I’m rewatching @jelloapocalypse ‘s Tellius playthroughs once more and man. I simply adore the character quirks Yam gives Soren. Gay little mage boy my beloved

I wanted to try creating a fanfic, but I don't have an A03 account yet, so I'm doing it on here instead.

Hello! Im aware I have been away for a while, I have had lots of school work to catch up on, but I just finished S1 of Demon Slayer on Netflix (If you havent watched it I highly suggest you do before reading this) And decided to create an MCYT X KNY/DS Fanfic, and the ones I see on A03 usually consist of Tommy taking Tanjiro Kamado’s place and Techno taking Nezuko’s (Tanjiros sister) And leaving whoever else is left to be other demon slayers or hashira.

Im going to upload this fanfic, only 1 chapter so far as Im not sure Im too confident in this AU, as my grammar sucks. Without further ado though, Enjoy chapter one. (Warning, Gore?- I mean theres dead bodies, And me being terrible at creating chapter names.)

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Wilbur was fairly well known in the village that resided not too far away from his home. He was the oldest brother to two other siblings. Though that number quickly dwindled down to one after his father and slightly younger brother (It’s by a year in this AU) left for some training of some sort. Luckily, Wilbur was able to make a stable income for himself and his younger brother Tommy, who is only 10. Tommy was a special kid in Wilbur’s eyes. After all, it had been 4 years since his other family members left and Tommy was the only family around, so he may treasure him more that he did Techno or his father Phil.

 12/02/1920

 Wilbur was getting ready to leave to the village, he was going to sell coal to the people residing there and see if they needed any assistance in doing anything. He trusted Tommy to stay home, not alone of course, he had a distant relative in town for a while, so they offered to look after the 10 year old while Wilbur was selling his coal. But as he said his goodbyes and left, he couldn’t help but feel that he has somehow made a big mistake. Shaking his head, he pushed the feeling down, he trusts that his family will remain safe in the house they live on up by the mountain.  

 When Wilbur arrived into town, he was immediately bombarded with people wanting to buy coal or asking for his assistance in return for some money. By the time that Wilbur was actually done with selling coal and helping people out, he had filled more than half the basket with money. Unfortunately it was getting late and he had no way of getting home in the dark unless he wanted to get lost, he also couldn’t find a way to tell the others at the house that he would be late…

 “Hey Wilbur!” A familiar voice called to him, “you need a place to stay tonight, there’s no way you’ll make it back to the house in time.” Wilbur turned around and saw a familiar face, it was the baker of the village, Niki. She was always so kind to those who lived for visited the village (Her baking is also great too!) Smiling, Wilbur started walking towards the baker’s home. “Thank you Niki, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

 “Of course!” She smiled kindly, “After all, we can’t have you going out at night, there may be demons lurking around!”

Wilbur made a confused face at that. ‘Demons?’ He thought, ‘I’m sure it’s just a myth, I’m sure parents just use that to keep kids in check.’ Niki laughed at the confused face Wilbur pulled when he mentioned demons, but soon stopped laughing when realizing he really didn’t know what demons were. “Wait, you’re being serious?” She asked while setting up a bed for Wilbur to sleep in for the night, “You really don’t know what demons are, Wil?” Wilbur shook his head at her question, getting up to follow her into her kitchen where she started getting ready to prepare a meal for him eat before going to bed. “No, Should I know what ‘Demons’ are, Niki?” He asked, he was really confused as to why she had looked so shocked at the question. She sighed. “Why don’t we talk about this while you’re eating?” As she said that the noodles she was boiling were finished and she put them into a bowl with some broth in.

  A few minutes later, the two are sat down opposite each other. “So... are you going to tell me about these ‘demons’?” Wilbur asked, while eating. Niki nodded and started to explain. “Demons are these man-eating creatures that only come out at night or when the sun is away, as the sun can kill them.” She said quietly, Wilbur wondered whether Niki had experience with these demons to know that they eat humans. “My father was eaten by a demon a couple years ago.” Niki said sadly, “So in order to keep demons away I use this wisteria plants to keep them away, as its poisonous to demons.” Niki soon ended the convocation after that, seeing as she quickly said her goodnights and took away Wilbur’s empty bowl, he can only assume she doesn’t like talking about them.

 Going to bed half an hour later, the uneasy feeling had increased, after hearing the story about demons, he could only worry for those around the area, and Tommy and that distant relative he could never remember the name of. He fell into an uneasy sleep, only dreaming of what these demons are like.

 When Wilbur woke up the next morning, he thanked Niki for the hospitality and promises to bring more coal the next time he visits the village. And with that he took his basket of money and started making his way up the mountain.

 Wilbur figured that he was only 5 minutes from the house now, but he couldn’t help but slow down, usually increasing in speed to go see his brother, but the uneasy feeling had returned and only grew worse when making his way up the mountain.

 Then that’s when it hit him. He didn’t need a great sense of smell to tell that there was a strong scent or blood and decaying bodies somewhere around the mountain. Worried for his family, he ran up the mountain once the house came into view. He was met with a bloody path leading into the house. He followed the path and was met with the decaying body of the family member he trusted to look after Tommy, he really regrets not learning their name, but they showed up so suddenly and it’s was them three for a while. Speaking of bodies, Wilbur took a step into the house and saw Tommy laying on his back, a small wound on his head. But he was still breathing, his baby brother wasn’t dead, despite the amount of blood leaving his wound. Quickly thinking, Wilbur picked up his brother, putting him comfortably so it looked like Wilbur was giving him a piggy-back ride, and dashed out the house into the village. Hoping he could find some medical assistance to help the brother he raised. Halfway down the mountain, Tommy had started shifting a lot, and groaning, this confused Wilbur as he tried to get Tommy to calm down, but Tommys constant struggling ended up with them falling down a slope. Tommy was quick to get up and lean against a tree. “Tommy!” Wilbur yelled out, his voice full of worry for his baby brother, “Toms, you don’t need to walk, I can carry you to the village, don’t worry!” Wilbur started moving towards the 10 year old until he was suddenly attacked by said 10 year old. “Tommy, What are you doing?!” Wilbur yelled out in fear, he wrestled Tommy while thinking of what to do until he saw a distant shadow coming closer….

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That was it! I do take feedback, constructive feedback that is, not hate.

Also give me some ideas as to what breathing forms the other MCYT characters can do, as I'm wanting to make this original in my own way, basically using the least amount of canon breathing forms,

thoughts about being 29 on the internet that i just had in the shower...

...and had to write down. they were all basically just about how f**king - NEW. and surreal. the internet, its capabilities, and its fandoms can still be to me sometimes. i feel like i forget this a lot. but when i think about it, i can easily recall my wonder at discovering that it all existed in waves of smaller finds. and because i know there are others like me, i thought i’d share some of my own experiences. because honestly, i’ve had fewer years on tumblr and sites like it than some people much younger than me. i’m catching up and enjoying it.

firstly, i know i’m old to some of you, but i’m not really old. not really. i’m still a millennial, screwed over by student loans and old white men and viewed as part of the technological generation. i’m a phd student, and because i’m always on a college campus, i’ve been mistaken as a freshman. a few times. but it’s been fascinating to witness actual freshman and other college students and consider just how different things are for them and honestly? i’m sort of jealous. 

because...

i can remember when i first discovered that fanfiction existed. i was in third period tech skills as a junior in high school - 16 years old - and got a little off-topic and searched for spoilers for a new supernatural episode. this was in 2005 and the show had just come out (yes i still watch, i can’t escape).

