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braindead94 · 10 months

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Class Dismiss

The second part of Power Bottom fic I made, and yes, there is a part two to this chapter. TW for this fic: kidnapping, fear, mention of blood, gun (but no one shooting) Monis DNI!!!

After that awkward, embarrassing day, you did your best to move on. It was bad enough to land on top of one of Doc Ock, who is one of the evilest geniuses in the world, in the most scandalous way possible, but for that same villain to demand a kiss? And the fact that you DID kiss him?

There is just so much wrong with that.

Not even going to acknowledge the fact that he was a good kisser.

You apply the old saying “Keep calm and carry on” into your week and move on with… modernly success. Continue to patrol your oh-so ever grateful city of yours, stopping shoplifters and purse snatchers, walking old people across the road, punching Nazis-sorry, Hydra in the face, yeah, it seems safe to say that everything was still back to normal. If you don’t count the weird dreams of him in a very red lighting that may or may not have resulted in you waking up in ruin sheets. Damn the landlord for charging the washing machine each use.

Your social life was still on the drawing board. You used to look up Jessie's IG page, but after Docs kiss, you felt dirty to even glance at your crush. What was special meant for him was tarnished by that mad man.

Hopefully Octavius would just have a laugh at this and never talk about it ever again. Well, at least you prayed he would. Maybe Dr.Doom created a memory-wiping ray and shot him as a test subject. Or Thanos would have a sudden change of heart and make all villains disappear. Fuck that sounded way to drastic….

~~~~OOOO~~~~

Daily Bulgal needed some photos of a special guest at Cornell University along with some interviews. Robert was friends with the speaker, Professor Miles Warren. Back when they fought in the Vietnam war with Dr.Conners.

He still feels mournful of how the one-armed scientist ended up becoming The Lizard, all because he wanted to help the world. You couldn’t help but sink your feelings in guilt when he talks about him as you fiddle with your lanyard with your guest pass and DB badge on it, thinking back how you could have done more if you were a scientist like him, or at least stopped him from drinking that vial. Or something.

Somehow, you felt both helpful and useless at the same time when it comes to aiding the bad guys.

“Hey Y/n, earth to Y/n. Do you read me?” You snapped out of your daze and stopped walking before your face hit a pole. “Oh shit, thanks Mr.Robertson.” He patted you on the shoulder before pushing you closer to him and away from the crowding students and teachers walking to the lecture hall.

“Are you doing okay? You seemed to be out of it lately. Was it related to that cut on your cheek?” Immediately, you touched the bandaged cheek on the side of your face as soon as he mentioned it. “Oh nah, just letting my mind wander. Ya know, just… thinking.”

Thinking about how you could have trapped the Vulture better and faster without being cut up by his wings the night prior to today. Again. Also having to sew up your suit.

Again.

The black reporter smiled coyly and elbowed you gently. “Ah, its it a boy you got your eye on? Or maybe a girl if that’s what you're into-” “No! Oh no, I don’t have time for dating.” You assure him, ignoring how your cheeks warmed at the thought of your crush. ‘God, I wish I had time to date Jessie. Or anyone for that matter.’

“No, it’s just… I feel like I’m…” you tried off, trying to kickstart your brain to think up something for him until he rubbed your back. “No need to say anything if it makes you feel uncomfortable. I’m sorry for making you feel pressured. Tell you what, after this speech, and hopefully before Jamason summons us back to the office, let’s hit up some burgers and shakes. My treat.”

You beamed at him with your teeth showing (and hurting your cut cheek) just as your belly grumbled in a hurry. He laughed as you muttered that you didn’t eat breakfast. “Was it because you were trying to dress up like a schoolgirl?” He asked as he opened the door up for you and to other students.

Blinking your eyes, you looked over at your outfit again (for the 5th time that day) and reevaluated your look. “Is this too much?” You asked.

In honesty, you saw how fancy and strict the university was, so you put on a long, plaid skirt that flows past your knees. A cream-colored button up shirt was pressed and primed under a baggy, red sweater vest. It probably didn’t help that you’ve kept your old glasses that you swap the lenses with fake ones to keep up with appearances that only made you look more like a nerd.

“I just thought that since we are visiting a very prestigious college, I should look the part. Ya know, to blend in… it’s too much, isn't it.” He just shook his head no and gave you a soft smile. “No, you look very nice-” “Aya cutie! Wanna hook up with the smartest man on campus?” Called out a tall guy from behind you.

Robby immediately turned around and snapped back “If you could find him, please let him know she's not interested.” There was a series of ‘OHHHHHH's' followed by a ‘got ‘em’. You blushed and tried to raise your shoulders up to your neck like a turtle. “The nerves of some kids I swear…” Muttered the reporter as you finally made your way to the auditorium.

The moment you step into the HUGE room, a certain smell of junk food fills up your senses and your mind teleports back to the time at Oscorp.

6 years ago

High school was if anything, ‘fun’. Too many things that got dumped on teens, who are still going through puberty and a lot of mental gymnastics, were expected to do. Like “What do you see yourself in 5 years?” or “You need to pay attention because college will grade you on this”. There were also social shit that would either split everyone apart with status quo and political, and how screwed up the environment was-

You, at 17 years old, just wanted to be done with it already.

Shrugging the heavy duffle bag with many expensive camera equipment inside, you trotted after Jessie and the rest of the news club. To be honest, you joined because your crush was in it, but you found yourself actually enjoying it, so much so that you started a hobby of photography and stayed in the club for all three years of high school.

The ringleader of the club somehow got an interview with Norman Osborn in his building, Oscorp. How? Probable through Harry. Jessie was the interviewer, all styled up and ready to get his picture taken at any point. It was at this point that his growth really aided him a lot, thus making him populer.

And you kinda admit, he makes a potato bag look good on him.

Mesha directed everyone to not touch ANYTHING (while glaring at the troublemakers who stagger along in the club for an easy pass) and to not bother any scientists when they enter a few labs.

You nodded along, glancing at the tall redhead through your smudge up glasses. He caught you staring at him, and you looked away fast while trying not to blush hard. ‘Please don't’ notice me, please don’t notice me-’ “Hey Y/n.” His voice came next to you.

‘Crap’ You think as you try to look him in the eyes. “Hi! How's it going?” “I’m good. I see you brought your… ummm…. Equipment?” He asked, sounding like he was lost for words. You were about to reply when Mesha swooped in and snagged him away for preparations for the interview.

You sighed, both relieved and peeved as you got ready but you failed to notice how he looked back at you.

Norman Osborn actually graced your club with his presents, smiling and chatting up a storm with almost everyone. He shook everyone's hand, including yours (and saved your camera when it nearly fell out of your hands) and had everyone follow him. You stayed near Jessie as he asked questions that the school wrote down for him. You snapped a few shots at them and the labs you were allowed to see.

The scientists in the labs were nice enough to explain a few experiments, both technology and chemistry and write them down so that you could relay the info for the editors later. Norman would ask you if he was in the right spot for a pic, and would give you a smile on his face, even off camera as he chatted with you. Even when he is older than you, he looks very charming with his wide smile.

But your eyes still were drawn to Jessie.

Around lunch time, you were all brought to a conference room where a table full of pizzas, burgers and sushi. And not just cheap kinds, but real pricy junk food. Everyone dug in with gusto and soon the room was filled with the sounds of talks, glasses filled with sugar bevergise, and some music popular around that time. All the young people were all smiles, giddy and free. Just forgetting about their upcoming life struggles and letting themselves go with carefree glee. You smiled and joked with your old friends until you saw how low your camera batteries were.

Looking around, you saw no spaces on any of the tables, nor any chairs available. So you excuse yourself out of the room for more space (and quiet) and look through the pictures if any of them need to be rebooted. The hallway had many doors and each of them had many different rooms, also which were occupied. Except for one empty lab.

You stepped in and took a quick look around. It looked like an inventor room with many dismembered parts of robotic stuff along with four panels that jetted up from the floor. You glazed at it, putting it off as something that should not concern you and set up a charging space on the desk farthest away from all these important and *expensive* stuff and close to the door as well.

You just plugged in your camera when you spotted something hanging on the wall. Four long, metallic, tentacles looking things hung on the smooth wall with claws at the end. Your head tilted when you looked at it, pushing your glasses up on your nose again.

“I would say ‘Why don’t you take a picture, it will last longer’, but then we would have to kill you.”

You yelped as you spun around to the sudden deep voice from behind you. As you saw the tall man in a white lab coat, you tripped on nothing and fell on your ass. “Oh Go-are you alright? I’m so terribly sorry, that was a poor joke. I meant nothing by that.” Said the scientist as he knelt down to help you up. “I’m fine, I’m sorry for being in here, but I needed space to charge my stuff.” You grunted, pointed to your camera.

“Ah, you are the photographer of that school newsie club, aren't you?” He asked. You nodded as you finally took a good look at him. Two beautiful brown eyes peered down into yours as his handsome face sported a smile. You found yourself losing your words, almost how you would act around your own crush. “Ye-yeah-yes sir! I’m the photo gal-man-er.. I-” You stuttered, your cheeks dusting red the more you looked at him.

You shoved your hand out as you tried to regain your composure. “I’m Y/n! I go to high school!” Your eyes widen at how high your voice pitched when you said school. The tall heavyset man just chuckled as he took your hands into his. Oh wow, his hands are freaking HUGE!’ “Well, I’m Dr.Octavous. I go to work here.”

God you wanted to lay on the ground and let it swallow you up.

“Ye-yeah, I gather that… I’m sorry if this is your lab. I just need-” Dr.Octavius cut you off with a wave of his hand. “No, no, It’s alright. I understand the importance of your job. Please use the space as long as you need it. Just please don’t take any pictures without my permission.” You nodded eagerly, smiling at him as you shoved your hands into your pockets.

The doctor continued to chat with you, his deep voice lulling your bundle of nerves to unwind until they were loose to let yourself emersed with him. You found yourself at ease with his good nature, enraptured with his whole presents. He asked about you and your future, to which you were embarrassed to share that you didn’t know what you wanted to do. He patted you on the shoulder as his friendly face looked into yours. “It’s okay not to not have an answer at all. Not everything is set in stone. Whatever you set your mind to; you can achieve anything.”

Something that has said before but sounds nicer when he says it. The door clicked open, and you both turned to see Dr.Osborn strolling in. “Ah, I see you’ve met Otto.” He said in his pleasant, gravel voice.

Dr.Octavius, or Otto, smile faltered a bit when the CEO strolled in with a swagger in his steps. “Hello Norman. How is the club fairing the tour?” He asked. “Oh the kids are having a grand old time! Jessie, the young man back there who's acting as the interviewer, vaguely reminds me of a very young Tyrone Power. But with red hair!” He gushed before remembering you were there.

“Pardon me, you probably don’t know who that is-” “He was Diego is the Mark of Zorro, in 1940.” You stated, feeling a bit of pride swelling inside you when both men looked surprised before Norman recovered and smiled at you. “Fan of black ‘n’ white movies, are you?” “Yup.” You somewhat lied; you only watched them when your grandmother babysat you when you were little. Also helped that you mostly lived with your older folks that are still obsessed with old films.

“Isn’t she something? She let me look at her pictures so far on this tour and they all look simply marvelous.” “Indeed, though I have to ponder, Norman, are you charging her for all the photographs she's taken?” The tall man asked as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders. Your cheeks bloomed in red, missing how the shorter man looked back at him in disappointment.

“Lets not do this Otto, you know this can’t be helped-” “Even after all the things we’ve done? You still have the need to charge me for rent like some money-grubbing landlord-” “Otto.” Norman whispered as his blue eyes darted to you. You took the hint and tried to break away from what seemed to be something that needed to be said in private. “Its okay, I’m going back to my clu-”

“No no,” Ottos arm tighten around your shoulders a bit, causing you to stumble back into his grasp and make your glasses crooked on your face. “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. If you'd like, I would love to give an interview for your school newspaper if they are interested.” You slowly nodded yes. “Sure, just let me text Mesha if she would be interested in the scientific section. If that is okay with you Mr.Osborn.”

