#this could easily just be a spider-scary design

[cerealforkart]

Animated Dungeons and Daddies Superhero movie that doesn’t actually exist but I watched Spiderverse on new episode day and had a really vivid dream about it part 1, it’s Scary!

[Taylor] [Normal] [Lincoln]

Backstory under the cut

Once upon a time, Theresa “Terry” Marlowe was just like all the other girls. She loved playing soccer and spending time with her best friend, her mom, more than anything else, but everything changed when her new stepdad-also named Terry (ugh!)-entered the picture. While the newly restructured Marlowe family were moving Terry Jr. into their house, Terry the teenager accidentally broke a fishing lure that her new stepdad really should have packed better if it was so fragile and important. Since this incident, Terry has had a whisper in her ear and a power at her fingertips she can use to shape her world however she wants to. Armed with a “friendly” new guide and an awesome new power, Terry Marlowe is dead, and two new persona rise from the ashes, by day, she’s Scary Marlowe, goth-punk seeker of darkness, and by night, she has some sort of superhero name that I haven’t chosen yet, goth-punk enactor of horrors... Or something like that.

[specialagentartemis]

One of the things I really loved about Nope (2022) is how Jean Jacket just... acted like an animal. It came out when it was hungry and hung out in its cloud most of the time. It left people alone when it couldn't easily catch and eat them, it didn't pursue what it didn't think it could catch. The way it flashed at the things that it considered a threat! The creature designers made it so clear that it was like, a lizard doing pushups or a spider raising its front legs to seem scary! It was trying to scare the balloon-Jupe away!

And at the same time... it was like how OJ compared it to a bear, you know? It made me think of the old parks phrase, "a fed bear is a dead bear," i.e. if you habituate wild animals to getting food from humans, they start to approach humans and attack humans when there isn't any food offered, they become dangerous and have to be shot. Jupe making a habit of feeding the horses to JJ for his show habituated JJ to being fed horses, which I strongly suspect is why it started attacking the ranch more aggressively--and ended up, like the bears in that town in New Hampshire, attacking the people. Mixed with the eternal National Parks PSA cautioning against getting too close to bears or bison trying to take a picture, at risk of getting mauled or gored as the animal defends itself or its territory.

Just... I love how Nope portrayed animals as animals. From the horses like Lucky to Gordy to the vast alien thing, they weren't bloodthirsty monsters or perfectly receptive robots. They were just animals and they have minds and feelings of their own but not human-level reasoning skills, and the people who understood that and understood how to engage with them on their own level were the ones that lived.

[imthepunchlord]

What are your thoughts on concept art hawkmoth? With the mirror reflection butterfly visor. I think it looks way better than what he actually wore in show

Oh I like it much better too. Gives a much better idea that he's a more serious villain and is an actual threat, especially as that's what they decided on ultimately. They did toe that line between serious threatening big bad and silly Saturday morning villain and you can't entirely have both. So this design works better for the more serious big bad they wanted HM to be, while canon designs goes for the cringe-meant-to-be-funny Saturday morning villain, and they tried and failed to do both. They really should've just picked a lane and stay in it.

I will say, IF they went with the concept design and he had to have some comedic moments with him, could've done so through dialogue and gestures. Like Miguel O'hara is a solid example of how to do scary/intimidating but also funny. Dude's intense, strict, and feral; he's like a string full of tension that it's going snap so easily and deal massive damage when it does.

In spite of this, he's still has his dumb comedic moments. Like his poor wording when giving commands to Spider Society that confused them all.

So something like this could've been how they have their scary, threatening villain, but also still have him kinda funny. And you could play off Gabriel not being so sociable so he doesn't always know how to talk to his turned villains, and really play into that this Miraculous is truly meant for a social butterfly that Gabriel is not.

[oddygaul]

Rise of the Dawn of the War for the Planet of the Apes

Yeah okay the marketing got me and I watched all these movies.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

You know, honestly, with this first one… there’s a hundred things about it I could pick apart*, but the emotional core works so I’m here for it. Like, fuck, who am I kidding, of course I want to see a story about apes gaining human-level intelligence and banding together for a heist scene to escape humanity, hell yeah, brother, that rules. I’m here for any movie with the wherewithal to give a sci-fi-ass concept like that a serious, modern take and lean into its strengths. And then, on top of that, they actually managed to create a character as compelling as Caesar? It’s hard to complain too much.

*The company going to human trials literally 5 minutes after the success of one single trial monkey, James Franco’s girlfriend somehow never questioning Caesar for years, the humans randomly making the drug into a gas canister right when it’s convenient for the plot, the absolute lack of response to the giant band of apes rolling through the city, the apes’ incredible immunity to glass cuts from the dozens of windows they smash through…

I will take a moment to say, though, James Franco’s whole character is goofy as fuck and I could not take him seriously. He honestly feels like he stepped straight outta Spider-Man 3, like Franco was really gunning for that Norman Osborne callback. I was, at any given moment, expecting him to bug out his eyes and go punch out some board members.

The biggest missed opportunity in this movie imo is Jacob not reaching out with his palm facing upwards in this scene, to echo the supplication gesture

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Right from the jump this one gets pretty dumb. Look, I get that the point is that humans are just as tribalistic, violent, and stupid as any species, but the human group's reaction of “Wow, we came into contact with sapient apes, and they even speak our language and fully understand us, making communication easily possible! Welp, guess our only option for conflict resolution here is immediate violence” is so cartoonish it was hard for me to take anything seriously afterwards.

They even double down on this exaggerated conflict by turning Koba into an antagonist. In Rise, I loved that this scary-looking, scarred-up ape was a good guy. Typically, a viewer would assume such a character design is cleary indicating a villain. With Koba, though, the scars are all visual reminders of the pain inflicted on him by his human tormentors - he looks scary because of what was done to him, not because of what he’s done. The beginning of Dawn seems to continue this trope reversal - Caesar and Koba seem to have a mature understanding of each other, with Caesar respecting the valid experiences underlying Koba’s feelings towards humans, and Koba trusting Caesar to do what’s best despite his misgivings. This is then thrown away seemingly just so we can get a big ape showdown on a skyscraper for the finale.

In general, Dawn feels much more like it’s trying to be a big blockbuster at the expense of its writing. Rise felt like a solid exploration of its concept; a lot of dumb things happened, yeah, but ultimately in service of the story, with the action sequence at the end feeling like an afterthought. Dawn, on the other hand, almost feels like it’s coming up with excuses to throw in dumb, big-budget action scenes. And they’re fine and all - it’s hard to argue with the cinematic power of a bonobo dual-wielding assault rifles on horseback - but I would’ve preferred a slower, more thoughtful sci-fi story about the apes’ developing culture.

I did dig the sorta cheesy old-school scoring of this one - lots of random timpani hits and weird flutes and stuff. And this is as good a point as any to acknowledge that god damn, is the CGI in these movies great. Aside from a few rare moments, where the lighting just barely gives away that the apes aren’t really present, the effects work is totally believable and does a lot of heavy lifting to keep the series engrossing.

The very end was a good moment, too, with Caesar’s acknowledgement that peace with humans is no longer an option. It’s a depressing but accurate read of the situation - it doesn’t matter what anyone’s intentions were beforehand, and it doesn’t matter that individuals within the two groups understand each other, each in-group as a whole is irreparably distrustful of the other going forward. Once that history has been written, it’s damn hard to let go of it.

War for the Planet of the Apes

The start of this one is pure schlock lol. The monkeys riding around on horseback like desperados, Woody Harrelson’s silly-ass performance, the little girl that joins them for your token inspirational human-ape bonding moments… goofy.

where we droppin boys

Despite that start, though, I thought this one ended up being kind of a bummer. It seems like the apes being trapped in the military camp was an attempt to recapture the magic of Rise’s escape arc, but it isn’t quite as fun for a number of reasons. The stakes have been raised so high that the mood is tense and grim, rather than exhilarating; the human opponents are too deadly for all that many antics to happen; and the snowy environment feels oppressive, and doesn’t offer anything as visually exciting as the dense forests we were watching the apes swing through one movie ago. The whole thing just ends up feeling a bit drab and bleak.

It’s pretty wild how much Caesar looks like Andy Serkis, honestly. I wouldn’t think you could get such a likeness on a chimpanzee without killing the believability, but here we are.

So, the trilogy overall… I dunno, kinda trash, but good trash. Monkey brain like watching monkey, but it’s nothing that’s really gonna stick with me too much.

[very-grownup]

Angels in Neon Genesis Evangelion

As we all know, 2020 is most notable for being the year in which I watched Hideaki Anno's 1996 television series Neon Genesis Evangelion. It is now time for the most important and definitive takeaway from the series.

Yes, at last, the official ranking of the Angels in Neon Genesis Evangelion based on how aesthetically delightful I find them.

NUMBER 1 SACHIEL

The first, the best, the cutest, the standard of pure delight to which no others could reach. Sachiel's comfortingly bipedal with grabby looking fingers that are not unreasonably long and that like to hold the Dick and Jane red bouncing ball close to its chest. It has a little face with a plague mask vibe to it that also looks like it belongs in a Hieronymus Bosch painting. Later, Sachiel turns out to have TWO adorable little faces which enhances the feeling of a nest of little barn owls peering at you from the dark comfort of a giant mechanical alien monster torso.

PROS: Adorable little face, times two! CONS: Self-destructs and does a lot of damage to civic infrastructure and humanity, I guess.

