#posting this and running very far away with cartoon sound effects

[rpfisfine]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Arctic Monkeys, Last Shadow Puppets Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Miles Kane/Alex Turner Characters: Alex Turner, Miles Kane Additional Tags: POV Alternating, POV First Person, Oral Sex, Rimming, Light Dom/sub Summary:

After the elevator door slides shut, I look down the barrel of the cream-carpeted corridor we seem to have found ourselves in the crosshairs of, ensuring we’re alone as you fumble for the keys. You love to make us exhibitions, but I prefer the joys of stealth, and I had been anticipating rather keenly the sweetness of secrecy since you lay your hand on my thigh in the backseat of the taxi, which in turn had been on the backseat of my mind, well, since before the morose driver fell out of bed in the morning, not knowing he would fourteen hours later fix us with a crooked glance in the rear-view mirror, no doubt dreaming of the minute we bid him goodbye with a twenty-dollar bill and a promise to hail some other hack should we ever find ourselves in need.

This is just what we do, isn’t it? It’s just another sequel to the preamble of another show. Whistles fell from lips as people clapped and now our storm of roses is surely being swept away with wide, reckless brooms to amnesiac bins.

Don’t mourn the petals, love. You've always meant so much more than them.

Alexandra Palace Night Two.

[mayflowers515]

Smiling Critters AU: Lore Headcanons

Okay, time for some more plot-heavy headcanons I have for the Critters of this AU! This includes plot elements relating to their characters that I have planned as well as some more relationship details like their familial relationships and friendships.

Note: Although this is meant to be a wholesome cartoon AU, there may be some slight dark elements in here, but not as upscaled. I also don't have personal lore planned for everyone yet as of today, but I can update this post when I think of anything else for them (or a part 2? Idk) Either way, here's what I have for them so far!

CatNap has his main scent, lavender, but he also retains his poppy gas like his canon counterparts. He is terrified of the poppy gas and its abilities. He has once seen firsthand how bad the effects of this gas can be, so he tries to what he can to maintain his lavender scent for his friends. His poppy gas replaces his usual lavender scent when he's under high stress and emotion, so he tries to stay as calm as possible.

The above hc is also part of the reason as to why he sleeps throughout the day so much. He feels more calm at nighttime as it's more peaceful for him than in the daytime when there are possible mishaps he may witness that can make him upset. He may not witness any mishaps, but he's so scared of his ability that he doesn't want to take the chance.

CatNap is very calm outwardly, but he still has stress. However, to avoid unleashing his second scent, he keeps all his stress inward. Unbeknownst to CatNap, however, repressing his negative emotions only makes the effects of his poppy gas worse. He has never managed it into anything better as a result of being so terrified and repressing those feelings for so long. (Note about his poppy gas since I keep bringing it up, but it keeps a lot of the same effects that it has in the original cartoon and in Poppy Playtime, but in the AU, an addition to this is that the effects of CatNap's poppy gas depends on his mental state. They can worsen if he feels negative emotions in the moment or can build up to be worse since he has built up his negative emotions in an unhealthy way)

CraftyCorn is of royal blood (may or may not have been inspired by some users already- =v='). She was a princess of a faraway kingdom. However, she wasn't really treated with respect back home, and as a result, she ran away and eventually found her way to the home of the Smiling Critters. She was barely let out of her castle often. Her parents didn't want her outside until she could prove to them that she could be a "perfect princess" for them. They have always been hard on Crafty for even the smallest mistakes she's made. She couldn't even express herself outside of what her parents wanted her to be. When she started to get interested in art, her parents declined her interest, only seeing the mess in the art. Basically... Crafty: "Don't you like my painting? I put a lot of work into it..." Her parents: "Painting is for the desperate, homeless people, Crafty. Not a refined, young lady like you. Now let's get you cleaned up."

Yeah... Her parents didn't have the best mindset either. They would look down on anyone that didn't fit in with their status. This was another reason Crafty wanted to run away. She didn't want to deal with that attitude from her parents anymore, and she certainly doesn't want to think she's above everyone else all because she is a princess.

Since Crafty was barely let out of her castle, not a lot of people outside of her kingdom know of her being royal blood. None of her friends really knew at first either. She is cautious about sharing too much of herself as a result of her status. She didn't want others to think of her any differently, and part of the reason as to why she's shy about certain aspects of herself that reminds others of royalty, such as her singing voice (in her friends eyes, it sounds like that of a fairytale princess) and her house (which is ironically in the form of a tower in canon; Crafty actually does like her home's exterior despite it linking back to her status in a way, but she designs it on the inside where very little sense of regal style on the inside, just so she can keep the personal tastes she's been wanting to express for so long).

I can imagine PickyPiggy having a lot of siblings, with her being the oldest. It's why she naturally has a sort of motherly nature to her personality. She got used to raising her siblings by herself as a result of her parents' sudden disappearance while she was 7-8 years old. To this day, she doesn't know what happened to them... (I have an idea, but this is the wholesome AU, so I won't actually mention in its canon, but let's just say... they weren't looking too hot...) (EVERYTHING IN STRIKETHROUGH IS A RETCONNED PLOT AS OF 3/21)

Bobby BearHug is very small for a bear, though granted she is still considered a cub. But it comes as such a surprise because her parents are MASSIVE. They could easily tower over her if they could. However, despite her parents looking like they would be brutes, they are actually gentle giants most of the time. It's the reason why Bobby herself has her signature huggable personality. She was raised to always love and cherish the things around her, and it shows in many of her interactions with her friends and people she meets.

I do imagine one day Bobby is going to have this big growth spurt and will become much taller when she's older, though-

In contrast to Bobby, Bubba is very large. Not really a surprise there since he's an elephant. What is a surprise, though, are his parents. I can imagine his parents either being elephants affected with dwarfism that adopted him or parents of different species that are just really small. Either way, Bubba's parents are much smaller compared to him, but they still raised him well and respected his interests.

I may do something separate for all the Critters' friendships in the future, but for right now, I can list their close friends to get a better idea of who they get along with the most! The names in bold mean best friend status while no bold means they're very close friends (CatNap = DogDay, Crafty; DogDay = CatNap; Bobby BearHug = Picky, Crafty; CraftyCorn = Bobby, Bubba; KickinChicken = Hoppy, Bubba; Hoppy Hopscotch = Kickin; Bubba Bubbaphant = Crafty, PickyPiggy = Bobby)

Here are the ages and birthdays I headcanon for all the Critters (from oldest to youngest):

Bubba Bubbaphant: 12 (January 16th)

CraftyCorn: 12 (April 7th)

DogDay: 12 (July 17th)

CatNap: 12 (November 20th)

PickyPiggy: 11 (May 18th)

Hoppy Hopscotch: 11 (June 2nd)

KickinChicken: 11 (December 7th)

Bobby BearHug: 10 (February 28th)

13. I do also want to plan something for the Critters' emblems. They may work similarly as Care Bears with having their own individual powers. They of course, can use their scents with these as well. All they have to do to release their scents is tap their necklace emblem two times. This is so they won't accidentally release their scent if something happens like them falling (in the case of if they only needed one tap). In the case of their special abilities, they have to draw a circle on their emblem and tap it to release their ability onto others. Here are the abilities I have planned for them right now:

CatNap = Dream watching. He can tap his emblem then tap the head of one who's sleeping. He can then enter their dreams to then check if it's a good or bad dream. He is allowed to stay in the dream until he gets out himself or the dreamer wakes up.

DogDay = Can light up the way with his emblem by creating a mini sun. The mini sun will follow around DogDay wherever he goes, whenever he needs it. Sometimes this can also affect CatNap's emblem, as it can light up whenever DogDay's is lit up. After all, the moon can't shine without the sun :>

Bobby BearHug = Can open people's hearts to emotion. Either to their own emotions so they can be released in a healthy way, or so that the emotions of everyone are more clear. Can help in the case of arguments and discord.

CraftyCorn = Unleashes a paintbrush that can create whatever is desired. However, it needs color to work. So if certain colors aren't there to make the item Crafty wants, it may not work. This is also there so her powers are balanced in a sense.

KickinChicken = Can create any mode of travel necessary (inspired by his motto of perserverence). Can be used for most of anything from a literal star like from Kirby, roller skates, a car, helicopter, etcetera. However, it needs energy in order to fully work. It can only create one thing per day before it needs a charge so it can shine just as much!

Hoppy Hopscotch = Can increase the speed of a process or can make someone else go faster. However, like with Kickin's emblem, Hoppy's power needs to charge. She can know if it's fully charged if there's a storm cloud that appears before her power is unleashed, meaning that it's charged.

Bubba Bubbaphant = Can clear out the clutter in others' minds so that they can think more clearly. He will know if his power worked by the time an idea comes through the person's head with a light bulb.

PickyPiggy = Can be used for storage; it's useful for any resources the group might need for later but can't carry on them. Picky's storage can change depending on her energy at the moment, so if she has low energy, the things she can store will be minimal. That's why she eats a little something before using this feature!

14. Their scents have different ability compared to their emblems, and these abilities are meant to be more subtle in comparison. They can affect certain feelings in people, so here's how it works for all of them in the cartoon AU:

CatNap = Lavender (primary scent) for feelings of sleepiness; Poppy (secondary scent) also for sleepiness, but with the side effects of nightmares and increased negative emotions before being put to sleep

DogDay = Vanilla for increasing relaxation

Bobby = Rose for improved mood

Crafty = Jasmine for reduced anxiety

Kickin = Ylang-ylang for boosted self-esteem

Hoppy = Peppermint for increased energy

Bubba = Lemongrass for reduced stress

Picky = Citrus for reduced fatigue

Alright, that's all I have right now! I have these here since they're more relevant to possible scenarios I may make with the AU in the future. Though it's like a wholesome cartoon, there will still be some bits of lore and some dark elements in there, and I hope it can still be interesting as a result :)

[eyeless-shad0w]

TW: This is a Creepypasta on Tom and Jerry.

If you are someone who gets things ruined for you easily or “i’ll never see this the same” PLEASE do not proceed. It contains blood and scary themes. Thank you.

•••

The thirteen Tom and Jerry shorts made by the Czechoslovakian director Gene Deitch are infamous for their poor quality and rather disturbing nature, featuring badly done sound effects and animation and having a more realistic feel to the violence. Some have speculated that Deitch didn't like the concept behind Tom and Jerry and was pressured into making them, and wanted to make the people who watched his take on it feel bad for liking the concept.

What many people don't know is that Deitch was originally signed on to make more than the thirteen episodes the public has access to.

Desperate to get out of his contract, when I was 16 or something I was walking home then I noticed I tripped on a tape, that tape was made by Deitch and he made one more Tom and Jerry short you have ever seen.

The short was called "Tom's Basement." I got surprised so I ran to my house and pop up the tape It showed Jerry out of a mouse hole smiling with Tom's face in it. With the words Tom and Jerry then it showed a basement with the words Tom's Basement.

It opened with Tom in a typical Tom and Jerry house. His owner was the fat, angry guy from other Deitch shorts.

Tom's owner seemed even angrier than in his other appearances; the first scene is him stomping on Tom's tail in a very realistic and painful looking way because Tom is sleeping by the basement door.

The owner yells at Tom to never go down there. Tom is clearly terrified and runs away to another room. Our view stays in the room by the basement door and we see Jerry come out of a mouse hole.

He looks truly grotesque, far more off-model than in the other Deitch shorts. He gets an evil look on his face and follows Tom into the next room.

The next few minutes are fairly formulaic. Jerry repeatedly manages to trick Tom into chasing him to the basement door a few times, but each time the owner catches Tom he inflicts a painful looking injury on him, which stay with Tom even after the scene ends.

After three beatings, Tom is bruised all over, bleeding in a few places, and limping on a broken leg. After this, Tom starts to literally beg Jerry not to bother him any more; he's not really talking, but he's crying and mumbling, and you can tell what he's doing by his body language. Jerry just laughs at him and pushes him back to the basement door.

The owner catches Tom again and goes ballistic. The camera zooms in on his face - it changes color and distorts as he yells at Tom in a much louder voice than any other sound in the cartoon. I can't post most of what he said on here, but it's definitely vicious and furious. It seems like Jerry has finally decided to take pity on Tom, though.

Jerry picks up a knife that was lying around and stabs the owner in the leg, quite graphically. Tom opens the basement door and they carry the owner's body down the stairs.

There are dozens of other bodies down there, decaying and showing signs of their violent deaths. Tom and Jerry shake hands and it seems like they've triumphed over the serial killer... But Jerry gets an evil look in his face again and Tom says, in that ghostly, deep voice...

"DON'T YOU BELIEVE IT!"

Jerry stabs Tom, killing him, and throws his body into the pile. The last shot is Jerry putting up a 'For Sale' sign on the yard of the house, laughing, clearly planning to do it all again.

[seeksstaronmewni]

The Bear Roots of Burbank Cartoons: A Lookback at Boo Boo Runs Wild

5 years ago, [adult swim] aired the greatest of all Yogi Bear / Ranger Smith episodes, “Boo Boo Runs Wild” (1999), on August 13th, 2016 A.D. at 4 AM.

Look and see, kids, how America’s not-so-average bear connects in the wide world of animation that produces many of the cartoons that you love in Burbank, Canada and more!

As and after I saw it, I knew that I found the greatest band of cartoonists out there, and that greatest band of cartoonists out there was none other than...

Spümcø, whose many creatives would end up working at Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Cartoon Network Studios, and many other popular Burbank and Canadian studios that made the cartoons I grew up and beyond watching.

Obviously, the character design is rather different, but they still look like the right characters, even with the slight color changes...

and with their items of human attire out. Ranger Smith, on the other hand...

Ranger Smith is wildly off model, and probably on purpose, throughout the picture.

Only in one scene appears he with a more familiar face.

Now, I didn’t have to watch Wild Kratts (which, by the way, features 6 Spümcø Canada creatives) to learn that “there’s only one thing a bear likes more than raiding a pic-a-nic basket.”

As the title suggests, Boo Boo loses his temper when Ranger Smith restricts him from tearing bark and decides to go primal in returning to his bear roots: “From this day forth, I’ll not dress in the man’s attire, and I’ll not speak in the man’s tongue. From now on, it’s going on all fours and grunting for me!”

Boo Boo wreaks havoc for the trees with his natural bear roots.

Unlike past episodes, however, the artists went far wilder than the usual Hanna-Barbera cartoon, making the trees alive and screaming in pain! OH, WHAT TOURTUE! Not to mention how I love Boo Boo’s goofy/manical laugh, a beautiful product of John Kricfalusi’s voice (Yes; I know that he was a formerly abusive megalomaniac who still has ADHD, but God knows what cartoons would be like today—at least those produced in Burbank and Canada—if it wasn’t for the many layout artists that he led).

Also unnatural to a Hanna-Barbera cartoon is the extreme levels of slapstick, wackiness and graphic nature of cartoons since such shows as Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, Beany and Cecil’s DiC reboot, and The Ren & Stimpy Show. Boo Boo and now Cindy Bear are licking away at all of the honey... and bees... with insanely long tongues (may be that they’re sloth bears?). This left Yogi Bear practically speechless.

The mere sequence of dialogue between Yogi and Ranger Smith, discussing what to do about Boo Boo, involved HEAVY work in the storyboards by Vincent Waller. So many expressions that they couldn’t fit in each of Spümcø’s 3-panel storyboard pages!

As you see, in addition to Vincent Waller’s storyboards, John K. added extra poses (storyboard revisions more or less, but definitely layout poses) under the respective scenes. That way, Vincent could focus on telling and writing the story in rough pictures. (source of storyboards)

I also love the sound design. While it’s definitely true to a Hanna-Barbera cartoon, John K. and the late Henry Porch were very creative with some weird, dated and out-of-context sound effects, similar to what they and Horta Editorial did on The Ren & Stimpy Show in the first two seasons. The production music (probably APM and Capitol Records) also gave it a vintage, nostalgic feel.

Ultimately, with the aforementioned abusive megalomaniac aside, Spümcø undoubtedly harbored some of the finest animators and artists ever. Such names as Bob Jaques (Spongebob Squarepants, Buy One, Get One Free*, The Baby Huey Show), Ben Jones (DC Super Hero Girls, Cats Don’t Dance, Teen Titans GO!), Vincent Waller (Spongebob Squarepants, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog), Albert Lozano (Inside Out, A Kitty Bobo Show), Todd White (Spongebob Squarepants), Eric Koenig (Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Madagascar, Cats Don’t Dance, The Simpsons, and The Tigger Movie), and Erik Wiese (Samurai Jack, The Mighty B!) are among the hundreds of creatives who ended up almost everywhere working in Burbank and Canadian animation.

Other names on the Spümcø team that one might recognize include Gabe Swarr (Dexter’s Laboratory, The Buzz on Maggie, Foe Paws, El Tigre), and even background artists such as Richard Daskas ( @rdaskas​ - Samurai Jack, Time Squad, Sym-Bionic Titan, Batman Beyond), Richard Ziehler-Martin (Tiny Toon Adventures, The Wacky World of Tex Avery), Hector Martinez (Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse, Timone and Pumba, Captain N, Evil Con Carne, Dora the Explorer), and Tony Mora (MAD, Teen Titans GO! to the Movies, Pickle and Peanut). I mean: in short, these artists worked for Warner Bros. Animation, Disney Television Animation and Walt Disney Feature Animation, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network Studios!

Spümcø’s production assistants on Boo Boo Runs Wild feature Matt Danner —a fantastic character designer, storyboard artists, director and producer, whose credits range from (Johnny Test and The Legend of the Three Caballeros to Team Hot Wheels and The Looney Tunes Show—and Cartoon Brew editor Amid Amidi. Brian A. Miller was an executive in charge of production, not for but probably in association with Cartoon Network.

Spümcø’s creatives, as I said, are all over the place in Burbank animation. Other shows that still air on @adultswim​ have ex-Spümcø creatives. For example: today’s re-run of Samurai Jack EPISODE XVI features Chris Reccardi (The Powerpuff Girls, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy)...

Scott Wills (Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat)...

Lynne Naylor-Reccardi (The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show, Wander Over Yonder) and Jim Smith (YooHoo and Friends, Tom and Jerry Tales, McGee and Me)...

and Leticia Lacy (TRON: Uprising, Sym-Bionic Titan, Wander Over Yonder, Korgoth of Barbaria).

Even outside of Cartoon Network Studios, where most ex-Spümcø artists end up, @cartoonnetwork​’s The Amazing World of Gumball, from Cartoon Network Studios Europe (AKA Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe), features ex-Spümcø artist Charlie Bean (The Powerpuff Girls, Robotboy, Batman: The Animated Series, Timone and Pumba, Creature Crunch) on The Cartoon Network Europe Development Team.

One of Cartoon Network’s biggest and craziest hits, Teen Titans GO!, also features such ex-Spümcø artists as storyboard artist, director and producer Luke Cormican (The Buzz on Maggie, Brandy and Mr. Whiskers, Brickleberry, The Replacements, El Tigre)...

Gerald de Jesus (The Book of Life, The Ricky Gervais Show, TMNT)...

and Eric J. Pringle (Fosters’ Home for Imaginary Friends, The Problem Solverz). What wacky cartoon filled with live-action images, unpredictable visual gags and extreme slapstick humor wouldn’t?

