#so i was like 'fuck it' and un-nerfed it

[fully-caulked-wagon]

Got like, nothing to post, so have a haphazard redraw of an old ass JFK drawing I did in like, 2020.

[normal-thoughts-official]

So I was talking to @peachygos about CSM and they pointed out that Denji at the beginning doesn't have his right eye, and Aki later lets the Future Devil live in his right eye... Then I realized Himeno also traded her right eye with the ghost devil, and third time's a pattern, right?

So I decided to look up what the right eye might symbolize and I think I have an answer. Bear in mind I'm neither Japanese nor a Zen Buddhist, so my analysis isn't very deep, but I thought it was interesting. Also, Fujimoto has made other references to Zen Buddhism in other works, so I'm pretty sure this is a feasible reference for him to make

[manga spoilers ahead]

The right eye thing is likely a reference to the Daruma dolls, a common Japanese tradition in which temples sell this guy:

[ID: A red, small, round doll with golden details and a white face, in which there are two eyes without irises/pupils. End ID]

The person who buys it is supposed to set a goal for themself. Upon setting the goal, they paint the iris of the left eye. Then, upon attaining the goal, they paint the iris of the right eye. It must be in that order, because the left eye symbolizes the beginning of all things (a), and the right one, the end of all things (un). The day before the New Year's, people take their dolls back to the temple to be burned, then get new ones for the new year ahead

So: right eye. The end of all things. And also, the granting of a wish.

For Denji it seems pretty clear-cut. Upon having his wish granted (a chance to live a normal life, by getting rid of the Yakuza and his debt) he gains his right eye. This is also the end of an era for him, as he leaves the Yakuza for the Bureau. At the same time, in that moment, he also meets what will bring the end of everything to him: Makima

But then there's Himeno and Aki, who go the opposite route: they both give up their right eye. Which in this context, might mean then precisely giving up the fulfillment of their wish. Himeno doesn't get to leave the Bureau and have a better life, and Aki doesn't get to kill the Gun Devil, to stop any further deaths, or to protect Denji and Power. In fact, they get quite the opposite (especially Aki)

This makes the contract that they made with the Ghost and Future Devils (respectively) even more fucked up. It's more than just an eye for a hand or an unwanted vision in exchange for wanted visions; it's granting them their wishes in exchange for what matters most to them, unbeknownst to them

(Worth noting that it was mentioned before that the Future Devil only makes absolutely horrible contracts. So that tracks a lot more than simply "allowing him to see Aki's demise through his eyes")

But also, if the right eye is the end of all things, then by giving up their right eyes they are also giving these devils their end itself. Which is also concretized: Himeno gets consumed by the Ghost Devil, and Aki's end is metaphorically consumed (as entertainment) by the Future Devil. Moreover, considering that Aki's death was a self-fulfilling prophecy given by the Future Devil itself, I think it's fair to say that his destiny was crafted by the Future Devil, and therefore, Aki did literally put his end in its hands

So. Yeah. Fucked up

TLDR: The right eye means the end of everything and the granting of a wish. Denji got these things, but Aki and Himeno gave them away

[will add sources in a reblog so Tumblr doesn't nerf the post]

[cyberdragoninfinity]

Kaito Tenjo

OK TO PREFACE im only about halfway through zexal rn (on about episode 82) so I don't have the full Kaito spectrum on my plate just yet, but here's my thoughts with what I've got from him so far:

favorite thing about them: like looking at everything about Kaito/Kite on the table, he is....an extraordinarily silly yugioh character, and I adore that about him. He's this weirdo 18 year old beefing with middle schoolers AND he has turbo bad dad problems AND he has a funny little robot sidekick AND he flies around on the robot AND he's a very very sweet big brother (I love his interactions with Hart especially, the way his whole demeanor shifts...really really good.)

least favorite thing about them: ok this one isnt really Kite's fault but oh my Fucking god galaxy eyes decks on duel links are an absolute un-nerfec NIGHTMARE to deal with to the point that every time i run into a Kite main i groan internally because I know the next eight minutes or so are going to Suck. konami nerf that fucking skill PLEASE.

favorite line: ok so in the dub which is what i watch, he only ever calls his father "Dr. Faker", like, exclusively. Except towards the end of zexal I when Faker's about to fall into the Barian Wormhole Black Hole Fuckery Whatever, and Kite says "Now where's my dad?" And that's just such a lovely subtle little choice there with the language, I really like it. I love ygo families so much.

brOTP: I love his relationship with Hart so much, but I also ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO BITS the dynamic he has with Quinton/V/Chris Arclight....like they really clocked me over the head with Surprise Surrogate Siblings Moments with the kite/quinton duel during the WDC and that has me BARKING AND HOWLING!!! MY TYPE OF CONTENT

OTP: idk if i have one rn?? Kind of vibing with aro Kite in general tbh. firing my beam attack (aromanticism)

nOTP: kite/yuma...... nnnnot a fan. You Are 18 Go Date Someone Who's Not a Middle Schooler. Please.

random headcanon: I feel like this guy definitely forgets to eat and will routinely keep like. a granola bar or jerky in his big stupid coat that he inevitably forgets is in there until it's been pulverized to crumbs post-flying around on Orbital adventure.

unpopular opinion: again dont really know whats popular and whats unpopular but kite's like....role in the story does perplex me a little (not in a bad way. just in a I'm Thinking About This Way). Like it's not uncommon for ygos to give the protag secondary rivals (hi jaden) but Kite and Shark are really like BOTH jammed into the Designated Rival slot and it's an interesting choice. wait hang on as im typing this im having the brain blast---is kite supposed to be ASTRAL'S rival, not yuma's??? HANG ON. SECTION CANCELED I NEED TO THINK ON THAT ONE.

song i associate with them: dont have one. maybe sometime after i finish the series....

favorite picture of them: i just really like how he looks here. luv when zexal characters have really tiny irises. <3 reminds me of my art style.

[not-close-to-straight]

I just got back from watching Wakanda Forever and loved it so much. The respect they gave Chadwick, the depiction of grief, the really well fleshed out, very attractive villain (of the story) (a Black Panther staple), the world building... I just loved it.

The ominous monologue at the end as he's repainting the mural.

"I'm not my brother."

And the mid credits scene.

I just loved it all. And it was so much better paced than some of the more recent marvel works, or at least the long ones.

As always, I am on my KNEES for every member of the Dora, Nakia, and M'Baku.

Oh my godddddd. That movie. THAT MOVIE.

Yeah. It was... *whew*. I appreciate this being spoiler free cos I'm still trying not to post anything too much until after this next weekend when more people have a chance to see it.

But okay yes. A villain that is only sort of a villain because you kinda agree with his POV and also him so pretty it makes me weep.

The journey of grief for the characters was not only beautiful to see but also sort of cathartic, at the end (not the very end, but the first ending) with the smoke over the water and the way she could breathe... I felt like I could breathe. That movie kept my soul in a stranglehold and then I could finally BREATHE and it was beautiful.

The mid credit scene. I don't even have words yet. Every time I think about it I want to cry again.

OKAY AND LISTEN. LISTEN. Ms. Nakia. In her Haitian dress? OKAY SIS I SEE YOU. In her little mermaid looking battle suit? HAVE MERCY. I physically cannot deal with her. She's just easily one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen in my life.

Ramonda too. Queen Mother may she live forever. That DRESS in that one scene for the UN? The collar and the arm cuffs and her headdress like please GOD. It's too much. A much too much.

As always, Okoye and the Dora. Every time I watch anything Black Panther related I just think "is today the day I shave my head?"

and Also, the outfit Okoye wore when she took Shuri out? The red jumpuit with the super sharp shouldered blazer? Look, idk where I'm gonna get that exact look but I need to wear it immediately. I don't even care WHERE i wear it, I'll wear it to Walmart, fuck. 10000/10 all day long.

M'Baku. He was exactly the perfect example of how to take a very powerful character and give them funny lines and a playful nature without nerfing them or making them annoying. His character growth ALONE made this movie worth watching. The difference between M'Baku who challenged T'Challa and insulted Shuri in 1 and this M'Baku? God tier. And like, I can't ever see him with out thinking about that tweet about him m'blowing my back out and it was true in 2018 and it's true right now THANK YOU.

Yeppppp this actually felt like a good MCU movie again. Excellent pacing, sweeping visuals and a beautifully intense story, character development, even the token white guy was great. It's nice to have a story that feels... grounded? Like we've been having space battles and multiverse bullshit it was really nice to be sort of firmly planted back on Earth. Even Namor's whole thing-- it feels "realistic" alongside a nation like Wakanda so it didn't feel like a reach, not like how IW and EG and how the more recent spidermen movies have felt.

The tribute to Chadwick was so respectfully done. Absolutely beautiful.