“Please, call me Norman, and I’m fine with it if Otto is.” Both men smiled (though you couldn’t tell if it was forced or genuine, you didn’t dwell too much on it) as you texted the club president.

She was more than excited; she was ecstatic as she rounded up the troops after they finished eating and got back to work. The next 15 minutes were all about Dr.Otto Octavius and his robotics discovery with a newly built AI that could help construction workers with limb enhancers as well as nuclear theory that could replace most of the power the city runs on. You took as many photos as you could, still blushing at both Jessie, who still gave out the interview, and Otto whenever they glanced at you.

Norman stood by the sidelines and let the students ask more questions until he pressed on that time was now limited with the tour. You all said your good-byes to the tall, handsome scientist. He shook everyone's hands, including yours. As he grasped your hand, he gave you a wink for good luck for the future and it took all of your willpower NOT to trip over your feet as you tried to catch up with Jessie with Norman.

He guides you all like Willy Wonka in his factory. “Now, I think you all would be fascinated with our latest experiments on spiders. I hope none of you have any Arachnophobia.”

You blinked as your mind reverted back to the present. A feeling of revelation dawned on you as you looked about the huge auditorium and at all the students. ‘Shit… it’s been a while since I’ve thought about that day.’ You followed Robby down to the bottom steps and up to the stage where he led you to front seats. All while you continued your thinking process that you didn’t notice Robby talking to an attendant about seeing Miles first before the presentation.

‘I’ve been doing this for 6 whole years. Fuck, holy fuck this is what I’ve been doing for 5 years after graduation! HA! Here's to your stupid question “What will you be doing in 5 years”, Mr.Phil. That asshole.’ You smiled to yourself as you looked up from the stage while sitting down, just realizing that you won't have a better shot from there.

You told your coworker as such and he nodded, sharing the same idea of you hopping on stage before Dr.Warren shows up and picks a better location. He talked to the same attendant again and pointed at your Daily Bugle badges on your lanyards along with your guest passes and they nodded with permission for you to shoot Miles with your camera.

‘I wonder what my classmates are doing. Probably raising a family.’ You walked up the steps to the stage. ‘Maybe going or finishing up college. Hell, maybe they have already found their dream jobs.’ You walked around the wooden worn floor that has been played on over the years. You found a perfect stop, smiling a bit again as you gently took off your bag and searched through it for your good camera, only to quickly shuffle aside your Spider-Girl suit in fear someone was behind you.

You thought about how much you've done as Spider-Girl, meeting the Avengers and the Fantastic four was a blast (flirting with Johnny was super funny and left you blushing under your mask. Really made your heart skip a beat thinking if Jessie didn’t go out with you…). You put big names behind bars, you fought against Kingpin and lived to tell the tale. Hell, you’ve even gone to space!

Just for a day, but still! You were fighting space Nasi-again sorry, Hydra!

Even Green Goblin is in jail….

You froze, your skin grew cold just thinking of Norman before you violently shook yourself out of it mentally and resumed your setting up. All these years, you’ve done so much as Spider-Girl. A hero for all.

But what have you, your real you, have done these past few years? Your feelings of pride and accomplishments vanished. You’ve done great things as Spider-Girl, but as Y/n…

You've been working as a photographer for 6 years on the same payroll, sleeping in the same apartment that was still shitty with it’s own shitty landlord who wouldn’t lift a finger to fix something unless it really affected his livelihood (AKA threatening to call the inspector of apartment living). You never dated outside of High school, and that was before you became Spider-Girl. You’ve only had a few friends that somehow put up with your constant delays/no show/call offs.

In fact, you just realized that you were the one calling them first. They never text you for anything unless you did it first. So that means no friends. The only one in your real life who is constant is your Uncle Lenny, AKA, your only living family relative.

Shame colored your face as you finally got everything ready. ‘Damnit… am I that much of a loser outside of my hero work? I’ve been so busy, I never once thought about my own stuff. No wonder Uncle Lenny is always trying to get me to do new things.’

You put the camera's lanyard around your neck and turn it on, just in time when the lights started to dim in the back and the stage lights were turned on. Squatting down, you raised the camera to where Dr.Warren would walk out and got ready to click away.

‘Maybe after this, I’ll take Lenny out for dinner at that old diner. It’s been a while since we’ve been there and he deserves to be spoiled a bit after all he’s done for me.’ You smiled at the thought just as the Dean of the college walked on stage and started to take pictures.

The Dean gave a quick welcome talk and shared some new rules regarding colored shoes that distracted other students from studying and thus banned them in favor of brown/white/or gray shoes (boo) before he welcomed the guest of honor.

The old man with a wide mustache walked in with a limp in his foot and shook hands with the Dean and waved to the audience. There were a few flashes of cameras in the crowd and polite cheers from the younger people. He gave thanks for letting him give a talk and started on his speech.

It was an incredible story about his life after Vietnam. After he was injured, he put himself through college to study medicine and worked alongside many great minds, even got to meet Dr.Reeds before he became Mr.Fantastic (which you and others agree when Miles said he should really be called Dr.Fantastic). After graduating, he worked with other scientists and other bright minds to help the world by solving cancer cells or working on other ailments. He talked about the night where he figured out a possible cloning of blood that could be better tested on instead of animals.

You were snapping away on your good camera, gently biting your bottom lip as you focused on him. He was good, great even and you saw why Robby held him in high regard with his stories and how he presented himself. His voice was kind and warm, reminding you of a grandfatherly figure. The mid-age man was slowly wrapping up his speech by adding something inspiring for the students, smiling in good faith at them. He ended it on a high note and everyone clapped at the end of his talk.

The Dean showed up to calm everyone down and then had an attendant bring up a microphone to the front of the stand for questions. Soon, many students and reporters filed up behind the small metal stick with the microphone in it.

You had a hidden smile swapping your positions for a better position to snap pictures of the questionnaires when suddenly your spider-sense started to tingle.

“So, is that what you are really using the cloning technique or is that just your cover up?” Called out an all too familiar voice from the crowd.

Like flags changing directions in the wind, heads turned to look at the person who spoke up. A very tall man stood from the back of the auditorium in a heavy trench coat with a fedora over his head. Your stomach squeezed in fear along with your spider-sense started to buzz more. You know that coat, you’ve seen it before. You know the wearer of that damn coat. Your eyes trained on him as you put your camera away without looking.

The tall man slowly walked from the back and up to the back of the line. Miles eyes the man with a confused smile. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” He asked in a strain in his voice. “I’ve read about your ‘humanitarian’ work with cloning cells, Dr.Miles. And I must admit, it’s a very complicated and very difficult task to replicate human DNA, very brilliant and yet you squander it over a few decaying cells when it has better uses.”

Said the stranger as he strolled down the stairs. The people in line stepped aside from him, wary looks dawned on their faces, some whispers going about and you heard a faint word of a shooter. You glanced down at Robby and saw him furiously texting on his phone in a hidden way. Probably to get JJJ or calling the police.

You slowly inch back, trying to be stealthy as to get off the stage and change into your power suit. Yet, you failed to notice how Dr.Warren's eyes shifted the second the man talked about his work. Something dark and pissed off. “What do you have against my work? What other uses would I do with this scientific knowledge? Stop it and continue to test on innocent animals, or on humans?” The old man demanded.

The stranger stopped at the microphone and finally revealed his face to him with dark sunglasses staring back into the men on the stage. Doc Ock only gave him a crooked smile, his black sunglasses glinted in the light as he replied “Oh, I have a few ideas in mind.”

Docs metal arms shootout and slam their claws on the ground to lift him up. Everyone screamed and immediately started to run all together. His body raised higher in the air while one arm gently took off his hat. The trench coat opened up more and all four of them came to life, revealing him to wear a black turtleneck sweater (thank God, his chest was super distracting).

You shot up to run back, but your dumb old shoes squeaked over the wooden floor and you tripped over your feet. Then you cursed yourself for almost forgetting your backpack and you crawled over to it. ‘FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!!! Need to fucking move! Need to hide and change before he-’

Miles let out a yell, causing you to turn around. An actuator pushed him to the ground as Doc Ock hovered up to the stage with ease, his face still boring that same smug smile as his fingers pressed themselves in a half-prey position. The Dean, stumbling away from him, had managed to stop. You saw his shoulders square up as he clenched his fist and yelled out “Now see here, you asshole! This is a private university an-”

Like swatting an annoying fly, another actuator swung itself at him and the lanky man flew into the air and straight into you. Without thinking, you dropped your heavy backpack and stood up to catch him.

“GAH!” You let out, feeling the wind knock out of you as the thin man collated against you. His elbow collided with your cheek, making your healing cut sting under the bandages. Both of you tumbled back onto the ground and moaned in pain. “Owwwwww….. Man, for a skinny dude, you’re kinda heavy.” You whispered. “I am trying to fix that, thank you very much.” He grunted back as he stumbled to get back up.

Brushing down your flipped skirt down (you were giving your foresight a high five for putting on boxer shorts just in case this happened) and got up to follow him until your spider-sense kicked in just when a silvery coil snapped out around your waist.

“Now where do you think you’re going, young lady?” Said the mad scientist with a tease in his baritone voice. With a hard pull, you found yourself pulled away from your escape and away from your fallen backpack and brought up to Doc Ock. Your skin turns pale upon being this close to him again, now not as Spider-Girl, but as Y/n. A civilian with no powers to everyone. A regular nobody in front of a killer doctor with metal arms fused to his back. Meeting him not as Dr.Otto Octavius, but as Doc Ock.

His handsome smile turned from crooked to what used to be a friendly one as he reached out to grasp one of your trembling hands that clutched over the actuator around your waist (What a strange familiar feeling) gently squeezed it in greeting. “I apologize, I didn’t have a chance to share my name. I’m Dr.Octavous, though, you might know me better as Doc Ock. And whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?” ‘Wait, he doesn't remember me? Thank God, but I still have to deal with this, but how?!’

You didn’t say anything, you couldn’t say anything as your mind was still wrapping it’s head around this situation. One of the actuators reached around you and lifted your lanyard plastic badges and held it up to him. You had to lean your torso closer to him when he took it with his other gloved hand and looked closer. You couldn’t see his eyes, but you could feel him looking over you like an apex predator analyzing its prey.

“Y/n L/n, lovely to meet you.” Fuck, how your blood ran cold when your full name left his plump lips was no joke. Your spider-sense was screaming danger and your body was shaking. The older man still being pinned down started to yell at him. “Leave her alone Otto! Whatever this is, this is between you and me!”

The tall man sighed, his head moving along what you think was rolling his eyes and turned his attention to Warren. “Whatever we had can be waited for a while.” He said as one arm opened its claw and a tiny nozzle spouted out. A squirt of green gas came out of it and hovered over Miles face. You could only stare helplessly and in fear for him, only to feel slightly relieved when you saw it was only a sleeping gas. The urge to pry the stupid metal actuator around your waist and deck Otto across his stupid handsome face was great, but you couldn’t do that as Y/n.

Fuck this isn’t good.

He turned his attention towards you again with his smile returning to his face. “Sorry about that-”

“FREEZE!” Shouted black clothed men at the doors. He sighed and looked at them. You saw it was campus security, slightly chubby and a bit old for normal police work but on high alert with widened eyes and still hands. “Let the girl and the man go, then back away from them and put your hands behind your head. All of them!” One order. The rest were slowly spreading out into the room with all their guns trained on him.