NUMBER 2 GAGHIEL

How can you not love Gaghiel? It's an underwater buddy that looks like someone smashed a manta ray into a plesiosaur and borrowed the mouth design of a cartoon Venus flytrap. Like a lot of oceanic creatures, you know it's not nearly as cute as its big toothy smile would lead you to believe but it looks so happy and frolicsome that you permit aesthetics to overwrite common sense. Just leave Gaghiel in the ocean having fun and fighting sharks or whatever Gaghiel wants to do. There's a lot of ocean and there's definitely room for Gaghiel!

PROS: Mouth can fit so many hotdogs! CONS: Did eat those two entire submarines like they were hotdogs.

NUMBER 3 MATARAEL

Matarel's a sneaky little black UFO covered in illuminati eyes with comically long spider legs that go high above its funny little eye-spangled head/body. There's something incredibly charming about a big supposed to be scary thing with great long legs that look like they have the thickness of spaghetti. You find yourself asking "Buddy, how can you skip leg day when you have so many legs?" but also finding that disregard for bodily care endearing.

PROS: Reminds me of an eyeball spider from space in an old episode of Johnny Quest. Love thinking about the non-racist parts of Johnny Quest! CONS: Matarel does ooze orange acid from its true eye. That's not something I love seeing or thinking about.

NUMBER 4 LELIEL

Leliel! Get a feeling so complicated about Leliel! Leliel is a delightful sphere of black and white geometric patterns evoking Escher drawings. You could put Leliel on display in a classy home, maybe as a centrepiece in your beautiful dining room table and it wouldn't look out of place aside from it being a towering giant alien thing that would crush you and your table and your house and your neighbourhood. Leliel is the black-tie evening wear of Angels. Unfortunately, classy giant alien monster isn't as delightful as adorable giant alien monster. Also, it turns out Leliel is actually the shadow cast by the tasteful Escherphere, not the Escherphere itself. Be your true self next time, Leliel!

PROS: Goes with everything. CONS: A poseur.

NUMBER 5 SAHAQUIEL

Sahaquiel is the most '90s of the Angels. Sahaquiel looks like a toy advertised on Saturday morning television to compete with bop-it and the latest attempts to get devil sticks and hula hoops to catch on with a new, impressionable, plastic-garbage loving age group. It's orange with a giant eye and is all long and flat with hands that look like those sticky grabby hands you'd get out of a capsule toy machine in the grocery store and then lose behind the couch by the end of the day. Sahaquiel isn't cute the way the top three are and definitely isn't classy the way Leliel is, but you have to respect the hustle and how Sahaquiel is trying its own thing. Be your quirky but endearing self, Sahaquiel!

PROS: You could easily make your own Sahaquiel out of playdough. CONS: Actual Sahaquiel is made up of bombs and drops pieces of itself onto the ground below and that's a lot to deal with and maybe you'd rather buy a bop-it after all.

NUMBER 6 SHAMSHEL

Shamshel has a lot going on. There's an eggplant vibe to Shamshel but also a vaginal look to its head that is a bit disconcerting. I've never seen it, does the Vagina Monologues take into account a vagina that's 80m tall and has laser whips for arms? Does the Vagina Monologues take Neon Genesis Evangelion into account at all? Folks, I'm going to be honest: Shamshel is a bit upsetting to look at but then I think about how its name is Shamshel and I find that so delightful to murmur in my mind that it supersedes how I don't really like looking at the eggplant vagina.

PROS: Shamshel. Sham-shel. Shaaaaamshel. CONS: Its physical existence.

NUMBER 7 TABRIS

Have you ever encountered something where you don't really have a problem with something as it is but you have a problem with how it complicates everything around it? Like maybe you're very proud of a collection of physical media but circumstances have caused you to have one entry in the middle of the series that doesn't match up with the things that come before and after, so you're putting them on a shelf and you want to be able to appreciate them from a display perspective but also this is about storing your stuff and whenever you look at it that one book or DVD or game sticks out like a sore thumb from its fellows and you resent it for how it has disrupted the peaceful and aesthetically pleasing ordering of your library. It hasn't done anything, maybe you even quite like it, but damn does it make organizing complicated. That's Tabris.

PROS: Akira Ishida. CONS: It's an Angel that's just a teenage boy. Mr. Anno why did you not consider how difficult this would make my ranking?

NUMBER 8 SANDALPHON

Oh Sandalphon. What am I going to do with you Sandalphon? You're trying so hard with this flatworm-frog hybrid thing. I feel like you should rank higher! Sandalphon's got a muppety vibe to it, like Kermit the Frog goes body horror. Or maybe H.R. Giger got to design a Pokémon. There's a lot of cilia going on with Sandalphon's extremities? Also, a cilia-surrounded underneath sucking mouth hole? Those are the sort of things that really cancel out googly eyes. Sorry Sandalphon. You're a baby. It's not your fault.

PROS: More Angels need googly eyes. CONS: Cilia. All the cilia. Keep that shit in your ears and around the edges of prokaryotes or wherever that shit goes.

NUMBER 9 RAMIEL

Ramiel's just a prism. Ramiel's just a floating prism. If Ramiel was some kind of spaceship or satellite, you'd say cool, that's a pretty distinctive design you have going on there Ramiel, a little alien but with a simplicity that makes it uncanny. But as an Angel, Ramiel feels like it was the Angel made when ... God? had a hangover after designing a more complicated Angel and just couldn't be fucked when it was time to make Ramiel.

PROS: No upsetting qualities. CONS: No interesting qualities.

NUMBER 10 ISRAFEL

I know this is going to sound harsh, but: Israfel is just bootleg Sachiel. A little bit of a pallet shift. Not quite as detailed. A little face but not as cute as Sachiel's little face. There's two of it, sort of, but two of a knockoff doesn't make it less of a knockoff. Instead, it really underscores how mass-produced and unoriginal Israfel is.

PROS: Makes me think of Sachiel. CONS: Very much not Sachiel.

NUMBER 11 IREUL

Ireul is the microscopic nanotech hacker Angel. Small is cute but after a certain point, small becomes more upsetting than big. You don't really see Ireul, you just see what Ireul does which is using rust nanolasers on computers? The most neutral of Angels.

PROS: None. CONS: None.

NUMBER 12 ZERUEL

Zeruel is the big boy Angel. Not cute but very cool in an '80s boys' toys kind of way, Zeruel looks like you could unfold chunks of its limbs and turn Zeruel into a blocky spaceship or truck. Again, that's cool, but that's not so much my thing. I liked the Transformers that were dinosaurs and the zords in Power Rangers (which could be dinosaurs). Basically, Zeruel would rank higher if it looked more like a dinosaur.

PROS: It does look like some of those blocky cute bug Pokémon. CONS: Not a dinosaur.

NUMBER 13 BARDIEL

Bardiel is the Angel that is the Eva built in America, so Bardiel looks like the other Evas, but with an evil colour palette (purple, but really dark purple). As this important document is ranking the Angels and not the Evas, some might be reading this without the knowledge that I find the design of the Evas deeply upsetting. I do not like them. I do not like looking at them. I do not like looking at Bardiel.

PROS: Is not the worst or more upsetting Angel to look at. CONS: Bardiel? More like BADiel. Because all of its qualities are bad and if you remove the 'r' from Bardiel the first syllable is 'bad' which is what Bardiel is. Bad. Badiel.

NUMBER 14 ARAEL

I keep looking at images for Arael and double-checking that they are, in fact, the Angel from the show and not some shitty MS Paint knock-off. Arael is a collection of white scribbles with what might be an eye at the centre or might just be an orb that two of the small scribbles are carrying around. Arael's a spray paint stencil someone got bored with halfway through their first can.

PROS: I can see ways Arael could have been cool. CONS: I'm not angry, just disappointed.

NUMBER 15 ARMISAEL

This motherfucker is literally just a giant ring of floating Xs. Ohhhhhh noooooo a fourth grader's drawn on finger tattoo is coming for us, helllllllllp. Fucking Claire's looking threat to humanity.

PROS: Easy to draw. CONS: There are too many non-threatening things to compare it to and choosing which to use is irritating. Do kids today even draw shit on their hands and arms and pretend they're tattoos? Would alien hula-hoop have been a better choice? Does Claire's still exist and do they still sell NeoPets merch?

NUMBER 16 LILITH

This is the real unlovable freak level. Lilith is only saved from the bottom by virtue of the extremely over-the-top Christian imagery. An awful, giant, bloated top half of a corpse nailed to a giant red cross, Lilith oozes orange goo. You look at Lilith and know Lilith has skin and that skin has elasticity and it pulls and undulates with the horrors Lilith contains. Lilith is constantly trying to regenerate, I think, via spawning a bunch of teeny tiny human legs, making the end of its torso look like Dr. Moreau's second place science fair project. Lilith has a cratered purple mask-like disc for a face with one giant triangle and seven eyes. The purple triangle can horrify conservative Christian reactionaries who want to go beyond Teletubbies, the eyes on the triangle can get Illuminati lovers horny, and the asymmetry of the eyes exists to piss me off.

PROS: It's important for the baby goth weebs to have something to latch onto. CONS: It's an undulating mass of flesh with horrible little human legs and it oozes orange goo and I hate it and do not want to look at it anymore.

NUMBER 17 ADAM

So there's two forms of Adam and one's just a light energy giant robot shaped thing that's boring and we're not going to talk about it because I forgot the fucking thing existed until just now. I'm basing this ranking on the embryonic Adam. Some might say this is unfair, would I judge a beauty pageant based on ultrasound images? Consider, instead: wouldn't that be rad? Maybe I'm the visionary the pageant industry needs.

Adam is a disgusting handful of veiny purple jizz with a single red eyeball and lives in Gendo Ikari's palm. The preceding sentence is like a MadLibs where every blank was qualified with 'terrible'. Choose which part of that description you hate the most!

PROS: No. CONS: Gendo Ikari.