Relatively, you could even tune in to Nickelodeon, the original home of Spümcø’s ground-breaking hit, The Ren & Stimpy Show, and see names of creatives associated with Spümcø and Ren & Stimpy, such as Zeus Cervas (Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Spongebob Squarepants, Clarence) on today’s episode of The Patrick Star Show...

or even Gabe Del Valle (Mighty Magiswords, Spongebob Squarepants) on today’s episode of Middlemost Post!

Overall, Boo Boo Runs Wild introduced me to the cartoon studio whose works I took for granted and on which I was missing out all of my life, and I strongly encourage this generation to support this Yogi Bear / Ranger Smith episode, which you can watch RIGHT NOW on [adult swim]’s site. It was officially on their YouTube channel, but it was removed for unknown reasons. This short never even got a DVD or VHS release!

The last televised airing of Boo Boo Runs Wild on [adult swim] so far was January 6th, 2019 A.D., but Spümcø also produced “A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith” and “Boo Boo and the Man” (based on true events in the life of John Kricfalsui) for Cartoon Network.

As I come to a close, it’s worth noting that layout Ed Benedict, an animator and artist whose credits go all of the way back to the 1930s with Disney and continued with MGM and Hanna-Barbera/Cartoon Network Studios, originally worked on Yogi Bear episode “Yogi’s Birthday Party” as a layout artist, and reprised that very role for “Boo Boo Runs Wild”. What a legacy the animators and artists of this episode leave!

Always will I remember how Spümcø, whose legacy connects to my Cartoon Network-infused childhood, blessed me and graced me that fateful day, August 13th, 2016 A.D., with the ultimate example of the fine art of cartooning that is the Yogi Bear / Ranger Smith episode “Boo Boo Runs Wild”. I was living in the moment, and I thank God for it.

“For years they have [been] asking me to make new Yogi cartoons, but I can’t even get a half a million [dollars] to make one, probably because I actually like the characters, but 60-70 million $ to make walking corpses is economical.” - John Kricfalsui on Yogi Bear (2010)

Another Ranger Smith, Boo Boo or Yogi Bear cartoon from the people behind The Ren & Stimpy Show is highly unlikely today, due to the abuse and harassment of John K. angering the world to the point of hating and condemning the man who helped to shape not only Cartoon Network but also television animation—and animation as a whole—with an undeniable legacy of artists and animators who deserve way more credit and respect than we perhaps thought of giving as kids.

Tweet version of this post here.

[thatgamefromthatad]

Ads vs. Gameplay (Weed Inc. Review)

(Ads to the left, gameplay to the right, cropped for formatting.)

This is a pretty basic run-of-the-mill idle game with not much different mechanics than other idle games I’ve played. You can repeatedly tap cannabis plants to speed up harvesting, tap a the machine at the end of the conveyer belt to speed the buds down the production line and tap the cash register area to speed up customers coming in and out and purchasing the cannabis products. All of this also happens on its own over time thus your operation continues to run while you’re idle or away from the app (you can collect the money you earned while away when you come back).

There are various ways other ways to boost production and earnings in the background such as hiring and assigning managers to give certain stations temporary stat boosts, upgrading stations and managers, upgrading cannabis strains and using temporary boosters that boost the whole operation at once (ex. multiplying all profits). I guess one thing that is slightly different than the idle games I’ve played specifically is the upgrade system for plants and managers - you can earn and buy crates that contain cards and you can upgrade the plant/manager once you get enough cards for that specific asset. This is actually more similar to the upgrade system for the real-time PVP strategy game Clash Royale, as I mentioned in this post.

I guess the most exciting part of the game is collecting different cannabis strains and expanding your operation although, at least for as far as I’ve gotten, expanding is just adding more harvesting tables. I guess I’m kind of biased since I’m not a huge fan of idle games but I still think this game is less fun than something like Egg Inc. This isn’t a bad game though within its genre and it’s decently paced (unlike 9 Months, which comes to a standstill if you don’t watch ads or pay money) and has nice enough art although the cartoon people are kind of wonky. I like the sound effects when you tap the plants or processing/packaging machine (may seem like something small but personally I find sound effects really enhance my experience in casual games) and there’s some cute humor like one of the in-game currencies being called Tokins (as in “toke-ins”) and your first customer saying “I just bought weed legally!” as they leave the store 😂

I don’t really have any major complaints about this game other than it’s pretty much an average idle game, just weed-themed. If you like idle games and weed I guess this would be the perfect game for you, but if you’re looking for something new or especially interesting you won’t really find it here. As for the ads, at least the ones I’ve seen, they’re totally honest and accurate, the art style and general setup are exactly the same and you tap and upgrade things essentially just like you do in the interactive ads (with some very small differences that are acceptable for the purpose of demonstration in an ad imo, and the 2nd ad I included above is also older which might explain some style difference).

Ad Honesty Rating: 5/5

Overall Rating: 3/5

If you got to the end, thanks so much for reading 🥳 I’m always open to game suggestions if you have any!

[davids-cartoon-corkboard]

I have said a Lot about the “Raph is a system” theory over the past several months, so this is something of a compilation post. It’s got some new stuff, it’s got some old stuff. (You’re reading Part 1) (Part 2 is here) (Part 3 is here)

---

Firstly, “system” is the term for someone with Dissociative Identity Disorder, or DID. (The term can also apply to some folks with OSDD.) Someone might develop DID after experiencing long-term trauma at an early age- roughly five or six years old. To paraphrase the DSM-V:

1. We’ve seen three (possibly four) distinct personality states who speak, act, and perceive others differently.

2. The personality states, or “alters”, don’t necessarily share memory, and Donnie insinuated in “The Clothes Don’t Make the Turtle” that Raph has a bad memory in general.

3. Problems arise when alters don’t get along or aren’t on the same page. That none of them seem to be quite aware they’re a system doesn’t help either; it’s hard to work on communication and cooperation when you don’t know they need to be worked on!

4. This whole situation isn’t a normal part of a broadly accepted cultural or religious practice, or just Raph playing make-believe. (Though I wonder if he had “imaginary friends” when he was younger...)

5. It’s also not because Raph’s been smoking the devil’s lettuce or whatever. “Pizza Puffs” was one long weed joke and he was the only one “sober” (not poisoned) throughout! We don’t see this happen to other mutants, so it’s not a bizarre side effect of mutagen either.

(I’ve seen a few people joke that Mikey has “multiple personalities”, but that’s a tad yikesy and also just plain incorrect. His “doctor” personas are something he does deliberately, and youngest siblings are just Like That.)

So yeah, Raph is pretty heavily DID-coded. We’ve seen four alters so far:

“Host” Raph (HR): He’s our everyday Raph. A “host” is an alter who fronts most of the time and takes care of “business as usual” situations. They are often unaware of past traumatic events, such that they can appear “normal”. (Ex: the host of a child who lives with an abusive parent could be unaware of the abuse. Otherwise, they might cry or be uncooperative whenever the parent is near, further invoking their wrath. This unawareness allows them to be a “good child”, and stay under the parent’s radar sometimes.) Some systems have more than one host, but that the others have shown up so rarely in this story suggests HR is the only host (for now?).

Savage Raph (SR): Debuting in “Man vs. Sewer”, he’s a survival-oriented alter. HR probably could have defeated the Sando Brothers on his own under normal circumstances, but being in the middle of a breakdown doesn’t do much for your fighting skills. SR got pulled to the front to deal with them instead.

“Red” Raph (RR): “Red” is just a placeholder since we don’t actually know his name yet (or even if he has one, not all alters do), though I’ve also heard folks call him “Angel”. He’s got a “tough love” approach to problem-solving, which was probably a helpful thing in the past. LDM were no doubt rowdy children! We were (officially) introduced to him in “Pizza Puffs”.

Mind Raph (MR): MR could just be a manifestation of HR's thought process via Cartoon Goofery, but that possibility doesn’t give me anything to work with so I’m ignoring it. He’s pretty similar to HR, maybe a tad more upbeat. We (officially) met him in “Raph’s Ride-Along”.

When “Pizza Puffs” first aired, I was like “ah yes, this is the alter who has the cranky edgelord tendencies we’ve seen in previous iterations of Raph. He probably broods on rooftops in the rain when he’s in a bad mood.” Combining that with the whole “Red Angel” thing gives off some Batman vibes. And, of course, SR is similar to the Hulk. Those two heroes are pretty different, but they do have one major thing in common...

A sudden, violent loss. Given how prevalent rushing water is throughout “Man vs. Sewer”, I’m thinking a flood came through and separated Raph from his family. (You could probably argue that turbulent water symbolizes a turbulent subconscious? 🤷) Again, DID stems from long-term trauma, so Raph must have been gone for... a while. A couple of months, maybe more? It’s hard to say exactly; we have a little wiggle room when applying human developmental psychology to a human/turtle mutant. Since Splinter still needed to care for the other three, he wouldn’t have been able to devote much time to searching for Raph, and the New York City sewers go on for miles and miles. The longer Raph was alone, the more convinced he would have been that the others had drowned and he was the only survivor.

How old would he have been? I know the turtles are “different ages”, but they were all mutated at the same time so I’m pretty sure Splinter was just like “the littlest one is the youngest, the biggest one is the oldest, and the medium-sized ones are the middle children.” They’re all probably fourteenish by “Finale”. Back in “MvS”, Leo said, “You know how savage Raph gets when he’s alone”. He didn’t say anything like, “You know how savage Raph gets when he’s alone ever since such-and-such an incident happened”. This suggests that LDM straight-up don’t know something traumatic happened to Raph; they were too little to retain concrete memories of that time. In their minds, Raph has always been like this. Draxum isn’t known for his patience, so even though he wasn’t able to immerse the hatchlings in mutagen for long, they probably mature a bit faster than humans. And since humans usually can’t remember anything from before four years of age, three sounds about right for the turtles, though they would have been stronger and steadier on their feet than any human toddler. I doubt Raph would have survived otherwise.

I think he’s sort of... “stuck” back in that trauma. Catching food, building a fire, making a weapon, and getting camouflage aren’t the behaviors of someone who’s only been gone for a few minutes.

When SR called for help, I don’t think he was expecting anyone to answer.

But Raph did manage to hang onto something as he was swept away! It wasn’t much, but that little ragdoll gave him comfort while he was scared and alone.

(The rabbit design on Bruce’s pajamas is probably a coincidence, but...)

Raph seems the type to have sympathy for odd-looking toys. His knockoff Mrs. Cuddles plushie was the emotional crutch he needed back then.

And then he was separated from that as well. Lowkey associating Mrs. Cuddles with this traumatic event would explain why HR was so scared of her. That he doesn’t remember the trauma means he has no context for this fear, making it seem silly and baseless to him (and to the rest of his family), which is why he denied being scared at all in the first part of the “Mrs. Cuddles” episode. It would also explain why he collects teddy bears instead these days, they are a “safe” toy. (The moral of the story is to not make fun of triggers that seem silly.)

(I wonder what would happen if Mrs. Cuddles encountered Savage Raph? Perhaps he’d be quite sympathetic towards such a lonely little raggedy thing! Timestuck as he is, he probably wouldn’t question why a stuffed animal can talk... and it wouldn't be hard for her to persuade her “new bestest fwiend” to get rid of some “mean ol’ nasty sewew monstews” for her.)

That whole “sewer monsters” thing suggests Raph ran into... something while he was wandering alone. Y’all have heard those rumors about alligators living in the New York City sewers, right? Encountering Leatherhead could trigger a flashback.

It would be pretty easy to introduce Leatherhead into the narrative. One of the episodes the Rise crew had planned was titled “The Island of Dr. Noe”, and alligators have very impressive teeth. The Mirage comics had a story where Leatherhead and several cryptids were brought to an island to be hunted for sport.

Noe seems to have quite a few cronies/friends/rivals he could entertain this way. Since he’s got that obsession with Raph, Noe captures him as well, knocking him out with those darts so he can’t waste his energy trying to escape too soon. (Let’s just assume everyone’s powers are glitchy because they all hit another wave of puberty, meaning they can’t just curbstomp the lower-level villains lol.)

HR wakes up on the island and, of course, starts to panic because he’s lost and alone. While wandering, he runs into Leatherhead, which would trigger a flashback to getting attacked by that alligator all those years ago. But Leatherhead doesn’t want to fight! He’s just as scared and confused as HR is, and could really use a partner to help him survive this island.

HR and SR come into conflict because Leatherhead is/isn’t/is/isn’t/is/isn’t a threat. HR eventually wins out, reasoning that even if Leatherhead is that alligator, it wouldn’t be fair to judge him for what he did back when he was an animal.

But time and dissociation can make memories unclear. That our first look at Leatherhead was in Draxum’s “bluh bluh I’m gonna mutate all the humans” bit in “Bug Busters” means he’s a human-base mutant. He wasn’t the alligator back then, but the hunter tracking it. Leatherhead isn’t one of Noe’s targets, he is one of Noe’s guests! And he wants no one to interfere with his quarry, so he’ll play nice long enough for him and the snapper to take out the rest of the hunters and the freaks. Then the two of them will have the island all to themselves...

Years and years ago, Jack Marlin was a big game hunter prowling the New York City sewers in search of an alligator. He did manage to find and kill one, only to realize it had also been hunting! He had inadvertently saved the strangest little turtle creature.

Marlin had become too skilled at this point, the hunt held no challenge for him. This turtle sounded very young, and he was quite big and strong already. An adult could be tough and intelligent enough to entertain him. Marlin tried to get Raph to lead him back to “the others”. But Raph had been lost for some time, and as far as he knew, his family was dead. Hearing that put Marlin in quite the sour mood. A little mutant snapper is a better catch than none at all, so Marlin tried to haul Raph off. Raph fought back and bit off Marlin’s hand. He escaped, but lost his rabbit in the scuffle. Marlin retreated as well, taking some time to recover, scheme, and hunt other game. (And to pocket that rabbit. The blood loss had made him woozy, and he wanted to have some kind of proof he hadn’t just hallucinated the snapper.) Perhaps he turned that alligator’s hide into a vest, which provided the genetic material for his mutation when he eventually got bit by an oozesquito. Like his Mirage counterpart, Marlin didn’t take losing a limb as a sign he should retire, and instead got a tricked-out prosthetic. Who knows what he could do with it in such a mystic setting as Rise.

Raph eventually reunited with his family, but those distrustful, high-strung survivalist traits he had picked up weren’t helpful anymore. He once again had to be the good and patient big brother who didn’t bite when someone play-tackled him or shook him awake at three in the morning because they’d had a nightmare. Those two states gradually got partitioned off more and more, and now they know little, if anything, about each other.

So Leatherhead and HR are chasing away some mothmen or whatever, and things are going pretty well... until one of them knocks Leatherhead over and a familiar ragdoll rabbit falls out of his pocket. SR realizes that Leatherhead is Marlin and switches in to fight him off again. They’re evenly matched, or perhaps SR is even in danger of losing, when LDM arrive to provide support. Leatherhead is enough of a tactician to know that he should retreat. Donnie and Mikey pursue him while Leo stays behind, placing the rabbit in his stunned brother’s hands. “Remember when Pops made this for you? You were always really gentle with it, ‘cause he wasn’t good at sewing back then...”

(This thing really needs patching up, he’s got sewing stuff for whenever he needs to fix his bears/Blue isn’t a threat on his own/Wasn’t he just back at the lair?/Blue gave back the rabbit/Why does he feel like he got hit by a train?/Blue doesn’t want to fight?/ ...Leo?) And that’s enough for HR to switch back in. He’s probably missing memory from his whole time on the island, so while Leo does his best to tell him what happened, they don’t have enough puzzle pieces between them to truly figure out what's going on.

They defeat the bad guys, release the cryptids, save the day, etc. (Leatherhead managed to lose Donnie and Mikey in the woods. A battle for another day.) Once they return to the lair, HR gets help from Draxum to modify the memory spell from “E-Turtle Sunshine” so he can try to fill in the gaps. Surely he wouldn’t get rejected by his own subconscious... right?

Cue part three in the saga of Raph Punches Himself In The Face. SR isn’t happy that HR is essentially trying to poke at an improperly-healed wound, and attempts to chase him off. HR assumes that SR is just a psychic white blood cell like the Lou Jitsu constructs in Splinter’s mind, and retaliates.

But, of course, fighting is not the answer here. All that accomplishes is giving the body bruises. Eventually HR realizes “stay away” and “back off” are a little different than “get out”, and that SR is just scared. So HR tries another tactic. Over the following days and weeks, he tunes in to calmer memories and just sort of... talks. About what happened yesterday, about his teddy bear collection, about how he finally managed to get a good picture of that pizza pigeon. It takes a while to establish a connection, and even then, it’s spotty at best. Using the spell too much can cause headaches and nightmares. There are days when SR is nearby, and days when he’s not there at all. But he shows up when he can.

And then there’s awkward, stilted conversation and questions neither of them know how to answer and questions neither of them want to answer and more scrapes and bruises and strained silences and apologies, but they finally, finally reach a compromise. SR still doesn’t let HR near those memories, but he tells HR what happened as best he can. (The audience would see those memories, with SR as a voiceover.) Afterwards, HR still visits the mindscape that’s starting to become more solid. They talk some more, they watch light and shadow flow around them, they listen to half-forgotten lullabies on scratchy old cassette tapes. Eventually, HR doesn’t even need to use the memory spell, meditation is enough.

They’ll never get along all the time. But it’s a start.

(SR is going to be so clingy when it finally clicks for him when he finally lets himself believe that his family is alive.)

---

This took eight million years lmao. Parts 2 and 3 will come out eventually, they’ll focus more on MR and RR. Let me know if I need to tag this stuff as anything.

The usual disclaimer applies, I am not a system or a mental health professional so if you’re one or both of those things then feel free to give me some of that good good constructive criticism.

[introvertguide]

10 Game Changer Films

Over the past century, there have been many movies that were marked with quality acting and quality story telling. Some movies are genre defining and remain memorable long after the movie is released. Some movies are perfect little 2 hour pieces of art. And beyond that, there are movies that transcend genre and change the way that movies are produced and viewed. Here is a list of ten movies the changed Hollywood cinema. There is no way to rank them in order of importance because they all shaped the way movies were made and presented at the time, so 10 are listed in order of date. Feel free to add suggestions for game changer movies in the comments. This is a list of American films and doesn’t come close to all game changers, but these 10 stick out in my head whenever I am asked for examples:

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The Jazz Singer (1927):

The movie that marked the end of the silent era, this was the first feature-length motion picture with synchronized recorded music and lip-synchronous singing and speech. It is has six songs performed by Al Jolson. It is the story of a Jewish boy who wants to become a singer despite the traditions of his devout family. The boy is caught singing and decides to run away from home, change his name, and become a famous jazz singer. He tries to disguise himself while performing at one point and makes the unfortunate choice of putting on black face. It is kind of hard to watch, but the advent of the “talkie” changed the way audiences enjoyed movies from that point on.