Octavius just raised a thick eyebrow before raising his flesh arm and drew back his sleeve to reveal his watch. One actuator peeked over his shoulder, and he chuckled, nodding to a hidden conversation with it. “Only 3 minutes late. We can still make it work, don’t worry, sweetie.”

With a shove, you found yourself suddenly in front of the tall scientist only to have his actual arms around you and pulled you back to chest. One of the actuators joined the other to pick up Warren and lifted him up in front of you two as another arm drew near your face. Only to draw it’s dagger at your exposed neck.

‘Oh fuck no…’

“Goddamn it, put your guns down now!” Shouted one of the guards to the others. They all followed as commanded, but never looked away from you. You saw them just how you felt: powerless to do anything. Otto merely laughed before he called out “I’ll be taking my leave with present company. Don’t follow me if you wish to have them remain intact.” He backed away from the front of the stage and close to the back wall where the 4th actuator punched a hole like punching through paper.

‘This is not happening…’

The arms maneuvered to only hold Miles with one arm as the rest prepared to do something. You felt Ottos arms tighten around your body and his face lowered to your ear. “I hope you’re not afraid of heights, my dear.”

‘This has to be a nightmare…’

But all you could, with fear and helplessness, as yourself was be carried away by Doc Ock and look on as the ground begins to recede away from you.

And away from your backpack with your spider suit still inside.

#doctor octavius #otto octavius #doc ock #fanfic #Doc Ock x Reader #minors dni #Spider-Girl!Reader

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demi-shoggoth · 11 months

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2023 Reading Log, pt 6

I have read a lot less this year than in the last couple of years. I'm not going to beat my previous record of 129 books, that's for sure. But I feel like I've hit a decent stride of quality over quantity with this batch (also, one of them is over 600 pages long)

26. The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters, edited by Jeffery Andrew Weinstock. For anyone who is remotely interested in either monsters or literature, this book is a must-read. Yes, I know it’s an A-Z encyclopedia format and is more than 600 pages long. You can skip around, or read it in chunks. This book is the perfect tool for thinking with monsters, and is an excellent reference tool for using monsters intelligently in a project, or just as a collection of “oh, I should check that out”. It’s not perfect. All kaiju are lumped together under “Godzilla”, which barely gets two pages. Pokemon gets a single, very dismissive, paragraph. On the other hand, the entry for Harry Potter is ridiculously long and very fannish, and the “HP Lovecraft, Monsters in” article ignores Lovecraft’s racism entirely (because it’s written by ST Joshi, who else?). My biggest complaint is the lack of a general Mad Scientist entry—mad scientists are the monster of the 20th century, and both psychopaths and witches get generic entries as well as specific examples. My two biggest highlights are “Women, Monstrous”, which is a college level course in institutional misogyny and how it has been celebrated by some authors and subverted by others; and "Nick of the Woods", which is possibly the most influential American novel that has been almost entirely forgotten in the modern era. You can draw a direct line from Nick of the Woods to everything from Marvel movies to Wounded Knee.

27. Tasting History by Max Miller, with Ann Volkwein. “Tasting History with Max Miller” is one of my favorite YouTube series, and the book of the show doesn’t disappoint. It’s beautiful, with color photos of the food and images of historical characters and events. Most of the recipes come from existing episodes, and so the stories therein are familiar, but not told identically, and there are some that have new lore to go with old recipes. Or lore covered in the show, but a different recipe because the one that was made for the video wasn’t very good. Also, my copy is signed! Max Miller came to a local book fair, so I got to hear a book talk and then get my copy signed afterwards. And that was… two months ago? My reading really has slowed down!

28. Birds: Myth, Lore and Legend by Rachel Warren Chadd and Marianne Taylor. This book collects legendry about birds from around the world, and compares the stories that different cultures tell about the same animal with the animal’s actual ecology and behavior. A fair amount of the stories were new to me, which I was expecting, but I wasn’t expecting the science to be as well! For example, the book talks about a paper that suggests that lyrebird foraging is important for reducing wildfires, as they help to break up mats of eucalyptus leaves and encourage decomposition. Also, as can probably be expected in a book about birds, there’s a lot of very nice photography.

29. The Cat’s Meow by Jonathan Losos. Losos is an evolutionary biologist (he’s the guy doing all of the studies with convergent evolution in Caribbean lizards) who got the domestic cat bug, and this is his book about the evolution of domestic cats. It’s written in a very readable style and goes into quite a bit of depth on how we know what we know. So individual scientists and breeders are profiled for topics like, which population of wildcats do domestic cats descend from? How does the behavior of feral cats in the Australian Outback differ from feral cats in rural Georgia? How is a new breed developed from a single individual? Losos also shares plenty of anecdotes about his own cats, as any loving cat owner would, and shares his “million dollar idea” with the reader. Saber toothed housecats, bred for both long canine teeth and a calm, indoor-friendly disposition.

30. Iberian Monsters by Javier Prado. This was a birthday present from my girlfriend @abominationimperatrix. The book is an illustrated collection of Iberian bogeys specifically—monsters designed to scare children into doing X or avoiding Y. At least half of the monsters in here are altogether new to me, and each entry often discusses multiple related monsters, with the “headliner” getting a full page illustration. Three things that jumped out to me. 1) How many parallels there are between the monsters of Spain and the monsters in Spanish colonies, like Latin America and the Philippines. I mean, that’s logical, but since I knew less about Spain’s monsters, I didn’t see the connections. 2) The large number of monsters that are based on historical individuals. Mostly soldiers and bandits, but also a watchmaker and an anti-fascist writer. 3) The story that scared me the most as a little kid was “Tailypo”… and there’s a variant in here that’s even worse. You know, for kids!

#reading log #monster books #spanish folklore #bogey #evolutionary biology #cats #domestic cats #birds #world folklore #comparative mythology #comparative religion #food history #tasting history #nick of the woods #tailypo

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legendaryprofessorwisteria · 1 year

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Hey Professor!

I'm a Galarian trainer, and I've come across one type of those odd Paldean pokémon.. well, two but I'll get to the second one eventually. You're gonna need some context

First is the purple Cyclizar-esque lizard. It kind of crashed into my balcony window and I found it in my apartment after getting home from work. (Quick background for me is that I specialize in dragon-type pokemon rehabilitation (from injuries, etc.), and specialize in pseudo-legendary/legendary pokémon, so I had a general idea of what to do.) It wasn't hostile to me— most likely since my partner Dragapult was watching it, but the poor guy was startled and hungry.

Long story short, I managed to catch it after befriending the big guy with sandwhiches. (Perhaps they're food motivated?) They're currently in an ultra ball sitting on my bed as I'm typing this.

Now for the question—

Were you aware of an orange variant? It has white feathers, a throat sac that inflates to resemble a wheel and is around the same size as the purple one? It looks like Cyclizar, but almost dinosaur/fossil pokemon-esque. Similar to the odd Jiggilypuff in a way.

It is also in an ultra ball, it was.. surprisingly very friendly, almost like a dog pokémon. I have a set of clothes in the wash that were covered in drool. No idea how it got in, but there it is.

The purple one will be named 'Jelly', and I've decided to call the orange one 'Peanut Butter' in order not to freak anyone out if I ever mention these two.

Sorry for the long ask, I believe these two occurances should be made known to you.

— Aster

Anon, you may be the luckiest person alive, and it sounds like you were precisely the right person for these two to run into. Thank you so much for telling me about this! What an experience you've had there. I'll respond more - because long post and spoilers - under a cut. I will say now though, we do know about the orange variant!

The two Pokemon you met are formally called Koraidon (the orange one), a Fighting/Dragon type, and Miraidon (the purple one), an Electric/Dragon type. For reference, this is what they look like:

They may look slightly different from the ones you encountered, but that is because these Pokemon are able to take on different forms - much like Cyclizar can stand up on two legs to battle or go on all fours and move quickly, these Pokemon can assume these forms for battle or move around quickly in their other forms. For reference on those forms, I've been sent these wonderful photos from Paldea, where a couple Trainers actually managed to catch both a while back, but their existence was kept between a select few people until these Paradox Pokemon started running rampant (that's how we know so much about them).

Side tangent real quick...aren't they adorable? By Arceus if these things end up being legal to own I might have to put my present plans on hold.

Ahem, that aside, these two are remarkably calmer and more tractable than the other Paradox Pokemon, which was probably why they were receptive to being calmed down by you. They have a confirmed genetic resemblance to Cyclizar, which may have something to do with it - a running theory is that Koraidon is from the past and Miraidon from the future, and because Cyclizar is so remarkably tame and intertwined with human history, the human-friendliness of Cyclizar is also true of its past and future forms! And yes, it does seem that all three are very food-driven.

However...they are also by far the strongest of the Paradox Pokemon, and evidence suggests they command some form of innate authority over others from their time period, akin to a lot of Legendary Pokemon. The lab is actually getting a pair of them and several other Paradox Pokemon that got caught/taken down shipped in soon to test the theory - and because I have a tamed Iron Moth, I'll get to be part of it! Very exciting. So you're very lucky your encounter with these two went so well.

I'd still recommend calling it in to your local professor/s or people who work with Legendaries if you can - we need all the help and info we can get!

#paradox event #paradox pokemon #pokemon #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon scarlet and violet spoilers #koraidon #miraidon #in character #wisteria answers #cyclizar

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tonnerredebrest · 2 years

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Mick with Angie and Roscoe, that's I don't have anything else.

Ok, I can do that! I love how Mick is a dog dad, and also the first F1 driver featured on Roscoe’s Instagram!

Let's assume Mick is talking to Angie in German here, even tho I wrote in English. Sadly, I'm not confident enough in my German to try to write in Goethe’s language.

(I am also not an expert in dog behaviour. AO3 link at the bottom, as always.)

*****

When Mick found Roscoe in the paddock at the English Grand Prix, he was more than delighted.

“Roscoe!” The driver almost squealed, running to greet the dog.

The latter joyfully barfed, wagging his little tail.

“Hey, man. Don't pull too much on the leash,” Lewis joked, enjoying seeing how his dog was fond of another driver.

Roscoe didn't seem to care about that comment. The Haas driver got to the dog’s level and started to gently pet him. Roscoe seemed to tremendously enjoy the pats, as he was always looking for more.

“Who’s a good boy, eh,” Mick used that baby voice pets seemed to like. “Ooooh, you very good boy.”

Roscoe barfed happily, trying to lick the human's hands. Mick chuckled, Roscoe’s rasp tongue was tickling him. He spend another couple of minutes playing with him, will Lewis was filming.

“He likes you, man,” the Mercedes driver said as he was sending the German pics and videos. “I didn't see him being this playful with anyone in the paddock.”

“I guess it's because he smells Angie on me,” Mick shrugged, not having really been thinking about it until now.

“She’s your dog, right?” Lewis asked, as he had heard him mention her a few times before.

“Yeah, she's my best friend!” He beamed just by thinking about her. “You’ll see her in Austria.”

“Can’t wait!” The Mercedes driver said, putting his phone back in his pocket.

Roscoe could only barf in agreement.

-----

Mick was getting tired of all this climbing. The team had told him it would be a little walk, but he should have anticipated a little walk in the Alps won’t be on a flat road. He didn't take his mountain shoes, so he was afraid he’ll slip on some wet grass or stone. Yet, seeing Angie happily wagging her tail, going on the trail before him, made this whole operation more than worth it.

“Angie, wait for me,” he said between uneven breaths. “You’re far more faster than me here.”

The dog continued to walk at the same speed, making Mick smile. She was glad to explore new environments, and he could always catch up when she’ll stop to sniff a flower or other plant. Behind him, a Haas mechanic laughed at the interaction. Mick didn't mind, he knew people were sometimes surprised to see him talk to Angie. She was his best friend, how could he not speak to her?

“Careful, there’s a ravine not far,” the mechanic warned, and Mick nodded.

