees that he gave it to Astrid. I think Izzie just doesn't mind what the hell happens to Mateo's relationship as long as he has one-

Also, new word learned!

Enchanté

No idea what that is

"Dude, Mateo's pencil spear's back to normal!"

Cooper. Again. Not the time to be a supportive friend! Logan is clearly pissed rn

"Wouldn't it be great if he wins the last trial?"

Coop- oh god. He is so stupidly in love- .....I think? It's a possibility

"Wasteful, but impressive"

Well. At least she saying the truth

He can play the electric guitar?? The rock music? Omggggg that's... just a complete new feature. How did no one know he's not real? Even if he looks the same to them. By now they should've noticed?

The dream crafted speaker has a cute sticker attached to it too.

"Loud! But I love it"

Oh no.... Astrid is into bad boys- no wonder she gets along with Logan-

Izzie~ love your confidence

Only three? Really? And fight for the leader? Why??!

"I still don't get why, we can't just take on the Never Witch together"

Me too Cooper. Me too.... at least you guys are smart enough to notice

"Royce is obsessed with this "return to the good ol' days" nonsense"

And Cooper nodding- ahh so friggin cute

"Always has been-"

An attack is a good thing? Apperantly.... wow....

"Oh. That's not a hill..."

Wait- Beau just used a dart?! Ooohhhh why has no one drawn this yet??

Again with the background characters that look the same (the blonde one will be.... Alicia)

"Get out of my way! Runt!"

"Wow. Mateo had become a real-"

I'm telling you. These are not coincidences. They have sweated but it's a kids show so they sensored it

"Hi, Astrid..."

So stupidly in love no.2

Izzie has the hammer thing! And it looks amazing-

Seriously, the way they say Takashi...

Oooh~ the nightmare king again~ and he really is a little-....icon now

"You were right to be suspicious of me"

"Ooh~ this is good"

It is Voldemort's little brother. Or sister. It really is getting good

I love that pose when Beau changes into his costume again- that pose- it... its hilarious-

"So you'll lock us up instead?"

"At least you'll be safe" him and his morals again-

And then Zoey throws the clock. At this moment I knew. This was going to come back as a bad thing. She's going to need that clock. That's what the season kept hinting at us too-

And look at how Mateo is comfort(?)ing her-

"Re~presenting Brooklyn, baby!" "Ha ha ha!"

It's not just me- he did get more hyped up (and did he just pick him up on his shoulders? He can do that?? Does logic work differently here or can he actually do that? I mean- he did it with such confidence and comfort like he's done that hundreds of times)

"Logan, my brother is acting super weird!"

"Yeah, he's just found his groove"

"No Logan! You don't get it. He sabotaged me to make the task force!"

😨omg no way-(but seriously. No way)

"Finally! I'm aching for some malice!"

Also, just noticed. While watching this now

His hair streak (Madeo) is yellow and red. And here, the red is definitely red. Like.. a more brighter and more standing out red

Philllllll nooooo!!!

What. A way. To end this. 👏👏👏

Previous part

#lego #lego dreamzzz #dreamzzz #dreamzzz spoilers #lego dreamzzz season2 #lego dreamzzz Zoey #lego dreamzzz Mateo #lego dreamzzz Izzie #lego dreams logan #lego dreamzzz cooper

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ghost-in-the-corner · 7 months

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@wearewatcher I'm gonna tag you even though there is almost zero chance you'll actually see this.

I'm one of those people who grew up on Buzzfeez Unsolved, with the show starting right in the middle of my teens and ending when I was almost done with undergrad.

I remember, 5 years ago, as I was finishing high school, I was mentally in a low spot. It was hard to keep myself motivated given everything I had to go through, which I'd rather not detail. It wasn't anything dangerous, just a low point. But when I thought of ways to make myself feel better, I always circled back to the Hot Daga.

Yes, it was dumb. But holy hell, was it dumb fun. It was unabashedly joyous and eccentric, just trying to outdo itself in sheer insanity. A series of ridiculous, rudimentary animations that stumbled into a story, all of it with the purpose of annoying the guy next to you.

