#starting off spooky season with a bang I guess

[mlobsters]

supernatural s12e21 there's something about mary (w. brad buckner, eugenie ross-leming)

....they just killed eileen off like that? that's... disappointing. make us connect with her through a really good monster of the week in s11, but then also bring her back in s12, have her and sam have a little flirty vibe, she accidentally kills some asshole bmol so she and sam can have an emotional beat. and a handful of episodes later she gets killed unceremoniously by ketch and, apparently, a trained hellhound. because that makes sense. no more things going bump in the night! except for the ones i use for killing people 😌

spn s12e21 (2017) / the magicians s3e8 six short stories about magic (w. sera gamble, david reed - 2018)

i appreciated sort of her brief chase scene from her pov through her hearing loss. the magicians did something similar (article for details with showrunners) with marlee maitlan's role - but much, much longer. it was 9 minutes. (took a snippet with felicia day in it too, rip charlie)

DEAN Seven monster-related deaths. I mean, what, did all the things out there suddenly start working together? SAM Dean, monsters and demons don't team up. Seven Hunters are gone. We can't grab a signal from Mom's phone. Cass has Kelly Kline who knows where. Mick has slipped off the grid. Ketch is lying to us. I-I… I wanna punch something in the face.

kudos to padalecki because as always he can really bring those emotions and he seemed to really be hurting over eileen but it's bang boom all part of this bigger picture and oh they're all monster related deaths and hey let's clean house on any side characters we wanna off for the drama. her character deserved a better sendoff than this (or hey let her live), if they were gonna have her come back, in my ever so humble opinion.

TONI I have sources, Mary. Everywhere. After you died, your beloved John was a man slowly going mad, searching for revenge. What? Your boys didn't tell you? The drunken rages? The weeks of abandonment? Child abuse, really. It's no wonder they're damaged.

grain of salt obviously what with the brainwashing etc but canonically what's been established before was surely neglect at the least. hence why i can't let it go

CROWLEY Good afternoon. Dr. Hess. Stunningly beautiful as ever.

well. if nothing else, this is a slightly more seamless way of trying to retcon the bmol existing and operating offscreen for all these seasons prior, having crowley establish some background with the bad lady

DR. HESS Crowley, one more thing. CROWLEY What? DR. HESS Your relationship with the Winchesters. It's a bit cozy for my taste. I hope you don't expect me to spare your friends.

i do think that's what keeps crowley more interesting than he might be if he was just plain beholden to the winchesters (more like cas tends to be [caveat he's not also always beholden to them but when he's not he's usually making the Worst decisions]), he's out there still killing people, aiding the bad people in killing people we like and care about like eileen. but we can also pretty much count on him coming through to work things such that dean and sam will be okay in the end. he contains multitudes

CROWLEY So… Dagon dead. Kelly's now in the clutches of the Winchesters' love slave, Castiel, who's no doubt dragging her to a gruesome death.

lol

LUCIFER Mm. As opposed to the fun-packed death you have planned.

laughed again! these two, love em

ok let me guess brainwashed to kill sam and dean, is that on the menu?

thanks for the little tidbit of them having a po box in lebanon

good lord why are they killing time at the end of the season with this random drama moment between mr ketchup and torturer lady

MR. KETCH I don't know you, Mary. Not really. You certainly don't know me. You… wouldn't want to.

oh my god and the little kid music box spooky music starts playing in the background, mr ketchup is just a hurt little boy 😢 the snort i snorted!

real deal mary just tried to kill herself, pulled the trigger and only saved by ketch pulling it away to deflect the shot what the fuck. that is way too dark and serious for this show. that was awful. samantha smith is doing good with the scene and on her knees begging to be killed we get the mushy music.

how did her hair not move from upright to this position. now i'm just being nitpicky because i'm pissed off, but if we're plowing into the gritty dark realism of her torturing/brainwashing, her hair should be gross and acting like dirty sweaty hair.

so i'll rant about the music too then. so like, this scene on the setup / assassination trap thing dean and sam luring bmol to, it's way edgier and interesting and weirder than his score usually is. sometimes it's completely bland, or misses the tone, or is mega cliched, and then it'll be Good! for a brief moment and then the tone changes and the vibe is back to boring blah nothing or actively obnoxious. i feel vaguely bad about ranting about the score all the time, but i think it's honestly the biggest failing in the show over the entire run. i have plenty of issues with other things, but the music has consistently been subpar and pulled the quality of the show down with it, in my opinion. the foley though - i love it.

also mark pellegrino as lucifer, love. so good. so creepy! ugh. and i really don't want him having thrall over crowley, because he is so creepy. so i am getting concerned

well. not sure where this is going since crowley didn't do the dead-demon-zappy thing after the angel blade stabbing, even though lucifer just walked away like it was done

nice little exchange to highlight how they fight together with silently communication, and pretty cool action sequence. don't see them in these kind of shootouts often and they gave both Js some slick action hero moves

MR. KETCH Your bunker is an excellent fortress. An even better tomb. So we've rejiggered the locks, we've shut off the water, and once we leave, the pumps that bring in the air shall reverse. Your oxygen should be gone in two days, maybe three. You dying in here, it's almost poetic, hmm? Come along, Mary.

hokay. cliche villain killing them slowly enough to give them ample time to figure it out or have someone save them

LOL while talking to robomary we get mushy music but Creepy Version. discordant

ah, is crowley in the rat? is that why he didn't zap?

literally had the thought process of wait are we in one of those parody old spice commercials?? literally wheezing from laughing

he looks great but this choice was SO. HOKEY. (with music to match, you'll be shocked to hear me say) and the visuals look fake without looking like... really obviously fake? but it's also clearly fake? because the lighting is so mismatched and earth doesn't really look like That out of the box? lol

[kinetic-elaboration]

April 5: Evaluating WIP Big Bang Choices

Sign-ups for WIP Big Bang have started but I've been too distracted with Troped Madness to really think about it. I'm leaning toward signing up but not pairing with an artist, mostly because I doubt there will be anyone else from T100 doing this, and I just don't want to have to worry about it or feel like anyone is obligated to make anything for me, etc. It's also not really that important to me that I'm paired with an artist for this. I just want, like, some kinda structure for finishing these things. I like signing up for events. I liked watching people brag at the end of the last round. I continue to be of the naive mistake that THIS event or THIS particular structure will fix me. So. I want to sign up for those reasons, but if I don't finish--eh, it won't put anyone else out to drop out.

So I think there's no downside to signing up.

As to with what... I looked through my fics and didn't find that many that fit the requirements, surprisingly: 500+ words written and at least 7,500 to finish. This is probably because I call something a "WIP" even if I only have a few vague notes for it lol.

In my poll-experiment, the Southern Gothic AU won, which is not surprising to me, since it's the one I talk about the most often and have talked about the most recently. Sleeping Beauty came in second, and my other 2 options, Troped Horror 2022and Troped Madness Horror Round, were last. Probably how I would rank them as a reader, myself, especially with how vague I've been about them.

Here are my thoughts on each, and their respective pros/cons.

Southern Gothic: The pros are that I'm very invested in this story, I think it is/could be one of the best thing I've ever written, and I could definitely use a kick to actually finish it. At this point, I've moved from putting off writing to putting off planning to putting off thinking about planning and I always have so many excuses about it. I'm pretty overwhelmed both by the expectations I've set for it and the still-semi-scattered notes etc. on it. Never mind the sheer number of words still left. In particular, I'm scared that I lost my chance to finish this, that it was of a certain time and now it's just... too late.

The con is that I would want to post it closer to Halloween and posting for the Big Bang ends on October 31, with non-extension posting ending in mid-October. I guess if I picked one of the last dates, it would be still decidedly spooky season? Idk if this is a really lame excuse to put this off again.

Sleeping Beauty: The pros are, again, I need the stupid push because I wanted to resurrect and finish this in, like, late 2020 and STILL have not. I did some significant work in May 2021 and then it fizzled again. I don't have that much to write--almost certainly more than 7.5k, but not a lot compared to the total word count and I just... refuse to consider this functionally abandoned fic to be abandoned because that would mean trashing so much work that I haven't even shared with anyone. But again, it's just never more important than other stuff.

The con is that I don't like this fic as much as SGAU and if I had to pick one to see completed, it would be SGAU.

Troped Madness Horror Round: The pros of this is that, even though I do think I have more than 7.5k left, this fic is much shorter and simpler than the first two. It's not even multi-chap. So it feels like maybe a more do-able goal? On the other hand, still a worthwhile one, because I am really overwhelmed by it and what I want it to be so, again, having a structured event to help force me to make it a priority might be helpful.

The con is that I have a better chance of working on/finishing this without the Big Bang so perhaps I should put that effort somewhere else.

Troped Horror 2022: This is, appropriately given the poll, the exact same situation. This fic is easier than Madness Horror in that it's much more... plot-y and less concerned with trying to explore a theme and actually say something meaningful. The main twist/difficulty with it is that I think it is the rare fic where I need to scrap huge chunks, possibly everything, that I have already written and re-plot, re-write. I realized at some point while I was frantically scribbling that it didn't make sense or feel right and I should have made a different choice way earlier. And at that point, I didn't have the time to re-write it for the event so I just put it aside to think on some more.

This one is probably the weakest contender for the Big Bang because the work is really more in the planning and outlining, and I think when I get to writing, it won't be as hard. Writing the first version was easy and fun. It was just WHAT I was writing that I didn't like. I do need a certain amount of set time and energy to get back into this but when I do, I don't know that I'll need an event structure to help me, and I'm also... not in as much of a hurry about it as I am with the other three.

[starkerhead]

Demon of the Night

fill for @spooky-starker-week Bingo 2021: Witching Hour K*nktober 2021: Inc*st/ Non-con

Content: 18+, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Inc*st, Groping, Heavy Non-con, Underage, Peter!whump Word Count: 0.9K

Read on AO3

The demon comes to Peter every night. 

It comes when the moon is hanging high in the sky, when his parents are fast asleep. 

They tell him he’s just imagining it, that monsters aren’t real.

But he can feel it. A dark presence looming over him, watching him sleep. 

He’s not sure when it started appearing, but since he began to notice it, he’s been petrified of going to bed. He’d delay his bedtime, staying up as late as possible, even digging out his old nightlight. You’re a big boy now, Pete, his father had said. You shouldn’t need a nightlight. He’d confiscated it then, leaving Peter feeling vulnerable and more terrified than ever. 

Sometimes Peter does wonder if he just has an active imagination. The creature has never made contact with him, only staying in the shadows. When he squints his eyes open a fraction, he can barely make out a manlike figure. But it could be a trick of the light; his senses fooling him to show him what he wants to think. 

That is the thought that swirls around in Peter’s mind tonight. 

It must be around midnight, he isn’t sure. He’s in his bed, his eyes squeezed shut. The creature still hasn’t shown up yet, which is unusual. He begins to wonder if it has finally decided to leave him alone. 

And then he feels it. A shift in the air around him, a figure moving to stand above him. He has never dared to open his eyes. He doesn’t want to know what he might find.

He holds his breath, tries to stay still, hoping that the creature will think he’s asleep. His fingers tremble as they clutch the blanket.

And then the creature moves. 

It lowers its face to hover above Peter’s. Peter thought monsters were supposed to feel cold. Instead, the creature’s body heat sends goosebumps along Peter’s skin. 

Peter stiffens as a hand rakes down his arm, fingers ghosting over him. The hand is warm, the nails short and round, unlike the long claws of witches and monsters in his ghost stories. It feels like a human’s hands. But a human had never sent so much fear jolting through Peter before. 

The hand moves to his shoulders, tracing over his collarbone, his chest, his stomach. It slides under Peter’s shirt, the fingers dancing over his bare skin. Peter shivers, then holds perfectly still when the hand stops in its movements. The hand is retracted, and for a moment Peter wonders if it has finally decided to stop. But the hand returns, pushing up his smooth skin towards his nipples, taking one between two fingers and pinching. Peter holds back a gasp as the fingers twist and rub the bud. 

After what feels like an eternity, the hand slides out from under his shirt and moves downwards past Peter’s belly button. The fingers tug at the waistband of his boxers, pulling it down just beneath Peter’s cock. Peter bites his lip as he’s exposed to the cold night air. The fingers ghost over his length, holding Peter’s cock in one hand, fondling his balls with the other. Peter stifles a whimper as the hand wrapped around his cock begins to stroke him, tugging at his cock in soft motions. 

He begins to pudge up in the creature’s hand. Tears are prickling in the corners of Peter’s eyes. 

He doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want it to feel good. But it does. 

He wants the creature to stop. But it doesn’t. 

The creature shifts again, the hand leaving him momentarily. Then, to Peter’s horror, he feels wetness on his dick. A feeling akin to a tongue on his cock, laving over the length, swirling around the tip. Soft groaning sounds come from below, creating vibrations on his cock. It’s a deep voice. A man’s voice. Or like a man. 

Lips sink down on Peter’s member, pressing against his pubis. It’s scratchy, like the kiss of his father. The feeling of a beard against his skin. 

He tastes blood. Only then does he realize he’s been biting down hard on his bottom lip. Moans threaten to burst from his lips, but he swallows them down. It takes all of his willpower to keep his hips still, to stop himself from chasing the wet warmth the creature provides. Pleasure is building in his lower body. The feeling is foreign to Peter, and he doesn’t know what to do. Doesn’t know what to expect. 

That is, until his hips are stuttering and he feels fluid shoot out of his cock. A moan escapes his lips as waves of pleasure wash over him. The lips stay wrapped around his cock, swallowing all of his cum. Then his dick is released with a pop. Tears are streaming down his cheeks. He hopes the creature thinks he’s having a dream. A dream or a nightmare, he doesn’t know. 

Peter shudders as he comes down from his high. The creature stands up, and Peter thinks it’s going to leave at last. 

A hand comes up to caress his cheek. It’s large and cups Peter’s entire face easily. 

“Sweet dreams, Petey pie,” the creature says. 

It’s the way his father bids good night to him. 

Tears continue to run down Peter’s face as the creature finally moves away from his bedside and exits the room, leaving Peter alone, shivering with cold sweat and a stained face, the moonlight streaming over his body. 

The demon of the night never visits Peter again. 

[silverskye13]

"I'm telling you Doc, one minute we're just talking and making dye, and everything is normal, and then suddenly the sky turns black and a fell wind picks up-- it was scary!"

"Mm-hmm."

"And then get this my dude, Wels's voice gets all twisted and sinister, and he starts quoting the Red King. He wasn't even in Third Life!"

"Sounds spooky - hold this please?"

Ren took hold of the wrench Doc offered to him begrudgingly. He'd been busy pacing and talking and now he was being forced to stand still. Not that he was nervous, or needed the nervous habit of pacing in circles. It's just… well it sure made talking about this easier. It made it feel a little less like he was talking about problems and more like he was just… talking. Which was silly anyway since he wasn’t talking about problems, not really. This wasn’t a problem. It was just one weird, unsettling thing that happened. That was Hermitcraft for you. Weird unsettling things happened all the time, and normally they just ran off his shoulders like water. This shouldn’t be bothering him - it wasn’t bothering him. He was absolutely, completely unbothered. So he was perfectly fine to stand there holding Doc’s wrench, waiting patiently to hand it back to him.

“Was that all that happened?” Doc prompted him from the underside of the redstone machine he was working on. Ren had been too definitely-not-unsettled to ask him what it was. It seemed to be on the more mundane side of Doc’s contraptions. 

“Oh, well Welsknight’s voice sounded kinda funny.”

“Funny like haha funny, or funny like my-friend-just-got-possessed funny?”

“Definitely the second one.”

“Was The Entity nearby?”

“Doc.”

“What?” Ren couldn’t see Doc’s expression underneath the piston structure Doc was working under, but he could recognize the smile in his voice. “It’s not like possession is exactly new around here. Me and you spent ahm… two weeks? Possessed? Last season.”

“Right.”

“And then you and Grimdog were very possession-y.”

“Well… yeah I guess.”

Doc’s hand emerged from the machine, and Ren handed him back the wrench. A loud bang reverberated from underneath Doc’s machine where he banged it against something, and Ren ducked down to make sure nothing was broken. The banging came again, more insistent this time.  Ren chuckled. “You’ve got a hammer, my dude.”

“Why use a hammer when a wrench will work just fine?”

“Doc, you’re insane.” Ren shook his head chastisingly, as if Doc could see it beneath the mechanics. "Give me the dang wrench."

The wrench came sliding out from underneath the machine with a long metallic ring. “The hammer is in the--”

“I know where your toolbox is, brother.” Ren rolled his eyes and grabbed up the wrench. It was one of the long ones he’d seen people in cartoons use as weapons, and as such was much heavier than he figured it would be when he picked it up. Ren hefted it onto his shoulder with a grunt, marveled for a moment about how in the world Doc had pushed it out to him so easily, and meandered over to Doc’s toolbox. He dropped the wrench and shuffled through the tools, frowning in quiet puzzlement when no hammer magically appeared on the workbench anywhere.

“The hammer is in the kitchen,” Doc called, his voice grinning. 

“Why is it in the kitchen?”

“D’you ever just get the desire to know how the microwave works?”

“So you took a hammer to it?”

There was a pause that matched the convenient length for a shrug. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Well now I know why you keep asking when the next braai is,” Ren sighed. “I’ll be right back.”

Doc’s laughter followed him into the house, where the closed walls cut it off abruptly. It was a nice build, one of Doc’s ecopunk prototypes, and the sandstone walls felt warm with seeping sunlight. Ren passed the long mirror on the way to the kitchen, giving his reflection a sidelong glance as he walked. Once, one of Doc’s prototype machines had caught fire while he was taking a break to make some lunch. The machine had been ruined, as had several hours of work on a uniquely diagonaled roof. Ever since then, if his house had a connecting workshop, Doc put in a set of mirrors that let him look into the workshop. Ren thought it was kinda creepy in a vaguely superstitious way. Being able to see so much of the house meant no corner was truly blind, and therefore everything could be a threat if you squinted at it hard enough. He was waiting for the day he’d walk in from Doc’s workshop only to see that six rooms over some axe-wielding murderer was spying on him. 

The mirrors did, however, show Ren where the hammer was in the kitchen, along with the rather sad looking scraps of Doc’s microwave. Ren let out a disdainful tsk! at the mess on the counter, shrugged, and made his way back towards the workshop. He passed one mirror that glanced between the kitchen, the living room, and the workshop, and eyed it suspiciously, searching the corners of Doc’s house. He walked out of its view, then passed in front of the long mirror facing Doc’s workshop.

Ren froze.

The reflection he was looking at wasn’t him. 

Or, well, it was him, but it was a him that was a few inches taller with gray skin and cheekbones gaunt and sharp enough to sharpen a knife on. He was giving a tight-lipped scowl, even though Ren could definitely feel his jaw hanging open. The mirrored image of himself had its ears pinned back much like Ren’s, but their backward turn much more reflected the bristling of an angry wolf, and much less his own startled-dog response. There was a mantle of fur around his shoulders, a vicious ax scar still bleeding in places on his neck, and his crown, an unpolished and ruddy gold, sunk into his face just beneath his eyes, blinding him. The twisted metal was so tight where it rested, beads of blood trickled down the bridge of his nose and where the crown dug into his temples. 

Ren, understandably, gaped at the reflection peering back at him. His heart jumped in his chest, and the hair on the back of his neck bristled. The fur on the mantled cloak bristled in tandem. Ren blinked, and he swallowed, and watched his adam’s apple bob just above the ax scar.

“D… Doc?” Ren stammered, his throat suddenly dry. His reflection mirrored him perfectly, as it should, and the teeth of his reflection looked filed to points. “Wh… what the hell is up with your mirrors, dude?”

Ren slowly leaned away from the mirror, looking around the corner to the one he’d passed in the kitchen. His reflection there was perfectly normal, if not a little pale from the scare. Ren leaned back again, and the mirror in front of him was unchanged -- twisted golden crown and all. Ren squinted - a motion he could only see his reflection mirror in the way his nose scrunched and the crown sank on his brown - and he hesitantly held up his hand. The claws mirrored back at him were just as vicious as the teeth, fingertips coated in blood like he was fresh off of slaughtering something.

“Jeez.”

The word sounded weird when his reflection looked so intimidating. He reached his hand forward to touch the glass. The hand that mirrored his moved to match - and then lurched forward. Ren’s startled gasp smothered in his throat as the bloody hand reached through the mirror to wrap around his throat. It dragged him towards the mirror, and in his rush to brace himself against the mirror’s frame, he dropped the hammer with a loud clatter.

“What’s the matter, laddie,” The Red King growled, “I’ve not scared ye, have I?”

Ren wanted to quip something back, but his mind had gone blank in the wake of a wave of fear - and the knuckle of The Red King’s thumb was currently braced against his windpipe, making it incredibly hard to breathe. He pulled Ren closer to the mirror, like he intended to pull him inside, or crush him against the glass, or whatever it was evil doubles grabbing you through a mirror did once they’d grabbed you. Ren’s arms shook as he tried to pull away, but it felt like trying to drag a wall. The Red King’s grip was a vice, and he held Ren undaunted.

“I find it funny, ye have yer Wels speak my likeness and yet yer still surprised when I answer your call.” Their faces were so close, Ren should be able to feel The Red King’s breath on his face, but he can’t. It’s a dumb thing to notice, especially when he should be focusing on breathing, or breaking free, or any other number of more important things, but that’s what his frantic mind latches onto. The glass doesn’t even fog when The Red King speaks, even though Ren can feel the growl of his voice in the center of his chest. “Ye would have known of me soon enough. I am not a coward who waits on his enemy to strike first. I have tasted death once lad, and I will not taste it again o’er the likes of ye.”

Ren wheezes a breath and tries to stammer something. Something along the lines of I don’t know what you’re talking about or this doesn’t seem like a fair fight or let’s talk about this but he can’t breathe past The Red King’s grip hardly at all. Spots are starting to swim in his vision like fireflies, and he can hear his heartbeat in his ears and feel it harsh against The Red King’s grip, and his arms are starting to feel like rubber.

Doc’s hand, the angry-looking redstone and metal one, clamped down on The Red King’s wrist. His breath was a hiss, as was every gear and servo and circuit in his arm as he said, “Let him go, and I won’t snap your arm in half.”

Ren’s vision was swimming, more phosphorescent dots than vision, but he could still see enough to watch The Red King grin.

“Ye always did surround yerself with strong people, Ren. Stronger than ye ever were.”

The Red King pulled, and one of Ren’s arms buckled, and his face pressed dangerously close to the mirror before Doc managed to recover and pull back. He braced his shoulder against the wall and swore.

“But ye made me stronger, didn’t ye laddie? Strong enough to fight yer battles for ye. Strong enough to live, so ye could die and abandon yer army to their fate.”

Ren’s head was swimming. He managed to grunt through gritted teeth, “Doc-- the glass--!”

