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monkey-network · 5 years

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Good Stuff’s Best of 2018

WARNING: I just want to say cheers to you for making it through another year. I send you best wishes for next year to be fruitful. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy.

Dedicated to Stan Lee, Stefán Karl and Stephen Hillenburg, the number ones of children entertainment

Bow Whacka Wow, playas and players. 2018 gave us quite a lot to consume while society continues to fumble like a Tumblr update. While hopefully the chaos has died down for the final weeks of the year, I’m counting down the best cartoons/animations I’ve seen and loved this year in no particular order. Only two rules, no sneak previews of future projects (sorry 101 Dalmatian Street and MP100) and no potential entries from last year’s list (sorry True). With that said, roll it....

10. UNIKITTY!

I love the Lego Movie. I’ll potentially like the sequel. I like Unikitty. She got a show, and it was a great show to start off the year. Upbeat, colorful, off the walls sometimes, perfectly capturing the spirit of the eponymous character. I’m glad the other characters are just as enjoyable, I never get tired of the theme song, every episode had me smilin’ one way or another, it’s just a quality bottle of positivity juice. Don’t know how else to explain it, Unikitty, the show and character, just makes and continues to make me smile.

9. POP TEA-- SIKE!

This anime ain’t nothing but unfunny randomness and skits with a forgetful arc in the first and final episode. I don’t get it, never gonna get it, so I don’t want to get it! MORE LIKE POOP TEAM EPIC, ‘nuff said. Which is why the actual number nine is....

9. BOB EPIC TEAM

Honestly, there is something endearing about the way Bob Epic Team presents itself. The simplicity and variety of its animation is remarkably good and makes it feel timeless sometimes. The comedy works in a way that gives you a clear grasp on the two characters while letting them do whatever they want. The surrealism of this is fun to think about, showcasing a hedonistic philosophy that rivals that of Epicurus. The duo’s chemistry is what especially got me, as they felt like the best of friends, potentially love birds *wink wink*. This anime was just creative in every sense of the word and, like Unikitty, it was a great anime to start of the year.

8. CRAIG OF THE CREEK

The ska is RAH. I honestly find this to be the loose spiritual successor to Hey Arnold and Recess. Like the playground, the creek is a well fleshed out setting with the many characters that hang there, from the TAZ trio to the loving witches of the creek. Though I will say the best episodes are when we get insight on the main three’s personal lives with their families and when the characters themselves go through a personal trial to understand themselves a little better. The shows thrives in the theme that the creek is a place where you can enjoy getting your hands dirty and work towards something you want, even if it doesn’t add to any concrete long term benefit beyond learning a thing or two about yourself and others. And I say for somebody that relates to Craig as a character, that’s a welcoming thought that the show has yet to perish. And the ska is a welcome choice of music, IMO.

7. THE EPIC TALES OF CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS

It’s funny in how a little over a year of getting a movie, Captain Underpants gets an animated series with not only original stories in lieu of just animating the already printed stories, but puts it all in a format similar to reading a book with a sardonic narrator and separating the plot of the episode into chapters with subtitle cards; one of the first I’ve seen do this. But really, a “Captain Underpants cartoon” is something I can’t say would turn out bad, and I’m right as this is a show that revels in what made CU great in the first place. George, Harold, Melvin, and Mr. Krupp/Captain Underpants are all great characters with the additional supporting cast providing welcome life to the world. Every Incredible Violence Chapter is brilliant in their own right, and while I wasn’t a fan of the ending they had for the season, it’s great that almost every episode is self-contained, boosting its replay value. Honestly, any compliment I have for this was already said in my review of this and the movie, so I’ll just say this too was faithful to its source material and benefited heavily for it.