Yet, he didn't call Angie back. She was a smart girl, he had educated her well. He was sure she won't fall.

They continued their merry way up the mountain until they reached what seemed to be the top. The view was beautiful. From up there, they could see the valley and the track. Angie was carefully stepping on the stones, sniffing around, maybe to find some sunbathing lizard.

Mick took out his phone to take some pictures. They were beautiful, but something was missing.

“Angie, come here!” He called her, and she came as fast as she could.

The dog was wagging her tail, giving him puppy eyes. She wanted some head pats, and Mick couldn't refuse.

“Oh yes, who's a good girl, you're a good girl Angie,” he still baby-talked his dog, even if she was years out of her puppy phase.

That evening, the team photographer, who was also part of the expedition team, send him some pics. They were all of him and Angie, with the beautiful Austrian Alps in the background. Mick realised what was missing in the photos he had taken. His best friend wasn't in them. The driver smiled and chose one to put on his phone’s lockscreen. That way, Angie would always be with him.

-----

Mick had decided to take Angie with him to the French Grand Prix. France wasn't that far from Switzerland, and he knew she'll get a kick out of exploring a new paddock. What Mick didn't know, is that Lewis had the same idea, as he brought his dog with him. Mick saw Roscoe in the distance, and couldn't wait to go to him. Yet, he had to say a few things to Angie first.

“Angie, Roscoe is coming. Please be on your best behaviour,” the driver was on his heels, in front of her, and she took it as an invitation to try to lick his face.

Mick giggled, before gently pushing her away. He loved his dog, but having her saliva on his face wasn't something he appreciated much.

“Hey, Mick!” Lewis called, Angie’s ears immediately darting towards the newcomers. “Good to see you, man.”

As the humans went for a polite hug, the two pets looked at each other curiously. They hadn't met before, but they had smelled each other on their respective human’s clothes. Roscoe barfed, going closer to the bigger dog. Angie inclined her head and sniffed his fur. Then, something Mick couldn't see must have happened, as the two animals start wagging their tails and playing with each other.

“They seem to like each other!” The Haas driver pointed out. “Maybe we should go outside to unleash them.”

“Good idea, man.”

The two drivers made their way toward a rather empty patch of green/yellowish grass outside the building. There, when they were sure nobody was around, they unleashed the pets, who immediately started running. Mick was so happy that the two dogs liked each other. It would have been a hassle if they didn't.

They left the dogs running in circles, joyfully chasing each other. Angie was far bigger than Roscoe, but she was gentle with him, making sure she won't crush him. Roscoe seemed ready to pounce on her, playfully wanting to fight. He tried to make Angie fall, but he miscalculated her stature, and instead, he fell on the ground. They continued to play like that for a while, under the attentive eyes of their owners.

After some time, Mick’s and Lewis’s phones rang. They had to go to the driver’s meeting.

“Roscoe! Angie!” The German called them back. “We have to go!”

Immediately, two cannonballs were coming for him. Mick didn't have the time to get up from his heels, and the two dogs came pouncing on his chest. The German giggled.

“Angie! Roscoe! Don't drool on me, please guys!” Mick was chuckling while trying to get the two little demons off him.

Lewis was plain out laughing on the side, not even thinking about helping Mick.

“Lewis! Come on, do something!”

The Mercedes driver’s laugh only doubled, and Mick abandoned his fight. He let the dogs lick him. After a few seconds, they seemed to have enough of him. They just settled on his chest, apparently thinking Mick was a good human pillow. The German was happy there, and not even Lewis taking a picture of him didn't worsen his mood.

*****

#mick schumacher #formula one #formula 1 #fanfic #ao3 works #angie schumacher #roscoe hamilton #lewis hamilton

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nopoodles · 1 year

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Hi love

Pick one (or a few) ocs and describe a typical outfit. And, of you're feeling fancy, a nicer outfit for some event. Reference photos are optional.

(How do you feel about Paperbirch for a nickname?)

Hi :)

I don't know if it's my childhood spent wearing uniforms, the fact that I went down the *graphic tee and jeans -> graphic tee and dungarees* pipeline between adolescence and adulthood (no, you cannot see the graphic on the tee under the dungas, yes it is pointless, no I probably won't change), the fact that having a single style of outfit means I don't have to describe clothes too often, or watching too much anime, but my characters tend to have a signature outfit.

Merry from Guardian Cadet Series starts out in what amounts to unofficial Guardian Uniform: baggy black trousers, baggy black shirt, baggy black hoodie (it's a very specific look). The only time she ever wears anything not based on a Guardian Uniform is the ball in book 2. And obviously all the Guardians are in Uniform too.

Blue and Petite from Welcome To Humanity pretty much always wear tank tops and cargo pants (plus Blue's arm sleeves because sci-fi fashion).

Everyone from Unlicensed Delivery (IPA 1) has a signature outfit except Sauraxen who has more of a style because she's a lizard-person who isn't used to wearing clothes.

But my current WIP (or my wifi-less WIP) has centred Nat, a nonbinary dandy in a pseudo-historical setting. It's been fun making regency/victorian-esque clothes for nonbinary characters but oh my gosh coming up with clothes for every situation is exhausting. Still, my favourite is from the very end of the second book:

A black waistcoat with green rope patterns all over it. The shirt beneath was also black, a rarity in high society, the cravat matching the darkest green of the rope pattern. The jacket and trousers were both the palest green of that same rope pattern. All tied together with colour except for the decorative ropes around the cuffs of the jacket and trousers, a thin black strop with shining emerald accents.

(until you mentioned it I had totally forgotten my childhood obsession with paperbirch trees so I'm 1000% down with that as a nickname, thank you for finding one that brings me joy :) )

#thanks for asking!#unlicensed delivery #welcome to humanity #guardian cadet series #not that kind series

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omgsquee2001 · 2 years

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Chapter 4: Killer Queen

"You're sure he said 12 o'clock?" Roger asked. A few days ago, Freddie had gotten a call from a recording studio. One of the A&R men from EMI had seen the boys recording. He gave their demo to John Reid, who managed Elton John, one of the most well known musical artists in history, besides David Bowie. Brian nodded.

"Yes. "Midday at the pub, don't be drunk". That's what he said." Brian said. [Y/N], who was sitting next to John, looked at her brother.

"You look a bit nervous, brother dear." She said, teasing him slightly. John chuckled at [Y/N] teasing her brother. Brian sighed.

"[Y/N], I'm fine." He said. John looked at Brian.

"You're usually so particular." John said, adding in teasing [Y/N]'s brother. Roger took a breath.

"You just gotta be cool." He said. [Y/N] was the first to spot Freddie. Her eyes widened.

"Wow!" She shouted. One man glared at Freddie.

"Wanker." The man growled. [Y/N] glared at the man.

"Asshole." She muttered. Everyone in the group started at Freddie in his choice of clothing. "I didn't know it was fancy dress, Fred." John said, resting his arm behind [Y/N]. Freddie looked at him, smirking.

"I've gotta make an impression, darling." Freddie said. Brian looked at Freddie.

"You look like an angry lizard." Brian said, making [Y/N] laugh.

She turned her head and tucked her face into John's neck, trying to stifle her laughs. John smiled at Freddie. "It's your best work. Very subtle." John said. [Y/N] chuckled at Freddie.

"You gonna fly away?" She teased. Freddie just smiled at all his friend's teasing.

"Can I borrow it for Sunday church?" Roger asked. Freddie sat down just as a man sat down at their table. He looked to be about in his 20's or 30's. He had red hair and a kind looking face.

Everyone quieted down as they realized that this man was John Reid, the man who managed Elton John himself. John looked at the group.

"So, this is Queen." John said. He pointed to Freddie. "And you must be Freddie Mercury." Reid said. He looked at [Y/N]. "And who might you be, dear?" He asked. [Y/N] straightened her posture and extended her hand.

"I'm [Y/N] May, sir, the official photographer. It's a pleasure to meet you." She introduced. John took her hand and shook it.

"The pleasure's mine, darlin'. I've seen some of your work, very beautiful." He said. [Y/N] smiled slightly and nodded in thanks. Reid turned his attention to the boys.

"You've got a gift. You all have. So tell me, what makes Queen any different from all the other wannabe rock stars I meet?" He asked. Freddie smiled and looked at Reid. "I'll tell you what it is." Freddie said. He looked at his bandmates. "We're four misfits who don't belong together, playing to the other misfits." Freddie said. [Y/N] smiled at what Freddie said. She looked at Reid. "The outcasts right at the back of the room who are pretty sure they don't belong either," she gestured to the boys around her. Her brother, her boyfriend, her two friends. "These boys, belong to them." She said. Freddie nodded at the photographer's words. Brian smiled at his sister. He then looked at Reid.

"We're a family." He said. Roger tilted his head slightly.

"But no two of us are the same." He said. A tea cup and saucer were put in front of Reid. He looked up at the new person. "Paul." Reid said. [Y/N] narrowed her eyes slightly at the new comer. She didn't know what it was about him, but she already didn't like him. He looked like he was up to no good.

"Paul Prenter," Reid introduced. "Meet Queen, our new signing." He looked at [Y/N]. "I would also like you to meet [Y/N], the new, hired photographer," Reid said. [Y/N] looked at him in surprise. "You are still employed by the photo shooting company, yes?" He asked. [Y/N] nodded.

"Yes. However, I will gladly take this opportunity, Mr. Reid." She said. Reid smiled at her.

"Glad to hear it." He said. He looked at Paul. "Paul will be looking after your day-to-day." Reid said. Paul nodded his head.

"Pleasure." Paul said. His eyes remained right on Freddie. "If I can get you on the radio, maybe I can get you on television." Reid said. Roger looked at the older man. "Top of the Pops"?" Roger asked. Reid shrugged.

"Hopefully." He said. Deaky looked at Reid. "And then?" He asked. [Y/N] looked at them.

"And then, it's only the biggest television program in the country." She said. Reid nodded. "She's right. No one's ever even heard of you. Look, I admire your enthusiasm." Reid said. He sighed. If it goes well, if it happens... I've got a promotional tour of Japan in mind." He said. [Y/N]'s eyes widened. A promotional tour of Japan. Now that is something that sounded like it would be fun. She looked at Reid. "They'll want more." She said. Reid scoffed and looked at her. "Every band wants more." He said. Deaky looked at Reid. He took [Y/N] hand.

"Every band's not Queen." He said. It seemed that Reid was convinced, because the very next week, the band was in the BBC studios getting ready to play a recording of Killer Queen. The only downside was that the band would be using props instead of the actual instruments. They would also be lip synching. Paul was talking to the director. "Listen, I understand." Paul said. Roger was sitting at the drums, appalled by the fakes. "I understand that it's the policy of the BBC." Paul said. The director sighed.

"We have procedures." The director said. Roger hit the drum sticks against the cymbal on the drums. The prop let out a dull, clunk. Roger scoffed.

"This is shit!" He exclaimed.

"I need you to explain it to the band, please." Paul pleaded. [Y/N] was standing in front Deacy, running her fingers through his hair, chuckling at a joke he made. The director sighed.

"Okay, let's, make it quick." The director said. Paul nodded. They walked over.

"Freddie, boys." Paul said. They gathered around. [Y/N] was standing next to Deacy. The director sighed.

"Look, chaps, it is going to be playback. Lip synch's all that's required." He said. Roger scoffed.

"We do know how to play our instruments." He said. Freddie looked at the director. "You want me to lip synch?" He asked, slightly appalled. [Y/N] scoffed. "I don't understand why they can't simply perform live." She said. The director looked at her. "The audience will never know the difference." The director reassured. Brian pointed to himself, Roger and Deacy.

"We'll know the bloody difference." He said in annoyance.

"This is the BBC. That's how things are done around here. All right? Don't be a nuisance." The director said. He walked away. Paul looked at Freddie.

