#episodes that have you staring blankly at the wall for 20 minutes after they end
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Denki x alt! male reader
[REQUESTED]
Denki wasn’t the most secretive about his crush on 1A’s resident alt kid.
Fortunately for him, however, Y/N was extremely oblivious. I mean, seriously, with the amount of flirting Denki was doing even Azaiwa knew about it, and he could care less about his students’ love lives.
Y/N walked into class, decked out in his usual attire. Nobody in class was sure that they’d ever even seen him without layers of eyeliner, piercings, and jewelry all over him. Over by Kirishima’s desk, Denki practically swooned.
“Dude, you’re literally drooling on my desk,” Kirishima had a concerned yet slightly aggravated look on his face.
“Yeah, Denki, it’s starting to get annoying. Just watching you pine all day,” Mina chimed in, “He’s basically all you ever talk about.”
The blonde boy opened his mouth to retort when he noticed Y/N had turned back to look at him. The h/c boy smiled brightly at him and all Kaminari could do was just wave back with a dopey grin on his face.
In all honesty, when he first saw Y/N, Denki wouldn’t have thought it possible for him to smile like that. The way he dressed was a little intimidating at first, but once you got to know him, Y/N was actually a very warm person.
Mina sighed before turning to Kiri, having an idea. She whispered something in the redhead’s ear before turning back to Denki.
“Listen, bud, Kiri and I would bet you ten bucks each that you can’t confess tonight.” Ten bucks was a small price to pay to get their friend to stop whining to them about how soft Y/N’s hair looked all the time.
Denki looked hesitant at first before replying.
“Make it twenty and I’m in.”
+++
Denki had been putting it off all day. At first, he was planning on telling him at lunch, but he chickened out when he noticed Y/N was wearing headphones. He didn’t want to disturb him after all.
Then he decided that right after classes ended would be smart. But when he noticed his crush was talking to his friend Shinso from class 1-C. There was no way he was going to embarrass himself like that in front of another human being. Especially not one of Y/N’s best friends.
Later that night, he sat in his dorm playing Mario Kart with Mina and Kirishima. Denki was about to win when Mina hit him with a red shell, rushing past him.
“BOOYAH, BABY!” she yelled, nearly knocking over her drink in her excitement. Denki grumbled and Kirishima just sat on the back of the couch eating popcorn peacefully.
“You don’t have to be such a sore winner…”
“Says the loser!”
“Guys, we’re forgetting the important thing here…” interrupted Kiri, turning to Denki, “have you asked out Y/N yet?”
The electric boy froze in place.
“Okay, I’ll take that as a ‘no’,” Mina said, “remember, if you don’t do it you’ll owe us a total of fort dollars!”
Kaminari groaned.
“Why did I agree to this, again?”
+++
It took Kaminari about 20 minutes to knock once he reached Y/N’s dorm.
“Who is it?” came a groggy voice.
Denki’s mouth dried up, and he contemplated running away but it was too late, the door was already opening up.
“Oh, hey Denki!”
There he stood, in a pair of flannel pajama pants and an old, baggy sweatshirt. Y/N wasn’t wearing any eyeliner and all of his piercing had been taken out minus his septum, which he had only gotten done recently. Denki had to blink a few times at the sight. He was pretty sure no one had ever seen the other boy like this before, except maybe for the exception of family.
“I, uh, I hope I didn’t wake you up,” the blonde stuttered out.
“Oh, no worries! I was just watching a show when you knocked.”
Sure enough, his laptop was on the bed with an episode of (favorite show) pulled up on pause. Seeing Denki’s worried face he reassured him.
“I’ve already seen this one so you didn’t interrupt anything!”
He gestured for Kaminari to come in.
Y/N’s room was atmospheric. Band posters were pasted crookedly to the walls, strings of lights dimly lighting the room. Denki noticed some band tickets and pictures of your friends from middle school hanging on the walls. A few potted plants were scattered here and there, all well taken care of, it looked like. Denki took a seat on a bean bag chair next to Y/N, who was sat on the carpet next to him.
“What was it that you wanted to talk about?”
Denki choked up.
“Well, uh, uhm…” he tried to find the right words to say. “You see, I kind of, uh… oh fuck.”
Y/N stared back at him, confused but not aggravated by his stumbling in any way.
Denki looked back up at the boy’s e/c eyes. Seeing them so clearly, without any eyeliner or makeup hiding his face. He could see every line, every crevice, every dot on his face. It was perfect. He managed to summon up the last of his courage and blurt it out.
“I REALLY REALLY LIKE YOU! LIKE, NOT IN A FRIEND WAY, IN A ‘I WANNA MAKE OUT WITH YOU REAL BAD’ WAY!” His face was burning red at this point. Y/N just stared back blankly for a second.
“Wait… really?” Denki looked astonished.
“Wha… are you kidding me? I thought I was totally obvious about it! I mean, literally everyone in class noticed but you didn’t??? I flirted with you so much I was starting to run out of pick up lines!”
“Yo, those were supposed to be pick up lines? Like, no offense dude but they sucked,” Y/N chuckled.
“Hey, they did no-” Denki cut himself off, “Listen, do you like me too or not?”
Y/N looked puzzled for a second.
“OH, wait I thought it was obvious? I mean, I like you too. Practically the entire classroom could tell.”
“Wait… WHAT?” Denki was definitely going to yell at Kirishima and Mina about this later. At least he got forty bucks out of ‘em.
+++
Denki had ended up falling asleep in Y/N’s dorm that night while playing some video games together. When Kiri and Mina noticed the two boys walking into class the next morning hand-in-hand, with Denki wearing some of Y/N’s eyeliner (They knew Y/N had done it too, because it was way too good for Denki to have done it), they were relieved and, of course, happy for their friend but maybe not so happy about the idea of losing twenty dollars each. At least they wouldn’t have to listen to their friend’s incessant pining anymore.
“Guys! My boyfriend is so cool…”
Kiri and Mina just slumped back down in their chairs, tuning out Denki gushing about his crush boyfriend.
#denki kaminari x male reader#denki x male reader#kaminari x male reader#kaminari denki x male reader#bnha x male reader#mha x male reader#male reader#denki x reader#denki x you#one shot
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“Chalk Two Down”: an HYH recap
“Chalk Two Down” picks up right where “Chalk One Up” left off, which is that everyone is sort of running like chickens with their heads cut off. At the combat post, the soldiers are all scrambling. One of them asks Max for his “shit.” They need encrypted devices to send pictures back up to the ops and situation rooms. Max valiantly volunteers to come along and handle the equipment himself.