6. GARY AND HIS DEMONS

Rick and Morty done better. BOOM, send tweet! It is safe to say that this was quite the sleeper hit and I can’t help but say it’s lowkey one of the best adult cartoons this year next to Ballmastrz and Final Space. And while I certainly appreciate the other two *hint hint* this one got a step above on the grounds that it works as a comedy and a solemn tale of a chosen hero that stumbles through years in the office life. It’s improv humor feels natural and it can be as melancholic as Bojack Horseman without making it all too deep like so; has a great balance of both. Main man Gary, unlike Rick for the most part, is a guy that’s both reasonably reprehensible yet pretty relatable. Not to mention, while it was bittersweet, it had a very satisfying finale to where I feel like this was a complete series all together. With a rough art style that compliments it’s tone, this was a series that surprised me in its sharp quality.

5. APPLE & ONION

I’ll admit. Initially wasn’t a fan of it as it felt like a knock-off to Regular Show (may it rest). Just had a duo of bros living together, doing mundane labor while coming up with impromptu tunes along the way. Then again, I was gladly proven wrong because the charm of it generally being a simple show, even with every person being food, somehow more regular than Regular Show. Every song they make is upbeat and catchy, all of the characters are endearing, and with only 10 episodes, each one was well paced and had quality writing to the point where I teared up a couple times. It stinks that this and Summer Camp Island have generally been receiving the shaft this year after their premieres, but I'm just glad that they haven’t been truly forgotten by CN and are getting more episodes next year. Plus, I love food and this show is about food. Debate over.

4. LEGEND OF THE THREE CABALLEROS

I was familiar yet never saw The Three Caballeros, ironic since Donald is one of my favorite Disney characters. But then, out of the blue, I found this and I was stunned, amazed, confused, nonetheless invested. It has a bumpy start, but it’s a joyous adventure from that start to end. The look of it is something I’ve rarely seen in animation since... freakin’ Wakfu. I love Xandra and I was glad to see her be an active player on the team. The villains are such a hammy delight. And Jose and Panchito were very lively and entertaining foils to Donald’s cynic nature while all three work as well together like the 3 stooges. Donald himself gets a great arc of his own throughout the season. And the theme, HO MY GOD I LOVE THIS THEME! It’s a damn shame Disney hasn’t released this already (since it’s all online already) because this series is much better than it has any right to be.

3. GOLDEN WIND/VENTO AUREO

I say, the beauty of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is that regardless of what part you start from, you’re enthralled into its world and ya feel compelled to dig into it more. Parts 3 was what got me into Jojo, like most I bet, but it was part 5 that got me “Oh yeah, this series [just] works on more than level”. The characters are what keep me hooked, regardless of Crunchyroll refusing to give their stands proper English names [Zipper Man, CR?], Fighting Gold and Freak ‘n You will never get old, and David Productions putting great effort into the small details and giving life and style to the original manga. I’ll just say, as one who’s read and loved the manga, this anime has not ceased to keep me impressed and guessing for more.

2. INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

Funking superb, you afro having web-slinger. I hate to say it, but 2018 didn’t have the most impressive line-up of western animated features. Most were average, entertaining sure, but nothing felt like 110% was given. Until Spidah-Man came on the scene and I was like “WIG...

The only major problem I have with this film, besides a bit of slow pacing, is more of a missed opportunity where the stakes of getting the Spidermen back to their dimensions before dying felt like an afterthought. Then again, that’s ALL I have for problems. It looks fantastic. The action is smooth, coherent, and satisfying to see. The tiny details and comic book aesthetic of it was a blessed touch. I loved almost every character here. Nick Cage and John Mulaney. The fact that it has so much yet was able to juggle it all blew my mind. Even the post credits scene made this such a love letter to the wall-crawler. This film was refreshing to say the least and the central theme behind the idea of Spider-Man made this as great of a superhero movie as Infinity War and Lego Batman. Just saying, this better make its budget back and THEN SOME. It deserves it.