"Freddie, it'll be great." He said. He looked at [Y/N]. "[Y/N], on the sides. We need pictures." He said. [Y/N] gave a sarcastic smile and a fake salute. She turned to Deaky and smiled at him.

"You'll just have to make sure no one's looking at your lips." She said. She smirked and kissed him.

"Well, the way things are done are a load of bollocks, old chap." Roger said, clearly pissed.

"This is the BBC." Brian mocked, making his sister chuckle. Deaky looked at his friends.

"I'm relieved." He said. Brian nodded his head.

"You would be." He said. Deaky shook his head.

"Look, perfect performance." He said. [Y/N] smiled at the boys.

"You'll all do fine, lads." She said.

"[Y/N]!" Paul shouted. [Y/N] groaned.

"Alright!" She shouted.

[Y/N] took pictures as the boys lip synched.

She's a Killer Queen Gunpowder, gelatine,

Dynamite with a laser beam

Guaranteed to blow your mind

Anytime

"Number two, only above the waist." The director said. The camera was currently staring at the lower part of Freddie. "Camera up! Camera two! No one wants to see this while they're eating their meal." The director complained. Drop of a hat she's as willing as playful as a pussy cat Momentarily out of action temporarily out of gas To absolutely drive you wild, wild

#bohemian rhapsody #queen #john deacon x reader #john deacon #roger taylor #brian may #freddie mercury

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aeempress · 3 years

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Apritello Express Evidences, part 2

Khem-khem, ladies and gentlemen, we shall continue out praising Apritello's episodes. And yeah, this part will be dedicated, in entirety just one episode.

Purple jacket. April and Donnie's episode.

I really love this piece of masterpiece, because it show April and Dee relationship, better reveals them as characters, and demonstrates their connection. (My previous points at this whole situation)

The episode begins with Donnie sneaking into April's school under the pretext of helping her. Soon, April stated the reason why she called D - her science computer project. Actually, she could take a photo of the code and sent it to Donatello, and I'm sure, he would send her the correct one right away, he's coder, he's prodigy, no probbles.

But still, April just asked him to come over and help her without stating any reasons. And he, indeed, came at speed of the light.

I want you to understand what exactly does that mean.

First: April is aware how much Donnie is into human culture. He wants to study in normal human school, do some average teen stuff. Especially, he is loving school and science-related stuff, all these science school projects, visits to botanical gardens, experiments and laboratory work. Because it's his field. It's exactly his domain, where he's good at. His family does not share his interest in science, and April is only one who can understand him. Probably.

Also, April know, how badly Donnie wants to go to school, which gives him an excuse, even if not the most solid one, but an excuse, nevertheless, to visit her school again.

Why again?

Because he has no problem navigating there. Donnie went directly to April's computer class.

He loves this place. And he'd already helped April with her projects.

Even so, knowing that every time she asked guys, especially Don, for help, it turned into a cataclysm, April still called him to help.

It's just a weird, indirect way to say, " Let's hang out, I know how much you like this whole situation with science, school and etc. Here ya go, buddy"

It seems like April did that to make something pleasant to him, something small, but nice to make him feel better. Because, as I state before - he likes to help April (praise, doing something useful for April - still counts as a motivation) and he likes school.

Second: khem-khem, D came at her school, as it seems, right away she called/texted. He didn't even know the proper reason, but c'mon: April ask for help, plus, her school. Sounds legit, don't you think?

Anyway, April has always been being the reason and excuse for teetles, but especially for Donnie. Clear? Clear. Good.

Donnie also tends to not think things through when he is excited. Because he went at the daylight in place, full of people just to help April.

ROTTMNT shows us how turtles were really afraid of human reaction and possible consequences. They have plan "H" to pretend they are going to Galaxy Con, brothers have explanation why they look weird and it's definitely not because boys are mutants, uh-huh, no, plus, guys go on surface at evening or night hours, when there are not so many people, and it's dark, obviously, to cover them and keep unseen.

Yeah, of course, Donnie seems more capable then his brothers to handle the surface (he has cash, D's dressed up as old ladies more than once, according to Leo, he was in April's school before, so yeah, no big deal) and I suspect that his friendship with April is one of the reasons.

Third: do you remember how April worried about looking "normal" when she was finally invited to a school party? She even forbade Mayham to appear nearby, just not to look like the lizard boy. Because cool kids don't bring pets to school. April doesn't have many friends, or rather, there are none at school, and she's been trying to solve this problem by getting close to Taylor Martin, the coolest girl in school.

And April O'Neil just calls Donatello, an objectively strange guy (since when is it normal to be a fan of school? Pretty questionable) in place, where her reputation is hanging in a balance. Our girl does not try to hide Dee, as it usually shown in shows for kids, and April do not pretend that she sees him for the first time in her life because, you know, Donnie will catch everyone's attention being himself and may embarrass her in front of her classmates. But no - April says with all her actions: "Yes, I know him. Yes, that dork is with me. And I don't give a damn about your opinion. Your problems, not mine. And yeah, I'm fine with him being here."

I mean it, guys. The devil is always in the tiny details.

The way they behave around each other.

Donatello is way more, MORE relaxed and just being himself: dramatic dorky nerdy ninja with current obsessions. The way he sneaked in school and April's classroom, the way he behaves alone with her is contrasting the way of his attitude while his brothers are near.

Don has a specific way to shown up. Instead of texting her, Donnie used shurekens. Yes, he almost fell off the lamp, but still, that's... quite an entrance he makes there.

April worries about him, when he fell from ceiling.

Our girl feel relaxed enough around Donnie, so she winks at him.

A wink is a fairly casual gesture that shows some expression of sympathy, trust, and togetherness. It's both good for saying "We're in same boat, we're team" and show the playful attitude towards someone. Isn't that an indicator?

Ironically, that being the best friends April and Donnie do not have any secret handshake/brofist/special greeting, as it usually the besties have at kid's series. Like Kendra and Jeremy have.

I can do only one possible logical conclusion: their relationship is far beyond "friends," "best friends," and "family".

Btw, about this certain phrase about secret five.

- Nay, fair April. A secret five[...].

Once again, nice wording, Donatello. Fair April? Maybe I'm too critical, but often when someone wants to convince their interlocutor and at the same time show one's condescension to them, it's usually uses "my dear ..." or something like that. I understand that semantically the difference is not very big, but in the first case, you can feel Donnie's personal attitude, even though he uses a book word. The second is just formal politeness, which emphasizes the difference between the rightness of the disputants.

This phrase were interpreted on official Russian dub as (okay, it's really hard to choose the correct word, because there's a lot of synonyms in English that sits quite well, while on Russian it's just one word, damn) "Нет, милая (No, honey/sweetheart )". Actually, a strange choice of wording, 'cause this is not what usually friends use to say to each other. We prefer use words like " my darling", "my dear", to demonstrate leniency. And again, most often this prerogative belongs to the older generation. Russians rarely throw around such words as "honey", "dear", "sunshine", because this deprives these endearments of any meaning, and a person using them, as a rule, is familiar. Of course, there are people who use them on a regular basis, but I HIGHLY doubt that Donatello is one of them. It's not his style.

But still, maybe I just too critical at this point.

April, as it is shown, have some kind of power to cool and calm him down and bring Donnie back to life reality.

1. Don awakes from his daze while heard April's voice

2. He's literally coming back to life, when April said about his broken jetpack.

3. Dee obediently interrupts his touching farewell to the jacket when April yells at him.

Oh, and his face. I remind you, fellas, we're talking about Donatello, "I really do not like to express emotions"-guy and "I will die if someone broke my bAbEyS"-guy.

And what do we see? Donnie's emoting. And feels free to do that. He's even drooling. (What seems kinda interesting without context, if you're understand what I'm talking about ;))

Dee doesn't seem angry about broken jetpack. And his wide smile, while he's assuring April he can fix it? A few minutes ago, he was steamed when his stuff was stolen, but when the jetpack was broken, he doesn't even raise an eyebrow. Very eloquent.

April is his support

April also supports Donnie whatever he's up to. Yes, she hadn't been excited when Othello had expressed a desire to join the club. However, she also introduced him to Kendra and company. Yes, she showed by her whole appearance that she did not share his joy, but nevertheless, our loyal captain O'Neil was there for him, by his side all this time.

And her sweet facial expression. From "Srsly? Join this jerks?" to "If you dare to even think about to hurt him, I'll smash you".

And one more cute detail about Dee. Even if he does whatever he wanted so badly, Don constantly looks around at April, looking for her approval.

- Be honest, April, do I look fantastic, or SUPERBLY fantastic?

- You look like you drop a juice box in a laundry. (Play nice, April, don't be mean)

He cherishes her opinion.

April had even called him late at night just to, technically speaking, say that his tech were stolen. And what's the big deal with all his outfit? It's late night, they can just sneak out into Nakamura in their usual form. But noooo, April give a special ride on her bicycle. Just. You know. Our girl carried her own weight and his all the way without stopping. And then she went up 53 + floors running non-stop because Donnie's equipment was stolen. And then she had to chase the her classmates, dodge and jump out of the window. Because Purple dragons stole Dee's tech. Like shooting fish in a barrel, no big deal at all.

And it's definitely not because he will be totally crashed or he'll do stupid things during his anger, which will then come out sideways.

And April comes along with him to very end.

By the way, their phone conversations.

Donnie is the very case when "Call at any time of the day or night and I will pick up the phone".

When April called him when he needs D's help with Albearto, when something is definitely going on behind.

As it says in transcript of the episode:

[April takes out her phone, scrolls to Donnie’s listing and calls him. Donatello appears on screen. Behind him a flying microwave wearing boxing gloves shoots lasers at his brothers.]

Don: "You are conversing with Donatello."

April

[Crouched on floor in hiding.]

Dude, I need your help."

Don: "For you, anything. As long as it does not involve bees, or spiders, or beach balls.

[There’s an explosion behind him and his brothers cry out, which he ignores.]

And yeah, he took her incoming immediately, he ignores absolutely and totally everything around him, because... April? Expositions, bloody flying microwave bot turned to destroy mode, his brothers screaming and being in life-threatening situation? Naaah, it can wait.

Donatello was at Todd's, building "the puppiest place on Earth" and was very enthusiastic about to finish this thing. But he paused anyway to answer April.

We already know how obsessive with work Don can be: if something interesting gets into his field of view, he begins to do it all day long. Remember "The Purple Game" - a very revealing case. Yeah, we weren't shown how much Donnie is into engineering, but I can guess that point remains the same.

April called him at late night and Donnie picked up the phone.

April, unlike Donatello, is a teenager who is burdened with social relationship such as family, school, and work periodically, which implies a more or less strict schedule to follow and some conventions, such as " April, you can't go out late at night to catch robbers, you are underage and you have to go to school/work tomorrow). However, she was watching the news late at night, so she called Dee. ( I have a lot of questions, but I'll never get answers, as it seems)

D, in turn, doesn't have so many contacts with the outside world. I highly doubt that anyone else outside of the family and April has his number. And yet, when he hears the call late at night he takes it. Yes, he had awaken from the nightmare, but still.

And what's up with his usual "You're conversing with Donatello"? He didn't even understand what's going on, as it seems, he's too sleepy to play his usual image and playfully attitude as we could see in "Hypno Part Deux" and "War and Pizza".

Adorable couple-like D&A arguing

April very rarely uses "I told you so" against anybody, or rather, this is almost the only case. This phrase is more suitable for Leo or Donnie, and you know," I told you so! " we usually use on people we know well, and we want to tease 'em about them being wrong. Which, in fact, once again highlights and proves how close D&A are. And I don't even get started about the fact that this is more like a couple's quarrel, not a friend's.