Steamboat Willie (1928):

This was the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound with a fully post-produced soundtrack. It is also considered to be the debut of Mickey Mouse. The layered drawings have a realistic feel and are impressive today despite being almost 100 years old. Also, nothing beats that iconic opening sound of the film in which you can hear the film reel behind the sound of the lead character whistling. Animation became a genre at that moment and has done nothing but grow and improve, but this seems like the seed that started it all.

The Wizard of Oz (1939):

Generally considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, this juggernaut of a film was not considered best Best Picture nor was it even a financial success on first release. It was re-released and played on TV in 1956 and is now considered the most seen film in movie history. What really makes the film a game changer is the moment when Dorothy lands in Oz and she steps out her sepia/black & white home and walks into a world of Technicolor. Although many great black and white films where made after this film, it was a symbolic change for audience preference for color films. Kansas was so grey and bleak and the world of Oz was so bright and beautiful...it really is an unparalleled moment in film.

Citizen Kane (1941):

Considered by many to be the perfect film and the best Hollywood film of all time, this film is on the top of many “Best” lists. Director and lead actor Orson Welles used “deep focus” to make all aspects of the picture pop out at the audience. He was having difficulty creating some of the film angles to create this effect, so he would lay on the floor and even break into the stage to create the perfect shot. He also took the camera up to the stage light walkways to create others. The entire narrative was told in flashback from a group of unreliable narrators and the main character dies within the first 2 minutes of the film. The use of lighting and storytelling is an amalgamation of different techniques from around the world of film at the time, including some aspects made up on the spot. Watching the film now, it seems apparent that the bar for movies was raised 90 seconds into the film when the main character says “Rosebud.”

Shane (1953):

This film is not really known for being the very best acted, but it came out right when a bunch of audio and video technology improved simultaneously. The film was shot in standard ratio, but, due to the beautiful shots along the American Plains, was selected by Paramount to debut widescreen format. To get out the word, the film was played at Radio City Music Hall on a specially fitted 30ftx50ft screen. Not to let the visuals overshadow the sound, a new stereophonic soundtrack was recorded and played on an interlocking 35mm magnetic reel in the projection both. The sight of the sweeping landscapes and the echoing ring of gunshots was unlike anything that audiences had ever experienced while setting the standard for movies for years to come.

Jaws (1975):

From the opening scene with a young girl being attacked while skinny dipping in the ocean, the film caused legitimate panic amongst film goers. It also created the summer blockbuster which continues to affect how movies are released 45 years later. Spielberg became a household name and the use of the dolly zoom to represent a sudden realization became part of movie language. Along with the films simple and iconic score that made up for a constantly malfunctioning prop, this revenge story made thousands of wanna-be directors realize that it didn’t take a who lot to make an extremely successful movie. Camera trickery, good sound, and a descent plot could make any budding director into a millionaire.

Star Wars (1977):

Arguably the most successful film of all time, this story of the classic hero’s journey is epic and yet simple. There are few movies I have seen with better pacing because the time always flies by. The characters are relatable despite being robots, aliens, and wizards. The aspect of the movie that really made it was the special effects by Industrial Light and Magic. The famous “trench run” on the death star was something that was like a roller coaster on screen. How easy it was to get sucked in to the film is an influence on directors and movie production to this day. 

Toy Story (1995):

This was a film that was actually the accumulation of over a decade’s worth of computer graphic technology. It is the first completely CG film and it is excellent. The film score is amazing, the graphics were far better than any audience had seen or ever expected, and it created an entire new way to manufacture a film world. This was also the first film for Pixar, which made far and away the best family films over the last quarter century. 

The Matrix (1999):

This film might be somewhat arguable as a game changer, but one aspect of the movie is globally known whether you have seen the movie or not: bullet time. The fight scenes and the wire work for stunts along with the speeding up and slowing down of the film was revolutionary. That moment when Neo dodges the bullets that were shot at him while the camera rotates to show how close the misses were is phenomenal. The action set pieces are frequent with loud pumping music and it influenced audience expectations for how massive a fight scene could be. The judo fight between Neo and Morpheus, the rescue of Morpheus from the agents, the subway fight, and Neo’s enlightenment are all epic fights worthy of an entire film. It was an introduction to cyber punk that kicked in the door for a mass of violent and loud sci-fi films that continue to be cool to this day.

Avatar (2009):

A movie that was 15 years in the making due to a world created completely with computer graphics that interacts seamlessly with human characters, this probably the best looking theater film ever created. The story is not so great, but the world that is created is made specifically to envelop a theater audience. It is a two hour experience like no other and needs to be seen in a full 3D theater with surround sound. It made all other films up their visual game and is the second most lucrative movie in straight dollar amount and the second most lucrative film adjusted for inflation (despite being only 10 years old).

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This count of 10 is obviously debatable and many films are worthy of a spot on a list like this. This is a list of the 10 that amazed me and made me think that audiences would have changed their expectations of the film experience after seeing the film. If you have movies that have had this effect on you, please list them for others to enjoy.

[la5t-res0rt]

Wanted to ask about beetlelyds, sorry, I thought it was technically cannon? Like in the old comics after the show ended she grew up and married him. Sorry I’m an old school fan and have no idea why this whole thing is such a big deal. Wasn’t the actor like 20 too? I’m sorry if I sound very dumb. I’m not used to this new tumblr.

youre fine you are one hundred percent allowed to especially when you do it civilly as you have done here

first of all the biggest issue faced in the whole what is and is not canon debate is the fact that there are three (four if you count the limited comics run) publicized iterations of my media

i will go over each very briefly just kidding this is going to a long answer so i will spare the dashboard with a readmore

there is the movie which im sure you dont need me to explain the plot since youre an old school fan but basically the climax is that yes beetlejuice does go for the marriage angle in exchange for stopping the exorcism of adam and barbara and his motive for this is so that he can cause as much chaos as he wants on the mortal coil but his plan is thwarted when barbara rides a sandworm into the house which promptly eats beetlejuice sending him to bureaucratic death limbo

the end of the movie features the deetz and the maitlands happily living together with lydia havign a new appreciation for her situation and beetlejuice gets his head made real small which is very funny haha 

so no in the movie they are not canon editors note the actress who played lydia winona ryder was a teenager while filming the movie she turned 17 the year it released 

the next is the cartoon which i will admit has the most grounds for being considered canon but in the end the show is about a middle schooler and her best friend who is a ghost which in itself is a pretty iffy gray area sort of thing but for a childrens cartoon to work a friendship is better than the obvious enemy status they held in the movie

anyway in the cartoon they are potrayed to be very close friends with lydia being the person beetlejuice cares about the most and honestly if you were to watch it with no prior knowledge of the media and if you ignored their massive and obvious age difference than yeah you probably would read it as a romantic relationship 

however lydia is a middle schooler and that is simply immoral

there have been writers for the cartoon who have been credited to say that a relationship is what they were trying to invoke but for obvious reasons they couldnt exactly move forward with that angle with them establishing that lydia is a child in middle school and a fully grown adult man dating a child who is in middle school is immoral and also illegal in the united states and in canada 

this isnt a good argument for whether or not something is canon and i will tell you why with one simple name and that is luke weber

if you dont know who luke weber is he was a storyboard artist on the cartoon steven universe he is known for making a lot of self ship artwork of him and the character pearl

he worked on the show isnt his material canon no of course it isnt it wasnt put in the actual publication and also if memory serves he was eventually asked to leave the project after he drew art of the shows creator giving him permission to date pearl and calling them her otp and a lot of fans hated this because the most generally accepted interpretation of pearls character is that she is sapphic so a lot of people took issue however that again is just a widely perceived headcanon it is never stated what her actual sexuality is no one in that show is because it isnt a show about that its about wait im getting off topic sorry

what im saying is what can truly be considered canon is what you see on the screen and with the cartoon they are definitely the most friendly with each other and that is why so many people in the beetlebabe shipping community take so much stock in the cartoon because it is the easiest to read the relationship between the mas romantic although that is not what the show actually provides in black and white terms

interpretation does not equal canon and in this case no matter what anyone says the fact remains that in the cartoon itself they are friends good friends yes but friends all the same

it is definitely not a show about a grown man grooming an adult and if it were you definitely shouldn’t be stanning it the extreme because grooming a minor is wrong and it is apparently a problem in the fandom

anyway if the cartoon and the movie are both products of their time and there was more leniency on content bear in mind this was the same era as notorious animation powerhouse and known predator john k who was a showrunner on ren and stimpy and he maintained a relationship with a teenager which was an open secret that nobody really took issue with because in that time being a woman in the animation industry was tricky business and your career could be ended easily if you rejected advances luckily time has moved forward and the animation industry although still full of problems of a similar nature at least people are getting called out and punished for it

you can look more into that yourself its really upsetting though

as for comics i havent been able to find good scans of them and im not willing to purchase them but in my search i never found anything about the two of them ever being married in the cartoon again because she is a child i did find a cover where he appears to be getting married and hes asking lydia to get him out of it but im not sure where the comic actually goes all i know is she is standing off to the side shrugging and looking like she doesnt really care

anyway that brings us to the musical which is set in the modern day 

in the original libretto lydia is described as thirteen but since they got an actress who was older in the updated librettos she is listed as 15 and the story is pretty similar to the movie the young girl befriends ghosts and they try to scare her family out etc etc

the major difference between the film and the musical are that lydia and beetlejuice are more like friends like in the cartoon 

she summons him to help scare after the maitlands attempt doesnt really work so he shows up and they have fun terrorizing people together however she drops him for the opportunity to perhaps get her mom back but when no one will help she goes back to beetlejuice who tricks her into almost exorcising barbara

she agrees to marry him in order to stop the exorcism and he only wants to get married so he can be alive again and cause problems on the mortal coil like in the movie in the musical he states several times its a green card thing whihc obviously doesnt make it okay but still

anyway lydia tricks him and runs off into the underworld before the wedding can happen blah blah blah she goes back blah blah and she agrees to go through with the wedding to save her friends and family with a plan to make him go away for good

theres a very tongue and cheek song called creepy old guy which points out how wrong the whole thing is but everyone is going along with it in a very comedic matter and it includes the line 

i cant believe some cultures think this kind of things alright

basically saying yeah this is very very wrong anyway they do get married and beeltjeuice is alive for like 6 seconds before lydia stabs him to death with bad art and he dies thus nullifying the marriage because death do you part etc

so in the musical no at the end of the show they are not canon because he is dead their marriage is nullified and they go their separate ways

anyway sorry about that i just need to make it very clear that these three properties are all very distinct from each other and basically all three are indeed canon since they are publicized material and arguing the validity of which one is pointless editors note all actresses who played with the exception of dana steingold were minors for the majority of their runs as lydia with sophia ann caruso the originator of the role turning 18 during the run and dana being in her late twenties presley ryan however was a minor the whole time and still is one

tldr no they aren’t canon but to the credit of some people in this fandom their interpretation isnt too far of a stretch thanks to the era and some of the writers wishing to imply a relationship between an adult and a child

i also need to address how this is all a big deal and i suggest you take a peak through my discourse tag and check out @leedia‘s blog to see some of the more harmful things done by beetlebabe shippers

the beetlejuice fandom is home to many minors after the musical came out since musical fandom is vast and the ages of its members varies and normalizing pedophilia is harmful to them not to mention the people who have been effected by sexual harassment at the hands of adults

both sides have victims of csa but one side continues to perpetuate the cycle by showing time and time again that this behavior is normal and easily romanticized in the name of coping and literally anyone who has ever been to a good and credible therapist could tell you that posting cp even if it is simulated cp isnt a really good way to cope and you can get mad at me for saying that its totally fine but and im going to remove my character veil here for just a second as a csa survivor myself i think its harmful to not only myself but many others ok the veil is back down

tldr again there is a lot of bullying and harassment going on with both sides having their own issues but there is one side whos issues run a bit deeper in my humble opinion 

thank you for your question it allowed me to talk a lot you are welcome to discuss further with me in dms if you wish i honestly recommend giving the musical a listen because it is very fun and despite what some people say its very clever and if you get a chance to see a boot of it its visually stunning

one last note that i couldnt really fit in here but a large portion of the beetlebabes shipping community ignore the musical because it openly condemns the idea of beeltejuice and lydia having a relationship and a lot of the antis take issue with much of the writing and characterizations of the cartoon just a note that i think is important since were talking about canon

[ducktracy]

97. country boy (1935)

release date: february 9th, 1935

series: merrie melodies

director: friz freleng

starring: bernice hansen (peter/rabbits)

when you hear the title, i’m sure you don’t think of peter rabbit, right? this is a typical looney spin on the classic story by beatrix potter. peter ditches school to gorge himself on some vegetables in a nearby garden, and farmer mcgregor isn’t too pleased.

the story begins with a pleasant, calm rendition of “country boy” as the day to day antics of the rabbit family unfold. josephine rabbit (the mother) tidies up her kids before they embark for school, straightening one’s ears, blowing another’s nose. mischievous peter rips a cloth in half as his sister blows into the handkerchief, whistling innocently as if nothing ever happened—very good timing on that gag.

inside “that big elm tree”, two of the brothers are hurriedly putting on their clothes. they tie their suspenders together on accident, running in opposite directions and smacking right back into each other. i think in the book flopsy, mopsy, and cottontail were all girls? i haven’t read peter rabbit in at least 14 or 15 years.

all of the rabbits have been sent on their way, save for peter, who’s out of sight. his mother repeatedly calls his name, searching in the chicken coop. sure enough, peter’s holding a duster behind his back and pretending to be a chicken, oblivious to his mother’s presence. very amusing to watch him swipe the ground and cluck like a chicken after all the chickens had scattered away at the sound of josephine’s yell. it’s only when his mother snags the brush away that he takes notice, and she spanks him a few times with the brush before sending him off. a great start to the day!

clutching his butt, peter gallops away, sniffling and wiping his nose on his sleeve. the sound effects here suffer from buddy’s day out syndrome—they feel out of place. a violin slide when peter sniffles, and the same sound of the cloth tearing from earlier when he wipes his nose. the scene would’ve been just fine without the sound effects, but it’s just a minor gripe. sullen, he repeatedly kicks a can. the van lands on a twig, immobilized, much to peter’s oblivion. he swings a kick at the can and hurts his foot, hopping up and down in pain.

nevertheless, his pain is quickly forgotten once he spots a lush garden fresh for the picking. he rubs his stomach contentedly as he ogles at carrots, lettuce, you name it. just as he’s about to push the chicken wire up and sneak in, a shrill “WE’RE GONNA TELL! WE’RE GONNA TELL!” interrupts his potential feast.

our first use of the bernice hansen baby voice! bernice hansen had a KNACK for doing high pitched, squeaky baby voices. the best roles are the ones where the baby she’s voicing is a little bastard, disguised in that adorable voice (porky’s naughty nephew and porky’s picnic). it’s peter’s siblings, who launch into “country boy”, only jeering “we know what you’re thinkin’, naughty boy! better stop your slinkin’, naughty boy!” the animation as the bunnies sing is absolutely beautiful, very well done and some of my favorite animation we’ve seen thus far.

peter refutes by threatening to beat them up (“i’ll be sure to beat ya, tattletale!”), and they go back and forth in a very fun call and response fashion. the bunnies warn him to look out for the farmer, peter says he’ll sock him, too. the bunnies threaten once more to tell the teacher—and the school bell cuts off any remaining arguments. peter follows them to the schoolhouse, turning back last minute and ignoring any late bells to sneak into the garden.

now, he’s free to eat whatever he desires. munching on carrots (and leaving the “skeleton” in, a tried and true gag that never fails to amuse me), eating some peas by scooping them out with a knife. it turns out the peas were actually mexican jumping beans, hops around uncontrollably, right into the beet section.

struggling to rip a beet out of the ground, peter ties a nearby rope to it and runs to the source of the rope: a well. he turns the crank and out comes the beet, attached to another, attached to another, so on and so forth. a cow at the end of the line is also preparing to feast on the beets, clutching onto the top with its teeth. it gets dragged through the soil as peter turns the crank with all his might, approaching the well and falling in. oops!

farmer mcgregor overhears the cow’s desperate moos while mowing the lawn. he spots peter and snags a rake, chasing after him. a very nice, hurried, orchestral rendition of “country boy” underscores the chase. peter hops onto the mower (that has been sitting unoccupied while mcgregor chases him) and speeds away, mocking mcgregor. the mower collides with a rock and veers off course, nice animation to watch peter weave in and out of the foreground. seems to be a favorite angle of friz’s, i’ve noticed—used in multiple shorts, even as recent as mr. and mrs. is the name.

peter mows right into the hedges, sparking mcgregor to yell at him incoherently. all is well... until peter realizes he’s still on a shanghaied lawn mower, cutting up cornstalks and rearranging them after the fact in a neat pile. a bump causes peter to hold onto the handle instead of sitting on it, perfect for him to get covered in maple syrup as he barrels (pun intended) through multiple barrels. conveniently, a chicken coop awaits, just for peter. he zips through it, a nice fast, dizzying, sideways pan, and comes out covered in feathers. lovely (and hilarious) animation by chuck jones of peter hopping onto a fence post, slapping his feather filled sides and crowing like a rooster. iris out.

i loved this cartoon! maybe because i loved peter rabbit so much as a child. bernice hansen’s voice acting was spot on, all of the bunnies were very cute, and peter was endearing and charismatic (finally!). “country boy” was a VERY catchy song, and i especially loved the rendition between the feuding bunnies. the pacing is nice, chase scene quick and snappy, especially the syrup and chicken coop section. 1935 looks like a promising year for friz, and we’ll certainly see that in our next review with the introduction of a very obscure, unknown, insignificant stuttering pig.

link!

[arcticdementor]

There’s no nice way to say this: a certain subset of (mostly) white people have lost their minds online. These people wake up to a vast insurrection crossing all racial and national boundaries – and contrive to make this all about themselves. Their affects, their unconsciouses, their moral worthiness. How can I be Not Complicit? How can I be a Better Ally? How do I stop benefiting from white supremacy in my daily life? How do I rid myself of all the bad affects and attitudes? Can I purify my soul in the smelter of a burning police precinct? Occasional ratissages out into mainstream culture (we’re decolonising the Bon Appétit test kitchen!), but mostly what this uprising calls for is an extended bout of navel-gazing. Really get in there, get deep in that clammy lint-filled hole, push one finger into the wound of your separation from the primordial world, and never stop wriggling. Maybe there’s a switch, buried just below the knot, and if you trip it your body will open up like a David Cronenberg nightmare to reveal all its greasy secrets to your eyes. Interrogate yourself! Always yourself, swim deep in the filth of yourself. The world is on fire – but are my hands clean? People are dying – but how can I scrub this ghastly whiteness off my skin?

You could set aside the psychosexual madness of this stuff, maybe, if it actually worked. It does not work. It achieves nothing and helps nobody. Karen and Barbara Fields: ‘Racism is not an emotion or state of mind, such as intolerance, bigotry, hatred, or malevolence. If it were that, it would easily be overwhelmed; most people mean well, most of the time, and in any case are usually busy pursuing other purposes. Racism is first and foremost a social practice.’ Social practices must be confronted on the level of the social. But for people who don’t want to change anything on the level of the social, there’s the Implicit Associations Test. This is the great technological triumph of what passes for anti-racist ideology: sit in front of your computer for a few minutes, click on some buttons, and you can get a number value on exactly how racist you are. Educators and politicians love this thing. Wheel it into offices. Listen up, guys, your boss just wants to take a quick peek into your unconscious mind, just to see how racist you are. How could anyone object to something like that?