[itmeblog]

X-Men '97 is a full on soap opera and trying to explain the plot three episodes in has got me like

And like, you have to understand, I'm very much a Spiderman person (At least volumes 2 - 4.2 ish, yes I'm very upset they nerfed the Black Cat arc and decided to go Peter Parker = Iron Man and maybe they fixed it but I wouldn't know.) Most of the information I know is from brief cross-overs (In one universe Parker dates Pryde for a bit) and like info dumps from the autistic community (your service is appreciated). Which means a lot of people think I'm a fan and I've held my own against a "so you're a real fan prove it" bro but, and I cannot stress this enough, I do not go here.

SPOILERS

So I'm just sitting at the diner table trying to explain to my mother that it probably is possible to figure out how old a clone is by the proteins in their blood but probably not as fast as Beast did it and that it sounded like he was using the half-life of nuclear isotopes to do so which is questionable but might be viable. BUT none of that matters because Scott fucked the clone because he has no idea when his wife got switched out (so at least 9 months passed, THEY HAVE NOT YET EXPLAINED WHERE THE ORIGINAL GREY HAS BEEN OR WHY SHE PASSED OUT ON THE DOORSTEP) and the clone that realizes she's a clone goes all Phoenix in less than an hour and gives their baby to some bro named Sinister who gives the baby (who will become Cable, Deadpool's unwilling boy toy) a cybernetic virus that somehow turns people into ???? and kills them (somehow this was supposed to make cable invincible he wanted Grey and Scott's DNA to make a powerful li'l... weapon of war, I guess?). And they have this fight and when Pheonix is about to kill Scott, Grey reminds her that she watched her best friend get killed by a car to awaken her powers. And that there is sadness and light in the world so why not stop being evil and save the damn baby! WHICH WORKS?!?! So they save the baby but have to send it 100 years into the future (one of their friends is a stranded time traveler who can go home one time?? presumably??) where there's a cure. Oh yeah and Storm lost her powers in an assassination attempt for Magneto that took place at the UN because he was standing trial for his... y'know, terrorism?, and he wanted a clean slate as Charles (maybe dead? Possibly just off on his own adventures??) runs the X-Men, there's some Portuguese dude with the power of the sun who may be sort of dating Dazzler who is now closer to a pyrokinetic? There was a scene of Rogue draping herself off Magneto's 70s style GILF body because apparently that's a fear Gambit has. Wolverine is just sort of there?! Oh the Portuguese dude was rescued from a mutant trafficking... group(?) with sentinel technology? But like... only the arms? There's a rave.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some things but like... yeah... there's 3 episodes out so that's in like... the first hour in a half

Oh and like... obvi Cyclops and Grey's relationship is in shambles as it should be SCOTT.

[intertexts]

HI ROS DID THEY NERF U... well u have risen from the grave much like jesus of nazareth &other such guys. hi :}

HIIII NIK THEY FUCKING NERFED ME!!!!! well. at least i gave up on them Un-nerfing me i got so fucking fed up with not being able 2 talk 2 my beloved mutuals ☹️ anyway hii hi hi goodluck on ur end of semester.... i fucking believe in u. sending u SO much psychic support!!!

[protagonistheavy]

I think Call of Brine is the lowkey reason why gen kick meta is so oppressive right now in DBD, especially after watching a lot of Tofu's community scrim games, where it was pretty much a constant perk for every killer. I mean definitely there's more "powerful" gen kick perks right now, like Nowhere to Hide and un-nerfed Eruption, but what gets me about CoB is that it encourages the killer to keep dropping chases and go kick a gen.

In particular it's because, with a gen kick build, getting into a tight 3-gen situation is what you try to go for as a killer, so you can keep monitoring gens and kicking them. But CoB also tells you whenever a gen is actively being worked on -- you get notifications every time they succeed a skill check. So what killers will do is apply CoB, start a chase, get a hit, realize which gen is being worked on, stop chase to go kick it, rinse and repeat. Over and over and over.

WHY does CoB even have this notification effect? It's 300% regression! It's such a strong perk when comboed with ANY gen kick perk, so why exactly does it need to provide CONSTANT notifications anytime survivors are working on it??? It's so frustrating knowing that you're only going to get like 10 seconds of progress on a gen before the killer inevitably drops EVERYTHING to come and kick it again, just so you can keep doing the same shit.

EASY FIXES:

CoB is only active on the last kicked gen, so if survivors split up, they can at least work on another gen in peace.

CoB causes gens to regress when not being repaired ala Hex: Ruin, but the notification effect is entirely removed.

Remove the notification, but apply some other effect when hitting skill checks, such as revealing an aura.

Either of the above makes it so a killer can still play around with the advantages of CoB without being told exactly when they should drop a chase and go harass a gen, because currently that's way too fucking boring of a strategy. So many normal games end up this way, totally drawn out for 10 extra minutes because the killer effectively stops playing the game and forces everyone else to stop too. Jfc.

[whomturgled]

tungblr user @infaguation is problematic bc he sent me some shit about ronald mcdonald kin and is too far away for me to shove in a locker as retribution OR watch twilight with :^///////

[thirstyforcharacters]

1. Winter Storm Warning

Part 1 of 4 of the Winter Storm Warning Series

Summary: A sect of the First Order is attempting to clear out the former Rebel base on Hoth and turn it into a First Order safe haven. When Finn discovers this, Leia sends out two of her best pilots to care of them. The only problem? They absolutely hate each other.

Notes: Hello! The snowstorm that hit my area last week inspired me to write a snowy, tension filled fic! Though this isn't explicit yet, there will most likely be smut in the last chapter, so stay tuned for that haha. This is a 4 chapter story (you can find chapters 2, 3, and 4 here), so I hope you end up enjoying it! (use of she/her pronouns in future chapters, no y/n)

Warnings: canon-typical violence, smut in future chapters (18+ only!), light angst for now (mostly petty arguing), but will get angstier in the future

WC: (almost) 2.3k

“Admiral, I need you to do this.”

“With all due respect, General Organa, I can’t. You know how much I despise him. It’s not going to go well.”

“You two are the best pilots in the Resistance. There’s no way you’ll reach Hoth in time to catch them without your skill. I know you don’t get along, but I need you to try, just this once. Then, you can go back to hating each other in peace,” the general pleaded.

You knew that eventually, you would say yes. The mission to Hoth was vital; a small subsection of enemy forces were attempting to clean out the old Rebel base on the planet and turn it into a hidden First Order haven. The Resistance was incredibly lucky that Finn had stumbled across that intel, or perhaps lucky that someone had betrayed the First Order to get you that information. Either way, you knew you had to do something about it. You just didn’t particularly want to do it with Poe.

See, from the moment you two had met in flight school, you were bitter rivals. At some point in your careers, one of you just barely out flew the other. And in the wake of your flying rivalry came a seething hatred that translated to real life. Since joining the Resistance, you had taken on a higher title than him because you were better at administration, which left you grounded more often. Unfortunately, that meant that Poe had taken the title of best pilot, despite the fact that you were just as good. At least you were an Admiral and he was a Commander. You could still hold that over his head.

But you knew that Leia was right, so you said, “Fine. He just better not do anything stupid.”

The general smiled gently and placed a hand on your shoulder, “If he does anything too stupid, I’ll set him straight when he gets back.”

“I appreciate that, General. Oh, speak of the devil.”

Poe strode in then, with Finn and Rey on either side. They were both laughing at something he said; knowing him, it was probably dumb as hell. Poe waved at General Organa and didn’t even glance at you, making you roll your eyes.

“Good morning, General,” he greeted her cheerily.

“Good morning, Commander,” she replied warmly.

Finn and Rey looked at you sympathetically and both waved hello. At least his friends were nice. You didn’t understand how two kind and wonderful people would hang out with his sorry ass. The two made their way to Lieutenant Connix, who had a mission of their own for them. Poe finished crossing the room to the two of you and only then did he look at you. He still didn’t speak, though, making you roll your eyes again. He glared at you, but still said nothing.

“Alright, you two, I know that historically, pairing you together doesn’t work out well. But I need your combined piloting prowess and fighting skill in order to make this work,” the general began.

“What for? I’m the best pilot here,” Poe interrupted, making your blood boil.

“You’re just scared that I’ll out-fly you and take your precious title. Best Pilot in the Resistance, my ass,” you growled back.

Poe’s brow furrowed in anger and he opened his mouth to retort when Leia snapped, “That’s enough out of you. Poe, be respectful. You and I both know that the admiral is one of the best pilots around. And you, Admiral, need to control your temper as well. The Resistance is relying on you, and I can’t have you two failing this mission because you’re bickering like an old married couple. Now, are you ready to act like mature adults and do this mission?”

You both nodded sheepishly.

“Good. You’ll be taking the Falcon since you’ll be flying a considerable distance. It will also be a bit better suited for the harsh weather of Hoth than your X-Wings. I know your original mission was just to take out the First Order forces, but we also want you both to un-repair anything that they might have already fixed. That way, no one can use it. I wish we could use it, but the First Order would definitely find us there if we take out some of their guys.”

“We’ll play nice, General, don’t worry,” you replied with what you hoped was a reassuring smile.