His vision swam dark and his grip slipped at the same time the mirror shattered. The hand on his throat vanished, and Ren gasped in a breath of air that was nearly kicked out of him again as he and Doc fell backwards. They landed heavy against the wall behind them and slumped to the floor, Ren cushioned against Doc the whole way down as he focused on gasping and breathing. His vision cleared of its dancing lights, but the phantom of the grip on his neck ached. In front of him, the mirror dripped red down its fractured surface, and Ren was scared for a moment that The Red King had found some horrific way to crawl through the cracks. Until he realized Doc’s hand wrapped around him, the organic one, the one he’d used to punch the mirror, was bleeding from a dozen fresh cuts.

“I meant - gasp - I meant th-the hammer - gasp - m-my dude.”

“Ah,” Doc said flatly, flexing his hand. Something popped worryingly, and Ren figured it was broken somewhere. “I panicked.”

“That’s… fair.”

“Out of all the hels,” Doc gulped shakily, “yours had to be the one stronger than my redstone arm. I was saving that line for something badass.”

Ren laughed, and it wheezed in a ragged mess through his sore throat. “It was still kind of badass.”

“It wasn’t, but thanks.”

Ren slipped his arms around Doc’s chest, because he kind of needed a hug right now and they were already halfway there anyway, what with him landing basically in Doc’s lap. He was trying not to hyperventilate, because the panic was starting to set in, and he thought it was already hard enough to breathe anyway. One of the shards of the broken mirror was dangerously close to his foot, and Ren kicked it away, suddenly scared The Red King would find a way to crawl out of it. Doc hugged him back with all the fervor of someone who was thinking way too hard about what might have happened if he’d been a few seconds slower coming down the hallway.

When they recovered, Doc took down all the mirrors in his house while Ren waited in the garage, trying not to glance his reflection in any of the windows.

[ @countthelions I've once again infected a good idea with my drama but this is inspired by your comments today ]

[carnationcreation]

7 with Luke please

TITLE: Uniform troubles (Luke Patterson x reader) [Marching Band AU]

✌🏻Masterlist Taglist, Requests, and Works in progress!

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Request: 7 with Luke please (Marching Band au)

Prompt/summary:  Luke really likes to bother the drum major in the marching band.

Word Count: 1,219

Authors note: I KNOW LUKE PLAYS GUITAR NOT DRUMS BUT HE GIVES ME CENTER SNARE PERCUSSION VIBES!!!! Also I didn’t really know where i was going with this so sorry if the plot seems weird, I was writing in between my online classes today

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some people say all drum majors have an ego.

I’d truly like to think I don’t, but I would be lying if I said I was always humble on my podium above the band.

It truly is a rush, having everyone stare at and rely on you to lead them in the right direction. I couldn’t do it all on my own of course, my section leaders are a big help in keeping everything in order. My band director handles things that are too big for me.

I never had any problems with section leaders. Well, except for a few.

Reggie Peters and Luke Patterson. 

Both high brass and percussion section leaders.

AKA dumb and dumber to the rest of the band.

“(Y/n)!”

I ran into the uniform room to see the youngest member of the percussion stuck inside a drum case while Luke and Reggie frantically try to unlatch the case.

“It’s stuck!”

I set to work on the other latches, “What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know!” he says, “He asked to be put in there!”

I rolled my eyes, finally after a few minutes of hitting at the rusted latches on the old drum case the boy finally popped his head out and wriggled the rest of his body to freedom.

“I swear Patterson if someone gets stuck in another case you’re on your own.”

His eyes widened, “Don’t tell Mr. Lockmore.”

“I’m not that cruel, just make sure it doesn’t happen again. You too Peters,” I said.

 Game days brought a different kind of hectic. Everyone running around trying to find uniforms, instruments, and equipment made it to where you couldn’t take more than a few steps without running into someone. 

Color guard always got ready during forth block. They took the most time due to having to curl and style hair as well as apply the show makeup they chose for this years theme.

After they cleared out of their room I would begin my process of getting ready. My hair took the most time so I did that first after putting my uniform on. 

BLAM!

The door burst open causing my to drop my curling iron.

“Fuck!” I shouted as the iron hit my thigh.

“I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

I saw Luke trying to zip up the back of his uniform, “I’m fine. What’s wrong?”

“Everyone’s lining up, can you zip me?”

I sighed before carefully zipping up the back and adjusting the rest of the uniform, “You really need to start actually folding this.”

“I always have to load up the percussion equipment.”

“Ah,” I said, I sighed, “Well hand it to me tonight and I’ll put the uniform up.”

“Really?” he said, his eyes lighting up and i giggled lightly.

“Sure.”

“You’re the best (Y/n)!” he shouted as he ran back to the percussion cabinet to grab his snare.

The schools fight song played loudly over the screaming fans. Everyone wore wide smiles as we filed out of the bleachers and back into the band room. After loading up my podium onto the band trailer for the competition the next day, I slowly walked back to the school. Most students had already left by the time I got there.

I saw Luke struggling to tell his section what to do and fiddle with folding his uniform.

“Give it here.”

He turned with a wide smile and handed me the rest of it, it took me a second to realize he was shirtless and my face started to turn hot.

He slipped a cut band tee over his head and started lifting the drum cases into their storage area.

I folded the suit carefully before placing it in the bang and hanging it up on the rack under his name.

“You really have it bad for him,” I heard from behind me. 

Alex Mercer, the color guard captain, gave me a smirk and patted me on the shoulder, “Don’t worry, half the band has a bet going on when you two will get together.”

“What?” I squeaked, my face growing hot again.

“Don’t worry about it. See you tomorrow!”

I went into the color guard room to get ready to go home. I let my hair down from it’s decorative style with a sigh of relief. 

I reached behind me to unzip the back of my uniform, I fumbled for it with my fingers for a few moments. Sighing, I stood up to try and get a better reach. 

“Need some help?”

I jumped at the sudden sound, “You scared me, and yeah can you get it for me?”

He brushed a few strands out of the way, his fingertips against my neck caused goosebumps to raise on my skin. I felt the cold air against my back and for a second I was worried he saw my bra.

Thank god I always wear a tank top underneath.

“Thanks,” I said, it was almost a whisper.

“I didn’t see your parents, do you have a ride home?” he asked.

“Ugh,” I said, my arms held the uniform up against my chest so it wouldn’t fall down. 

He noticed my discomfort, “Oh I’ll-”

“Yeah can you-”

“Turn around,” we both said at the same time. He gave me a shy smile and I giggled.

He turned so his back was facing me.

I slipped the uniform off and grabbed my comfy clothes to change. The leggings and baggy sweatshirt felt great after a long night in the tight uniform and cold air.

“So, do you need a ride?” Luke asked again.

“I was gonna wait till my mom got off at midnight, but if you’re offering I’ll take it.”

I went to move past him but just as I did he turned causing my to crash into his chest. My hands caught on his arms that had wrapped around me

“Sorry!” he said.

I giggled.

“I always seem to be causing you trouble, don’t I?”

I smiled and pulled back, my hands still lightly on his arms, “Not any more trouble than I can handle.”

“Oh, so miss preppy drum major likes trouble?” he smirked.

“Preppy? Who calls me preppy?” I tried to play off my blush as confidence.

He giggles, “No one except me. But I don’t think preppy is the right word.”

“What is the right word?”

“Pretty-” he says quickly before realizing what he said. His eyes go wide.

“You think I’m pretty?”

“I- I’ve always thought you were pretty. I was glad when you became drum major cause it gave me an excuse to stare at you...”

I smile and duck my head, again to hide the blush forming. 

His hand slowly lifts my chin up and his palm goes to my cheek.

My eyes must’ve been filled with shock or nervousness because his next question confuses me, “Is this okay?”

“More than okay.”

His face got within an inch of mine and I really, really, hoped he couldn’t hear my heart racing.

My phone buzzes.

“Sorry,” I wince but giggle, “Well I guess I really do need that ride, my mom won’t be coming home till late.”

Luke stares at me.

“Luke?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, we should get going.”

I lean forward and place a light kiss on his cheek before rushing out to his car. 

Luke whispers to himself, “I owe Alex twenty bucks...”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[n0wornever]

World Tour - Alive!Luke Patterson x Reader

Year: 1998

Luke stepped off the tour bus, smiling over at the large line of girls who waited eagerly in line. The queue spun around the entire building, leading up to their old stomping grounds: The Orpheum Theatre. 

“Seems a little full circle,” Alex said, coming up to stand beside Luke. 

The blonde rested a hand on the guitarist’s shoulder as the both basked in the glow of their upcoming performance. Although they had played in arenas around the world from Paris to Japan, something make him feel on top of the world most when they played on that stage. Their first break still feeling like it happened yesterday.

“You boys ready to put on a show?” 

Reggie appeared to Luke’s other side, his guitar already wrapped around his torso as he played mindlessly. Luke bit down on his bottom lip, giving each boy a quick glance before moving forward and standing in front of them. The boy practically jumped up and down in place with excitement. 

“We’ve got this boys, let’s end this tour with a bang.”

Their bodyguard came out from the bus and lead them toward the back entrance. The boys went right to the stage to play through soundcheck before heading back to their individual dressing rooms. 

As Luke opened the door, a familiar figure captured his attention immediately. She ran a hand through her hair before giving him a wide smile. 

“Hey rockstar,” Her cheeks red from the wine swirling in the glass she held. She set down the glass and looked at him expectedly. 

He beamed back at her, dropping his guitar on the couch and heading straight toward her. His arms snaked around her hips as he pulled her into his lips. She smiled into his kiss, arms wrapping around his neck. As they pulled away, she let her fingers graze against his neck.

“I missed you,” She said with pouting lips. 

“I missed you so much more.”

She couldn’t debate any more before her boyfriend captured her lips again. She pressed against his chest to pull back and get some air. His red cheeks caused goosebumps to raise on her arms as his eyes stared into hers.

“Are you going to be out there while we perform,” He questioned, his fingertips rubbing the small of her back.

She leaned her head to the side, smiling. 

“Front row baby, you know I’ll be there.” 

He lifted her into his arms and spun her in a circle. She giggled like crazy as her feel lifted off the ground, eyes never leaving his. His lips caught hers as her brought her back to the ground.

A loud knock interrupted the happy couple, a loud voice on the other side calling for Luke to get on stage. The pair giggled in each other’s faces as the knocking started again. Luke pressed a quick kiss to her lips before responding. 

“Yeah, I’m coming,” He turned back to her, lifting her hand up to his mouth and kissing her knuckles. “See you out there baby.” 

Y/N watched him grab his guitar and bounce out the door. She grabbed her glass and downed the rest of it before walking toward the entrance herself. She walked down the narrow hallway to a side staircase. 

As she entered the open arena, a sea of people flooded the stage. Her VIP pass brought her to the area right in front of the pit. She waved at the boy’s security guard before leaning again the cool metal behind her. 

The lights began to dim as a loud, pulsating bass took over the speakers. Y/N’s grin grew as she watched the shadows of the band become visible to the stage. Alex started to hit the drum slowly, the spotlight shining above him. Reggie’s bass began to sound as a light appeared around him too. Bobby next, fingers flying down the strings in a beam of yellow and finally, her boy. 

Luke took center stage, his guitar swung behind his back as he grabbed the mic. He let his right leg sit against the edge of the stage. His smirk grew as he took in the crowd around him yelling their band’s name. His eyes met hers right as he began to speak. 

“We’re Sunset Curve, MAKE SOME NOISE ORPHEUM THEATRE!” 

She wrapped her hands around her lips, screaming with the fans behind her. The crowd began to shout “now or never” repeatedly around her.  Luke’s smile only grew as he listened to the chanting. He shot a wink her way before starting the talk to the crowd again.

“This one’s called Now or Never, but I guess you all already know that.” 

.

.

.

.

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[slothgiirl]

Nothing’s gonna take you from my side (mc x noah fic)

15k. in which mc deals with the fallout of redfield/jane all while reconnecting with the boy they thought they’d lost forever. should be gender neutral but @ me if i made a mistake.

warning for mental illness. 

happy spooky month. (i basically started playing choices again and that made me miss my boy noah marshall and here we are 48 hours later. pls dont let this flop

before.

You can't sleep with that tree outside your window. Still, out of the corner of your eye as you get ready to lie in bed awake until morning, you can still see Cody's dead body in the branches. And every single time it's a rush for the bathroom as bile rises in your throat.

It's five in the morning when you finally snap, grabbing the axe from your garage and sinking the blade into the tree trunk with a satisfying wack. You can't sleep. You're a newly minted adult but ever shadow in the night, in the dark, makes you jump.

You swing the axe again, with a closed mouth scream of animal desperation.

The precious few hours you are able to sleep are hardly enough: especially when shut eye equals nightmares for you. It's a mixture of Jane and the monster who turned out to be Jane in a goddamn tragedy and all the really fucked up things that didn't happen (everyone dying). You dream of the girl who was Jane. You dream of being stuck in the same way that Jane was, as you scream and scream and no one ever comes to help you and it's easy to see why your friend ended up as twisted, a poor version of herself, after being left alone to rot all those years.

And that makes you think of him.

You swing the axe even as the tears sting your eyes because it wasn't what everyone thought. Maybe. . .you can never find it in you to blame him for his actions, not when you understood-understand him so well. It was Jane. And in the end.

You leave the blade stuck in the tree trunk, not even halfway cut, as you cover your mouth with your hands and let out a grueling cry. It's an accumulation of living in fear for months: of the terror that seems to live in your mind even in the aftermath, even when the woods have been peaceful for months. Slumping into the ground, you hug your knees to your chest, still in pajamas, and let yourself cry. Again.

Sometimes it feels like crying is all you're capable of. It seems strange to keep on living when-it should've been you. He deserved to live, to be happy, to be more. . .

“Aw kid,” Cid says, walking up to you, cup of coffee in hand. “Let's get you inside.”

You nod shakily, wiping your eyes with the back of your hand, before getting up, brushing the dirt off your legs.

Cid wraps an arm around you, giving you more care and attention then your parents have in years. No wonder you understood him so well. You should’ve reached out sooner. You should’ve never pulled away after Jane. . .

“Jesus kid, you’re freezing. How long have you been out here for?”

Shrugging, you utter, “I-I couldn’t sleep. . .the tree.” And fuck, even to your own ears you sound like a complete disaster. Where did the fire that had you charging into the woods for Andy go? You look at your reflection in the glass planes of the back door and see a teenager who looks more like a ghost then a real living person.

There’s dark shadows under your eyes that no amount of concealer could hide. You lips a harsh line across your mouth. And there was a haunted quality in your eyes that matched the photos of refugees fleeing war. It was PTSD as Lucas would say back when none of your friends could sleep through the night.

“I’ll call someone to get rid of the tree,” Cid offers, as he gently guides you up the stairs, “just try and get some sleep. How else are you gonna enjoy your last summer before college?”

You nod listlessly.

Before you can curl up in the guest bedroom, you stare out into the woods behind your house. But there’s no shadows congregating into a shadowy person. There’s no red eyes glowing from the treeline and you have to wonder if Ava’s right; if Noah really is. . .dead.

“Relax Lucas,” Stacy grins, “no one’s gonna know,” she says, taking her hand off the steering wheel to slap his arm.

Lucas rolls his eyes. “I didn’t even say anything.”

You’re sitting smushed in the back with Lily and Ava and Dan. Andy had physical therapy today, otherwise there would be even less space in the back seat. Though Stacey’s mom van is roomy enough.

“Then why do you look constipated,” Ava laughs, not looking up from her latest book on witchcraft.

“Ava!” Lily giggles besides you.

“Have you figured out what to do with Pritch’s house,” Lucas asks instead.

“Not really,” Ava admits, “it's a dope house but. ..” everyone sombers up, “I-I don’t really want to live that close to the woods, y’know.”

It’s lily that jolts you all out of the awkward mood. “Maybe you should’ve gone to a college out of state then,” she prods, “Didn’t you get into Washington University?”

Ava shrugs, “community college is way more fucking cheap though. We can’t all get a full ride to Berkeley.”

Lily blushes, but smiles proudly all the same.

You stare out the window as the woods thin out, as you drive further and further down the interstate and a bolt of panic enters your chest as you realize you’re leaving the woods behind. You wrap the jean jacket that isn’t yours more tightly around your chest. It’s summer. But there’s a chill in your bones that never seems to relent.

“Yeah, yeah,” Stacey teases, “Berkeley’s alright, but it’s no NYU.”

“Are you a big city girl now,” Ava teases her, finally shutting her book, “going to go meet your Mr. Big?”

“Since when do you watch sex in the city?”

“It’s Sex and the city actually,” Lucas corrects with a grin.

“We binged a couple of seasons at Andy’s house the other day. That Miranda lesbian episode was fucking gross though,” Ava adds.

“We’ve always lived in a small town,” Stacey explains, “and New York seems like a dream.”

“Pizza rat though,” Lily counters.

“Okay, you’ve got a point,” Stacey admits, “but it’ll be nice not being known as former Major Green’s daughter.”

“I thought you guys were working on it,” you speak up, slumped against the backseat.

“We are,” Stacey nods happily, “it’s not really my parents. It’s me too I guess. I hate when people act like that’s all I am. And I think it’ll be a great experience. I loved the campus when I visited.”

“I’m happy for you Stace,” Lucas says softly.

“Plus I’ll get to heckle Lucas around town!” Stacey says once again, taking her hand off the steering wheel to slap Lucas’ shoulder.

Lucas rolls his eyes. “You’re buying me McDonalds.”

“McDonalds sounds good,” Lily adds, “I could go for some nuggies before we hit up Ikea.”

“Nuggies,” Ava snorts as Stacey pulls up to the Mcdonalds across the street from Ikea.

“Do you not want nuggies,” Lily says arching a brow.

“Oh I want nuggies,” she replies shamelessly.

“What about you hon,” Stacey asks. There’s only one other car before you have to order but you’re not hungry. Your appetite seems to have vanished along with your sleep. Even getting rid of the tree hadn’t helped much. Currently you had taken to sleeping in the living room, but sleep was still hard to come by.

“I’m okay,” you answer, “maybe just a small coffee.”

Stacey glances over at Lucas, before fixing her concerned gaze on you. “You sure? We haven’t had anything to eat since we left.”

You wanted to say you hadn’t even had breakfast, but you don’t want her to get any more concerned then she already was. It had been six months and you were still fucked up. Meanwhile your friends had recovered. Maybe they weren’t at one hundred percent, but none of them were calling you crying at three in the morning. . .anymore. It was just you that couldn’t get over it.

And there was no one you could talk to.

They hadn’t been there at the end with him the way you had. They couldn’t understand. When you told them it was Jane and not Redfield, when you told them what Noah had sacrificed in the end, they couldn’t wrap their head around it. And they didn’t want to. They just wanted to move on.

But you couldn’t.

Some essential part of you was forever in the ruins, as if you’d never left that night at all.

And the only other person who could understand was there too.

Right?

He had to be.

The same way Jane had been.

It was a selfish wish, knowing how being tethered to the power could twist a person, but you couldn’t help it. It was Noah. If you were a better person, you’d wish he’d moved on like Jane, and maybe he had. Maybe that's why nothing had happened in the months since that night.

Dan slips his hand in yours, and squeezes.

You smile gently and try to focus on enjoying the day with your friends.

The woods seem strange without a monster lurking in the shadows.

You're not even that close: hadn't even stepped one foot in the woods since that night. When you'd emerged hysterically crying and covered in dirt, all banged up from Jane, uttering his name like a prayer for which no words exist and quickly been taken to the hospital, you were sure you'd never step foot in the woods again.

Andy told you days later that no one had been able to find the ruins after your friends. No one had recovered his body.

You swallow thickly, hands pressed into a fist at your sides. There might be nothing out there. But if there's any chance that he is-that he's alice in whatever shape or form, you can't live with yourself if you abandon him the same way you'd abandoned his sister.

Sure, you were kids. You hadn't known better with Jane. But you're 18 now. You won't repeat the same mistake twice.

“Noah,” you whisper, taking a step closer to the tree line on one of the roads into town. You couldn't be at home right now, not with the open house going on.

Nothing.

Not even the crack of leaves or a bird singing. Just eerie silence as though the power and woods were one and the same and without the monster lurking in the dark, the woods were less haunting: less magical.

“Noah,” you repeat, taking a step forward until your hand touches the bark of the nearest tree, still safely held in the daylight, “Noah, it's me. Are you out there?”

You sniffle as tears well up in your eyes because you don't know what to do if he's really gone. You barely knew what to do with him when he was alive, all the complicated feelings of love and loss between you made it too hard for you to think clearly when it came to him. You only knew you couldn't let him go. Not again.

Too bad.

He'd still. . .that night. . .

“I meant it,” you utter louder, “I'm not leaving you again Noah.” If he even remembered who he was. Jane hadn't always remembered. “Noah, please let me know you're still out there.” Your gaze flits about as you look around the woods hoping to see any sign of shadows pooling together or those burning red eyes.

But there's nothing.

You wrap your arms around your chest, lips pinched tightly because fuck maybe he really was gone and you should be happy he isn't a monster but it's Noah and you're selfish because you should hate him after what he'd done to Andy and the others and you but you can't and you just want him back but things are never going back to the way they were and maybe that's a good thing because before you hadn't spoken to Dan in years and you wouldn't have know where everyone was going to college but at least Noah was alive if not happy and-and-

-you're gasping for breath.

A panic attack.

The first time this happened, you hadn't known what to do. It had felt like dying, stuck in that chair unable to help your friends all over again. It had felt like a blow to the chest as Noah came to the cold hard realization that there wasn't much left of Jane in the monster.

It had been Dan who'd talked you through it. And you take deep breaths and try to calm down because you were going into the woods again.

Just not today.

Tires screech to a halt behind you as you try to compose yourself in the midst of tears, short choked breathes that leave you gasping, and you're always so fucking cold even in mid July. Your flannel and jean jacket do little to keep you warm.

“Hon,” Stacey calls out, running up next to you, before saying carefully, “what are you doing out here?”

“She's clearly not okay,” Connor sighs, wrapping his arm around your shoulders, taking your other side. “Shit you're freezing.”

“I'm fine,” you reply tightly, voice cracking.

Stacey smiles sadly, wrapping her arms around you in a tight hug, the kind of hug you've always wanted from your parents when they tell you everything's going to be alright and you actually believe them. “You're okay. They can't hurt you now.”

Connor looks back at his truck, emergency lights flashing, “we were going to get pizza, wanna come with us? It's family night.”

You hug Stacey right back, arms around her waist, chin on her shoulder, gazing out into the seemingly normal woods. “You guys do family night now?”

“We were going to make pizza,” Stacey mummers by your ear, “but we killed the yeast and the dough never rose.”

“So we're buying pizza now,” Connor adds with a laugh.

You nod, “if you think that's alright.”

“Of course it's alright,” Stacey responds right away, “you're always welcome at my house.”

Her words make you want to cry all over again. It's enough to tease the smallest of smiles out of your lips. “Sounds good.”

Her grip on you eases to match her brothers, one arm around your shoulder. You're flanked by the Green siblings: safe and sound.