…

See, for instance, the form letters: How To Talk To Your Black Friends Right Now. Because I refuse to be told I can’t ever empathise with a black person, I try to imagine what it would be like to receive one of these. Say there’s been a synagogue shooting, or a bunch of swastikas spraypainted in Willesden Jewish Cemetery. Say someone set off a bomb inside Panzer’s in St John’s Wood – and then one of my goy friends sends me something like this:

Hey Sam – I can never understand how you feel right now, but I’m committed to doing the work both personally and in my community to make this world safer for you and for Jewish people everywhere. From the Babylonian Captivity to the Holocaust to today, my people have done reprehensible things to yours – and while my privilege will never let me share your experience, I want you to know that you’re supported right now. I see you. I hear you. I stand with the Jewish community, because you matter. Please give me your PayPal so I can buy you a bagel or some schamltz herring, or some of those little twisty pastries you people like.

How would I respond? I think I would never want to see or hear from this person again. If I saw them in the street, I would spit in their face, covid be damned. I would curse their descendants with an ancient cackling Yiddish curse. These days, I try to choose my actual friends wisely. Most of them tend to engage me with a constant low level of jocular antisemitic micoaggressions, because these things are funny and not particularly serious. But if one of my friends genuinely couldn’t see me past the Jew, and couldn’t see our friendship past the Jewish Question, I would be mortified. Of course, it’s possible that the comparison doesn’t hold. Maybe there are millions of black people I don’t know who love being essentialised and condescended to, who are thrilled by the thought of being nothing more than a shuddering expendable rack for holding up their own skin. But I doubt it. Unless you want me to believe that black people inherently have less dignity than I do, this is an insult.

…

If you want to find the real secret of this stuff, look for the rules, the dos and don’ts, the Guides To Being A Better Ally that blob up everywhere like mushrooms on a rotting bough. You’ve seen them. And you’ve noticed, even if you don’t want to admit it, that these things are always contradictory:

DO the important work of interrogating your own biases and prejudices. DON’T obsess over your white guilt – this isn’t about you! DO use your white privilege as a shield by standing between black folx and the police. DON’T stand at the front of marches – it’s time for you to take a back seat. DO speak out against racism – never expect activists of colour to always perform the emotional labour. DON’T crowd the conversation with your voice – shut up, stay in your lane, and stick to signal boosting melanated voices. DO educate your white community by providing an example of white allyship. DON’T post selfies from a protest – our struggle isn’t a photo-op for riot tourists.

Žižek points out that the language of proverbial wisdom has no content. ‘If one says, “Forget about the afterlife, about the Elsewhere, seize the day, enjoy life fully here and now, it’s the only life you’ve got!” it sounds deep. If one says exactly the opposite (“Do not get trapped in the illusory and vain pleasures of earthly life; money, power, and passions are all destined to vanish into thin air – think about eternity!”), it also sounds deep.’ The same goes here. Whatever you say, it can still sound woke. Why?

…

This stuff is masochism, pleasure-seeking, full of erotic charge – and as Freud saw, the masochist’s desire is always primary and prior; it’s always the submissive partner who’s in charge of any relationship. Masochism is a technology of power. Setting the limits, defining the punishments they’d like to receive, dehumanising and instrumentalising the sadistic partner throughout. The sadist works to humiliate and degrade their partner, to make them feel something – everything for the other! And meanwhile, the masochist luxuriates in their own degradation – everything for myself! You’re just the robotic hand that hits me. When non-white people get involved in these discourses, they’re always at the mercy of their white audiences, the ones for whom they perform, the ones they titillate and entertain. A system for subjecting liberation movements to the fickle desires of the white bourgeoisie. Call it what it is. This is white supremacy; these scolding lists are white supremacist screeds.

But systems of white supremacy have never been in the interests of most whites (‘Labour cannot emancipate itself in the white skin when in the black it is branded’), and they have never really fostered any solidarity between whites. Look at the stories. I had a run-in with the police, you announce, and a black person might have died, but I’m fine, because I’m white. No – you’re fine because you’re white and rich. You’re fine because you look like someone who reviews cartoons for a dying online publication called The Daily Muffin, which is exactly what you are. Bald and covered in cat hair. Frameless glasses cutting a red wedge into the bridge of your nose. The white people who get gunned down by police don’t look like you. Their class position is stamped visibly on their face, and so is yours. And you’ve trained yourself to see any suffering they experience as nothing more than ugly Trump voters getting what they deserve.

Why aren’t there protests when a white person is murdered by police? Answer 1: because, as John Berger points out, ‘demonstrations are essentially urban in character.’ Native Americans are killed by cops at an even higher rate than black people, but this too tends to happen very far away from the cities and the cameras; it becomes invisible. Answer 2: because nobody cares about them. Not the right wing, who only pretend to care as a discursive gotcha when there’s a BLM protest. And definitely not you. Sectors of the white intelligentsia have spent the last decade trying to train you out of fellow-feeling. Cooley et al., 2019: learning about white privilege has no positive effect on empathy towards black people, but it is ‘associated with greater punishment/blame and fewer external attributions for a poor white person’s plight.’ A machine for turning nice socially-conscious liberals into callous free-market conservatives.

The rhetoric of privilege is a weapon, but it’s not pointed at actually (ie, financially) privileged white people. We get off lightly. All we have to do is reflect on our privilege, chase our dreamy reflections through an endlessly mirrored habitus – and that was already our favourite game. You might as well decide that the only cure for white privilege is ice cream. Working-class whites get no such luxuries. But as always, the real brunt falls on non-white people. What happens when you present inequality in terms of privileges bestowed on white people, rather than rights and dignity denied to non-white people? The situation of the oppressed becomes a natural base-state. You end up thinking some very strange things. A few years ago, I was once told that I could only think that the film Black Panther isn’t very good because of my white privilege. Apparently, black people are incapable of aesthetic discernment or critical thought. (Do I need to mention that the person who told me this was white as sin?) This framing is as racist as anything in Carlyle. It could only have been invented by a rich white person.

Give them their due; rich white people are great at inventing terrible new concepts. Look at what’s happening right now: they’re telling each other to read White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo. You should never tell people to read White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo – but we live in an evil world, and it’s stormed to the top of the Amazon bestsellers list. You maniacs, you psychopaths, look what you’ve done. I’m not saying people shouldn’t read the book – I read it, and I don’t get any special dispensations – but you should read it like Dianetics, like the doctrine of a strange and stupid cult.

…

The book is a thrill-ride along a well-paved highway – ‘powerful institutions are controlled by white people;’ true, accurate, well-observed – that quickly takes a dive off the nearest cliff – ‘therefore white people as a whole are in control of powerful institutions.’ Speak for yourself, lady! All a are b, DiAngelo brightly informs us, therefore all b must also be a. She doesn’t advocate for her understanding of the world, she simply assumes it. So it’s not a surprise that the real takeaway from White Fragility is that Robin DiAngelo is not very good at her job.

…

Imagine a devoted cultist of Tengrism, who sometimes gets invited by company bosses to harangue the workforce on how the universe is created by a pure snow-white goose flying over an endless ocean, and how if you don’t make the appropriate ritual honks to this cosmic goose you’re failing in your moral duty. But every time she gives this spiel, she always gets the same questions. Exactly how big is this goose? Surely the goose must have to land sometimes? Geese hatch in litters – what happened to the other goslings? Something must be wrong with these people. Why don’t they just accept the doctrine? Why do they hate the goose? We need a name for their sickness. Call it Goose Reluctance, and next time someone doesn’t jump to attention whenever you speak, you’ll know why. Of course, the comparison is unfair; ideas about eternal geese are beautiful, and DiAngelo’s are not. But the structure is the same. Could it be that Robin DiAngelo is a poor communicator selling a heap of worthless abstractions? No, it’s the workers who are wrong.

(By the way, how did you feel about that phrase, racial humility? I didn’t like it, but her book is full of similar formulations – she also wants us to ‘build our racial stamina’ and ‘attain racial knowledge.’ Now, maybe I’m an oversensitive kike, but I can’t encounter phrases like these and not hear others in the background. Racial spirit. Racial consciousness. Racial hygiene. And somewhere, not close but coming closer, the sound of goosestepping feet.)

I didn’t seek out any of the material I talk about here. It came to me. And it’s making me feel insane. The only social media I use these days is Instagram – because if I’m going to be hand-shaping orecchiette all night, and serving it with salsiccia, rapini, and my own home-pickled fennel, it’s not for my own pleasure, and I demand to receive a decent 12 to 15 likes for my efforts. (I will not be accepting your follow request.) A week ago, on the 2nd of June, my feed was suddenly swarming with white people posting blank black squares. People I’d never known to be remotely political, people whose introduction to politics was clearly coming through the deranged machine of social media. Apparently, that was ‘Blackout Tuesday.’ I don’t know whose clever idea this was, and I don’t want to know, but it came with a threat. If all your friends are posting the square, and you’re not, does it mean you simply don’t care enough about black lives? Around the same time, I was helpfully made aware of a viral Instagram album titled Why The Refusal To Post Online Is Often Inherently Racist. I honestly can’t imagine how terrifying it must be to live like this – always on edge, always trying to be Good, always trying to have your Goodness recognised by other people, in a game where the scores are tracked by what you post on the internet, and the rules are always changing.

[banesapothecary]

meant to be - a follow up to missed connection in honor of @kindaresilient‘s birthday

read on ao3

Moving in with Magnus was the best decision Alec had ever made--even better than begrudgingly agreeing to take the bus every morning that led him to work and meeting the love of his life.

Once upon a time, just catching a small, polite smile from Magnus was enough to make Alec’s day brighter. Now Alec woke up every morning wrapped in Magnus’s arms, or better yet, with Magnus’s head pillowed against his chest. Alec couldn’t believe his luck.

Isabelle smirked at him across the table as if reading his mind. Okay, he thought. Luck might not be the right word for it. After all, if it hadn’t been for Izzy and Jace’s meddling in his personal life, he probably never would’ve had the guts to speak to Magnus, let alone flirt with him. At least, not gracefully.

Eventually he might’ve gotten the nerve to swap his usual polite smile to Magnus as he stepped onto the bus and took his seat for a “hello.” And maybe he would’ve felt emboldened one morning and moved from his own seat to slide in next to Magnus and strike up a conversation. And maybe Alec wouldn’t have been a “complete gay disaster,” as Izzy liked to refer to him.

He didn’t mind that his siblings had meddled, though. In fact, it was the greatest thing they’d ever done for him.

“Stop thinking about Magnus and tell me the plan already!” Izzy sighed in exasperation, kicking him lightly under the table. They were seated in his favorite cafe, waiting for their lunch order. It was slightly late for the lunch rush, but the cafe was still packed and the soft noise of conversation filled the room with an easy, relaxed air.

Alec raised an eyebrow at his sister. “How do you know I was thinking about Magnus?”

“One,” Izzy said, holding up a finger for dramatic effect, “you’re always thinking about Magnus.” Alec nodded, not even trying to suppress his grin. It was true. Magnus constantly filled his mind, and Alec wouldn’t have it any other way. “And two, you have literal heart eyes right now,” she said, punctuating her words with a sip of her soda.

Alec rolled his eyes. “That’s not a thing, Izzy. Except for cartoons.”

“You must’ve travelled to this universe from a two-dimensional one, then,” Izzy said, sticking her tongue out.

“We both know if anyone’s from another universe in this family, it’s Jace,” Alec snorted.

Izzy reached across the table to swat at his shoulder. “You should be nicer to us,” she complained. “We helped you find the love of your life.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him, and it was Alec’s turn to swat at her arm. “Come on!” Izzy groaned in frustration. “You can’t just tell me you bought a ring and not tell me anything else. It’s cruel and unusual punishment.”

Alec shrugged, but he felt his cheeks reddening at the mention of the ring. The ring that was currently burning a hole in the zip-up pocket of his windbreaker. “There’s nothing to tell yet, Iz,” he said. “I have no idea when I’m gonna ask him, or how I’m going to ask him.”

“However you do it, you know he’s going to think it’s perfect,” Izzy said softly. “If anyone is more disgustingly in love than you are, it’s Magnus.” Alec laughed at the way her nose scrunched up. “Besides,” Izzy continued. “You’d better propose soon. I was promised a wedding to plan.”

“You’re going to propose?”

Alec’s eyes widened and he whipped around at the voice. Magnus stood a few paces behind him, his expression very much mirroring Alec’s. “I—” He cut himself off, entirely unsure of what to even say and too shocked to get the words out right even if he had.

He was distantly aware of Izzy scooting her seat back and touching a gentle hand to his shoulder. “I’ll, um. I’ll let you guys talk,” she said quietly, excusing herself. Alec didn’t see where she went, his eyes locked onto his boyfriend.

“Damn you, Lightwood,” Magnus laughed, the sound more like an exhale as he finally moved, sliding into the seat Izzy had just left. Alec watched, mouth still hanging slightly open, as Magnus reached into the pocket of his impeccably tailored suit. Alec’s heart stuttered in his chest as Magnus held up a ring.

It was simple, just a single gold band that was enough to return some of the color to Alec’s cheeks. It was Alec’s turn to laugh, and he wouldn’t have even noticed he was crying if not for the wet sound of it. He reached into the pocket of his windbreaker, pulling out the black velvet box and popping it open so Magnus could see.

The ring he’d picked out was gold as well. The design was a little more intricate, with engravings that swirled around a single diamond, cut into a shape almost like a cat’s eye.

Alec was almost scared to look at Magnus’s reaction as he showed him the ring. He hadn’t set out to buy it, necessarily. He’d known already when he did that he wanted to marry Magnus, wanted forever with him. He’d known it like a fact as deeply ingrained as his own name.

But Alec hadn’t planned to look, per say. He just happened to be walking by a jeweller one afternoon while running errands, and the ring had caught his eyes in the window display. From the second he saw it, he knew. The ring had reminded him of Magnus, of his beautiful intricacies and how he turned everything that was otherwise simple or mundane into a magical new experience. He’d bought it without a second thought or even an ounce of his typical overthinking.

“Alexander,” Magnus breathed, and Alec finally met his eyes. The emotion there knocked the breath out of his lungs. Magnus’s eyes were shining, and the gleam was far prettier than any ring ever could be.

And then, before Alec knew what was happening, Magnus was standing in front of him, hand outstretched. Alec took it, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet and straight into a searing kiss.

It was messier than probably anyone in the cafe wanted to see, and Alec could taste the salt from both of their tears, but it was perfect. It was perfect because it was them, and because they both wanted this, both wanted happily ever after and til death do us part. They pulled away, laughing a little as they both gasped for air.

“I love you,” Alec said, pulling the ring he’d bought from its box and slipping it onto Magnus’s waiting finger.

Magnus marvelled at it for a moment before taking Alec’s offered hand and slipping the ring he’d purchased onto his finger. “I love you, too,” he said. Magnus laughed suddenly, the sound delighted. “Your sister beat us to it again,” he complained with a lighthearted grin.

“Yeah,” Alec smiled back. “Yeah, she did. I think I’ll forgive her, though. This was a pretty good turn of events, I think.”

“I’ll have to agree with you there, darling,” Magnus said, eyes sparkling. “Speaking of events, though, Alexander, what exactly did Isabelle mean when she said she was promised a wedding to plan?”

Alec groaned, dropping his head onto Magnus’s shoulder. “Payment for writing that missed connection post back when I was just hopelessly pining after you. Izzy’s words, not mine,” he said. He raised his head, grinning as he looked at Magnus. “She wasn’t incorrect, though.”

Magnus beamed at him, thumb ghosting over Alec’s fingers and the new ring there. “Not that I doubt your sister’s impeccable taste, but I don’t suppose she’d be willing to make this a collaborative effort? Maybe a timeshare on the wedding planning?”

Alec laughed and leaned forward to kiss his boyf— his fiancé’s —cheek. “I’m sure she’ll be willing to renegotiate the contract to include our input, considering she ruined not just one, but both of our proposals.”

Magnus leaned closer, hovering barely an inch away from Alec. “‘Ruin’ doesn’t seem entirely accurate,” he whispered into the space between their lips before closing the short distance that for a moment felt as wide as vast as the ocean.

No, Alec thought as Magnus kissed him. ‘Ruin’ wasn’t accurate at all.

[xechoecho88x]

You Are To Me

Prompt: 

A: “If you do this, you’ll die!”

B: “If I don’t, thousands will die. I’m not more important than all those people.”

A: “You are to me.”

Pairings: Royality, Analogical

TW: Some violence, some injuries, fighting  (Tell me if you want anything else added)

-NOT GRAPHIC-

--

Roman ran through the Imagination, breathing hard. He was covered in bruises, scratches, and cuts, his hair was messed up and smeared with dirt. He gripped his sword so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. 

Roman cursed as he turned sharply, trying to lose his pursuer. He fell into the mud, staining his white outfit. He scrambled up, eyes widening as he caught sight of the creature who was attacking him. 

She was grotesque. Venom dripped from her long fangs and her beady black eyes seemed to stare into his soul. She looked similar to a dragon, except not the kind from Dragon Tales, or even the one from Cinderella. No, this dragon was simply terrifying. She had spikes that were needle-sharp and thin, covering her body. When this dragon was little she looked more like the dragons from How To Train Your Dragon. During this time, Roman had “lovingly” named her the Dragon Witch. 

As the dragon grew, she grew more and more out of Roman’s control. Now the Prince had to protect the emotions and aspects from her. This involved fighting tooth and claw, literally in the Dragon Witch’s case, figuratively in Roman’s. As that was his sworn duty as protector and ruler of the Imagination. 

The witch readied her staff and shot a beam of magic toward Roman. The creative side panicked and disappeared back to the Mind Palace, back to safety. Abandoning his post as protector of the city of emotions and aspects.

Roman collapsed to his knees in fear as he reappeared back in the Mind Palace common room. He was shaking, and if tears were leaking from his eyes, he’d never admit it. He was so close, so close, to being hit by whatever spell the Dragon Witch had casted. Who knows? That spell could’ve been fatal. He closed his eyes in hopes of calming himself from his near-death experience. However, it seems that Patton had been making his way through that room in order to reach the kitchen so he could start making dinner for the sides. 

“Roman? Kiddo?” Patton asked nervously. He shifted from leg to leg as he stared down at the seemingly injured side.

Roman’s eyes snapped open. “Padre!” he exclaimed gazing happily at the moral side. 

Patton helped up the princely side looking over his mud-stained clothing and various scratches with concern. He quickly left the other side as soon as he was back on his feet. 

He returned quickly, or maybe it seemed that way to Roman, he was kind of spacing out at this point, regretting abandoning his subjects. Patton lugged a First Aid kit along with him. 

Roman blinked and suddenly he was on the sofa, the top of his muddy uniform thrown off to the side. Patton knelt before him, wiping his wounds with disinfectant. Roman hissed in pain, feeling the sting of his cuts. 

“How did this happen, Ro-ro?” Patton asked him gently.