When trudging to the cockpit of the Falcon an hour later, you were already eating those words. Poe spent the entire time you were loading the ship complaining about how you were stacking your supplies instead of helping you. You wanted to tear his hair out of his skull, but you restrained yourself because you were still in the General’s presence. As soon as you were out of there, you knew you were going to rip him a new one. You threw yourself into the pilot’s seat and Poe entered into the cockpit behind you. You could practically sense the frown spreading across his face.

“Shouldn’t the real pilot be the one flying?”

“Shouldn’t the ‘real pilot’ have been helping to load the ship instead of bitching about it the whole time?”

“Get out of that seat. It’s mine.”

“No. You know I’m just as good, if not better than you. I’m flying this thing.”

You didn’t leave him any room to argue as you started up the ship. Flipping the levers and pressing the buttons may seem sort of random to any passersby, but you knew exactly what you were doing. Soon, the ship was roaring to life.

He groaned and flopped into the co-pilot’s chair, “Fine, but I’m flying on the way home.”

“Fine. Have fun trying to takeoff in a blizzard.”

“Have fun trying to land in it,” Poe retorted.

“I think I can manage. Now, do us both a favor and shut the hell up before I strangle you,” you said through gritted teeth.

“Not if I do it to you first.”

You rolled your eyes hard as you pulled the Falcon out of the hangar and flew into the vast expanse of space. This was going to be a long mission.

“I’m bored.”

“Good for you.”

He was like a child. Petulant. Whiny. Doesn’t know when to shut up. You two had been in hyperspace for a while now, and you had half a mind to turn this rattler around. The only reason you didn’t was because you didn’t want to face the wrath of Leia. But somehow, right now, that sounded preferable than being stuck in a flying death trap with this idiot.

“Let me fly.”

“No. You get the way home, remember?”

“But I’m better than you.”

Oh yeah, and there was him trying to convince you to let him fly. More like annoy you into jumping out of the ship.

“Do you want me to throw you out of this ship, Dameron? Because I’ll do so with pleasure.”

“And cost the general her favorite pilot? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

You scoffed, “You really care about favorites? This isn’t about who likes who more it’s about saving the fucking galaxy. Come on, Dameron, I thought you’d at least be less childish than that, though I guess I’ve learned not to expect much from you.”

“And you’re not being childish by pettily arguing with me? Please, you’re not one to talk about maturity,” he snapped back.

“Fuck off. I don’t need to hear another word out of you until we land. We have to form some sort of plan.”

“Fine by me. I don’t particularly want to hear you, either,” he muttered in response.

The rest of the journey through hyperspace was made in tense silence.

It was only broken when you said, “Exiting hyperspace now.”

The two of you exited hyperspace and approached the snow covered planet. All seemed quiet so far, but you knew that it probably wouldn’t stay this way. You also knew that Leia had sent the two of you because almost no one else would be able to fly, land, or takeoff in Hoth’s harsh weather conditions. Now was the time to be sure that her faith in you wasn’t unfounded.

You entered the planet’s atmosphere not too far from where the former Rebel base was located, but still far away enough that hopefully you could land undetected by First Order forces. The winter storm whipping through the air made it extremely difficult to see, but you’d be damned if Poe thought you were having trouble. So, you kept a neutral expression, despite the fact that you were panicking slightly about the lack of vision. You cautiously navigated through the poor conditions until you found a fairly clear area to land. Without too much trouble (for the conditions you were in), you lowered the landing gear and found your footing on the pure white snow.

You turned to Poe to make a snarky comment about the smooth landing, but he had already left the cockpit. You scowled. Any other person who had been your co-pilot would have complemented you on a job well done, but of course Dameron doesn’t offer a word. What a nerf herder.

You swiftly exited the cockpit as well, and Poe was already putting on his winter gear. The puffy jacket, thick pants, gloves, and goggles were good for keeping you warm in the snow, but not exactly ideal for fighting. Unfortunately, if you didn’t want to freeze, you’d just have to make do. You began to do the same as him, and you got dressed in silence. You almost preferred the arguing between the two of you over the tense silence. It felt more stifling.

As soon as you had finishing changing and strapped on all of your weapons, Poe left the ship. You rolled your eyes. Guess you were coming up with a plan on the way there. You charged out of the ship after him right into the harsh snowstorm. Wind whipped at your bodies, the chill threatening to soak right through your thick clothing. You could barely make out the other pilot’s figure just a few feet ahead of you.

“Hey!” you shouted, “shouldn’t we be coming up with some sort of plan?”

Either he couldn’t hear you over the wind (which was entirely plausible) or he was ignoring you (which would be much more in character). If that was the case, he was being absolutely ridiculous! You needed to have some sort of attack plan in order to be able to take this base back. You sprinted through the heavy snow to catch up to him.

“Did you hear me? We need to have a plan of attack,” you yelled.

He shook his head, “My plan is to attack.”

“But how? There’s gonna be way more of them than us. We need to figure something out,” you exclaimed.

“We’ll be fine, Admiral. They don’t know we’re coming. No matter what we do, we’ll take them by surprise. Now be quiet. We’re almost there.”

You were absolutely seething. How dare he be so reckless? And he ran ahead of you, so you couldn’t even tell him how much of a dumbass he was! You knew this wasn’t gonna end well. Even if it was true that this was a surprise attack, you at least needed some type of strategy. Everyone should know that, especially the commander in a resistance that exists to save the galaxy! And he practically dismissed your opinion as bullshit! You knew you were right; going in without a plan was definitely going to be your demise. Maybe he wasn’t as great as he thought he was.

At any rate, even if you were going in blind, you knew you needed to calm down a bit so you could concentrate on the upcoming fight. You took steady, deep breaths in and out, like you always did when you were nervous. It may seem simple to most, but it really helped you center yourself.

When you finally caught up to Poe again, you were almost at the base. You both hid behind a snowdrift, and you could see a couple Stromtroopers straggling around the outside of the base.

“See, there’s only like 5 of them. We can just shoot them and be on our way,” Poe said with a smirk.

“It’s never that easy,” you grumbled under your breath.

Apparently, Poe thought it was, because he popped up from behind the snowbank and got a direct headshot on one of the troopers before ducking back down.

���Hey, who the hell was that?” one of the troopers questioned.

“Grab your weapons! We’re under attack!” another shouted.

You sighed and popped up from behind it as well, taking out two more of the guards. When you settled back down, Poe was gone.

“Oh, fuck me,” you muttered, glancing around for the reckless commander.

You saw him behind one of the supply boxes. He ran out from behind it and shot the remaining two guards who were standing in front of the entrance to the base.

He gestured to you, “See, easy.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the door opened and 5 more troopers came rushing out, tackling Poe to the ground. You jumped out from behind the snowbank and blasted as many of the troopers as you could, but more kept spilling out from the door until there were more than what you could keep up with. You knew it. You knew this would go poorly. Soon enough, you were surrounded.

“Welcome to Hoth, Rebel scum,” one of the troopers spat.

That was the last thing you saw before the world went black.

[ranty-ramblestein]

(captions~) CJ visited yesterday, so today Flick visited, heh!  I didn’t have nearly as many stored bugs compared to stored fish though!

The Daily Selection had a new K.K. Slider song, awesome!  + I got sent a clipboard by a friend, and I noticed the menu option!  I decided to change up the table items for that~

I like how the paintings in the Roost have two completely different looks.  The flower painting is made of blobs of soft color, and the nest painting looks really realistic!

/

Then, at night, I got the shock of my life!

If you read the CJ story from yesterday, I thought I broke Cast Master by pulling my hook back when I didn’t realize a fish had focused in on it.  Apparently my theory was totally wrong!

...I now have a new theory that the challenge was nerfed somehow, though. (But yeah, I’ve caught a TON of big fish this month, as you could see by the CJ-selling yesterday.)

So glad I don’t have to beat myself up after fucking up a catch anymore!

Anyway, after that, I tried stretching at night, and Blathers joined, awesome! And when a balloon dropped a headkerchief, I tested how it looked with a furoshiki bag!  Thief outfit incoming? Heh!

pic 1: The Daily Selection finally had a new KK Slider song! pic 2: 58,500 bells.  Not as much as what I got from his boyfriend, haha! pic 3: I got gifted a clipboard, and it had a menu design, so I got the idea to kick out the mug and candle, and put out these two! pic 5: I took a look at the pictures at the back of the Roost!  They're very pretty~ pic 6: I continue to get new DIYs from Kapp'n's Islands, yay~ pic 7: "GH- BWA- GA- UN-!" Croissant choked, completely not expecting that. pic 8: Wave-Tossed Curls! pic 9: I decided to do another stretch to see if the night NPCs had a chance of joining... And Blathers joined, since it was nighttime! pic 10: A Balloon dropped this, and I decided to see how it looked with a furoshiki bag!  Very mischievous!

[polyhorde]

Snapshots that I’ll never un-live:

*It was another argument, the only reason it stands out is it was the first time I let him throw his tantrum and didn’t try to ‘fix it’. He wrapped my favorite quilt - the one my Mom had made with me and given to me when I went to college - around his shoulders and went to go cry in a corner in a huff. When I didn’t immediately comfort him he pulled on the quilt until I could hear seams popping from across the room. Once he cried himself out he told me I was a terrible person for not comforting him. We’d been fighting about him cheating on me. Again.