[telleroftime]

More on that spirit (au?) idea for Sun and Moon. I want their designs to be kind of inspired by fae and yōkai. Very much impish spirits of the forest. Their faces wouldn't move much and I think writing their faces to be like wooden masks (there wouldn't be anything underneath. Their faces would just be wooden) could be interesting. They could change rapidly from mirth to displeasure but only whenever Reader would blink.

And the other animatronics could be spirits too.

DJ could be a spider-looking spirit that's secluded in a specific part of the forest, stuck in some cave. A gentle-giant that looks scary but is easily entertained by music. Maybe his cave could have a bunch of wind chimes and bells to make noise.

Roxy could be a wolf, quadrupedal though much larger than other wolves of the forest. Maybe she could shift into a humanoid too. Like a shapeshifting ability. Fae often were described to transform into 'beautiful women', and I think that could play well with Roxanne's personality.

Freddy could just be a big bear. Once again, larger than usual but moving kind of like Baloo from The Jungle Book. Very polite towards humans and a major pacifist.

Monty could be a bipedal alligator creature that is aggressive and territorial. The reason why many lakes in the forest are labelled as hazardous. He's malicious because that's what's expected from him.

As for Chika, Bonnie, and Foxy... well I haven't though about it much.

[therapy-ghost]

Hi! Here's my information for our mega matchup exchange. Could I please get a romantic matchup for Resident Evil, DC, Marvel, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Helluva Boss, Hazbin Hotel, Pokemon (with a preference for Sun/Moon or Sword/Shield), and Genshin Impact?

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Straight

Age: 20

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

MBTI: INFJ-A

Ennegram: 5w6

Personality: I'm pretty quiet in social settings but if someone talks to me first, I can keep a conversation going. I will occasionally go up to someone to initial a conversation but not very often. With people that I'm close with, I'm very open and sarcastic. And I make a lot of self-depreciating jokes (even though I have a high self worth). I set very high standards for myself but I also usually meet those standards. People say I have a good poker face/a scary glare but I've never seen it. People also say I look like someone who "knows what they're doing".

Likes/Hobbies: Reading, writing, anime, video games, and listening to music (stuff like Hamilton, Panic! at the Disco and Offspring). I want to be a fantasy writer and I am currently studying an English major at university.

Dislikes: Spiders (deathly afraid of those), being forgotten when I'm gone, and disappointing those who I care about.

Looks: I'm 164cm (5'4") and have an average build (not too curvy but definitely not straight up and down). I have green eyes that everyone thinks are brown and curly/frizzy dark brown hair that is down to the middle of my back

I hope you have a lovely day and that life is treating you kindly! Looking forward to getting to work on your matchup as well!

~Eren

Resident Evil: Luis Sera

I love him to be honest(I dont like his remake design tho)

he 100 percent has a pokerface as well, he just has a bit of a hard time keeping it

also makes self depreciated jokes so you can easily have a joke off.

if you two are sitting on the couch and you both see a spider at the same time; he left an hour ago.

he's a hamilton viber; will rock out to the schuyler sisters with you and try and sing you'll be back like in the musical(Spit and all)

DC: Dick Grayson

supportive king right here

you wanna write a fantasy book? already bought! as sson as you start writng he is on the waitlist for one.

he's a bit of a diva; so if he has something to rant about, he play with your hair while you do whatever.

now, unlike Luis, he can deal with spiders for you; he is your knight in spandex armor.

he also will watch anime if you are watching it, just wants to spend time with you sice most of the time he is either working or... working.

Marvel: Bruce Banner

he is also kinda quiet in social settings so you two togetehr is just like your own little bubble.

you have a little corner dedicated to you in his lab for you to write or read or whatever when you come to visit him.

he will help you if you want help in your quest of high standards.

he has somehom gotten hulk not to try and kill you so... yay

JJBA part 5; Bruno

mom's are made to be supportive and thats what he is, he is a mom

he buys a copy of your book once it comes out for everyone.

he would never be disappointed in you; he is there for you always.

he enjoys simple small talk about how your day is going and what you have been up to.

if you need peace and quiet, consider everyone gone on a job.

Helluva Boss: Vortex

bro is chill

he is like 6’11” so you look short compaired to him lol.

music exchanging with each other, I feel like he will enjoy a bit of offspring.

if you need help with anything to achieve your goals, he’s the man.

he’s the extrovert for you so you don’t have to start up conversations and just jump in when you feel like it.

Hazbin Hotel: Lucifer

honestly… *shrug*

golden retriever x black cat but the golden retriever will bite you with out hesitation.

he’s described to be very silly and out going, so I guess the conversations with be fun.

Relates to King George a bit to much(being to head of hell in all his greatness)

treats you like a literal queen; what ever you feel like, videos games, books, movies; you name you have it in your hands in the next 20 seconds, and if you don’t want anything, that’s fine to.

Pokemon Sword and Shield; Raihan

using his internet following to advertise your book once it’s out.

matching bandanna’s for you too

he is probably one of the more extroverted people on this list so conversation jump started

uses you expert ability of dialect to make his post and literally anything seem better.

with his social following and the fact that he is with you; you will never be forgotten

Genshin Impact: Kaeya

This cheeky bastard will pick you up, he is a ‘tall male’ after all.

he is very sweet to you; every time he comes back from a mission with the other knights, his first course of action will to be hunt you down and give you a hug.

he is also quite sarcastic so… joke swat?

he likes to sit literally anywhere and read with you.

if you like to have your hair played with… so does he; so playing with hair is also something he does(it’s a blue character thing)

I really hope you enjoy this; and have a wonderful day/night!!!

[mejomonster]

Midnight Museum ep 2 was SO scary and So sexy for it uvu

I'm totally serious, yeah the special effects aren't the best in the world but moments of it reminded me of Manner of Death, of Strangers from Hell, I LOVED the fucked up monster body horror designs they reminded me of Junji Ito stuff, the ACTION fighting (it was so cool and fun to see fluff romcom BL actor Winny as a thief who ends up monstrous and the horror chasing and terrifying WOOH. So cool to see the twins in a HORROR and looking so satisfyingly terrifying after so often seeing their face in fluffy comedies. Seeing Mike who I'm also used to in comedy wirh his tits out, looking more likely to kill someone than the killers in 3 Will Be Free or the Player, turn into a spider monster. Dome TAKING HIM TO THE VOID with his shadow monsters. DOMES EYES TURNING BLACK AND HIM CONTROLING THE FORCES OF WHO KNOWS WHAT

So sexy. I can't overstate that. I am a way bigger fan of action and horror than fluff romcom and for me? This kind of plot is just a lot more rewarding to me to watch I'm screaming and laughing it's great >o<)/

If there's an immortal secret bl situation I'm gonna break over this show is already such a COOL concept such a fun execution, if you add this mysterious immortal guy who comes alive every midnight? And his DEMON CONTROLING lost love??? Ohhhh sexy sexy I'm beyond hype

And I'm really curious what the plot setup for those 2 is because I'm comparing to Hotel Del Luna, Guardian, Goblin, and Fairyland Lovers...so far this show doesn't match any totally. Khatha is able to be injured so probably not super-powered (but maybe? I'm not sure if he's stronger than the average human but he's certainly as vulnerable when injured). He IS regenerating whenrever midnight hits in the hotel so maybe more of a Hotel Del Luna cursed spirit lingering on thing? He has a magic cane with an orb on it that looks so much like Shen Wei's amber necklace it intrigues me greatly. It seems to be the source of magic (and rhe museum regenerating him is the other), so maybe his loved one he lost gave him the orb in the cane?

Dome meanwhile. Oh man. I get the vibe he's like Wu Xie - a nice helpful mortal guy who takes responsibility and Wants to help others and ends up somehow pulling shit together, inexplicably tied with an immortal Khatha (like wu xie is to Zhang Qiling). But khatha already recognizes him from something... and Dome has powers, implying there's more to him than "simple human who can see ghosts." So I can't rule out he's immortal too or magic or SOMETHING so it's not a full parallel to wu xie/Zhang qiling. Book Guardian kunlun/shen wei might be closest to their current dynamic?? But Khatha refreshingly, despite some similarities to rhe Hotel Del Luna and Goblin immortal leads... feels unique. He's got some elements to him I don't usually see or at least not in this specific combo. If anything, he reminds me of a more kpop esque style modern version of Bulgasal's lead guy... which is absolutely wild because visually you wouldn't peg Khatha for THAT kind of protagonist immortal, but that's the vibe he gives me. Stoic, angry and with some private goals, but once he's decided to protect someone he can honestly say it even if it's awkward ("I came to save you" "It's not your fault" "I'm sorry" they all feel more like Bulgasals lead then the tsundere Ness of Hotel Del Lunas girl, or the Absolute Commiting to sucky lies that Shen Wei commits to for a while).

It's all really unique world building so far surprisingly? Like it reminds me of a few things I love, but I can't say it's ripping tjem off either because it doesn't feel like it's following their lore or worldbuilding enough to be "the same kind of story." Yes ep 1 could be in any supernatural case show almost, like Hotel Del Luna or Guardian easily. But ep 2? It distinguished itself as something that can be terrifying, and have a whiplash kind of blend of Girl From Nowhere IM ON EDGE with Guardian level almost whimsical comic book level fantasy in the real world. I think maybe partly that's why I oddly get a Bulgasal feel.. nulgasal didn't have Guardians almost campy bits, but it had a level of Gory Horror and Realism in the world building that stuff like Goblin, Hotel Del Luna, Fairyland Lovers stayed a bit too polished and light hearted to do much of. Guardian did ir a little but they had real cheap cgi and blood and sets which limited how Gory Terror it could actually manage and toned it down a lot (say in comparison to the novel).