Man, that always made me smile those days. It was the only thing that made me properly smile then.

And, as it happens with mental health, it's happening all over again. I'm trapped in a consistent brain fog that is keeping my mood low. But even now, nearly 10 years after the first BFU and however long since the Hot Daga abruptly ended, I can return to it and leave grinning from ear to ear.

Anyway. Just wanted to type this out, express my gratitude for its existence. Thanks, Shane, for making the most ridiculous and wonderful little show. And thank you, Ryan, for commissioning and starring in it.

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dirtwatchman · 7 months

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PARTIES: @dirtwatchman and @mortemoppetere TIMING: Late October SUMMARY: Emilio is investigating the disappearance of someone who's blood was found at Caleb's place of work. He wants to talk to the groundskeeper, especially after he realizes the man is dead. CONTENT WARNINGS: Head trauma tw

It wasn’t uncommon for a police presence to be around the cemetery these days with the presence of blood being found on one of the tombstones. Caleb was getting used to it now, still on edge while they were walking around but calmer than he had been before. It also wasn’t unusual to see random people trekking through the graveyard on any given day, it was a place for people to visit their deceased loved ones after all. What was unusual though was a random man looking around the area of the crime scene with no indication that he was there to visit a gravesite. It made Caleb nervous, the zombie looking up from clearing away dead flowers every now and then to make sure he wasn’t being overly paranoid.

No, this wasn’t right. It was decided when Caleb looked up the fifth…or sixth time and the man still hadn’t found what he was looking for. He took off the work gloves he was wearing and set them in the back of his truck along with the half full trash bag before making his way over to where the unknown man was, the sun in his eyes making him squint so he couldn’t get a good look.

He really did hate confrontation. He’d do it if he had to but the nerves were already coursing through him as he thought the worst but each step he took towards the stranger only made them worse. Caleb finally made it within earshot of the other, making his voice louder so that he could get his attention more effectively before the groundskeeper could change his mind. “Can I help you find something? You look a little lost.”

Unsolved deaths were common in Wicked’s Rest. Emilio got a lot of people coming to his office, telling similar stories. The police said it was an animal attack, but it doesn’t feel right. They closed the case. They said there wasn’t enough evidence. They ruled it an accident. They’re not interested in pursuing an investigation. Over and over, like a broken record that kept playing the same song. The police were incompetent, or overworked, or lazy, or stretched too thin. Whatever you wanted to call it, the end result was always the same — Emilio picked up the slack and helped get people closure. And they hated him for it, half the time, but it paid the bills anyway. It gave him something to do. It didn’t make him feel like shit. He was good at it. So he kept doing it.

This case was more of the same. Guy winds up dead in a graveyard, police don’t do shit. The attack was a supernatural one; Emilio was confident of that. It was a detail that would make the case easier to investigate, but harder to explain. He knew supernatural entities a lot better than he knew people, but telling someone that their loved one had been killed by something they’d assumed was a fairytale? Wasn’t on the table. With cases like this, he had to both solve the case and come up with a ‘reasonable’ explanation if he wanted to get his payday.

It left him thoughtful as he studied the crime scene, lost in his head enough to ignore the groundskeeper a ways away. At least, until said groundskeeper got a little closer. Immediately, that familiar shiver ran down his spine. Undead, his mind supplied. The groundskeeper is undead. Of course he was. In this fucking town, who wasn’t? “Not lost,” he said gruffly, tensing as the man drew near. “What can you tell me about this?”

He slowed his steps as the other man spoke, Caleb getting the feeling that his presence wasn’t exactly wanted. With the question, his eyes went to the very headstone that the zombie was hoping this conversation wouldn’t lead to before landing on the other man. Of course, he was some sort of plainclothes detective or something that the department had sent over. Maybe they were hoping that he would say something that he hadn’t yet told the police, catch him in some sort of lie. He’d always gotten the feeling that the police didn’t really believe that he’d just stumbled upon the blood the same time they had.