and what did i find? somehow? fanfiction.net. i was, no exaggeration, shocked. i sat and read a full-length chaptered fic in episodic format. my mouth was hanging open. i saw thousands more fics in hundreds of fandoms and suddenly felt less strange for envisioning full-scale episode re-imaginings in my head as i laid in bed, dissatisfied with what i had just watched. (btw, i watched new supernatural episodes the sunday after they used to originally air on the wb on thursdays, at my mom’s house where i had my own room and own tiny tv, because no one at my dad’s house wanted to watch and streaming episodes wasn’t something i could even imagine. plus i didn’t have internet at my dad’s house. i know.)

not only that, but i was impressed as hell. here was me, not even aware that you could somehow upload your own text to the internet, and people were not simply writing polished stories in private but posting them somewhere that allowed for chapters. that allowed for people all over the world to read their words. that categorized everything into a huge virtual library. and, most incredibly to me, that allowed for reviews from people around the world.

i couldn’t believe that this new world was open to me. that people would be so generous as to offer amazing stories to me to read FOR FREE. that i had a limitless supply of content to read and review. i barely had functioning internet at home, so i had been sheltered. i told the people sitting next to me in class about it and encouraged them to check it out, mostly to blank stares. i may have even told the teacher, but no one cared. i didn’t understand. who wouldn’t be interested? i told my dad and my sister about it when i got home from school. i was mind-blown.

months in and many reads and written reviews later, i wrote my first fic. it was for smallville. 6 chapters, with updates every few days, that received 14 reviews in total. i read them all multiple times. i showed my sister. i checked the story stats every half hour. i cried. i wrote on the family computer secretly in the evening when most of my family had gone upstairs, because i was about half a year away from owning my first laptop. i wrote more stories sporadically for about 6 years, gradually getting better, but also gradually becoming more stressed and aware of negativity, online arguments, and the embarrassment and shame i suddenly felt about having an online presence. i found a supernatural forum at tv.com (the forums sadly no longer exist), learned about fandom, and immersed myself in posting and being part of a community that i thought understood me more than my friends. like a secret life.

during my first year of college, in 2007, i was in a friend’s dorm when he asked everyone if we wanted to watch an episode of scrubs. i laughed. surely he was joking. “how can we just watch an episode? it’s not on now and you don’t have the dvds.” i literally didn’t consider that there may have been a way. he excitedly told us that he had found some website that had episodes just... pre-uploaded. and that you could just click. i didn’t believe him. the stress of having to be at the tv at a certain time each week for fear of missing an episode entirely and forever was just part of being a fan, right? buying the tv guide and checking listings was necessary. but he found the episode. and clicked. it only took a few full minutes to load and there it was. again, i was astounded. this memory is so shockingly clear to me. it changed how i spent much of my free time, for one. just that moment.

sometime during this first year of college, i was home for break and came across a video on youtube, this new website i had started to use. it reminded me of ebaum’s world, which my friend would show me at her house sometimes because her computer was faster than mine. it was called “cat soup”, and by two guys that called themselves smosh. it had more views than i could comprehend - probably not much more than 5 digits, but still. they were just two kids i could have gone to school with who could create a funny video and get famous. again, i was shocked. mind-blown.

i showed my sister, my mom, and all my friends. they appreciated it a bit more than the fanfiction, but no one seemed to grasp how incredible and revolutionary it was. they all liked “shoes”, with the kelly persona by liam kyle sullivan (we still quote it today), probably because its budget and effects made it a bit more familiarly professional and it appeared less homemade (though it definitely was). but i couldn’t forget smosh. i was so impressed by them. i watched more videos and eventually found communitychannel and jenna marbles and eviliguana and shane dawson. i even found fan edits for my faves, buffy (maybe i saw one of phil’s, lol) and supernatural and smallville, and tried making my own. i freaked in 2009 or so when fred reached a million subscribers. a million. i couldn’t wrap my head around that. again, i told my sister and friends, expecting them to see the enormity of something so crazy happening, and they just... didn’t.

back in 2008, after watching “stick it” again, i recalled the name of a gymnast my cousin used to always talk about when we were kids - from the 1996 olympics - and looked her up on youtube. i realized that all gymnastics competitions imaginable had been uploaded. again - not to be repetitive - but i was shocked. there’s no better word. i gave myself a thorough education on the sport, traveling through time. i am still so grateful that i was able to do that.

sometime in 2009, my friends started pestering me to create a facebook account. i was a junior in college. 20 years old already. it sounded weird - pictures of me online? why? but i gave into pressure and made one. my mom had never allowed us to make a myspace; we were a bit young, and she hated the idea (now, she’s on facebook more than i am). around the same time i got my fanciest phone yet - an LG Env3. i figured out that it could access the internet and that i could use songs to create ringtones. again, sufficiently mind-blown. considering my first cell phone had been a flip phone with no camera that i shared with my sister during emergencies when i was 13, i felt that technology was coming along fast. 

smart phones were foreign to me for a long long time, until recently actually. i thought they were unnecessary for quite a while. i don’t even remember what phones i had at the end of college and through grad school, but i’m pretty sure they consisted of a series of cheap pay-as-you-go phones from walmart. in 2013, i went to china for a year to teach. i got a cheap phone there and used it for about 7 months. one day, a friend of mine gave me his old htc smartphone because he was getting a new one. i didn’t know how to use it, but i played one app on repeat before class and snapped some low-quality photos. after that, i almost immediately went to indonesia for another 9 months to teach high school (2014-2015). the htc phone died very quickly, so i used the nokia brick phone given to me by the organization. it was fine. i had never even used my old smartphone to access the internet, aside from wechat, thanks to china’s internet blocks. it wasn’t until i got home, in the summer of 2015, that i finally got an iphone. it was a huge deal and a big learning curve. it was also around this time that i found dan and phil and tumblr. i only got my macbook two years ago and finally think i have some things figured out.

so i may be old in some ways and remember floppy disks and the card catalog and using encyclopedias to write my middle school papers and huge computers with black screens and green text that displayed math problems in elementary school. i may be able to remember the sound of ancient, huge printers that used reams of paper with perforated, tearable strips down each side. i may remember aol red, dial-up, and not being able to connect if someone was on the phone. but i can also remember watching technology evolve in front of me, discovering fandom and the huge world of content and friendship that lay ahead. and when people try to say i’m too old to like dan and phil, i remind them that dan and phil can also remember. we’re the same age. i relate to them and their stories. to phil’s buffy obsession. to dan’s love of smosh. i’ve only had about 10 fully-cognizant years here on the internet, and only a couple in the world of tumblr and iphones and mobile apps. i’m young in those ways. and i look young enough that strangers sometimes think i’m a teenager. 

that’s laughable to me in some ways, because i’ve lived so much since my teen years. so much has happened. but in others, i don’t feel much different. there’s no age where you just feel grown up. that your interests vanish. that things suddenly seem childish and dumb. yes, i cringe about some things i wrote or did back then and i think i’ve matured, but my interests are all still relatively similar and i can finally explore them in ways that i just couldn’t before.

i hope that this has made sense. and i hope that some can relate.

Now What?

I’ve now reached that critical mass point with the asks that I have no hope of addressing them all personally,  some cover multiple points and its hard to lump them together because I would miss another bit of the ask.   

So I’m once again going to do a mass answer and try to clear out most of my ask box that way.  I apologize to those that won’t receive a personal answer.  

This is my take on what the big issues seem to be coming off the finale.  These are my personal feelings and I’m not trying to invalidate what anyone else is feeling right now.  I continue to move from anger to acceptance to even rare points of positivity.  

How the &*#(*$! was that supposed to be rewarding or satisfying?