1. HILDA

Netflix, we’re not on good terms mind you, but ya done did it again. This is honestly one of the few shows that I genuinely took my time with as opposed to binging it, because binge watching is a devil in itself. Like the Spider-verse movie, it got the style of its source material down to cozy colored T with its autumn color palette and etched lining in the characters. Like the Captain Underpants series, while having a grounded arc of Hilda journeying through the city life and her colliding wildlife, each episode can be generally be enjoyed on their own. Like Gary and His Demons, it felt like a complete season and the fact it’s getting a season two made things all the better. But above all, it was a generally peaceful yet captivating fantasy cartoon to watch with incredible animation, an endearing main character, amazing looking folk creatures of all sizes and powers, and a cuddly deerfox for a pet. I say this is to the fall what Harvey Beaks was to the spring, and if I can compare a show to Harvey Beaks you know you’ve achieved greatness. Like True and the Rainbow Kingdom, gives you a moment of honest bliss and happiness that can influence your outlook on looking forward to better things because like Hilda herself, you push forward and have some fun exploring.

Just saying, I cannot stress this enough this is NOT my number one favorite show of the year, hell of all time. THAT goes to....

1. 👏TEEN 👏TITANS 👏GO, BABEEEEEEY!!

ONCE AGAIN, Teen Titans GO reigns supre-- Huh, what’s that? Oh my god, you’re serious?! The Number One is

TOTAL DRAMARAMA OUT OF NOWHERE! IT IS NOW CARTOON NETWORK’S ‘NEW FAVORITE SHOW’.

THE STREAK *DING DING DING* IS OVER

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positiveselfimprovement · 7 years

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Small Bathroom Decor Ideas

When it comes to your bathroom, decorations are a must! Even with limited space, there are plenty of small bathroom decor ideas. In fact, many of the ideas that fit for a large bathroom will fit for a small one as well. The biggest obstacle you face is wall space. Lucky for you, these suggestions require very little or no wall space! The goal is to take advantage of the things that you do have in your bathroom and use them as decorative pieces. And so, we present:

Our Top Small Bathroom Decor Ideas!

Before getting started, it's important to identify a theme for your bathroom. Yes, even a small one! This can be difficult if you don't have a lot of space to make your theme truly stand out. What we suggest is picking a color scheme if you have a small bathroom. This way, you will be able to have various decorations that will still blend and compliment each other. In addition, even with little space, your decorations will not feel cramped. Either way, you'll want to identify some sort of commonality before ordering any decorations.

1. Shower Curtains

No matter how small your bathroom is, you'll have a shower curtain! Because it's so obvious, many people will overlook it. This is understandable if you're looking for shower curtains at a physical store. For the most part, these stores will only carry solid or patterned shower curtains. Boooring! Instead, you'll want to find a shower curtain that matches your personality and compliments your theme.

This can be quite easy when you have hundreds of shower curtains to choose from. The harder part will be narrowing down which one fits you the best!

2. Toilet Accessories

Another piece that your bathroom is sure to have is a toilet. While 'toilet accessories' but sound cheap, they don't have to be! They're actually make fantastic decorating ideas for small bathroom. Toilet accessories can be subtle, like a small quote, or big, like a skin of your favorite sports team. Either way, the toilet is a great way to add some color into your bathroom. In addition, you'll want all the space you can get to promote your theme and tie the room together. Having a nice, decorated bathroom will make a plain toilet stand out like a sore thumb.

3. Decorative Holders

Decorative toilet paper or soap holders are great a great small bathroom decor ideas. While it may be hard to find one to match your theme, it really doesn't matter! Items that are serve a purpose are unobtrusive to the theme. While an irrelevant poster may break up the room's theme, a novelty holder will not. No matter what the color, shape, or design, it will flow perfectly in with your overall.

4. Wall Art

You don't need a huge bathroom to have proper wall art. In fact, many pieces are quite small. The nice thing about small wall art is that you don't need a lot of it to have the added effect! Just one or two pieces of art can make your bathroom pop.

Even in small bathrooms, there will be dead wall space that can be unappealing. Wall art will fix that. What's better is that wall art will directly compliment your theme. In the above examples, the decorations were either neutral or blended into your theme. With wall art, you can find something that is directly related to your theme. In fact, you could design the rest of your bathroom theme around a piece of quality artwork. That isn't to say that a picture of the ocean means you need an ocean-themed bathroom. Instead, go for a cool-blue color scheme, and then let the other decorations reflect that!