Instead of answering with the same tired story, he raised his eyebrows at the man, doing his best to stall. “I don’t think I’m supposed to be talking about that with someone who isn’t with the police. The case is still open.” Not that the assigned detective was doing much. He’d have patrols there sometimes, took samples of the blood to figure out who it had belonged to, and questioned Caleb mercilessly but they were no closer to figuring out what happened than they were to most of the cases around town. “Are you with the police?”

So the police had been here. The woman who’d hired Emilio — the dead man’s wife — hadn’t been sure they were doing much of anything at all with how stagnant the case had been. Updates on it had been so few and far between that she’d felt she had no choice but to seek outside help. Which, of course, worked better for Emilio, anyway. Got him his paycheck, helped him keep the lights on in his shitty apartment. Made him feel a little less useless, too.

He scowled at the groundskeeper’s question. “Do I look like I’m with the police? Sound like it? La policía son idiotas. They’re just going to keep the case open until they can say it’s gone cold and close it. I’d rather get a real answer. So forget the police. They won’t know you talked to me. I ask again, what can you tell me about this?”

And yet Caleb didn’t want him to have a real answer. A real answer meant implicating himself, letting everyone know his greatest shame in life. A real answer meant he went to jail and endangered everyone in that police station. No, he couldn’t give real answers and the most frustrating part is that nobody understood that. How could they? They didn’t know him, they didn’t know what he could do if he got hungry enough.

The only saving grace in this situation was that the guy despised the police as much as Caleb did. He wanted to laugh but the situation was far too somber for him to do so. “I know they’re idiots, doesn’t mean you can’t be one. I don’t know you.” This whole thing could have been an act. The department had questioned Caleb over and over trying to see if his story had changed at all and it never did. For all he knew, this guy was sent in to confirm the groundskeeper wasn’t holding anything back. Because it was always the groundskeeper, right? At least they were looking in the right place this time. Of course, he had thought the same about another man not long before this and that had turned out fine. Who knew?

Running a hand through his hair, he squinted down at the headstone again and shrugged a shoulder. “Look, I want to help as much as the next guy but all I know is that the stone was clean one day and then had blood on it the next. The police saw it before I did.” Technically not a lie. Caleb had seen the person’s head hit but it never registered that blood would be there in his panicked state. Someone had called the police about it, supposedly a passerby who’d spotted the red glinting in the sunlight. “I don’t even know who told them, just that I couldn’t clean it until they were done with it.”

“You think I’m an idiot?” There was a hint of something that was almost amusement in his tone. Almost, but not quite. It might have been, had it not been for that churning in his gut that allowed him to know on sight that the groundskeeper’s heart wasn’t beating, or if not for the case he was investigating and the grieving woman waiting for news on her husband. But as it was? Emilio was as suspicious of the groundskeeper as he was of everyone, which was to say… very. He eyed the man, wondering if he knew more than he was saying. Probably, right? People usually did. Lying was an instinctual thing, it seemed; people did it without thinking about it, without even considering other options. It was like breathing. People lied. Sometimes it was to protect themselves. Other times, it was to save them embarrassment. And sometimes, people lied for no reason at all. It made his job a hell of a lot harder.

The story was… mostly believable. Still, suspicion tugged at the detective’s gut, and he eyed the groundskeeper with a critical eye. “Were you working that night? The night between it being clean and bloody.” If the groundskeeper had an alibi, Emilio could, at the very least, scratch him off the suspect list. If he didn’t… It was hard to shake the feeling that there were things he wasn’t saying, secrets he had hidden away. Emilio wasn’t a police officer. He wasn’t here to arrest anyone, wouldn’t even if he had the power to. After all, putting someone undead in a jail cell wouldn’t end well for anyone involved. He knew that. He just wanted answers for his client… and, maybe, to know whether or not there was something that needed cleaning up. Jail cells might not work for the undead, but a stake or a blade could solve the problem well enough on its own. He might only do that kind of thing when it was necessary nowadays, but it was sometimes necessary. There was no denying that.