Roman shook his head. “I-I have to get back.” Roman muttered. “I was dueling the Dragon Witch, I need to save the citizens of the Imagination.”

Patton blinked. “You can save them later, I’m sure they can deal with it for a little while longer. You’re only one side.”

“They can’t!” Roman exclaimed, getting up from his spot on the couch in agitation. “I’m the only one that has a chance! Now…” Roman looked around for his sword and his uniform. 

“Roman.” Patton said, looking into said Side’s eyes. “Rest.”

“Patton! I-” Roman exclaimed in exasperation. Then suddenly, his eyes seemed impossibly heavy. “You didn’t…” Roman muttered sleepily, appalled that Patton wouldn’t listen to him. 

“I’m sorry, Roman, but you need to rest.” Patton said, eyes dimming from the glowing it was doing previously.

Patton had many powers as leader of the “light” sides. One such was the ability to cause other sides to fall asleep. 

Roman’s world went dark. 

When Roman re-awakened, Logan sat in the armchair next to the couch. The logical side studied him for a moment before getting up from his seat and walking over to where Roman was resting. “You’re awake.” 

“No thanks to Patton.” Roman grumbled. “How long was I asleep?”

“Not long enough!” Patton called, once more, from the kitchen. The sound of running water made Roman deduce that Patton was washing dishes. 

“About an hour.” Logan stated. 

Roman scrambled up into a sitting position. White-hot panic shot through him. He’d been away from the Imagination too long! What could the Dragon Witch have gotten up to when Roman was resting?

Logan looked down at the Prince in concern. Roman was almost hyperventilating at the idea that he had failed to protect the citizens of the Imagination. 

Virgil then appeared on scene. Walking in from the kitchen, it was likely that he was helping Patton clean the dishes. The emo nightmare crouched in front of Roman. “Breathe” He said, staring directly into Roman’s brown eyes. 

Roman nodded and closed his eyes, regulating his breathing pattern. But now, Roman was itching to run back to the Imagination, ADHD kicking in at the best moment possible. 

“Roman.” Virgil said, to get the flamboyant side’s attention. He clearly noticed Roman’s fidgeting, despite it starting only a second before. “We’re going with you, to kick that b-witch’s butt!” 

Roman felt deeply touched. “I would gladly welcome you all, however, it is too dangerous. I simply cannot condone this. I don’t want you all to get hurt because of my inability to solve my own problems.” 

Virgil simply scoffed at Roman. “We’re not going to get hurt. And even if we do, it is no way your fault. I mean, we chose to go? Hello?”

Patton poked his head in the common room, again. “First, Ro, eat your dinner. You were asleep while the rest of us ate.” Interjected Patton. 

Roman glumly accepted. However, he was NOT going to just “let the other sides join him on his quest to defeat the Dragon Witch”. They didn’t understand. They didn’t realize that she was much more dangerous than what Roman had made her out to be. He didn’t want them to know how hard it was to defeat her every time. How he was never quite able to kill her. 

After Roman had finished the spaghetti that Patton had lovingly made for him, he stated that the others were not allowed to join him. 

  “Isn’t there strength in numbers? Logan?” Patton asked in counter to Roman’s previous statement. 

“Statistically, the chances of winning are much higher with more people to help.” Logan answered in agreement. 

Roman sighed. He didn’t want to give this up, because he didn’t want his fellow sides to suffer at the hands of the evil Dragon Witch. But he knew that they were too stubborn. The chances of them making it out with minimal injury were higher if Roman gave them instruction, weapons, and armour. “Alright, come to my room.”

Patton’s eyes immediately brightened and he scampered up to Roman. Logan smiled in satisfaction and Virgil gained a look that seemed to say, Of course you gave in. I knew you would. 

Roman’s room held an assortment of different armours and weapons, not just swords. However, most did not seem to fit what Roman considered that they needed. He summoned a highly protected piece of armour. The inside was padded with kevlar and it covered everything up to the user’s head. The design was rather simple, something you might expect from a cartoon depicting a medieval knight’s armour. The design also held light blue accents. The helmet was somewhat similar to a samurai’s helmet. However, it wasn’t as fancy, more protecting than anything. The helmet also had a clear visor that slid down over the face. This could be used to protect against flying materials and as a defense for your face. Roman handed the armour to Patton. Roman received a confused expression back. 

“Wear it.” Roman grumbled, “You’ll have a lower chance of dying.”

Patton nodded and slid on the armour. 

While he was putting it on (armour takes a long time to put on, there are many pieces and it can be difficult to maneuver), Roman summoned another set of armour. This one was much more practical. Moving in this piece would be much easier. The chestplate, shoulder pads, arm gauntlets, and boots were constructed out of a magnesium-based alloy. This alloy is known for being lightweight and strong. The rest of the armour was stylized kangaroo leather. The armour was mainly black with indigo accents scattered throughout. The helmet seemed to be based off of a Roman Legion helmet. This allowed the front of the helmet to be open. Roman handed this set of armour to Logan. It was entirely based off of his personality, practical, but effective. 

The next piece of armour was almost a combination of the last two. The design was very clearly based on what samurai armour looks like. The armour was functional, but protective. The tassets, spaulders, gauntlets, and chestplate were all constructed out of a titanium alloy. The rest was made from a thick leather. Small spikes constructed of steel stood up on the armour. The armour itself was mainly black, however, the straps and small details were violet in colour. The helmet that accompanied the armour was matching, unlike the other pieces of armour. The helmet was the same titanium alloy that was used on the armour with the same steel spikes sticking up from it. The helmet was painted black. The horn design on the front was much smaller than most samurai helmets, this was supposed to help maneuverability. The horn was balanced and was violet in colour, as Virgil’s colour scheme normally was.  

Roman tossed the armour to Virgil and got to work summoning weapons for his friends. Patton received a shield and spear. The spear was to keep enemies far away from him and the shield was to protect him due to his armour disallowing free movement. Logan received a crossbow and a quiver full of arrows. Roman saw that fitting because of Logan’s precision and ability to make quick movements. Virgil got dual katanas. The skill needed to control both at once was large, however, Roman had full confidence in Virgil to be able to use them. Roman handed each weapon to its corresponding side. Roman then spun around and grabbed his own katana. 

The other sides were familiar with his sword, but not in it’s blood-stained state. Patton let out a small gasp at the sight, Virgil took a step back, and Logan simply inspected the sword, no doubt determining how dangerous the upcoming battle will be. 

Roman narrowed his eyes, “Let’s give that Dragon Witch what is coming to her.”

Roman stormed through the portal into the Imagination with his fellow sides trailing him. Patton glanced at Roman once they stepped through, concern lacing his eyes and tone. “Ro? Where’s your armour?”

Roman spared him a glance, he was wearing what he usually wore in videos and such. “My uniform is lined with dyneema.” Came the concise response. 

Logan nodded with understanding. Dyneema is known for being one of the strongest fibres and is said to withstand knife (and possibly sword) stabs. 

“It doesn’t matter right now, we have to save my people and defeat the Dragon Witch. Logan and Patton, stay more at a distance, Virgil, I think you’ll be able to land a few hits, I will join you at close confrontation. This isn’t going to be some easy fight, this will be physically and mentally trying. Do as I say, and try to keep out of trouble. Good luck.” Roman told the others. The feeling of dread was heavy in his stomach. He hoped with all of his might that they would all come out unscathed. However, that hope could not possibly be a reality. Roman did not expect to come out of this battle alive. 

The sides walked quietly through the Imagination, Virgil and Patton being racked with worry and suspense, Logan and Roman planning and checking their materials. Roman suddenly came to a stop and put his hand up, signalling the others to stay quiet and stop. He quickly glanced around the tree he was hiding behind.

The Dragon Witch had her back faced toward them. She was located in a clearing, seemingly resting. Roman had to admit, the sight was almost beautiful. She was surrounded by flowers and sunlight leaked through the canopy to form a spotlight around her. The Dragon was lying down and seemed very peaceful. Her black scales glittered in the sunlight. The scene was almost picturesque, Roman almost hated to ruin it, but he knew how much terror and destruction came with the half asleep witch. 

Roman looked to his friends with pain clear in his eyes, “On the count of three.” His friends nodded solemnly. Virgil glanced at Logan and gave him a quick kiss. Roman almost felt sick. Virgil was saying ‘goodbye’ in his own way. In that moment, Roman made the decision that his friends would come back alive. No matter the sacrifice. No matter what. Roman couldn’t take this away from them.

The tension leaked from the Dragon Witch’s shoulders. Roman took a deep breath and let it out. “Three.” He whispered. Logan’s eyes narrowed. He met Roman’s gaze and gave a slight nod. 

“Two.” Regret pooled in Roman’s stomach. Why was he putting his friends in danger again? Virgil gave him a small touch, reassuring the Prince. Virgil tensed, getting ready to move as soon as Roman said so.

“One.” In a split second, Roman and Virgil had launched themselves from their hiding place. Roman had caught Patton’s gaze. Patton gave Roman a smile. Roman knew that meant that Patton put all of his trust in the regal side. 

Fueled with new determination, Roman leapt into the air to land a blow against his enemy that he had known most of his life. This was the battle of Roman’s lifetime. 

At first the battle had gone in the side’s favour. Roman had been pleasantly surprised, but soon enough they started to lose. Virgil and Roman had landed a few good hits against the Dragon Witch, but soon enough she was awake and was fighting full-force. Thankfully, she couldn’t find Logan. He shot many arrows at her that she had not deflected. 

She shot spells out. Roman had managed to avoid them thanks to Patton and his shield. Virgil was not so lucky, however. He had been trying to use his shadow magic to deflect the Dragon’s magic but she had easily overpowered him. Virgil fell. Patton let out a scream. 

Roman’s eyes widened, this what he was trying to avoid. Logan had quickly grabbed Virgil and both disappeared from sight. The Dragon Witch turned and stepped even closer to the city. Panic and fear fought for control over Roman. 

“Patt, can you distract her? I will attack her whilst she’s occupied.” Roman planned quickly out loud. Patton gave a determined nod. Then he slipped away, toward the Dragon Witch.

What am I doing? What am I doing? What am I doing!?? Roman’s internal mantra screamed at him. He positioned himself behind the Dragon Witch. Patton was dodging her attacks and even landing a few blows. Roman felt strangely proud of him. 

Roman stabbed her in the back. The Witch roared in pain and threw him backward. He slammed into a tree and his vision blurred. Logan was suddenly standing in front of the Dragon Witch, distracting her even more. Virgil was swiping attacks against her. Patton rushed over to where Roman laid. 

“Ro?” Patton’s voice shook. 

“I’m fine.” Roman said struggling to get to his feet. Patton offered his hand, looking over Roman’s injures. 

The Dragon Witch suddenly flapped her wings and took to the sky. It was a strategic retreat and was perfect for the sides. Virgil glared up at her as she flew away. Logan and Virgil then walked over to where Roman and Patton were standing. 

“You okay Princey? That was pretty brutal.” Virgil said with some concern, clearly holding back his emotions at the moment. Roman suspected it might be in case they overpower him. 

“I’m fine. I actually have a plan on how to defeat her. Logan, Patton, weaken her down. Then Virgil will capture her with his powers, and I will deal the final blow. How have the armours been holding up?” Roman explained and asked quickly. 

“It might work.” Logan said thoughtfully, “The armour has been very protective and I assume has been working.”

Virgil made a noise of agreement. “I won’t be able to hold her very long, so we will have to act quickly.”

“Not a problem.” Roman agreed. “Now, we have to find her quickly, in case she recovers.”

“She’s at your castle.” A new voice informed him. 

“Ah, of course.” Roman said, ashamed he hadn’t thought of that sooner. “Wait, who are you?” Roman asked as an afterthought, suddenly questioning the information’s credibility. 

Remy stepped into the light. He grinned. “Hello, your Highness.”

“SLEEP!” Patton cried excitedly, giving the aspect a large hug. Remy smirked and returned the hug. “Hey pop.” He said nonchalantly. 

“Let’s go.” Roman instructed, determined to end this once and for all. 

The sides had gone on a short trek to Roman’s castle. The Dragon Witch stood atop setting fire to surrounding buildings. They had immediately leapt into action. The plan quickly took a turn for the worse. Logan and Remy had ended up in the Dragon’s vile claws. 

Virgil was trapped in a spell, unable to move or speak. Let alone try to cast a spell on the Dragon Witch. 

Roman turned to Patton in desperation. “I have to attack her.” Roman informed Patton. 

“N-no you don’t!! We can come up with another plan!”

“I have to.”

“B-but, if you do this, you’ll die!”

Roman looked at Patton, sadness clear in his eyes. “If I don’t, thousands will die. I’m not more important than all those people.” The Prince gestured over the burning city, eventually landing on Logan, Remy, and Virgil. 

Patton’s eyes filled with tears. “You are to me.”

“I’m sorry Patton.” Roman whisphered, leaning in and giving Patton a quick kiss. It was intimate and full of love. Patton desperately clung to the belief that it would not be their last. Roman smiled at Patton. He was struck by the realization of how it echoed Virgil and Logan earlier. 

“I will see you later.” Roman firmly disbelieved in ‘goodbye’s. 

Patton nodded, his face felt wet. Roman would return! He had to! But, in reality, Patton was entirely unsure. 

Roman charged. The Dragon Witch had dropped Logan and Remy in order to duel Roman. They dropped with dull thuds. They were now locked in combat. 

Roman was landing plenty of hits on the Dragon Witch. She was also landing plenty of hits on Roman. He was now bleeding from multiple wounds. But she had dropped Virgil as well. He quickly recovered and slammed the Witch with a spell. Roman took the opportunity to slice her head off. 

The Dragon was quick and stabbed him through the stomach with a claw. But fell to the ground, dead a split second later. 

“Roman?” Patton asked slowly.

The world suddenly blacked for Roman and he collapsed to the ground in pain and blood loss. Patton’s scream was lost on his unconsciousness. 

In the dark side of the Mind Palace, Remus let out a small gasp. Deceit ignored it, the Duke always faked hurt, or made odd sounds. He stopped ignoring the ‘darker’ half of creativity when his voice warped. “Roman.” Remus said in pain, deadly serious.  

The splitting of creativity wasn’t perfect. If one side was in extreme pain, the other could feel some of it. Deceit stood up quickly. “What happened?” He hissed. As self-preservation, Deceit protected all of the sides. 

“He’s… really hurt.” Remus said quietly. That scared Deceit, Remus was never quiet. “No one hurts my brother but me!” Remus suddenly screamed. The Duke grabbed Deceit’s hand and teleported them to the light side of the Mind Palace. 

The Light Sides were clearly in disarray. Logan was tending to Virgil and Remy, bandaging wounds and putting ice on their bruises. Pieces of various types of armour were scattered over the floor of the room. Patton was kneeling next to the couch, holding some gauze. Roman was lying on the couch, clearly unconscious and bleeding heavily from multiple wounds. The injury of main concern was his stomach. He seemed to be bleeding the most heavily from that wound and that was where Patton was now pressing down the gauze.

Remus let out a sound of distress and fell to his knees, staring at his twin. His older brother was not supposed to get hurt! 

Deceit rushed over to Patton and was suddenly helping Patton with Roman’s wounds. “What happened?” Deceit questioned.

“The Dragon Witch, she’s never coming back.” Patton said. 

Virgil sat up, “She better not.” He waved away Logan, who was trying to get him to lay down. The anxious side walked over to Remus and gave him a quick hug. Virgil was trying to be reassuring. It worked somewhat. 

Eventually, all of the sides were surrounding Roman, staring down at his unmoving body. Suddenly, his eyes creaked open. “Did someone die or something?” Roman said, still half-asleep. 

“I would hope not.” Virgil said. 

Roman’s eyes widened and stared at everyone looking down on him. “When did I become so popular?”

“When you almost died.” Deceit said. Roman jolted in surprise suddenly realizing that Deceit and his twin were standing there as well. Roman leaned in toward Remus, arms outstretched for a hug. 

Remus leapt into the hug, tears leaking from his eyes. “I’m so glad you’re safe.” Roman closed his eyes surrounded by his best friends and (maybe) boyfriend. “I am too.”

--

Cross-posted on AO3 and Wattpad. Enjoy~

[almaasi]

reaction post typed while watching Good Omens (ALL OF IT)

my favourite novel is now my favourite mini-series and IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL

under the cut: a very long, spoilery six-episode reaction to MY NEW FAVOURITE THING EVER

--

may 31st 07:36pm nz

i posted my episode 1 reaction a couple hours ago but that got ZERO NOTES so i assume people are either avoiding spoilers or aren’t interested, which is fine, but i’m just gonna put all my reactions in one big post so anyone who IS interested doesn’t have to read 6 separate posts c:

edit june 1st 04:08am: btw i watched using a free trial on amazon prime, which i’m pretty sure is worldwide. soooo if yOU WANT TO WATCH THIS, YOU CAN, FOR FREE

--

EPISODE 1: In the Beginning

--

04:03pm

idk how much i’m gonna type, whether i’ll post a reaction to the entire thing in one post....... or how much i’ll end up watching right now

kinda want to spread it out and save it as a treat for after i’ve done some writing

but right now i wanna watch before writing

so maybe i’ll do one ep, write something, then return to this?

edit: aahhaha that didn’t happen

-

04:04pm

I’M SO EXCITED

I’VE BEEN WAITING SO LONG

well... since 2011 when i first read the book

but regardless it’S BEEN 84 YEARS

-

04:05

okay first off i did not know amazon prime did adverts at the start of their videos. so i was like SINCE WHEN WAS CHILDISH GAMBINO/DONALD GLOVER IN GOOD OMENS

and then

yeah

no

either way i thought it was a good opening

-

W A R

NING

cool cool cool cool cool

-

omg i’m used to where the netflix full-screen button is, and on amazon prime that’s the “next episode” button so i gotta be real careful

-

dear god my video quality is TERRIBLE

i.......... i might torrent this show and watch it offline

this is horrendous i can’t see a damn thing

i have never seen pixels this big

-

04:11

okay the quality calmed down after a minute

i loooove the intro, i love that it’s basically word for word from the book

i feel like i’d find it funnier if i hadn’t read the book 3 months ago

-

also? god is a woman? yes

-

04:13

is it just me or does the snek have a slightly david tennant-esque quality about it

-

i’m so happy adam and eve are black

-

04:17

omfg. aziraphale said “ineffable” and now CRAWLEY’S CHECKING HIM OUT TRYING TO SEE IF HE HAS ANY JUNK

WOW

...or y’know, looking for a flaming sword. SAME FUCKING THING.

-

also i looove how FLUFFY azi is

-

azi: “do hope i didn’t do the wrong thing”

i fucking love them both uhrgughhhuhuhughuhhh

-

04:21

small sob for cuteness

umbella wings

-

04:23

in the opening titles, crowley just stopped a spaceship and aziraphale turned it into fish

i feel like that was a douglas adams reference and i’m on board

-

04:25

the entire time i read the book, up until i saw video promos of this show, i thought “crowley” was said the same way as spn’s “crowley”, as in “crahwlee”

not “crOhwlee”

i definitely like that they’re different though

both probably named after aleister crowley tbh. all of whom are queer.