Such a cool concept so far... basically my point.

Also. The main assistant and Bam? Very cute. I ship them. I love Foei in cute kind Roles I eat it up and I love Bams actress so I'm quite smitten. I also love when the investigator in these kinds of shows is a woman (cop in The Guest, cop in Flower of Evil, Zhu Hong in guardian, Lang Qiao in Justice in the Dark, cop in Strangers from Hell) like if there's gonna be an investigator aiding the magical bitches on the down low? I like the choice of Bam.

Casting is FUN. Again it was so Cool to see Winny from My School President in such a different role, I appreciate actors getting a wide range to do genre wise and casting wise. And I saw that next episode Bright and the guy who played Neo in 3WBF are in it?!!! Every ep is gonna be cameos of actors I love apparently! And it looks like the trend of case eps will continue, which is great for Me!

[adobe-outdesign]

Have you reviewed the Joltik line yet? Fuzzy liddle babie spider/tick things.

Love this fluffy thing.

First, most people go for a more scary or intimidating look with spiders and especially ticks, so it's wonderful to see a take on them that's just adorable; it's like an extra fluffy jumping spider with tick mouthparts.

Secondly, it has the unique attribute of being one of the smallest Pokemon on record, at a grand total of 4"; appropriate for a parasitic Pokemon, and something that makes it that much cuter. And just the parasitic angle of it alone is interesting, as rather than feeding off of blood it feeds off of static electricity because they can’t produce a charge on their own (even sometimes stealing from wall sockets in houses), which is just a great concept.

And thirdly, I don't really have any complaints with it from a design perspective. The blue of the eyes is carried through nicely to the feet, the spikeness and color invoke its typing, and it's simple and easy to understand. Easily an S-tier Pokemon for me.

Galvantula is also very good--probably one of my favorite spider Pokemon in the series--but something about it bugs me. I think it's just that Joltik's whole thing was being a tiny parasitic Pokemon, so it's kind of a shame that that's mostly lost with Galvantula. One could argue it's kind of draining its prey not of fluids but of electricity (though this has never been stated), but I would've at least liked to see it smaller, maybe only 6 or 8 inches instead of two feet, just to keep one of Joltik's more unique attributes in tact.

With that aside, I do really like this design. Not only does it sport a nice pair of pedipalps, but it also sports a pair of simple eyes and a good amount of fur, much like real tarantulas. The blue is nicely distributed and the purple helps to break up all the yellow without being too distracting. It's just a nice looking spider all around.

Really, my only design nitpick is that I feel the three stripes on the back could've been simplified a bit. This artwork from the manga shows it as one whole marking, which I prefer:

But as a whole, this tiny little tick-spider that evolves into a nice fluffy tarantula is well-designed and has a great concept behind it as well. 10/10 would own twelve of these things if they were real.

[lunar-wandering]

hi yes, welcome to a list of thoughts/things im adding to the Giggle Glow AU-

the glow can also be activated by purring

Wukong purrs in his sleep (only when he’s really comfortable though)

the others find out about this during a sleepover (which they were having because some of them weren’t sleeping well)

initially they don’t tell him but when he does find out he gets embarrassed over it and just. opts not to sleep. which of course leads to-

sleep deprived Wukong. the worst possible thing one could have on their ship

as a side note Macaque can also purr in his sleep it’s just harder for that to happen due to. yeah.

im adding my headcanon of Macaque being easily freaked out by scary movies/stories to this AU

Wukong starts telling scary stories in places where he knows Macaque can overhear them as revenge for the amount of times the other makes him laugh using inside jokes

someone makes a joke and Wukong goes “that. wasn’t even a good joke, like who would find that pun funny?” and leaves the room, closing the door behind him, and whoever made the joke feels disappointed

that is, until Macaque casually flicks the lights in the room off and they can see the flickering glow from under the doorway, proving that Wukong is secretly laughing because he did find the joke funny

IM ADDING THE WHOLE “MACAQUE’S EARS CHANGE COLOR WITH HIS EMOTIONS” AND “MACAQUE’S SHADOW REVEALS HOW HE’S FEELING” THINGS INTO HERE AND YALL CANNOT STOP ME

Mei makes a video thats a bunch of clips of Wukong laughing set to the beat of Mr. Blue Sky. Wukong hates said video so Mei makes it her ringtone for when he calls/texts her

she also makes a video using Macaque’s laugh, but she sets that one to the beat of Hard Knock Life

Red Son....should’ve already known about Wukong’s giggle glow before everyone else, but he. genuinely thought his father was joking/being figurative when he said the Monkey King’s laugh could “light up a room”

Spider Queen knows about Wukong’s giggle glow because he just. would not stop making jokes and laughing at them while he was captured. (....tbh most of it was him trying to cover up his nervous laughter, which was mainly what was causing the glow. DBK picked up on that, but chose to not say anything about it)

yes of course absolutely we are adding the “Wukong is shapeshifting to make himself taller” thing into this. yes this does end up eventually being revealed in a ridiculous way

(what if..........his shapeshifted height fluctuated with his emotions....so he’d get smaller when shy/flustered and also sad but we’re not focusing on that .........ha ha jk......unless-)

he doesn’t stop shapeshifting though, and in fact starts making himself even taller than before.

(Wukong holds an item just barely out of Pigsy’s reach. Pigsy sighs, and then mutters something, and suddenly Wukong is back down to his normal height, stuttering, and Pigsy is easily removing whatever he wanted out of Wukong’s grasp)

like i’ve said before everyone does buy sunglasses so that Wukong doesn’t, y’know, accidentally blind them. what i haven’t said is that MK personalizes said sunglasses by painting cool designs on the sides

the way the fact that Macaque will also glow if he laughs at the same time as Wukong or MK gets revealed is. comedy movie night. Macaque tried so hard to remain stoic (his shadow was losing it when the others actually looked) but he so completely failed

Macaque 🤝 Wukong: getting flustered over the nicknames the others call them due to the Giggle Glow

(MK doesn’t really care about any nicknames he receives, he loves them for the most part. there might be one or two exceptions)

Red Son gets an honorary membership to the “people who glow” group since yes, im giving him the firefly freckles-

they have to make a special camera in order to take pictures of Wukong while he’s laughing because otherwise the pictures just. end up not being so good due to the Bright Light

there is a photo album. both Wukong and Macaque are actively trying to destroy it.

they are not gonna succeed any time soon.

[wannabe-fic-writer]

Wanda Maximoff x Reader : When She Smiles

Summary: Seasons change, your feelings never will.

Warnings: Language

Covers the “Carving Pumpkins” square for fall bingo.

Word Count: 1,183

* * * * * *

Biting your lip in concentration, your eyes narrow slightly as your hand wields the small knife in your hand.

Your sight had to be failing you because you were not cutting these shapes properly. Or maybe your hands weren’t as good as you thought they were. Either way the image in your head was not coming to fruition like you hoped it would.

“All done!”

Your gaze snaps up from your task to the source of the voice.

Standing across from you, Wanda smiles brightly. The red wisps of her powers dissipate as she drops her carving knife onto the counter before she turns the pumpkin around.

“Wha-” your jaw drops, shoulders sagging as you frown.“ That’s totally cheating! You can’t use your powers.”

Her hands settle on her hips.“ Why not? It’s the same as using my hands.” She reasons, her eyebrow cocked challengingly.

You stumble, mouth opening and closing as you search for something to say. You know how her powers work and quite frankly you can’t argue her statement. Her powers are like extra sets of hands, doing as her mind instructed it to do.

“That’s not fair. Mine sucks.”

Defeatedly you turn your pumpkin around. A snort instantly falls from Wanda’s lips as her green eyes scan over the extremely bad carving you made in the pumpkin.

“It’s-” she covers her mouth to hide the smile on her lips, then rounds the counter to stand beside you.“ It’s not that bad.” She manages to say.

You purse your lips, reaching down, you turn your pumpkin back around.

When Wanda looks at it again she bursts into laughter. Her hands wrap around your arms and she rests her forehead on your shoulder as she laughs.

The sound of her laugh warms your heart. You know it’s genuine and it makes you incredibly happy that you’re the cause of it.

Having been together for a year and half, you’d seen Wanda in a number of different emotional states. Seeing her carefree is by far you’re favorite.

Happiness for the two of you came and went in the past but it seemed to finally stick when you started dating. That’s not to say tough times didn’t come, they were just a lot easier to cope with with the woman you love by your side.

She speaks again, pulling you from your reverie.“ It’s definitely scary.” She giggles and you scoff, playfully shrugging her off.

“Well I don’t have special powers that make badass pumpkin designs.” You huff, dropping the carving knife down onto the counter.

Wanda grabs your hand, pulling you closer as she pushes up on her toes to press a kiss to your cheek.“ I think it looks good.”

You give her a suspicious look,“ you’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“That’s only part of the reason.” This time you smile and Wanda does as well, her hand squeezing yours.

“What’s the other part?” You ask.

Reaching over, she grabs your other hand and tugs gently so you turn to face her completely.“ That is because you’ve put so much effort into. . . all this.” She looks around, eyes flickering over the Halloween decorations: window stickers of ghosts, spiders, zombies and the like, orange string lights, fake spider webs, etc.

“You said you’ve never celebrated,” you start to explain your reason for going all out this year.“ I wanted you to experience it the way I used to when I was a kid.”

Wanda nods, squeezing your hands,“ I know and I love you for it. It means a lot to me that you’d go to this much effort for me.” Her smile comes back, replacing the serious expression on her face.

Dropping her hand, you raise it to her cheek,“ I’d do anything to see that smile.” You tell her, gently caressing her cheek with your thumb.