This I believe is on of the biggest issues I have right now.   Hearing those words from the writers in interviews gave me a sense of calm and hope that no matter what they threw at me, it was going to be alright.   Because that was what they said about the 100th, and I absolutely adored the 100th.   Yet after, I feel anything but.  I am merely frustrated, heartbroken, and betrayed.   

Had they warned me as they did going into to the season 3 finale where they were up front MONTHS in advance that it was going to be heartbreaking and tragic, I could have mentally prepared myself better.  

In the end the writers have a different take on things than we do, they were obviously very proud of what they did there and thought we as fans would love it. 

Also remember that the writers pitched Season 6 as part of the process to get renewal.   They know where they want to go with this. 

Thank goodness we fought so hard for renewal and it didn’t really end like that.  

They separated Fitzsimmons, again!

Not only did they separate them again, but I am upset as all get out that they were downright excited they could do it it again.  They know very well its been overdone, they have said as much.  But once they saw it, it was too tempting for them to pass up.  The parallel of having Jemma searching for him across the cosmos just as he’s done for her on top of fixing what they saw as a plot hole with Cryo Fitz.  

I completely agree that is is so over done.  It’s frustrating.  Every time they do it they lose fans because they are taking something that people love so much and toying with them with it.  Every time they do it they errode that trust they have with the viewers even more.  They take away from the good moments because we know every time they give us something good they hit us with something absolutely awful shortly after.  

I don’t feel valued as a Fitzsimmons  or fan in general right now (Philinda fans my heart goes out to you too because I feel like they got screwed too).   I did a lot of work pushing for renewal.  I stood up for them.  I supported them.  And I feel like I was just slapped in the face at the end.  That they though that finale was a reward I as a dedicated fan would have loved and been happy with.  

There is nothing we can do to change what they’ve done.   It happened.  All we can do now is be excited that they will once again be reunited and just pray they don’t drag it out.  My hope is that they play it more as an amnesia story line.  They aren’t getting a different Fitz, its the same Fitz, this one just won’t have the memories of from when he woke up at the Lighthouse.  

We didn’t get ANY Fitzsimmons in what could have been the final episode!

This one I get.  Again HATE they could have ended it with not giving us one last scene from this amazing couple and between the two actors that mean so much to each other.  I am downright pissed they would do that to Lil and Iain.  It’s because they were gearing up to kill Fitz.  And ANY scene Lil and Iain would have done together would have been too much too bear.  

Seeing Jemma’s full on reaction would have been too much and it would have taken away from Coulson’s departure.  

They also didn’t want to focus on the fact he was dead, because he’s not.  In a way its like the team being taken through time or Jemma to Maveth in they are gone, not dead.  By not focusing the on the fact that Fitz wasn’t dead, just needing to be rescued also indicated that is just what they are going to do, rescue Fitz.  

They never showed us Fitz’s or the teams full on reactions to Jemma getting taken by the Space Rock.

As Fitz will be back they needed to focus on the departure that is more permanent in nature, Coulson’s. 

Cryo Fitz/Thrown away a season’s worth of character development:

I know this fandom, they know this fandom.  Had they not done something to address Cryo Fitz, the fandom would have been like a dog with a bone and never let it go.   Look at Gravitonium, people never stopped asking when it would come back into play.  

Cryo Fitz IS NOT a different Fitz.  He’s our Fitz.   

The best way I am looking at it is he’s going to have amnesia.  He won’t have memories, both good and bad, of that time he was in stasis but it doesn’t changed those events happened.  IE He’s still married to Jemma and for the love of all things writers at the very least give me a vow renewal.  

I had theories out there as to how they could just start a fresh timeline and then not have to worry about Cryo Fitz, but they kept the same timeline and they want to keep Deke (he’s totally going to pop back up one day).  Had they made Deke fade away they would have had to have Cryo Fitz fade away then the death would haven’t have been possible.  Because with the loop broken the situation that lead to Fitz going into Cryo would have never happened and thus he wouldn’t have been there to rescue.   

And honestly I would rather they get this out of their system now vs down the line when we’d lost even more character and relationship development.

Like it or not, this is going to help Fitz heal.  

A lot of fans were unhappy with how things with the Doctor went down.  That they used such a serious issue as nothing more than a plot device.  They broke Fitz and had no intention of fixing him...and they didn’t....that version anyway.  Knowing they were going to be going for Cryo Fitz they allowed him and themselves to cross lines and not have to deal with the consequences.  

Yes, this is a bit frustrating as well because it falls into toying with the fans and shock value plot twists for the sake of a shock value plot twist. 

He and the team get a rare second chance to deal with the Framework Fall out.  This time Fitz won’t be repeatedly under the stress of saving to save everyone and having to tap into The Doctor to do so.   

Fitz is also going to wake up and his wife knows the demon his he fighting inside him and can help him deal with it.  Support him.  And he doesn’t have to hide it from her.

It does add what will be an interesting and at times painful dynamic for the team and Fitz.   Mack is burdened by having to have watched him die, the words that were said between one another before that happened, and the events of 16.  Daisy has the fall out from 14, she has that trauma and those scars but this Fitz has no memory of that happened.  

Some of this is meant to be painful, some moments Cryo Fitz will never be able to get back.  That moment in the elevator with Coulson before his wedding, Coulson marrying them, or even him getting to give him a proper goodbye as the others did.  At most Coulson could have left a letter for Fitz when they find him, but sadly some of this does need to be sad and this is one of them.  

This is long, so under the thing.

What on earth is going on with Deke and his map?!

His fate has been left in absolute limbo.  But the fact his tool was still there in his room for Jemma to find means he didn’t fade away when the loop is broken.  The tool would have faded with him.

Being a Fitzsimmons he’s going to get into all sorts of trouble until we see him again.

I have a lovely head canon in he inadvertently runs into none other than Lance Hunter and become good buds before they put the pieces together.  

That map he snatched from Qovas’s ship no doubt will come in quite handy when it comes to searching for Fitz.  After all the team knows where to start looking for Chronicoms...they repeatedly told us where their home world was and that could be the first step in finding Fitz/Enoch.  

However, we don’t know what was done with said map.  Did he upload it to the Shield Database and its already on the Zephyr.

Does he still have it on him.  It doesn’t do the team much good with him wandering around earth and them in space.   No one even knows he has it so unless he did update it it could take him somehow being reunited with the team to get it.  

As Deke doesn’t have a spaceship and unless he’s stowed away somewhere on the Zephyr, do they not get access to the map until they are forced to return to earth for some reason.   Perhaps to resupply?  Only then do they get what they need to find FItz.  

How long will it take them to find Fitz, I do not want to wait 5 episodes again?

Iain’s agency has confirmed him back for Season 6.

I also personally feel that Fitz will see a bit more of an uptick in terms of story arcs with Coulson’s departure.   

I don’t think long.  With the magic of time jumps they’ll do what they do every season and bring us back right before things kick off and the full action beings.  IE pretty dang close to finding Fitz.  

I expect to get him back around 2 at the latest and at some point in 1 we know at least were he is and if Enoch moved/woke him.  But we won’t know anything until filming starts

With only 13 episodes they don’t have a ton of time to waste just looking for him.   They also have A LOT of upset fans, they need something good/big right off to pull them back in.  

Is this the end for Coulson and May?

I honestly don’t know.   They had something that could be seen as pretty finite and I did personally like that Coulson was able to go out on his own terms with the woman he loved at his side.  

Clark’s contract hasn’t been renewed yet and he said that he was talking about his possible role in Season 6.  But with the send of got, his role will likely be via flashback or smaller cameos.  His ending is very much like Bobbi & Hunters, in it was good so in bringing him back you risk undoing it so it needs to be done right.  I think there is a better chance they get him back as a director or I would love if they let him pen an episode.  