-

THOSE SWAYING HIPS

i haven’t found david tennant attractive in about 9 years but WHOOOP HELLO AGAIN

somehow attractive for entirely different reasons than before. like. my taste changed but tHEN

-

i’m on crowley’s side, taking down a cellphone network is VERY ANNOYING

-

04:35

crowley: shitshitshitshithsit

:D

i can’t wait for aziraphale’s big swear

-

04:37

i miss eating sushi

sushi was great

-

04:43

this baby delivery thing is sTRESSFUL

“aaaaurthurrrrr”

nooo

poor lady

-

04:45

“little toesie woesies”

where’s the sister mary loquacious fan club and where do i sign up

-

i’m glad they colour-coded the babies and did the playing card explanation because this part of the book always tied my brain in knots

-

05:00

this is reminding me how utterly gross england is

-

“MY POINT IS............. DOLPHINS”

YES

-

05:06

see in the book

i never once realised that the nanny was crowley in disguise

-

05:11

digging the snake tattoo sideburns

-

05:14

and yeah the short hair looks good

-

05:15

fINALLY crowley called azi “angel”

-

05:17

crowley: “oh no no don’t do your magic act, pleeease”

the magic act scene is one of my fave parts of the book <3

-

05:20

aw man they cut out the best part

i mean i get why

the kids shouted a bunch of gay slurs at aziraphale

and there were no secret service people with guns

but aw mannn

AND THEY CUT OUT THE BIT WITH THE DEAD DOVE AND CROWLEY BRINGS IT BACK TO LIFE FOR AZIRAPHALE

THAT WAS MY SINGLE FAVOURITE BIT OF THE BOOK

AND IT’S GONE

;C

-

OH WAIT

THERE’S THE DOVE

OH GOOD

-

aw man aziraphhale just brought it back himself

i liked it better in the book

they sat on the steps outside and crowley comforted azi and took the dove and fixed it for him, and then it flew off

idk i just had such a perfect image of that moment in my mind and this was..... good but not the same at all

could be gayer

-

05:27

good dog

-

05:28

crowley: *snifsnif* something’s changed

aziraphale: “oh it’s a new cologne, my barber suggeste--”

crowley: “no no i know what you smell like”

gayyyyyyyyyy <3

-

05:31

okay that’s ep 1 watched!!! i’ll watch more maybe later tonight :D

ENJOYING THIS SO FAR

not as gay as expected ........YET

needs 400% more “angel” and “dear”

--

EPISODE 2: The Book

07:42pm

pillar of salt guy: “something smells evil”

the fact crowley smells evil and yet aziraphale likes his company regardless says a lot

-

07:49

fully expected crowley to say “i didn’t fall, i sauntered vaguely downwards”

-

07:50

iiiii’m finding the narrator a little annoying

maybe it’s because i read the book so i know what’s going on

but saying “he has four items to deliver in his van. he works for this postage company and he’s making his first delivery in a formal warzone”.... idk i feel like all of those things could be shown visually? saying it rather than showing it probably saved seven seconds of airtime, but damn

-

07:56

i wonder if the narrator was a later addition to this, for new audience clarity? the script for god just seems a little stilted, idk

edit: i kind of got used to it, but it was still jarring, which i’m sure was the opposite of the intended effect

-

08:09

the saddest newt

-

08:13

she’s kind of exactly how i imagined her in the book

and definitely my fave next to aziraphale and crowley

-

08:17

i feel so bad for crowley’s plants

poor babies

-

08:19

for some reason i imagined her as a redhead. kind of more like mrs weasley

-

08:33

these wee children......... so soft.......... so smol

-

08:25

v happy with the casting for pepper

tiny downside is that we lose another redhead

-

08:29

i find the kids’ conversations hilarious because they’re the same age as harry potter when he goes to hogwarts the first time

idk if this is what eleven year olds are like in real life, but when i read the book i did feel distinctly like they spoke like eight year olds

-

08:35

crowley: “i like spooky. big spooky fan, me”

he just sounds like the tenth doctor

-

08:36

YEEE FINALLY CROWLeY DOING NICE THINGS FOR AZIRAPHALE

-

08:48

"you know, crowley, i’ve always said that deep down you really are a--”

“SHUT IT”

DON’T YOU CALL HIM NICE YOU PRETTY BASTARD

-

loquacious: “sorry to break up an intimate moment”

-

08:45

i imagined anathema’s tripod thing to be about 5 feet tall, not a cute little knee-high thing

-

08:48

freddie mercury: BIIIII CYCLE

BIIIIIIII CYCLE

yeah i was waiting for that

-

crowley: “get in, angel”

HE MURMURED

DON’T MURMUR YOUR TERMS OF ENDEARMENT noo

-

09:00

end of episode 2!!! i freaking loved aziraphale vs the book <3

-

the credits for this ep credit konnie huq as someone named pam but idk who that is? i had a crush on konnie huq as a kid when she was a presenter on “blue peter”

OH WAIT RIGHT the lady on the breakfast show on crowley’s tv. aw such a small part. hoping we’ll see her again later

edit: nope. might rewatch that part to pay more attention. obviously i didn’t even recognise her after like.. 15 years

--

EPISODE 3: Hard Times

09:05pm

brb gotta get some food

-

09:14

and now i wait for food

EPISODE THREE LET’S GO

is this the one that’s just crowley and azi’s backstory?

-

09:16

i can’t even put my finger on why but he’s getting more attractive

-

09:21

ah yes

aziraphale is eating shellfish and trying to tempt crowley

“oh... that’s your job”

i love this part of their dynamic

-

09:29

i adore when crowley makes aziraphale smile <3

-

09:43

SAUNTERED VAGUELY DOWNWARDS

YEE

-

i like seeing how crowley’s sunglasses differ throughout history

-

09:36

“if they knew i’d been... fraternising”

this is such a forbidden romance i love ittttt

-

09:49

CROWLEY SAVED THE BOOKS

and SOFT VIOLIN PLAYS

THIS IS A FUCKING LOVE STORY

k this is my favourite part of the show so far <3

-

09:50

this angel just fell in love

right in that moment

i see cartoon hearts around him

-

09:54

just had to pause for a second bc there was some broccoli in my tea :c

-

09:56

awwwwwwwwwwwwww 

he got him holy waterrrrrrr

-

UNIVERSAL ANGLE OF HETEROSEXUAL LONGING

-

definitely feeling a lot of “NOW KISS” right about now

-

09:59

LAUGHING BECAUSE THE OPENING CREDITS ARE LITERALLY HALFWAY INTO THE EPISODE

-

10:03

throughout the entire book azi just came across as the kind of person who wore glasses even though glasses were never once mentioned

I AM GLAD TO SEE GLASSES

-

10:12

i like this colour palette and the gold in their makeup

-

10:27

“we can go off together”

omg the world’s ending and crowley’s all RUN AWAY WITH MEEE

-

10:31

okay then

good eyelashes

edit: i also like how their relationship was explained with a simple tap on the wrist: hurry up, you’re on the clock, i’m a sex worker, finish your call because i’m leaving

-

10:32

episode three DONE

these eps don’t feel long enough

maybe that means the pacing is just right? who knows

i feel like i should be doing something other than watching this but..... why

--

EPISODE 4: Saturday Morning Funtime

10:48pm

aziraphale is SOFT and he’s perfect like that <3

fuck u gabriel and your body shaming

-

10:53

i want delivery guy to be okay BUT I READ THE BOOK

so............... i know he will be...... eventually

-

10:55

how did they get photographs taken in the 1600s

-

oh gabriel’s eyes ARE purple, i thought i was seeing them wrong

-

11:02

“maud i love you”

noo ho hoooo

-

11:09

a little douglas adams, definitely

BUT NO PEPPER POT DALEK

AWW

-

11:10

the season is very much jumping between summer and autumn

though i suppose that’s the point, tadfield is just perfect

-

11:12

“which the internet has begun to refer to as the kracken”

i wonder if good omens inadvertently inspired me to write The Wireless a couple of years back. wouldn’t be surprising

edit: no, couldn’t have, because the internet wasn’t much of a thing (or a thing at all?) in the book, given its publish date

-

11:20

that’s a v nice dress/top combo

gosh she’s so pretty

-

11:30

crowley: “we can run away together!!! alpha centauri!!!”

aw baby

-

crowley: “i’m going home, angel! i’m getting my stuff, and i am leaving. and when i am up in the stars, i won’t even think about you!!”

THAT WAS A V SAD BREAKUP NOOOOO

why has there not been a single “dear” yet :c

-

11:37

oh no, this part

i loved this in the book but i am NOT READY for maggots

damn you gaiman

-

11:39

he’s so cute

and so gay

-

11:42

uriel: “don’t think your boyfriend in the dark glasses will get you special treatment in hell”

he looks kinda delighted uriel called crowley his boyfriend

i would say he looks worried but this shot was used without context in the trailer and it came across as genuine joy, i actually thought he was looking at crowley

-

11:46

i thought it was a strange throne before

a spider at the centre of a web

dark halo

yeah

-

11:51

oh now she’s a redhead???

-

also i’m glad they implied newt and anathema just kissed because the sex thing was weird in the book

-

okay never mind

hmm

-

12:05

aziraphale: “oh.................ffffUCK.”

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH

-

12:07

oh no

it’s happening

oh no

i hate this part but i love what happens because of it

-

12:29am

i have eaten and now i have tea and i am back from MORE BOOKSHOP FIRE

-

EPISODE 5: The Doomsday Option

12:31

nuuuuuuuuuu

and “you’re my best friend” playing while crowley’s tryna call azi

nuuuuuu

-

“somebody killed my best friend”

jfhsdfjsdj

/sobs

-

12:36

freddie mercury: “somebody find me somebody tooo ooo looove”

edit: the narration WRECKED this. it was so dramatic and visually emotional but the voiceover completely screwed with it and it was SO UNNECESSARY.

-

12:46

crowley: “i lost my best friend”

he says, while crying, while talking to that friend

-

THE ONE BOOK HE WANTS IS THE ONE CROWLEY SAVED

THEY’RE SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL TOGETHER

-

azi wanted to share crowley’s body

and then said they had to get a wiggle on

-

12:52

they cut out the hell’s angels / lesser horsemen

i figured they would, but still a shame

-

1:54

in the book tracy’s “spirit guide” was native american but daaaaaamn that part really needed to go

now she’s irish which is... better, probably

-

01:01

ron: “SHUT. UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP”

this guy’s having the time of his life

-

01:03

he wave

-

01:05

1926 bentley; sexiest car right next to the ‘67 chevy impala

-

01:08

omg gotta translate and explain the road

-

01:13

OH NO the maggots are about to happen

they changed the placement of this but it worked for the pacing

-

OH NO

-

k well the maggots were gross but not as bad as i imagined

-

01:31

omg the dog turned upside down rather than be picked up

i wonder if that was intentional

dog: I DO NOT WANT UP

-

01:34

pfff he’s reading “american gods” by neil gaiman

-

01:44am

10/10 flaming car

-

EPISODE 6: The Very Last Day of the Rest of Their Lives

01:51am

here we go...

-

01:55

azi so happy that crowley said the dress suits him <3

-

01:57

rip bentley

-

01:59

aziraphale: “we are here to lick some serious butt!!”

crowley: “kick!! kick, aziraphale, for heaven’s sake”

-

02:06

i freaking love the parallel between the Them and the horsemen in the book

and i love that they did face shots to show the parallel

pepper = war

wensleydale = famine

brian = pollution

adam = death

the parallel is less clear for brian and wensleydale, at least in the show. was more obvious in the book. but at the same time i kind of got confused between them a lot, brian was always eating, but wensleydale was named after cheese

-

02:14

pepper: “i do not endorse everyday sexism”

/STOMPS ON WAR’S FOOT

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

-

02:25

shadwell: “anyone who wants ta get ta the hoore of babylon will have to get past me”

earlier anathema said “boyfriend”

may i point out that all the adults are paired up

shadwell & madame tracy

newt & anathema

......and....

aziraphale and crowley

-

0:28

crowley: “we are FUCKED”

these two need a holiday

-

azi: “come up with something... or.... or i’ll never talk to you again”

he knows crowley loves him aww

perfect blackmail material

-

02:32

they went from trying to kill him to being his gay angel parents real quick

-

02:35

thought they were holding hands for a second there

edit: regardless, a whole damn airfield and they’re 2cm apart

-

02:39

happy ending for the postman, hooray~

-

crowley about the bookshop, softly: “it burned down. remember? you can stay at my place”

awwWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

-

02:42

CROWLEY GOT HIS CAR BACK AND YET HE TOOK A TAXI

-

02:45

anathema: “why is your car called dick turpin?”

newt: “dick turpin is a famous highwayman. it’s called dick turpin because everywhere it goes, it holds up traffic”

i laughed

this wasn’t in the book and i always wondered

-

02:51

i wonder if holy water wouldn’t burn him because he’s too good

-

03:00

gabriel: “don’t talk to me about the greater good, sunshine, i’m the angel fucking gabriel”

really enjoying these swears

-

03:03

i thought so

-

03:30am

paused for a bit to get ready for bed

i thought it was after 4am but nope

-

“there would be other summers, but not one like this. not ever again”

that genuinely makes me emotional

i think that’s why it’s my favourite book, i can relive that summer with them

-

03:35

omg

-

OH MY GOD

WAIT

THEY

OH MY GOD

THEY WEREN’T IMMUNE, THEY JUST SWAPPED PLACES

HOLY SHIT

edit: THIS WAS NOT IN THE BOOK AND IT’S BRILLIANT AND I’M GLAD IT’S HERE

-

crowley: “let me tempt you to a spot of lunch?

azi: “~temptation accomplished~!”

THEY’RE SO STINKING CUTE

-

“just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing”

perfect

STILL NO USE OF “DEAR” THOUGH AND IT’S KILLING ME

-

that ending with the bird made me teary-eyed

-

credits: BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH AS SATAN

WOW

OKAY

AKSFJDSF /snorts

-

the end credits and the song i just wanna bawl my eyes out

i loved this so much and i’m so glad it was GOOD

i loved that they added so many people of colour. in the book i imagined crowley played by alexander siddig (star trek: deep space 9 era) but i guess david tennant makes a pretty good crowley too

i’m trying not to be upset that my favourite scene with the dove and aziraphale’s affectionate use of “dear” was taken out

but 

this was damn good regardless. even gayer in places than in the book

-

this nightingale song is my new favourite song

i never got the reference before

“and as we kissed and said goodnight, an nightingale sang in berkeley square:

GAY

SO GAY

i love

-

the end of the credits “For Terry”

ACTUAL OUT LOUD SOBBING

TERRY YOU WOULD’VE LOVED THIS

NEIL DID YOU PROUD

-

oh this was so beautiful

i’m gonna watch it again with my family probably within the week. i’m so emotionally tender now

azIRAPHALE WAS SO FLUFFY AND CROWLEY WAS SO NICE ABOUT THE BOOKS

ugh i love them more than ever

anathema...... i don’t know if i relate to her, want to be her, look up to her, want her to mentor me, live with her, or find her attractive. maybe all of the above. but she was freaking PERFECT. PE R F E CT 

the casting was so... just right. thank you casting people for anathema.

like... i also didn’t mind the newt/anathema thing so much now. it was hard to tell in the book how much of a relationship they had after, but that smile she gave while lying in bed the morning after, that worked, it said a lot. and i like that it was her choice to burn the prophecy sequel rather than newt’s suggestion

gabriel was amusing. like.. i’m glad he wasn’t in the book. but he was great here. also really like michael and uriel. uriel was so damn beautiful.

i also would really have liked to see a mention of the fact crowley and aziraphale are both agender and potentially asexual. not even a hint of it here. buuuuuut it guess i know from the book. so.

my favourite episode was of course episode 3 with crowley and aziraphale’s 6000 year backstory. especially the 1940s bit where crowley saved the books <3

this show was was less confusing than the book too. ugh it was done so well

OH

we didn’t see where the soldier guy went when aziraphale zapped him away!!! in the book he reappeared safely back home and went out to see his family. to be fair i don’t know whether he died and went to heaven, but it was a nice thing to happen

and they took out the Them’s bully/rival gang, who was led by the third baby from the baby swap, and who won awards for his tropical fish. at least that’s what i remember. which meant the parallel about heaven/hell being rival gangs was lost here. but the parallel between the horsemen and the them was stronger than ever and i loved that.

look, i mean, 10 out of 10, EASY.

favourite thing? yes. yes, absolutely.

--

shoutout to the one time i wrote a Good Omens/Destiel crossover fic The Angel Cake Challenge

IT’S 04:02am THIS TOOK ME 12 HOURS

04:40am AND FORTY MINUTES TO EDIT

congrats if you made it to the end of this!!! thank you for reading <3 AND GO WATCH THE SHOW IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY

[writersrealmbts]

Protect Them-Hybrid AU: Part 6

Description: Safe with Me Sequel! You work two days a week teaching kids the joys of learning and reading, your favorites being the triplets. When the triplet’s adopted older brother is the one that starts picking them up, you’re not sure what life just handed you but you’re pretty sure it’s just another little slice of heaven. Hoseok x Reader.

Warnings: I don’t even know, if you do, let me know and I’ll change the warnings.

Posted: 02/09/2019

Tags: Hybrid!au, hybrid!Hoseok, Safe With Me Sequel

Angst with fluffs: 3,385 words

A/N: So, I think there will only be ten parts to this. I’m posting this early because starting tomorrow I’m going to be having a hell of a week. I have two exams, and lots of homework and I’m going to try and focus on getting the work done instead of writing (i’ll fail, I know I’ll fail). Anyway, have this piece of writing that one fifty of you seem to care about!

“I see you,” You said, smiling to yourself. “No you can’t,” Was the squeaky response Minsu gave you as he froze, halfway to the couch where you sat. “You’re wearing a red shirt,” You told him, looking at him. He was still blurry, and it was mostly your right eye that could see him. Your left eye wasn’t healing as well, which made sense since that was the side you were hit from. The doctors said you might not get full-vision back, that the hazy sight you had was probably the best you would get from that eye. Your right eye healed more every day, and your sight got better and better. “I couldn’t throw a ball to you, but I can definitely see where you are.” He ran over, slamming his body into the couch. “Yay! And your leg?” “Much better, your brother went to adjust my crutches so I can start getting around on my own.” You ruffled his hair, then patted the seat next to you. You were doing well in physical therapy, building your strength up quickly, though your therapist said you should see someone about your mental health through all of this. You had looked at her and shook your head, saying, “My mental problems come in the form of a man. I don’t think a doctor can help with that.” She hadn’t said a word about it since. Hoseok didn’t get any less physically affectionate either. Actually, he seemed to show it more the more you tried to pull away and become more independent. It was very rude of him to make you feel like everything was wrong with the world if he didn’t kiss the top of your head whenever he carried you down the stairs. Or that you might die if he didn’t stroke your hair, or hug you. And then to be completely oblivious to the effect he had on you… It was almost unforgivable… Almost. Kaemon came squealing through, objecting to the bath he had to take because he and Nari had gotten into the mud. Jin was laughing as he gave chase. “Monnie!” There was a screech of laughter as Kaemon was caught. “Got ya!” Jin laughed. “Oh, your eomma’s going to scrub you good for getting mud all over the floor.” “No!” Kaemon giggled happily, and you could just make out the wiggly mass that was him in Jin’s arms as they passed by again. “Oh, yes, she’ll even get your ears and tail!” “No!” You laughed along with the Minsu at his brother’s misfortune. It was so comfortable. It was strange, feeling like life had always been like this. Like you had always lived with them. The only thing that felt new, different, and absolutely insane was— “Here are your crutches,” Hoseok said, setting them against the table beside the couch. He then sat right next to you, stroking your hair once before staring at his phone. Minsu was wiggling and humming the theme song of the cartoon he had watched that morning since he wasn’t allowed to go outside with the mild fever he had. Emphasis on mild, given how he didn’t seem to even feel sick. But he’d been a couple degrees too warm, and Emma had noticed before either of the hybrids, which was impressive. “You want to try walking around the yard? Get some fresh air?” Hoseok asked suddenly. “Minsu’s fever is gone, so Emma said he could go outside and there’s a nice spot where we could eat lunch.” Minsu was still as stone as he waited for your response. You smiled. “Might be hard with crutches, but I’m up to the challenge. Minsu just has to promise not to get covered in mud.”