They lead you back to Connor’s truck, gossiping about how Staceys moms still wondering if it's not too late for Stacey to major in economics and how leaving politics has actually made their family much better, but that might just be the family therapy they're all going to. “Mom also wanted to roadtrip to New York to drop Stacey off,” Connor grins, “s’ gonna be so embarrassing for you. Have your parents walk you to your first class.”

“Oh shut it you,” Stacey retorts, clicking her seat belt.

You glance back one last time at the woods and-

there, behind a dead tree, it's rotting husk is a bounty for all the decomposers and bugs that live in the woods, a pair of glowing blue eyes looking right at you. Your heart skips a beat as you place your hand on the window, whispering so softly, “Noah,” as Connor drives into town.

Neither sibling hears you.

“Are you sure you want to live here,” Andy says skeptically as Dan and Ava help you carry the boxes of things you'd decided to keep when you sold your old house. It had too many bad memories for you to sleep there. “It's-,”

Bound by the woods on three sides, the backyard merging with the woods of the small cottage from the 1930s, before the cookie cutter houses of the suburbs were built.

“It's got character,” Ava grins, tossing a box down in the hall. “Still can't believe your parents let you sell the house.”

“They really like Alaska,” you shrug. You weren't sure what part their research base was in. Were they even still in Alaska?

“I wish my parents let me move out already,” she rolls her eyes, “but no. If I'm staying for community college then I have to live with them.”

Andy sits on the couch, crutches resting on the wall next to him. “I still can't believe I have to repeat senior year.”

“At least we’re together,” Dan says shyly, taking care to put down the box he'd carried inside down and out of the way so no one will trip.

“And we don't have to worry about Redfield this time,” Ava adds.

Dan elbows her.

“What! I'm just saying!”

Andy rolls his eyes. “So you're back to being the scariest witch in town then?”

“Damn right I am,” Ava grins. “Check this out.” She sticks her hand out and even gets you to wander over to her. Ave glances at you all, making sure you're paying attention, before snapping her fingers.

Nothing happens.

“Um,” Andy's about to start.

Ava rolls her eyes, snapping her fingers once more.

This time, smoke wafts up from the space between her thumb and middle finger.

“Shit Ava,” Andy's eyes go wide. “Should we even be messing around with that again.”

“It's just magic,” Ava huffs.

You say nothing, wondering if Noah would show up now that you were closer to the woods. Closer to him.

He hadn't appeared since that day.

It was enough to make you wonder if you really were seeing things.

“Well whatever it was that,” Dan, swallows, “that power Pritch told you about. . .its still out there even if it's not. . .” he trails off as unsettled as Andy who had rapidly lost all color.

“No-no. It's gone,” Andy said, “right?”

“Ask them,” Ava nudges you with her arm, “you're the one that spends all your time staring at the woods.”

“I-ugh,” you stutter wondering what happened to leave you this much of a mess. You look in the mirror and wonder where the person who told off Cody and Britney for bullying your friends went.

“Ava,” Dan snaps. “leave them alone. Let's just-”

“Not talk about this,” Andy finishes.

“No one ever want to talk about it but it's right there,” Ava yells, pointing her hand out the window.

“I think it's gone dormant again,” you lie. “like before we found that place.”

“I hope so,” Andy mutters.

“I'll be fine here,” you reassure them. “I don't want to be afraid of the woods for the rest of my life.”

“Right,” Ava says with a pained smile. “Let's finish getting these boxes in so we can start watching what we do in the shadows.”

“Again,” Andy complains, “what's wrong with-”

“We're not watching spider-man again!” Dan groans.

“Spider-man is a trans icon,” Andy replies.

“The only acceptable spider-man is the 1st and 2nd movie with Tobey Mcguire,” Ava adds.

You giggle softly, “why can't we just watch both. It's not like we have school tomorrow.”

“Finally someone with a brain,” Dan smiles.

Noah tosses rocks into a lake, little pebbles he can't make skip.

You laugh, teasing him easily. “What a loser!” From your spot sitting on the lake edge.

He turns back towards you with a scowl that carries no real heat, “I’d like to see you do better.”

“You think I can't,” you retort easily, getting up and dusting the dirt and grass from your butt. You never did know when to back down from a challenge.

“I know you can't,” he grins.

“Asshole,” you bite back as he drops a few pebbles into your outstretched hand, warm from his touch, and doesn't that make your insides turn to mush.  

“Takes one to know one.”

You take a pebble into your hand and flick your wrist.

It sinks right where it lands.

“Motherfucker,” you curse as Noah breaks out into laughter, his wide brown eyes dancing with glee as you pout.

“Don’t be a sore loser.”

“I didn’t say anything,” you wave off, “best two out of three.”

“No,” Noah snips back, “you lost.”

You roll your eyes, shoving him playfully. “Alright alright but I don’t even know how to swim so it’s not really my fault.” You look around at the lake. It’s a beautiful sight, the woods on the other side of the shore like something right out of a painting.

“You don’t know how to swim,” Noah says without missing a beat, ready to keep on teasing you.

You shrug, “it’s not like I had a pool in my backyard.”

His expression falls, “yeah well,” he fiddles with his beanie, “mom filled it up not long after. . .”

“I’m sorry,” you tell him, closing the distance between the two of you, and wrapping your arms around him in an easy hug because you knew that Noah could be weird about this sort of sudden affection.

“It’s fine.”

“Still.”

He brings his hand up to cup your cheek.

The gesture sends your heart beating like a hummingbird in your chest, the base of your throat burning with anticipation for something you’ve never let yourself think about because when had it ever been the right time for this. When had you ever had the time to think about the possibility you dared no name.

Noah’s brows furrow, “where are we?”

You frown, looking around without moving away from him. The feel of his hand against the skin of your cheek felt like the only thing anchoring you to this world. It made you feel real in a way that you’d stopped feeling like a part of the world ever since the terrors of your senior year had started. The shoreline looks beautiful as you gaze out at the lake and behind you there’s a small quaint town and you know this has something to do with Tom and Andy but you can’t remember what right now even as you bite your lip in thought.

Your gaze goes back to Noah, words dying on your parted lips when you meet his eyes. Gone are the warm brown irises that had given him the perfect puppy dog eyes as a child, able to slip out of trouble easily. Instead his eyes burn an electric blue because it’s not Noah anymore but the shadow monster and you flinch in fear, pulling away so fast you stumble, tripping over grass and then you’re falling into the lake.

You can’t swim.

You scream, arms flailing out trying desperately to catch yourself.

Noah-the monster-the monster that might be Noah, reaches out one shadowy limp, and then you’re underwater.

Plunged suddenly into ice water, you take a deep breath from the shock that fills your lungs with water and you kick your legs but they are stuck in something and the sunlights never seemed so far away.

You don’t want to drown.

You don’t want to die here.

“Noah,” you scream in the water. Because if it is Noah he’ll help you. He won’t let you die. He died to save you once after all and you haven’t been able to stop thinking about that day. You hadn’t wanted to die but you hadn’t wanted him to die either. You had just wanted him.

You had just wanted the nightmare to end.

Gasping, drenching in sweat, you jolt up from the desk you’d fallen asleep on. Everyone’s packing up their things and leaving. The class is over and you’re shaking, looking around wildly as if you can conjure Noah up by sheer force of will.

He’d been in your dream.

Just like Andy a year ago.

It was real.

Noah was still out there and you had to find him before he lost his mind alone in the awful forest that you still hated. The leaves rustling outside your windows at night was enough to keep you from leaving your bed. The way the trees cast shadows meant you threw the trash away in the morning.

Noah was still out there and he needed you.

You don’t realize you’re crying until your English 101 Professor walks up to you, still sitting even as the next set of students start filling in.

“Do you think you can stand up,” he asks, peering down through his glasses. He’s an older man, beard gone white, short, with a bit of a belly like most middle aged people. Clad in corduroy, a white shirt, and a wool vest, he’s the very picture of what you imagine a professor to look like. Nothing like your biology professor who’d walked into class with sandals and a big tie dye piece of fabric that almost worked as a dress.

You nod, grabbing your notebook and hastily shoving it into your backpack, ignoring the searching stares of other students.

You follow your professor out the door, still shaking, shoving the hair that was sticking to your forehead, damp with sweat, out of your face. Your eyes flit around, searching for a boy you know isn’t there but if Jane sensed your distress with Cody then maybe Noah will sense yours.

“Sorry,” your professor says bashfully, “I still haven’t learned names, but are you alright? You look really shaken.”

You nod, not trusting yourself to speak, all bundled up in a flannel, sweater, and jacket combo that helped ease the a/c that blasted the lecture room into arctic temperatures. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, just had a nightmare.”

“Hope I wasn’t that bad,” the man chuckles, “it was only the first lecture.”

“No,” you try, “no, it’s not you. I’ve-I have a lot of nightmares. And I don’t get much sleep.”

“Because of the nightmares,” the man asks, and you wonder what you’re doing spilling your guts out to this stranger when you keep telling Andy that you’re good. You keep telling Dan that you’re getting enough sleep and no mom you were eating a big heart breakfast even though it was usually only cereal that turned to mush before you could finish it.

“Yeah,” you sigh, clutching onto the strap of your backpack. “I’ve just sort of been a mess. And,” your voice cracks, “it’s just me. For a while it was all of my friends but they got better and I feel like shit because I can’t move on and it’s been almost a year.” And there was the word vomit.

“I know it’s not much but,” your professor tries, “everyone heals at different lengths of time.”

“I think I’m late for class,” you suddenly realize, because you’d scheduled art history right after english so you wouldn’t have nothing to do on campus for over an hour.

“It’s just the first day,” he repeats.

“I should get going,” you tell him.

“Of course.”

“I’ll try not to fall asleep in your class.”

“How about you first try to get some sleep at home.”

You feel heat rise to your cheeks, “yeah. No promises though.”

You’re painstakingly trying to make dinner that isn’t kraft mac and cheese or a frozen entree from trader joes. But you quickly learn that you don’t have a lot of the pantry staples. Like pepper, or bay leaves, and kraft mac and cheese was looking likelier by the minute. Who knew making pasta was so complicated.

At least you have salt for the pasta water, from the salt packets you’d collected over the course of the last month of take out. It was economical despite what Stacey had chastised you about the last time you’d facetimed. One takeout box worked as lunch and dinner.

Maybe Dan had a point.

You probably weren’t eating enough. All your jeans were a little loose now, but at least you were finally using the belt Ava had given you for your birthday so that you too could be “a bad bitch like me,” according to her.

At least the pasta sauce was easty, being from a can, all you had to do was heat it up.

There was enough daylight left, even as fall crept into the world, that you left the curtains open. It wasn’t like you were completely abandoned out here. You lived at the old house at the end of a street. And yeah, the woods surrounded your humble abode one three sides, but if you screamed, the neighbors would definitely hear.

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be Cid running over to check on you anymore.

You finally finish making pasta, only to find you didn’t leave the pasta boiling for long enough. The noodles are still chewy but you power through it in the name of self care.

It’s not that bad. Really, for the first attempt. You’ll have to go grocery shopping for more than chips and lunchables though if you plan on cooking more in the future and fuck why does everything connect back to Noah.

Like a great student in the cast of the Lucas, you’ve already finished your assignments due tomorrow but only because yeah, Andy had sort of been right, living this close to the woods freaked you out at night but every single night, like tonight, you bundled yourself in an oversized sweater you might or might not have begged off Noah’s mom, and step into your backyard with a heavy duty flashlight because you know you saw him. He’s out there, and maybe Lucas and Lily had been right to leave far far away, but you couldn’t when Noah was stuck here forever.

He didn’t deserve that. He was just a messed up kid the same way you all were after having gone messing around in those ruins as kids.

You step into the chilly air in dollar tree flip flops that you’d bought when you’d all gone to drop Tom off at his new job by his university, the local one that Tom had sort of always wanted to go to because unlike you, he’d thought about college since junior year instead of waiting for the last quarter of high school to panic. Your feet still get dirt on them, but not as much as if you went out barefoot.

“Noah,” you utter as loud as you dare in the quiet of the evening.

You didn't fancy becoming the local neighborhood crazy lady though you were on your way there.

Maybe it could be you and Ava as the village witches.

Holding the flashlight loosely, the same one Noah had taken into the woods when you’d both gone to save Dan, you cry out, feeling more sure of yourself by the minute, “Noah, are you out there? I think I saw you but considering how many police officers thought I must've seen things back in-well that night, I could have just imagined you. But I didn't, did I?” You sigh, peering out into the dark. “Do you remember me Noah? I'm your friend and-I just want to know you're there. I miss you Noah.”

Nothing peers back at you.

Last year, you'd feared seeing something looking back at you from the trees. Now, you wish there was a monster lurking about. Your monster.

Your life had officially gone from an Ari Aster horror movie to a Guillermo Del Toro movie. But given the last months, you weren't surprised.

You bite your lip, taking one last look around the yard before turning back to go to bed. “Goodnight Noah.”

Even Ava would be concerned if she knew you were purposely trying to get the shadow monster creature that Noah now was to come. She was firmly on the Noah is a SOB club. Which you might have been in if you hadn't seen Noah in the last moments of his life.

If he hadn't ultimately saved both you and Jane. In the end.

If if if. Your entire life now centered around what ifs.

You kick the kitchen counters in frustration. “Fuck,” you yell, wishing you could fix things: feeling helpless and alone and this would probably be another night tossing and turning until sunrise.

The pan of pasta you'd made earlier clatter to the floor, tomato sauce spilling like blood on the tile floor.

You scream, the ice in your veins thawing for the first time in months only to give way to the familiar terror of knowing something was in here with you. Something was in your kitchen.

You turn, bracing yourself for disappointment.

A figure coalesces from the shadows in the middle of your kitchen--you'd walked right by it without out noticing--it's eerie blue eyes glittering like fireflies in the encroaching darkness of the twilight hours. It casts its shadow across the entire house, blotting out the lamplight from the hallway, from the patio lights.

Noah.

You don't think twice, because it's Noah. Doesn't matter what shape or form he takes, you'd know this boy anywhere. Maybe it was Jane or running into the woods alone together that had bonded you until you couldn't even accept the idea he might be gone when every fiber of your being knew he wasn't, but you know it's him.

You reach out towards the shadows, taking a step forward, “Noah,” you whisper gently, awed by the fact he was finally here. “I've missed you. I-I was scared I wouldn't see you again. That you didn't want to see me.”

The creature that is and isn't Noah tilts its head, and you wonder if he remembers you at all.

You take another step forward, full in the shadows reach, “Do you remember me Noah? I'm your. . .” Friends wasn't enough to cover the ocean currents of emotions that swept through you when it came to Noah. “You're Noah. And I promised I wouldn't leave you again and I mean to keep my promise.”  

Your outstretched hand hovers between you, putting the ball firmly in his court. You're close enough where you could just touch him, but you wait.

Finally, after holding your breath and listening to blood rush in your ears, Noah reaches out with his own hand-like shadow brushing like a cool breeze against your hand.

“Sss s-stay.”

You nod quickly, a smile forming in your lips, tears of joy in your eyes forming rivers down your cheeks. “I will. You don't have to be alone anymore Noah. Not ever.”

during.

Your painstakingly cut out all the different groceries on the flyers as well as adding in all the index cards of additional groceries that weren't on the flyers instead of finishing your calculus homework. You couldn't wait until you were done with math for life.

It was nice to sit on the floor if a little awkward as Noah hovered about. Sometimes it was a lot like talking to yourself.

“-So my english teacher, professor I mean, put me in touch with a company to do their social media since I'm good at english or whatever. You know, the one I told you saw me wake up from a nightmare. Which is nice since I could use a big girl job. I sent my very sparse resume this morning so I'm just waiting to hear back from them.” You start spreading out each card on the floor before curling up on the sofa.

“Okay Noah,” you gesture with a laugh because really what was your life that you were letting Noah who didn't even have a body decide your grocery list for the week. “Remember we want a pile.” You'd dubbed this monster motor skills practice much to Noah's annoyance.

His eyes flicker red and you can guess the look he's giving you.

“Oh shut up,” you laugh easily, “I have to have my fun somehow. We don't all get to knock food off the counter when you don't like it.” He didn't even eat and yet somehow your cooking skills were still offensive to him.

He laughs in an approximation of leaves rustling in the wind: leaves crunching under boots as you walked through the woods. Then, Noah finally starts grasping at the bits of paper in creative ways. Sometimes he conjures up a gust of wind which has vastly improved from blowing everything to just getting the right bit of paper onto the couch by your side. Occasionally he'll grasp at the paper which is a toss up if it'll actually work. Then there the good old vanishing and reappearing which is the most taxing but fun to watch.

“I see you think we have that adult money,” you grown as he goes for the wagyu beef. “I'm going to have to stop letting you watch worth it when I'm in class.”

Noah grumbles, before sending a pillow your way.

Another headshot.

“Don't be a dick.”

“Sss o rry,” Noah says, not meaning it even a tiny bit.

You dissolve into laughter because honestly what was your life that this was how you spent your days. With Noah. With your monster.

It takes another hour but you finally have your list. “I'm not making lasagna. Baked ziti is easier.”

Noah sends a burst of wind your way.

“Shut up I’m not lazy. Cooking is just so long! You have to cut all these things and lasagna means boiling so many noodles without tearing them and I always feel like I'm wasting salt by seasoning the water.” You ramble on as you copy down the homework answers for your math work from Slader.

“Las yyya.”

“Ziti,” you counter, refusing to budge. “Maybe art history could be my major but I think I like the writing part of english the most, but I wouldn't want to be an english teacher.”

“Lasss a ya.”

“Fine,” you roll your eyes, “I won't change the subject but the answer’s still ziti.”

If he could, you imagine Noah would roll his eyes as he settles down on the couch in front of you. You sitting criss cross applesauce on the couch with your laptop and notebook.

Noah reaches his hand out and you no longer flinch at the cool touch of shadow that obscure everything. Like a black void, not cold or warm. His touch is the closest thing to warmth you've felt since that night and maybe something inside of you was permanently broken if you couldn't get warm.

His hand against yours, hovering in the air because he wasn't corporal enough to hold your hand and fuck your heart aches at the thought that this is as good as it gets. That your growing pile of research into folklore and the occult that you hid from Ava wouldn't fix this. That you couldn't bring Noah back to.  . .back to himself.

Someone knocks on the door.

It must be Dan.

Noah rises like the moon in the night sky, smothering out the light pouring in from the windows, eyes flashing red.

You roll your eyes. Men. “It's just Dan. He's a friend. Your friend too. Remember I told you about our friends?”

Noah tilts his head. “fr iendssss?”

“Yeah. Friends,” you concur, tucking your hair behind your ears as you close your computer. “Now go. I'll be back tonight.”

“Noah ahhh lone.”

You shake your head having gone through this a hundred times before. “Don't be so melodramatic Noah. I'm going to the grocery store and mooching off Dan's car, ‘s not like I'm going to the moon.”

Within the span of a blink, he's gone.

You open the door to Dan’s cheery face. “So High school still sucks. I should've done online homeschool.”

“Well don't tell Ava that. She'll never let you live it down,” you comment.

Dan shrugs. “It's nice having Andy though. And you two.”

“Ah yes, us,” you tease, “the village weirdos.”

“It's good to see you laughing again,” Dan comments without judgement. “You looked rough all summer.”

You bite your lip, thinking his words over. “Yeah. It’s. . .Its nice to feel like a real living person again.”

“Did you go to therapy like Stacey said,” Dan asks.

You shake your head. “I stopped looking back.” Which was almost the whole truth. You'd stopped looking back because Noah was here with you now.

Deciding to change the subject because you hated lying to your friend, you ask, “did Ava say what our halloween plans are this year?”

Dan nods, letting it go, “Rocky Horror Picture Show plus lots of booze. Her words, not mine.”

“Andy shot down the cemetery idea?”

“Tom was the winning argument,” Dan confesses. “Called getting drunk at the cemetery too pedestrian.”

You laugh so hard your shoulders shake. “Fucking Tom, man. Yeah I wasn't looking forward to sneaking into a cemetery either.” You hated the idea of Noah having a gravestone when he was still alive and kicking. Your major annoyance of a roommate.

“Thank god for theater then,” Dan says with a smile as you pull into town.

It's springtime in your dream. The flowers are brighter and more fragrant than any wildflower bloom you'd seen with your real walking eyes. Even as the rain pours gently in a scene that would never exist in the same perfection in real life.

You're in the same opening in the woods that you'd found Dan in. A place you hadn't ventured since.

Noah sits, back against a tree truck, as close to flesh and blood as he could get nowadays.

Without hesitation, you run to him, “Noah,” you cry out in joy.  

His disarmingly warm brown eyes meet yours, brimming with the same joy you feel bubbling up from the tips of your toes all the way to your lips where you're smiling so hard it hurts. “Sup.”

You giggle, sitting down next to him, “I see you finally learned to talk.”

He rolls his eyes, before he wraps his arms around you and hugs you against his chest. “Is this real? Or just a dream.”

“Funny,” you whisper back softly, “I was just about to ask you the same thing.”

You're missing him the moment he lets you go, pulling back. His shoulder still resting against yours as if you're two trees leaning against each other for support, too intertwined to separate now.

Noah studies you carefully, without any shame, with his own features for once. He looks at you with a kind of heart wrenching earnestness that you can't bear to see for this long without reaching for him but you don't dare.

You look away, the hollow of your mouth filling with emotion. You don't know what to do with it.

You hug your knees to your chest, lapsing into silence.

He brings his hand up to your cheek, causing you to wordlessly lean into his touch, a bone deep need that would send you into his arms even knowing that he'd led you and all your friends into a trap. Even then, you'd still follow him down to the ruins.

“I'm sorry,” he finally manages, his hand cool against your skin like his shadow form. And for once, in this dream, you're not shivering with cold.

“If you had told me,” you utter gently, “about Jane, I would've helped you.”

“Well I know that now,” Noah states bitterly, his thumb caressing your hallowed cheek. It seemed like months of barely eating had taken their toll on you after all. And while you were now making the effort to eat, you still weren't at your natural weight.

You smile tightly, wishing like you knew he was, that things had gone different somewhere along the line: that you had more than just dreams and a shadow. You wish you had the boy you missed even if he was a dick sometimes. You wish you could act on the feelings that had only grown even with Noah in his current state.

“Where did your chipmunk cheeks go,” he suddenly teases, steering the conversation away from becoming a sob fest on your end. Maybe his too. You weren't sure.

You scowl, but don't pull out of his hold, feelings incredibly relaxed with him. “Don't-”

He smiles a shit eating grin, mischief twinkling in his chestnut eyes, “is it because you can't cook?”

“You're such a dick,” you utter with a disbelieving laugh, even as you shove his shoulder roughly, breaking whatever heavy tension had weld up between the two of you.

“Oh and you're a fucking angel now are you,” he retorts.

“Well excuse me for forgetting which jar of white stuff was the sugar and which was the salt! I was just trying to be cute!”