“....I don’t know, are you a cop? I know you said you weren’t but people have lied to me before.” As much as he wanted to stand his ground on this he was starting to feel bad for insinuating the other was, in fact, an idiot. He hadn’t even meant to do it. But he also hadn’t meant to turn this conversation into a circle of sorts, the same things coming around over and over again. Though, that was probably for the best. The longer they talked about the police, the less they talked about the actual reason the guy was here. Maybe he would get frustrated with Caleb and leave.

The next question made him nervous and the zombie had to be careful with it. The truth was, he had been working but if he said that he was digging Mrs. Darcy’s grave then everyone would know he’d been right here the whole time. He just hoped nobody was checking with Erin to confirm what part of the cemetery he’d been in through paperwork. “I was, but it was on the other side of the cemetery. I was digging a grave for a Mr. Hensley and the excavator was really loud.” That was plausible, right? It’s what he’d been telling the place and they hadn’t bothered to check the records.

Something did occur to Caleb, though. He was sitting here answering this guy’s questions without even knowing who he was. If he wasn’t the police, then who was he? “Wait, wait, who are you again? If you’re not the police then why are you investigating? For the paper or something?”

“They don’t let people like me be cops.” Which reason would disqualify him first, he wondered — the instability? The lack of documentation confirming that he was allowed to be in the country in the first place? The fact that he was fairly certain he didn’t even have a Mexican birth certificate to attempt to obtain legal citizenship? His simple inability to follow orders he didn’t believe in? There were a thousand things that would prevent him from obtaining most jobs, and that was before you got down to the moral objections he carried towards police, or the fact that he probably wouldn’t have been particularly good at the profession to begin with. They didn’t let people like Emilio be cops, and that served people like Emilio just fine.

But none of that was particularly important at the moment. As mildly amusing as the verbal back and forth might be, Emilio was much more interested in what had the undead groundskeeper schooling his expression to this extent. He glanced over in the direction the groundskeeper indicated, making a note to find the grave he claimed to have been digging when he was finished with the conversation here. “And you didn’t see anything? No people around, nothing at all? Were you the one who found the body?” Some undead had muted senses, so it would make sense that he hadn’t heard anything, but… If he was a fury, he would have felt the rage that came with a murder. A vampire or zombie would have smelled the aftermath. A mare might have the excuse of not noticing, he supposed, though even that felt a little unlikely.

The question wasn’t unexpected, and Emilio didn’t have much of a reason not to answer it anymore, so he shrugged. “Private investigator. I’d give you a business card, but I don’t like people calling me. I was hired because the police are idiots. Just want to get a family some answers so they can move on with their lives, pick up the pieces. Sure you understand. That’s what you do, too, isn’t it? Help people move on.” He indicated to the graves around them. “So help me out here, man. I’m not looking to get anyone in trouble. That’s not what I do.”

“That makes two of us. Not that I want to be one.” He sighed, Caleb trying his best to give the appearance of breathing but also he wanted this man to know he was tired of this already. Between the police and this he wondered how they had such a high unsolved murder rate in this town because they sure weren’t leaving him alone. “I didn’t find the body because it’s still missing from what I can tell. All they found was blood…this person could still be alive for all we know. And I didn’t see anyone around that night. You kind of have to concentrate with big machinery or someone could get hurt…that someone being me, usually.” No, he didn’t find the body, he hid it after killing them in the first place. But he had seen someone around afterwards, someone who had kept his secret up to this point. He wasn’t about to throw her under the bus.

A private investigator almost sounded worse than the police. That meant that he would actually do his job and get to the bottom of this and that…was not okay. At least not for Caleb. The man was definitely pulling at his heartstrings though when bringing up the family and for a split second he considered confessing it all. How freeing would it be to let it out? To know that the person’s family could get some closure with it?

Then again, confessing meant a whole slew of new problems and his goal was to keep people safe from him, not make things more dangerous. Maybe it would be better for everyone if he just let someone end it all.

It wasn’t the first time the thought had hit him and he’d really considered it for a little bit but his friends, the ones who made Caleb feel like family, were more than enough to wipe those thoughts from his mind. It wasn’t enough to fully keep them away unfortunately. “I wish I could help you help them….but I don’t know anything other than the fact that there’s a lot of weird stuff that happens here at night. People should stay away.”