Ming posted what could have been a farewell post on Instagram the other day.  However, there has yet to be confirmation if she’ll be back as a regular, recurring, a cameo or too, or not at all.  She’s still on earth and the team is in space.  So its like Deke, unless there is another spaceship lying around they can’t catch up with the team until they get back to earth.

In a way the show is doing a bit of a soft reboot.  Only not as drastic as the one OUAT did.  They possibly closed the door for  the ‘old guard’ of characters.  Coulson, May, and Talbot (Adrian said this in an interview).  They wrapped up story lines for good in Gravitonium, Centipede, LMD, Ivanov, and Hydra (Please be done with Hydra).  While at the same time many beloved characters will go on with new adventures and new stories to tell.  Space Zephyr just one of many doors they opened.  

This could be a big reason for the shorter order season.  They want to see how this will play out with fans.  

I can’t trust the writers anymore.

Yeah, I get that one too.  I’m embarrassed and ashamed I stood up for them so publicly and avidly them the last few weeks.  I’m mad at myself for trusting them.  And I sincerely apologize to my followers for doing so and in a way I feel like I failed you.  I really never thought they would do this and I should know better.

I feel betrayed and used too.  That they use something I love so much and just hurt me with it.   They were excited they could do it again even though they KNOW it’s been over done and they couldn’t realistically do it again....then they realized they accidentally allowed a ‘realistic’ way to do it again.  Then they called it satisfying and rewarding.

Reviewers are sick of it, Fitzsimmons fans are beyond sick of it, and even non Fitzsimmons fans are sick of it.  I’ve heard from a few of you and thank you...heck I’ve heard from other fandoms with their condolences.

I see people voicing their displeasure on social media.  Totally justified.  I am all about staying positive but at the same time I’m mad and upset and want to shout at it for a bit.  But don’t attack the writers personally for the show.  They will get defensive and from what I’ve seen in a lot of interactions are truly surprised at how upset fans are.  There are other ways of sending in your feedback.  But also remember that you can not send them story ideas, they won’t even look at them.  If you choose to do this, please be polite, cursing them out won’t achieve anything.

ABC Show Feedback Form

I think I covered a good chunk of what is in my ask box.  I still have 20 or so to go that don’t fall into these major categories and I’ll continue to pick at them as I can over the next few days.   

I appreciate the love, support, and continued patience.  

Halloween Mishap|Chase Brody x Reader

So here’s the first story I’ll post on Tumblr! And it’s a Halloween one, too, featuring Jack’s egos ^^ Tho it’s never too early for Halloween...r-right? OuO Anywho, this was requested by @narutofoxlover and they recommended that I post it here. Hope you all enjoy it~

It was Halloween, your favorite holiday of all time where you'd either go out to costume parties, visit haunted houses, or go Trick-or-Treating with your friends (while dismissing anyone who said you were "too old" to do such things). But this Halloween in particular was different, as you were spending it in Brighton with Jack and his egos, which was actually quite enjoyable to say the least. Most of the day was spent with you all going to a local haunted house (where Jackieboy Man screamed his head off nonstop despite his claims that he was the "bravest"), carving pumpkins (which Anti and Rob enjoyed), and watching classic horror movies (in which Henrik criticized the actors and their choices throughout). All in all, you had a blast, but as the day drew closer to an end, you were wondering what other sort of spookiness awaited you tonight.