Noah doesn't relent, “and which was the jar of coke.”

You roll your eyes. “You've got to ratatouille me if we're ever going to get anywhere in the kitchen.”

“God I love that movie,” Noah says with a fond smile on his face that softens his entire features up. When he smiles like that, he's heartbreakingly handsome that you can't look away, caught in his gravitational pull and fuck you don't stand a chance.

“Me too.” You agree. “We should watch it tomorrow.”

“Deal,” Noah says, puffing up his chest and sitting up straight as he holds his hand out.

You shake on it, before you both burst out laughing.

For the first time in months, you have to force yourself to wake up.

You're making pancakes for lunch. Nothing fancy, a box mix much too Noah's annoyance. You were in the mood for them and you had a mix so it was a total no brainer.

Noah's in the woods somewhere. He's yet to drag you in too deep, having quickly realized that you were still fucked up about venturing into the woods even with the biggest baddest monster around as your best friend. You can sense him out there even from your downsized house which was homier than your actual house ever was.

It's been over a year.

You think you're making a lot of progress.

You sleep through the night. You turn the lights off. And you don't flinch at the sound of random large noises.

Lucas even talked about visiting for the summer.

Progress.

It's a saturday morning and you only have an hour or two of work to get through, mostly email correspondence. Working from home was unexpected, but it saved you from dealing with customers. You got enough horror stories from your friends. You've got most of the day to spend with Noah and you're starting to feel like you should take him up on a walk through the woods.

Someone knocks on your door.

You aren't expecting anyone.

You swallow, reminding yourself that nothing was haunting you now. There was no monster waiting to kill you anymore. And monsters don't knock.

They knock again.

You brace yourself, before peering though the peephole.

It was just Tom and someone you'd never met before. Just Tom.

You open the door. “Hey Tom,” you say friendly enough, remembering to smile and act like a real human being instead of the heavily traumatized teenager you still were.

His own face is a grim mirror image of yours only a few months ago. All dead eyes and hallowed out. “I,” he looks at the friend he's brought along, “We have a problem. Like the one that happened here.”

Your stomach drops and you can only think Noah, as the ice in your veins ratchets up and you feel frozen in place.

Tom continues on, caught up in his own terror, “I already texted the others. I-I didn't know who else to ask.”

You feel yourself nod in some strange out of body experience which finds you sitting on your sofa.

“I smell something burning,” Tom's friend asks, clearing wondering if you're going to get up, but that seems like an impossible task as you think and think yourself into a black hole of misery.

What now.

Someone must've turned off the pancakes at some point you think as your friends still in town fill your house even as you sit on your sofa, a little ball of self amplifying panic that fills your chest and you're so so cold. It's summer again. A hot 89 degrees Fahrenheit and you're wearing a hoodie that's long lost Noah's scent.

You pull the sleeves down over your hands as Dan takes a seat next to you.

Ava has a thick three inch black binder of occult lore ready to go even as Andy jokes about Ava having finally achieved her lifelong dream.

It doesn't take long for the smiles to fade as Tom’s friend goes over  their situation and yeah. . .it sounds like a monster. Like Jane. Like Noah.

A monster in a lake.

It made sense.

What was a forest without something lurking among the trees. What was a lake without something hidden in its depths.

“I can't swim,” you utter the same words you'd told Noah months ago. It hadn't been a dream then anymore than your usual nights were. The only time that you and Noah saw each other as close to normal as possible.

You'd missed the quirk of his mouth as he laughed, the corners of his eyes all scrunched up.

Tom forces a smile for your benefit. “When we get rid of this thing you guys should come over for a swim.”

“Hell yeah,” Andy chimes in, patting your knee, “I can teach you to swim.”

You shake your head. “That's not what I meant. I-,” you glance at all the faces staring at you, waiting. You take a deep breath, your heartbeat slowing down as you sense Noah draw near. You hug your arms to your chest, always cold. “I had a dream about a lake, a couple months ago. I drowned. . .something drowned me.”

Dan inhales sharply, staring intently at his shoes.

“You think it's got something to do with the power,” Andy asks out loud.

“It has to be connected dude,” Tom says with a nod. “If they're sensing it from here.”

“It is only on the other side of the woods,” Ava points out, looking over at you with a frown.

Noah's inpatient. You can sense him pacing around the tree line behind your house. Your anxiety must’ve worried him.

You make the tough call. “Guys,” you stand up, moving towards the back door. “I have something to show you.”

They follow you out without a thought, everyone reeling from their own trauma as Ava and Tom bounce ideas off each other. Toms friend. . .you hadn't caught a name, looks just as shaken as you used to feel every day.

You force yourself to look at the trees. “Noah,” you reach a hand out, “it's okay. They're friends. You can come out.”

Ava's face immediately tenses, shooting you a dark look that means you are definitely having amping talk with her later. Right, she was part of club Noah was a rat faced liar.

Tree branches rustle and you smile as you spot a cluster of shadows in the split second before they form a humanoid body.

“Oh jeez,” Andy says painfully, wincing as Noah emerges into your backyard, eyes a sparkling blue of a lightning bolt.

You draw your hand back to your chest, imagine the way he'd held it in the dream, and that he couldn't in life.

“Friend ss!”

Dan jumps back a good two feet. Tom's gaze flits between you and Noah, before deciding to focus on Noah.

His friend utters, “is-are we safe?”

“Yeah Noah,” you reply ignoring her, “they're friends. They have their own not so friendly scooby doo monster they need help with. Remember Tom.”

Noah nods, “bass ket ball….Andy!”

“I'm sorry,” Ava cuts in sharply, glaring at you. “How long has this been going on for exactly?”

Noah looks at you, and you don't know if it's sheepish or if it's, you want me to get rid of them, so you cut in. “It doesn't matter. This,” you say, waving at Noah, “is help isn't it?”

“She has a point,” Tom utters with a shrug.

“Sssss orry Ava,” Noah utters loud enough to scare off the birds that had been standing on the utility pole.

Ava blinks, clearly thrown for a loop. And then decides to let it go for now, “Fine, fine but don't blame me when the shadow monster kills us all.”

“Which shadow monster,” Dan points out because now there were two. But one was Noah and he'd never hurt anyone. You knew that for a fact the same way you knew that Noah would capitulate to playing fear factor tea party even though he found worms disgusting as a kid.  

“We have the worst luck,” Andy groans.

Tom's friend shrugs, “I'll take all the help I can get.”

You look back over at Noah, who's at least trying, by shrinking himself down to almost human sized. “Behave.” You say teasingly, wagging a finger and everything.

Noah's eyes flash red which sends them all a step back. “Yessss mom,” he croaks back in the most teenage angst tone of voice that has you thinking you might just lift the my chemical romance ban for the week.

“You're such a dick,” you snip back with a laugh. You catch Andy's gaze, his expression funny as he looks at you, but says nothing.

Ava rounds on you as soon as Noah and the others are gone. You can sense him getting further and further away and your gut turns because what if he never comes back. “When the hell were you going to tell us about that thing!”

“It's Noah,” you protest with a whine.

Andy scowls angrily, “that's not Noah. And even if it was he tried to kill us, or don't you remember?”

You flinch because yeah. There wasn't exactly much you could say on that front.

“He was trying to help Jane,” you speak up, trying anyway.

“Ugh,” Ava groans, punching her nose bridge, “that was never Jane and it's not Noah. It's a monster. Get that through your head.”

You curl up into yourself.

“Guys,” Dan tries to speak up, but Ava is on a roll.

“It could have killed you,” she shouts, voice breaking.

“Noah wouldn't-” you protest, trying to get them to understand, but your limbs are heavy. Your cold and all you want to do is curl up in bed until he gets back.

“Noah tried to kill us,” Andy reiterates.

Which has you back to square one, “because he was trying to save Jane! He didn't know she was going to kill us and it doesn't matter because he died for me in the end,” you snap back just as pissed off.

“It wasn't Jane,” Ava says waving her arms aggressively.

“How else would she have known about the whistle?”

“Because Noah told Redfield!”

You shake your head. “You were there. You saw her cross out Redfield,” you tell the three of them. “And I was there at the end. Noah chose to die so Jane could finally be free. He died so I got to leave that place.” A violent shiver runs down your spine.

Andy draws back. You hadn't said a word of what transpired after you were left alone with the Marshall twins, it had seemed to be a private and intimate matter.

“So yeah,” you finish, “maybe he did lure us down there, but he also died to keep any of us from dying. You don't have to forgive him but he's lord fucking voldemort or sauron.”

Dan looks at you with pity.

You all sit down in an angry cloud of silence that buzzes and pricks at your thoughts. This was exactly why you hadn't told them.

“At least you finally found your spunk again,” Ava offers after a few minutes.

You ignore her.

She rolls her eyes, looking through her supernatural research.

“How long,” Dan ventures to ask.

The others are listening. They don't look at you but they straighten up on the couch.

For once you're glad not everyone is here. Stacey was relentless and Lucas never would never stop going at it even when he'd made his point. Lily might understand, but she'd still be hurt.

“Since last fall,” you admit.

Dan nods as though he had guessed as much, “when you started getting better.”

You nod. “Noah doesn't let me eat frozen meals or takeout all week.”

“Oh fuck,” Ava swears, “it really is Noah.”

You pull the fleece blanket that's usually somewhere in the living room over your shoulders to try and warm up, a useless exercise, you knew that by now but it didn't stop you. Not when your joints hurt from the cold. You couldn't wait until Noah got back.

“You know it's 93 degrees out right,” Andy says lightly.

“Yeah,” you shrug shamelessly, “I'm freezing though.”

Ava tilts her head in thought.

“Yeah, I'll say,” Andy replies, “you're not even sweating in this heat.”

“He's-he's never hurt you, not even by accident,” Dan asks gently.

“No-god no,” you answer honestly. “He's-well he's got okay control now. He did ruin a couple light bulbs but he's. . .he’s never forgotten he's Noah so no he wouldn't hurt me.”

“I hope for your sake you're right,” Andy mutters darkly. “You're the one playing house with a shadow monster.”

You slump into the couch as your cheeks burn. You can't make yourself look at any of them because Andy's words hit closer to home then you would like.

This was probably as good as it was going to get for you and Noah. There was no first kiss, no holding hands or. . .there was just the hours you slept in bed and your own monster who kept you cool if not warm.

And even with that realization, you'd still choose him.

Wasn't that what love is?

after.

“I can't believe you went on a dumb ghost adventure without me and unlocked a whole new skill,” you complain while sipping on your match latte that you'd bought that little electric thing for specifically.

Noah does jazz hands with a deadpan expression on his face that makes the action even more surreal, now semi transparent and glowing a ghostly blue but at least looking like himself.

You'd both been binge watching danny phantom for ideas.

You were coming up on the second year of community college and it was time to think about transferring. . .to the nearest university because Noah was pretty much bound to these woods. And there was no way in hell you were leaving him. So there was one choice.

This morning you really only had to select your next fall semester classes. But first, spotify. You needed some jams to get you through the morning.

“At least there’s something to be said for being a ghost monster thing,” Noah shrugs, sitting down on the floor, attempting to turn the page on a book you’d left open last night, too exhausted to clean up. His hand passes right through the pages.

“Noah,” you complain weakly because boy oh boy did this boy say the saddest things sometimes and it sucked you couldn’t actually hug him because you had the feeling that your words didn’t always stick. It was clear that Noah didn’t always believe you when you said your plethora of comforting words in place of hugging him until he realized just how much he meant to you.

He looks up at you from the floor with an easy smile. “Yeah?”

And you roll your eyes. Joking about it was good. Your therapist had said it wouldn’t always be as bad as it had been that first week when you’d been practically catatonic in the hospital. “How does tame impala sound,” you ask him because manners. It’s not like he could change the music, and you never wanted him to feel left out just because he wasn’t solid enough to affect the material world.

“I’m not listening to elephant for two hours.”

“Hey,” you yelp, “sometimes I listen to let it happen.”

He sneers, “still not listening to the same two songs on replay.”

“Who listens to an entire album all the way through,” you complain. “Fine, what do you want to listen to? And it can’t be angsty. I want to have a nice morning.”

“Oh come one,” Noah laughs, “Evanescence is unmatched.”

You scrunch your mouth in thought even as you bob your head in agreement. “It does have to be good to be meme worthy. But also, like what emo preteen didn’t have a big fat crush on Amy Lee.”

“I remember you being obsessed with daredevil,” Noah reminisces.

“Hey,” you point out, looking up from the list of classes, “I was obsessed with elektra. Get your facts straight.”

Noah laughs, floating up to sit by you on the couch because he might look like he used too but he was still more ghost than living breathing person, “like that makes it better.”

You smile nostalgically, your knees bouncing with delight as you abandoned the pretense of school to talk with Noah: an easy choice. “You remember when me and Jane would pretend to be elektra and catwoman?”

He snorts, shaking his head with amusement, hands resting on his knees even as he leans in closer to you, “I remember you two would chase me around the house with a stick.”

“It was a knife man,” you say between laughs, “you’ve got to use,” you raise your hands to mimic spongebob, creating a rainbow shape, “you’re imagination.”

He brushes strands of auburn hair from his eyes, and the action strikes a chord in your heart that makes you wish more than anything you could reach out and touch him.

But he’s intangible.

You shove that thought down, focusing instead of enjoying this moment with him. “How about Florence and the Machine?”

“Why are you always shooting down my ideas,” Noah huffs, smiling too softly as he gazes at you to truly be hurt or annoyed.

“You made us listen to Nickelback last time!”

He shrugs shamelessly, “Nickelback is unmatched performance art. And I stand by that statement.”

You shake your head, wracked with laughter until you feel pinpricks of tears in your eyes because this boy! It always came back to Noah and how easily he was able to tease a lightness out of you that you thought you’d lost forever after the night of the school dance.

“Gorillaz?”

He hums in thought, “Demon days.”

You scroll through spotify easily enough. That album was among your top played.

You keep the volume low because you are a certified adult and it's morning and you don’t want a racket this early in the morning. Well, noon, but that was early for you. Okay, so you were only sort of an adult, but you could make pasta without burning anything so baby steps.

“Hey,” Noah asks gently.

You look up, only to find him having shifted closer to you. If Noah could breathe, you’d no doubt be able to feel the warmth of his breath, but you’ll settle for his soothing presence that takes the sting from your perpetual chill. He’s leaning forward and his hand hovers above the skin of your cheek and you don’t dare to lean into his touch no matter how much you yearn to feel the touch of his skin that you know you won’t get because he’s not tangible.

So you lock eyes with him, holding your breath, gut clenching in anticipation.

Noah parts his lips as if to speak, but utters nothing. He closes his mouth again, letting the silence press on.

It might all be in your head, but you swear you can feel the warmth of his hand against your skin. His thumb rubs circles you can’t feel against your cheek.

He leans forward, his forehead resting against yours. Your eyes flutter shut, a sigh escaping your lips at the close contact. There’s a deep well of longing for more than can ever be possible between you and Noah at the base of your throat.

It’s easy to forget, but Noah’s dead.

He died and he’s here but not in the same way you’re part of this world.

A breeze passes over the swell of your mouth, and you slowly open your eyes, heart lodged in your throat.

Noah’s shifted his hold down to your jaw, sitting up on his knees as he leans towards you like a sunflower grows towards the sun, his thumb brushing over your mouth. And you wish more than anything that you could kiss him.

It’s always strange to look into his eyes, expecting a soft hazelnut hue, and seeing an inhuman vibrant blue of an electrical shortage.

“I’m glad it's you,” Noah whispers softly, his voice as gentle as a summer breeze.

It’s enough to break your heart all over again. “I’m just happy you’re here,” you say, painfully aware of the tears forming in your eyes. He was the choice you made over and over again because you’d take whatever Noah had to offer.

“If-,” he utters carefully, “if I could, I would kiss you right now.”

“I’d let you.”

His eyes reflect the same heart wrenching pain of knowing that anything more between you two just wasn’t in the cards.

You summoned the courage to lift your hand to cup his jaw, mindful to hover just over the space where his body should be, guided by the spectral blue outline. There’s nothing but air under your fingers.

Noah, forever out of your reach.

There’s a reason you try not to think about this situation too hard.

There’s no happy ending to be found here.

One second, Noah’s intertwined with you.

Within the span of a blink, he’s gone.

Disappeared.

Right, he’s a ghost, he can do that.

You walk through a trail behind your house. The suns still high in the sky and the anxiety is manageable with Noah goofing off along with you as you complain about having to take biology as a english major and the fact no one in your group for political science did any work but you and this international student from Malaysia which you couldn’t point to if someone held a gun to your head. The dumb american sterotype held true for you when it came to geography.

The woods don’t seem as menacing anymore.

“Malaysia’s in southeast asia,” Noah offers.

“How do you know that?”

Noah shrugs, “I wanted to travel. Go anywhere but Westchester.”

You frown. He’d never get to leave now. “Really? I just wanted to go to disney world,” you reply because it was true and you knew it would make him laugh.

He snorts, shaking his head, “you’re so basic.”

“Shut up!” You cry out, smiling easily. “My parents had a conference in disneyworld one year. And after that Disney would send us vacation information and videos back when VHS and DVDs were a thing. It just seemed. . .I know it's a tourist trap but everyone seemed really happy and I’d wanted the videos a lot on the weekends.” You admit, looking down at your sneakers. It seems silly when Noah knows what your family is like, what your perpetually absent parents are like, but you still feel a sense of shame at admitting that your parents never prioritized you.

They were more than happy to have you spend the night with Noah and Jane if that meant not having to take care of you, back when they still flew back to Westchester.

“Disney in Japan’s better,” Noah quips, “and you don’t even have to step foot in florida to go there.”

“Yeah,” you giggle, “because we live somewhere better than florida.”

“Much better,” he teases, “we don't have humidity.”

You snort, shaking your head as you continue down the well worn trail.

“Did-can I ask you something?”

“Shoot,” you tell him, looking back, and waiting for him to catch up.

Noah floats in front of you, only an inch or two of the ground but it’s fine because no one really goes into the woods here as if there’s some subconscious warning ringing in the prey part of the townspeople’s minds, keeping them away from here. “Did your parents come to your graduation?”

You purse your lips. “No.” And then proceed to make the age old excuses for them. Parent-teacher conference week with your current nanny had been fun. “They were doing research up in Alaska I think. It was the only time of the year for some fish species. . .And Now I don’t really need them.” You think they’re in Antarctica, but you can never be sure. They're very hands off and don’t call except for christmas trusting that if you need anything, you’d call them.

Noah’s eyes flash red, and for a second, he loses control over his appearance. He’s an angry storm of shadows.

It speaks to the fact that for over a year now, he’s been your main companion that you don’t even flinch, just wait for him to calm down.

“It’s whatever,” you shrug, used to being on your own, “I had our whole group and Ava invited me along to her graduation potluck.”

“It’s not whatever,” Noah snarls, having regained his spectral blue form complete with his signature beanie. “They’re your parents.” His outburst sends the birds flying out of the trees, far away from him.

“Yeah, well,” you shrug, “we don’t exactly have great parents.” Noah’s had been okay if tense before the accident with Jane.

Noah frowns deeply, still seething. When he got into a mood, he could spend days mulling it over, working himself into a whole downward spiral of dark thoughts.

You leave him to his brooding as you make your way back to your house, hands in your jacket pocket: your old leather jacket for once. You knew what to expect from your parents and that was an allowance and a phone call at christmas. Not even almost dying had caused them to fly home and check on you.

The backdoor is open.

You know you'd closed it when you left. Having your own personal ghost hadn't made you sloppy.

You share a glance with Noah before calling out. “Hello?” It could just be Ava pulling a mean prank on you, but she had blatantly refused to come to your house as long as Noah was lingering around. It was a pointless stance when Noah could really wander freely around Westchester and often did. You sensed him around town sometimes when you were in class even if you couldn't see him.

“Oh you're finally back,” Lily says, calling out from your kitchen.

Wait, Lily! Wasn't she supposed to be in California?

“I told you we should've let them know,” Stacey cries out from inside, shrill voice carrying.

Oh! Were they all here.

You step inside excitedly, Noah following suit, still scowling.

He'd eventually get over the thing with your parents. You had.

“What are you all doing here,” you ask, taking in the sight of your friends spread out in your house. It was a tighter fit than your childhood home, but it felt more like a home than that house ever had. Even Toms here on the couch exchanging notes with Ava.

“Friendsgiving,” Lily offers.

You'd forgotten that's why you had the week off from school. It had slipped your mind after years of not doing anything for this holiday. “I thought we were against Thanksgiving?” You feel touched and surprised and happy.

“Oh we are. It's all a bunch of government propaganda,” Lucas says pushing his glasses up, “but we're all in town for the week so. . .”

You smile.

And then Stacey spots Noah lingering by the backdoor.

“You,” she yells, her entire face flushing red.

Noah, who's dick-ish tendencies you're well aware of, proceeds to smirk which only pisses Stacey off more and has Lucas rising to his feet, fueled by the same anger as Stacey. “Me,” he smirks.

Stacey lobs the nearest thing she can find, a plate you'd bought at Ikea a year ago, at him.

Ava looks really pleased with herself.

Noah dodges even though it would've gone right through him.

The plate shatters against the doorframe.

He totally could've caught that. He could've saved your plate.

“Missed Stace,” Noah cackles.

Your friend turns even redder, before grabbing the vase on the table and aiming for Noah once again.

Ava smothers a laugh on the couch.

Lucas is starting to look like he wants in on the action.

Lily looks uncomfortable in the middle of the action. Like she's rather not deal with it which has been your friends m.o. for the last few months. They don't ask about Noah's and you don't bring him up. It'll save Andy an ulcer in the long run.

The vase shatters as it hits the wall, Noah having stepped out of the way in time.

Stacey eyes your favorite black mug emblazoned the sanderson sisters museum, and you know you have to step in.

She's hoisting the mug trying to get a clean shot, not caring that she just spilled half a mug full of water on your floor, when you step in between her and Noah. “Stacey, you're never going to hit him!”

“I don't care,” she snarls furiously. “He tried to kill us!”

“He didn't know,” you defend Noah. Because saying it's been two years wouldn't work. You can't force anyone to forgive him.

“You can't be serious,” Lucas says shaking his head. “After what he did.”

“He was just trying to help Jane. It's not his fault that the power corrupted his sister to the point she would try to kill us!” In the late sleepless nights, you'd thought about Jane and finally gotten that ghost to rest. What else had there been to think about alone and sobbing in the dead of the night, curled up like a bear hibernating for winter.

“I can't believe you're defending him!” Stacey yells.

You cross your arms over your chest, staring her down.

Lily tilts her head, glancing behind you at Noah, “I didn't know you could look like. . .you.”

“Yeah,” he deadpans, raising his arms to do jazz hands. “Ta-da.”

“It's a new development,” you offer through clenched teeth, still busy staring down Lucas and Stacey, who still has your mug in her hand.

“He learned it from our lake monster,” Tom adds, looking through your vinyls. “Man you've got to get some older stuff and not just what urban outfitter’s selling.”