“That makes two of us,” Emilio repeated the man’s own words back to him with the faintest hint of a smile. If the groundskeeper was hiding something, he was decent at it. None of Emilio’s questions, designed to trip him up, seemed to faze the guy. Still, that distrust lingered. An undead groundskeeper and a missing corpse told a certain story, didn’t it? It was hard not to think there was more to this story. “Must have been pretty distracted for them to have time to make off with a body under your nose,” he commented, keeping his tone casual as best he could. Something here didn’t add up. He could see why the police kept hassling the groundskeeper, even if there was no way for the authorities to know what Emilio knew about the man’s missing heartbeat.

Something flashed across the groundskeeper’s face. Brief, but there all the same. Emilio took note of it. At best, this man knew more than he was letting on. Maybe he’d come across the body after the fact and used it for an easy meal, or let the killers slide in exchange for something. But at worst? At worst, there was blood on his hands. And that was all well and good — plenty of people in this town had blood on their hands — but it was Emilio’s job to let the dead man’s wife know whatever version of the truth she’d be able to handle. He owed her that much.

In either case, it didn’t seem that the groundskeeper was willing to be forthcoming. No one in this town ever wanted to make the detective’s job easy. He’d figured that out pretty quickly. He had to take what he could get, in situations like this one.

Luckily, he was a decent taker.

“What kind of weird stuff?” He knew, of course, what graveyards in this town were prone to. This was more of a test, an attempt to see what the groundskeeper would tell him. Less about information, more about… testing honesty.

“I must have been. I tend to listen to music too.” Which wasn’t a lie, he’d just forgotten to add that part in because he hadn’t been that night. Most of the time when Caleb was digging his headphones were on with loud music blasting through them. If only he’d thought to tell the police that earlier on. He knew what this looked like though, knew that grasping at straws was not good in situations like this, and he was pretty certain the investigator suspected him as well at this point. It sucked but what proof did they have? What proof could they find? He wasn’t saying anymore and instead started to fiddle with the gloves he previously took off to try and distract himself from this.

What kind of weird stuff? Oh, he could say so many things to that. Even when he was alive he’d seen some strange things but he never confronted them until there was nothing left to lose. His heartbeat was gone, why not get tossed around by a rogue vampire or two? This really wasn’t something to lie about either. His own guilt was one thing but trying to lie about the supernatural to someone who deserved to know what they were in for was another thing entirely.

Still, he hesitated. What the hell would he believe? Had this guy already encountered weird stuff before and was feigning innocence or was he completely clueless? “Just…stuff you don’t want to know about.” Caleb looked up from the gloves, hoping the sincerity was clear as he continued. “Stuff that you probably don’t think is real….but you should.” Man he was really playing into the creepy groundskeeper trope right now. Was it time to accept his fate as the one no one trusts but should? “Just be careful if you’re investigating this place, or any cemetery really.”

It felt like an attempt to cover his ass. If he were listening to music, why wouldn’t he have said so sooner? It should have been his first line of defense, not a desperate attempt to cover himself. Emilio tried to hide the suspicion from his expression, tried not to let the doubt shine through. It was better, he thought, if the groundskeeper didn’t know he suspected him. He could use it to his advantage, let the guy think he was getting away with something. Emilio still wasn’t sure if the man had had any involvement in the ‘disappearance’ in the cemetery or if he was just trying to cover up the fact that he was undead, but either way… the hunter preferred to be the one holding the cards.

“If I didn’t want to know about it, I wouldn’t ask,” Emilio replied, tilting his head to the side. He tried to play the part of clueless yet curious detective, tried to goad the stranger into giving him more information than he likely would have had he known that the person he was speaking to was a slayer. He wasn’t sure how good he was at it. Undercover work had never been something Emilio excelled at. He was much better at forcing answers out of a person than he was at tricking them.

The fact that the groundskeeper seemed to be offering a warning told him a little something, though. Was he trying to make sure Emilio was safe, or was he trying to ensure that wandering eyes steered clear of cemeteries he was haunting? It was difficult to know for sure. “I’m pretty good at watching my own back,” the detective replied with a shrug. “You see weird shit out here a lot?”