5. Wall Plaques

We almost pulled this together with wall art, but there is a significant difference! When it comes to wall plaques, they will generally be quotes or sayings. These are important to have in the bathroom. After all, you'll be in here several times per day! A good inspirational or religious quote will remind you what your values are and how you want to be living your day.

Funny wall plaques are great as well! Everybody could use a little extra humor in their life. While these plaques won't be 'bust a gut laughing' funny, hopefully they'll put a smile on your face, and remind you to relax a little bit.

6. Bathroom Decals

Decals are great due to how subtle and inexpensive they are. They're great decorating ideas for small bathroom. Even better, they can be as small or as large as you'd like them to be! They work perfectly for a small bathroom. Decals can either feature quotes or inspiration or your favorite plant or animal. Either way, a decal will only stand to compliment your bathroom. Even if your theme is just a color scheme, decals typically come in black! They will pop out against any color and will help your eyes flow across the room.

And That Concludes Our Small Bathroom Decor Ideas

Those are our small bathroom decor ideas! As mentioned above, be sure to find a theme before you start ordering decorations.

While the internet is helpful for finding suggestions for your small bathroom decor ideas, remember to make the theme your own! At the end of the day, this is your bathroom. The more of 'you' that you put into it, the homier it is going to feel. This homey feel will translate into the overall atmosphere of the home. By the end, your house will transferred into a home!

The bathroom is a top room that needs a quality atmosphere. You will be in this room several times throughout the day, including the start of the morning and the end of the night. Having your personality into the bathroom will allow you to feel much more content and relaxed, which is the goal of any room in the house. A small bathroom shouldn't limit your decoration possibilities. Instead, take these decoration ideas and be sure to let your personality shine through into this room, and throughout your entire home!

www.householdwalldecorations.com

#small bathroom decor ideas #decorating ideas for small bathroom #decorating bathroom ideas #small bathroom decor #unique bathroom decor

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huntertales · 7 years

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Part Two: Fact or Fiction? (I Believe the Children are Our Future S05E06)

Useful Links: Last Part | All Episodes Word Count: 6,153. A/N: Inset some excuse about this being really late, but life has been hetic, and much as I wanted to, I can't avoid life responsibilities. Hopefully this part being a bit over six thousand words will help mend the pain. I hope you guys enjoy!

Your name: submit What is this? // <![CDATA[ function replaceAll(find, replace, str) { return str.replace(new RegExp(find, 'g'), replace); } function myHandler() { var input = document.getElementById("inputTxt").value; document.body.innerHTML = replaceAll('Y/N', document.getElementById("inputTxt").value, document.body.innerHTML); } // ]]>

Growing up, there was a few fictional beings that you once believed were true, and that brought only good—creatures like Santa Clause, a fat man with a jolly laugh and white as snow beard, giving presents for those who were good, and coal for those who were wicked. The Easter bunny was a bit more of a stretch for you that made you more frightened when you were much younger with a wild imagination. The idea of a giant bunny hopping around and giving people eggs to find made you a bit frightened, but the candy left in your pastel pink basket and decorating hard boiled eggs the night before each year made up for it. But there was one right after Santa that most kids loved. It was the tooth fairy. You first heard about the tale when you were having one of your yearly checkups at the dentist’s office at the age of seven when the center bottom tooth was loose. It was a bit of stretch for you to believe someone would want your small teeth in exchange for money, but like most kids, you fell for the myth.

You always thought the tooth fairy was an innocent lie parents told their children for traditions to keep their lives exciting, like Santa Clause and the Easter bunny, but after speaking to the doctor this morning, it seemed you couldn't be farther from what you had believed. The tooth apparently was real, and she was coming much later for a bigger treasure. She made a pit stop last night, but it wasn't for a man's daughter and her loose tooth that fell out earlier that day, it was for his teeth—all thirty-two of them. You found yourself subconsciously licking your teeth with your younger from behind your tightly pressed lips, feeling obligated not to brag about the luxury of a healthy set when a man was woken up in the middle of the night by a stranger hovering over him with a pair of plyers. From the Disney movies and your wild imagination at seven years old, you thought the tooth fairy looked like one of the fairies from Pinocchio or Cinderella, magic wand included.