  "Man..kids are already going out?" You remarked as you looked out the window and saw several Trick-or-Treaters in the streets. "The sun hasn't even gone down all the way yet." "Hmm..maybe they wanna get first dibs on candy," Marvin said while he was practicing some magic tricks. He muttered a spell in what you can only assume was Latin under his breath, and when you turned around, you gasped as you saw a green, wispy, ghoulish figure rise from his palm. He flipped his hand upwards, sending the spirit flying around the room. You and the egos watched in awe, although Jackieboy Man seemed a little terrified. It then descended in front of you. But when you went to touch it, the ghost suddenly dissipated into a thousands tiny skulls, which vanished soon after. A chill swept over you, making you shiver slightly. "W-Wowie...that was awesome, Marv," you told the magician, smiling. Marvin simply shrugged in response. "I'm still working on it....but y'know...I was thinking about opening my own haunted house some time and just having a bunch of ghastly spirits flying about." "Could...Robbie...be in...it..?" The gray zombie asked as he pointed to himself, tilting his head to the side. "Ja," Henrik nodded in agreement, smiling at him. "You'd fit right in! No need to buy silly Halloween decor or hire lame actors vhen ve have you fine gentlemen~!" "Brooooooo that would be sick! You'd make some mad cash off'a that!" Chase laughed as he attempted to toss a teabag into the small bowl of candy that was on the other side of the room. When he made it, he jumped up in excitement and dabbed. "IAMTHEONEDON'TWEIGHATONDON'TNEEDAGUNTOGETRESPECTUPONTHESTREE-" "Jesus flippin' Christ..I'll never get how my own egos can be louder than me.." Glancing over, you saw Jack enter from his recording room, with Anti in tow. It was then you remembered that the pair did a Halloween special together, one that would make the fanbase freak out for sure. "Well, the video's been uploaded," Jack smiled as he turned around to high-five his demonic half. "Great work, dude." "Thanks. Can't wait to see their reactions tomorrow~" He chuckled. "Awww I see a little guy dressed up as Spider-Man," Jackieboy Man cooed as he looked out the window, before frowning slightly and glancing back at you. "Man..now I kinda wanna go out and get some candy, too." "Well..why don't we then?" Marvin suggested. "I mean technically we're already in costumes. You're a superhero, I'm a magician, Henrik is a doctor, Rob is a zombie, and Anti...could pass as a ghoul or something, too. The only ones who really need a costume are [y/n], Chase, and Jack." "Hmm..I zink I'll pass, though," Henrik declined, "I don't vant to go out and zink about all ze poor kids who are gonna have cavities and tummy aches after tonight." He grimaced at the thought. "And I think I'll just sit outside with the candy bowl in my lap an' pretend to be dead," Anti volunteered, a grin appearing on his face. "Then when those little kiddies come by to take some... I'll scare the livin' daylights outta them~" He cackled. You laughed a bit. "Alright..well that could work. Just don't give anybody a heart attack." "No promises." "I..don't really have anything to wear," Chase sighed, before he perked up. "But what I would love to be is a werewolf! They're so cool and ferocious looking!" "They are," you nodded. "But..unfortunately I don't think we'll have time to go out and buy you a cos-" "Then..maybe Marvin can change me into one!!" ".........." All of the egos fell silent as they turned to look at Marvin. "Ah...well..." He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's...possible for me to turn you into a real one, but I don't-" "You can do that???" Chase's eyes lit up as he sprinted over to the magician, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Dude, that would be sick!! Do it!!" Marvin frowned a bit, before sighing and shaking his head. "Chase..I..I don't think you understand. The consequences could be--hey! What are you doing?!" He growled as the ego in the snapback grabbed his spellbook that was on the table. "Put that down!!" "Maybe you got a spell in here or somethin'!" He grinned, taking a step back when Marvin tried to grab his book back before proceeding to open it and flip through the pages. "It's gotta be here somewhere, man....oooooh..this looks like it." "Chase, please, give that back-!" "Eh? Lupino.....Lupinotuum....pec..tinem?" Chase's eyebrows furrowed as he read the two words that were in bold, confused. "What does that mean? Lupinotuum..pectinem..?" "Chase, stop! Don't say it a third-!!" "Why not? It sounds kinda cool. Lupinotuum pectinem-" Suddenly, the pages began to glow, and from them emerged a yellow, ghostly wolf, surrounded by white whisps of smoke. Chase's eyes widened in both shock and amazement, although he shivered a bit as the creature locked eyes with him. Then it raised its head, letting out a quiet howl before leaping out of the book and phasing right into his body. With a gasp, he stumbled back, dropping the book as he clutched his chest in pain. "G-Gah...wh-what was that...? I...I feel like I've been shot through my goddamn chest.." He knees buckled and he fell to the floor. "Oh no...." Marvin muttered as he got up and crouched down in front of Chase, who was starting to writhe in pain. He then sighed, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Chase, listen..it's gonna be okay. Just stay calm and...." His eyes widened behind his mask as he saw that Chase's were now an unusually bright and icy blue. "O-Oh this is bad.." "Wh-What is it..? What's bad...?" "Nothing," the magician shook his head, "you'll be fine as long as there's no full moon right-" "Umm..guys? We may have a tiny problem.." You and the egos glanced over to see Jackieboy Man draw back the curtain, revealing a clouded, full moon in the dark sky. "There's already a-" "AGHH!!!" Looking back, you all gasped in horror as you saw that Chase's fingernails were starting to become long and sharp, along with his teeth. "I-It hurts...EVERYTHING HURTS!!" He screamed, clutching his head in pain. Then he started to hyperventilate. "I-I-I'm scared..I-I don't want th-this anym-G-GAHH!! M-Marv...y-you c-can reverse this somehow, right? Right??" The terrified ego clutched the magician's shoulders, his eyes wide and desperate. "P-Please, y-you gotta stop this bro! PLEASE!!" But once more, Marvin shook his head. "I..I'm sorry, but there's nothin' I can do," he said regrettably. "I haven't worked on a way to reverse the spells...but if it's any reassurance you'll be back to normal by dawn-" "I-I can't wait that long!" Chase whimpered, letting go of him before he scrambled to the corner of the room and curled up into a ball. "I-I fucked up...I-I m-made one dumb mistake. And..a-and now I'm g-gonna turn into a..a-a..." "Chase.." You took a step forward, crouching down in front of him. "It's alright..we're here-" Though when you went to put a hand on his shoulder, he suddenly smacked it away, making you wince in pain. "DON'T TOUCH ME!!!" He growled, although he realized what he did and his expression shifted into a remorseful one. "I-I'm so sorry [y/n]...I..I-I..." Tears were now streaming down his face. ".....j-just g-go...leave me....b-before I turn into a goddamn m-monster and hurt any of y-you.." Rubbing your hand a bit, you sighed sadly and stood up, taking a step back. The others, along with Jack, then tried their hand at consoling their fellow ego. Looking back, you realized that the only one who wasn't doing that was Anti. He was still sitting down on the couch, watching the scene unfold before him with a blank expression on his face. You frowned slightly and opened your mouth to scold him for not trying to help. But before you could utter a word, the demon abruptly stood up and walked past you. He brushed past the other egos, giving them a silent message to stand back, before he crouched down in front of Chase, who was now rocking back and forth slightly. "Brody..if there's anyone here that's a true monster...it's me." You all fell silent, shocked, when Anti spoke. For once his voice didn't sound distorted, glitchy, or layered....it was actually....calm and gentle. But all you were quiet as he talked to Chase. "Listen..knowing you...you're..you're not one to hurt anybody. Yer a guy with nothin' but a heart of gold, and that'll still be there even when you turn into a..werewolf." A small, genuine smile appeared on Anti's lips as he put his hand on his shoulder, gently rubbing it. Surprisingly, Chase didn't do anything except listen to his words. "But if it's one thing we're not gonna do, it's abandon ya. Even if ya lost control of yer humanity... we'll still be right here by yer side." Sniffling, Chase looked up at him. There was already dark brown fur appearing on the sides of his face. "Wh-Why do you care?" He frowned. "Af..After everything you-" "Look...I've already shed enough blood....and..." Anti glanced back at you. "Robbie and "ze good doctah" have, too." "Vhat?!" "Hmmm?" "But I'm not gonna let ya follow that same path," his gaze returned to Chase's as he withdrew his hand. "If you're scared....just....think of how after tonight you'll be back to yer old self, how we'll still be here with ya, and how you'll still see yer kids. Just think...happy stuff, Chase, an' you'll be fine." He took in every word that the usually malicious demon spoke, before smiling a bit. "A-Alright..." His nodded, his tears ceasing. "I-I'll try my best....thank you, Anti." Anti's eyes widened in surprise, as he had never been thanked for anything in his life, but he then smiled back and nodded. "You're welc-" *CRACK* "AAGH!!" Gasping, the demon glitched away from Chase, seeing that his painful and agonizing transformation was starting. "Everyone, behind me!" Marvin ordered, quickly snapping his fingers which summoned glowing, green chains that wrapped around Chase's wrists and anchored themselves to the floor. You all watched as he tried to get up, only to collapse to the ground and scream in pain. The sickening popping and cracking noises told you that those were his bones being restructured by the spell. Fur began to coat his body as a bushy tail sprouted from his tailbone. His facial features morphed to resemble those of a wolf while his muscles grew drastically in size, eventually ripping through his shirt and shoes. Surprisingly, his pants and hat still remained on him. After about a minute or so, the transformation was finally over as Chase rose to his feet once more, hunched over, before unleashing out a howl that startled all of you. "M-My G-God.." Henrik muttered, trembling slightly. "Zis is just like zose old verevolf films. Ch-Chase?" He stepped forward cautiously. "A-Are you still zere?" But he immediately stopped when the beast glanced at him, his blue eyes glowing. But he didn't attack him. In fact he seemed rather...calm. Chase then noticed the chains and began to struggle against them, although not aggressively as you were expecting him to. He then stopped and looked back at you, letting out a small whine as his ears drooped slightly. You and the egos exchanged glances, baffled yet relieved that your friend didn't immediately turn into a mindless, bloodthirsty killer. "Chase.." The werewolf glanced over at Marvin, flinching slightly when he saw the frown on his face. He whined again, as though to say he was sorry. The magician then sighed and walked up to him. "It's alright but...I did warn you, didn't I?" Chase bobbed his head up and down in understanding. He then tried to talk, but all that same out was a growl and a couple of grunts, before his black lips curled into what appeared to be a smile. "...uh....did..anyone understand what he's tryin' to say?" Jack asked, confused. "I do," Marvin replied. "He said he believes he can control himself. And..seeing how calm he is-" He snapped his fingers once more, and the chains vanished into thin air. "-I think I can trust him this one time." He looked back and smiled. Your eyes widened in shock, although a wide smile appeared on your face as you walked up to Chase. Then you boldly put your hand up and patted his snout, giggling when you saw his eyes widen. "Yep. He's still our Chase Bro--Hey!" You grimaced as the werewolf suddenly gave you a wet, sloppy kiss with his tongue. Jack and the other egos chuckled in amusement. "Blegh..just like a dog..." Wiping the drool off with your sleeve, you looked back up at Chase and sighed. "Oh boy...what are we gonna do with you now?" "Well...we can always still go Trick-or-Treating," Jackieboy Man suggested as he held up an empty pillowcase. "Just think of all the people that'll be spooked by Chase's "costume"!" He grinned widely. "Hmmm..perhaps we can," Marvin agreed. "We'll just have to keep our eye on him and make sure nobody else knows that he's a legit werewolf." Everyone nodded in agreement, although Jack's eye went wide. "Oh fook! I almost forgot!" "What is it?" You asked him, confused. "You and I still need somethin' to wear," the YouTuber replied, before he turned to you. "C'mon, let's see if I got anythin'. Surely I must." "Ohh that's right. Alrighty then." You began to follow him out of the room, though you looked over your shoulder at the egos. "Make sure he doesn't run off, alright?" Once more they nodded. With a sigh, you and Jack headed out of the room to find a quick Halloween costume or accessory to put on. "Sssoooo sssssofffft..." Turning around, Marvin, Jackieboy Man, Anti, and Henrik stared at Rob, who was hugging Chase with his head buried into his chest. The werewolf was surprised, but he awkwardly patted the top of the zombie's head, before shooting the others a confused look. But they simply shrugged and smiled at the scene. Perhaps... this wasn't such a bad Halloween after all.