A brief silence passes as her eyes search yours, another second before she’s leaning up and pressing her lips to yours. The way you instantly melt into the kiss, pulling her body closer to yours with a hand on her hip causes another smile to tug onto her face.

It’s a sweet kiss, only complimented by her soft touch on your hand and face. It’s the kind of kiss that’s reminiscent of your previous ones but also one that stands out from them.

You’ll remember this very moment for the rest of your life and while you can’t begin to understand why, you’re completely okay with it. Especially if she’d be by your side for just as long, sharing the same memory.

Finally you part, a soft quiet smack signifying the end of the kiss and filling the silence that neither of you can find the words to do so instead.

Your moment doesn’t end abruptly, it slowly dissipates. A hand slowly falls from both of your faces and your eyes open slowly, the love and serenity remains.

With a gentle squeeze to her hand you take a small step back.“ It’s a good thing my pumpkin sucks anyway, just means all the attention is going to yours. In fact,” you let her hand go and pick her pumpkin up,“ I’m gonna put it outside right now. Show it off to the neighbors.”

As you walk away Wanda smiles at the proud look on your face and your even prouder exclamation of, “my girlfriend’s pumpkin is the best one on the block.”

Stepping over to the sink, her eyes look out the window.

Leaves continue to fall, all different hues of red, leaving the trees bare and the ground covered in them. She could see the lights and decorations the neighbors had put up. All of which set the tone for the season and coming holiday.

Then her eyes landed on you. A giggle immediately erupting from her at the sight of your fists pressed to your hips, a confident pose struck before you turn and point to the porch, Wanda following your finger to see that you were showing off her pumpkin.

She shakes her head, a perfectly happy smile on her face. It seemed to permanently be there whenever you were involved.

Admittedly it’s incredible to her, the way you so easily pulled that euphoric feeling from her. She’s lived an incredibly tough life, a lot of loss as well as being on the receiving end of ignorant judgment. With you it was never that.

While some looked at her in fear you held nothing but amazement and adoration in your eyes.

At times she questioned it, whether she made you as happy as you made her. But then you smile like you’re doing now.

Sliding around the corner beaming, you start telling her about your conversation with your neighbor. An extra bit of excitement hits your tone when you mention how he sounded jealous.

“I love you.” She says, voice dripping every bit of sincerity she had.

You stop short, still smiling, then saying,“ I love you too Wan.”

“Thank you.” With a curious tilt of your head you ask why she’s thanking you.“ For making me smile.”

* * * * *

Taglist: @owloftheshadows @natasha-danvers @blackxwidowsxwife @yumusak-yastik @b-5by5 @fayhar @lostandsearching @iliketozoneout​ @storiesofsvu​ @ecruzsalaz

[butwhyduh]

since i am here do u have "headcanon" appearances for the boys? when a character exists over such a long period of time and has a variety of designs, usually the fandom-wide portrayal of that character is more just a combination of what sticks rather than being faithful to one design, like how most of us ignore that jason is a ginger and tim usually has longer hair. does this question make sense? i kinda just find this stuff interesting and wanted to hear your take..

This is how i picture them in stories.

Dick Grayson: slight wavy black hair, bright blue eyes slightly taller than average like 5’11. Skin tone like a dark Caucasian coloring. Muscular with amazing shoulders and of course ass. Brenton Thwaites actually does a good job in looks as far as build. Hands calluses. Soft fuller lips. Wears his hair a little long on top to where it’s slightly floppy. Generally wears basic clothing. T shirts blue jeans sweatpants. Lots of blue, black, grey. One exception is in fancy dress where he’ll go a little fancier with like a blue suit or bow tie. Would wear a colorful pocket square to certain events. His suit is the nightwing suit black and blue with finger stripes. Annoyingly Beautiful. Age: 28-30

Jason todd: black hair, dark blue eyes, thick wavy black hair that he keeps short on the side and just a little curl on top. Thick eyelashes and eyebrows. Very tall (6’3) and muscular in build like Jason Momoa. Full thighs and great abs. Scars more visible than dick. Skin tone a little lighter. Naturally pouty look on his face that he hides in a scowl. Dresses in mainly plain clothes too but heavier fabric. Leather, denim, wool. Lots of black and brown. Occasional red. Red hood suit is the black shirt, leather jacket, tactile pants and boots. Wears black and red in a sharp cut suit. Dresses up surprisingly well and would rival dick if he wasn’t so damn scary. Age: 23-25

Tim drake: pale blue eyes, stick straight long black hair. Touches his shoulder. Very pale skin with every bruise visible. Perma-under eye circles. Delicate features. Long lashes and blushes easily. Shorter (5’7-8) but surprisingly muscular. Completely ripped arms. Built like tom Holland in Spider-Man. Wears the most chaotic clothing of all time when casual. Oversized hoodies, skinny jeans, Hawaiian shirts, converse. Wears a suit most of the time that’s black or grey. Boring and simple because it’s everyday. Wishes he could wear cartoon character or dnd ties but doesn’t. Red Robin suit that’s black and red with the yellow x thing and wing cape and a domino mask instead of the awful condom cowl with his hair in a bun. Could certainly be called pretty. Age:19-22

Damian Wayne: not Bruce junior. He has bright green eyes, thick straight black hair that he wears long on top and short on sides. Might spike it up. Tan skin and bright green eyes like his mother. Muscular for a kid. Like the kids in karate or gymnastics. Like 5’5 tall. Slightly shorter than Tim and will surpass him in a few years. Wears casual t shirts and skinny jeans but obviously expensive. Very particular about his outfit for events but isn’t afraid of color and has worn a thwab to events before. Robin with the bright colors but a longer tunic than the other robins. Bright green boots. Could be a heartbreaker when he gets older but won’t. Handsome kid. Age:15-17.

[delightfully-deranged-dagur]

How is your version of the Monster High movies different from the canon? Like, what’s your version of Why Do Ghouls Fall in Love, Escape From Skull Shores, Boo York, Scaris: City of Frights, Fright On, Ghouls Rule, Friday Night Frights, and 13 Wishes? I would LOVE to hear how you would rewrite them for your Reimagined series!! I also love how you have background characters like Invisi-Billy and Johnny become the main cast instead of just all girls. I also want to know what town Monster High is set in because they never said WHERE the movies take place.

Okay, this is gonna be a long one. Let's start with the name of the town near Monster High. Old Salem. Cuz the human town in Ghouls Rule is named New Salem. That's all I could come up with.

Now. The movies. Aka, The Timeline!

Let's begin. (Keep in mind that this could change in the future)

New kids at School.

A new School year at Monster High. We get to see the first month of school for new kids, Frankie, Gil and Abbey. We also get to see Invisi-Billy dealing with his new roommate Johnny Spirit.

Main Cast : Frankie Stein. Toralei Stripe. Draculaura. Clawdeen Wolf. Cleo De Nile. Deuce Gorgon. Lagoona Blue. Gil Webber. Abbey Bominable. Heath Burns. Clawd Wolf. Invisi-Billy Where. Johnny Spirit. Ghoulia Yelps.

Fright On!

Belfry Prep and Full Moon high merge with Monster High, bringing a bunch of new students with them. Most notable being Gory Fangtell and Dee O'Gee. Both leaders of their respective student body and they absolutely hate each other. Starting a race war between Vampires and Werewolves. With Clawdeen and Draculaura caught in the middle. And if that's not enough, the so called "human-monster relationship expert" is actually planning on hunting them all down.

Main Cast : Draculaura. Clawdeen Wolf. Clawd Wolf. Howleen Wolf. Romulus Timberwolf. Dee O'Gee. Gory Fangtell. Van Hellscream.

Why do Ghouls fall in love?

It's valentines day at Monster High. Also Draculaura's birthday! And Clawdeen is determined to make it the best day ever for her girlfriend. But Draculaura's ex-boyfriend Kieran Valentine shows up with the intend to win her back. Meanwhile Johnny deals with the fact he might be falling in love. And what secrets does the office of former student, C.A. Cupid hold?

Main Cast : Draculaura. Clawdeen Wolf. Kieran Valentine. Johnny Spirit. Invisi-Billy Where. Frankie Stein. Toralei Stripe. Cleo De Nile. Deuce Gorgon. Neightan Rot. Holt Hyde.

Skull Shores.

A group of students go on a special trip to Skull shores. The best monster friendly vacation resort in the world! The Wolf sisters try to sleep during the day to enjoy the night with Draculaura and Twyla. Johnny asks Neightan for love advice. Hoodude leads Manny, Iris, Wydowna and Billy on "exciting" Island trips. Lagoona helps Gil with his fear of the ocean. And Frankie, Toralei, Cleo and Deuce go on a mystery boat trip and make a huge discovery.

Main Cast : Frankie Stein. Toralei Stripe. Cleo De Nile. Deuce Gorgon. Andy Beast. Bartleby Farnum. Johnny Spirit. Neightan Rot. Lagoona Blue. Gil Webber. Hoodude Voodoo. Manny Taur. Iris Clops. Wydowna Spider. Invisi-Billy Where. Draculaura. Clawdeen Wolf. Howleen Wolf. Twyla Boogeyman.

Friday Night Frights.

Two rollerblading teams. Monster High vs Granite City. Only one winner. Let the race begin!

Main Cast : Operetta Phantom. Clawd Wolf. Clawdeen Wolf. Robecca Steam. Lagoona Blue.

Ghouls Rule.

Frankie gets upset over the incorrect presentation about Halloween. This is nothing like what she read about. She gets some surprising support from Johnny Spirit. He knows what Halloween is and this is wrong. But trying to show how humans really act during Halloween ends with Jackson and Holt getting arrested by humans! It's time for the Monsters to save them.