*Different house earlier in the relationship, I was still hopeful and still codependent. We were fighting about his alcoholism. He broke the $45 nerf gun I’d given him for Valentine’s the month before over his knee because he ‘needed to release the frustration somehow’.

*I’d come out to my Mom as Poly a few weeks before. I was trying to explain that Poly was ethical and I wasn’t cheating. I got so frustrated that I started tearing up, “See! If you didn’t know this was wrong you wouldn’t be crying.”

*Showing my Dad around the house we’d just bought as a polycule, we hadn’t even brought in any boxes yet. We looked out the windows into the big backyard and I told him all of my plans for my big family, lots of partners, lots of kids, a garden and room to play. He got really quiet and didn’t look away from the window, “do you really think it’s fair to bring children into this?”

*My metamour, pissed that I had refused to break up with our mutual partner because he’d asked me to. We were in public, I’d just promised to drive him home after the play he’d invited me to. He asked me what right I had to tell people what a healthy relationship looked like when I’d never had one. When I said what about my ongoing marriage of 10+years he said it didn’t count because he didn’t think it was Poly (it was, by the way, before our first date). When I said what about my polycule, 6 years living in a big house we’d bought together. Only one of those partners had parted ways and it’s because he was an abusive alcoholic as my meta well knew because he was a confidant and a fellow survivor. He told me that was a prime example of why I’d never be anything but toxic because I’d stayed with an abuser for years and why would he let out mutual partner be exposed to that?

*Same meta, a few months later, he’d cut off contact. I’d come to pick up our shared partner for the once-a-week date she had been able to negotiate. He slammed the door in my face. He and my partner screamed at each other, their son started crying. He grabbed his car keys and said he was going to go check himself in for observation because he didn’t trust himself not to end if while we were on our date, kid or no kid. We talked for over an hour, he told me he never wanted to see or talk to me again. We ended up going on the drive we had had planned, took the kiddo with us and got him calmed down and cheered up. It was actually a good time.

*Four months later my meta told me I was a terrible person and had never really been his friend because “a real friend would have reached out to me and asked how I was doing. You didn’t. You’re selfish and fucking toxic.”

*Sent a message to my best friend of over a decade saying that I hope she was ok and while I knew she was busy settling into her new apartment with her first serious boyfriend I missed her and it had been three months. I made a joke, asking if she’d decided to end our friendship and just forgotten to tell me. I got back an 8 paragraph rant about how I couldn’t take a fucking hint and to forget her number. (Turns out her boyfriend asked to be open after my whole polycule had been at a party I threw. She didn’t tell me, she just cut me off so I wouldn’t be a ‘toxic influence’.)

[teefa85]

Now that I’ve finished this...here’s how Characters and Classes ACTUALLY would work in this dumb crossover.  Probably a “get to 10 and can go to Class 2, then get to 20 and can go to Class 3″ or just 20/20 for Class Changes (like Radiant Dawn did with its three tier system).  Not sure...just that they have a base class and use related class names when BSing either it or some of the Tier 2s.

And yes...all the -faire Skills were put in Tier 2 Classes.  Just how things shuffled around with a few of them (some more powerful skills I wanted to move to the same line’s Tier 3) so I threw up my hands and said “Fuck it!”

Duran He starts out as a Swordsman with the Avoid + 10 skill because he can taunt the enemies when he dodges. Next he either goes to a Mercenary with Armsthrift or a Myrmidon with Swordfaire.  No, I didn’t use Knight/General...you know how I am about slow armored Classes... From Mercenary, he can either become a Hero with Sol or a Bow Knight with Bowbreaker.  Getting either Axes or Bows in the process. From Myrmidon, he can either become a Swordmaster with Astra or an Armsmaster (a less wordy version of the Master of Arms Class from Fates) with Wrath.  Swordmasters stay with just swords but ya know...Astra.  While Armsmasters get all weapons.

Angela She stars out as a Spellcaster with Charm, because I didn’t want to try spelling out that skill Maribelle gets and this is also fitting! Next she either goes to a Mage with Tomefaire or a Dark Mage with Anathema.  Dark Mages get Dark Magic as well, though Mages stay with just Anima. From Mage, she can either become a Sage with Focus or a Mage Knight with Tomebreaker.  The Sage can use Light Magic (more fitting to Angela’s actual skills + we have several other incidental Staff Classes, like half of Kevin’s) while the Mage Knight gets use of Swords. From Dark Mage, she can either become a Dark Knight with Hex or a Sorcerer with Vengeance.  Dark Knights also get use of Axes.  Yes, I know Dark Knight and Mage Knight are fairly similar Classes with different names in FE Canon.  I just needed something else for Angela.  Meaning...whichever way you go with her, you can get a mounted class!

Kevin He starts out as a Beastman with Acrobat.  Which I was considering for Riesz but then felt she had a lot of other good skills to choose from! Next he either goes to a Werewolf with Beastbane or a Nightwolf with Seal Defense (heh...Broken Lines).  Werewolves also get the ability to use Staffs. From Werewolf, he can either become a Divine Beast with Luna or a Garou with Counter. From Nightwolf, he can either become a Lunatique with Lifetaker (Moon Saber on Enlightened) or a Feral Beast with Grisly Wound.

Charlotte She starts out as a Cleric with Miracle.  Ya know, like Lissa. Next she either goes to a Priestess with Healtouch or a Cleric Knight with Axefaire.  Both get to start fighting with Light Magic or Axes respectively. From Priestess, she can either become a Bishop with Nihil (I debated giving her the Slayer skill from Sacred Stones, but remembered that it’s replacing a very support oriented Class) or a Valkyrie with Resistance + 2 (again, support classes not offensive ones). From Cleric Knight, she can either become a War Cleric with Renewal or a Summoner with, well, Summon.  Basically functions like Knoll or a Ewan that went down that path would.

Hawkeye He starts as a Thief with Locktouch.  Also, brought Knives back from the Tellius games.  He gets big boy weapons as well when he Promotes, but keeps Knives as they’d be weaker but have special effects (such as four rapid strikes for a real high end one or status ailments). Next he either goes to an Outlaw with Natural Cover (since this is based on Ranger) or a Ninja with Pass.  Either getting Bows or Swords respectively in the process. From Outlaw, he can either become an Adventurer with Bowfaire or a Sniper with Prescience.  Adventurers also get to use Staffs (as Nomad has a lot of protective spells, even if he can’t heal). From Ninja, he can either become a Master Ninja with Vantage or an Assassin with Lethality.  Master Ninjas also get access to Tomes.  Ya know, this is pretty close to Hawkeye in canon!

Riesz She starts as a Soldier with Patience.  But none of the Classes beyond this one are actually on foot! Next she either goes to a Pegasus Knight with Lancefaire or a Wyvern Rider with Tantivity. From Pegasus Knight she can either become a Falcon Knight with Relief or a Dark Flier with Galeforce (un-nerfed because it fits Riesz so well...though you can’t field an entire armada of them this time).  Falcon Knights also get access to Staffs, while Dark Fliers get access to Tomes. From Wyvern Rider, she can either become a Wyvern Lord with Swordbreaker or a Griffon Rider with Lancebreaker.  Wyvern Lords also gain access to Axes while Griffon Riders gain access to Swords.

[snowtimeisbesttime]

Thoughts and questions (remix) on Friendsim Volume 14.

-Overall? Blessed volume. I love these two trolls and would die for them.

Karako:

-We finally know who is this: Karako Pierot, best clown! // And now that we know him, his singular old Troll Call bulletpoint has been replaced by assorted honks.

-Alternia’s plants, like most living (and unliving) things there, Also Want To Kill You.

-Why’s an imperial drone after him, though? The MC’s had their share of close encounters with drones (Kuprum and Folykl’s route, also Tegiri’s), but the way they described this one made me think it’s different to the others… It also apparently took Karako away in his bad end.

-this butt that has taken so many lives, finally saves one…

-“Man I’d really like to see some seadwellers soon” not like this :( . Assholes aside, it’s (re)confirmed that seadwellers are Really Fucking Tough, and also may have scales?? // considering the guy who got impaled by a bunch of plants and proceeded to worry about their clothes getting ruined, we've got two (2) methods to kill a seadweller: with a special knife coated in special poison and stabbed into a special place as seen in Polypa's route, or good ol' bisection, as demonstrated by Kanaya.