Ten Things I Did This Week That Prove I Have Learned Nothing in 50 Years

1. Forgot to move my car and got a street cleaning ticket.

I know, those of you who don't live in New York may not know what this is or why it's embarrassing, but here we have something called alternate side of the street parking, and it's how car owners organize their lives. You know that you'll have to move your car once or twice a week, depending where you park it, and so you must plan for this every time you take your car out – or don’t. Because there have been times I chose not to drive somewhere because I knew I'd have a hell of a time parking when I got home from work at midnight on a Monday — Monday night being the worst in my neighborhood of Tuesday, Wednesday, Tuesday-Thursday, and Monday-Thursday spots — so I decided, instead, to take the subway, even thought it added an hour to my commute (I know I'm lucky to have a decent public transportation option when a lot of people don't, and I do try to use it whenever possible. It's just that when getting to Greenpoint at 5 am can be either a 20 minute car ride or a 1.5-hour odyssey on the train if everything goes according to plan, and these days it rarely does, one does tend to opt for using the fossil fuels. I'm sorry). You also become obsessed with spots. Even when you're walking around like a normal New Yorker, you'll just notice a really juicy one and think, “Ooh, that's a good spot!” After all those nights of driving in circles and scanning the streets while having to keep your eyes propped open because you've already been awake for 16 hours, is it any wonder that your mind becomes trained in this way?

Which is why it's so ridiculous that I was fifteen minutes late to move my car on Wednesday. I mean, I know all the moves — the temporary double park, the fifteen minute car sit (I actually know people who plan to sit in their cars for the full 1.5 hours of street cleaning twice a week), I even have all the technology, deploying the Best Parking app for both lots and spots, setting alerts for this shit on my calendar, texting my husband to ask/remind him to move it when I'm not there (he finds it funny when I say I'm “reminding” him and it's the first time he's heard of it), and the fact that I managed to forget to ask him on this particular Tuesday, but then actually remembered when we got home at 10 pm, despite having had two beet martinis, then made the critical decision to get up at 8 am to move the car before the 9:30 am street clean, instead of doing the desperate night crawl, then completely forgot when I woke up the next day, is just not something that should happen. It's been a few years since I got a ticket for this, which I guess means I'm doing something right, but as someone who's lived in NYC for going on 29 years, and had a car for about half that time, it’s still sad.

2. Ate a lot of cheese and ice cream, even though I'm lactose intolerant.

Because turning 50 sucks, and they are delicious. And because I’m lucky to have a spouse who is very understanding.

3. Forgot to bring my mouse to work at my editing job, then bought a mouse and returned it the same day.

Part one – being that forgetful – sounds like something I shouldn’t really be doing for another ten or 15 years. Part two sounds like something I should have stopped doing in my teens, around the time when I learned how dumb it was to try calling the high school office claiming to be my mother to get back my confiscated Walkman (they didn’t buy it for a second). 

For the record, I took very good care of the mouse. I didn’t even eat while working the way I usually do.

4. Walked into one of those huge maps encased in metal and glass on the subway platform while reading my phone. Again.

I first did this some time in 2018, hitting myself squarely in the forehead. This time, I looked up just as I was about to hit the thing, so I hit it with my hand instead. It still hurt. It still felt stupid. 

I can say for a fact that this isn’t just about phone addiction, because I was reading the New Yorker on my phone at the time, and as a kid, I used to try and read books while walking to and from school. So this is really more about love of reading, or perhaps the use of reading as a means of escape, which I absolutely still do. I feel like maybe that’s somehow less immature than walking into something stationary while checking my Instagram for likes or taking a selfie. (For the record, I never take selfies, unless they’re of me reflected in something interesting, where my reflection is just one element of an attempt at being artsy. So there’s that.)

Yesterday, my hand was hurting and I couldn’t remember why. This is the great thing about being old and immature at the same time.

5. Lost to my husband at ping pong and Asteroids, but I did beat him at foosball.

My degree of skill at playing games that require good reflexes is pretty much the same as always: completely random. I often start off doing surprisingly well, then my opponent gets better as playing goes on, because that’s what’s supposed to happen when you remember how to do something, while, if anything, I get worse, because I lose focus and get distracted. If anything, my attention span has gotten shorter as I’ve gotten older, like most of us, because of how technology encourages that. I can’t get through writing this piece without checking my email and text messages and oh look that’s a notification that it’s my turn in Carcassonne…None of this applies to strategy games, oddly enough, which I do seem to improve at over time. Maybe it’s because I don’t have to use my brain and my body at the same time.

You might think the bigger question is, Why were you playing ping pong, Asteroids and foosball on your birthday (because that’s when we played these games)? But at this point you might not, since it kind of fits in with the whole narrative I’m building here.

6. Drank too much.

When I was younger, drinking too much meant getting sick or getting a hangover (rarely, because I was one of those lucky people who had to drink a lot to get either hungover or throw up. I’ve only been sick from drinking or hungover maybe twice each in my life), or, more likely, making an idiot out of myself. That was pretty much the worst thing that happened to me in my younger drinking years, because while I liked being relieved of my inhibitions, of which I have many because I’m a control freak, I very much don’t enjoy the idea of people noticing that I am relieved of my inhibitions, because I’m a control freak. But I can’t even get to any of those points these days, because now, drinking too much means just getting to the point of my acid reflux acting up, which, sadly, or not, happens after far fewer drinks than any of that other stuff. It’s also cumulative: if I drink four days during the week, I can probably get away with feeling okay on the first or second day, but by the fourth day, the jig is definitely up. Of course, this being the week of my 50th birthday, I went out four nights and drank on all of them, and now I feel pretty crappy. Maybe this doesn’t really count for this list, though, since I’ve only had the acid reflux thing for about five years. My body keeps changing as I get older and I’m constantly having to learn new rules about how it’s going to react to stuff. So it’s not 50 years, but five also does seem long enough to have figured this shit out by now.

7. Spent way too much time applying for something I know I’m not going to get (and may not actually want).

When I was younger, I applied to big writing and screenwriting competitions, the kind that everyone applies to, like the Nicholl Fellowship. I never won anything. Then I started getting more scientific about it, and started at what specific contests looked for, and looking for smaller competitions, like at smaller literary magazines, or competitions only for women, or only for women over 40, and started applying for those. I made it to one quarterfinal, and got a couple of nice rejection letters, and I did get some of my essays published in online magazines. I didn’t stop writing (blogging in particular did give me a small amount of instant gratification so I wasn’t going to quit doing that), but when it came to sending my writing out, I felt like I had better ways to spend my time. One of them was making documentaries — but that, of course, meant applying for grants and festivals. I got a few, and, more importantly, got some finished films out of that process that I was proud of, whereas the screenplays never got made, and so that seemed like progress. Then in the past few years I started trying to change careers and applying for editing and teaching jobs. Out of countless applications over several years, I’ve gotten maybe six interviews, but I’ve learned to streamline the process and only do applications that aren’t crazy complicated — especially because it seems like all of the editing jobs want recent college grads who are willing to work stupid hours for $40K a year and don’t care if they have health insurance.