In the ops room, HEV is like, WE’RE SENDING IN THE JV SQUAD? WHERE THE FUCK IS OUR MILITARY, THE GREATEST IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE. CO Owens is like, hi, pls chill. We’re bringing in a QRF ASAP ACRONYM ACRONYM. HEV offers some more racist commentary and everyone sort of stares blankly at their hands because in 20 minutes this guy’s about to be the president so….
Saul cautions them all that a) we don’t know the president is dead and b) we don’t know the Taliban did it. HEV calls him out and again everyone sort of stares blankly at their hands. Carrie tries to soothe his ego, because apparently that’s now Her Job.
Carrie: Are you ok? Let me get you a danish.
Saul: I don’t want a danish and no I’m not ok.
Carrie: Try to see it from their side. They all hate you because this was sort of your idea.
Saul: Actually it was sort of your idea. Anyway they don’t give a fuck what actually happened, they just want to kill more brown people.
Carrie: That’s not what I heard.
Saul: You weren’t listening then.
Carrie: Let’s try to have some perspective, a thing I’m really good at.
Saul: Perspective? Look, if the Taliban did it, cool. If the ISI did it, coolio. If G’ulom did it, cooliest. I’m explicitly leaving out whether the Russians did it, but …. y’know. Or maybe the pilot saw Jesus and flew the helicopter into the mountain! All that stuff matters. It determines what we do next.
Carrie: Not ~realistically~.
Saul: We’re really about to repeat the same mistakes as after 9/11, huh? Ten years from now are you gonna come onto me again in your apartment with the blue walls and tell me you missed something TWICE before?
Carrie: Wow, I thought we were never mentioning that again. Also there’s no way both of us will still be alive in ten years. If we are, I certainly won’t be speaking to you.
Back at the presidential palace, Not Martha Boyd is telling everyone that the two presidents have been slightly delayed. Tasneem and G’ulom aren’t buying it. They whisper about the rumors that the helicopter is actually down. Based on the reactions here, they’re either extremely good actors, or neither of them had anything to do with this. A few moments later, resident hottie Scott Ryan cuts the bullshit with G’ulom and tells him the truth. The helicopters are both down and no one knows anything.
Carrie goes back to Bagram because Saul told her to I guess. She is immediately stopped by one of the majors there and her response is “I’m Carrie Mathison,” as if that should mean anything to him. You gotta admire the swagger though. Carrie asks to see the books … again, this is her job now, I don’t know, man. She ends up doing a good job because she realizes that the helicopters were actually switched out. By whom? Some dude named Worley. Where is he? He’s *cough cough* sick. Take me to his room? Not there. But his car? Also not there. Carrie looks like she honestly wants to scream at the situation and I am so with you, girl. Luckily one of the other Army officers thinks he knows where he is. So it’s off to Kabul for another field trip.
Out in the field, Max and the Hot Marines have made their way to the crash site. There are “large conifers.” In the situation room, HEV shouts at the TV, “What about the President??” Linus is like, “Uh… they can’t hear you dummy,” and at home while watching I actually snorted. Anyway they begin recovering evidence from Chalk Two. No survivors. The president is dead. HEV has now become HEP so he has to take a minute.
Saul calls G’ulom to tell him that he and Not Martha will be preparing a speech and they have to work on it together. G’ulom is not here for this group project. He orders his men to find Haqqani and then tells Tasneem what’s happened. She’s got to get out of Kabul because he can’t guarantee her safety, on account of the ISI basically being in cahoots with the Taliban.
Back on the Kabul field trip, they’re trying to figure out where Worley might be. The Army officer can’t remember since it was dark the last time he came and also he wasn’t much paying attention to street landmarks because “I was getting laid” and “we were drunk, sir.” They find the one thing he can remember, which is a large mural of two eyes, the meaning of which Carrie then dutifully explains to the audience. They finally find Worley’s car and roll up to this house and charge in. Someone uses a periscope and it’s hilarious.
Surprise! There’s a pregnant woman inside and Worley’s there because, well, he impregnated her. And why did they switch the helicopters last minute? Nothing sinister there either. They switch them all the time. They’re way past capacity, the weather always sucks, etc. The Homeland writers sure are pulling the curtain back on the Greatest Fighting Force In the History of the Planet. All of this makes Carrie believe it might have just been a freakish accident, which she relays to Saul over the phone. He tells her to come back to the station.
Mike tells Saul that G’ulom has just ordered two battalions out into the streets to find Haqqani. Because Haqqani is apparently now his BFF, Saul gives him the ol’ heads up. Haqqani swears he wasn’t responsible, he’s been observing the ceasefire. “I believe you,” Saul says. “No one else will.” Everyone’s heads explode because we were sure Saul was gonna say that to Carrie.
Anyhoozles, the Taliban is also threatening to overtake the crash site. This is Not Good. Mike is emphatic that they get as many of their guys out as they can and then drop a thousand-pound bomb on it.
Owens: You want me to obliterate the body of an American President?
Mike: Unless you want to see his body dragged through the streets with his dick in his mouth, yeah, I do.
Saul: First, gross. Second, we can’t drop a bomb on anything. What about evidence?
Mike: FFS, Saul, this isn’t an episode of SVU. No one gives a shit about evidence.
Saul: Sorry, I forgot.
At the White House, HEP decided now is a great time to move offices. He’s having his stuff transferred to the Oval Office. Linus’ eyes nearly fall out of his head from rolling so hard. Anyway, he tells HEP he’s got to make a decision.
HEP: Wow, have you ever noticed the carpet in here? It’s really ugly.
Linus: Focus, please. Our guys are about to lose control of the site from the Taliban.
HEP: What about the uh.. the uh… the rapid—
Linus: The QRF won’t arrive in time, even though “quick” is literally a part of their name.
HEP: So…?
Linus: Jesus Christ, I have to explain everything to you. We gotta drop a bomb. But we need your ok.
HEP: This is a military matter. I’m not equipped to make this decision.
Linus: I mean, obviously. But also, you’re the commander in chief. The buck stops with you.
HEP: Fuck.
Linus: Well?
HEP: Please make this decision for me.
Linus: Ugh, fine. We’re dropping the bomb. Also I’m changing your name to Hot In Over His Head President. See ya later, HIOHHP.
So that’s that I guess. But that is never that with Carrie Mathison. She arrives back at the ops room, incredulous.
Carrie: They’re gonna drop a bomb?
Saul: Yep.
Carrie: Even though you told them about the problems with the air frames and how this might be an accident and in order to prove that we definitely need the evidence from the crash site??
Saul: That’s right. But we’re out of time.