You frown. “What's wrong with Lana Del Rey?”

“You just need more variety,” Tom councils.

“I told you,” Noah says with an annoyingly charming smirk. He pats your shoulder with his hand even though it goes right through the layers of clothes that you're bundled up in.

You roll your eyes.

“No,” Lucas says, head in his hands, “we’re not doing this. We’re not acting like everything's fine,” he manages through a clenched jaw.

You raise a brow at your friends. Stacey’s still visibly pissed. Ava has her own arms crossed over her chest, but resigned since she's had more time to process. Andy's sneaking a slice of pumpkin pie as the drama unfolds.

Lily won't meet your gaze.

Dan looks like he wants to speak up, but he doesn't and you understand because it's a lot to forgive let alone forget for long enough to sit down to a friendsgiving when Noah can't even eat food anymore and instead goes around pestering you to make meals from scratch.

“It's fine,” Noah says quietly. “I can just go.”

“You do that,” Stacey replies bitingly.

“Noah you-,” you turn to protest. But he's gone.

You swallow your words, looking at your friends. “So are we making or just reheating,” because you love your friends as much as you love Noah. It's why it feels like your heart’s being torn in half.

“A bit of both,” Tom says, “nothing complex.”

“Britney said she's on her way now,” Lily adds. “hope you don't mind. She's bringing Jocelyn since Jocelyn's friends with Tom.”

Your eye twitches. It's unfair that they can have you the two girls who bullied you all for years to the point you got bruises and Lily would skip class to cry in the bathroom but you can't have Noah here when he only tried to kill you all once on accident.

“We might have to use my desk chair and the couch but I think we can make it work,” you say instead of picking a fight.

Lily smiles happily and tells you about these cute turkey plates she got from the 99 cent store at the beginning of the month.

Britney's making you all watch Legally Blonde which no one is really mad about.

You've gotten a thick wool blanket because you're starting to shiver with cold and it's not even 11 at night but you're ready to kick them out so Noah'll come back. You're squished in between Tom and Ava which means they spend the entire time talking your ear off about the power and Ava's current witchcraft project which involves lots of dirt, salt, and herbal oils. They lose you and you're not sure what the spell’s supposed to do but Ava does conjure an actual flame from her fingertip.

Dans laughing easily, sitting on the ground by your feet, with Andy and Jocelyn, who's still bitchy but in a more affable way that gets a laugh out of you.

It's a nice night, one of the best you've had in a while with all your friends and now their friends too and you think that it would be easy to be friends for life. It's been two years since that school dance night. You've all kept touch.

But it's just not the same without Noah.

You're probably the only one who thinks that.

The dream is easy to get lost in. You and Noah throwing popcorn at each other instead of paying attention in the dream movie theater. Every time you look up at the screens there's a different movie playing.

At least here Noah is tangible, the popcorn he throws getting tangled in your hair even as you slump in your seat to try and dodge the attacks.

Noah grins mischievously and you don't have time to move before he's dumping the entire bucket of popcorn on your head.

“You're such a dick,” you laugh, beginning the long work of getting popcorn out of your hair. They don't stick in Noah's brown locks.

“It's a dream,” Noah notes, “just imagine them away.”

“Okay,” you try, shutting your eyes and imagining your hair a lavender purple shade.

You open your eyes and sure enough the popcorns gone. “Kind of digging how dreams work.”

“There's some nice things about them,” Noah agrees.

“Oh yeah like what?”

“Like this,” Noah grins smugly before leaning in and-

“Get up,” Ava snaps gleefully, as she pounces on you in bed.

“Wha-”

“Hurry up,” she repeats as you blink, trying to get your bearings.

“How did you get in here?” You ask, shoving her off you.

“Door,” she shrugs, “I found a spell to unlock locks. Where's your boyfriend?”

“My what!” You feel heat rise to your cheeks as you rush to change into a pair of jeans. Maybe a cleaner sweater too.

Ava rolls her eyes. “Your boyfriend. Noah? You're not shivering so he can't be far.”

She grabs your hand as soon as you pull your sweater over your head and drags you out of your room. Tom, Andy, and Dan are loitering around the living room.

After graduating, Andy and Dan have both decided to go to the local university. You knew it had to do with Tom and his whole research into the power even as Ava was planning a semester abroad because she firmly believed that there was more supernatural occurrences in the world.

You close your eyes focusing on Noah. “He's on his way,” you confirm, sending him in the woods near your house. When you both entered the dreamworld, Noah more often than not ended up in the ruins.

You took his word for it.

You didn't plan on ever stepping foot in those ruins again.

“I mean,” Ava laughs humorlessly, “I always thought I was the winona ryder of our group but you're an actual monster fucker so you've got me beat by a mile.”

You can only look at her with alarm, aware your mouth was just hanging open in surprise.

“Please don't say that shit,” Andy groans. “It's bad enough knowing that asshole’s doing fine and dandy not facing punishment.” He says as if Noah didn't die.

“I'm-what, what's going on here?” You look around at your friends.

They exchange glances as Noah appears, back resting against the wall looking too cool for school in his usual disaffected way, hands in his pockets.

Andy sighs, before speaking up, “Tom, I think you should-”

“No,” Ava shakes her head, “I can explain it.”

Tom raises a brow.

She nods. “I'm chill.”

“You've never been chill in your life but go on,” Andy teases.

Ava's expression softens, the guarded rage that simmered in the lines around her frown disappear as she looks at you and Noah. “I think I know how to bring Noah back.”

You swallow, “How-how is that even possible,” because you and Noah have never mentioned the fact that he's dead but he is. You watched him die.

“Ava,” Noah says, long having resigned himself to this partial existence, “even the power can't bring the dead back to life. Just look at the zombie animals. They're not really alive.”

Dan does a little, continue on, hand motion directed at her.

“Well, that's the thing,” she says, locking eyes with Noah, “I don't think you're dead.”

Noah’s expression is stone cold as he outstretches his arms out wide. Which like right, he was literally a ghost right now.

“Yeah,” Ava nods, “I can see that. But, it fits. I first started working on this theory when they mentioned they could sense you, and then there's the fact,” she looks at you now, “you're always cold. And not just you need a jacket cold but cold in the summer heat even with three layers, as if your body was-”

“Dying,” Noah utters aloud.

She nods, looking over at Tom.

He clears his throat, “when people get absorbed into the power, their memories don't last but you remember things pretty well.”

The corners of Noah's mouth lift up, a small smile on his lips. “Well I can't take the credit for that,” he says meeting your eyes.

“Somehow,” Ava says carefully to Noah, “down in the ruins, you two tied your lives together. That’s why you're still yourself and why they're always freezing cold. Because your body is still down in the ruins and I'm willing to bet it's frozen in the same state since that night.”

“Speak for yourself,” Andy scowls, “I'm not stepping foot in the ruins.”

“Redfield isn't there anymore,” Noah frowns.

“Yeah well,” Andy bites back, “I don't trust you.”

That shuts Noah up.

“And how. . .,” you start to ask as hope fills your chest even as you try to be careful because you saw Noah die and now Ava was bringing you a shot in the dark. “How would that work exactly?”

Ava shrugs. “First we have to go to the ruins. See if I'm right and then-”

“She doesn't know,” Noah states. “But I think it's worth a shot.”

“I'm going to wait with Andy out here,” Dan states, fingers wrapped tightly around the baseball bat with wire you'd kept since that school year.

“Yeah, sure,” you nod, wrapping him in a quick hug because he probably had the worst time of you all here and yet he'd still come along.

He hugs you back before you make your way to Tom and Ava are both bickering over some obscure text that might or might not be true: Noah sits on the crumbling step that marks the entrance to the ruins, deceivingly calm. It's the first time you've been here since that night.

You remind yourself there's nothing to fear. Just Noah and you're not scared of him.

“Well then,” Tom motions you first.

Noah rolls his eyes, “if I wanted to kill you I could do it without luring you down there.”

Ava twists her mouth, expression furious.

You go to smack his shoulder, your hand passing right through him and hitting the stone wall. “Shit,” you grumble, rubbing your knuckles.

Noah sniggers, not the slightest bit apologetic.

Ava gives you a look that can be best summed up as him?

You shrug. It's not like you planned on being helplessly in love with Noah Marshall, you just were.

Noah goes down first, his form glowing brightly for your benefit, as you follow closely behind him.

Tom and Ava wait a second before following you down. So they were using you as a test.

The ruins are just as dark and awful as you remember. Rocks slick with water that drips down from the roof. You pay close attention where you step, not wanting to break a leg down here, as you enter the chamber where the creature-that-had-been-Jane forced you to play are you scared.

The chairs are still tossed around the room that maybe was a basement once, or maybe it just reminded you of the idea of a basement, but it's the body lying in the floor that takes your breath away. Noah, exactly the way you'd last send him, covered in dirt and grime, absolutely no color in his skin. There was no rise and fall in his chest, and his lips were tinged blue.

Tom shines his light over Noah's prone body. “Well he's definitely preserved, there's no rotting smell.”

“Try not to talk about me like I'm a piece of meat,” Noah says, lingering next to you, his shoulder brushing against yours (or coming close to the feeling).

You look up at him, trying to gauge his reaction, but his expression is carefully blank. You turn to Ava, “what do you need me to do?”

Ava looks from you to Noah, “I'm not sure. There's not exactly an instruction manual but, you should be able to draw him out from the power.”

“Bet that goes both ways,” Noah utters grimly.

Tom nods.

“So I could just as easily get caught up down here?”

Ava nods sternly, “but that's not going to happen.”

Noah looks at you, shaking his head, “we shouldn't risk it.”

“What! No,” you shake your head, feeling warmth in your fingers for the first time in years. You reach for him, not caring that your fingers pass right through. It's the thought that counts and you've had millions of thoughts centered around  Noah.

“What if you end up like me,” Noah says, voice cracking.

You swallow thickly, “you can't think like that.”

“It is a lot to risk,” Tom points out gently.

You bite your lip, eyes tearing up, “I know.”

“Well I'm not,” Noah counters, crossing his arms over his chest, eyes glowing an infernal red as he makes his point. “It's my body after all.”

“Noah-,” you start.

“I'm not risking you.”

Ava fake gags, making you turn towards her, crouched over Noah's body with Tom all while taking down notes. When she knows she has the attention of you both, she smirks, “monster. fucker.”

Noah snorts.

“Don't worry Ava,” you joke, “you're still that very witch.”

“Damn right I am,” she grins.

“Should we. . .,” Tom says, scratching his chin in thought. “They're movies but still. . .”

“Maybe it has to just be them two,” Ava posits at Tom, “like it was last time.”

“Maybe. . .”

“So we’re doing this then?”

Ava's about to say something when she catches the death glare Noah's sending her. “How about you two decide that before we start trying anything.” She drags Tom up the stairs.

“Forget it,” Noah huffs, “I refuse to risk you.”

“I want to!” You cry out, “I want to help you and now I have the chance to.”

“Trust me. You don't want to be a monster.”

“You're not a monster,” you counter, squaring up against Noah.

He scowls before shifting into a mass of shadows, eyes a blazing wildfire burning though acres of bush land. He always had to have the last word.

“You're not a monster,” you repeat, still right by him, whether he was shadows or a specter he was Noah and that was all that mattered to you. “You've never been a monster. You've never hurt anyone. You helped out with the lake ghost. You've kept me company. It doesn't matter what form you take, to me, your Noah Marshall and that's all I really care about.” The tears fall down your cheeks freely now, even as you sniffle, soft smile on your lips as Noah calms down.

Fading from red to white to blue, until he's once more wearing the stupid beanie that you teased him about. Even death couldn't make him give up the beanie.

“You really would, wouldn't you,” he says in awe, “stay. Even if this doesn't work.” As if he couldn't wrap his head around the idea that he was that precious to anyone.

You nod. Not trusting your voice.

There's a tenderness in his expression that fills your chest with warmth as he closes the distance between you, careful, as he presses his insubstantial lips against yours and you've never felt this crazy about anyone before: never felt sure about anything like you know that if someone cracked your chest open, his name would be written on your heart.

You're not scared as darkness blots out the light of the chamber.

Darkness descends until you can't see a thing.

Noah holds your hand as you walk through the cemetery. His thumb rubbing circles into the back of your hand as you lead the way to where his tombstone is.

“Your so dumb,” you mutter for the thousandth time. Stacy's mom had graciously helped with spinning the whole Noah's actually alive story, but his mom was long gone leaving behind a tombstone for her two kids.

“It's hilarious,” he says nonchalantly even though you know he fidgeted the whole car drive here.

“Tom said to keep your nose down.”

“Tom has a stick up his ass.”

You smack his shoulder lightly, “be nice. I like Tom.”

“I never said I didn't like Tom,” he frowns, and if you didn't know him as well as you do, you'd believe the serious expression in his furrowed brow.

“You're such a dick,” you shake your head with a laugh.

Noah snorts, “I'm perfectly nice.”

“Who told you that lie!”

He pulls you in close, letting go of your hand to wrap his arm around your waist, “Lily thinks so.”

“please,” you counter, “if someone asked Lily to help them find their missing puppy she'd help them.”

Noah wags his finger, “now who's being a dick.”

You burst out laughing, still in amazement that Noah was here in the flesh and blood and you were never going to tire of simple things like holding his hand or having his arm around you as you walk.

Neither of you nor Noah were hopeless romantics or sappy people, but having been put through the ringer to so much as kiss, holding hands had become an unspoken agreement when you went grocery shopping or drove over to visit Tom as you finally took him up on the offer to learn how to swim.

You halt in front of his grave.

Noah Marshall.

1999-2018

It's simple. It's impersonal.

You hate it.

Noah doesn't waste a second, opening up the camera app on his phone. and taking a selfy in front of his own tombstone. “Get in the picture!”

You shake your head with a giggle, “okay, okay, just one,” and you snuggle up to him, pulling a funny face as he gets the inscription in the selfy.

“Guess this is goodbye to Westchester then,” he says out loud.

“I guess so,” you nod, peering out into the surrounding woods.

Noah leans in, kissing your cheek, “can't say I'll miss it. Not when I'm taking the best thing in this town with me.”

Your cheeks burn red. But the way the words melt your heart doesn't make you pull a punch. “You're such a nerd beanie boy.”

“Oh shut up,” Noah laughs, pink dusting his cheekbones.

There was no doubt about it. This was love.

[lilblog-asatreat]

Hey! I have a request from the sensory prompt list! I would love to see you do something with 47 or 38. Thanks! :))

Both! Both! Both! Both!

38. A person’s weight as they lie on top of you

47. Singing badly as loud as you can

I'm still taking prompts from this prompt list here!! :D

Ashton is sitting on the couch with a book open in his lap and is trying to concentrate on reading it -a task made difficult by Meadow's singing in the next room over. While he is glad fae decided to take over doing dishes for him, he didn't expect it to come at the price of faer deciding to sing This is Halloween as loudly and as obnoxiously as possible. Then again, it is the beginning of October, so he shouldn't be too surprised by it.

There's a break in Meadow's singing as Ashton hears a loud bang come from the kitchen. He sits upright and turns his head attentively to listen to the kitchen, and he hears faer shout, "Oops! I'm okay!" And then fae goes back to belting out the chorus.

Ashton chuckles and turns back around. Sure, the singing is getting annoying, but as long as fae's happy it's alright he guesses. And fae does sound extremely joyous. It's been a while since fae sang anything, and he's glad the spooky season is lifting faer spirits (no pun intended).

As he goes back to trying to read his book, the air conditioner kicks on, and it isn't long before he starts shivering. What temperature does Meadow have this set to? He tries to tough it out for a few more minutes before he finally caves. He folds over the corner of the page he's on before closing the book, getting up, and stretching. He leaves his book on his seat, and then he takes off down the hallway toward his room.

When Ashton comes back to the living room with his blanket wrapped around him, he finds Meadow curled up in his spot with his book moved to the next seat cushion over. Fae has stopped singing and is scrolling through faer phone as if oblivious to the crime fae has just committed.

Ashton clears his throat pointedly. Meadow looks up at him with a small smirk on faer face. "Sup?"

"You stole my spot."

"Oh, did I?" Fae says, feigning surprise. "I didn't see your name on it."

"Come on, Meadow! My book was right there!" Ashton says exasperatedly.

"And now it's right here," Meadow giggles, patting the book beside faer. Ashton makes a disgruntled noise, and fae laughs. "No one told you to get up. It was free real estate!"

"It literally wasn't. I was gone for a minute and a half, and I left my book there for a reason. You know that." He complains and tries to fold his arms without letting go of the blanket around him. Fae laughs again as he says, "Seriously, move over that's my spot!"

"There's a whole couch worth of seats, why do I have to be the one to move?" Meadow says incredulously.

"Because I was there first!"

"Well I'm not moving."

Ashton breathes air out hard in frusteration. Then he gets an idea and smiles deviously. "So you're not going to get up and move huh? Are you really sure about that?"

Meadow sticks faer tongue out in response.

Ashton shrugs nonchalantly. "Well, okay. If you're so sure." He walks over to faer, turns around, and slowly starts trying to sit in faer lap.

Meadow laughs and tries to push him away. "Stop! What are you doing?"

"I'm sitting in my spot!"

"But this isn't your spot anymore! Get off of me!"

"Nope!"

Meadow laughs as Ashton settles himself on top of faer, smiling smugly while doing so. "You're so mean! You would crush your littlest sister just to sit in the corner seat?"

"It's the best seat!" Ashton exclaims.

"I'm telling Mom."

"We're adults and don't even live with her anymore. What is she going to do about it?"

"She's going to chastise you for being so mean to me and not let you have any of the candy apples this Halloween!" Meadow says self-assuredly.

"You know she's going to let me have the candy apples anyway, and if not, I'll just have Rebecca steal some for me," Ashton says.

Meadow sighs. "You're right. Alright, if you get off me, I'll move over."

Ashton gets up, and Meadow hands him his book before settling faerself on the opposite side of the couch. He sits down again in his rightful spot, and Meadow swings faer legs up and lays them across his lap. Ashton sighs exasperatedly as Meadow giggles, but he doesn't say anything. Instead he buries his nose in his book as Meadow goes back to scrolling through faer phone, and he hopes fae is too distracted to notice how happy and content his smile is.

[aion-rsa]

Marvel’s Loki Episode 5 Ending Explained: Who is the Real Villain of the MCU Series?

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This article contains spoilers for Loki episode 5.

Agent Mobius did say that time ran differently in the TVA but who could have imagined that the penultimate episode of Loki would arrive so quickly? Marvel’s Loki episode 5 “Journey Into Mystery” keeps up a streak of superb installments for this increasingly superb show. 

In this hour, Mobius joins the side of the heroes, Judge Renslayer has some questions, and Loki and Sylvie’s relationship continues to blossom thanks to the conjuring of an uncomfortable green blanket. Equally as important, however, is that “Journey Into Mystery” raises some big questions about the ending of this show and the future of the MCU. Questions like…

What is The Void?

This episode does a pretty good job of succinctly describing what the Void is. The Void is the end of time, itself. Since the Time-Keepers are unable to completely destroy matter (Theory of Conservation of Mass and all that), they send unwanted Variants to the end of the timeline to languish or be swallowed by a hungry monster (more on him in a bit). 

In Marvel Comics, The Void is something of an actual character. It is a destructive amorphous entity capable of both adopting a corporeal form and destroying the universe as we know it. During the Siege storyline, the Void even killed Loki, which then facilitated his “rebirth” as Kid Loki. See how this all starts to fit together?

What is Alioth?

In the world of Loki, Alioth is a big, hungry cloud monster that prowls the Void looking to consume yummy matter. It’s the TVA’s unwitting cleaning service, wiping out all the Variants that the TVA can’t eliminate. Classic Loki helpfully offers up the analogy that the Void is a shark tank, and Alioth is the shark.

Alioth of the comics was first introduced in 1993’s Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1. That same comic also introduced Ravonna Renslayer and features Kang the Conqueror as its central villain. Oh yeah, it’s all coming together. 

Alioth is considered to be the first being that broke free from the constraints of time. It’s no wonder then that it would make an appearance in Loki.

What’s Up With That Castle?

It’s about time a Marvel villain lives in an honest-to-goodness castle! While it’s still possible that this is a misdirect and this environment is not what it seems, for now it looks like episode 6 will be headed off to a spooky castle.

Interestingly, there are no shortages of spooky castles in Marvel comics lore. Perhaps the most famous one is Castle Doom within Doomstadt. Bet you’ll never guess who lives there! Yes, it’s ol’ Victor von Doom himself, Doctor Doom to his friends…of which he has very few.

Another notable abode is Castle Limbo, which serves as the home of Immortus, who was once Nathaniel Richards a.k.a. Kang the Conqueror. Look, Kang is a confusing character, so you’ll just have to trust us on this one.

What is Mobius’s Plan?

Thank the gods that Loki and Mobius finally embraced their destiny as best bros. Mobius leaves all the Lokis behind in The Void to return to the TVA. What does he plan to do once he gets there? Why, burn the whole thing down, of course!

It’s unclear how Mobius believes he’s able to pull off such a grand task. The TVA is an enormous bureaucracy with seemingly infinite moving parts. The only real weapon that Mobius has at his disposal is the truth. The truth changed his and Hunter B-15’s perspectives but can it do the same for everyone else? The only other named TVA employee that we’re aware of is Casey (Eugene Cordero). He seems like a sweet, non-confrontational lad. But perhaps that will all change once he realizes he’s been robbed of fish dinners his whole life.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

What Becomes of the Other Lokis?

The most pleasantly strange aspect of “Journey Into Mystery” is how many new Lokis it introduces. This hour features: Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant), Boastful Loki (DeObia Oparei), Kid Loki (Jack Veal), President Loki (Hiddleston), and Alligator Loki (uh… a CGI alligator). Naturally, each of those Lokis has their own official hashtag sprite on Twitter. 

Fittingly for their chaotic energy, each of the Lokis introduced in this episode have quite different ultimate fates. Boastful Loki betrays his Loki comrades, because that’s just what Lokis do. The subsequent scene of President Loki and his Void army battling the other Lokis is one of the best moments of this show yet. That causes our Loki to take off with Classic, Kid, and Alligator. When Mobius invites that trio to come back to the TVA with him, they decline because the Void is their home now.

Read more

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That is the last we’ve seen of Kid Loki and Alligator Loki thus far but not the last of Classic Loki. The comic-accurate trickster returns to help Loki and Sylvie when they need it the most. He uses stunningly powerful magic to create an approximation of Asgard all around him, distracting the ravenous Alioth. Even Sylvie with her enchantress power is stunned by Classic Loki’s abilities. 

Is Richard E. Grant’s Classic Loki Really Dead?

Ultimately Classic Loki is swallowed up by the Alioth and therefore finally blinked out of existence. Or is he? It seems like he could have been utilizing the very same technique here he claims to have used to escape his death at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. “I think we’re stronger than we realize,” Loki tells Sylvie, so this would certainly be a case of that if it came down to it.