And one more time - in the end, when April suggests using the jacket to stop Kendra.

Their teamwork

I stated that before, I'll tell it one more and more times. The chemistry of their team interaction is incredible. It's as if they can feel each other, and each knows what the other is capable of doing in the next moment. April easily adapts to Donnie's attack, realizing his plan.

Donnie also throws them both out of the window in order to continue the pursuiting Kendra on the jetpack. Don is one hundred percent sure of April, that she will understand what he wants to do, Dee trusts her with his life without hesitation, and she has never used his jetpack. He just puts her before the fact: April will be using the tech.

Up for Donnie!

I really like how this scene was made. Donatello struggles with his own tech, somewhat he made by himself, having invested almost whole himself and his soul, but what "betrayed" him in end. When Dee finally managed to shake one of his battleshell, which almost choked him, Donnie feel so scared and unsecured. We can see his anxiety - Dee's coaching position with covering his head with his hands and tucking his knees.

Defenseless, helpless, and mostly lost, and then, just in time - hero comes to save his life. She uses Donnie's name as battlecry, look how furious she is.

Funny fact: on Russian dub April yells "Don't touch Donnie! (how dare you, madafaka)

April fits in Donnie's type of girls. She's cute (obvious) and mean (not so obvious).

I can't say that meanness is the main feature of April's character, as we can say about Kendra. But this personality trait is still present in her and sometimes it does not manifest itself so widely. April's meanness is not so pronounced, it is much softer and smoother, and it is not exposed.

But April becomes really mean when someone messes up with Donnie.

She's his support and prop. Literally. Just look at first frame, okay-okay, jokes aside

She's genuinely enjoying of kicking bad guys ' asses, even letting go of witticisms and barbs.

Last scenes

Don survived a rough night: he was used, his tech was stolen, so he and April had to chase the satin robed punks. Donnie was hit in the head with a hammer, he fell from a bird's-eye view, passed out and then his battleshell tried to strangle him. And April is here to comfort him, to cheer him up.

Yes, we don't get any hugs (because it's kids show, bleh), the tactility is kept to a minimum, except for April's comforting hand on his shoulder, but they don't even look at each other. But the softness of her voice, the intonation with which she utters a phrase (that is usually sent to the friend zone, but "pal" is really neutral word, and the most important how she said that) turn the scene upside down. It is not what April did to comfort him matter, it's how she did this.

I said "yes" to you way too often

April mirrors Donnie with his "Anything for you". Yes, of course, she said this with a certain amount of grumbling, but her voice and her demeanor suggest otherwise - she is not at all averse to going to giving in him.

And the way they're look at each other.

This one

And one more detail

It's really tiny, it's hard to catch from the first watching the episode, but still, it's possible. I'm talking about graffiti on the walls of the alley where April and Don had landed.

This one

Yeah, if we speak about reality it's quite normal to see graffiti like this. But we talking about TV-series, where everything has its own place and meaning. And if there something, it must be there, it's not just whim of artist who put it in there. But this little graffiti changes the mood of scene.

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feelingofcontent · 2 years

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DNP Rewatch: Reacting to Your Green Screen Memes!

Date video was published: 11/14/2019 (X)

DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 403

I haven’t seen this video in a while; it’s not one I re-watch a lot. He tweeted with the green screen photos and clips for people to use earlier in the month.

0:00 - great intro

0:04 - wearing the “glitch” hoodie which I still have so many questions about. I really think it was supposed to be part of a larger project or something that didn’t pan out because there was just too much hype surrounding it

0:28 - a standing video is definitely a rarity. he was also using the green screen for his live shows

0:53 - lol at dramatic acting Phil

1:02 - must have gotten a haircut between that and filming this video

1:10 - I also completely forgot this video had a spon

1:33 - “I am now in the lizard men fandom” um.

1:36 - side-tangent! I love Phil

2:15 - immediate Phil giggles

2:23 - he called that one immediately

2:44 - Phil’s commentary is so random/weird and I love it

3:09 - this one really incorporated all the clips

3:47 - what even, Phil

4:01 - my favorite thing is how amused and entertained he is by all of these

4:23 - he’s put his hood up for some reason now

4:28 - he actually jumped there

4:38 - “should I get a blond quiff?” Phil wants to dye his hair blond so badly but he still hasn’t done it

4:47 - his hand is really flat there! I just tried to do it and my hand does not bend that much

4:56 - dapg reference 😔

5:05 - “this is great!” so much creativity with a lot of these

5:26 - the gay memes!

5:59 - still disturbed by that picture from Trying To See Things Without My Glasses even though he can see it this time

6:13 - it’s so interesting what type of humor is Phil’s favorite

6:30 - he’s edited these out of order from how he filmed them it seems

6:51 - love that he keeps inserting the dancing clips

7:30 - lots of Norman-related things of course

7:45 - dying at the Captain Holt impression 😂

7:59 - he must have gotten so much more that were even worse than this

8:28 - very long outro here...also getting the video to 10 minutes.

9:44 - the “weird-Phil” style ending of that edit is perfect

10:08 - random outtakes!

I enjoyed this video more than I remembered, though it’s still not one of my favorites.

This video was posted while DNP were on their Japan holiday, and I think he may have filmed it the same day he did the live show where he announced that. Also the same day Dan posted these Insta stories (1, 2). 🥺 They posted way too much content from Japan to link it all here, but did I use this as an excuse to scroll through it all again? Yes, yes I did.

#dan and phil #dnp #dnpRewatch #amazingphil #phil lester #amazingphil videos #Reacting to Your Green Screen Memes!

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salsdemise · 3 years

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Gundham and Korekiyo in a relationship hcs (separate)

I had fun writing these lol. TW/CW: slight V3 spoilers for Kiyo, other than that none! AU: non-kg/non-despair au Word count: 1,361(kinda long!)

HC’s under the cut!

Kiyo!

-I’ve done some on this but

-he’s a generally reserved person, not opening up about himself much if at all until farther into the relationship.

-His love language is giving you gifts!

-He travels a lot so by the time he’s back its like christmas lol

-if he comes home(assuming you live in the same apartment) at a time he knows ur asleep, he joins you in bed. May not sleep if he’s had tea or something to drink, but he enjoys it when he gets in bed and you almost instantly cling to him.

-Doesn’t like to be touched, that being said he LOVES invading your personal space. He’s wrapping an arm around your shoulders, waist, he’s spinning you around and goofing off, playing with your hair, ect.

-try and do the same with him and he won’t tell you not to, but he will be quite stiff and still. At least at the beginning of the relationship

-Loves 20’s and 30’s music? Like, Button Up Your Overcoat by Helen Kane? That shit slaps to him and if you like it too, then prepare to listen to it often.

-not one for public dates, loves dancing with you in your kitchen. Loves picnics too!

-doesn’t matter if you can’t cook, he’ll eat it even if it’s mostly burnt. He might even figure out a way to make what you make taste edible lol

-He loves taking photos of you randomly doing things. Cooking dinner? He’s got a picture. Drawing? Picture. Reading? He’s got one. Picking flowers on a picnic date? Obviously. You mid scream bc of a horror game jumpscare? He’s got two.

-If you end up asking about his bandages and stuff, he takes them off to show you various scars and marks. If you ask, he tells you about the ‘welcoming’ he got from natives of an area he was visiting. He doesn’t tell you he almost died though lol.

-He’ll make you bracelets n stuff

-He likes falling asleep with you on top of him. Helps him feel grounded and he loves holding you

-Fights are almost non-existent between you two.

-unless it’s about his trauma. But you two don’t often talk about that unless he’s had a day where he can’t stop thinking and even then you just hold him while he cries and talks about it.

-healthy relationship <3

-If you have any trauma he’s more than willing to help you through your issues, making you tea, holding you, calming you down. He’s a listener.

-He wants to know everything about you. What you like, what you don’t like, what makes you happy, what to avoid. He wants to make sure you’re comfy with everything.

-he always asks before touching you, kissing you, entering a room you’re in when the door is closed, calling you ect.

-You do the same. You always ask if you can go into his room, if you can look when he has his mask off, if you can hold his hand and stuff.

-He has a little garden! Mostly roses, but he likes it.

-You’ve made him masks and he adores them. His favorite has roses on the sides.

-Korekiyo loves you sm and you get along very well

-Valentines day you guys just stay inside and watch awful romance movies while cuddling.

-if you really want to go out, get ready because he’s not holding anything back. Gundham!

-Getting into the relationship is a LONG process.

-And I mean LONG

-It probably starts when you find one of his Devas. He’s looking for them and you’re just walking around with them on your shoulder and he nearly runs into you when he sees you have them and he’s like

- “Mortal, halt any further movement and unhand my Deva this instance!”

-ur just standing there with them on ur shoulder so you hold your hand out to it so it can climb on and then hand it to Gundham

-Mans shocked lmao like his devas clearly like you

-it happens three more times, all of them have gone missing once now

-He’s so confused???

-he starts following you around bc “your energy is...interesting, Mortal. My Deva’s truly seem to like you and I'm inclined to see why.”

-just accept it he’s not leaving you alone. Ever.

-if ur free after school he’s gonna ask you to go to the pet store he volunteers at too frequently (half the people there think he works there, he doesn’t but he might as well)

-if you say yes he’ll tell you about all the animals and let you hold them(might get you one if he likes you enough)

-Eventually he asks you out for real, he first asks you to go to the pet store again and you agree. Then he takes you on a picnic near a cemetery (if you ask why not in he says “It’s quite rude to disturb the dead like that, Mortal.”)

-Durning the picnic his Deva’s bring out notes to you while he’s not looking

-they’re little notes with poems saying how much he loves you

-very sweet, very sweet.

-He notices eventually and mans goes RED.

-hiding in his scarf, he tells you how he feels

-obviously you say yes, and you two start dating (kazuichi would be over the moon lol)

-mind you this is like 4 years into the friendship, y’all are almost out of highschool by now

-It takes him a while to initiate contact with you, also takes him a bit to get used to you touching him in general

-one thing he’s used to quickly is having your arms linked. He enjoys it. The devas do too. They can go from him to you!

-He’ll excuse himself 3 times a day to shower. Man has hamsters on him constantly, wears no underwear and is a little paranoid about being smelly since he was bullied for smelling like a hamster when he was younger.

-You don’t mind at all, seeing him with his hair down is amazing every time.

-He likes it when you play with his hair but he won’t tell.

-the deva’s will though-

-when you guys get close enough(7 years friends, 3 years dating) he’ll be comfy with skin to skin. And he adores it when you trace the many large and small scars on him from him training his animals.

-He isn’t someone to ask for cuddles, but when he’s had a rough day he’ll ask to lay down with you. He likes laying with his head on your lap or stomach and his arms around your waist while you mess with his hair.

-He has hard days a lot when out of highschool. So when he comes home from work (he works as a tour guide at a zoo change my mind) he likes to just,,,,collapse into you. He likes when you hold his face and kiss his forehead

-he’s a very affectionate person in private!

-,,,clearly, as written

-Fights are super rare between you two. Like, super rare. If you have an issue you both sit down to talk. You listen and work it out, and then things are fine.

-he doesn’t eat most meats. The only one he eats is fish. He will not eat any other meat.

-meals are easy with him though, you try your best for him and he loves it. You can make meals with meat in them and remove the meat from half of it for him and when you do he’s so happy. You think of him and he adores that.

-Lovey poems, notes, gifts, little things that make you both smile.

-his love language is gifts and notes.

-He’s surprisingly popular with kids at his work, so when you go to visit him with lunch, you’re kinda surprised at first to see him crouched down with a group of 5-8 year olds, talking about birds and lizards.