Carrie: Why are we letting this happen? This morning you were lecturing me about “it matters, it matters.” God, you are insufferable.
Saul: No one is listening to me now.
Carrie: Yeah, how does that feel? Just let me talk to Max.
Saul: Fine, here’s the sat phone.
Carrie: Max? Max? It’s me.
Max: Who is “me”? Oh, Carrie?!
Carrie: Listen, you have to get the black box.
Saul: Oh my god I just had a deja vu moment of 3.10.
They really are all seriously running out of time. The drone is 90 seconds out, and Max has to get the black box with the flight recording. Because Max is… what’s the word… an angel, he obliges and then gets the fuck out of there. He’s hauling ass when the bomb drops, leveling the whole thing. In the quietest, most haunting voice, Carrie speaks into the phone. “Max?” There’s no answer.
G’ulom never saw an opportunity he didn’t want to take advantage of and marches right up to the lectern at the presidential palace and tells everyone that the presidents are dead, Haqqani was responsible, and he’s just enacted martial law and is currently rounding up everyone that looks like they might be in the Taliban on the streets of Kabul. From a distance, Haqqani sees the checkpoints and roadblocks barring his exit from Kabul and has a momentary car freakout.
Carrie and Saul are sitting dejectedly on the steps of the ops room. Mike informs them that pretty much everyone is dead. Which—they dropped a fucking bomb on the site, what did they expect? Cut to Max and Soto, miraculously both alive. Max decides it’s time to check in with Carrie. Carrie exhales, says “Thank God” over and over again. “Tell me you have the black box,” she says. “It’s orange,” Max deadpans. It’s the greatest exchange to ever happen on this show.
Suddenly, shots come hailing down on them. Carrie’s still on the line but can’t figure out what’s happening. Max turns around to see blood flowing out from Soto’s neck, his eyes still wide open. He rises slowly, puts his hands up, stares down the barrel of a gun and the Taliban soldier holding it. “Max?” Carrie calls. “Max?”
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angst war prompt: Chex role reversal: Tex is the AI that came from the director, Church is the echo
My first work for the Angst War! Hopefully, there’ll be more. I enjoy writing angst more than I thought I would, haha. Anyways, thank you for the prompt! Work can also be found here!
Rating: T (For canon-typical swearing)
Title: Memory
Pairing: Chex
Number of Words: 720
Warnings: Swearing, and of course, sadness. Also, it has the same ending/idea as episode 20 in Season 9. So… Spoilers, I guess? Anyhoo, work is below the cut.
It’s funny how hard some people try to stop what they know is inevitable. Texas was one of those people. She knew right from the beginning she couldn’t keep Church. But did that stop her from wasting what felt like years trying to keep him? No.But now there was no other choice.
The world was falling apart around them, rocks crumbling from the canyon walls and the earth shaking beneath them. Each time the ground rumbled, Tex heard the metal framing of the base squeal, like it could collapse at any second.The world was falling apart. Her world. His world. Their world.But there she stood, finally with the person she had been chasing down for so long. Leonard Church.Together, they stared out at the breaking valley. In the distance, Tex heard the motor of the tank that she had instructed Tucker and Caboose to escape in. She could only assume that the Reds had evacuated as well. Which left her alone, with Church. Finally.
Hesitantly, she turned to face him.“So… Looks bad, doesn’t it?” she attempted.Church shrugged, replying, “It could use a touch-up, yeah.”.Tex chuckled, humored by Church’s response. The ground shook, albeit softly. Tex looked out at the canyon again.She let out a long breath, taking Church’s hand. “Do you know how hard it was for me to catch you?” she queried quietly, closing her eyes.“Nope. Do you know how long it took me to get here?” he answered.“It took you three days.”“Damn right it did.”
Church, after making Tex wait a minute, clasped his hand around hers in response to her earlier action.“Church… I chased you around this goddamn canyon so many times… It was so tiring. But now that I have you, I…,” Tex stumbled for words, glancing around the canyon, “I guess this means I can’t have you.”She saw Church’s helmet move a bit as he looked at her. She could imagine his face beneath the helmet – the smile falling from his face, his eyes falling into a state of solemn curiosity.“What do you mean?” he queried.“Leonard, I… Look around.” she gestured to the canyon, a quake shaking the structure beneath them once more.Church gazed about, then looked back at Tex, silent.“I worked so hard to get to you. To keep you here. And when I finally got that, this happens.” she huffed, staring blankly at the canyon walls.Church squeezed her hand in his, bringing her attention to him. “That doesn’t mean this has to be the end, Tex.”Tex was quiet, moving her attention somewhere else. Anywhere else.“Yes, it does.” she breathed in response, closing her hand tighter around Church’s.
Church said nothing, just stared at her. Tex wanted to pull him into a hug. She wanted to kiss him, to be comforted with his presence. She just wanted to keep him here. But she didn’t. No matter what she did, no matter what he did, it would be useless. She knew this much, at least.“You can try again, you always can-” Tex cut Church short.“No, Church, I can’t try again. I can’t do this to myself. I can’t do it to you.”
Church stared, obviously dumbfounded.“Tex… What are you doing?”The ground rumbled violently, tossing rocks down from the cliffs and beckoning the base to squeal. Church lost his footing for a moment, but having held to Tex’s hand, he was able to stand himself up again.
“Church, we both know that no matter what we do, it’s going to end this way. We’ll never get what we want.” she spoke as softly as she could, her grip on Church’s hand becoming looser.“You’re a part of me. But I can’t keep chasing you through my memories. It’s too hard for both of us. You know that.” she murmured.Church’s only response was a small nod of acknowledgment. The earth continued to shudder, making it increasingly difficult to stay still.“Leonard, I love you with all my heart, but there’s only one way this is gonna end.” Tex took a deep breath, and let go of his hand with a defeated sigh.
“I forget you.”
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Unforgivable?
Let me introduce you to two boys of mine. Nathan and Connor. They’re both in their early 20s, dated for nearly 3 years before they broke up and hoped never to have to see each other again but tragedy has a funny way of bringing people together.