Plus, that leads us to the final and most important question that this episode raises. 

Who is the Villain?

Who indeed? There has been one name bandied about as the most likely Loki Big Bad. Before we get to him (and it’s absolutely who you think), indulge us in another theory. What if the villain of Loki is…

Classic Loki or Another Loki Variant

Richard E. Grant is kind of a big deal as an actor. It’s not every day you can find a seasoned performer who can portray a kindly exterior with some menace underneath. With that in mind, it’s possible that Classic Loki is a bigger character than he appears at first glance. This episode goes out of its way to communicate just how powerful Lokis can be. And when you combine that kind of god-like power with a trickster’s sensibility, it’s not hard to imagine that Classic Loki, or another Loki entirely, could be pulling all the strings. 

Kang the Conqueror 

While Loki confronting himself in the end would make for a dramatically interesting enterprise, the hard evidence at hand still seems to indicate that Kang the Conqueror is our real villain. The internet at large has been banging the drum for Kang the Conqueror as the ultimate Loki villain for weeks now and it’s not hard to see why.

This isn’t a case of collective delusion like with all of the Nightmare/Mephisto WandaVision theorizing, Kang really does seem to be a legitimate possibility. For starters, we know we already have an MCU actor for Kang in the fold already in the form of Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country). Kang was announced for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania but doesn’t it sound very Marvel for the character to make his unexpected debut here?

In the comics, Kang the Conqueror is wrapped up in multiverses, timelines, and all manner of heady sci-fi nonsense that Loki is already invested in. In fact, as Reddit user u/Hpotter821 points out, one iteration of Kang in Marvel comics sought to become Immortus by eliminating all of his other Variants. It would seem that creating the TVA to police other timelines would be quite useful in that mission. 

Then there’s the fact that Kang has at least some level of crossover with just about every major character and element of Loki. Kang has a relationship with Ravonna Renslayer in the comics and is also an occasional rival of Alioth. The show is not shy about injecting Kang’s aesthetic into the proceedings. While ostensibly space lizards as Loki described them, the Time-Keepers do appear to resemble the classic Kang the Conqueror look a bit. And the TVA logo? 

Oh. Hey. I just noticed that the centerpiece of the Time Variance Authority’s seal totally looks like Kang’s head. 🤷‍♂️ #Loki pic.twitter.com/93QzNDVSbi

— Ken Plume (@KenPlume) July 2, 2021

Oh yeah, that’s Kang, baby.

Perhaps by this time next week, all of this Kang conjecture will look as silly as WandaVision’s Mephisto fever dream. It’s undeniable, however, that Loki has provided us with plenty of breadcrumbs. If it’s all a Kang-sized red herring, then so be it. 

Doctor Doom

This is a considerable longshot, despite the fact that we’ve wanted it to happen for a long time. Doom was at the center of Marvel Comics’ multiverse-shattering Secret Wars event by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic, and the castle we see in this episode’s conclusion sure does look an awful lot like his humble Doomstadt home.

Every time we get excited about Doctor Doom or the potential Secret Wars threads embedded in this show, we’re brought back to reality by the fact that there’s virtually no way that Marvel would introduce arguably their greatest villain in a teasing series finale episode, especially not when they’ve got the Kang-centric Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania to tee up with Kang. Yes, we’re hedging our best by including him, but can you blame us?

Anyway, patience, Doom fans. The Fantastic Four movie is finally a priority for the MCU, and we should see that by 2023.

Kevin Feige

This obviously won’t happen but in the spirit of Marvel’s next Disney+ series What If…?, what if Loki and Sylvie arrive to the throne room in the castle and Marvel Studios head Kevin Heige is hanging out there wearing one of his trademark baseball caps? As witnessed in WandaVision and now Loki, this phase of Marvel cinematic storytelling is clearly about setting up a new multiverse of possibilities. What better way to introduce that multiverse than by completely breaking the fourth wall?

OK, so there are probably a ton of better ways but Feige would at least be fun and truly unexpected.

The post Marvel’s Loki Episode 5 Ending Explained: Who is the Real Villain of the MCU Series? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[popculturebuffet]

Close Enough Reviews: First Date and Snailin’ It

We’re in the home stretch thank god! Seriously while I do love this show, doing 13 reviews in one day, even as most are easy to bang out, has been exausting. But the thank god is also because we’ve arrived at my faviorite episode so far and.. er another one but at least it has Noel Fielding! That’s really awesome!  This time around Josh and Emily try to recapture the magic of their first date only to end up in one of the good Blumhouse movies, while Bridgette brings Josh along on an awkward first date. Then Emily gets the help of a snail’s magical hat to juggle work and life. Snail yeah under hte cut. 

First Date: 

A fourtune teller is at the fourplex, another review of the series I recently read revealed that’s what their buildings called and I like the sound of it so i’m using that, predicting a weird romance for bridget, who belivies it’s a guy she’s been texing, and sometimes sexting in her words not mine, who she has a date with tonight while said psychic also reveals to Emily that things with her and josh have gotten bland, something emily realizes via a hilarous flashback of them making out while falling asleep repeadtly before both just conk out. Also randy has thunder pants, aka pants tha tmake thunde rnoises and have a giant lighting bolt cod piece. Your the second best randy. Andt hat’s only because Alex is still a character. 

So we have our two plots and unlike previous episodes and one future one the plots.. don’t dovetail. Which I like and I like a show being able to do two seperate plots in eleven minutes. We frankly need more of that. Bridgette has her date and Josh and Emily end up having theres. As such i’ll cover both seperatley. And since their plots a bit simplier let’s start with Josh and Emily.  Emily tries flirting with Josh before explaning it’s because she wants to bring the spice back. After josh bungles his response trying to say what she wants but just.. you know asking emily what she wants him to say which is never a good move in any conversation, Josh does near instantly rebound, texting emily to come to the close tfor a suprise. Granted since Josh, self admittley right after, admits he has no game, it come across as weird and creepy, but Emily appricates him trying and is touched when he reveals his real bring the sparks back romantic plan: a recreation of their first date, which was at a haunted house. Also for some reason Josh thought mr magoriums wonder emporium was a best picture contender. Never change josh, never change. But I genuinely like this: having a couple that while relaistically having a dry spell still lvoes each other: instead of worrying the relationship is dead as these plots tend to do they simply want to bring back the magic that’s sometimes lost when you work two jobs, raise a kid full time and live with two weirdos with little sense of personal space.  So they go and the reason it’s pretty simple is their subplot is the two having a mind screw being chased by various horrors in the house. As i’ve said I feel the series has more of a horror bent at times with some episodes leaning more into that than just goofy madness like regular show did. Regular Show really saved most of its straight up horror content for terror tales, here horror bits can crop up as much as fucking wacky bits. I mean a logan’s run parody where a man dies is paired up with a low speed train chase with a con arist that ends with her driving into a thermortor factory while choking her fake son. The show can ping pong on tone, but it does work.  But yeah that’s why there’s less to talk about: it’s not bad stuff, it’s super spooky including the end bit where their told they died, it’s just mostly the two of them running around a nightmare, that unsuprisngly turns out not to be real and was just the attraction, before a really touching climax when the two finally find each other run towards each other and realize just how horrifed they were at the thought of loosing one another. it’s really damn touching and romantic, and leads to another climax when the two start kissing before getting it on despite the horror house working telling them they have others coming. I’ts a good plot, I just don’t have a ton to anlyaize about it. it’s just really good and really good horror stuff with a satsifying and sweet ending.  On to our main event, Bridgette heads out to her date and TRIES lying to alex for his own sake.. but Alex not only easily guessed she was on a date in the first place but... isn’t bothered at all. He even offers to wing man while sining the firends theme song and clapping at the wrong time. Because he’s alex even when he’s being sweet and a good friend and ex, he can’t help but be just a BIT off.  Bridget goes to meet Ron.. and finds he’s sewn to his ex Joy... like literally sewn or conjoined as they put it. Bridgette freaks the fuck out but is talked by ron into continuing, partly because their getting it undone and partly because Bridgette herself admits Ron looked past her baggage.. even if his is larger, she can at least try to. Also Ron is voiced by Chris Parnell who, with archer delayed event hough i’m watching it again and having stopped wtching rick and morty, I dearly missed. Glad to have you back dude. I’m also unsuprised he’s in this as the man is in everything. He’s a fucking workhorse. 

Anyways Alex happily agrees, has his own brief freakout because bridget didn’t tell him about the conjoined twins thing despite being a room away, but quickly rebounds and.. actually hits it off with Joy. even better than Bridgette is with ron who she soon realizes won’t shut the hell up about hiking. Soon Bridgette.. is jealous. Both because Alex is moving on way easier and found someone way quicker, Joyce shares his weird taste in viking erotica, and because she may still have some feelings left. We saw a bit of that in “Robot Tutor”: Bridgette got jealous real quick when alex saw someone elsed espite them being there mostly as sex pals, and admitted there was still some unresolved stuff there they hadnt gotten past on both sides.  They hit the club and things continue to degrade, with Bridgette even more jealous because Alex never took her dancing. And being that bridg is a musician and loves clubbing and what not, i’ts pretty understandable to be frustrated with her ex talking about how it took someone else to get him to do the worm.. also Alex doing the worm is a sheeer delight. When the cojoined ex couple leave, with Ron once again bringing up climbing machu pichu because apparently it’s in chris parnells contract he can never play an actually likeable romantic intrest, Bridget tries to bail but Alex wants to stay since it’s not his fault his date is going well and her’s isn’t.  Bridgette makes the mistake of saying “If you like joy so much why don’t you just conjoin with her”.. and Alex being alex says “why dont’ I and we end up at conjoin, the place Ron and Joy got bonded in the first place. Ever since 1994, you won’t regret this. Actual signs up there and they are wonderful. Bridgette, still jealous even ifs he can’t stand ron offers to be conjoined to him both in a desperate attempt not to losoe alex and to one up him.  However Alex finally calls her out, as while he’s perfeclty happy for her to move on, as this episode showed.. she can’t stand to see him with someone else, and Ron wisley tells her he can’t be attached to someone who isn’t unattached from her ex. When bridgette counters with the oppsitie ron is suprisingly pogniant “We can detach from each other physically but you two can’t detach from each other spirtually”. WHile bridgette quips about him finally saying something intresting, he’s right. She’s not ready and this night clearly proved it and even if she was she was only doing this to show up Alex. Joy likewise breaks things off. a bit more abrubtly since Alex has’nt been nearly as obvious as bridgette.. but alex himself shows he too still has some feelings when he accidentlya dmits to having written an entire section of his memoir about her teeth. Would could be creepy or you know, standard alex ends up really sweet as Bridgette is not only touched by the gesture, but Alex explains why “THeir all the parts that make up your smile” The two share a look, Joy wants what they have and Ron wants to masturbate alone. The end. 

Sadly this isn’t followed up on yet, if at all if there isn’t more episodes next week, as the next ep with the two in it, the finale for today, has the two in seperate plots that only dovetail at the end. But this honestly feels like a posisble arc for the show; Will the two get back together and work past the issues that got them to divorce in the first place or stay divorced and move on? And regular show, with one exception i’ve ranted enough about and will again, was really good at romantic storylines eventually and this could be really intresting for a number of reasons. I’m realy hoping this isn’t just a one off ending, could be but we’ll hopefully see. Either way this episode is really damn good with both plots , while not intersecitng connecting thematically: ONe couple relives a horrifying mirorr version of their first date while a former couple goes on their first real date with other people since the split but finds they might not be as done as they thought. IT’s a good juxtopision and the whole conjoining bit is both horrifying and good Beisdes having my ship at the center i’ts just a damn good time and the best of the season so far (or at all atain the 8 episodes thing is really throwing me off). 

Snailed It: This one should go quicker as its a much simpler ep: Emily has been working way too much and neglecting Candace, including a crypt based board game they’ve been playing for her job because she’s being a doormat. however i’ts not unresonable since said job gives them health insurance which given their lives, they REALLY need. She’s being such a doormat because she’s understandably afraid if she stands up for herself it could risk her job and they’d loose important stuff.  Emily TRIES to juggle things by doing a charity garden/publicity stunt to distract thigns at the school btu the comination of extra work from her boss and the children not actually gardening makes it fail and candace more upset. Emily finds help in the most unlikely of places: A giant talking snail that offers to let her use his magic hat to speed up time and complete the garden in exchange for some of the veggies. He’s also voiced by nice dude and mighty boosh alum noel fielding in what hoenstly feels like a boosh character got out of that universe, if their not the same unvierse which is possible, and snuck into this one.  Emily accepts, and is tempted to use the hat to do more of her job, with the snail calling her a shit parent. Fuck you man, sh’e sa good mom she’s just making mistakes. Emily decides to do it anyway and it works but she soon finds out using the hat outside the garden ages her while the snail decides fuck it and kidnaps candace by aborbing her into his stomach and making her be his legs so he can get dumplings because why not. What follows is a horrifc and tense chase between the two as candace’s life is on the line and the snail has a backup hat and emily time blasting him only makes candace age or deage, horrifyingly becoming a fetus at one point and a teenager later. It’s ar eally tense well done seen that combines the show’s usual insanity with it’s horror side to great effect Meanwhile josh feels useless since his job is less important, and he feels less important as he’s on call and skipping rocks with randy because apparently that’s what he does on call. Randy gets a great moment though, explaning to josh that h’es like the stones their skipping: he’s immoible and seemingly useless most of the time but when it matters he’s there . He’s there rock. Their support.. and naturally with emily slowly dying from her hat, a rare sentence, Josh steps upa nd saves the day via stone skipping, emily throws the hat in and the fundraiser, due to the madness, sucesffuly buired the scandal and Emily finally tells mr salt no.. and he’s really cool about it just telling her to come in a little later. Things are back on track and we’re out.  This wasn’t a bad one, but it both feels less after the prevoius episode and somehwhat simple comaprd other emily centreic episodes. WHile the snail is a great villian and noel fielding,  like rich fulcher before him, fits into this kind of world nicely. Not a bad one, just one sandwitched between two far more interesting episodes. Speaking of which, we’re in the endg ame now. Next time it’s dog days and weird fucking al baby, until very soon later days. 

[wigwurq]

WIG REVIEW: I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS

Well spooky season is over which means it’s time for my favorite season: AWARDS! I’m catching up on new releases and starting with a fairly spooky one: Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things. If you absolutely adore movies that completely gaslight you, the musical Oklahoma!, off-brand DQ blizzards IN a blizzard, actors from every season of Fargo in once place and of course: Toni Collette’s bewigged bangs, this movie is for you! I guess this review includes spoilers but even if you have already seen this movie, this may not spoil things for you?? Regardless: let’s discuss the wigs (and much more!)

Straight up: I love a good roadtrip movie and this one stars a couple played by Jesse Plemons and Jessie Buckley! Buckley-ed up: this is 2x the Jess(i)es! Also buckle up: this movie is absolutely not a roadtrip movie and defies all genres, reason, and narrative logic. We are first meant to believe that Jessie is meeting Jesse’s parents, but actually none of that is true and also I hope you like listening to poems recited in a car because that is basically the first hour of this movie. 

Finally, we make it to Jesse’s parents’ secluded farmhouse where we are first given a tour of barn atrocities and then have to watch a wet dog shake itself for a about three hours and wonder what is happening in the creepy basement before finally meeting: DAVID THEWLIS AND TONI COLLETTE! Whew! Does anyone remember simpler times only 3 years ago when we were living in a total David Thewlinnaisance due to his involvement in both Wonder Woman and Fargo season 3? Well hold on to your old man wigs because we are in a Second Wave Thewlinnaisance!!!! Also between Thewlis, Buckley, and Plemons, Fargos season 2-4 are completely represented here like some sort of Fargo: End Game which honestly makes a lot of sense in the context of this movie (I THINK). Toni Collette: you need to be in Fargo season 5 now.

So let’s talk about Toni Collette’s wigs, as they are the main wigs in this movie. As Jesse’s off-kilter mom, these wigs are very perfect farmhouse non-chic. We first see her in this banged shag and it is pretty good! It is also very good at helping me understand just what the hell is going on in this movie because moments later...

Toni has no bangs!! This bang shift was the first substantial clue for me in realizing that the full time-space continuum was off in this movie (also this movie makes its own Robert Zemekis joke because it knows it is fully Back to the Futuring some real timetravel nonsense as well!)  Anyway, this wig is also good! Straggly and terrible, but good for the purpose it serves: to tell us that nothing is as it seems. Jessie’s non-wigged hair also shifts, as does her clothing, career, and name, as does Thewlis’s wig until we realize that this movie is totally gaslighting the hell out of us. 

Time becomes a flat circle and past and present all become one. Toni is young again, and so is this ‘50s ‘do! Ok? It is ok! Before you can say Leave It To Beaver, Toni is old again, about to die....and maybe so are we? How long is this movie? Also this is not even the scariest Toni has been at a parental dinner if you have seen Hereditary. 

It should be noted that throughout this gaslit nightmare of a parental dinner, we get flashes of a random high school janitor who ends up being the key to all of this. As does the musical Oklahoma! which he sees being rehearsed time and time again.

Later, when the Jess(i)es finally leave the terrible, time-shifting parental dinner full of scary laundry basements and shifting wigs, they drive some more and recite Pauline Kael’s dissertations on A Woman Under the Influence, and find themselves at an off-brand Dairy Queen to get some off-brand blizzards in the middle of a blizzard that the girls who work there...were also in that high school production of Oklahoma! and are treating Jesse like he’s a weird janitor....I think we’re getting to the point of all this.

But first: how well do you know the musical Oklahoma??? I played Gertie in a community theater production in 1999 so allow me to school you. It is the first true American musical and is essentially all about a girl named Laurie trying to decide who to take to a dance. Yes, really. Her choices are cowboy Curly and farmhand weirdo Jud. Curly tries to help Laurie decide by going to Jud’s weird shack and trying to convince him through song to “end things” because only through suicide will anyone like him (yes this is an actual song called “Poor Jud is Dead”). And though Laurie’s choice seems obvious (?) she first has to take some smelling salts and think on it, which leads to the psychedelic narrative convention of the dream ballet - in which other actors play Curly, Jud, and Laurie and dance it OUT. Also the dream ballet (and the musical) end in murder and this musical is dark as hell. OK? OK. 

Back to this movie, Jessie and Jesse make their way back to the high school where the janitor works, make out in a car, and then Jesse gets weirded out that the janitor is watching them and decides to give him “a piece of his mind”....he gives him much more in that we soon discover that the Jess(i)es have all been part of the janitors mind this entire time and this whole goddamned movie is an elaborate dream ballet...that is ending with some dancers playing the Jess(i)es in an actual dream ballet. That ends in murder. Also Jessie’s character is a messed up version of Laurie (from Oklahoma!) but never actually Laurie. Her name shifts from Lucy, Louise, Louisa, Lucia....never quite the Laurie this janitor Jud wanted her to be. 

But we’re not actually done yet!! The old janitor leaves the school, trips the hell out in his truck and reenters the school naked and with off-brand DQ and dead pig animation (yes, really). Then Jesse in old wig/makeup become the old janitor in a Nobel Prize award ceremony on the set of Oklahoma! the musical with Toni in Aunt Eller drag and most of the audience (including Thewlis and Buckley) in the kind of old age makeup they do in high school productions where you just draw a bunch of lines on your face. Jesse delivers the Nobel acceptance speech from A Beautiful Mind and then goes into the set for Jud’s shack and sings Jud’s (often cut) song from Oklahoma!, “A Lonely Room”...and scene! Now aren’t you glad I told you about Oklahoma!???? 

Ultimately, this is the movie for the theater nerd who demanded that Jud hisself got his own damn dream ballet and also imagines Jud to be a modern-day janitor who thinks he’s smart and cultured and deserves a cool girlfriend and dabbles in landscape painting. But wig-wise...

VERDICT: WURQS!

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh Season Zero: Seto Kaiba's First Kidnapping

It’s Christmas vacation, I have Mannheim Steamroller on repeat, so much chocolate just an arms reach away from me. And I have purposely given myself nothing to do as an attempt to teach myself to do nothing.

So lets watch something weird and revisit Zero.

For those new here, I have been also reviewing most of Season Zero. If you don’t know what that is, you can my recaps in order by clicking this link here.

And like last time, I am not actually affiliated with Team Millennium, and I hope they don’t mind that I am capping their episode. You can find them on Youtube where they are slowly redubbing this season into English, and um--this next episode is the last episode they have! So I don’t know how I’m going to recap the rest?

Probably the same way I did in the first episode where it’s a lot less dialogue and more just...my reaction to it.

And, as always, my disclaimer for the new people that this was made in the 90′s and based off of the OG manga and it is...not the same show. It’s problematic. Why wouldn’t it be? It’s a counter-culture anime from the 90′s. Though this episode is pretty tame, honestly. Weird, but tame.

So, we start off the episode with a very lovingly drawn sky, not sure why it’s on THIS show but it’s here. This post apocalyptic sunset.

And staring directly into this sun going supernova is Seto Kaiba in his green hair, just brooding...

Not sure how he has this view from his Pemberly style mansion, but I dunno, maybe the city is visible from the backyard, or Seto just has really good vision. Either way don’t worry about it, we see Seto vibe out and visualize weird stuff all the time.

So, spurned by his hate for his classmate that beat him in cards once, Seto decides it’s time to enact his revenge by...what sounds a lot like some weird Lord of the Rings Lore and I dunno if it’s a bad translation or I just don’t really know what the hell he’s going off about because I never read the Yugioh version of the Silmarillion. Probably both.

See, while the first couple episodes of this show have different variations on Youtube, this one really only had the Team Millennium version in English (which is fine, there’s just some confusing things) and then the other version I saw skipped half of the episode because I guess they decided this part was boring or something. So forgive the fact that I’m flying on the seat of my pants here and I assume y’all will know all the deets I don’t know. For once, my contribution will be...kind of a lot less words.

So lets get right to it.

(read more under the cut)

Seto, who is in so much denial from Seasons 1-4, that I’ve headcanoned is actually cursed to never admit magic is real, has decided to call upon the (checks notes)

4 Game Masters

Yeah, that’s a new mechanic, these are a thing now. Don’t worry if you never heard of them before, I’ve been capping this show and I also have never heard of the legendary 4 magical Game Masters either.

So at this point these statues start glowing all creepy, and because it’s Yugioh I just kinda assumed...they’d do something.

I’m starting to think that maybe that was supposed to be symbolic, actually. Maybe there was never actually magic in the statues. Maybe it’s part of Seto hallucinating, as always. This whole show kind of runs on being a sort of metal fever dream whenever people get intense about games, so I’m probably not supposed to align it with any established magic laws anyway. It’s just I never know when things are real or just aesthetics, which I enjoy, quite a bit, that it’s open ended--but still it’s somewhat confusing as to if these gargoyles are...a thing now or were just always set dressing to kind of remind us of the cards that come later in the episode.

But, remember the spooky indoor gargoyles in your mind, keep it there, these menacing gargoyles over a fiery sunset...