Main Cast : Frankie Stein. Johnny Spirit. Jackson Jekyll. Holt Hyde. Claire. Chad. Lilith Von Hellscream. Toralei Stripe. Invisi-Billy Where.

Scaris : City of Frights!

Clawdeen wins an opportunity to intern under her fashion icon. Moanatella Ghostier. But she's in competition with 2 other designers. Skelita Calaveras and Jinafire Long. Meanwhile, Rochelle goes searching for her missing boyfriend Garrot with the help of Spectra and Operetta and the local street artist Catrine DeMew.

Main Cast : Clawdeen Wolf. Draculaura. Rochelle Goyle. Operetta Phantom. Spectra Vondergeist. Garrot Durogue. Skelita Calaveras. Jinafire Long. Catrine DeMew. Moanatella Ghostier.

13 Wishes.

Howleen is going through a lot and the bullying from Gory Fangtell just sets her off. She ends up with a magical lamp containing a genie, Gigi Grant. Howleen, still in a fragile state of mind easily becomes manipulated by the shadow genie Whisp. Howleen's wishes end up making Gil a daredevil with no regard for his safety! And she erases Cleo from everyone's memory, almost everyone. Seems artificial minds are immune to genie magic. Clawdeen just wants to help her sister but things don't go well. Can Howleen be saved before it's too late?

Main Cast : Howleen Wolf. Twyla Boogeyman. Clawdeen Wolf. Gigi Grant. Whisp. Cleo De Nile. Robecca Steam. Hoodude Voodoo. Lagoona Blue. Gil Webber. Frankie Stein. Toralei Stripe. Ghoulia Yelps. Abbey Bominable.

Frights! Camera! Action!

Draculaura gets the chance to become the next vampire queen. Of course, she prefers to go on a quest to find the real one. And right when she's away is when Valentine and Whisp return trying to redeem themselves.

Main Cast : Draculaura. Clawdeen Wolf. Cleo De Nile. Deuce Gorgon. Robecca Steam. Clawdia Wolf. Honey Swamp. Viperine Gorgon. Kieran Valentine. Whisp. Elissabat Von Vamp. Lord Stoker.

Freaky Fusion.

It's Monster High's anniversary! And in an attempt to learn more about the past of the school, the ghouls end up going to the past! Where Robecca gets to meet her missing father. They try to return but once they get back to the present, they experience some interesting side effects. They fused! Can the hybrids help Cleolei, Lagoonafire, Clawvenus and Ghoulankie to cooperate?

Main Cast : Frankie Stein. Ghoulia Yelps. Cleo De Nile. Toralei Stripe. Lagoona Blue. Jinafire Long. Clawdeen Wolf. Venus McFlytrap. Neightan Rot. Avea Trotter. Bonita Femur. Sirena Von Boo. Viktor "Sparky" Frankenstein.

Haunted.

Frankie is being haunted. While Toralei is tormented by the return of Meowlody and Purrsephone. Spectra spreading rumors isn't exactly helping. While Twyla, Rochelle, Garrot and Sirena try to help Frankie with her haunting, Toralei joins them as they follow Spectra into the ghost world. And poor Johnny literally gets dragged into the adventure leaving a distressed Invisi-Billy no other choice but to get Headmistress Bloodgood involved.

Main Cast : Frankie Stein. Toralei Stripe. Spectra Vondergeist. Twyla Boogeyman. Rochelle Goyle. Garrot Durogue. Sirena Von Boo. Johnny Spirit. Invisi-Billy Where. Headmistress Bloodgood. Principal Revenant. Porter Geiss. Kiyomi Haunterly. River Styxx. Vandala Dubloons.

Boo York!

Catty Noir invites some friends to join her to Boo York where she's gonna perform at a royal wedding. The same wedding Cleo was invited too. Upon arriving they learn Cleo's disowned father somehow promised her away in an arranged marriage. While they come up with a way to break the marriage, Catty's voice gets stolen by the werecat twins, employed by Nefera De Nile. During the chaos Johnny decides now is apparently the right time to confess his feelings for Billy. Also, there's a meteor. And it's a musical. Yay!

Main Cast : Catty Noir. Cleo De Nile. Deuce Gorgon. Ramses De Nile. Nefera De Nile. Pharaoh. Johnny Spirit. Invisi-Billy Where. Neightan Rot. Frankie Stein. Toralei Stripe. Meowlody and Purrsephone. Luna Mothews. Elle Eedee. Mouscedes King. Astranova.

The Great Scarrier Reef

A fight between Lagoona and Toralei results in them falling into the pool, suddenly transported to the Great Scarrier Reef. And they're not allowed to leave until Lagoona faces her demons. For once Operetta and Johnny agree for Lagoona to hurry up so they can stop being half fish!

Main Cast : Lagoona Blue. Toralei Stripe. Gil Webber. Frankie Stein. Operetta Phantom. Johnny Spirit. Kala Mer'ri. Posea Reef. Peri and Pearl Serpentine.

Scarily Ever After

During the great school clean up. Draculaura finds a magical book in the attic. Suddenly, she, Clawdeen, Cleo, Deuce and Johnny get pulled into a fairytale maze where they run into the students of Ever After High, Raven Queen, Apple White, Maddie Hatter, Briar Beauty and Sparrow Hood, trying to stop The Evil Queen, Raven's mother, from enslaving Monster High. As if that's not enough, a magical stream swaps the Monsters with the Fairytale students. And who's this mysterious Euna?

Main Cast : Draculaura. Raven Queen. Clawdeen Wolf. Maddie Hatter. Cleo De Nile. Apple White. Deuce Gorgon. Briar Beauty. Johnny Spirit. Sparrow Hood. The Evil Queen. Euna.

And that's all I have so far. Of course there's stuff happening in between. Like the Bloom and Gloom and Freak Du Chic. But this is what I have so far.

[restlesswasteland]

Miserables Month Day 6: "Paralyzed"

Written for the Miserables Month @themiserablesmonth It was unlike him.

Enjolras couldn’t remember the last time he was scared.

He knew this had been a bad idea.

--- “I’m busy,” Enjolras said too quickly. He heard the words come out of his mouth before he’d processed them.

“On a Saturday night?” Ferre raised an eyebrow over the morning newspaper. Courf just crossed his arms and pouted.

“There’s a lecture that’s being livestreamed. I wanted to catch it,” Enjolras turned away so that his friends wouldn’t see his face flushing. He picked up his empty breakfast plate and brought it over to the sink.

“A lecture at 10pm?” Courf asked.

“It’s at Berkeley. They’re three hours behind, so. Yes. At 10pm. I’m busy.” He insisted as he washed his dish. He felt the lie crumbling around him.

“But everyone is coming,” Courf sounded dejected.

“You could record the lecture,” Ferre suggested, and Enjolras picked up the skepticism in his voice. It didn’t surprise him. Enjolras was already a bad liar, but why did he even bother when Ferre was around?

“Yeah,” he continued, reaching for an excuse. “I was looking forward to it, is all,” he said lamely, scrubbing away at his already immaculate plate.

“You’re never any fun,” Courf whined.

“You know what I think?” Ferre asked, and Enjolras’s heart sank. “I think you’re scared.”

“I’m not scared.” Enjolras tried to be firm.

Courf laughed behind him. “Oh my god, you are.” He said, delighted. Enjolras resisted the urge to turn and throw the plate at his head. He placed it in the drying rack instead.

“Okay, fine,” he said, turning to face them. “I don’t want to go to a haunted house. They’re supposed to be scary, that’s the entire point. They are actively trying to scare you. So maybe I’m not interested in putting myself in that situation. I don’t see the problem with that.”

Courf burst into laughter, doubling over at the indignant look on Enjolras’s face.

“Fearless leader,” he said in between fits of giggles, “scared, of a, of a haunted house,” he managed to get out. Enjolras crossed his arms and waited for him to finish.

“Are you done?” He asked when Courf managed to get himself under control.

“Not if you keep looking at me like that,” Courf grinned.

“I’m sorry, Enjolras, but it really is quite funny,” Ferre said, the corner of his mouth tilting up in a small smile.

“Fuck both of you,” Enjolras huffed.

“God, I can’t wait to see this,” Courf looked ready to burst into another bought of laughter.

“I told you, I’m not coming.” Enjolras stood his ground.

“Yes, you are,” Courf asserted. “You aren’t busy, everyone will be there, and it’s almost Halloween. You’re coming with us.”

“Look at it as facing your fears,” Ferre smirked. Enjolras groaned in response.

“Come on, live a little,” Courf badgered him.

“Fine,” Enjolras caved. When it was two against one, he didn't stand a chance. He knew from experience.

“I can’t wait to see this, oh my god,” Courf said, ecstatic. Ferre just grinned and returned to his paper.

Enjolras was sure he was going to regret this.

---

And regret it, he did.

Paralyzed by fear in a dark corner of some freezing cold nightmare of a building, Enjolras wondered why he hadn’t been more resolute. This had been a mistake.

He didn’t like to think of himself as someone who scared easily. He didn’t mind heights or small spaces; god knows he’s passionate when speaking to a crowd. He couldn’t care less about spiders, and the sight of blood doesn’t make him squeamish.

But holy fuck if one more dollar store vampire jumps out at him, he is going to kill himself.

His friends had split up into smaller groups of two or three to go through (It’s so much scarier that way, Bahorel had said gleefully), but they all got split up anyway once they got inside. And Bahorel had been right, of course.

He knew that the longer he stood there, the longer he’d be stuck inside this hell house. But the idea of continuing forward just wasn’t going to happen.

He listened to people pass through the room, some giggling, others silent. He shuddered as he heard a scream in the next room over.