After a long day at the office there was nothing Connor wanted more than to curl up on his sofa with a takeaway and a new episode of The Walking Dead. It wasn’t that he disliked his job, the opposite in fact, he loved working for one of the city's biggest newspapers it just meant there were some hard days and long nights. He came back to his apartment and sighed, home at last; he left his bag by the door and went around turning on the lights and switching on the tv. He’d never had gotten used to the silence, it had been months and at first he thought he’d enjoy the peace but instead it just felt like something was missing. He really must get around to getting a cat, something to keep him company at least. Connor tried to ignore the nagging feeling of loneliness and put the kettle on, a nice hot drink to sooth a stress filled day why he ordered his favorites from the place down the road. He’d sat down, mug of tea steaming on the coffee table and an old episode of Friends playing on the tv while he waited for the latest zombie adventure.He flicked through the menu from the takeaway like he didn’t already know what he was going to have, his order hadn’t changed in months. He was all settled in for the night, letting the mindless tv relax him when his phone buzzed with an incoming message. Connor assumed it was his sister informing him of the newest trouble his nephew had gotten up to, instead there was a number on the screen rather than a name, a number he knew all too well. It belonged to his ex boyfriend Nathan, Connor hadn’t heard from him since their not so easy break up almost five months ago. He decided to open it rather than just delete it, even if it was just to laugh at his exes drunk declaration of love.
‘Hi Connor, I’m sorry to get in contact like this but I didn’t know who else to talk to. Mum’s died and well I know how fond of you she was and I know that’s it wrong of me to ask but I could really do with someone to talk to, feel free to ignore this message if not and again I’m sorry.’
Connor felt like someone had just stamped on his heart, Mrs Fletcher was dead. He knew she’d been ill for a long time, all through his and Nathan’s relationships but to hear that she’d died was something else. She’d been a lovely woman and one Connor had missed ever since the break up. He read through Nathan’s message again, he couldn’t imagine how the younger man was feeling, his mum was the only family he had and she was gone. He thought about the request to talk and then looked at the takeaway menu abandoned next to his lukewarm cup of tea, if Nathan had reached out to him then he really did need someone and Connor couldn’t deny that, no matter how things had ended between them. He picked up his phone and send a quick text back.
‘Do you still live on Baxter Street and have you eaten?’
It only took a few minutes for Nathan to reply, just enough time for Connor to have changed from his work clothes to something comfortable.
‘Yes and no.’
‘I’ll be there in half an hour.’
Connor didn’t wait for a reply before putting his phone in his pocket and grabbing his jacket, leaving his apartment and quiet night in behind.
The takeaway place was about halfway between Connor and Nathan’s apartments, it had been their favourite once upon a time. As Connor stood waiting to make his order he tried not to think about what it would be like seeing Nathan again, he’d been so careful to avoid the younger even if it meant giving up some of his old hangouts. It wasn’t going to be some awkward meeting in the frozen food aisle of local Tesco, Nathan needed him and he’d long forgotten what that felt like, to be needed by someone. He knew Nathan wouldn’t have turned to him if there was anyone else but he’d never been good at sharing his feelings so maybe no one else even knew about Mrs Fletcher, the thought made Connor’s blood run cold. When it was his turn at the front of que Connor didn’t even have to think about his order, he’d made it so many times before. The old lady who ran the place gave Connor a smile but he didn’t say anything, it wasn’t something he felt like he could explain, he just paid and left, picking his pace up so the food would stay warm.
Within ten minutes he was walking up the stairs in Nathan’s building, he didn’t need to ask what apartment, he had the door number burned into his memory from the last time he walked away, closing the door behind him. He stopped outside number 15 and knocked, he felt like his stomach was tying itself in knots and his palms were sweaty and after a few moments the door opened. Nathan stood there looking like a complete mess, his dark hair was tangled and sticking up all over the place, he was pale and dark circles surrounded his blue eyes.
“Hey, how are you doing?” Connor asked, trying to sound casual and not like a bundle of nerves.
“Not great,” Nathan replied before turning and coughing harshly into his arm. “And I feel like shit.”
Connor saw the redness of his nose and the slight wheeze to his breathing, Nathan had obviously caught something as well as having lost his mum, Connor tried to ignore the pang sympathy in his heart.
“Well I brought Maggie’s so hopefully that’ll make you feel better.”
Nathan let Connor into his apartment, leading him back into the living room. Connor was surprised at how little everything had changed, the only real difference was the level of mess (Nathan never was the tidy one,) the tissues and bottles of cold medicine scattered about the place. Nathan ambled back to what was his spot on the sofa, sitting down amongst a pile of blankets and picking up a tissue to blow his nose. Connor just stood awkwardly at the edge of the room, unsure of what to do but with the food getting cold in his arms he had to make a move. He sat down in a chair opposite Nathan and started unpacking the tubs of food onto the already crowded coffee table.
“Sorry I would’ve cleaned up before you came but I haven’t felt like doing much of anything,” Nathan said before breaking off into another coughing fit.
Connor just frowned and helped Nathan clear away the used tissues and empty pill bottles into the bin.
“Let me get us some plates,” Nathan said but as he tried to stand he just fell back down. “Sorry got dizzy.”
“No worries, I’ll get them,” Connor said.
He still pretty much remembered where everything was in Nathan’s apartment and found the plates and cutlery without much trouble. He hadn’t expected Nathan to be so sick, he hadn’t mentioned anything. Connor had expected an emotional mess, all ugly crying and grieving, instead Nathan looked like a sick puppy. No Connor, don’t start thinking like that.
“Found them!”
Connor came back to find Nathan staring blankly at the wall,he looked like he was about to burst into tears, Connor prepared himself for the worst but instead Nathan covered his face with his hands and sneezed.
“Hisssccchhhhoooo, hissscchhhhoooo, hiiissscccchhhoooooo,”
“Bless you.”
“Ugh thanks,” Nathan sniffed, wiping his nose with one of ratty looking tissues.
Connor placed the plates on the table and started dishing out the food. He tried not to focus on the memories creeping up on him, of them eating the same takeaway, in the same apartment, on the same sofa. Connor was snapped away from memory lane as Nathan coughed, it sounded painful and he didn’t seem able to stop. Connor scrabbled for a glass of water on the table and pressed into Nathan’s shaking hands.
“Small sips, it’ll help.”
It felt like forever before Nathan was able to stop, his breath shaky as he wiped tears from his eyes.
“Thanks,” he mumbled, taking a few more sips of water.
Connor wanted to say something, to ask whether he’d been to a Doctor or just to ask if he needed anything but he didn’t. Nathan wasn’t his to worry over anymore. He returned to putting out the food as Nathan blew his nose, sounding no less stuffed up.
“Here you are, something to eat will help,” Connor said, holding out a plate covered with Nathan’s favourite food.
The sick man looked up and for a second Connor thought he saw the hint of a smile, food always had been the way to his heart.
“Thank you,” he said, taking the plate onto his lap.
“You don’t have to keep saying thank you, it’s fine, really.”