OK now lets meet the real villain.

There he is. Our villain. And his name? Ripley Sheldon.

MAN to go from spooky gargoyles to Ripley Sheldon. There’s a name. That’s a name all right. I’ve only seen one episode of Big Bang Theory but Sheldon is a name forever ruined for me.

So--sidestory--this one time, my friend was at a wedding in Santa Cruz, which is a pretty beachy hippie town that always smelled like weed before it was legal, and there was just...a doll at the wedding. My friend was seated at a dinner party table just right next to this doll, and the family was like “Ah yes, this is the doll, you have to speak to her. She’s a member of the family.” and my friend had to suffer roleplaying with this doll for hours.

So before you’re like...there’s no way grown ass adults are this weird with dolls in public.

Yes. It happens.

Ah, and it’s the first instances of the Kaiba Corp logo and it’s the same. Complete with helicopter, because that Logo is never done until it’s surrounded by a fast military vehicle of some sort.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh great.

Yo remember that one episode where Yugi almost got his legs chopped off by Arcana and Arcana’s wife was being held behind a curtain, and at the end of the episode Arcana pulls back the curtain and his wife was a manikin the whole time and her head fell off?

Getting those vibes.

Back at school, Miho is busy being the most manipulative human being, this time with losing at cards. Like y’all I am TRYING to give Miho the benefit of a doubt here, but it seems even the translators hated Miho so much they had her refer to herself in the 3rd person. I am trying, really I am, sorry to everyone who loves Miho, I will leave that door open as I watch these--that maybe Miho will...grow on me.

But not this episode.

And then this happened. I guess from the breeze of Honda leaning over too far.

Believe it or not, Yuugi’s vertigo will come back later in this very episode. This whole bizarre scenario was just foreshadowing.

But for reals, Yuugi is so FRAIL in Season Zero. While I appreciate the contrast between Yuugi and Yami Yuugi, I gotta recognize how much Yugi has evolved over 4+ seasons because Yuugi is just...eggshells. Every part of him is polite little eggshells.

But in contrast, you have Anzu who is ready to fight in every single scene she’s in and I’m OK with that.

That and the very clear romantic direction that is just...simple. It’s very simple in Season Zero. That’s nice.

Anzu isn’t even possessed by two ghosts. In fact, between Anzu and Yuugi right now, there are 0 ghosts. So weird. So kosher.

Speaking of weird,

Y’all, I have no explanation for this. I only know so much Kanji.

The translation I watched tried so very hard to do what they could with this, and kudos to them, but...this is what happens with translation, it’s just a very hard job sometimes. So I get how they decided to form this joke into English, but if anyone is like a Japanese speaker and gets the pun that was clearly happening here, feel free to youknow, share the knowledge.

Unfortunately the undubbed episode that exists on Youtube that I found edited out this part so they didn’t have to try and translate it, lol. Either way, I appreciate Orange Jounouchi a lot, as well as the background squids on Squid Jounouchi.

Can you imagine just being in high school, and you get summoned to the Nurses Office? Can you even imagine what rumors would start from that? Like I know Seto wants revenge against Yuugi through cards, but I think he just did. I think he did like maybe one of the worst things you can do to a High Schooler just now. May as well page over the intercom that Yuugi has to pick up his yeast infection ointment.

And this is where we meet...a ridiculous satire. This 30 year old beautiful woman flirting with a child disaster who cannot balance while seated on a low chair.

And predictably, Yuugi lost because things just got THAT weird and awkward. Dunno if the translators put that in there for fun, or if that’s honestly how it was in the original. My bet it was probably exactly that weird in the original. Mostly because this show has a lot of “stranger danger” set ups to teach little children to never trust bad adults and this just seemed like exactly that type of set-up. Don’t trust the overly nice nurse or she’ll steal your cards in a game, kids.

After this really awkward card game (and I’m not going to bother to dive into it because I don’t talk about the card mechanics here), we find out...that Seto’s just been staring at them...the entire time.

Like it has such a voyeuristic vibe to it, it really makes you wonder about Seto’s whole deal just an awful lot. Like Season 1-4 doesn’t really ship Yugi/Kaiba, in my opinion (and just my opinion, I know how y’all feel about the ship and that is a-ok, all ships are welcome here)...but Season Zero ships A LOT. It’s not a serious ship by any means, it’s clearly a crack ship, but they...very clearly know what they’re doing with Seto being this obsessed with Yuugi in this way, omg. It just sounds like a kink to me.

So, ways to beat Yuugi Muto:

steal his stuff halfway through the game, try to kill yourself, rock paper scissors, try to kill Joey Wheeler, or dress up a sex doll like a nurse and have a gross old man have it play cards while he makes a sexy lady voiceover.

(Y’all I’ve been to my share of arcades in my life and I think I’ve only seen like 6 pinball tables total. Do good arcades only exist on TV? I think it’s all a lie.)

Then, because I guess this episode wasn’t going anywhere, Yuugi goes to the arcade to play some video games. The video game is unimportant, and it’s never been brought up before, but he’s dead set on finding it. Because unlike Yugi, Yuugi just doesn’t really have a goal in this series so he just kind of flutters around until someone tells him what to do.

TBH that’s a pretty 90′s thing for a show or a movie to do. To have characters just exist and have things happen to them, but in all, they’re just...wandering. So it’s not so much a knock on the show, it’s just that sometimes it’s a little of a transition to go from a goal being something physical, like finding the lost city of Atlantis before every human’s soul is absorbed into the great Leviathan, to the goal being more of a mental acceptance--Yuugi just learning to accept this curse he doesn’t even know he has yet, and trying to find acceptance in his group of friends.

With Yuugi, we’re kind of just watching his daily life, which is mostly watching him try and sneak games into every spare moment that his local adult has turned around. It has a very slice of life feel to it, but minus the near constant innuendo slice of life tends to have (at least the ones that have been recommended to me)

Now, because this is a show about people getting a real EXTREME comeuppance every time they break the law, what will happen to Yuugi for ignoring his Grandpa’s wishes and going to the arcade before going home?

First, we meet this mushroom haired person.

That’s right kids, NEVER stop by the arcade on the way home from school--1.) The local arcades are almost always 90% boring racing games and busted shooters that came out on the Nintendo 64 when I was a child and 2.) You will get abducted.

And then we get this face swap.

Kaiba just really loves dress-up. No wonder he was hanging out with a guy super into dolls. And like, I went into before how Seto Kaiba is always doused in facsimile energy. He loves faking it up, and apparently that’s been true since Zero.

He introduces that he will have four challenges from four Game Masters and uh so welcome to the...I don’t where this is, but a weird place full of dolls that must exist somewhere in Domino.

I guess this is to make it seem like they have an audience to watch Yuugi fail but even still...what?

So we get kind of a mirror to the scene at the beginning with Miho crying and Honda telling Yuugi to apologize for beating her, except replace Miho with Seto and Honda with this guy who really likes dolls (and Miho is a lot like a cursed doll). Like, if there were a theme to this episode it’s “grow up and stop apologizing when you beat someone in a card game” which isn’t a terrible theme, especially in this show that is about Yuugi learning how to adult.

In fact the “grow the hell up” theme is so strong we have a villain who is just...a big baby who carries dolls around. Kinda makes you wonder if the show would have eventually had Yuugi just...grow out of toys and games completely for the finale. Like in the Yugioh we have now, he can’t, because first off they licensed a hell ton of toys, but also because Yugi does games for his actual job. Even if Pharaoh was gone, Yugi still has to play games all the time. In this case, he could just...be using the games to learn how to do adult things, which is actually why we give kids games in the first place.

But, speculation aside, it’s at this point that a card play knocks Yuugi off of his chair and he passes out. Despite the fact that this isn’t a Shadow game and there...shouldn’t be any magic present. In fact, I don’t think any part of this game in this episode required opening the door of darkness. When he switches to Yami shortly after falling off of his own chair he’s like...yeah this is fine. Seems all above board. No need to kill anybody

And then apparently there’s a type of Dual Monster’s card I was unaware of.

A doll-type.

So I looked it up, is there a doll type card in Yugioh?

And it seems like there’s a lot of dolls, but not like...a type, as far as I can tell. Again, I don’t play this game, I’m only here for the plot and this one just seemed like they really had to reach for Yuugi to have just the right type of card to play.

And again, because this wasn’t a Shadow Duel, our loser just kind of walks away...all the way back to Britain, I guess.

And Seto just stands there behind a window in a rainstorm to allude to his many unshed salty tears, and it cuts to Miho who I guess has learned not to cry when she loses to Yuugi now.

And then she pulls out an absolutely winning tactic. This would win, actually. It’s actually genius.

And that is a very strong

From me. Wow. No thanks. I actually don’t want to see Yuugi do a kissy face ever again, thank you.

Half of you loved that though. This is fine. We’re all different.

Anyway, I assume the game was never played, or Miho won and the show just decided not to show it. If Season Zero Yuugi is a Yuugi that makes out then...that is...shocking. Then again, we’re only like...a third of the way through? I think?

Anyway, it’s...after Christmas because I went out of town for a spell, but I’ll just...post this now. Last post before the new year.

I’ll see y’all in 2020!

[watchingspn-blog]

spn rewatch | wendigo

I’m gonna be real upfront right now. This episode scared the piss out of me when I first saw it. I’m sorry but a crazy fast, perfect hunter who can move faster than you can blink and eats human flesh to survive and can mimic a person’s voice to lure you to them?! I WAS TERRIFIED! It didn’t help that I had just moved into our new house, which is on five acres of land with about four of those acres being nothing but woods. But, for real, I know some of the effects aren’t as good as they could be by today’s standards but I actually loved and was terrified of this episode the first time I saw it, which kind of amped up the scary factor from the pilot for me. 

Okay, here we go. 

So as if we needed to further cement that this is taking place in glorious 2005, you’ve got two guys playing games on their Nintendo DS’s (RIP pre-Glee Cory Monteith, the only person who could’ve competed with Jared vertically) and then Tommy recording a video on his Blackberry, somehow magically having it perfectly level with his face despite not being able to see the screen as he records. Like seriously that’s the supernatural activity they should be investigating.

Okay but so some of the wendio effects later in the episode are not so great but in this first scene, I think they made some pretty solid choices of just relying on the whole concept of “less is more” and giving mostly scary sounds and rustling trees and making you more afraid of what could be in the forest than creating a scary visual to throw at you right off the bat. Solid scary intro scene. 

The cemetery scene. Totally classic shoutout to Carrie. I had just gotten into Stephen King when I started watching Supernatural (honestly I was delving into all kinds of horror themed things at the time) and I’d seen Carrie for the first time not too long before this. Which means not only was I super scared by the jump scare (because I’m still jumpy as fuck to this day), I was also SUPER proud of myself for knowing what they were trying to reference there. I definitely thought I was cool for getting that one. Now, not so much. But the scene still makes me jump. 

I really do like the ways they’re kind of trying to establish how the brothers care for each other. Like you know right off the bat in the pilot that their relationship is rough at best and that there’s some pretty obvious toxic masculinity on Dean’s part at least but like you can still see that Dean’s concerned. He’s got his own way of showing it but he’s worried about his little brother. 

Side note: just remember that they both had a seriously messed up childhood and the fact that either of them are as close to normal as they are is impressive. Like I think all things considered, they’re pretty well adjusted. Kind of. 

This episode is kind of outside the norm compared to future episodes with how Sam and Dean both handle the case when they first get to town. The fact that Sam just wants to go straight to the coordinates John left them while Dean’s the one saying “maybe we should do a little research first” is bizarro. But it also kind of helps show just where Sam’s mind is at at this point. He’s not coming to this as a hunter taking on a case, he’s a man with a vendetta and the next step he needs to take is finding John. He’s fueled by anger and grief and guilt and that kind of reflects when he seems less concerned about what’s going on in the woods and more interested in just getting out there ASAP.

Okay, just like they couldn’t pass as US Marshals, the guys seriously do not look like park rangers at all. Like you guys aren’t even trying come on. And good on Haley for being suspicious even if she did seem to buy into their story for a bit. 

BABY HAN SOLO! 

I totally did not realize that was Alden Ehrenreich playing Ben until I saw his name on screen at the beginning of the episode. He looks so so so young in this ohmygod. Also think I’ll need to keep a list of like all the crazy celeb cameos of people who got famous after being on the show. Or were already famous but I totally forgot popped up. 

For our next super underrated guest star scene of the series, Shaw - the old man who’s parents were taken by a “grizzly” back when he was a kiddo in 1959. 

Like seriously, it’s one scene but Donnelly Rhodes (RIP) does an amazing job with the scene and like it kind of leaves me with chills whenever he says that whatever it was didn’t break down the door but unlocked it. Like that’s still hella spooky to me. Also, I still don’t totally understand why the wendigo left him behind. Like you’d think for a monster that is going to have a big ass meal before hibernation would want as much meat as possible. Like yeah a little kid wouldn’t much but he’d be something right?

Also that’s a gnarly scar like how did he survive that.

So Dean talks about it being possibly a skinwalker or a black dog but like looking into what those both actually are I honestly don’t understand why he would think that based on what they know about the attacks. Like black dogs are death omens and skinwalkers wouldn’t be able to do the kind of damage that’s being done considering everyone’s just like “oh it’s a grizzly”. So like I dunno, I guess this might’ve been the writers tossing out references to other creatures to make it sound like Dean knows a bunch but like neither of those would be my first guesses for this case.

Kind of just like “early installment weirdness” but whatever. It’s not a big deal, just me nitpicking.

Okay so Roy is kind of a jackass but like he knows what he’s doing for the most part and he totally doesn’t buy the guys story about beng park rangers for one minute. So like I can respect that. And like if it would’ve been an actual animal attacking people, he might’ve survived but oh well. 

I do like that Haley just goes ahead and calls bullshit on the park rangers story before they even go on their adventure but Dean’s whole “it's probably the most honest I've ever been with a woman...ever.” is just kind of cringey. 

So all the traipsing through the woods and the “I’m smarter than you” staredown between Roy and Sam is not super interesting but I do like that 1 - we get to see Sam being angry and being emotional in a more volatile way because that’s not often the case as the show goes on - and 2 - we get our iconic line of “saving people, hunting things, the family business” and the whole idea that they’re not supposed to meet up with John but do the jobs he doesn’t have time for while he’s hunting for the demon that killed Mary. 

I don’t think I really realized why John would leave them coordinates and the journal when he didn’t plan on actually meeting up with them when I watched this as a kid. I just kind of shrugged it off as like a necessary plot device for the show to progress, didn’t really see it as anything with a deeper meaning. And I think it’s fair that you can’t read too much into after an episode and a half because there’s so much that we don’t know yet about the boys and John and their story and all of that. But like looking at it with the knowledge of their lives and everything, it’s a lot heavier moment to me. Maybe I’m just reading too much into it. 

Okay so the rest of the episode is just encounter monster, piss off monster, get kidnapped by monster, track monster, kill monster. Kind of standard, not super exciting like there’s not a lot to talk about. Dean with his molotov cocktails is kind of fantastic. 

The trail of M&Ms is fun and yes better than breadcrumbs. Sam immediately becoming invested in killing the monster once Dean’s been taken gives me all kinds of feels because I love when these two go into protective brother mode. And Dean all banged up with bruises and cuts and dirt is a look I probably shouldn’t like as much as I do but that’s a conversation for another day. 

The wendigo does look a little cheesy when you get better glimpses of it because early 00s special effects so it’s definitely for the best they keep things pretty shadowy for the end of the episode. Not the worst looking monster of season one and still scary enough, to me at least. 

So this is the episode that seems to start the trend that if there’s a girl involved and her life gets saved by the Winchesters, one of them is going to flirt with her and get some kind of physical affection before they leave town. It doesn’t happen every episode but it happens enough that 26 year old me is rolling my eyes. 14 year old me had no issues with Sam and Dean getting smooches because look at them. But now I’m kind of like this seems a little unnecessary but whatever. It’s not the worst instance and all in all, I actually really liked Haley. I liked the whole Collins family. They were some solid guest characters and I feel like the scenes where Sam and Dean are interacting with them individually does a good job of kind of fleshing out their characters a bit more. It gives a chance for some necessary exposition without feeling too forced. 

All in all, solid episode. Scary monster, intensified my fear of the woods, gave some good scenes, iconic lines. Does it have some cheesy moments? Yes. Is it the best episode of the series? No. Does it still scare me when I watch it? 100%.

BODY COUNT: 3 humans (Brad, Gary, Roy); 1 wendigo (our first corporeal monster - also like I’m curious about who the wendigo was before it changed, like how long has it been in the wilderness, how did it wind up at Blackwater Ridge, how it wound up this far west)

RATING: 7.5/10 - yep, I’ll say it. I think this episode is better than the pilot. Not by much but the characters feel a little closer to who they become throughout season one and I feel like you get a better feel for them than we did in the pilot. Also the wendigo scares me more than Sarah Shahi in a sexy nightgown I’m just saying.  

[a-big-apple]

TAZ fic: What, What, What

Taako is mildly fucked up, but perseveres; Lup wonders if her brother might actually be part gerblin. Just another fancy dinner at Taako's Amazing School of Magic!

Apparently when I’m sad I cook all day, write fic about Taako and Lup all evening, and post it when it’s too late at night for anyone to see it? But I’m less sad, so...it worked!

Read on AO3

This comes after my Adventure Bang fic from last year, but you don’t have to have read that—just know that Taako has a cool house on school grounds, and Lup lives there too.

***

Lup doesn’t often bother coming home through the front door; her scythe makes doors basically irrelevant, and after almost a year in the Raven Queen’s service she still hasn’t tired of making a dramatic entrance with a badass plane-slicing blade. But sometimes when the weather’s nice, after a long hunt or a lot of paperwork, she’ll take a minute to come up the walk through the wild garden and let the enchanted birds carved over the doorframe sing out a full chorus of The Thong Song before she goes inside.

Today she stands in the sticky early September heat and listens through twice before she’s ready; breaking up blood sacrifice cults bums her out every time. If she does a little twerk for the second chorus, well, Merle never has to know she took his advice.

There’s an unusual bustle of school staff inside, cleaning, polishing, changing over the big event space to a fancy dining room with bursts of magic. Predictably, Ren is standing perched on a chair supervising these efforts; when she spots Lup, she gives her a frazzled smile and a wave.

“Can you make sure Taako’s on schedule?” she calls across the dining room. “He was in a weird mood this morning. Oh, no, Sam, let’s do maroon on the napkins? Fall colors. And velvet for the seat cushions.”

Lup doesn’t know specifically what’s going on, but she can guess; the school year’s about to start, this must be some kind of opening dinner. “I’ll check on him. What time’s he supposed to be ready?”

Ren crosses something off the list on her clipboard before looking back to Lup. “Six sharp. Thanks!”

Lup shoots her two finger guns and continues on to the door into the private wing, only to find it locked. It’s not a problem to Knock it open, but it is unusual, and as soon as she steps through she can smell food cooking and maybe something burning. Biscuit, who generally takes it upon herself to keep tabs on all entrants, darts through a wall to greet her.

“Hey, spooky girl,” Lup coos, bending to rub the underside of the cat’s mandible. “Who’s my favorite ghost cat? Hmm? Did you miss me?” Biscuit’s ribs rumble with a purr, and Lup grins. “Guess so. Let’s go see what’s cookin’, huh?” The cat follows her down the hall, twining around and phasing through her legs.

The kitchen looks like a five-star restaurant exploded; there are platters and tureens and baskets of food on every counter, and the kitchen island, and the dining table, and the seat of every chair; the sink is piled comically high with dirty dishes. In the middle of it all stands her brother, wearing nothing but a pair of Barry’s boxers and eating what looks like over-roasted brussel sprouts straight from the baking tray with his fingers. There’s a smear of herbed cooking oil in the shape of a handprint on his stomach, and a streak of some kind of sauce on his elbow. She’s getting a sense for what Ren meant by “a weird mood.”

“Yo,” he says, stuffing a fingerful of blackened leaves into his mouth. “How’d the cult thing go?”

“Fine,” she says, still staring around at the chaos; something crunches underfoot as she comes around the kitchen island. Some wayward Fantasy Corn Chex, if she had to guess, which hopefully means Taako ate something other than burnt reject vegetables at some point today. “You know. Blasted ‘em straight to the Stockade. You, ah...you have a thing tonight, huh?”

Taako holds out the baking tray. “The scholarship thing. I told you about it last week.”

Lup plucks up the last few sprouts and pops them in her mouth. Even burnt, they’re delicious, perfectly seasoned and sprinkled with No-Sodium Salt. “Scholarship thing?”

“I did tell you...didn’t I?” He blinks at her, something shifting in his expression; Lup takes the tray and balances it on top of the dish pile, then takes his greasy hands.

“Hey. It doesn’t matter. Tell me now?” she says, rubbing his knuckles with her thumbs. He lets her, mouth working. “You okay?” she asks, when he doesn’t speak.

“Yeah.” He squeezes her hands, and his expression clears a little. Then he grimaces and lets one hand go to grab a kitchen towel. “Yeah. I started a scholarship, this year. Forty free rides. They’re all comin’ for dinner. You too, if you want. I mean, whoever’s home.”

“Absolutely,” she says, grinning as he tries to wipe his hands and hers without actually letting go of her at all. “You’re disgusting, you need a shower. I think you have icing in your hair, did you make a cake?”

“Three cakes, they’re in the icebox. Also, shut up, I’ve been cooking for eleven hours.”

Lup kisses his cheek and shoves him out of the kitchen. “It shows. I’ll clean up in here, go get ready before Ren comes looking for you.”

***

Eventually Ren does come looking, bringing a line of staff to retrieve the food. When Lup heads upstairs at ten to six, she finds Taako in their shared dressing room, sitting at the vanity fussing with his hair. He’s tried to do a fishtail, but it’s crooked; when he sees her come in, he sighs and lets his arms flop into his lap. “Can you fix this? I fucked it up.”

At least he’s dressed, in high-waisted black trousers and knee high boots, and the shirt Magnus gave him for his birthday with the delicate embroidery on the frilled cuffs. He picks at them as she brushes his hair out. “So tell me more about this scholarship,” she says, watching her fingers as she starts to braid instead of giving in to the urge to examine his every expression in the mirror.

“What’s there to tell?” he says, letting go of his cuffs to poke through his jewelry box instead. “I picked forty kids from the applications who don’t have money, or don’t have homes, or don’t have families or whatever, gave them tuition and room and board.” He picks out an ostentatious ring with a big blue stone, clearly costume, maybe magical, and slips it on his pointer finger. “I’m calling it the Study it Up! Scholarship. Ren tried to get me to change the name, but it’s my money and my school, so.”

“Forty kids, huh?” Lup says, quiet, and Taako shakes his head.

“Lup, c’mon, I don’t wanna—”

“No, no, I wasn’t trying to—I just. You’re doing a good thing.” She holds the end of his braid in one hand, squeezing his shoulder with the other.