Chancing a look at his phone, he figured he’s been standing here for nearly twenty minutes. Eventually, his friends were going to wonder where he is. And then he was going to have to admit what had happened. Or maybe he could just say he got lost in the house? It was massive, with no clear path through. Maybe they would buy it.

Another ten minutes passed. They were definitely not going to buy it. He was never going to live this down.

So he squared his shoulders and took a breath. It was a haunted house. It was designed to be scary, but nothing could actually happen to him. He would be fine. It could all be over quickly if he would just leave his safe little alcove.

He took a few determined steps. If he moved quickly, it could be over even sooner.

He turned the corner to move into the next room, and found himself face to face with a young woman painted up to look like a doll. She was splattered with fake blood. He froze. She starred at him as she sung Ring Around the Rosie under her breath. He felt a shudder run up his spine.

He backed away, not taking his eyes off of her until he was safely around the corner. He turned and retreated the measly ten steps he’d managed, back to his alcove.

He took a deep breath when he made it back to safety. Stupid, he thought, annoyed with himself. Stupid fake doll with her stupid fake blood can’t even-

“Enjolras?” He jumped as his thoughts were interrupted, Grantaire materializing from the darkness.

“Uh,” Enjolras looked at the ground, trying to think of a solid excuse for standing here. This didn’t look great. “Hi,” he mumbled, no explanation coming to him. Of all the people to find him, why, why did it have to be Grantaire. He’d never let this go. The teasing will be merciless, the jokes unbearable.

“What are you doing? Cause I saw you come back here from the next room over-”

“I was just looking around,” Enjolras cut him off. He couldn’t meet his eyes.

Grantaire looked around the tiny alcove. “Not much to look at,” he said, a hint of a smile crossing his face. “Come on, let’s keep going,” he gestured for Enjolras to follow him.

“Yeah, no, you go on without me, I’ll catch up,” Enjolras shrugged, trying and surely failing to look casual.

“Enjolras-” Grantaire started.

“Don’t worry about it,” Enjolras cut him off again, willing him to just go away.

“Enjolras, are you scared?” Grantaire asked, a smirk creeping into his voice.

Enjolras finally looked up at him. “No-”

“You are. Huh. Definitely wouldn’t have guessed-”

“Please don’t start,” Enjolras pleaded. Couldn’t Grantaire at least wait until this ordeal was over for the jokes to begin? Grantaire just looked at him for a moment.

“Oh,” he finally said.

“What?” Enjolras asked defensively.

“You’re serious,” Grantaire’s smirk fell a little.

Enjolras worried the inside of his cheek. He looked up at Grantaire.

“Yeah,” He shrugged again. He was grateful for the dark that covered the blush on his cheeks.

“Okay,” Grantaire said simply. “Come on, let’s go,” the mirth in his voice had been replaced by something softer.

“I really don’t-”

“Your options are to stay here by yourself for another two hours until the house closes, or to try and go through it by yourself. Which I think we both know isn’t happening at this point.” Grantaire smiled, but it wasn’t mean. “Or you can come with me.”

Enjolras knew he was right. He just didn’t want him to be.

“Fine,” he sighed. Grantaire looked at him expectantly, but he didn’t move. “Could you just,” he cringed at himself, not wanting to say it. “Could you just not mention this? To everyone else?” He asked, feeling childish.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Apollo,” Grantaire chuckled quietly, and Enjolras fought to keep the surprise off his face. “Come on,” Grantaire said again.

Enjolras stepped out the alcove. Grantaire put an arm around his shoulder and tugged him close.

“If you want to cling to me because you’re scared, I won’t blame you,” Grantaire smirked, and Enjolras rolled his eyes.

But if he did, well. Neither of them would tell the others that, either.

[brawltogethernow]

So, I don't think I've ever asked you this... what IS the whole point of the Spider-Sense? It really seems like something that only exists for writers to ignore or work around when they want to inject Legit Tension into a story.

I’ve thought about this power so much, but never with an eye to defend its right to exist, so I needed to think about this. The results could be more concise.

Ironically, given the question, I have to say its main purpose is to ramp up tension. But it’s also a highly variable multitool that a skilled creative team can use for...pretty much anything. It does everything the writer wants it to, while for its wielder always falls just short of doing enough.

I went looking through my photos for a really generic, classic-looking example to use as an image to head this topic, but then I ran into the time Peter absolutely did not reimburse this man for his stolen McDonald’s, so have that instead.

A Scare Chord, But You Can Draw It

That one post that says the spider-sense is just super-anxiety isn’t, like, wrong. It’s a very anxious, dramatic storytelling tool originally designed for a very anxious, dramatic protagonist. I find it speaks to the overall tone of the franchise that some characters are functionally psychics, but with a psychic ability that only points out problems.

Spidey sense pinging? There’s danger, be stressed! Broken? Now the lead won’t even KNOW when there’s a problem, scary! Single character is immune to it? That’s an invisible knife in the dark oh my god what the fuck what the fU--

Like its counterpart in garden variety anxiety, the only time the spider-sense reduces tension is in the middle of a crisis. But in the wish fulfillmenty way that you want in an adventure story to justify exaggerated action sequences, the same way enhanced strength or durability does. Also like those, it would theoretically make someone much safer to have it, but it exists in the story to let your character navigate into and weather more dangerous situations.

For its basic role in a story, a danger sense is a snappy way to rile up both the reader and the protagonist that doesn’t offer much information beyond that it’s time to sit smart because shit is about to go down.

Spidey comic canon is all over the board in quality and genre, and it started needing to subvert its formulas before the creators got a handle on what those formulas even were, and basically no one has read anything approaching most of it at this point, so for consistent examples of a really bare bones use of this power in storytelling, I’d point to the property that’s done the best job yet of boiling down the mechanics of Spider-Man to their absolute most basic essentials for adaptation to a compelling monster of the week TV series.

Or as you probably know it, Danny Phantom. DON’T BOO, I’M RIGHT.

DP is Spider-Man with about 2/3 of the serial numbers filed off and no death (ironically), and Danny’s ghost sense is the most proof in the formula example of what the spidey sense is for: It’s a big sign held up for the viewer that says, “Something is wrong! Pay attention!” Effectively a visual scare chord. It’s about That Drama. And it works, which won it a consistent place in the show’s formula. We’re talking several times an episode here.

So why does it work?

It’s a little counterintuitive, but it’s strong storytelling to tell your audience that something bad is going to happen before it does. A vague, punchy spoiler transforms the ignorant calm before a conflict into a tense moment of anticipation. ...And it makes sure people don’t fail to absorb the beginning of said conflict because they weren’t prepared to shift gears when the scene did. Shock is a valuable tool, too, but treating it like a staple is how you burn out your audience instead of keeping them engaged. Not to go after an easy target, but you need to know how to manage your audience’s alarm if you don’t want to end up like Game of Thrones.

The limits of the spider-sense also keep you on your toes when handled by a smart writer. It tells Peter (everyone’s is a little different, so I’m going to cite the og) about threats to his person, but it doesn’t elaborate with any details when it’s not already obvious why, what kind, and from what. And it doesn’t warn him about anything else-- Which is a pretty critical gap when you zoom out and look at his hero career’s successes and failures and conclude that it’s definitely why he’s lived as long as he has acting the way he does, but was useless as he failed to save a string of people he’d have much rather had live on than him.

(Any long-running superhero mythos has these incidents, but with Peter they’re important to the core themes.)

And since this power is by plot for plot (or because it’s roughly agreed it only really blares about threats that check at least two boxes of being major, immediate, or physical), it always kicks in enough to register when the danger is bearing down...when it’s too late to actually do anything about it if “anything” is a more complex action than “dodge”.

Really? Not until the elevator doors started to open?

That Distinctive, Crunchy Spider Flavor

The spider-sense and its little pen squiggles go hand in hand with wallcrawling (and its unique and instantly identifiable associated body language) to make the Spider-Person powerset enduringly iconic and elevate characters with it from being generic mid-level super-bricks. Visually, but also in how it shapes the story.

I said it can share a narrative role with super strength. But when you end a fight and go home, super strength continues to make your character feel powerful, probably safer than they’d be otherwise, maybe dangerous.

The spider-sense just keeps blaring, “Something’s wrong! Something’s wrong! God, why aren’t you doing something about this!?”

Pretty morose thing to live with, for a safety net! Kind of a double edged sword you have there! Could be constantly being hyperattuned to problems would prime you for a negative outlook on life. Kind of seems like a power that would make it impossible for a moral person to take a day off, leading them into a beleaguered and resentful yet dutiful attitude about the whole superhero gig! Might build up to some of the core traits of this mythos, maybe! Might lead to a lot of fifteen minute retirement stories, or something. Might even be a built in ‘great responsibility’ alarm that gets you a main character who as a rule is not going to stop fighting until he physically cannot fight anymore.

Certainly not apropos of anything, just throwing this short lived barely-a-joke tagline up for fun.

One of my personal favorite things about stories with superpowers is keeping in mind how they cause the people who have them to act in unusual ways outside of fights, so when you tell me that these people have an entire extra sense that tells them when the gas in their house is leaking through a barely useful hot/cold warning system that never turns off, I’m like, eyes emojis, popcorn out, notebook open, listening intently, spectacles on, the whole deal.

It also contributes to Peter Parker’s personality in a way I really enjoy: It allows him to act like an irrational maniac. When you know exactly when a situation becomes dangerous and how much, normal levels of caution go out the window and absolutely nothing you do makes sense from an exterior standpoint anymore. That’s the good shit. I would like to see more exploration of how the non-Parker characters experiencing the world in this incredibly altered way bounce in response.