(-And therefore, Feferi probably died because of Eridan's Hope powers doing an asspull thingy (he believes they're Very Lethal so they are), more than because she got lasered through the chest. Then again didn't eridan also attack sollux with the same hopy lasers????? Was Feferi Unjustly Nerfed On Top Of Being Unjustly Sidelined)

-Does Karako not have a lusus? We know he was in Bronya’s nursery (because he’s too small for a purpleblood, apparently?), but if I remember correctly, after the wigglers got stronger in the nursery they’d be taken back to the Caverns proper and make their cocoons and stuff… Then again, his necklace says to call Bronya if he gets lost… // indeed, best cloun probably doesn't have a “proper” lusus, besides Bronya. That's also probably why he had a drone after him... either that, or he's too smol for a purple and therefore cullbait

-No but seriously, Karako’s special. He’s got really fucking strong chucklevoodoos (?) that we’ve never seen before (not that we have a particularly large sample size, but still), a drone seemed to be specifically after him for some reason, parallels with the Signless, and with Caliborn as well… not to mention his bad (yet also good?) end.

-And speaking of cherubic parallels, we might have seen the actual motherfucking Dark Carnival. The question would be if it was real, an hallucination (of whom?) or something else entirely… Real or not, it’s covered in cherub imagery and also depictions of Gamzee in his god tier outfit… turns out he was right about the mirthful messiahs being him, and also him… And there’s tragedy and comedy as well, just like two other clowns we know.

-Why does the MC also go to the Dark Carnival? Are they an honorary clown? If so, did it happen back in Chahut’s route, or did Karako insta-clown them the moment he became friends with the MC? Are Amisia and/or Bronya also honorary clowns?

-The fourth wall appears to be getting thinner after Boldir’s route… // either that, or MSPAR's sheer meta stuff potential’s awakening.

Marsti:

-I don’t recall any of the other Voidbounds having a lot of meta stuff on their routes, but Marsti sure does! Meanwhile, Karako may be the first Mindbound we’ve seen without a façade (Vikare and Chixie pretending that Yes They’re Perfectly Okay With Their Lot In Life, Azdaja’s whole anime protagonist shtick (or is it?), even Amisia kinda had one), but there’s certainly a lot more to him than what we’ve seen. Mind-bounds also tend to stray from the “one short end, one good end, one bad end” formula- Amisia and Azdaja are the only mind-bounds that stick to it.

-It may be just me, but it feels as if Marsti could “read” or “hear” the MC’s narration? It could also be the whole “fourth wall getting thinner”, or perhaps the MC decided to spend the entire route shoving their foot in their mouth (the “rusty” comment comes to mind)

-Marsti kind of reminds me of Vikare (and also Xefros): both of them have a different calling than the role the empire will assign them, and they (try to) embrace that role because unless we fuck shit up in future Hiveswap acts, it’s all they’re going to get. In Marsti’s case, it wasn’t space travel as her sign led us to believe, but medicine.

-(she also reminds me a little of Moira from Overwatch?? i don’t know how to say it in english, so here it is in spanish: se dan un aire) // it's just the art tho, they're both kinda pointy

-Marsti wants to help people, even if she won’t be allowed to be a doctor. From what we’ve seen we can tell she’s talented and she knows it… but she also knows that’s a pipe dream at best.

-Fittingly enough, hygiene’s had a vital role on the development of modern medicine- and cleaning stuff is what drives her through most of her route.

-Basically, LET MARSTI AND EVERYONE ELSE FOLLOW THEIR DREAMS 2K18 // 2k20 going on 21 NOW BUT STILL

-All of Friendsim so far takes place in the same city. It might be Thrashthrust, but I’m not sure if we’ve gone to Outglut (yet). // Friendsim volume 14.5 is the one where we go to outglut and unleash her in dammek's hive

-Boldir’s route really left a mark on the MC. Let’s hope her bad end wasn’t the alpha timeline… and while we’re here let’s also hope karako’s bad end isn’t alpha either please

-How in the actual fuck does the MC even consider taking Marsti to Zebruh’s hive. Like seriously!!! (also, couldn’t they have sent Galekh a message? Nothing fancy, just “hey galaxy 360 mind if i take my new friend to your hive so she can clean it up? its for friendship reasons, you know how it is. also say hi to tagora for me kthxbye”)

-Her new Troll Call bulletpoints reinforce her Friendsim characterization, as with many others. Marsti seems to be one of the trolls that got more character depth from her route (perceived, as we don't know yet how canon are the Friendsims gonna be when Act 2 comes out), like Diemen or Chixie.

[soledadcatalina]

Ik i sent one already but kernel, bec, and grubbs for the character meme because the last one got me thinking of them

lmaoooo sorry for the late response this got away from me bc im sitting and thinking about the demonata and just getting so fucking mad again

im pointedly not going to answer the romantic ship questions bc like. i was considering saying like, maybe godt3? i dont really have anyone else in mind, but goddamn when i think about bec & kernel & grubbs more and more, i just get so fucking mad again about how darren shan really wrote like 6 books and they were GOOD and you sit there reading and think  “surely, FINALLY, we’ll see the three main protagonists work together, and expand upon that unlikely connection for the rest of the series” only for canon to drop the goddamn ball so hard it feels like malicious intent. it feels like im watching darren weaving a fucking tapestry on a loom, and then looking in horror as he takes an exacto knife, slashes it in half, and then hastily weaving all the literal loose threads back together. 

kernel

How I feel about this character: conceptually this dude was so fucking cool that darren shan didnt know what the fuck to do with him & thus nerfed and shunted his ass to the side for the majority of the series, so he doesnt get a chance to really develop further into his own person. un fucking believable. 

My non-romantic OTP for this character: he seemed to hit off well with kirilli and has a long running friendship with sharmilla so either them 

My unpopular opinion about this character: i still dont know what popular opinion is with these characters man

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: theres no time to unpack all of that but just stop mutilating him for the love of god.

bec

How I feel about this character: again conceptually? love her! wish she’d gotten more than she got in canon, it all got so convoluted so quick i had to reread like that last book several times to figure out what her deal was

My non-romantic OTP for this character: bran, when he’s not the crusty old asshole he turned into. also, the best thing to come out of book 7 was her and meera hanging out, with meera helping bec adjust to modern life and being a good older sister kinda figure. love that. 

My unpopular opinion about this character: i think bec could’ve and should’ve have been allowed to kill st patrick for a laugh

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: i know beranabus was worried but that aint a good enough excuse to divert these kids apart

grubbs

How I feel about this character: grubbs feels like the character that darren really meant to write about, and dont get me wrong, i genuinely did like him, but the favoritism is apparent man

My non-romantic OTP for this character: okay him & bill-e were really tight and i appreciated that 

My unpopular opinion about this character: okay but imagine if i said here that i only liked grubbs in wolf island. this is a joke but. christ im sure someones unironically thinking it

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: non-bastardization arc

[captainmarvels]

goatman’s bridge

Summary: Steve and Robin film their newest episode of Unsolved at the demonic Goatman’s bridge.

Steve Appreciation Week Day 4 Prompt: Crossover - buzzfeed unsolved

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Robin Buckley (platonic)

Warnings: lots of swearing lmao

Word Count: 2124

A/N: An anon inspired this; it’s more of an AU than crossover but i take the blame for getting carried away! anyways, i hope you enjoy and pls watch buzzfeed unsolved xoxo

Demons are the last thing you want to mess with.

There’s really no possible situation where you’d end up having to confront a demon during your lifetime, but unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Steve. 

As a video producer and star of one of Buzzfeed’s hit web series, Buzzfeed Unsolved, Steve was (un)willingly putting his life more or less on the line every time he ventured out to famous haunted sites with his best friend and co-star, Robin. 

This latest episode they were shooting was proving to be the most terrifying one yet. 

They had just arrived in Texas earlier today, and were now on their way to the small town of Denton, home to the demonic Goatman’s Bridge. 

Steve was behind the wheel, goosebumps spreading across his arms as they came closer to the site of the shoot. Robin was in the passenger seat, looking out the window as they passed large fields of green grass.

“Dude, I’m so nervous,” Steve suddenly said, laughing off his fear as Robin glanced over at him. 

“Don’t be nervous with such a beautiful sunset like that!” She gestured at the orange streaks in the sky, the sun setting in the far distance.

“I know what lies underneath it!” Steve responded, covering his mouth with his hand in worry as he thought about what was waiting for them at the bridge.

“Nighttime? Darkness?” Robin quipped.

“And demons,” Steve whispered, his eyes now trained on the road ahead.

“I hate demons.”

While the camera crew were setting everything up near the edge of the bridge and readying their audio recording devices, Steve and Robin adjusted their mics back at the truck.

“You ready for this, dingus?” Robin asked as she checked the camera hanging off her neck.

“This is my demon sacrifice of the season so no, I’d say I’m not,” Steve opened the trunk of the car, and pulled out his duffel bag that he always carried with him during these shoots.

“You know what Steve, I’m not trying to scare you but… I got a bad feeling about this one,” Robin couldn’t help but grin as she watched him riffle through his things.

“Shut up-”

“I do,”

“It’s okay. I came prepared,” Steve stepped back from the trunk.

“What’re you prepared with?” She asked, confused.

“Oh you’ll see,”

“Why’re you unbuttoning your pants?” Robin held out her video recorder, a look of confusion and disgust crossing her face as she watched Steve hook something to his belt.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“We’re in public right no- what are you doing?” Robin was growing more confused with every passing second, Steve offering no answers.