-You wait till the kids are collected and then go over, smiling

-he’s a little embarrassed.

-Valentines day is a DAY for you two

-he goes all out with it and that’s all I'm saying

#danganronpa imagines #danganronpa headcanons #korekiyo shinguuji x reader #drv3 korekiyo #non despair au #gundham tanaka x reader #danganronpa v3 #danganronpa v2 goodbye despair #fluffy #slight spoilers?#i love these men

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neitherlightnordark · 3 years

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METTATON: A SINGULAR SPOTLIGHT.

METTATON: THE ROOM IS DIM. THE AIR IS NASCENT. EYES REST ON THE STAGE IN ANTICIPATION- CAN YOU FEEL IT? TASTE IT?

METTATON: THE PINK, THE BLUE, RISING HIGH IN THE AIR?

METTATON: THE HYPE, THE LOVE?

METTATON: IT'S ALL FOR ONE PERSON.

METTATON: ONE WONNNNDERFUL GENIUS LIZARD MONSTER.

METTATON: MONSTERS OF ALL AGES, WITH ALL THE GLEE I HAVE EVER CONTAINED, I PRESENT TO YOU:

METTATON: THE GREAT

METTATON: ILLUSTRIOUS

METTATON: SUPERB

ALPHYS: [snort]

METTATON: ALLLLLLLLPHYS!!!

[Canned applause.]

ALPHYS: T-thank you!

METTATON: REFRESHMENTS ARE PROVIDED IN THE SHAPE OF HER DISTINCTIVE FACE!

ALPHYS: Mettaton, let's-

METTATON: CARDBOARD CUTOUTS OF HER WAVING ARE SCATTERED ABOUT STRATEGICALLY, FOR OPTIMUM PHOTO OPS!

ALPHYS: Mettaton!!

METTATON: HER SAYING MY NAME MAKES ME REALLY, REALLY HAPPY, I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE THAT, BUT-

ALPHYS: Mettaton, heh- oh, geez, I didn't even get to introduce you properly-

ALPHYS: Okay, come on, s-sit down!

ALPHYS: And turn on the lights! I- I can barely see our notes this way.

METTATON: WAS THAT A GOOD INTRO?

ALPHYS: (Shh, shh, we're live!!)

ALPHYS: Uh, I mean, yes! Um, that was really good!

ALPHYS: Honestly, I'm- I'm shocked at how easy that looked for you, we barely rehearsed this...

METTATON: STARDOM IS INSTINCTUAL!

[Canned laughter.]

ALPHYS: R-right...

ALPHYS: Hi, audience!

ALPHYS: This is really just a test run, so, so sorry if we do any fumb- fumbling today...

ALPHYS: The first podcast of- of the Human Fanclub!

[Canned applause.]

ALPHYS:

METTATON: I THINK IT ADDS FLAIR.

ALPHYS: Pfhehehe...

ALPHYS: Today we're going to be talking about the one thing we're both really- really knowledgeable about! And that's inventions.

ALPHYS: Humans have built so many ama- amazing things. It's really only by scavenging from what drops down here that we have things like, like WiFi, and ovens and tablets...

ALPHYS: Which!

ALPHYS: Which, isn't really a, a good thing, but...

ALPHYS: Yeah.

METTATON: ONLY BY SAMPLING FROM THE MORALLY GRAY CAN A TRULY DECADENT MEAL BE MADE.

ALPHYS: I don't think that's a saying... I don't think anyone says that...

METTATON: BUT IT IS A GOOD ONE, RIGHT?

ALPHYS: Yeah, actually!

[Podcast music begins playing.]

ALPHYS: Umm, so when we first fell in the Underground we didn't have much technology at all. Lots of our magic did the work for us, like- like fire magic and healing attacks...

ALPHYS: And it wasn't like the R- the old Home was a hotspot for falling human trash!

ALPHYS: One of the first things we began innovating with was, curiously enough, puzzles. We knew how to build, we knew how to do baseline, baseline surviving down there, but... I dunno, it's just really interesting to me how we immediately turned to art like it was one of the key parts of surviving down there.

ALPHYS: Which it was!! We incorporated dangers into our puzzles that a human- a human wouldn't be able to pass through, sometimes. But mostly they were just exercises for children. A way to pass- to pass the time, to stretch out t-the days a little longer...

ALPHYS: Make the walk home a little more, um, eventful...

ALPHYS: Which I can, I can understand. L-like I said, staying stimulated and enriched was really important to keeping us alive.

ALPHYS: What's curious about this is that humanity- humanity mirrored us up top!

ALPHYS: Instead of having only the b-baseline of what they needed, they had literally everything. Perfect food, perfect- perfect medicine, plenty of green spaces to visit, mental health specialists, knights defending their k-kingdoms...

ALPHYS: So they began improving upon the more... the more fr-frivolous parts of life. Their data processors began- began running games. They began sending out stories that someone could listen to, and eventually see on a screen, from all over!

ALPHYS: At- it's funny because their stories became more varied and rich...

ALPHYS: From my research, though, ours just told the- the same ones, over and over.

METTATON: ANOTHER REASON HUMANS ARE SO FASCINATING.

ALPHYS: (Shh-shh!!)

ALPHYS: It's a matter of placement.

ALPHYS: I- I'm sure that if humans were locked under here by monsters, they'd be te-telling the same stories over and over too!!

ALPHYS: ...

METTATON: ...

ALPHYS: Anyway...

ALPHYS: We advance to... current times, when we've explored all the Underground has to offer. Tech- technology has really advanced due to us discovering a few more openings to Mount Ebott's surface- namely, the big cluster of holes in Waterfall!

ALPHYS: If you're a frequenter of the garbage dump,

ALPHYS: which I am,

ALPHYS: you've probably seen things down there that humans would consider priceless! Maybe you've discovered your favorite book down there. Maybe a really pretty sculpture of a frog.

ALPHYS: My personal favorite is- is any human history that falls down! Books, comics, whatever, it's always never what you expect.

ALPHYS: And it's always really... hopeful. Also something you don't really expect...

[Inspiring music slowly gets louder in the background.]

ALPHYS: Comparing our parallel histories from a point of something we have in common, like- like innovations, and how we react to getting better- is really interesting, because it shows that maybe...

ALPHYS: That maybe- Mettaton!

METTATON: WHAT? I'M BEING SO INSPIRED, ALPHYS!

ALPHYS: O-o-oh, it's- it's really nothing!! I'm just- I'm just saying what I think, and

METTATON: YOU SHOULD DO THAT MORE OFTEN!

ALPHYS: Mettaton!!

METTATON: AND THERE YOU HAVE IT, FOLKS!

ALPHYS: Yeah, that's- whew- that's a short one for today! Just- just to see what you guys think.

ALPHYS: If you liked the podcast, uh... stick around for the next one?

ALPHYS: Thank you for everyone who tuned in!

METTATON: THIS IS METTATON AND ALPHYS, HUMAN FANCLUB, SIGNING OFF!

ALPHYS: Oh, gosh, I need some water.

#alphys #mettaton #undertale #hfhdsfdafdshbHGSFDNfjdsgh TvT #first fic dudes!!#safeutdr #thank you to taliaxlatia for sending an ask in asking for alphys #so much!!#inthedarkofnight

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doberbutts · 3 years

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pompilini

I can confirm doodles/beardy dogs absolutely have trouble seeing through the bangs. I have to trim my guy every two weeks if I dont want his vision suffer. At least in his case, he's off if he has too much hair (like you'd expect, he's less confident and more distracted), but it's subtle enough that I think it'd be hard to pin down or to even peg as an issue for a lot of people.

I've met other less even-tempered doodle types that are prone to startles and big reactions and I wouldn't be surprised if visibility was a factor there at all.

Oh yes, I used to live with a poodle that was always kept very long, and if his hair was not pulled/banded out of his eyes it was almost a guarantee that he’d startle badly at something because he was constantly walking into walls and sort of feeling around with his feet if he thought he was going to bonk into something. This is also, btw, why I say that if people are going to rag on certain breeds for not being able to survive well without human intervention, then they are going to have to include these fuzzy dogs in that.

This particular dog was also very fearful, and I think that’s just genetic temperament tbh, but I don’t think the occasionally legit not being able to see helped with that at all.

The discussion of sight and how it relates to specifically fear and aggression in dogs is always an interesting one. We know that dogs do not always register pain as coming from the source it’s actually coming from- like a toddler they can build associations and superstitions from undiagnosed/untreated pain and the behaviors that may cause them pain even by accident. A dog that stepped on a thorn may be wary later of walking in that same patch of ground, or it may be several days later when the infected sore bursts against hot concrete and now the dog has a serious aversion to sidewalks or being on leash.

It makes sense to me, then, that a dog that is already constantly unsure and second-guessing what it sees will eventually have a spectacularly bad experience at some point, and a dog that is already unsteady is just waiting to explode once that threshold line is crossed. The big reaction could simply be from them already having felt fear and stress due to being unconfident in their environment/not trusting their eyes, and because that’s the dog’s “normal” there’s no way to tell when the dog is becoming overwhelmed if you’re not already on the lookout for the subtle signs. Otherwise your sign is whatever big dramatic reaction the dog has when it finally does guess wrong and does not like that possibility.

I recall a conversation about Pangur and her very dramatic reaction to a roommate walking into the room despite knowing and liking said roommate, and we eventually came to the realization that the specific room this was happening in was very well lit... which is a problem for an albino cat that likely has the severe photosensitivity and low vision in bright lighting. At that point, she can only react to what she’s able to process, which could be simply a large shadowy shape has entered the room and is coming right at her, and that could explain the “OH MY GOD A MONSTER” reaction here while other times she begs said roommate for affection.

A friend of mine lives in Florida and has a big sun-lit room with bright white tile floors. Her albino doberman on these floors acts like he’s completely unable to see where the floor actually is. He does the thing where he reaches out with a paw and test-steps several times before committing to putting his weight down on that foot, wash rinse repeat. If a toy is on that floor, he will puff up and snarl and bark at it and even when recalled away will continue to hard stare and growl in the toy’s direction. The same toy could be put on a different floor in a different room and he will ignore or play with it. He does the same if one of those big flying roaches or a lizard gets into that room, and her photos of him in that room are with his eyes squinted almost completely shut. I don’t think he can see in that room, and what little he’s able to make out he doesn’t trust, and so it comes out as fear and aggression because he doesn’t know what else to do with what he thinks is there.

I recently had a shih tzu client that is very aggressive for grooming, especially around his face. We’ve been working really hard on getting him to calm down, but one of the big turning points we had was when we finally got him to let us shave around his eyes and trim his head/beard. Suddenly being able to see us comforting him and talking to him seemed to calm him immensely. Of course! He’d already had some trauma related to grooming and now he can’t see what’s happening when these strangers are touching him all over! Suddenly we’re able to comb him fully, give him a sanitary, pick out some knots trying to become mats, etc and he stood there happily wagging his tail at the bather who was talking nicely to him to help him through it.

Anyway. I feel like vision concerns aren’t brought up as factors for some of these behavioral cases when they should be. I’ve seen time and time again that limiting a dog’s sight whether because of a health problem or because of gear/necessity seems to always up your chances for a Big Problem later on, and it’s interesting to see that as well in other animals that rely on their sight as well. Sight might not be THE number one factor for how a dog navigates their world, but clearly it’s important enough that lacking it can create some pretty serious behavior concerns.