“YES!” He screeched, off the couch and running to get his shoes. Hoseok chuckled, getting up and helping you stand, handing you your crutches. “I thought one kid would be easier than all three.” “Good thinking,” You smiled, pushing thoughts of how carefully he cared for you to the back of your mind. It meant nothing. You meant nothing to him. “You okay? You’ve got that frown again. You get that now and then, your thoughts racing again?” He asked, cupping your face in one of his hands. His lovely, wonderful hand. The worry in his voice tore at your heart again, and you didn’t know there was even a piece of your heart left to tear. You thought it’d become confetti already. “Just a lot on my mind. The more I improve, the more I need to get ready to do. Find an apartment, find a job since they aren’t rebuilding the library…” You adjusted your grip, looking down and away from his hand. You couldn’t bear to have him touching you for a moment longer. He hummed softly. “Did I do something wrong?” You tensed up. “Why would you think that?” “You’ll look at everyone but me. You only frown around me, and that…” He sighed. “Your scent changes.” You scrunched up your nose. “My scent?” “It’s normally…when you’re happy and content…you smell like fresh-baked bread, warm and good. But when you get sad, or upset, you smell like bread dough, a little yeasty.” You cringed. “Really?” “It’s not a bad smell,” He quickly said. You cleared your throat. “A little yeasty?” “Okay…it’s actually a nice smell, just different from your normal one. It’s the precursor to deliciousness and home. I just…I’m worried about you. You seem uncomfortable around me. Did I do something wrong?” His voice sounded smaller than normal. “No,” You answered firmly. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He didn’t seem to like your answer, though. “Then what’s wrong?” “Hobi! Help me with my shoelaces!” Minsu came running in, then seemed to freeze. “What’s wrong, y/n?” Great. So all of them knew that you smelled doughy when you were upset. Fantastic. “Nothing, my leg just hurt for a moment. Let Hoseok help you with your shoes and lets get outside. I’m dying for some fresh air.” You smiled toward the kid. Thankfully, it was enough to distract Hoseok from questioning you any further. Today anyway. ——— You sighed and scrolled through the listings. “Everything open is being snatched up as quickly as it’s put on the market.” “Emma was serious when she said she’d talk to someone about reserving you an apartment the moment one of the buildings they’re building is finished,” Hoseok replied from the kitchen. “I know, but without a job, I don’t even know what I’ll be able to afford as far as rent goes.” “And nobody is hiring right now with the rebuild. I know. It’s time to turn the computer off, your eye doctor said you couldn’t look at the screen for more than two hours at a time and no more than six hours in a day.” He came over and closed the window as you tried to rebel, then shut the laptop. “I thought we could go for a walk with the kids. They need the exercise and fresh air and you could use a distraction.” He handed you your glasses, and the single crutch you still needed. Two weeks had done wonders for your body and your leg was almost completely healed. Next week you started therapy to build the muscle back up in it so you could actually put weight on it. You sighed and nodded. Twenty minutes later the two of you were calling to the kids not to go to far ahead on the country road. It was a nice day, and they were excited. Minsu was bouncing all over the place, and Kaemon kept stopping to turn his face and arms into the sun, while Nari skipped from wildflower to wildflower, collecting a bouquet for her mom. Hoseok was chuckling, monitoring the kids, but staying beside you. “Minsu, come back. I hear a car coming.” Nari and Kaemon came running back with their brother. You looked at Hoseok. He was glancing behind you all, then he looked forward suddenly. “Kids, let’s play a game of hide and seek. Go hide in the bushes.” They quickly did as they were told, hiding in the bushes. Hoseok muttered, “Sorry.” Then he gently pulled you into his arms, shoving your crutch into the long grasses and walking alongside you like the two of you were a couple. A van came, slowing down as it passed by you two. Then it drove off. The other car, coming from the other direction stopped and a man got out. “Hoseok, where are the kids?” “Micheal, they’re hiding. Two cars on this road at once?” “Nari, Minsu, Kaemon,” Micheal called. “Come get in the car.” They all came out of the bushes and Nari grabbed your crutch. “What’s going on?” You asked. It was weird. Being suspicious of vehicles on the road, suddenly telling them to get into the car… “We’re not exactly popular. There’s an organization that’s doing their best to undermine everything we’ve done. Take my car and drive. Don’t tell me where you’re going, just take the kids, take y/n, and get out of town. Emma, Jin, Becca and Timothy are safe. I’ve already talked to Namjoon, Yoongi, and Taehyung but I can’t get hold of Jungkook or Jimin.” “We’ll go there first,” Hoseok said, guiding you to the passenger’s seat. “I’ll call when we get there and you can tell me what really happened.” You closed the door and waited, hearing the three get buckled into the backseat and caught Micheal saying he’d get the car from the house and not to worry. Then Hoseok was driving at what looked like a pretty high speed. “Hobi-hyung? Where are we going?” “We’re going to go visit Jimin-ah and Jungkook-ah,” Hoseok replied, his tone cheerful, but a glance toward the backseat told you that the kids new that something was wrong. “We’ll see Ariel too, I’m sure.” “Ariel-unnie?!” Nari perked up, tail thumping lightly against her carseat. “Yup.” She bounced a little in her seat. “I love Ariel-unnie!” You felt like you couldn’t breath. “Who’s Ariel?” “Jimin’s fiancée. They’re getting married in October,” Hoseok answered easily, as if it wasn’t a big deal, unaware that he was taking away a fear of meeting someone that he cared about. Until you remembered that he wouldn’t introduce the kids to a girlfriend unless he planned on keeping her in his life. He turned on the stereo, and there was a kids CD in the player that the kids happily sang along with. The drive was way too long. You were left to interact with Hoseok after the CD ended and the kids were asleep. The man was rude. Who just sits that casually being attractive and irresistible and outshining the sun? How dare he invade your thoughts. How dare he act like he doesn’t know what he’s doing to you. Driving, and acting all domestic and charming. And talking with him was so easy as long as you avoided the topic of romance. You guys talked about books, shows, movies, school, work, the triplets, kids in general, politics (usually a topic you avoided), and family. You told him about your sister, your parents, the hybrids that actually raised you. You told him about the time surrounding your father’s murder. Including turning in your mother when you found out that she had killed him. “She threatened you too? Jeesh, what happened?” “Pete tackled her and told me to go to the police. The hybrid rights were instituted right before the end of the trial, which allowed me to be put in Pete and Myka’s custody until I graduated high-school. They stuck around until I turned twenty, then started traveling. They were talking about settling down and having kids in their last letter. My sister wanted nothing to do with me when I inherited and she didn’t. Dad always told me that she wouldn’t inherit anything because she would waste it on her many addictions.” You sighed. “Family is complicated.” “And your friends?” “I’m guessing you mean besides Emma? I’ve got a couple acquaintances, but none that I talk to regularly. I get coffee with one friend from college about twice a year. She was always floating in and out with her boyfriends anyways. And when I got a job that I loved…well, I didn’t really think about friends. I was happy. And then it all blew away like dust in the wind.” You snorted in disbelief at how quickly everything you had worked toward was blown away. He was quiet, glancing at you. “We’re almost there.” “You were ready for things to go wrong. Back there, you had the kids hide in the bushes because you heard two cars coming from different directions.” He gripped the steering wheel tighter for a moment. “Emma and Micheal have been targets for people against hybrid rights since…I don’t know. Right about the time she adopted me. People set the house on fire, and another group broke down the front door to try and attack us after Emma had been kidnapped…I guess we’ve just never let our guard down. Micheal and Becca are still active advocates and it doesn’t take much to know that Emma is the motivation behind Micheal’s apparent madness. All you have to do is type Micheal’s name in and her name pops up right alongside it. It’s just…automatic to prioritize the kids’ safety, you know?” “Protect them, yeah. So that they never face what you did,” You said, facing the road. He was just a blue of color on your left. “What any of us did, yeah,” He replied softly. “Jin was basically born into labor, he worked on a farm from the moment he could walk. He rescued Jungkook and Jimin himself, hid them and nursed them back to health. Both physically and mentally. We don’t expect real trouble, but we don’t want to risk them ever falling into the hands of someone who would put them through any sort of pain.” He pulled into the driveway of an apartment building. You looked up at the building, then back at the kids. “Kids, wake up.” Hoseok reached back, and shook Minsu. “We here?” You got out of the car, and leaned against it for a moment before limping back to the back door and opening it to unbuckle Nari. She climbed out, looking up at the building, but staying close to you. Hoseok passed you your crutch over the top of the car. “Come on, we’re going to go see Jungkook and Jimin.” There was a tilt to his head and you could pretty much see him worrying about them not having any clothes, or their stuffed animals, and then also whether or not the two brothers would be home. You gave him a smile, nodding slightly. “Stick close to us, kiddos.” “Yes, noona,” Kaemon said, sleepy still and holding onto Hoseok’s pants as you all slowly made your way into the apartment building. Hoseok guided you all up stairs, sticking close to you to make sure you didn’t have any struggles on the stairs. The kids were pouting after the first two floors. “Just one more floor, babes,” Hoseok said, stooping to kiss the top of Nari’s head. Kaemon growled softly, arms going up. Hoseok picked him up without question, nudging the other two into moving again. You we’re getting tired as well, leaning more heavily on the crutch. When finally you all reached the right floor and the door of the apartment, you were relieved. Hoseok knocked, loudly. There was some noise and then the door swung-open to reveal a bunny-hybrid, with round eyes that got huge with surprise. “Hobi?” He quickly grinned to greet the triplets, scooping up both Nari and Minsu and squeezing them. “Hey, guys! I’m so happy to see you!” They nuzzled into his neck, wrapping tightly around him and each other. They were pouting, whimpering, and just generally acting all wounded. He kissed both of their heads, looking at Hoseok with an unspoken question. “Come on in.” He looked at you, but seemed to decide he’d find out in due time. “Sorry to just drop in on you, but where the hell is your phone?” Hoseok asked, a slight growl in his voice. Jungkook glanced back, then set the kids on the couch. “My room. Why?” “Micheal tried calling you earlier, and I’m sure Emma and Jin have tried to as well. Where’s Jimin?” “He was having lunch with Ariel and her parents, but he dropped his phone yesterday and it died. I was supposed to tell Emma, but I forgot because I have an exam tomorrow and I’ve been studying like crazy…” Jungkook gestured morosely to the mess of textbooks and papers. “I’m home!” Another man called out behind you, then there was an excited squeak. “Hobi, Monnie, Minnie, Nari!” He threw his arms around Hoseok and Kaemon, grinning so brightly that his eyes disappeared. “Jimin!” Minsu cried out happily. Jimin released a chuckling Hoseok to hop over the back of the couch and squish the two kids there into his embrace. “Hi, munchkins!” They were talking over each other, pouting and getting all the sympathy and attention they thought they needed after such a stressful day. Hoseok deposited a whining Kaemon into the mix, then seemed to send a text before gently touching your arm, guiding you to the couch. “It’s okay. We’re safe here.” You let him guide you to a seat on the second couch, where he fussed over you for a second, even going so far as to tuck his head into your neck and breath in deeply. “I want to cuddle y/n!” Kaemon whined and scrambled up onto the couch you were sitting on. You smiled and took him into your arms, suppressing a laugh when Hoseok was shoved from the crook of your neck so that Kae could nuzzle into you. You cuddled him close, secretly grateful that he had shoved Hoseok away from you because you didn’t know how to act around him, or what to think of his actions. But all too soon, Kae was snoring into your shoulder and the other two were looking equally drowsy cuddled up with Jimin. “Everyone is okay then?” Jimin asked casually. Hoseok nodded, stroking Kae’s hair. “Yeah. There was just a small threat, I think. Micheal found us and told us to get out of town and since neither of you were answering we knew we had to check here. Oh, this is y/n, by the way.” “I figured,” Jimin said, giving you a friendly smile. Jungkook nodded slightly. “Why didn’t you bring any of their stuff? You know Kae’s going to freak out without his bear.” “We were out for a walk and Micheal seemed to think us getting out of there was pretty urgent.” Hoseok sighed. “Can we put them on your bed, Kook?” “Better put them on mine, I have more blankets and we can make a blanket den for them like Jin does on rainy days,” Jimin said before Jungkook could answer. He picked up Minsu, while Jungkook picked up Nari. You let Hoseok take Kaemon, then rubbed your eyes behind your glasses. They were sore, an all too common occurrence since the accident. You just wanted to be well again so you could get away from Hoseok and end your torment. “Hey, you okay?” Jungkook’s voice was soft, and you felt the couch dip as he sat beside you. “Yeah, my eyes are just sore.” You kept your answer as simple as possible to avoid detection. “I meant because of what Hobi did earlier, I saw the look on your face,” He murmured. “You can tell him not to do that, you know.” You pressed your lips together and looked at him before looking away. “Oh…oh.” He shifted so he was facing toward the hallway as well. “Um…y/n…about Hobi…” “Hey, Kook, Nari’s asking for you,” Hoseok said, poking his head in. “Why were you two talking about me?” “I was just going to tell her about how you’re scared of everything,” Jungkook said with a grin. “Brat.” Thank God for it.

Masterlist.   Part 5.  Part 7.   Masterpost.

Tagged: @jiminslye

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: The Star Wars Holiday Special

Hi, Everyone, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where Today We Are Doing The Last Review Of This Year's Yultide Reviews...

All Right, Let's Get This Over With...The Star Wars Holiday Special...

Released 1 Year After The Success Of A New Hope, This Special Sees Wookie Chewbacca, Racing Home To Kashyyk On Board The Millennium Falcon With Han Solo So He Can Celebrate The Wookie Holiday, Life Day With His Family...

So, What Are We Waiting For Let's Dive Into The Star Wars Holiday Special...

The Special Starts On-Board The Millenium Falcon, As Han Solo (Played By Harrison Ford) Attempts To Get Chewbacca Home To Kashyyk For The Annual Wookie Holiday Known As Life Day But Unfortunately They're Been Chased By 2 Imperial Star Destroyers, Which Except For The Stuff In The Cockpit Of The Falcon With Ford And Chewbacca, Is Just Stock Footage From A New Hope...

Going To Hyperspace, We Get The Star Wars Theme And Our Credits Before We're Transported To Chewbacca's Home On Kashyyk Where We Meet Chewbacca's Wife, Malla, His Father, Itchy And His Son, Lumpy And From There It's Downward Spiral Down The Crapper As From Then Forward We Get Nothing But Wookie Talk With

No Subtitles!...

Now, While It Bothers Some People, It Doesn't Bother Me As Much Because My Family Likes Chewbacca, He's My Mom's Favorite Character And While He's Not Mine, I Don't Mind Him As Much So The Wookie Roars In This Special Isn't As Annoying To Me And My Family As It Is For Everyone Else...

Now I Know What Your Starting To Think That This Is Going To Be A Repeat Of My Haunted Mansion Review Where Thought That While Some Things Were Bad In The Film It Wasn't A Completely Horrible Movie Like Most Haunted Mansion Fanatics Would Make People Believe Well, Believe Me When I Say That It's Not Going To Be Like That It's Just That That Particular Thing Doesn't Bother Me As Much As Everyone Else...

But What Does Bother Me However, Is That Through These Characters We Get Very Little Of A Narrative Or A Story Out Of Them And Instead We Have To Revolve Around The Side Characters (Like The Guy Art Carney Plays, Luke, R2, Leia, 3PO, Han And Vader) To Tell The Story For Us When Really It's Supposed To Be About Chewbacca And His Family And Nothing And Nobody Else...

Anyway As We Watch Chewbacca's Family, We See That They're Like Most Families Back Then With Grandpa Itchy Making Models, Son Lumpy Playing With His Toys And Mom Malla Working In The Kitchen To Make Dinner For Life Day...

But When Malla Asks Lumpy To Take Out The Trash, He Goes For A Wookie Cookie (I Guess) But (Like All Moms Back Then) Malla Tells Lumpy To Put It Back Or Else He'll Ruin His Dinner Only For Lumpy To Take It Anyway...

Taking Out The Trash After Swiping The Wookie Cookie, Lumpy Decides To Do A Balancing Act Before Our Very Eyes Before Cutting Back To The Inside Of The House...

It's Like Why Did We Stick On That For A Few Minutes?...

Looking At A Picture Of Chewbacca It's Obvious That Malla Misses Her Husband, But With Itchy Knowing That His Son Will Be Here Soon, He Asks Malla To Return To The Kitchen To Work On Dinner...

Attempting To Keep Lumpy Distracted, Itchy Gives Lumpy A Holodisk To Watch On The Space Chess Board (I Say That As It Looks Like The Chess Board That's On-Board The Millennium Falcon) Which Shows...I Don't Know What...It Looks Like A Mix Of Dancing And Gymnastics...

Asking For Lumpy To Watch Dishes After Watching That, Still Worried About Chewbacca, Malla Checks For Spaceships In The Area Only For Her To Find None, This Leads Her To Contact Luke Skywalker And R2-D2 Who Are Working On A Part For Luke's X-Wing...

Asking Luke About Chewbacca, He Tells Malla That Him And Han Left On Schedule And If They're Not There Now Then They're Way Overdue And May Be In Trouble. But Luke Tells Them Not To Worry As It Just May Be Taking Them A Little Bit Longer To Get There As R2 Causes The Part To Burst With Heat Enough To Damage Luke's Face Which Forced Him To Get Plastic Surgery So He Would Look Like This In The Sequel...

Hey, It's A Better Story Than What They Came Up With For Empire...

But Still Worried About Chewbacca, Malla Calls The Owner Of The Trading Post On Kashyyk, Saun Dann Played By Art Carney Who Is Busy Dealing With An Imperial Officer In His Store But Tells Her In His Own Way That Chewie Is 4 Planets Away With Han And It's Going To Take A Few For Them To Get There...

Meanwhile On Board A Star Destroyer, We See Darth Vader Talking With An Officer, Saying That He Wants Those Rebels Found Even If They Have To Search Every House In The System...