“Shut up!” As he turned around and Robin finally saw what he was wearing, her face brightened up, a wide smile appearing as she shook her head.

“Oh dingus,” She said, chuckling under her breath as Steve turned to face her.

“What?”

“You’ve outdumbed yourself!” She gestured to the Nerf gun, filled with holy water, strapped to a holster on his leg, laughing as he just waved her off.

“I thought this was gonna be funny, but now I’m happy that I brought it!”

Once the camera crew was set up and ready to go, Steve and Robin took their places at the end of the bridge, video recorders in hand. 

“Don’t piss your pants, dingus!” Robin whispered, smiling as Steve rolled his eyes at her.

“On three, you guys! One, two… three!” Steve and Robin stepped onto the bridge, and Steve could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he cautiously moved forward.

Robin, being the jokester she always was, began to talk with the demon.

“Any demons here? Got any demons out tonight? Any horny boys? Or whatever they’re-”

“Horny boys?” Steve scoffed, raising an eyebrow at Robin as she stopped in the middle of the bridge, slowly turning in a circle.

“They got horns!” Steve shook his head and cleared his throat.

“Let your presence be known,” He said flatly, his nerves getting the best of him. “Say somethin’...why are you on this bridge?”

Nothing but silence followed Steve’s question. Robin moved her flashlight across the bridge, and then turned it up towards the pitch-black sky.

Steve looked at her and said, “You ask questions,”

“Why’re you on the bridge?” She asked, repeating his earlier question. Steve wheezed, rolling his eyes once again.

“Goatman!” She said loudly, making a serious face as she looked left and right. She glanced at Steve.

“You feel that? Feel the Goatman energy?”

“I don’t like when you say his name!” Steve said hurriedly, moving his flashlight across the bridge once more.

“Feel some goat vibes?”

Steve shook his head no, and was about to say something when Robin spoke up.

“You may not like this, but I’m gonna try and agitate it - I’m just gonna go-”

“You do what you gotta do, and I’ll do what I gotta do, Buckley!” Steve took a step back towards the railing, his hands up as if in surrender. 

“I’m just gonna be as crude as possible here, alright?” 

“Get on with it, man!” 

“Fuck you, Goatman!” She shouted at the top of her lungs. She was holding a straight face, but Steve couldn’t contain his laughter. 

“Holy shit!” He exclaimed, eyes wide as he looked at her. 

“Was that good?” She asked, eyebrows raised as they looked at one another.

“I thought you were gonna build your way up!”

“No no, why wait?”

“Well if you don’t believe, there’s nothing to be afraid of then, right?” Steve could hear the fear in his voice, and he was struggling to control his breathing as she just shrugged. “You can be as big a prick as you want! I’m gonna stand over here,” He moved back, closer to the bridge’s railing as Robin started dancing about the bridge, moving in circles.

“Goatman! I’m dancing on your bridge! It’s my bridge now! You hear that? You want me off this bridge, you’re gonna have to kill me! Which would be homophobic, by the way,” 

Steve was laughing in fear and amusement, his laughter interrupted by “Holy shit!”’s every now and then as Robin kept provoking the demon.

Tonight’s the night she gets us killed, was all he could think as he watched her messing around.

“Look at the way I dance on it, I disrespect your bridge, Goatman!”

“He’s takin’ names right now, oh my god-” Steve was half wheezing, half laughing, all while trying to spit out a coherent sentence as Robin continued her antics.

“You hear that, Goatman? Me and Steve Harrington own your bridge now! We-”

“Nope!” Steve shouted, eyes bug wide as he started fumbling over his words. “Nope, do not loop me into your shit right now! Stop looping me in - God, I hate when you do this!”

“Then tell him you’re not a part of this!”

“I’m not- I’m not part of her little charade!” Steve said frantically, looking behind him.

“You’re talking to Goatman now,” Robin said, grinning from ear to ear as Steve realized what she’d done.

“I see what you did there,”

“It’s Goatman entrapment!”

After the two of them took a breather from Robin’s tomfoolery, Steve recorded a bit on the lore surrounding the bridge’s demonic owner, and the history from local residents who claimed to have seen the Goatman after committing certain acts.

“So you’re saying, if I knock on this bridge three times, Mr. Goatman will have to show his face and fight me for his bridge?” Robin was fighting back a stupidly joyful grin, and Steve had to stop himself from rolling his eyes for the millionth time that night.

“Well, according to legend, if you knock three times, you can see his glowing eyes,”

“Alright then, you’re up, dingus!” Before Steve could protest his involuntary volunteering, Robin grabbed his video recorder out of his hand and gestured to the red railing.

“Goddamnit,” Steve muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose as he turned to face the railing. 

“Talking to the Goatman, opening up a line of communication,” Robin leaned down to capture Steve’s worrisome facial expressions as he closed his eyes.

“Shut the fuck up, Buckley! I’m gonna murder you! You’re not helping!”

 They both started laughing, Steve’s eyes wider than humanly possible as he stared his worst fear right in the face. 

Now or never.

“I’m gonna knock on your bridge,” Steve said in a shaky voice. He raised his hand up, and rapped on the metal bridge three times. Nothing happened; Robin peered over the railing with her flashlight and camera, but saw nothing.

“Just another load of horseshit!” She jeered, rolling her eyes when Steve looked back at her.

“Alright, alright. Let’s head into the woods,”

“Oh, a change of venue! How refreshing,” Robin whispered sarcastically, nudging Steve in the side as she walked ahead of him. “We’ll be back, Goatman! After all, this is our bridge now!”

“Okay, keep it moving,” Steve muttered, tapping her shoulder with the end of his flashlight.

“That’s how you get him!” She said, walking quickly to catch up with Steve as the camera crew followed close behind.

“How many times you walk through the woods late at night?” Robin posed the question as they passed some gnarly bushes along the path.

“Never, which makes me hate this a lot more now,” Steve answered, moving his flashlight through the bushes and trees as they moved along.

“Steve, can demons be gay? Asking for a friend,”

“Oh, you think we’ll run into any satanic cults on our walk? Steve?” 

“You know, there were reports saying that pet stores had to stop selling cats because of all the remains they were finding out here so, who knows?”

“Do you think they put up Craigslist ads for their cult meetings?” Steve stopped in his tracks and looked into the bushes behind him with his flashlight, ignoring Robin.

“I swear to God, one of these times, we’re gonna die,” Steve muttered under his breath, turning around to find Robin looking over his shoulder. “Jesus, do you have to be that close to me?”

Moving past her, they continued down the gravel path.

“Hello? Anyone there? We’re here for the cult stuff!” Robin said loudly, groaning when Steve hit her with the end of his flashlight.

“What are you doing, Buckley?” He asked nervously, his hands shaking as he looked at the bushes next to them.

“We have to convince them we’re on their side so they’ll show themselves!”

“Oh god, would you stop!” Steve shook his head and kept moving, Robin scrambling to catch up.

As they continued examining the bushes and trees along the path, Steve began talking about more of the bridge and woods’ lore.

“So, lots of previous investigators have said they’ve picked up on the same name referring to the Goatman on EVPs and spirit boxes and stuff,”

“What’s Goatman’s name?” Robin asked, flashing her light in Steve’s face.

“.... Steve,”

“Ha! Is that because all Steves are wimps or what?” 

“Hey!” He shouted, hitting her in the arm as she laughed hysterically. 

“Okay, okay, but seriously! Why not use a name that at least strikes terror? Steve is the least scary name I’ve ever heard of, and even you have to admit that, dingus!”

“Okay, alright, fair but still - why must it be terrifying?”

“Not living up to the expectations of a demon goatman is homophobia, Steven. The gays deserve better than a cheap trick like Steve the Goatman!”

 After another half hour passed, Steve, Robin, and the camera team headed back to the bridge, for one final taunting of the Goatman.

“Well, time to say goodbye! Are you gonna say anything to Steve, Steve?” Robin quipped, laughing as Steve rolled his eyes.

“I guess I can,”

“Oh?”

“I feel like I’ve conquered it now, okay?” 

“Well, the bridge is yours, my friend,” She gestured to the floor, smiling wide as Steve walked past her, towards the middle of the bridge.

“Well demons… it’s been fun, but uh, sayonara, see you never!” Steve’s entire body was shaking as he spoke, and he practically ran off the bridge before Robin said anything.

“Bye Goatman! You fucking wimp!” Robin said, laughing as she joined him on the other side, their crew right behind them. 

Once they packed everything and were safely back in their cars, Steve finally took a deep breath, trying to control his racing heartbeat. 

“Another unsolved case for the books, dingus! You think you’ll be able to sleep tonight?” Robin pulled out her phone to set up the GPS before turning on the car.

Steve’s eyes were shut, his heartbeat slowing as he timed his breaths.

“Dingus?”