Nathan just shrugged and began to eat. It was quiet why they ate neither of them knowing what to say to break the ice. Connor was pleased to see Nathan eating something, he had no idea the last time he would have had anything and he was so skinny to start with. When they had first started dating Connor found out that forgetting to eat was an act Nathan was prone to, it had taken a few months to train it out of him but it seemed like old habits die hard. Nathan eventually pushed his plate away after eating about half, as he was sick and probably didn’t have much of an appetite Connor didn’t push it.
“Can’t beat a good Maggie’s dinner,” Connor said, trying to get passed the awkwardness.
“Yeah I’ve missed their stuff.”
It hadn’t crossed Connor’s mind that because he’d been able to keep Maggie’s that Nathan would have given it up. He’d always loved their food so much, Connor felt a stab of guilt for having taken that from him. They fell into silence again, only broken when Nathan succumb to a sneezing fit.
“HIssshhhooooo, hissschhhooooo, hiiisscccchhhoooooo.”
“Bless you.”
“Thanks,” he sniffed, getting out another tissue. “Look I’m sorry about this, I didn’t mean to ask you over just to watch me sneeze and cough, I just didn’t want to be alone and I didn’t know who else to…. Hiscchhhhoooo, hisscchhhoooo.”
“It’s okay, I know you can’t help it.”
“I just miss her.”
Nathan’s voice was so quiet it barely a whisper, croaky and tired.
“I miss her too, I found myself buying lemon tea because it reminded me of her.”
Nathan gave a laugh before it turned it a rough cough.
“She would have liked that,” he said.
“The world will be a duller place without her, she was a real wonderful woman,” Connor said and he meant it too. He’d never met anyone like Mrs Violet Fletcher, to be so caring and loving, especially when she was so, so ill.
“Yeah she..I… wa…”
Nathan stumbled over his words and for the first time Connor honestly thought he was going to cry, instead he just stared at his hands, sniffling.
“At least she’s not in pain anymore,” Connor said, he’d never been the best at comforting people and the fact it was ex boyfriend in need of comforting made it even harder to find the words.
“That’s… That’s what everyone at the hospital kept saying but.. But she’s still gone, and I know how selfish it sounds but I want her here with me.” His voice cracked. “I don’t want to be alone.”
Connor watched, feeling helpless as Nathan put his face in his hands and cried. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen him cry but seeing him in such a mess wasn’t not something Connor felt prepared for. He didn’t say anything, just got up from his chair opposite and sat beside Nathan, putting an arm around his shaking shoulders.
“You’re going to be okay,” Connor tried to reassure him but his words felt hollow.
Nathan’s crying turned to coughing and Connor rubbed his back, he could feel the heat radiating through his thin cotton shirt.
“Hey, look at me a moment.”
Nathan raised his head, his eyes red from crying with tears on his cheeks and nose running. He looked like a little boy in need of his mum, scared and alone. Connor placed his wrist to Nathan’s forehead and frowned.
“You’re really warm, do you have anything you can take?” Connor asked.
“In the… Hii…hiii… hiissssscccchhhoooo, hiiisssshhhhhhooooo, in the the kit.. HIssshhhhOOO, kitchen.”
“Okay and bless you.”
Connor got up in search of medicine as Nathan cleaned himself up, in the small apartment he could still hear him sniffling from the kitchenette. He found a box of ibuprofen and filled a glass with water before going back to Nathan, who was now wrapped in a blanket to combat his chills.
“This is all you’ve got but it should help.”
“Thanks.”
He took the pill with a few sips of water and went to put the glass down.
“Drink all of it, you’ll feel better,” Connor suggested.
“When did you become such a Doctor?” Nathan asked.
“I did a column about basic health tips for winter, I guess I picked up a few things.”
Nathan just nodded and coughed weakly into the back of his hand. They descended into silence again and Connor racked his brains trying to find something to say, something to help Nathan but also to get his own mind off the fact that the boy whose heart he broke was sitting inches away from him.
“When… When… I was a kid and home sick from school mum would always put on Back to the Future, or Ghostbusters, something that helped get my mind off how crappy I was feeling.”
A memory that Connor had long buried came back to the surface, of coming home and hearing the familiar sounds of Johnny B Goode playing on the tv. The sound that only meant one thing, that Nathan was feeling under the weather and needed some comfort.
“Shall I put it on?” Connor asked.
Nathan nodded and brought his knees up to his chest, his sock clad feet tangling just over the edge of the sofa. He didn’t need to tell Connor where to find the collection of dvds, he hadn’t moved them from their place under the tv. The shelves that were once organized and neatly arranged were messy, dvds piled on top of each over but it didn’t take long to spot the name he was looking for. As Connor pulled out the box he realised it was the one he’d given Nathan, he’d been so upset when his own dvd had become unplayable from over use that Connor had brought him a collector's copy, complete bonus content and a poster that had once been in their bedroom. Connor didn’t say anything as he stood up and placed it in the tv, he didn’t want to stir up old memories.
It didn’t take long for the familiar music to start playing, Connor sat back on the sofa with Nathan beside him.
“Mum was a real nerd, she’d been first in line for the latest Star Wars film and never once missed an episode of Star Trek. I remember once dad tried to take her to a romance thing, something for Valentine’s Day, I don’t think she lasted ten minutes.”
Connor wasn’t really sure what to say as Nathan rambled about his mum, his speech only interrupted by his sniffles and muffled coughs.
“She was never much of a reader, she always said she never had the time but she loved films. Every week they’d be another dvd she’d brought, probably from the local charity shop as she never could resist a good cause. We’d watch them together, curled up on the sofa with a fluffy blanket around us, getting lost in a fictional world.”
Connor remembered once visiting Mrs Fletcher in the hospital with Nathan, he’d never bring her flowers, just a dvd and together they’d watch it. Connor sat on an uncomfortable plastic chair, with Nathan on his lap with his mum’s hand held tightly in his. The film had gotten to the part where Marty meets his mum in 1955, the part where Nathan always used to laugh at Marty falling out the tree, this time he doesn’t even raise a smile. Connor noticed Nathan shivering, the ibuprofen seemingly having little effect on his fever, he didn’t want to risk making things awkward by putting his hand to Nathan’s forehead again, so instead got a blanket from the back of the sofa and placed it around the shivering man’s shoulders. Nathan mumbled a thanks and curled up even smaller, like he trying to disappear altogether.