It seemed like the investigator was moving on to the topic of strange things and Caleb wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. He really just wanted to be done with this conversation altogether but walking away would be more suspicious than not, right? Still, the shift in topic was doing nothing for his nerves. One secret or the other? Which would he prefer to talk about? Neither, and yet here he was. He couldn’t stop the unamused huff at the investigator's question, his mind traveling to the many nights he’d spent having to fight one thing or another. “Yea, almost every night.”

Where did he start? The night that he’d been attacked by a starving zombie and had cemented his own fate to become the undead? Or the night where Caleb had been murdered by a graverobber that then soon turned into his first meal? Maybe he should tell the guy about all the ghosts traipsing through the cemetery on a nightly basis or the vampires he’s found in various crypts with various victims. Not to mention the hellhounds and the kers and the many things that liked to feed on the rotting flesh that could be found all over this cemetery.

But he would never believe Caleb. If anything, he would suspect the zombie even more thinking that his ‘delusions’ might have led to this poor person's demise when really they had come to visit a loved one at the wrong time. “Grave robberies are a big thing around here. Plus, there’s some weird people in this town who like caskets for some reason.” He paused, another sigh escaping as he avoided eye contact and mumbled the last part. “And the dead don’t stay dead for very long.”

How long had he been at this? Looking at him now, Emilio found himself wondering. Had he known about the supernatural before his death, or had that been his introduction into the world? In a lot of ways, Emilio thought of himself as lucky in that regard. He never had to learn of the existence of another world beneath his own — it had always been there. He’d known about the undead before he’d known his name, had known how to kill them before he learned to walk. His introduction into this world hadn’t been one of trauma and death, and that was a good thing no matter how many people seemed to think otherwise.

He listened as the man began to recount some of the ‘strange things’ he’d seen, raising his eyebrows when he started with mundane occurrences like graverobbers and people who ‘enjoyed’ caskets. “Every town has graverobbers,” he pointed out with a shrug. He wondered if the groundskeeper robbed graves himself, if digging up corpses was a good way to ensure a meal for himself. If he was, Emilio saw no issue with it. Better for him to feed off people who were no longer using what he needed than to kill someone for it. If there was an ‘ethical’ way to be undead, it was something like that.

And then, the real answer. Emilio didn’t look particularly surprised by the admission, only offering a small shrug of his shoulder. “You know a lot about that, too?” He knew the groundskeeper had experienced it himself — he could feel his stomach crawling, that old built-in warning reminding him with every breath that the man in front of him had no heartbeat in his chest. But how often did he deal with it from a more detached space? How often were other undead things lurking around this cemetery? Maybe it was one of them who had killed the missing man Emilio was here to find. “You see anything like that the night you found that blood?”

It was a reaction he hadn’t expected, the man not even flinching at the idea that the undead could rise up. No, he’d thought for sure that this investigator would laugh or give him the strangest look but instead he didn’t miss a beat with the next question he wanted to ask. Maybe Caleb should have expected that. Maybe this town was starting to corrupt more people with its supernatural guests than he’d realized. That thought alone was sobering and he had to wonder how this man knew about the things that went bump in the night. Did he get a rude awakening like Caleb? Was he undead too? No, he was too pink in the face for that, his skin a tone that sent that idea far away. So…what was he?

“I know too much about it.” His tone was flat, trying not to give away the disbelief he held at the investigator shrugging off Caleb’s words like that. His nerves were on fire, a current running through them as the anxiety in his gut started to build more and more but he took a breath in and continued. “Ghosts, vampires…zombies.”

Was he stupid? Why was he telling this man all of this? Obviously, he already knew but that didn’t mean that Caleb needed to add more fuel to this fire. It was already blazing, the flames of it licking at his boots and reminding the groundskeeper of how close people were to figuring this whole scenario out. The only thing that was spurring him forward was the idea that honesty was best when he could get away with it. It was the only way to keep things consistent, right? Even if he would never tell the police any of this, maybe it would benefit him if the investigator knew most of the truth if he was careful to omit the rest. “I think the guy came across something that he shouldn’t have, okay? I didn’t witness anything, like I said, I was digging, but it all points to the unnatural things people can come across in this town.”