For some reason, recently, I started adding the screenwriting applications back in. I don’t really know why. Maybe I’m hoping the world is actually changing and that people are now going to be more interested in the stuff I write, which is mostly about women, and I do see more women with writing and directing jobs in TV. But you can’t streamline an application that has 42 questions and requires you to upload a completed screenplay and a video of yourself (those of you who are aspiring screenwriters probably know the application I’m talking about because you also spent an absurd amount of time on it). And the worst part is that I probably spent as much time trying to decide whether or not to apply as I did on the actual application. Because I’m just that good at wasting time. And if I did by some miracle get this thing, I’d have to stand up and pitch my project in front of a room full of people, which is basically my worst nightmare — especially now that I’ve experienced a preview of that in the 12 takes I did of the video, and seen every little thing wrong with my word choice, and that annoying thing I do with my chin, and oh my God why can’t I stop blinking?

8. Repeatedly replayed several conversations I’ve had in the past week in my head, thinking about the stupid things I said and what I should have said instead.

I will point out that I did not do this with every conversation I’ve had in the past week, so, again, progress! But since one of those conversations was a Facebook argument about something political, I’m breaking even on this one at best.

9. Decided to write a blog called “Ten Things I Did This Week That Prove I Have Learned Nothing in 50 Years,” and then only came up with eight.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time & How It Made Me Want To Run Away From Home

The Date: December 25th, 1998 The Place: The den, my house

Me, age 11. Hyped as crap.

Santa brought me and my siblings many gifts that year. Even an air hockey table, which was pretty sweet until we left it out in the rain one day, but that’s a story for another time.

Today we’re focusing on the gaming gifts I received that year. 

Pokemon Red Version. Harvest Moon GB, Legend of the River King GB and of course, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Each one of these games would go on to help shape the person I would eventually become over the next two years as well as who I would be going into an adult.

Harvest Moon and River King helped cement my love of nature, animals, gardening and fishing. All of which were things that I loved prior, but found an even more intense passion for them upon playing these games. My history with River King started and ended that Christmas, but my history with Harvest Moon started earlier in 1998, but that is yet again a story for another day.

I had always loved collecting things(as you may have noticed from some pictures I’ve uploaded) and so Pokemon was right up my alley. It’s been a constant mainstay with me ever since. Story at a later date.

The real focus of today’s entry is the big boy of 1998, which you can catch after the break.

Nintendo’s ‘The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’ for the Nintendo 64 was the big must-have holiday item that year. Okay well it was the must-have video game that year(Remember folks, the Pokemon fad was still in its infancy and didn’t really hit its stride until 1999). The actual must-have gift for your children in 1998 was Furby.

The build-up leading into the holiday season and the November 23rd release of Ocarina of Time was something else. There was an air about it that even someone as young as I could tell it was a big deal. There were advertisements hanging all over the electronics departments at Wal-Mart and Super K-Mart. The magazines were littered with reviews and other things relating to the game that I soaked up while my parents did all the shopping. It also helped pass the time while I hung out in the electronics department waiting for my go at the demo kiosk. Man did I ever love being able to just sit around and ready video games magazines while my parents spent an hour or more in the store.

I did get my first chance to play OoT peacefully at home the day before Thanksgiving 1998, when my parents somehow managed to snag a copy of it from Hollywood Video just a mere 3 days before turkey day. How they pulled that off I will never know, but I was grateful. I spent the rest of that night sitting on my bed in front of my old TV with those big old turn dials for channels and other things, all the while stuffing my face with lil’ smokies.

Fast forward a month and it’s Christmas day. I rush out into the den which was once a carport and is now my bedroom. Along with my three siblings, we drown the floor in discarded wrapping paper as we tear through our gifts. One by one those neatly wrapped presents turn into items we pined for through the year. I even got an unexpected gift: A pellet gun. Did not ask for it as I was not nor have I ever been a fan of guns, but it was a nice little piece. Kinda resembling a 9mm and it fired off little plastic pellets and - oddly enough - feathered darts. Not sure why that was but it was there. I still have the old thing sitting around here somewhere, though I painted the tip of it white because I didn’t want anyone confusing it for a real gun. And yes, I did hear the Christmas Story line several times, from several different family members.

Among the other gifts I received were the four games I had asked for: Pokemon, River King, Harvest Moon and Zelda. I may have worried at some point that I wouldn’t get Zelda, just because I was aware of how popular it was and how much trouble my parents were having finding a Furby, but sure enough they also managed to pull that off too. I was ecstatic, and as soon as everything calmed down and before the family started showing up, I bolted for my room and fired up my N64 along with my very own personal copy of Ocarina of Time. I was so excited that I had even bought some blank VHS tapes so that I could record my playthrough. I wish I still had those tapes.

Ocarina of Time wasn’t the only Zelda gift I received that year. Also waiting for me under the tree from Santa were two figures of Link and Ganon. I’ve really no idea who manufactured them, but they were solid looking figures. Sadly I ended up losing both over the next year due to how much I played with them. I even tossed one into the algae-ridden pool of ours, then laughed as it froze over.

Going into January 1999, I was approaching the end of the game. I was making my way through the Spirit Temple. I didn’t care for having to jump between time periods in order to progress. Even now I don’t like it, but it is what it is.  Now it was at this point that I was in a full blown Zelda state of mind. I was drawing comics, roleplaying around my yard. It was great. I had been a Zelda fan since the early 90s, having owned and played through both Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening. But it didn’t really hit me until with this game, I guess because I had this huge expansive world to explore. The day and night system was something new, I could swim, fish, play minigames. 

That’s when things started to turn. And just to reiterate, I was but 11 years old at the time.

I began entertaining the idea of gathering together a collection items that would closely mimic Link’s. I drew a list on a piece of paper using pencils and crayons. I knew darn well I wasn’t going to get any bombs, but water balloons would be a nice safe alternative. I had green, blue and red shirts wrote down to act as the various tunics. Alas, it did not end there.  I wanted to go off on a big adventure of my own, meet interesting people, traverse dangerous locations and fight... well whatever would fight me and my wooden sword. I would adventure a little farther away from home each time I went out to play as practice. My mind was full of thoughts of amazing adventures, visits to farms and epic battles. Thinking back now it’s pretty funny that I ever seriously thought about it, but that sort of thing is part of what being a kid was all about: The adventure and your imagination running wild. 

1998 will forever remain one of the most memorable years for me. It was the start of a lot of great things and interests that are still part of me today, and as I wrap up my 100% run of Ocarina of Time 3D on my Nintendo 3DS, I can’t help but think back to that year and all the exciting developments that happened in it. I smile every time.

I love nostalgia.

Eventful days

On thursday I decided to go to the university to get some papers signed that are needed for my erasmus scholarship. As I entered the building I saw some people, who I know from previous week, going around in the building. I was told that classes only start on the 23rd of september so I didn’t think about it much. After I met another dude with whom I supposed to have classes together I stopped him and asked like supp, and he told me yeah he’s having a class, he’s just going out to smoke. And I was like. Is there a break now or what? He’s liek naah I just needed to smoke. Cool. Umm okay. Which class, where, etc. He told me, and of course it was one of my courses already happening. I found the classroom and managed to enter without the teacher noticing. (Not that he cares much, saw some people the next day doing the same thing and the teacher was giving zero ****s.) So. Course called “Theory of democracy, gender and interculturalism” was already happening but I didn’t miss much, he was just asking people where are they from and what do they study, why did they take this course. Teacher speaks good english, he laughs whenever he finishes a sentence, but his accent is a bit hard to understand so I’m gonna have to pay attention. After class I asked the dude who went to smoke (he’s albanian by the way) what is up with classes I thought they only start in 2 weeks, and he said that’s case only for the first year students, apparently my classes are not in the 1st year. Not that I mind starting earlier than planned, easier to manage my time like this. I also had another class in the evening from 6 to 8 pm...(what is this timing?! I wanna be at home by 8 not sitting in class. Gonna survive it somehow, I’m just whining). This class is called “The political systems of the Magreb”. Sounds interesting, it is gonna be taught by two professors halving the semester. The first professor is a lady around 50 or so, she speaks very slowly and even though the topic is cool, she manages to talk about it in a boring way. Don’t wanna judge the whole thing yet, there’s gonna be groupwork, analyzing the news, so it might turn out good.