The long day at the office had taken more of a toll than Connor thought, he didn’t remember closing his eyes but soon he was opening them again. He felt groggy and stiff having fallen asleep on the sofa, at first he thought it was the stiffness that had woken him but then there was a noise, a soft whimper. He rubbed away the grogginess from his eyes and looked around, for a moment he didn’t realise anything was amiss. He looked over and saw Nathan curled up tightly at the end of the sofa, shaking with chills so violent his teeth were chattering. There was a second were Connor forgot that time had passed and he thought he was back with Nathan, in their apartment as a couple but it didn’t last long. Nathan whimpered again and Connor was brought back to reality, the man next to him was really sick and he needed to do something.
“Nathan, Nathan wake up.”
Connor shook his shoulder but his eyes stayed closed.
“Come on, wake up, Nate please,” he begged.
As the panic rose in his voice Nathan’s eyes began to flicker until he was looking up at Connor, his usual cool blue eyes glassy and red, tears threatening to slip.
“Hey…” he managed to croak before being struck by a painful sounding coughing fit.
Connor winced at the sound as he helped Nathan sit up, rubbing his back until he was able to breathe. Connor could still hear a drag on his lungs, he was going to end up with a chest infection if he wasn’t careful. Nathan sniffed and wiped his eyes, he was still shaking and Connor had to resist putting his hand on his cheek to test his temperature.
“I’m sorry I had to wake you, I think your fevers got up. Do you have a thermometer?” Connor asked.
“In the bathroom…” Nathan replied, even his voice was shaking.
Connor nodded and got up, stretching his stiff limbs. He checked the time on his phone on his way through, it was nearly 2am. He thought about going home but a bigger part of him knew he couldn’t leave Nathan in that state, he was too ill and emotional, and there was no one else.
When he’d found the thermometer he went back to Nathan, he entered the living room to see him with his head in hands. He was shaking again but Connor doubted it was the fever, he appeared to be crying again.
“Nate?”
“Huh? Oh sorry,” he sniffed and wiped his face.
Connor didn’t ask if he was okay, the question seemed stupid and unnecessary. Even when they were together Nathan hadn’t slept well, apparently insomnia ran in his family.
“I found the thermometer, can I?...”
Nathan held up his hand but before Connor could ask what was wrong Nathan buried his face in his elbow.
“Hiissshhhhoooo, hii.iii...iisssshhhoooo, hiiissccchhhhooooo.”
“Bless you.”
Connor couldn’t ignore the feeling of sympathy in his chest, if this had happened only a few months ago then things would be different. Connor would be able to comfort him, to hold him, to make it all okay but instead he was stood on the outside at a loss. He tried to remember the reasons he broke them up, the reason he walked out but he couldn’t think with Nathan looking so miserable.
“Can I take your temperature now?”
Nathan nodded and took the device, putting it under his tongue and waiting. Connor was left with little else to do but stand and wait, trying not to stare too hard at the one he used to love. His messy brown hair, the colour of burnt caramel that always smelt of apples; blue eyes red rimmed at glassy making them look ever more like ice. He tried not to think about the curve of his lips when he smiled or dimples on his back, the birthmark the shape of magic lamp on his shoulder and the tiny scar on his hip.
“102.3,” Nathan read aloud.
Connor hadn’t even noticed the bleeping, his mind too full of images from another time.
“That’s bad… I think we should probably get you to bed.”
Nathan didn’t argue and let Connor help him up, Connor taking most of his weight on the walk to the bedroom.
“You’ll be more comfortable in clean clothes,” Connor said, opening the top drawer of Nathan’s dresser.
He didn’t even have to think where to look, he’d cleaned up after Nathan many a time and putting his clothes away had just been part of the routine. Nathan didn’t say anything as Connor left him to change, a pair of warm pyjamas on his lap. Connor returned a few minutes later with a fresh glass of water and a packet of cold and flu tablets. Nathan was curled up under his duvet, he had finally stopped shivering but looked no less pitiful.
“It’s not much but it should help, even if it’s only to knock you out,” Connor said.
“Thanks,” Nathan mumbled.
He down the pills with a few mouthfuls of water and placed the glass at his bedside with shaky hands.
“Well if you’re okay I better be…”
Connor trialed off, not sure what to say. He wanted to stay, even if it was just make sure Nathan was okay but he didn’t want to outstay his welcome. He’d gotten to the bedroom door when a quiet voice made him stop.
“Stay… Please.”
“You really want me to stay?”
Nathan nodded and coughed into his fist. Connor went over to him, sitting on the edge of their his bed.
“Come here,” Nathan croaked after he latest coughing spell had ended.
Connor shuffled onto the bed,
Nathan curled up side him, his head ending on in Connor’s lap.
“I don’t want to dream of her, not again,” Nathan said, his voice muffled as his face was pressed to Connor’s leg.
“Shh, you’re going to be okay, just close your eyes,” Connor reassured him.
Nathan was too tired to fight it and his eyelids closed within seconds.
“You’re going to be okay,” Connor continued, his fingers finding their way to Nathan’s hair.
It didn’t take long for Nathan to start drifting off again and Connor to be left alone with the war inside his mind. He shouldn’t be doing this, he knew that. This was his ex boyfriend asleep in his lap, too sick to really understand what was going on. He’d just needed comfort and Connor’s name happened to be at the top of the list, he didn’t really want him back and Connor couldn’t start believing that he did. After all he was the one who walked out, his bags packed hoping to never see Nathan again. He couldn’t fall in love with him again, he just couldn’t. His instincts told him to run, to get away as fast as he could before it happened again. It broke his heart once, he didn’t want to put it on the line for a second time, he wasn’t sure he could go through it again.
With his heart pounding in his chest Connor tried to move Nathan, carefully place him on his pillows and slip away. Maybe Nathan would wake up and think it had all been a fevered dream, he’d never have to remember and for Connor it would just become another memory he couldn’t face. He managed to get out from under Nathan’s sleeping form, laying him gently on the cool pillows, tucking the duvet around his shoulders to keep his shivers away. Tears were building up as he leant down and pressed a small kiss to Nathan’s temple.
“I’m sorry,” Connor whispered.
It wasn’t that he wanted to leave, he could have happily stayed by Nathan’s side forever but it hadn’t worked before, so why should it work now? He was barely together as it was. Connor went out to the living room, picking up his things and trying to make it look like he’d never been there at all. He even went as far to wipe the texts from both their phones, luckily Nathan had never changed his passcode, his mum’s birthday. When he was done he stood in the doorway, the door half open looking back toward the hallway down which Nathan was sleeping. How he wished he could stay, climb beneath the sheets and close his eyes, he was so tired. He turned away, one hand still on the door, it wasn’t like the last time he’d left when Nathan had been stood there, watching him leave. No, this was easier, to just slip into the night. He was so nearly out the door.
“You’re leaving again.”