The groundskeeper seemed to study him a little closer with his reaction. Emilio understood that. Had he not been able to sense the guy, he might have been a little more curious about what he might be, too. He often wondered how much harder shit in this town must be for people who didn’t have some sixth sense helping them out, for the ones who had to take every conversation and unpack it to figure out whether or not their lives were in danger from it. Emilio had to do it himself sometimes, when someone was something other than undead, but to have no tools in the arsenal for that at all? It wasn’t something he envied.

Still, he didn’t particularly want this guy to piece together that he was a slayer. A hunter was a dangerous thing to be, after all. So Emilio offered no explanation as to why he knew the things he knew, provided no clues towards what helped him know it. He studied the man instead, took note of the change in tone when zombies were mentioned. It felt like confirmation; that was what he was, then. Not a vampire, not a mare, not a fury. A zombie. Emilio filed the information away.

“See a lot of them here?” He thought about slipping in something that might clue the guy in that he knew, just to see how he’d react, but… That kind of thing was reckless, and Emilio couldn’t afford that. There were a lot more things working against him than there used to be. The old ache in his leg reminded him as much. The guy came across something that he shouldn’t have. That was an interesting way to put things, wasn’t it? “What is it you think he came across?”

The unflinching response to all of this was a lot. Even as he specified what he meant, the investigator didn’t bat so much as an eyelash and Caleb felt a little more unnerved with each passing moment. The way the man was looking at him now was even more of an indication that the zombie needed to shut his mouth, both studying each other like they were trying to figure out just what classification the other was under. He shouldn’t have said anything, he should have left it at the implication that he saw and knew nothing because now he knew he was being scrutinized. But it was okay, he was definitely not making this mistake again.

“It’s a cemetery, what do you think?” Vague answers, almost hostile in the way he answered them, that was all that the other was going to get now. It was all he was giving after all. “I already told you, I don’t know. It was an assumption. Might even be the wrong one…because I didn’t see anything.” His tone had a finality to it that indicated he was done with this conversation. Or he hoped it did anyway. Caleb wasn’t giving anything else away. If the investigator was good at his job he could find out the rest on his own even if that meant it led right to the groundskeeper.

“I have to get back to work. I hope you find what you’re looking for.” In some ways, it was true. He kind of hoped that this guy would figure him out. Caleb was sick of the lies and the guilt that gnawed away at the very fiber of his being. The mention of the family wanting answers, so many people looking for this person, he was certain that the one he had killed hadn’t been so bad in this life. It only made it all so much worse. Nodding at the guy, he turned to head back to his truck, wanting to put all of this behind him.

The man — the zombie — was uncomfortable. Emilio could sense that just as easily as he could sense the fact that the groundskeeper was undead, could feel it rolling off him in waves. Was he worried Emilio would find out what he was, or was there something else driving this anxiety? Something he’d done? If Emilio were the kind of man who was okay giving away some of the cards he held, he might have copped to knowing what the groundskeeper was just to narrow things down a little, but that wasn’t who he was. It would be dangerous, admitting what he knew. People had killed for less.

“Right,” he agreed, letting his flat tone betray just how little he believed the guy. “You didn’t see anything. Just the groundskeeper, right?” As if anyone in this town was just anything. Everyone in Wicked’s Rest had a secret; Emilio was the sort of person who wanted to know them all. Offering a tight, clearly false smile, Emilio nodded his head. “Of course. Sorry to hold you up.” He took a half step back, as if ‘freeing’ the groundskeeper from the conversation. Tilting his chin up, he smiled in a way that was a little more genuine, but a lot less friendly. “I wouldn’t worry too much about that. I always find what I’m looking for sooner or later. I’m good at what I do.” He watched the man go back to his truck. Yeah, he thought. This wouldn’t be the last time they saw each other. He was sure of it.

#Threads #Thread: Emilio #Sleuth Your Way Out #head trauma tw

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