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juliandev0rak · 3 years

Text

Into The Wild

Chapter 1: Daisy

✧ Into The Wild Series ✧ playlist ✧

words: 2468

Willa Clary gets out of her car and shuts the door with a dull slam, sending up a cloud of dust and scaring off a lizard who had been sunning on a nearby rock. She surveys her surroundings with a grin, taking in the trees, the small clearing of wooden cabins, and the shiny blue lake in the distance. She pulls a faded brochure from her pocket and reads the words she’s read about a thousand times over the last few months:

“Camp Vesuvia: eight weeks of summer fun!”

The photograph on the front shows the same view she’s looking at, but the scene in front of her is far more beautiful than the photo. The trees are more green, the sky more blue, and the cabins around her look even more charming. In the summer heat the air seems to shimmer, giving everything a slightly magical quality. Willa decides that she loves the place already.

When Asra, her best friend and old college roommate, told her about the job opening at the summer camp he works at, she’d jumped at the chance. Asra has told her plenty of stories about what goes on during a summer at Camp Vesuvia and with every story she found herself wanting to be a part of it. He told her about the other people who work there and how fun it is to get to know all of the campers, he told stories of roasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories around the fire. He’d also mentioned how beautiful the scenery is, but his description hadn’t done it justice.

All of Asra’s stories brought Willa back to her own childhood, spent in a tiny rural town where exploring nature was pretty much the only activity available. She’d moved away to the big city for college, where she’d hoped to find her way. But after graduating she’d found herself with a degree, but no job, and an aching feeling that she wasn’t where she was supposed to be.

And since Willa loves nature and children (and also really needed a job) she figured a job at a summer camp would be a perfect fit for her. So she’d packed her bags and driven out into the middle of nowhere, her home for the next eight weeks.

The door of the cabin closest to her opens with the sound of a bell, and Willa’s eyes are drawn to the tall woman standing in the doorway. Her height draws attention, as does her brightly colored purple hair. Willa takes in the woman’s perfectly styled outfit and heeled boots, she doesn’t look like she belongs in the middle of the woods, but something about her seems very welcoming.

“Welcome, Willa, we’ve been expecting you!” The woman calls, beckoning her over with a perfectly manicured hand.

“Hi! You must be Nadia?” Willa asks, moving to shake the camp director’s already outstretched hand.

“Yes I am, if you should require anything over the course of the summer I can be found here in the office. I’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival, Asra has told me quite a bit about you,” Nadia smiles, shutting the door behind them as Willa follows her inside.

The front room of the cabin is small but well decorated. A large polished wood desk takes up the majority of the room and bookshelves and filing cabinets cover most of the remaining wall space. Nadia settles into the chair behind the desk and Willa takes the empty seat in front of it. She looks around as Nadia searches for a file, taking in the stylish furnishing and decor which looks surprisingly perfect in the wood paneled cabin.

Nadia finds the correct file and riffles through it briefly before pulling out a small stack of paper which she hands to Willa. “I’ll just need your final signature on some of the paperwork and we’ll get you all settled in. We expect the first round of campers tomorrow morning at nine, and things will only get busier after then.”

“How many campers do you expect in total?” Willa asks. She looks through the paperwork quickly as she signs it, standard onboarding and personal information, all as expected.

Nadia frowns slightly at the question and her forehead furrows, portraying a bit of the stress hidden behind her cheerful facade. “We have nearly seventy campers staying for the entire summer, the most we’ve ever had at one time. Which is precisely why I decided to take on more help. We have a small but reliable staff here but I thought it was time for some reinforcements.”

Willa hands over the completed paperwork and watches as Nadia carefully looks it over. “Wow, that’s a lot of kids, but I’m sure we can handle it!”

“That’s the sort of encouraging spirit we need around here,” Nadia smiles. “Asra told me you were an ‘eternal optimist’ and I hoped his description would prove accurate.”

Willa blushes slightly at the compliment and smiles back at Nadia, making a mental note to thank Asra later for his apparently glowing recommendation. “It’s easy to be optimistic in a place as beautiful as this.”

The sound of a bell alerts them as the front door opens and Nadia stands to greet the person entering, “Ah, here’s Asra.”

“Willa!” Asra calls from behind her and WIlla nearly knocks her chair over in her haste to hug him.

“Asra! I’ve missed you!” Willa takes in the familiar appearance of her friend. Asra wears a pair of overalls over a “Camp Vesuvia” shirt. A name tag pinned to one of the straps says his name, written in familiar handwriting and accented with a sparkly smiley face sticker.

“I’m happy you decided to take my advice and come to Camp Vesuvia, you’re going to love it here,” Asra says.

“Yes, I hope that you will, Willa,” Nadia smiles at the two of them before taking her seat again. She points to the wall behind Willa, “Your room key is hanging on that board, it’s the one with the red ribbon. I’ll leave Asra to show you the way. I'm quite busy with last minute preparations, but I hope you’ll find the lodgings comfortable.”

Willa turns to the board, spotting the key hanging all the way at the top. “Thank you, Nadia!” She stands on her tiptoes to reach for the key and Asra laughs, reaching up from behind her. He easily grabs the key and hands it to her, ignoring the annoyed expression on her face.

“Still as short as always,” Asra teases.

“Still as rude as always,” Willa frowns, but she’s too excited to stay mad.

“Let’s get you moved in. Did you bring that scarf you said you’d give me?” Asra heads for the door and Willa follows, laughing at his enthusiasm.

“Yes, and I brought extra yarn so I can make you another if you’d like—” Willa’s words are cut off as the door opens before Asra can get to it. A large figure stands in the doorway, and Willa and Asra step to the side to let him in. He has to duck a little to enter the room, and Willa looks up at him, noticing shoulder length dark hair and a park ranger’s uniform.

Nadia stands to greet him, “Ah, Muriel, excellent timing. I was just going to call you. We’ve had a few bear sightings around camp and I wanted to go over our safety plans, perhaps we can ensure all of the trash receptacles are in working order.”

The man nods in agreement, but his attention moves away from Nadia and over to Willa. When he notices that she’s looking back at him he swiftly looks away, clearing his throat as he takes a step closer to Nadia’s desk and away from Willa. In the near split second when they looked at each other, Willa noticed how bright his eyes were, green like the trees outside. Her eyes stay on him, noting the way his posture slumps a little as if he’s used to being too tall for a space.

“Oh, pardon me for not making introductions sooner. Muriel, this is WIlla, she’s our new counselor and the arts and craft director,” Nadia gestures at Willa, “And Willa, this is Muriel. He’s the park ranger assigned to our area. The ranger station is about a mile from here. if anything goes wrong he’s the first to call.” Nadia gives Muriel a warm smile and he flushes faintly, eyes resolutely staring down at the wooden floors.

“Muriel’s great, he’s the best at roasting marshmallows,” Asra says, finally pulling Willa’s attention away from the man. Asra raises an eyebrow at her in question and Willa looks away, brushing past him to move towards the door.

She turns to glance over her shoulder at Muriel, who still seems to be finding the floorboards exceedingly interesting. “It was nice to meet you, Muriel,” Willa says, giving him a cheery smile. Muriel looks up in surprise and stares at her for a minute before nodding in response. Willa turns to leave, Asra right behind her.

“‘It was nice to meet you, Muriel’” Asra imitates in a sing-song voice that sounds surprisingly accurate to Willa’s. She scoffs and fights the urge to shove his arm as if they were twelve, she sticks her tongue out at him instead— much more mature.

“Clearly he’s attractive, you can’t blame me for staring,” Willa says, rolling her eyes at Asra’s over-eager expression.

“True, I can’t blame you, and like I said— Muriel’s a great guy. He’s a bit shy and doesn’t like to socialize much as you may have noticed, but he’s saved us from quite a few scrapes over the years,” Asra recounts. “He repaired the roof of the main hall after a thunderstorm knocked over a tree last year, and he even put out a fire once when a campfire got out of hand.” “Well, he sounds like quite the man.” Willa hides her smile as she turns to open the trunk of her car. She hauls out a suitcase painted a bright blue color and dotted with daisies, she’d done the art herself one day when she’d run out of canvases and needed something new to paint on. Asra grabs her other bag and shuts the trunk, giving her another smirk.

“Let's get going, I’ll give you a full tour along the way.” Asra hoists her duffle bag over his shoulder as he walks. Willa follows behind, taking in all the sights as he leads the way through Camp Vesuvia.

Asra delivers on his promise of a tour, pointing out everything they pass along the way. “The building we just left is the office, but we all call it ‘the palace’ because Nadia’s the queen around here. Don’t worry though, she’s a benevolent ruler,” he laughs. Nadia seems kind, but she clearly expects the best from everyone and Willa would hate to disappoint her.

They pass the arts and crafts cabin, the main hall where meals are eaten, and each of the cabins for campers. Asra stops in front of a small building next to the main hall, it looks homey and a small puff of smoke comes out of its chimney. A wooden sign by the door is marked with a large pot and a spoon and judging by the delicious smell of bread emanating from the building, this is the kitchen.

“Here’s the kitchen, Portia works here along with Hestion and Selasi. You’ll meet them at dinner. I’m convinced they’re the best cooks in the world, and Selasi’s pumpkin bread is legendary.” For a minute it seems like Asra might go in to look for the aforementioned pumpkin bread, but he turns away from the door and continues on the dirt path forward.

He points to another small cabin to their right, “And here’s the first aid center. Julian is our resident doctor, he’s Portia’s older brother,”

“Ah, I seem to remember someone named Julian from quite a few of your stories,” Willa says, jokingly waggling her eyebrows. Asra grimaces and looks straight ahead, not meeting her eyes.

“Yes well, that was in the past. Those stories are old,” Asra waves a hand as if to show how unimportant those stories were. “Let’s move on, over here is where we store the canoes! Lucio is our recreation director, he’s kind of an asshole but the kids think he’s cool.”

The tour continues on until they reach a larger looking cabin tucked back into the trees. It has a wrap-around porch dotted with comfortable looking chairs and a bright green door. It looks welcoming, and there's a great view of the lake from the front porch. Willa can picture herself out there enjoying a cup of coffee or knitting.

“And here we have our final destination for the day, the counselor's cabin where everyone on staff here lives.” Asra shows her through the comfortable three story cabin, it’s more modern than Willa had expected. She thinks back to the well decorated front office, the palace, and decides that Nadia must be responsible for this cabin’s design as well.

Finally, Asra leads her to a closed door on the second floor and she unlocks it, entering a small but cozy looking bedroom. The walls are painted sky blue and a vase on the dresser has fresh flowers in it, she immediately feels at home. Willa sets her suitcase down by the dresser and flops down on the bed facedown.

“This is going to be so fun!” she squeals, her words slightly muffled by a pillow.

Asra flops down next to her, “You’re going to love it! The camp comes alive when the campers get here, and I bet you’ll be great at teaching art.”

“I hope so, but it’s been a while since I made a friendship bracelet,” Willa laughs, pointing to Asra’s wrist which is bedecked with half a dozen colorful string bracelets.

“Campers made these for me,” he explains proudly, lifting his arm up so Willa can see the bracelets better. “A lot of the same kids come back every year and most of the staffers do too. I think you’ll fit right in, this is going to be the best summer!”

Willa looks out the window next to her bed and catches a glimpse of Nadia and the park ranger, Muriel, out inspecting the grounds. Muriel looks up at the window as if he can sense her gaze and she smiles and waves at him. He doesn’t respond, quickly walking away towards the trees, but Willa thinks she might’ve seen a hint of a smile tug at his lips as he looked at her.

“I’ve got a good feeling about this summer, too,” Willa says, turning back to Asra with a giddy grin. “I can’t wait!”

✧

#here's chapter one!#willa wednesday #willa clary #muriel the arcana #milla #the complete cast of characters is as follows:#willa- camp counselor and director of arts and crafts #muriel- park ranger #nadia- camp director #asra- camp counselor #julian- doctor/ first aid #portia- cook #lucio- recreation director #me- overexcited writer

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