Connor sighed and turned back to face Nathan, he was stood at the edge of the room, blanket around his shoulders and looking more pathetic than ever.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t say goodbye.”
“I’m sorry, I thought this would be better.”
“You always do,” Nathan huffed, running a hand under his nose.
“I am sorry, I am.”
“How can I believe that? You keep saying you’re sorry and I….”
Nathan doesn’t finish as he dissolves into a fit of coughs and Connor is reminded how very sick he is.
“Sit down before you pass out.”
Connor took Nathan by the shoulders, walking him over to the sofa and gently pushing him down. It took a few scary moments but he finally stopped coughing, Connor had started thinking about calling 999 before he was able to breathe again.
“Are you okay? Do you need anything?” Connor asked.
“I’m fine,” he mumbled.
“Yeah and I’m Prince Harry,” Connor replied.
Nathan just sighed and rubbed his eyes, Connor wondered if the tears were from coughing or something else…
“I’m….”
“If you say sorry I swear to God I’m going to cough on you,” Nathan said, any bite to his words were lost to his sore throat.
“Then what do you want from me? I can only say it so many times.”
He was quiet for awhile, the only sound coming from the wheeze of his breathing and sniffling.
“I want to know why… Why you left.”
His words were so quiet that Connor had to strain his ears to hear.
“Is that why you called me in the first place? That’s all you wanted?” Connor demanded, he couldn’t help the anger that escaped. Five months it had been since they’d broken up, he was trying to move on all Nathan has to do is pick up the phone and he comes running back.
“No!” Nathan tried to yell but it made him cough. “No, I asked you because I didn’t have anyone else. You’re one of the few people mum knew near the end and I know how much she liked you, I did it for her and yeah maybe I broke, maybe I thought I needed you but you obviously never needed me…”
Nathan’s voice cracked, tears on his pale cheeks and snot above his lip.
“That’s not true, of course I needed you. I don’t know how I’ve got out of the bed these past few months without you.”
“Then why did you leave?”
Nathan’s voice was so small, he was like a small child asking for his mum.
“Because I didn’t think you loved me anymore, I wanted to leave before I had to hear you say those words.”
As Connor spoke he realised how wrong those words were, if Nathan really had stopped loving him he wouldn’t be there now. This was not the reaction of someone who’d broken up with a bad boyfriend, no it was of one who’d lost a loved one, maybe more than one. Connor felt his heart break, the one he’d been trying so hard to keep together.
“No, no, no, I never ever… How could you think that?”
Nathan’s voice was still tiny, just a whisper. Connor could barely look at him, all big eyes and messy hair.
“Because you withdrew from me, I could barely get a word out of you, you didn’t want to be around me, like every time I’d enter a room you’d leave. I tried to be better, I tried to talk to you but you just shut me out. I didn’t know what else to think.”
Nathan looked away, wiping his eyes with his too long sleeves. He shivered under his blanket and Connor wished they could have saved this for a day he wasn’t so unwell, a broken heart was bad enough without the fever.
“It was around the time mum got her final diagnosis, she’d had various health problems for years when her behaviour started to change it was when we knew something more serious was going on. They tested and they tested, and they found out she had Huntington’s disease, which is genetic.”
Connor felt his heart hit his stomach and acid in the back on his throat, no not his Nathan, no.
“Nate…”
“So they had to test me… I was terrified of what they’d find but I was more terrified of telling you, what if I had it too? I didn’t want you to live through what I had with mum but I didn’t want you to go, I couldn’t have gone through it all alone. That’s why I couldn’t be near you, I was scared I’d say something and you’d leave but you did anyway.”
There were tears on Connor’s face and his hands were shaking, he finally realised what he’d done. He’d tried so hard to protect himself, to stop himself from getting his heart broken that instead he’d broken the person he loved the most.
“Nate I… I’m… I… I’m so sorry…I…”
“Stop apologizing and come here,” Nathan said, holding out his arms.
Connor stepped closer to him, ready to wrap his arms around his lost love when Nathan pushed him away.
“Hasshhhhoooo, haaccchhhhoooo, hiisscccchooo, haacccchhhooooo, urgh.”
“Bless you, just to be clear you’re not dying are you?” Connor asked, trying to keep his voice light and not to give away the panic within.
“No, not unless you count the plague,” Nathan said, with the smallest hint of a smile.
Connor returned the gesture, relief spreading through him as he sank down next to Nathan, wrapping the sick boy tightly in his arms.
“You deserve so much better, better than me at the very least,” Connor said.
“That’s my choice and I choose you, always have, always will.”
Connor knew that Nathan could forgive too easily, it always been one of his faults but Connor himself knew he was too rash and didn’t think things through as much as he should. They weren’t perfect and neither was their relationship but it hadn’t mattered because they’d loved each other and it made it all okay. It would never be easy but nothing worth having ever is.
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Squidwards suicide
https://youtu.be/qq1e5dIilJ0
youtube
I just want to start off by saying if you want an answer at the end, prepare to be disappointed. There just isn’t one.
I was an intern at Nickelodeon Studios for a year in 2005 for my degree in animation. It wasn’t paid of course, most internships aren’t, but it did have some perks beyond education. To adults it might not seem like a big one, but most kids at the time would go crazy over it.
Now, since I worked directly with the editors and animators, I got to view the new episodes days before they aired. I’ll get right to it without giving too many unnecessary details. They had very recently made the SpongeBob movie and the entire staff was somewhat sapped of creativity so it took them longer to start up the season. But the delay lasted longer for more upsetting reasons. There was a problem with the series 4 premiere that set everyone and everything back for several months.
Me and two other interns were in the editing room along with the lead animators and sound editors for the final cut. We received the copy that was supposed to be “Fear of a Krabby Patty” and gathered around the screen to watch. Now, given that it isn’t final yet animators often put up a mock title card, sort of an inside joke for us, with phony, often times lewd titles, such as “How sex doesn’t work” instead of “Rock-a-bye-Bivalve” when SpongeBob and Patrick adopt a sea scallop. Nothing particularly funny but work related chuckles. So when we saw the title card “Squidward’s Suicide” we didn’t think it more than a morbid joke.
One of the interns did a small throat laugh at it. The happy-go-lucky music plays as is normal. The story began with Squidward practicing his clarinet, hitting a few sour notes like normal. We hear SpongeBob laughing outside and Squidward stops, yelling at him to keep it down as he has a concert that night and needs to practice. SpongeBob says okay and goes to see Sandy with Patrick. The bubbles splash screen comes up and we see the ending of Squidward’s concert. This is when things began to seem off.