Come to get find out, the job was held by a man, and from the description you were given from the victim, he was the polar opposite from your imagination. The man was tough, burly, and demanded a payment that only satisfied him. You accidentally winced a few times when you noticed the flaming red gums peek through whenever the poor man tried to talk, giving you a perfect idea of what his attacker looked like. The idea of having all your teeth ripped out by a man twice your size and dressed in a pink tutu made you actually kind of scared. It was like the one case you had worked on with a coven of witches, a woman lost all her teeth, they just fell out, one at a time.You mentally shuddered at each scenario when you imagined.

Thanking the man for his cooperation, you clicked your pen and shut the notepad filled with everything you needed to figure out what was going on in this town. You stepped out of the room, letting him get used to the momentarily life of baby food until a dentist could give him dentures that would make him good as new. You stepped out into the hallway and turned your head to the left, you noticed Dean was standing around, waiting patiently for you and his brother to finish up the interview. Shoving the notepad into your back pocket, you headed over to Dean, letting out a sigh from what you had witnessed, and a little bit weirded out from the image you wouldn't be able to get out of your head for a while.

“What’s up with Toothless?” Dean asked, rubbing his palms togethers as his eyebrows shot up, curious to find out what the story was on this bizarre addition to the hunt. “Cavity Creeps get ahold of him?”

"Yeah. Close. He wrote a description," You fetched out your notepad and opened it to the exact spot where you had him write down everything when talking became too painful. "Five-ten, three hundred and fifty pounds, wings, and a pink tutu.”

“So he's whacked out on painkillers.” Dean said, seeming to believe for himself that this entire story might be mixing with his memories from the night before and the side effects of the medication.

“Maybe.” Sam shrugging off his brother’s opinion when there was another piece of information that you had left out. “Whatever it was got past locked doors and windows without triggering the alarm.”

Dean rolled his eyes, “Come on. Tooth fairy?”

“And it left thirty-two quarters underneath his pillow, one for each tooth.” You said, giving him more information that linked with the myth. “Which is a total rip off, if you ask me. I always got a dollar when I was younger.”

“I see your crazy and raise you some. There's a couple of kids upstairs with stomach ulcers—said they got it mixing Pop Rocks and coke. Another guy, his face…” Dean shared a few more strange occurrences that were happening around. You’d done the Pop Rocks and Coke dare when you were a kid, despite what people said, nothing ever happened. But when he trailed off from what else he was going to say, Dean waved a hand around his face, as if he was trying to demonstrate. “Froze that way.”

Sam furrowed his brow, “What way?”

Dean looked in all directions of the hospital hallway as if he was trying to make sure nobody was looking at him. He put his index finger in his mouth and pulled out his cheeks as his eyes crossed,doing the exact same expression the man had done. A second later, he returned back to normal, fearful that he might become victim of whatever happened to the man. too “He, uh, held it too long and it—it got stuck. They're flying in a plastic surgeon.”

“Huh. My mom always told me not to roll my eyes as a kid. ‘They’ll permanently get stuck up there.’” You mocked her warning as you found yourself starting to roll your eyes, but when you realized everything that was going on here, you quickly looked straight over at Dean, suddenly afraid it might happen. You watched as he wiggled his chin and poked at his cheeks, too caught up in his own anxiety to head what you had said. “So, if you add all of that up…” You normally take an educated guess at what was happening, but you hesitated when the boys stared at you, wondering what you were going to say. “Yeah, I got nothing.”

You shrugged your shoulders, deciding you were fresh out any possible theory that could explain what the hell was going on in this town. You began heading down the hallway with Sam, Dean following behind a few seconds later when he realized where the both of you were going. "I thought sea-monkeys were real." Dean admitted, you glanced over at him as you slipped your notepad back into your pocket.