Back At The Chewbacca Household, Malla Continues Working On Dinner With The Help Of A Gourmet Cooking Show Hosted By A 4 Armed Cook, Played By Harvey Korman Which Is Just One Of The Annoying Skits That I Don't Like In This Special...

Meanwhile In Outer Space, Han And Chewie Are Now Dealing With Tie Fighters After Losing The 2 Star Destroyers (Including The One That Vader Was On)

But Back On Kashyyk, An Imperial Announcement Appears Telling Everyone That The Empire Has Declared Martial Law On The Planet, With A Blockade Guarding It And That Until Further Notice, No Ships Are Allowed To Land Or Take Off Until Further Notice...

Hearing A Knock On The Door, Malla And Her Family Worry That It Maybe Stormtroopers But Instead It's Saun Dann, With A Proton Pack For The Mine Evaporator (Or For Ghostbusting, Whichever) Noticing Their Sad Faces Because Of The Announcement, Saun Tells Chewie's Family Not To Worry For If He Got Through Imperial Stormtroopers Than Chewie Might Be Able To Too...

Giving Chewie's Family Life Day Gifts, Malla Gets A Machine We'll See Later, Lumpy, A Transmitter That Will Give Us Nothing But Boredom Later And Itchy, A...Well, It's Supposed To Be A Virtual Reality Machine But Really It's Nothing But A Big Fat Porn Box!

And It's In This Porn Box, We Meet Diahann Carroll Who Sings A Song In This World Of Virtual Reality...

But After That Mind Sticking Scene, Princess Leia And C-3PO Call Malla To Talk With Han And Chewie But Malla (Through 3PO's Translation) Tells Them That They're Not There...

Asking If Malla Is Alone, Malls Tells Them That She Is Not And Brings Saun Dann To The Viewing Screen To Talk With Leia Who Asks Saun To Stay With Them Until Chewie Gets There To Which He Agrees...

Back In Outer Space, Han And Chewie Arrive On Kashyyk, Only To Notice Imperial Ships Around Which Forces Han To Land On The Far Side Of Kashyyk...

Hearing What Sounds Like The Millenium Falcon, Lumpy Opens The Door To Discover, Stormtroopers!...

And A Few Imperial Troops Who Are Looking For Han And Chewie And Search The Premises...

Coming Across The Device, Saun Got Malla For Life Day, Saun Turns It On For One Of The Imperial Troops To See Only To Discover...Jefferson Starship!...

After That Pointless Scene, Saun Dann Is Forced To Leave By The Imperial Troops As He Has No Purpose To Be There. With The Troops Searching Upstairs, Lumpy Watches A Cartoon While They Do...

This Cartoon Actually Is The First Appearance Of The Bounty Hunter Boba Fett...

Done Searching Upstairs, Lumpy Goes Upstairs To Find Not Just His Room But All Of His Toys Destroyed So, He Decides To Get Rid Of The Imperial Troops By Using His New Transmitter But Unfortunately He Has To Put It Together So We Unfortunately Have To Sit Through An Instructional Video On How To Put It Together With A Malfunctioning Emorphient Being (Played Again By Harvey Korman) Giving The Instructions...

And How Do I Feel About This Scene? Well, I Think The Nostalgia Critic Said My Opinion Exactly...

(Start At 15:16, End At 15:48)

If By Any Chance You Get Your Brain Unzombified After Watching That Skit, We Get Another Skit Showing Us Life On Tatooine, Which Sends Us To The Cantina Where We Meet The Owner, Ackmina (Played By Bea Arthur) Who Is Approached By An Alien Named Krelman (Played By Guess Who, Harvey Korman) Who Has A Crush On Her Over Something That She Said To Him That He Misunderstood...

But When An Imperial Announcement Stating That Until Further Notice There Is To Be A Nightly Curfew On Tatooine, Ackmina Has No Choice To Close The Bar But Not Before Offering One Last Round To Her Patrons, Which Leads Into A Song...

(End At 4:46)

Now What Do I Think About This Skit? I Think It's One Of The Best (And Only) Good Skit In This Special And If There Was A Reason To See This Abomination Of A Special, It Would Be For This Skit...

But Moving On, Lumpy Activates His Transmitter To Lead The Imperial Troops Away But He Is Caught By One Of The Stormtroopers Who Stays Behind Because Of Orders From One Of The Imperial Soliders And Destroys The Transmitter. Chasing Lumpy, The Stormtrooper Is Confronted By Chewbacca And Han Who Disarms The Stormtrooper Of His Weapon So Han Can Make The Trooper Fall Off Of The House Apparently...

With Everything All Right Again, Han Can't Stay As He's Got To Get Back To The Falcon Before Someone Stumbles Across It...

(Harrison Ford) Okay, I Gotta Go Somebody's Waving A Check For Me Outside, Bye...

After Han Leaves, Saun Dann Returns Again To Tell Chewbacca And His Family Not To Worry About Imperial Soliders As They Left, However Another Announcement Comes Over The Tv Stating That The Empire Is Looking For The Stormtrooper Who The Imperial Soliders Left Behind But It's Quickly Taken Care Of By Saun Dann Who Tells The Empire That After The Imperial Soliders Left The Trooper Behind He Stole Food From Chewie's Family And Robbed Saun Dann Blind Before Running Off...

Telling Them To Have A Good Life Day And...

Saun Dann Leaves, As We See Chewbacca And His Family Start Their Life Day Celebrations By Grabbing Balls Of Light Which Place Them In Red Choir Outfits Which Somehow Make Them And Other Wookies Walk Through Space Into A Bright Sun Or Something? I Don't Know What's Going On Here But Somehow They All End Up In Front Of A Big Tree Which Is Supposed To Be The Tree Of Life, I Guess...

But I Surely Don't Know What George Lucas Or Whoever Wrote This Was Smoking But That Defiantly Does Not Look Like The Tree Of Life At Disney's Animal Kingdom...

Reunited With His Friends, R2-D2, C-3PO, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker And Han Solo, Princess Leia Gives A Speech...

(Start At 1:03,End At 3:03)

After That We Get Some Footage From A New Hope, Including Scenes With Alec Guinesss (Who Thanks His Lucky Stars He Wasn't In This Special) And We See Chewie And His Family Sitting Down For Life Day Dinner As Our Special Ends...

And That's The Star Wars Holiday Special And Yeah, It's Horrible...

I'm Serious, Folks It's Bad And The People We Can Blame For That Are Definitely Harvey Korman And Diahann Carroll Otherwise I Didn't Mind The Stuff With The Original Cast, Art Carney Wasn't Bad, The Bea Arthur Skit Was One Of The Highlights (Despite Harvey Korman Being In It) And The Chewbacca's Family (Despite Not Understanding Them) Weren't Abysmal And Didn't Bother Me As Much As Everyone Else Because I'm Used To Wookie Sounds. If You Must Watch It, Watch It For The Bea Arthur Cantina Scene Otherwise This Is One To Skip...

Well, With Christmas Now Behind Us, It Means Back To Reviewing As Usual And What A Way To Come Back Then To Look At Something I've Been Dying To Talk About, Till Then, This Is Duke, Saying Have A Happy New Year And See You In January...

Coming In January...

The Marvel Cinematic Universe!

[alexswak]

From Castlevania to Boruto: Spencer Wan Interview

I myself had all sorts of questions after watching Castlevania, and seeing that Spencer Wan was so active on Twitter I thought I might try asking him, what resulted in a long interview. The scene he is best known for is the abstract black-lines-only part of the opening, but he had remarkable participations in many other known projects despite his young age. Other than Castlevania, where he animated, AD’ed and directed episodes even, he also worked on Boruto and Invader Zim among others. My notes are in bold. Conducted on behalf of AnimeTherapy and originally posted on their website.

 First tell me a bit about yourself and how you started with animation.

Spencer: You know, that might be the only question I wasn’t prepared to answer. I’m not great at talking about myself. Okay, I’m 25 years old and I’m from a small town in the Deep South. I got into animation after seeing Norio Matsumoto’s work on Naruto. I used to watch it with my friends in high school and I’d never seen anything like it before.  I’d intended to major in illustration when I got into college, but I ended up swapping to animation at the last second because I couldn’t get his work out of my head. I thought maybe I could learn how to make animation like that at school.

Where did you start your professional career and how?

Spencer: So after I dropped out of school I spent a year sort of just wandering around and doing very little with my life. I was having a hard time finding any sort of work, let alone artistic work. I ended up working in a tire shop for a while, actually. Dana Terrace was the one who dragged me out of that. She’s the creator of the show I’m working on now(The Owl House). I’d helped her with one of her student films when we were in school, and she was doing way better than me as a professional artist. She gave me a sort of a pep talk and told me about this animation studio called Animation Domination High Def that was looking for animators.

It's worth mentioning that there aren't very many studios in the United States that hire traditional(hand-drawn) animators anymore. We were even told in school not to pursue traditional animation as a career because those jobs didn't exist. Anyway, I applied the next day, they had me do an animation test, and few weeks later I moved across the country to work for them.

The work I did there was very different from the work people expect from me now. It was mostly parody cartoons, and we had to animate 2-3 scenes a day so it was hard to make anything look very good. It was a difficult job, and it wasn't what I wanted to be doing with animation, but it taught me how to draw very fast.

An interesting backstory, really. So you stuck with traditional animation because you wanted to create something like what Matsumoto makes?

Spencer: That's how I started anyway, but he was just my first exposure to this sort of animation. When I got older I came across the work of Yutaka Nakamura, Mitsuo Iso, Toshiyuki Inoue, etc. They're all incredible in different ways, but I could feel that they were also drawing on something similar. There's a sort of feeling I used to get looking at the work of a really talented Japanese animator, and I really wanted my work to illicit that same feeling.

It would've been a lot easier to change tracks to storyboarding or design. I had enough technical skill to do it, and there were many more opportunities available, but I stuck with traditional animation because I was chasing that feeling. I knew I couldn't be satisfied as an artist until I understood it.

Alright, now to more specific stuff. How did you get involved in Castlevania?

Spencer: Well after working at ADHD, I ended up moving away from LA because I couldn't find anyone who wanted to hire me for animation. I went back to my hometown and spent a year freelancing for scraps. I actually tried to go to Japan for work at one point, but my visa was rejected because I'm a college dropout. It was around this time that Sam(Samuel Deats), the future director of Castlevania, had been emailing me to try to get me to work for Powerhouse. Actually, I rejected him the first time and tried to get my visa through again…

Obviously that didn't work out, so I told Sam I'd changed my mind and I moved to Texas to work for Powerhouse. He'd been telling me the whole time about this awesome secret project the studio might acquire soon. I completely wrote him off because as a freelancer you hear that sort of thing all the time and it's never as good as it sounds. That project was Castlevania. It ended up getting greenlit after I'd been working at the studio for a couple months. Sam plucked me off the animation team to work on it and I started storyboarding on the first episode. It was actually my first time storyboarding, so naturally I was given the scene where the crowd gets attacked by an army of creatures in an elaborate gothic city.

I see. Then can you give me a quick overview of the workflow the staff followed while working on Castlevania? From finished storyboards to finished scenes. I'm interested in the workflow you followed since Castlevania is obviously not your run-of-the-mill project.

Spencer: *laughs* Well in season one it was a constantly changing process. Powerhouse had never handled a TV show before, and so we were sort of creating the process as the show went on. We didn't even manage to standardize our storyboarding process until episode 4. Our background team doubled as our incidental and prop design team, with one of the background artists serving as a part time storyboarder. Sam was the director, but he was also storyboarding and designing all the main characters. His brother Adam, who's meant to be supervising compositor, became our editor. It was all over the place, but it allowed for a lot of experimentation. That's how I came to animate on the show instead of just storyboarding.

I'm getting kind of off topic though- the way it would usually work is that we'd receive an approved script and we'd have a few weeks to storyboard it. We didn't have any revisionists working with us, so if there was a problem, we'd address it ourselves and then Adam would cut together an animatic and add sound. It's worth mentioning that we didn't have any voice acting to work with in season 1, so we sort of had to guess at how the actors would read their lines.

After the animatic was approved we would ship it along with the designs and key backgrounds to MUA Film, our outsourcing studio in Korea. And then in some specific instances we would leave a note telling them to exclude a sequence, because Sam or I had planned to animate it ourselves. After storyboarding was done I jumped right onto animation. We were working with a pencil and paper animation studio, so even though I work digitally, I would have to write x-sheets(equivalent to time sheets in anime) for my work as if I'd drawn it on paper. At some point in the process we decided we wanted to do a much more specific compositing job on the show, and so we had the studio ship us back their cleaned and colored animation, and our in house compositing team would polish it with a mountain of after effects work. A lot of why the show looks so cinematic is because of them.

So I take it this is how it went with the average scene. But your scene in the OP, that got a lot of attention, is clearly exceptional. Can you tell me more about how you came up with this style and scene? Personally I have to admit, it’s one of the best and most striking animation pieces I have seen in a while.

Spencer: Thanks! We really slaved over that opening. It actually wasn't meant to exist- there was no time or budget set aside for it. Sam had done the storyboards for it in his free time and pitched them to the producers. They said we could do it if we could somehow find time for it. I think Sam originally intended to handle the entire thing himself, but when the time came to animate it, I was the only one available. So Sam pulled me into his office and showed me the storyboards, specifically the part at the end. He said something to the effect of, "I know I want this to look like fire. You can do it in whatever style you come up with, as long as it's done quickly." Never in my career had someone put so much trust in me. A lot of people like to compare the sequence to the music video for Take On Me, but when I was trying to come up with the style, the first thing that came to mind was one of Yutaka Nakamura's animations. It's from an anime I watched in high school called Soul Eater where the character goes to draw his sword, and the entire scene turns into this abstract looking sort of river of pencil lines on a red background(this scene). I thought maybe I could do something similar to that. It took me about an hour to realize I couldn't do it the same way, and my imitation of it was coming out far too abstract to tell what was going on. I ended up doing another pass on it, but instead of trying to copy Nakamura's abstract linework, I tightened up the drawings focused on the shadows. I thought I could try to mimic the look of how light shifts around on an ember, and that's where I got the shadows that constantly roll across the characters. The finished result still bears a lot of his influence, but I think I managed to put my own spin on it.

I remember that Soul Eater scene! Now that you mention it, I can definitely see similarities. But the Take on Me? Not really. How much time did you spend on that scene, if I may ask?

Spencer: It was something like two weeks? I don't remember that well anymore. I worked entirely through the last four nights, so it felt longer than that. I remember losing an hour to daylight savings time, and that put me in a really foul mood.

I've never mentioned this before, but it's unfinished. I ran out of time in the end, and so the part with Trevor and Sypha is just my rough first pass. I was devastated when we shipped it that way. At the time I considered it to be my biggest failure as an artist. Ironically it's the piece of work I'm known best for now.

Sypha's scene in the 2nd season is also yours right? Glad to see the same style made it into the show.

Spencer: Adam had wanted to have it in the show for a while, and I really didn’t want to do it. I was so upset about the opening before it aired that I swore I would never draw in that style again. But then the opportunity presented itself and I thought, “Well I guess it would only be for a second or so”. I felt the second time I did it it was a lot less inspired though.

Can't complain myself, it was pretty cool.

Spencer: Well I had more experience the second time *laughs*. I didn’t have to feel around for what the style was.

So moving on. The problem with your Alucard fight scene, that you had problems translating your digital motion guides into paper, you said that also happened for the Cyclops sequences. How widespread was this problem then? Did it only affect your work or the work of other animators as well?

Spencer: It would only affect animations that had large camera movements, that we sent overseas for clean up. It was a problem born from the fact that we don’t really do paper animation in America anymore.

When the camera moves around a lot, the field has to get bigger. You have to use something called panning paper in order for the drawings to maintain a proper size for clean up. But there was no one that I could learn that from. I had to teach everything to myself, and so my first instinct was to make the drawings smaller to fit them on the page. The clean up artists overseas fixed this by scaling the drawings up, but then they had to recreate my spacing from scratch and they didn’t have enough time to do it the same way. The result was that drawings would pop anywhere from a few pixels to a few millimeters out of position all the time. Adam ended up respacing everything, but it wasn’t a perfect match to the original, so drawings tend to pop around. Most people don’t notice it though.

Actually I’ve had a similar issue with other productions where if my spacing gets too tight, there’s a chance a drawing could pop out of place too. I’m still learning how to solve some of those problems.

I see! Shame you found yourself in this situation, but this is a nice segue to another traditional project I want to ask you about, Boruto. You worked on Boruto a few months ago, episode #65 specifically. How did you get involved in this project? You were an interesting case because you are not affiliated with studio LAN like most of other foreign animators in that episode, as far as I know at least.

Spencer Wan: *laughs* I could see why it seemed a little out of nowhere. It's because Chengxi and I had already been talking on twitter for a while. I consider him a close friend. He asked me to animate for him and I agreed. It was as simple as that.

Looking at your original work and the final version in Boruto, I see that it went mostly uncorrected. Why is that? Were you just given a lot of freedom in that episode? Because of Chengxi and your aforementioned good relation with him?

Spencer: Oh, it was nothing like that. I was a lot more concerned with doing the work properly than trying to stand out or show off. Chengxi's storyboards and the model sheets for Boruto were very clear. I followed them to the best of my ability, and my work ended up going uncorrected aside from a light fill being added. I should've anticipated the need for that light fill, actually. I wasn't thinking about how it would look in color.

Boruto is more of a traditional animation(paper) show, right? Didn't you have problems with that this time?  I'm not too knowledgeable when it comes to Boruto specifically, so I don't know how much of its production is digitalized.

Spencer: The process was actually very similar to what I used on Castlevania, only this time there was no complicated camera movement to worry about, and I had Chengxi to help me with parts of the paper process that I didn't fully grasp yet. Some of the other foreign animators helped me out too- namely Guzzu. It was my first time not having to figure it all out on my own, and I was really grateful for that. I feel I learned a lot.

You are right, the nature of this scene is different. I thought maybe it was the Japanese industry being more used to this dual nature of digital and paper. So generally working on Boruto, although a Japanese show, wasn’t different from Castlevania and other shows you worked on before?

Spencer: There are differences in style when it comes to x-sheets. For example, the Korean x-sheets I've written list the layer order completely backward from the Japanese ones used on Boruto. Americans will write "truck out" when they want the camera to pull out, but the Japanese shorthand is apparently T.B for "track back" instead. It's a lot of differences like that, but the idea behind them is mostly the same. It was an adjustment, but not a very big one, and I was told I did an alright job writing them... I hope they weren't just being nice.

I was just watching Castlevania and now that you mentioned him, Chengxi did some animation! Also others such as Hero. Were you the one who invited them this time?

Spencer: I was the one who invited Chengxi. Sam invited the others after I’d left the production.

And you inviting Chengxi and working on #7 was after boruto, I suppose?

Spencer: Actually it was beforehand! He had to cut his work short to start working on Boruto. He did such a brilliant job regardless. That guy is a genius.

Aha, interesting. That was the last of my questions, I'm very grateful for the chance you gave me and for your amazing, detailed answers!

Spencer: No problem! I hope my answers weren’t too boring. That technical stuff can get dense.