Taako smiles, finally, leaning his head against her arm. “Yeah, no shit.” He hands her a hair band, with an obnoxiously large purple silk flower on it. “Thanks.”

“Anytime, babe.”

He runs a hand over the fishtail as she ties it off; satisfied, he whirls out of the chair and throws on his academic robes, plucks a matching hat from the hat shelf, takes the Umbrastaff she made him from its hook. It turns deep blue as he touches it, to match his robes, and he holds out his arms. “Good?”

He looks smart; professorial. He looks like the kind of Somebody they always wanted to be. Then he points his staff at the record player in the corner, and The Thong Song comes blasting out of it. Taako points at her and laughs, and breaks into his Thong Song Dance, as only he can.

“You dumbass,” she shouts over the music, laughing, and joins him.

[arrowdaily]

Monday’s installment of Arrow ended with Curtis Holt, aka Mr. Terrific (Echo Kellum), bidding adieu to Star City for a job in Washington, D.C. With that onscreen move comes Kellum’s official departure from the CW superhero show as a series regular, EW can now reveal.

In ‘Star City Slayer,” Curtis received a job offer from the Kohler Humanitarian Institute in DC because of the technology he’s developed. As he weighed his options, the team started tracking a serial killer, which led to Curtis using his tech to save Dinah (Juliana Harkavy) after the killer slit her throat. That feat helped him make the decision to take the job, because it would allow him to help as many people as possible. Diggle (David Ramsey) tried to get him to stay by offering him a promotion at ARGUS, but Curtis turned him down and handed Helix over to his partner in crime Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) before leaving.

Kellum, on the other hand, made the decision to leave Arrow after four seasons because he wanted to spend more time with his family in Los Angeles and is interested in pursuing other ventures in music, writing, and directing. However, both Kellum and executive producer/showrunner Beth Schwartz assure EW that this isn’t the last of Mr. Terrific.

“I love working with Echo, who is an absolute delight and joy,” Schwartz tells EW in a statement. “Echo has always brought humor and heart to Arrow. Curtis is such a fun character to write for and he’ll be greatly missed. We haven’t seen the last of Mr. Terrific.”

Below, Kellum opens up about his decision to leave, his favorite moments on the show, and what’s next for him creatively.

Entertainment Weekly: How did your exit come about? Was it your decision, the producers’, or something mutual? Echo Kellum: I had a conversation with [then-showrunner] Marc Guggenheim in season 6. It was my idea. I have kids—I have a twelve-year-old kid—and it was just starting to feel like I should be back home more. First of all, I love working on this show. I love the cast, the producers. It’s the best cast I’ve ever worked with, the best studio. They’ve taken such great care of me and made me feel like I’ve been there since season 1. So all of this has been very bittersweet because I actually feel very crestfallen, because it’s so tough to leave such an amazing show. But I think for me, it just boiled down to family, and also I just wanted to try a couple of creative ventures in my life. I’m working on music, directing, and writing now. I still love acting, but it’s something I’m not looking at as the top thing of my career anymore. I’m looking at my career in a different light. So, I approached Marc. We had a long conversation about family and fatherhood and all those things, and he totally got where I was coming from. You know, Warner Bros. and the network were so generous to be able to let me exit gracefully. What I will say, this isn’t the end of Curtis. I’ll definitely come back as much as they want me back, and visit and guest-star and whatnot. So, it’s not the end of him. I guess it’s really a family decision overall, just to be a little closer to my kids. I’ve been around my kids more during the school parts of the year the most that I have been in the last four years, even in the past month. It was definitely not an easy decision.

Both Arrow and the Arrowverse as a whole have this sort of open-door policy where actors have the flexibility to come and go as they need. Did that make it easier for you to approach Marc and Beth about this? EK: Absolutely. I’ve know things that have happened with actors in the past, so that was definitely something that made it easier to broach the conversation. I went to them just to have a conversation—not being like, “Hey, I want off!” but just to gauge where they were, how they felt about how I was feeling, and all I got was full support. They didn’t want me to leave. I’m so thankful that they wanted me to be part of the show in the first place, and they still want me to be part of it. So, it’s definitely an open-door policy for me. I’ll come back any time they need me to come back, for sure, but right now? It’s really nice to be around family more and take care of these creative ventures that I’ve been working on in LA as well.

The episode ends with Curtis deciding he can put his tech to better use in Washington after he gets his job offer. How did you feel about the way Curtis was written off? EK: I liked it because it’s still innately Curtis wanting to help other people. He’s leaving in a way where he can try to have a bigger impact in trying to help other people in the world. I really appreciate that, because I hope it leaves open the door for him to pop back in every once in a while until they get to their 300th episode. [Laughs]

What was your last day on set like? EK: It was very emotional. I definitely cried. Everyone cried. It was really difficult because they are my family and all of us have such a great rapport, on-screen and off-screen. The last day was really tough. A lot of tears, a lot of cakes. But the last day, we shot in this spooky house, so it was very interesting. I feel good about my decision overall, but I’m going to miss all of them, miss being the trenches with them every day and laughing on set and just being silly, and then also just telling this amazing story that our amazing writers are crafting. So it’s just definitely very bittersweet. I’m exited for what’s in the future, but it’s tough to leave such an amazing show.

What do you think you’ll miss about Curtis, this character you’ve been with for four years? EK: I just like his charm. He’s so silly and he brings a lot of levity to a lot of the darkness that the show can permeate. I’m gonna miss that about him—that he just has a great outlook on life, like his positivity. It doesn’t mean he hasn’t dealt with hardships and doubting himself and whatnot, but I think I can pull that from him, of just being positive and looking at the bright side of things, and trying to do the best I can for my fellow man. I’m really going to miss playing those parts.

Looking back at these past four seasons, what was your favorite moment or episode on the show? EK: One of my favorite moments was getting to put on the Terrific 2.0 costume. That was such an hugely empowering moment for me personally as an actor. It was so great. But as you say that, the moment that comes back to me again and again is in episode 2 of season 5. Me, Rick Gonzalez, and Madison McLaughlin, who played Artemis, we were all having a scene. We’re training, Oliver’s got the bell. Oliver and Felicity have a moment, and we’re just in the background just kind of chilling and improvising some banter in character. Then, Rick says, “Hey, we on a TV show.” We are all still in character. [Laughs] It was just such a perfect moment from Wild Dog. As the character, I thought he would say something like this. “Look, there’s cameras everywhere,” and we’re like, “Dude, what are you talking about?” That moment was so funny and so meta. We talk about that moment so often. We’ll be shooting a scene and I’m like, “Rick, we on a TV show, man,” and then we just start laughing and cracking up. That is really one of the moments that touches my heart. Honestly, the moment that I really think about is the first moment when I got to meet Felicity and came in that first day. I just remember how amazing it was to feel welcomed and a part of that universe from the jump. That’s a moment that really holds true to my heart. Honestly, there are a couple of episodes from this season: The episode where I got to speak French, that was so much fun. The episode where I got to flip the script on Diaz (Kirk Acevedo) was so much fun too. I really like where they were going with him. I hope there can be some type of a future for him Arrowverse. It won’t be on an episodic basis, but I’m really proud of the work I got to do with this character and thankful that they let me play with him for four years.

Have you started talking to the writers about when that potential return might happen, or is that still far off? EK: We’ve had some discussions. Nothing’s been finalized at this point, but we’ve definitely discussed that aspect and they definitely made sure and clear that they want Curtis to come back. I can’t give you any definitive episodes or storylines, but it’s definitely something I’m 100 percent open to doing, and I believe they’re open to doing it too, so it should definitely work out at some point in the future.

If things aligned where you were available and they wanted you back, would you want to be involved in next year’s big “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover? EK: Of course, 100 percent! That’s going to be so epic and amazing! I would love to be a part of those crossovers.

Is there anything more you can share about what you have planned post-Arrow? EK: I’m working on music right now. It’s been a labor of love. I’ve been working on an album for the past two years, but now I’m afforded the time to actually focus on it and really get into the studio and bang some stuff out. I’ve been shooting some things. I just shot a short; got some financing for it and shot that. And writing a bunch of scripts. I have a feature that we’re out trying to sell right now and a pilot we’re out trying to sell right now. Everything is very irons-in-the-fire, but I’m just very confident in my future and my work ethic. I know it’s only a matter of time before things fall down.

What can we expect from your first album? EK: I mainly do hip-hop. I love being an MC and rapping. It’s something I’ve been doing since I was in high school. My brother was a hip-hop artist, and we lost him in 2006, unfortunately, so I’m trying to make something to honor him and everything he was doing. My music has always been a passion. I’m not doing it to make a million bucks. I’m just doing it for the love because I just want to put out my own creative venture in music and still getting some of the pieces together is just exciting.

Is there anything else you wanted to add? EK: I think the only thing I want to do is just thank all the fans for giving me a shot. For all the fans that loved me and for all the fans that didn’t love me so much, thanks for watching, thanks for caring, thanks for making me feel like I was part of something special, because it is a special show. I will see you guys in the future on other projects. And excelsior!

[ick25]

Rockman.EXE Episodes 26 and 27. Special Summer Review!

Stand back! Iceman is gonna explode!

It’s summer everyone! This is a special review, we have reached season 2 of the first saga of Rockman.EXE! Today I am gonna review two episodes since not only are they beach episodes, but because these two episodes were never aired in America. That’s right, these are two of the four skipped episodes that were never dubbed, so in America, after Rockman’s revival, we skip to episode 28. 

Why were these episodes never shown in America? Let’s find out!

Spooky.

We open the first skipped episode in an airport where Netto seems ready to travel somewhere all by himself, with his parents and friends seeing him off.

“So what you’re saying is that if I’m losing in a Net Battle I activate the instant win button, right?”

Netto is ready to leave until his useless mom tells him something before leaving.

Playing the “favoritism card”, aren’t we? It’s bad enough that she sucks as a mom, but now she worries about his Navi more than her own son? And also, WHO LETS THEIR ELEVEN YEAR OLD TRAVEL ABROAD ALL BY HIMSELF?!

Netto’s plane leaves, and his friends let us know that he has won some kind of trip for winning second place in the N-1 tournament, right before Dekao shows everyone his swimming trousers.

Just... why?

In the plane, we see that just like with cellphones, PETs have to be turned off before take off. Netto turns on his PET and and sees the sun outside the window, he and Rockman then share a cute moment.

Aww.

The title card appears, and Netto arrives at his first destination, Uki Yuugi (Placent game) beach at the Southern Islands, where he is surprised to find that Meiru-chan and the others are there too!

I like their shared reactions. Wait, why does Rockman call Yaito “sama”?

Yaito explains, with a view of her very own comercial plane, that she was planning to take everyone to Jyawaii and decided to stop at the southern islands on the way, where she just happens to have her own summer mansion.

At the summer “house”, the PETs seem to be conected to eachother as we can see that the Navis, including Rush, are all enjoying a cyber version of the beach, each wearing a typical beach item.

Rockman looks so cute with goggles!

Everyone except for Iceman who, since he is an ice Navi, doesn’t go well with the cyber sun.

We then cut to Netto and the others playing in the ocean, until suddenly, a mechanical shark leaps out of the water over Netto’s head. It turns out to be Masa-san who is there for some reason, but why is the robotic shark huge in the next shot?

Also, does the aquarium know that Masa-san has their shark?

Netto invites Masa-san to play with them, Yaito and Meiru say that they are gonna rest at the summer house, but not before Yaito warns Netto about a Ghost Ship.

Whats with the pose? If a ghost appears to me like that, I would be really confused.

They all end up laughing about it, except for Dekao who is still spooked, and soon after we see the guys riding on a banana boat pulled by Masa’s robot shark. However, fog comes in and a giant ship appears.

The ship crashes into them and casts a net capturing Masa and Tohru while leaving Netto and Dekao in the middle of the ocean.

Back in the summer house, (where Meiru and Yaito seemed to have been playing UNO) they wonder what happend to the boys. Luckily, Yaito has access to a satelite camera where they quickly spot Dekao and Netto. Yaito decides to take action, with Meiru carrying all the PETs running after her.

And we get the reused footage of Yaito sitting in a couch and being transported to her very own submarine. This time the cloths are different, and I like how Meiru put a seat belt on the PETs.

To the Yaito sub! or how it’s called, to the “Yaito Mako”!

Netto and Dekao are paddling their way searching for the ship until they encounter the Yaito Mako that scares them to death, only to wake up inside it in the next shot.

They tell them about what happend and we see Rockman’s reaction to this.

“I wasn’t present when you first talked about it!”

We cut to and back from commercials with a new animation secuence with Rush being chased by a Mettool.

Our heroes catch up with the ghost ship under water, Yaito’s submarine then shoots inflatible bags at it forcing the ship to surface.

The group boards the ship, with Dekao clearly scared out of his wits, and of course, they decide to split up to search for the missing Tohru and Masa-san.

Dekao encounters the “ghost”, who anyone that played the second game know that it is a Null virus, and runs past Netto.

Shortly after, Yaito and Meiru-chan encounter the ghost as well.

What happend to calling her Yaito-sama?

Netto encounters the ghost and finds out that Meiru-chan has been captured in a net.

Netto tries to fight it off but his attacks go through it. The ghost leaves taking Meiru with it. Netto searches for everyone with Rockman hiding inside his PET.

They hear a bang coming from a door and after it falls over, giving both of them a heart attack, a freezing Tohru comes out.

He tells Netto that he was brought into the freezer along with the fish and that the ghost ship isn’t really haunted.

The two of them break into the ships control room where they encounter the ghost from before, Tohru tells Netto to plug-in to the wheel’s computer while he distracts it.

I think its safe to say that it isn’t a ghost, Rockman. And how does Tohru know this? Wasn’t he locked in the freezer until now?

Rockman starts deleting all of the aqua viruses, but an Octo virus absorbs all of the remaining viruses to transform into a bigger version of itself, blowing Rockman away with one attack. This causes the PET to activate the instant win program and Rockman gets the Heat Guts Style.

Which shouldn’t be the case since the Heat Style is suppoused to give him fire based attacks and the Octo virus is an aqua type. He defeats the virus and their friends roll out of a closet where the ghost kept them in a net.

They run up to deck where they find Masa-san who seems to be very good friends with the Null virus, I mean, ghost.

Masa says that he can understand the ghost because they are both “men of the sea” and explains that the ship’s A.I was infected with a virus, and since it is a fishing ship, it caught Masa and Tohru by mistake and Ibo ambushed them thinking that they wanted to steal the fish.

Oh, right, the ghost’s name is Ibo. The ship is returning underwater for some reason and Masa-san says good bye to his new friend before leaving with everyone.

In the next scene we see that everything went back to normal since Netto and friends are playing in the ocean again like nothing ever happen.

Iceman seems to be dying and nobody cares. XD 

Right after this, we cut over to Miyuki’s shop where she and Saloma are trying to close a suitcase thats blows up, followed by Saloma being embarrassed of her bikini bottom that lands on her head.

Turns out they are being called over by Commander Beef to solve a mystery about viruses becoming stronger.

And the episode ends with Commander Beef wondering about the problem and having an hallucination of Ibo where they go fishing together.

My thoughts.

This episode was weird, but that doesn’t explain why it was never dubbed, I guess it was because they spend a lot of time in the real world, running around in a ghost ship and playing on the beach, that we barely get any cyberworld action. So it was pretty boring for an anime that is suppoused to be action packed. And they never aknowlege that Ibo is in a fact a virus.

This episode introduces Rockman’s fear of ghosts that will become a little running gag in future seasons.

The next episode opens with a music video where a Hatsune Miku inspired character name Aki-chan is singing one of the weirdest and cheesiest songs I have ever read the lyrics from.

I also made a parody of this song in a short video I made with MMD, with Miku instead of Aki. Just so you know.

Tohru tells Netto that Aki-chan is the pop idol of Jyawaii aka Hawaii.

The Navis explain that they can’t touch her because her data is different from theirs. Which is noticeble considering that she is actually CGI, just seeing them together in the same shot is weird.

They complement how cute she is, even Rockman, but Roll has no problem with this since she also thinks Aki is cute.

“But if she even thinks of coming close to Rockman she wont be looking so cute anymore”

After talking more about Aki-chan, and also Masa-san complementing her fish shaped button, Yaito and Meiru appear to reveal their new outfits and poses.

The title card appears and it is explained that there is a contest coming up called  “The Real Aki-chan” where girls dress up as Aki and have to sing her songs, Netto finally realizes that Meiru and Yaito plan to enter the contest as well, but he doesn’t get scolded for his reaction since they suddenly hear someone screaming.

It is a terrified Mariko-sensei who is landing on a parachute, Masa tries to catch her, but is nowhere near and Mariko lands on her own.

Jesus Christ, Yaito! Can’t you just send her an e-mail like a normal person?!

And if Mariko-sensei hasn’t suffered enough, the wind blows the parachute away sending her flying again with Masa running after her.

This funny scene is followed by a shot of Miyuki and Saloma sun bathing in a boat before seeing Mariko-sensei pass by. They talk about not finding any clues regarding the powered up viruses and are interrupted by the Commander’s voice coming from a camera, who critizes their outfits or something.

Aren’t you supposed to be chasing Mariko-sensei who flew by just a minute ago?

For some reason we cut to Madoi who we see in some kind of photo shooting dressed as Aki-chan too, but then takes it off to reveal a full shot of herself in a bikini.

I burned my eyes taking this shot so you guys better leave me a good comment after this review.

Madoi is in a set she made because she is annoyed that everyone is at the southern islands except for her, and after this we also see Hinouken who looks like he is in Jyawaii hoping to find Netto so he can finally get his revenge, but it turns out he is just working at a construction site.

We cut back to Jyawaii where Netto and friends are walking around along with Mariko-sensei who seems to have gotten over the whole parachute incident and is looking foward to take part in the Aki-chan contest too.

I guess no one wants to tell her that she is a little too old  to be in the contest.

Suddenly, a giant trash cleaning machine appears and kidnaps Meiru, Yaito and Mariko-sensei.

The boys give chase to the machine. Netto, with Rockman’s help, takes a shortcut where he lands on top of the machine and activates its breaks. Unfortunately, it is the wrong one since there were different girls inside, they tell the boys how there were rumors that all the girls who entered the contest are getting kidnapped, which is confirm when they go talk to the manager of the contest.

The man is also the Manager of Aki-chan herself who is in a computer near them, she tells everyone about how sad she is for the contest being canceled if they dont stop whoever is kidnapping the participants. With this we notice that Iceman has a huge crush on Aki-chan as he promises that they will save the contest to make her happy again. 

Netto comes up with a plan to find the missing girls, and in the next scene we get this.

That’s it, I am blind now. I like the Navis reaction to this, though.

Iceman doesn’t agree with this plan since he thinks it is an insult to Aki-chan and that it will never work. Too bad for him a machine doesn’t see the difference and it catches them with the exact same animations from before.

After Iceman yells about them being the ENEMIES of Aki-chan, the machine takes them to an undergroud path where it dumps them in a warehouse, they slide down a shoot and Netto SOMEHOW manages to tie a wire as he falls.

The timing was so perfect I had to include that last shot! XD

They walk around and quickly find the missing girls with Meiru, Yaito and Mariko-sensei giving them a concert. Because they just had too much fate in them to even worry about being kidnapped.

Why the heck are the manager and his assistant there too?! Probably to make Iceman appear in Netto’s PET after saying that Aki-chan has gone missing. Looks like a lot happend while they were dressing up as Aki.

Was Netto’s plan for everyone to climb up that tiny wire? I know he is not a genious, but seriously!

After this fail, the cooling system of the warehouse starts to activate, luckily, Saloma and Miyuki suddenly appear to get them out.

“I think a better question here is, why are YOU dressed like that?”

Outside, Netto talks to the manager since they all find Aki-chan’s situation and the kidnapping very suspitious, so they agree to let Netto plug-in Rockman into the system to find the server where Aki-chan is stored in case of emergencies, because Aki isnt actually missing, they just lost contact with her.

Rockman types in the cheesy password, “A-R-A-I-N-B-O-W”, and various signs pop up to guide Rockman.

But Rockman is suddenly stopped by a Spooky virus. For some reason the anti-virus program isn’t working so Dekao and Tohru decide to plug-in their Navis to go help Rockman. Gutsman and Iceman coming to help distracts the virus, giving Rockman the chance to cover... whatever things it has for ears.

This confirms Rockman’s theory about Aki’s song being whats causing all the trouble.

I’m not sure how that would work if Aki wasn’t the one infected by a virus, but this turns out to be the case after Rockman, Iceman and Gutsman find a portal that transports them to the server where Aki is, only to find that her appearence have changed to an evil looking queen.

Much for Iceman’s dismay, Aki reveals that she was the one who kidnapped the girls because she is the REAL Aki-chan.

 The dark Aki sends a couple of Shadow viruses to attack them, the viruses have the ability to transform into various weapons, including a cannon, and soon they over power Gutsman and Iceman.

To make matters worse, the Shadow viruses use Aki-chan as a hostage. 

Rockman is unable to fight back until Netto realizes something suspitious about one of Aki’s buttons. After seeing Aki-chan shed a tear, Rockman gets motivated and Netto sends him a Sword to cut off the button revealing that a LV.3 Shadow virus was the one controlling her.

Netto activates the Style Change as the three viruses merge together to create a giant cannon. Rockman and the cannon’s attack collide, but Rockman’s power literally cuts through deleting the viruses.

In the next scene we get a sad looking Aki-chan worried that she can no longer be an idol after what she did, but thanks to Meiru-chan and everyone else cheering her up, she finally thanks them and vows to do her best.

What are you talking about, Rockman? What song?

 And the episode ends with everyone dressed as Aki-chan singing to their hearts content at the contest.

Tohru, you know you don’t have to dress like that, right? Also, those creepy men in the background. o-o

So what do I think of this one?

Despite my initial thoughts, Aki-chan is not a parody of Hatsune Miku. In fact, the vocaloid Hatsune Miku debuted in 2007 while this episode aired in 2002, maybe it was ahead of its time, maybe Aki-chan inspired Miku’s creation, or maybe it was an idea that wasn’t still very popular in and outside of Japan. Who knows?

This episode introduces Aki-chan who will appear in future episodes of this season, though her songs are changed for the dub to something less corny since they already changed most of the musical score of the show to a futuristic high tech beat.

This episode was probably skipped because of Madoi’s bikini scene and seeing Netto, Dekao and Tohru cross dressing. I can’t say that its also because of the girls dressed as Aki-chan because we see them dress like this again in another episode for a short moment.

The Shadow viruses looked tough in this episode, but if you play the game you’ll notice that their only weakness are sword chips, thats why Rockman was able to free Aki from the virus’s control and defeat all three of them in the end.

Speaking of viruses, since the second season is based on the events from BN2 the episodes will start to feature viruses from the second game, such as the Null and Octo virus in the previous episode and the shadow viruses in this one.

It was a fun episode, weird but charming, it’s not exactly important to the plot unless they aknowlege how the new viruses are smarter and stronger than the previous ones in future episodes.