“Ask me tomorrow, yeah?”

tags: 

@bifrostythor @messybitchjuice @bittergoldilocks @ahoyfandoms @mercedesbarnes @thorsxodinson @edgehogg @emjothehoe @marvelismylifffe @000bananaclip000 @cxddlyash @l4life @spidey-pal @iydianight @harringtonsbaseballbat @1-800-gotjunk @novaddictx @fragcc @sadhwstudent @bitessathompson @madeinthemidnightmemories @nancethebadass @okaybutsteveharrington @coffee-and-stories @multifan-smc @stebehairrington @cassandras-musings 

[high5nerd]

The Misadventures of Fanty and Pitch Black---Chap. Four

The room he appeared in happened to be a living room of a different person's, and in the distance he could hear the furious typing on a computer keyboard. The living room was simple, yet Pitch had an immediate drawing to it. Must be the black painted bookshelves. They held many thick books as well as encyclopedias that looked ancient, but more than just decoration. The floor was of dark wood, and a nice TV sat below a big window, shining light into the airy room. Pitch walked a bit towards the room with the typing sound, noticing many pictures hung up on walls as well as certificates and photos of movie characters. The walls in the entire flat were a rich purple, and he passed a small room used as a kitchen with a mini fridge and a small elegant table in the middle, with three, mahogany chairs. They looked quite comfortable.

"I like this person's taste in a home. Nice and cozy." Pitch mumbled to himself, ducking into another room with the same purple walls and wooden flooring. This room was obviously a bedroom, judging by the quilted bed in the corner of the room near the curtained window. There were multiple rugs of eggplant purple and dark brown, fuzzy beneath his feet. He looked up at the light fixture, feeling the fan turn slowly. He was surprised to see a poster up there of a man that looked almost like him, but in tight jeans and a white t-shirt, and looked soaked in water. Pitch made a face, feeling really strange at that familiar face, before turning to the person that sat in a black swivel chair at the wooden desk.

He nearly jumped back noticing the girl was staring right at him, unafraid.

This strange girl wore light blue jeans, a fitted t-shirt, and glasses. Her purple hair framed her face and almost reached her hips. The girl did not smile, just stared at him with mild interest. Pitch moved to the right, then slowly to the left, and once he noticed her eyes were following his movements, he felt both relieved and shocked.

"So another freak can see me." Pitch breathed, not looking away from her. Let's see if she'll react like Fanty does.

The girl merely scoffed, looked him up and down, and said with a smirk on her face, "Please, go look in a mirror."

Pitch felt his non-existent eyebrows rise upwards. Now that was bold, even against a Boogeyman.

"Do you know who I am?" Pitch demanded, taking a step towards this new girl.

"Do you know who I am, Boogeyman?" the girl raised a brow teasingly, "I'm Queen of the Universe, and everyone-including you-are my loyal subjects. Now bow before me."

Pitch couldn't help but crack a toothy grin, and his smile was contagious, for it caused this girl to silently laugh as she got up from her sleek desk. She brushed some hair back before turning towards Pitch with a curious smile on her face. Pitch eyed her, smirking.

"I like you." He said lowly, causing the girl to have a quick blush before shaking it off. She was a tough-nugget like that.

"That's a relief." She said, craning her neck to look at her ceiling poster of her favorite singer, Koz. Pitch felt his upper lip curl. He didn't want to look at that doppelganger poster up there.

"May I ask your name?" Pitch asked, folding his hands behind his back.

The girl stuck out a hand, and Pitch slowly shook it. "I'm Mystic Hawk. I'm one of Fanty's friends," she noticed the look on Pitch's face, "Yes, we heard the ruckus down there. It was hard to ignore it. Did Emma really shoot you with a Nerf gun?"

"She did indeed."

That sent Mystic into cahoots. She clutched at her stomach while holding up a finger to make him wait. She finally sighed, took off her glasses, wiped them, and then put them back on, still giggling. "Wait, so she really shot you in the butt? We all heard a high pitched scream, but we knew even Emma can't make a noise like that! You sounded like a cat in heat when you scream."

"I do not!" Pitch protested, but Mystic was already laughing once more, having the need to sit down in order not to pee her pants. The last time she peed her pants laughing was when she and Drago caught Fanty in the middle of dancing to Boogey Wonderland in nothing but her underwear, a button up, and no, not socks, but swim flippers while holding a pink hairbrush. Just the memory of that hilarious moment made her laugh harder.

Pitch frowned, not finding anything amusing at all. So without another word, he disappeared and reappeared into another apartment. This one, literally screamed pink. It slightly scared him. There was graffiti all over the walls, and surprisingly, none of them had written profanity like he's seen in the cities. His favorite one was a long tag that had the word 'fuck' stretched around the base of this brick building, so it looked like a good long 'fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck'. He laughed for days.

Heh…good long fuck. That sounds kinky. His mind snickered, and Pitch growled for that annoying voice to stop.

A giant flat screen TV hung on the wall with the most colorful and large graffiti, and comfortable looking black leather couches surrounded the living room with stylish pillows. The kitchen was enormous, with a fully prepared table with the whole shebang, including fire truck red candles and glassware. He had to admit it, this person was extremely brave to decorate their home like this funky. If he lived here, his eyes would hurt after three hours from the pink walls.

"Hey, you mind? I'm about to leave." A friendly voice came.

Pitch looked at the direction of where he assumed an office was, and there before him stood Star with her shining brown hair tucked into a high ponytail, and thick black sunglasses that hid her big, emerald eyes. She donned light green leggings and a white tutu with green glitter on it, had at least four wooden bracelets on her left arm and had lavender colored nails. Her lime green t-shirt had big, bubbly yellow letters that simply said 'Hey' and she donned a brown leather jacket for the afternoon, windy chill.

"Good God, you're like a grown Sophie Bennett." Pitch blurted, not guilty of it at all.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. I really shouldn't be surprised Fanty has strange friends now, but I still am." Pitch shrugged nonchalantly, "You go out like that every day?"

"Yep. And no judging, because you can't talk. Take a look in the mirror before you walk down the street," Star winked as she passed him with her stylish gait, "such a shame a good-looking bod is hidden under a black tarp."

"-!? It's a robe!" Pitch protested, folding his V-neck closed a bit more and pulling his leg forward to hide his crotch. He felt naked, and it wasn't a good feeling.

"Don't kill anyone, or I'll feed you cupcakes until you explode all over the walls." Star casually said, picking up her car keys and pocketbook.

"I'll end up like your graffiti. Hopefully I'm not going to end up as written profanity." Pitch muttered, but sneered as Star grinned, showing her pearly whites.

Once Star left with Drago and Pitch was on his own again, he wandered and meandered to his heart's content. He had to admit, he was starting to grow a fondness for this building. He found Drago's apartment, and it was mostly cluttered and decorated with beautiful antiques and rustic décor. There was a cherry wood desk in the corner of her room with a well-working computer, and piles of papers and archives filled up all the nooks and crannies of that desk. The bookshelves were organized as can be, though. Pitch had to say, he liked the kitchen the best. He didn't know how a Hobbit themed kitchen would be pulled off so well! The apartment, besides clutter, gave off a feeling of homey comfort, and it made Pitch linger a little longer than the others. Well, he would have stuck around if it wasn't for this mangy puppy that was black with gold cheeks and paws that kept yapping up a storm at him and tugging on his robe with his teeth. The last thing Pitch needed was worn-and-torn clothing. So after frightening the puppy by making a growling noise and baring his teeth, he slunked into a shadow and reappeared in yet another room.

Now, you would expect the whole 'let's describe the décor and what the place looks like because the writer is stalling', but no, the first thing Pitch noticed immediately was that, yes, the occupant of this newly found apartment was waiting for him. She lurked right at the darkest spot in her home, which was right behind a painted rocking chair with dark floral pillows. Just as Pitch emerged, the girl shrieked and gave him a good whack with a rolled up People magazine. Pitch yelped and clutched his ear, his hearing thudding a bit before he shook his head.

"What in devil's name-?!" he started, glaring at the girl.

"Fanty warned me you're sneaking around here! Really? Breaking and entering people's apartments? Shouldn't you just knock!? You scared the living daylights out of me!" Xion scolded, shaking her rolled up magazine at him.

"Good, I prefer the dark rather than daylight. Who the hell are you?" Pitch muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm Xion Five. Now can you please leave? I've got business to do." Xion dropped her magazine as she crossed over to the purple and black striped couches and sitting down.

Before Pitch could ask what she was so busy with that she must ignore a guest, she un-paused an anime movie called Howls' Moving Castle. Pitch gave her a look. "Ah yes, movie watching is serious business. Don't mind me, I'll just be leaving."

"Before you go, you could have some of those strawberry and vanilla cupcakes Star left for me. They have gummy bears on them, they're really good." Xion said, not tearing her eyes away from the screen.

Pitch made a face, but then felt his face fall into shock as he saw the open room used as a display room and an office space. There was a polished desk with a super thin, black laptop and silver mouse, dark bookcases much like the ones in Mystic's apartment, but other than that, he was amazed at the homemade costumes and weaponry that hung on walls and were on mannequins. Some looked like dark Lolita dresses, others looked Elven-like, and some looked like royal mages or even frilly princess stuff. He guessed the clothing was inspired by the anime Xion watched. He especially liked the steampunk jumpsuit with the dark red goggles. Apparently she painted those goggles herself, from what it looked like up close. On the walls hung homemade weapons from anime shows as well, like throwing knives, hammers, magic wands, even giant things like shepherd's crooks, staffs and a scythe that he absolutely wanted to steal, except it was light purple with stars on it.