It’s also one of many tools in this franchise hauling the reader into relating more closely with the main character. The backbone of classic Spidey is probably being in on secrets only Peter and the reader know which completely reframe how one views the situation on the page. It’s just a big irony mine for the whole first decade. A convenient way to inform the reader and the lead that something is bad news that’s not perceivable to any other characters is youth-with-a-big-exciting-secret catnip.

Another point for tension, there, in that being aware of danger is not synonymous with being able to act on it. If there’s no visible reason for you to be acting strange, well...you’re just going to have to sit tight and sweat, aren’t you? Some gratuitous head wiggles never hurt when setting up that type of conflict.

Have I mentioned that they look cool? Simultaneously punchy and distinctive, with a respectable amount of leeway for artists to get creative with and still coming up with something easily recognizable? And pretty easy to intuit the meaning of even without the long-winded explanations common in the days when people wrote comics with the intent that someone could come in cold on any random issue and follow along okay, I think, although the mechanic has been deeply ingrained in popular culture for so long that I can’t really say for sure.

It was also useful back in the day when no artists drew the eyes on the Spider-Man mask as emoting and were conveying the lead’s expressions entirely through body language and panel composition. If you wiggle enough squiggles, you don’t need eyebrows.

Take This Handwave and Never Ask Me a Logistical Question Again

This ability patches plot holes faster than people can pick them open AND it can act as an excuse to get any plot rolling you can think of if paired with one meddling protagonist who doesn’t know how to mind their own business. Buy it now for only $19.99 (in four installments; that’s four installments of $19.99).

Why can a teenager win a six on one fight against other superhumans? Well, the spider-sense is the ultimate edge in combat, duh.

Why can Peter websling? Why doesn’t everyone websling? Well, the spider-sense is keeping him from eating flagpole when he violently flings himself across New York in a way neither man nor spider was ever meant to move.

How are we supposed to get him involved with the plot this week???? Well, that crate FELT dangerous, so he’s going to investigate it. Oh, dip, it was full of guns and radioactive snakes! Probably shouldn’t have opened that!

Yeah, okay, but why isn’t it fixing everything, then? Isn’t it supposed to be why Peter has never accidentally unmasked in front of somebody? ('Nother entry for this section, take a shot.) That’s crazy sensitive! How does he still have any problems!? Is everything bad that’s ever happened to characters with this powerset bad writing!? --Listen, I think as people with uncanny senses that can tell us whether we are in danger with accuracy that varies from incredible to approximate (I am talking about the five senses that most people have), we should all know better than to underestimate our ability to tune them out or interpret them wrong and fuck ourselves up anyway. I honestly find this part completely realistic.

*SLAPS ROOF OF SPIDER-SENSE* YOU CAN FIT SO MANY STORIES IN THIS THING

The spider-sense is a clean branch into...whatever. There is the exact right balance of structure and wishy-washiness to build off of. A sample selection of whatevers that have been built:

It’s sci-fi and spy gadgets when Peter builds technology that can interface with it.

It’s quasi-mystical when Kaine and Annie-May get stronger versions of it that give them literal psychic visions, or when you want to get mythological and start talking about all the spider-characters being part of a grand web of fate.

Kaine loses his and it becomes symbolic of a future newly unbound by constraints, entangled thematically with the improved physical health he picked up at the same time -- a loss presented as a gain.

Peter loses his and almost dies 782 times in one afternoon because that didn’t make the people he provoked when he had it stop trying to kill him, and also because he isn’t about to start “””taking the subway’’””’ “‘’“”to work”””’’” like some kind of loser who doesn’t get a heads up when he’s about to hit a pigeon at 50mph.

Peter’s starts tuning into his wife’s anxiety and it’s a tool in a relationship study.

It starts pinging whenever Peter’s near his boss who’s secretly been replaced by a shapeshifter and he IGNORES IT because his boss is enough of an asshole that that doesn’t strike him as weird; now it’s a comedy/irony tool.

Into the Spider-Verse made it this beautiful poetic thing connecting all the spider-heroes in the multiverse and stacked up a story on it about instant connection, loss, and incredibly unlikely strangers becoming a found family. It was also aesthetic as FUCK. Remember the scene where Miles just hears barely intelligible whispering that’s all lines people say later in the film and then his own voice very clearly says “look out” and then the room explodes?? Fuck!!!!

Venom becomes immune to it after hitchhiking to Earth in Peter’s bone juice and it makes him a unique threat while telling a more-homoerotic-than-I-assume-was-originally-intended story about violation and how close relationships can be dangerous when they go sour.

It doesn’t work on people you trust for maximum soap opera energy. Love the innate tragedy of this feature coming up.

IN CONCLUSION I don’t have much patience for writers who don’t take advantage of it, never mind feel they need to write around it.

[ectoentity]

Ghost Lights (1/2)

Ectober 2021 Day 8: Splatter vs Poison

Fandom: Danny Phantom

Chapter 1 of 2

Rating: G

Characters: Danny Fenton, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, OC

Tags: Halloween, Pumpkins

It's the annual Foley family Halloween party, and the trio are enjoying carving some pumpkins. They weren't expecting some ghosts to possess them!

Read on AO3 here.

There were plenty of reasons for Danny to be worried about Halloween. Ghost attacks often went up around now, for one, and after last year Fright Knight was bound to have a grudge against him. If someone let him out now, Danny would have a hell of a time getting him back into the pumpkin.

For now, though, he was going to focus on a non-cursed pumpkin. Danny and Sam were over at Tucker’s house for his family’s annual pumpkin carving party. Some of Tucker’s younger cousins ran around laughing and wearing costumes. His cousin Abby, who was two years older, was also carving a pumpkin with them.

Danny could have easily gotten the pumpkin guts out with his powers. He was getting more precise with his ectoblasts, so using one like a laser to cut away the sticky fibers wouldn’t be too hard. Instead he was doing it the hard way, with a little plastic scoop that he had to scrape against the sides.

“I’ve seen guts that were less nasty than this,” he complained. Danny scooped out a quivering blob of pumpkin innards and dumped it into a bowl with a wet splat.

“This is nowhere near as barbaric as meat,” Sam said with some frustration. She was somehow covered in bits of slimy orange string up to her elbows. At the beginning of the party she’d had on black gloves, but those were long gone.

“I dunno, Sam, I think he’s got a point,” Tucker teased. He was long done with the scraping part and was already looking for a pattern to pin to his pumpkin. “If you really think about it, we’re hollowing out a formerly living thing and using its skin as decoration. That is pretty ghoulish!”

She glared at him and plopped another glob of pumpkin into the bowl. “How long have you been planning this comparison?”

“About thirty minutes. What should I put on this bad boy, a Frankenstein or a spider?” Tucker asked. 

“There’s no robot this year?” Danny asked. 

Tucker sighed dramatically. “There’s not enough science monsters for Halloween.” He picked up the Frankenstein pattern. “Hey there, Mister Frankenstein, it’s one more year of carving your gorgeous face into a gourd.”

“You know you don’t have to stay on brand, right?” Tucker’s cousin Abby said. “You could carve a ghost, or a bat.”

“The bat is mine,” Sam declared, looking around to make sure everyone else agreed. Abby put the sheet of paper with a bat on it in front of Sam.

“Are you doing a ghost, Danny?” Abby asked, amused. She’d seen this play out every year with about the same outcome. 

Danny thought about it for a moment as he scraped the rest of the guts out of his pumpkin. “I don’t think so. I think I’ve had enough ghosts for a while. I might just do a spooky face.”

“Nice choice.” She showed them the design she had inked onto a paper earlier - a skull and crossbones that had Xes for eyes.  

“How are you going to keep it all together?” Sam asked. Abby started to describe how she could make some parts thin enough to let through light, but not completely cut out. 

Danny looked at his pumpkin. It would be really cool to do some kind of scary face. He wasn’t very artistic, but two eyes and a sharp-toothed grin couldn’t be too difficult. He picked up a crayon and started carefully making an outline. The eyes were pretty simple - just two triangles. He had a slightly harder time trying to figure out the mouth so it didn’t look too dorky and also didn’t fall apart. He had to wipe the crayon off a couple times before he got it right.

“There! How about that?” Danny asked, turning the pumpkin around so the others could see. Tucker gave him a thumbs up, already focused on carving out his pumpkin. 

“Not bad. Traditional, but effective,” Sam judged.

“Yeah, that’s good!” Abby echoed with a grin. Pleased, Danny grabbed one of the saw-like carving tools.

The tool was kind of pathetic. It was a really weak, thin blade with a blunt end that made it kind of difficult to start the pattern. Abby had made arguments for real knives earlier, but the Foleys said they didn’t want to risk any of the younger kids getting their hands on them. It made sense, but it was kind of difficult to carve the pumpkin with this little thing. Danny decided to use a tiny amount of ecto-energy to cut it instead. 

He cut out the eyes first, then started on the mouth. It was a sharp-toothed grin so wide that it took up nearly half the diameter of the pumpkin. The middle was easy to do, but when he started to work on the edges the carving tool was a little too big to make the little cuts he wanted to do. Danny looked around to make sure no one was looking at him too intently, and started cutting the pumpkin out entirely with a tiny ecto-beam. It took a long time, but it worked.

“Done!” he announced at last. Finally. His back was starting to get sore from sitting hunched over the pumpkin for so long. Only Abby was still working on her own pumpkin. 

“Wow. Danny, you went all out,” Sam commented. “Very spooky.”

“How’d you get that much detail with these dinky saw things?” Tucker asked. 

“Uh…” Danny wasn’t sure how to answer that with other people around who would overhear. “Trial and error?”

It looked like Tucker was going to say something else, but a cold gasp of air came up from Danny’s lungs. A ghost was near. 

“I need to-”

Pale green motes floated down from the sky all around them. Each one landed in a pumpkin, making them glow with ghastly light.