"They are." Sam said. "They're brine shrimp."

"No, no, no, I mean like in the ads. You know, like the sea-monkey wife cooks pot roast for the sea-monkey husband, and the sea-monkey kids play with the dog in a sea-monkey castle—real. I mean, I was six, but I believed it." Dean said. You nodded your head as your brow furrowed, wondering what he was trying to get from the confession. He stopped slowly in his tracks, you and his brother followed to discuss further what Dean was trying to get at. "Point is, maybe that's the connection. The tooth fairy, the Pop Rocks and Coke, the joy buzzer that shocks you—they're all lies that kids believe."

"And now they're coming true. Okay, so whatever's doing this is reshaping reality. It has the powers of a god. Or..." You thought about the possibilities of monsters that could be responsible for causing chaos in this small town. It only took a split second before the perfect person popped itself into your head. A frown stretched across your lips when you spoke his name. "Or a trickster.”

"Yeah," Dean agreed, "with the sense of humor of a nine-year-old."

"Or you." Sam remarked to his older brother.

You couldn't help yourself but quietly chuckled at the look that crossed Dean's face. He was about to open his mouth to protest the accusation, but a short second later, he shrugged his shoulders, agreeing. The three of you headed down the hallway once more, knowing there was some more research to do before pointing fingers at old enemies.

+ + +

A few hours after arriving from the hospital, Sam took the Impala to follow a few leads as you decided on digging up whatever incriminating information the victims might have hidden away. If you were dealing with the trickster, you knew he had a motive for going after people he always believed deserved a good punishment. From what you could find, the two victims who had died were squeaky clean, and the rest were just normal citizens, nothing incriminating stood out to you. You had only a few encounters with the trickster, but considering that he only went after people that deserved it in his eyes, you began to wonder if you should be looking for someone different. You had been here only fifteen minutes, deciding to join Dean to tell him what found, you attention drifted away from your computer screen and to the man sitting across the table. Your eyes narrowed slightly as Dean kept himself occupied by making yet another ham sandwich, making it his second since you stepped into their room.

While you were tempted to comment about his eating habits, the motel room door swung open, Sam stepped inside with something in his grip. He was barely here for a few seconds before he noticed his brother taking whatever scraps of meat he could find, deciding it was better to eat than throw away the day old meat that was probably no longer good. "Dude, seriously—still with the ham?"

Dean paused his chewing to give a muffled response, "We don't have a fridge."

"Well I found something. Here." Sam said. He headed over to the table and pushed away the plate holding the ham as you shut your laptop, giving him room as he put down the paper he was holding. You noticed it was a map of the town, and from the small markings, were small X spots, and as Sam pointed at each of them, you noticed it made a circle. "Un, tooth fairy attack was here, Pop Rocks and Coke was here, then you've got itching powder, face freeze, and joy buzzer—all located within a two-mile radius.”

"So, we've got a blast zone of weird, and inside, fantasy becomes reality." You said. You stood up and placed your hands on your hips, trying to summarize the best you could about what was going on in this town. "And what's the a-bomb at its center?"

"Four acres of farmland and a house." Sam answered for you.

You took into consideration of what might be lingering on the property, it could be holding what was going on here. You reached down to grab your laptop from the chair and cradled it into your arms so you wouldn't drop it. "Our motel isn't in that circle, by chance?" Dean curiously asked. You could tell from the tone of his voice that he was a little bit worried, probably wanting to make sure that none of you were in danger. But you were about to find out it was a little too late for that.

“Yeah. Why?” Sam glanced down at the map to see all of you were about a mile or so into the zone. He glanced over at his brother from the question, wondering why he wanted to know. You watched as the older Winchester shamefully lifted up his right hand. Unsure of why, you leaned forward slightly to take a closer look at his palm, wondering what the big deal was, only when you spotted a patch of hair, you couldn't help yourself but let out a slight chuckle from what he was caught doing. Sam, however, wasn't the least bit amused as you were. He quickly shut his eyes and looked away. "Oh, d-dude—That's not what I think it is, is it?"