Since I had this random start with courses on thursday I figured I’m also gonna have classes on friday, there was one in the morning (theory of dem.) 9-11 am, and the Magreb class in the evening again. I got some new information about the ‘theory’ course that there are gonna be two exam dates, jan 24 and febr 10. I wanted to be home by jan 10 or something like that so I could take my exams at home...Guess it’s not happening...We’ll have to figure something out, teacher said dates are not negotiatable he’s not responsible for them.. 

For some reason here in spain they have the same course twice a week 1,5-2 hours each time, not like in Hungary once a week. Weird, so 3 courses a week means 6 times that I have to go to uni which is more than I expected. I also wanted to learn spanish at the university and somebody told me that even if I’m a total beginner I have to take a test and then I can apply for a beginners course for free. Test was on friday, found the place, there were already like a 100 people there. The first problem was that they explained everything in spanish which is obviously problematic for me. (random fun fact a french guy next to me asked if I am german?...totally. Ja natürlich).Thank God after they were done with that they asked if there are any beginners should they explain stuff in english. It was already pretty embarassing cause only like 6 people out of the 100 (or more) raised their hands. The test was supposed to take 60 min to write (comprehension) and then a 40 min long grammar part. Of course I was done with both in about 20 min. I’m not proud of it and I could have just told them that I am a total beginner I can’t even say hello/goodbye in spanish so...Cause first I had to do the comprehension part and then they handed out the grammar part. As I gave the 1st part to the teacher I asked her if it’s necessary to do the second part since I don’t know anything and she was like yes yes, she even asked If I know how ABCD choice thing works. So I spent another 10 min reading the test, out of 60 questions I answered 3. Yey. I don’t see the point of it, since I’m not gonna lie about my knowledge just so I could get into a group where people already know things. Whatever. I handed in my 100/100 test and when I got out of the classroom I saw a teacher explaining things to people who also already finished so I moved closer maybe I can get some valuable information. A girl asked if we now that we are done with this test can start taking beginner courses and are they gonna be free. The teacher kindly explained that the results will be online in a few weeks but courses are not free but we get a discount. Cool. Course costs about as much as my monthly scholarship so I’m not sure about it, haven’t decided yet. 

Evening class was the ‘Magreb’ thing again, the teacher tried to make it interactive but she could barely understand If somebody said anything in english so it made things kinda problematic. Also, when she finishes with her part of the course on nov 7-8 there’s gonna be a presentation which I also can’t attend since I’m gonna be travelling in that time. Fortunately she’s fine with it. Already met a spanish guy on thursday named Oscar who’s also taking this course (he’s local), and I asked him if we could form a group together and he was all about it. Also he plays the guitar. He has two guitars. He said we could jam sometimes. How freakin cool is that?! 

I met Oliver in the evening and we went for a short walk in the jewish district with him and his flatmate named...(sorry, I don’t remember, german girl from somewhere around Dortmund). We saw the Alhambra with all nice lights in the dark (forgot to take any pics so gonna have to go back there), and finally had tapas after! Also listened to some spanish guitar music! Was a good evening!

On saturday I wanted to visit a bike track not far from Granada so I made some sandwiches and hit the road. Trail was about an hour of riding from my flat, but on the last 15 min there were some steep uphill parts. But for this track it was definitely worth it! Long as hell not like trails at home, it was at least 5-6 min long, steep rocky parts with roots, small jumps, big jumps, built corners, step ups, etc. All that’s fun! All of that’s meandering around a torres (a stream that only has water in it after huge rains and storms, otherwise it’s totally dry). Had a good time. I was about to go home when I met some spanish riders, and even though non of us spoke the other language we managed to understand each other somehow. They were kind enough to offer me to take me in their van to the top of the hill (will upload pics later) and even had the chance to ride with them! Sadly I was a bit tired so I had a crash (which rarely happens) but these guys helped me to get up, put me back together and everything, I’m grateful for them, thanks again! I felt a bit dizzy after it, I thought I had a puncture but since they did not hear anything it turned out only my ears were ringing for a few minutes. Other than that I only had a few bruises and wounds, nothing exceptionally serious. As I woke up today they were already looking better and I don’t feel any problems, gonna chill for the day watch some bike races. Better to be safe than sorry.

That’s all folks!

I came from your YouTube channel but it hasn't had anything uploaded in a year, is the channel dead? I saw you were working on an extremely smooth looking and awesome animation that REALY hyped me up!

Aw, geez… I’ve always kinda dreaded the day that I’d have to answer for this… Which is why it took me this long to even respond to this in the first place…

I can definitely say that I certainly didn’t INTEND to leave that animation and my channel in such a state, but at the same time, there are several reasons as to why that is and why it may end up staying that way. This is a long one, so you’ll want to keep reading.

So if you don’t already know, this animation is based on a Miiverse comic drawn by my friend @ddbofthestars. If you’ve played Splatoon 2, then you might know him as Trevor, the one who’s been drawing all of that Callie art and who started the #BringCallieBack movement. He drew that comic as a way to cope with Callie’s loss in the final Splatfest of Splatoon 1. I loved this comic so much that, crazy person that I am, I tried to animate it in SFM. The whole thing. For the next few months, I would post progress updates on the animation on a rather irregular schedule. However, after my last update, there had been no progress made on it since. This is for a number of reasons.

1. Somehow, shortly after my last update, during the break that I had planned on taking before working on it more, my motivation to animate more practically left me and never came back. I was still in grad school at the time, so I suspect that it took it away from me and never gave it back.

2. Many months later (AKA this September, just after getting my power back from Hurricane Irma), I finally went “Fuck it! Let’s do some goddamn work on that animation for once in my life!” But sadly, due to reasons that I can only assume, all of my sessions related to the animation would crash SFM just before they finished loading. That, and I realized that somewhere along the line, I accidentally deleted a whole bunch of models that I was using in the animation, most notably the model for the Great Zapfish. (If anyone still has that model, hit me up!)

3. I’d like to think this is the least threatening issue due to Trevor most likely having a backup of it, but like I mentioned before, this comic was posted onto Miiverse, and now Miiverse is gone. I still kinda remember how the rest of the comic from where I stopped animating goes, but it makes sense that I’d like to have the actual comic in front of me.

So yeah, those are my awful excuses. This has been eating away at me for the longest time. All I can do is offer my sincere apologies to everyone who had been waiting for this animation to be done, but my deepest apologies go to Trevor, to whom I had promised something great but have yet to deliver.

BUT! I can at least say that there is hope! And I actually have YOU to thank for it, Anon, for motivating me to get off my ass and fix this issue! Thanks to some advanced SFM wizardry the likes of which I had never done (or have had to do) until now, I have successfully managed to restore my session to a usable state! Of course, I’m still missing the Great Zapfish, but the rest of the missing models were just gear, which I’ve had the means to replace for quite some time now! Regardless, I CAN continue this! Though with a whole bunch of other things to do, both in and out of SFM, as well as me needing to get out of my current animating block, I still have no idea if/when I’d be able to get back to work on it…