While playing, a few frames repeat themselves, but the sound doesn’t (at this point sound is synced up with animation, so, yes, that’s not common) but when he stops playing, the sound finishes as if the skip never happened. There is slight murmuring in the crowd before they begin to boo him. Not normal cartoon booing that is common in the show, but you could very clearly hear malice in it. Squidward’s in full frame and looks visibly afraid. The shot goes to the crowd, with SpongeBob in center frame, and he too is booing, very much unlike him. That isn’t the oddest thing, though. What is odd is everyone had hyper realistic eyes. Very detailed. Clearly not shots of real people’s eyes, but something a bit more real than CGI. The pupils were red. Some of us looked at each other, obviously confused, but since we weren’t the writers, we didn’t question its appeal to children yet.
The shot goes to Squidward sitting on the edge of his bed, looking very forlorn. The view out of his porthole window is of a night sky so it isn’t very long after the concert. The unsettling part is at this point there is no sound. Literally no sound. Not even the feedback from the speakers in the room. It’s as if the speakers were turned off, though their status showed them working perfectly. He just sat there, blinking, in this silence for about 30 seconds, then he started to sob softly. He put his hands (tentacles) over his eyes and cried quietly for a full minute more, all the while a sound in the background very slowly growing from nothing to barely audible. It sounded like a slight breeze through a forest.
The screen slowly begins to zoom in on his face. By slow I mean it’s only noticeable if you look at shots 10 seconds apart side by side. His sobbing gets louder, more full of hurt and anger. The screen then twitches a bit, as if it twists in on itself, for a split second then back to normal. The wind-through-the-trees sound gets slowly louder and more severe, as if a storm is brewing somewhere. The eerie part is this sound, and Squidward’s sobbing, sounded real, as if the sound wasn’t coming from the speakers but as if the speakers were holes the sound was coming through from the other side. As good as sound as the studio likes to have, they don’t purchase the equipment to be that good to produce sound of that quality.
Below the sound of the wind and sobbing, very faint, something sounded like laughing. It came at odd intervals and never lasted more than a second so you had a hard time pinning it (we watched this show twice, so pardon me if things sound too specific but I’ve had time to think about them). After 30 seconds of this, the screen blurred and twitched violently and something flashed over the screen, as if a single frame was replaced.
The lead animation editor paused and rewound frame by frame. What we saw was horrible. It was a still photo of a dead child. He couldn’t have been more than 6. The face was mangled and bloodied, one eye dangling over his upturned face, popped. He was naked down to his underwear, his stomach crudely cut open and his entrails laying beside him. He was laying on some pavement that was probably a road.
The most upsetting part was that there was a shadow of the photographer. There was no crime tape, no evidence tags or markers, and the angle was completely off for a shot designed to be evidence. It would seem the photographer was the person responsible for the child’s death. We were of course mortified, but pressed on, hoping that it was just a sick joke.
The screen flipped back to Squidward, still sobbing, louder than before, and half body in frame. There was now what appeard to be blood running down his face from his eyes. The blood was also done in a hyper realistic style, looking as if you touched it you’d get blood on your fingers. The wind sounded now as if it were that of a gale blowing through the forest; there were even snapping sounds of branches. The laughing, a deep baritone, lasting at longer intervals and coming more frequently. After about 20 seconds, the screen again twisted and showed a single frame photo.
The editor was reluctant to go back, we all were, but he knew he had to. This time the photo was that of what appeared to be a little girl, no older than the first child. She was laying on her stomach, her barrettes in a pool of blood next to her. Her left eye was too popped out and popped, naked except for underpants. Her entrails were piled on top of her above another crude cut along her back. Again the body was on the street and the photographer’s shadow was visible, very similar in size and shape to the first. I had to choke back vomit and one intern, the only female in the room, ran out. The show resumed.
About 5 seconds after this second photo played, Squidward went silent, as did all sound, like it was when this scene started. He put his tentacles down and his eyes were now done in hyper realism like the others were in the beginning of this episode. They were bleeding, bloodshot, and pulsating. He just stared at the screen, as if watching the viewer. After about 10 seconds, he started sobbing, this time not covering his eyes. The sound was piercing and loud, and most fear inducing of all is his sobbing was mixed with screams.
Tears and blood were dripping down his face at a heavy rate. The wind sound came back, and so did the deep voiced laughing, and this time the still photo lasted for a good 5 frames.
The animator was able to stop it on the 4th and backed up. This time the photo was of a boy, about the same age, but this time the scene was different. The entrails were just being pulled out from a stomach wound by a large hand, the right eye popped and dangling, blood trickling down it. The animator proceeded. It was hard to believe, but the next one was different but we couldn’t tell what. He went on to the next, same thing. He want back to the first and played them quicker and I lost it. I vomited on the floor, the animating and sound editors gasping at the screen. The 5 frames were not as if they were 5 different photos, they were played out as if they were frames from a video. We saw the hand slowly lift out the guts, we saw the kid’s eyes focus on it, we even saw two frames of the kid beginning to blink.
The lead sound editor told us to stop, he had to call in the creator to see this. Mr. Hillenburg arrived within about 15 minutes. He was confused as to why he was called down there, so the editor just continued the episode. Once the few frames were shown, all screaming, all sound again stopped. Squidward was just staring at the viewer, full frame of the face, for about 3 seconds. The shot quickly panned out and that deep voice said “DO IT” and we see in Squidward’s hands a shotgun. He immediately puts the gun in his mouth and pulls the trigger. Realistic blood and brain matter splatters the wall behind him, and his bed, and he flies back with the force. The last 5 seconds of this episode show his body on the bed, on his side, one eye dangling on what’s left of his head above the floor, staring blankly at it. Then the episode ends.
Mr. Hillenburg is obviously angry at this. He demanded to know what the heck was going on. Most people left the room at this point, so it was just a handful of us to watch it again. Viewing the episode twice only served to imprint the entirety of it in my mind and cause me horrible nightmares. I’m sorry I stayed.
The only theory we could think of was the file was edited by someone in the chain from the drawing studio to here. The CTO was called in to analyze when it happened. The analysis of the file did show it was edited over by new material. However, the timestamp of it was a mere 24 seconds before we began viewing it. All equipment involved was examined for foreign software and hardware as well as glitches, as if the time stamp may have glitched and showed the wrong time, but everything checked out fine. We don’t know what happened and to this day nobody does.
There was an investigation due to the nature of the photos, but nothing came of it. No child seen was identified and no clues were gathered from the data involved nor physical clues in the photos. I never believed in unexplainable phenomena before, but now that I have something happen and can’t prove anything about it beyond anecdotal evidence, I think twice about things.
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