Wow, she really has a talent in making this sort of stuff, Pitch thought, peering at a neon blue wig that almost reached the floor, so that's why she called it 'business.'

After content goodbyes, Pitch finally met Lil Angel, who was Fanty's neighbor that took care of the Bennett children. Pitch couldn't help but keep her at bay since she was affiliated with those children, but he had to admit she was a very eccentric and friendly person much like Fanty and her friends as well. He only had a peek of her apartment, which was very modern and had many things that were light purple but also light blue, yellow and red. The fuzzy floor was white, and the walls were a cream color that complimented the comfortably sized kitchen that looked as if a batter explosion occurred with fireworks of icing. He also met Angel's pet kitten, Oreo, that seemed instantly attracted to his face so it leaped out of Angel's arms and hugged Pitch's face like a starfish, it's claws digging into his ears.

Pitch gruffly removed the kitten from his face as if it were a leech. It had quite a grip on his face! He held it out to stare at it, holding it by the back of the neck. Maybe if he scared it, the kitten would pee all over Angel's carpet. That'd be funny.

"Boo." Pitch growled.

Angel waited with baited breath, knowing Pitch was trying to make the kitten have a potty mess. But instead of what they thought would happen, the kitten merely mewled and somehow detached itself from Pitch's hand and star-fished his face again, purring into his cheek and nuzzling his nose.

"This is by far the strangest kitten I've ever met." Pitch said seriously, looking at Angel who was trying not to burst out laughing.

"Oreo can be a little lovable. The last dog that tried to chase her ended up getting snuggled so much it ran away from Oreo itself. You should've been there. It was both cute and funny to watch." Angel said, plucking Oreo off his face finally and giving his head a gentle scratch.

"…Was the dog black?" Pitch asked, feeling a smirk threaten at his lips.

Angel thought for a minute, before nodding. "It had a red collar on and bright blue eyes."

"Yeah, I remember giving a nightmare to that dog. Apparently Oreo instilled a fear of kittens in him."

That made Angel burst out laughing, and Pitch truly felt accomplished for making someone laugh once more.

By the time Pitch got back to Fanty's apartment, the strange girl was already lying upside-down on the couch, boredly watching the shadows for Pitch's arrival. It was kind of hard to swallow a turkey and tomato sandwich upside-down.

Pitch raised a brow at Fanty, unamused. "What?"

"Well? Were they cool, or were they cool?"

"…You teens creep me out worse than Tooth's feelings for Jack." Pitch hissed under his breath, folding his arms in a pout.

"OOOOOOH DO I DETECT A CRUSH?! JEALOUSY?!" Fanty beamed, flipping upright and tossing her sandwich on the coffee table, "Wait…Tooth? Jack? Who're they?"

Pitch gagged, feeling a baby barf almost float up his esophagus. "Ew, on Tooth? You're sick."

"Who the hell is Tooth?!"

"You sure you're not the jealous one?" Pitch grinned, and Fanty blushed a bright red. "OW!"

Note to self: Fanty's got quite the fist.

"Tell me who Tooth and Jack are or I'll instill fear into you!" Fanty threatened, making her fingers dance in the air as if she were to summon dark magic.

Pitch laughed rather loudly, still keeling over from when she punched him in the gut. "That only works for me, Fanty. Like this,"

He grabbed her neck and shoved her to the couch, causing her to gasp and clutch at his wrist, her eyes widening in shock at his sudden movement. He kneeled right in front of her, his face just mere inches from hers with an acidic snarl on his mouth. His eyes burned a bright gold, that literally flashed danger. Fanty started to breathe heavily, scared out of her shorts that he was going to hurt her.

"Tell me your fears or you'll see them brought to life." He growled, almost like an angry wolf.

Fanty panicked, forgetting that he was just setting an example of how to really threaten someone. He didn't mean to scare her like that, he was only trying to teach her how to really threaten someone. But he was over the top, and he realized that only seconds before Fanty spilled.

"I'm afraid of heights! I'm afraid of spiders and big fish and I'm afraid of bugs with stingers, and I'm afraid of-!" she cried out.

Pitch slammed a hand against her mouth to stop her, and Fanty saw the worry flash across his eyes. It scared her even more. It scared her so much she nearly wet herself. He looked so startled, so honestly worried that it actually worked and that she was so close to confessing…

But before Pitch could apologize, the door was burst open with a strong kick, and they both heard two voices scream, "HY-YAHH!"

Pitch bolted up, and Fanty turned around to see Mystic and Xion standing with tightened fists, giving death glares at Pitch. Fanty furrowed her eyebrows and shouted, "IDIOT! Look at the door! You busted a crack in it! Mr. Joyce will kill me!"

"DIS BASTARD HERE!" Xion pointed at Pitch, who cursed under his breath as he took three baby steps back.

"Was he hurting you, Fanty?! We received a distress call that sounded like you confessing your fears and we're here to kick BUTT!" Mystic said strongly, cracking her knuckles to prove her strength.

"I wasn't meaning-!" Pitch started, but Fanty stood up on the couch and waved her arms.

"He didn't mean to! He was showing me an example of how to properly threat someone. It's okay, guys. Thanks for the concern, though." Fanty finished with a promising smile.

Xion and Mystic were suspicious, and gave Pitch a doubtful look before closing the door tightly. Fanty and Pitch could still hear them walk down the hall and discuss about fixing the dent they kicked into the door. She smiled to herself before looking at Pitch with an apologetic smile. He breathed a sigh of relief before plopping himself onto a cushioned chair, and put one foot up onto the footrest to really let himself relax.

"That was way too close." Pitch sighed, rubbing his tired face.

"Is it just me or were you just scared of my friends?" Fanty folded her arms with a smug little face on her lips.

Pitch gave her a knowing look before chuckling. "Everyone is afraid of something…I learned the hard way…"

Fanty noticed his eyes turn silver, misty with memories that made his smile fall and for a second, look…remorseful. Her dark brown eyebrows crinkled in worry as she sat on the floor in front of him, watching with pure rapture. How do his eyes do that? She wondered, resting her head in her hand, I wish I could change mine from brown to blue.

"You're lucky you have protective friends like that. I don't have any." Pitch said quite truthfully.

Fanty shrugged, knowing very well why he doesn't have many. She has heard of some sort of war he lost, and she knew from the start that he was apparently a bad egg, but no details whatsoever.

"I'm sure you do. You just haven't found them, yet. You could be my friend if you want." Fanty offered, smiling at the idea.

Pitch scoffed, "With a human? Hun, I am an immortal being that instills fear into every living thing, and I do this as a duty here on earth. It isn't an occupation where I get paid."

"Racist." Fanty pouted, folding her arms like a child, "Then why do you try to drill fear in others?"

Pitch didn't miss a beat. His eyes returned to the fiery gold Fanty was starting to get used to, and he hissed his answer, an answer full of history and angst, "To be believed in. That's what all the spirits do on this planet. They are cursed with the life of immortality and with a purpose, and if that purpose isn't fulfilled properly, they die."

"Wait, whoa, back up!" Fanty held up her hands, "There are other people like you out there?"

"Hardly people," Pitch said, leaning closer to her, "just call them what they are. Beings. Spirits. Guardians." He snarled at the word in spite.

"You monologued about them once, but then I shut you up with a pillow. All I know is that it's Jamie Bennett's fault as well as Jack Frost. Isn't he just an expression?"

Pitch thought for a second, looking away from her earnest eyes. And after some time…he grinned evilly.

"Yes…yes, Fanty. He's just an expression. He doesn't exist at all. But Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and-"

"The Easter Bunny and Sandman do?!" Fanty exclaimed, excitement ringing in her voice.

Pitch curtly nodded, "But they brought me pain. I ruled the very era of the Dark Ages, and they brought me to the shadows at the Earth's core. I tried regaining what once was mine, but I lost the battle yet again. I was so close to gaining a victory, but that stupid child Jamie-"

"Jamie's not stupid," Fanty said, shaking her head vigorously, "He's a smart kid with a big heart. And I know Jack Frost exists because a, he talks about him 24/7, and b, you are a terrible liar."

Pitch stuck out his lower lip, angry at being so carefully read. Fanty continued that she did believe his story, just that maybe there was a better way to be believed in without parents and children hating him. He couldn't help it, he was the Boogeyman for crying out loud!

But there was something Pitch left out in his story. He didn't tell her how his belief was very thin, like the width of a string. But when Fanty spilled some of her fears to him, he felt that string grow stronger, become more durable and thicker. He learned that though kids were the easiest targets for fear, the teenagers have the strongest and most powerful fears. They're trickier to harbor and snag onto, but they're long lasting and can be a better resource than just petty children.

And Pitch liked a good challenge.

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