"I got bored." Dean admitted, a bashful smile crept across his lips when he continued on. Sam looked at his brother with a disturbed look, not exactly wanting to think about any of this. "And it’s been forever since Y/N and I had any alone time—”

"Dude, stop. I'm already scarred for life.” Sam said, stopping his brother from admitting any personal information he didn't need to hear about. "You know you can go blind from that, too."

Dean made a fist with his palm, "Give me five minutes. We'll go check out that house."

The older Winchester thought it would be funny to lightly punch his little brother in the arm with his right hand, only for Sam to flinch. You rolled your eyes and began heading back to the door so you could go to your own motel room to change into your other clothes before heading out. As you reached out your free hand to turn the door handle, the shenanigans didn't stop there. You heard Sam shout as a warning to the man, "Don't use my razor!" But knowing Dean as he headed off to the bathroom, he was probably grinning, about to do exactly that.

+ + +

You and the boys arrived at the house about twenty minutes and dressed in your usual formal gear for the job. You patted around in your pockets, making sure you had all the necessary items before getting out of the car and heading for the front door. From the outside everything seemed normal, it was a big enough two-story farm house with a spacious space, and from the car parked in the driveway, somebody lived here. But the missing plates made you figure out nobody could be home. Your hands adjusted the skirt you were wearing, making sure it was properly facing the right way, and the demon knife you had stuck in was safely hidden from behind your blazer. Sam did the honors of picking the lock, it shouldn't have taken no more than a few seconds, but you might have overlooked the idea that you were alone here. Your neck whipped forward when you heard the door open not a second later, Sam quickly pulled the tools out of the door and stood up straighter.

You were expecting to see an adult standing in the doorway with a suspicious look, wondering what three strangers were standing on their porch. But you found yourself making eye contact with a boy, and from the looks of it, he was no more than eleven years old.

"Can I help you?" He cautiously asked.

"Hi," You greeted the little boy with a friendly smile, "What's your name?"

"Who wants to know?" He answered your question with another. You raised your brow from his quick tongue, but you fetched out your badge, telling him you were FBI, thinking that would be good enough to gain his trust. But it seemed it wasn't. The boy snatched it out from your hand to take a closer inspection, after a moment, he looked up at you. "So, what, you guys don’t knock?”

"Are your parents home?" Dean asked in a polite tone.

“They work.” The boy answered back.

“Well, Sam tried his luck at changing the boy's mind about the three of you. “You mind if we ask you a few questions, maybe take a look around the house?”

The boy responded with an apprehensive stare, unsure if this was a good idea. "Come on. You can trust us." Dean said, trying to change his mind. "We're the authorities."

It seemed what Dean had said made the boy change his mind, you were granted access inside just a moment later. The little boy headed straight for the kitchen, you curiously looked around the place as you followed behind him. The sound of something boiling caught your attention. You looked forward to see there was a pot on the stove and a can opened, connecting the dots, it seemed you have disrupted the boy while he was making his lunch. You glanced over at the table to see that he had everything set up for the meal. He headed over to the stove to turn it off and stir the contents inside the pot so it wouldn’t burn.

“What’s that?” You curiously asked him.

“It’s called soup.” He answered. You couldn’t help yourself but smile at his remarks as he grabbed the pot by the handle. He headed over to the table and set it down on a pot holder so it wouldn’t burn the table. “You heat it up, and you eat.”

"Right, I know. It's just," You took a few steps over to him as you let out a quiet chuckle from his sarcasm that seemed to come naturally to him. "I used to make my own dinner, too, when I was a kid sometimes."

"Well, I'm not a kid." He said, taking offense to the term.

"Right. No, of course not." You agreed with him. You stared at him for a moment or so. For some reason, there was something about him that struck you as interesting. You put your hand in front of you for him to shake. "I'm Y/N, by the way."

He reached out and shake your hand, “Jesse.”

“Did you draw this?” Dean asked. You looked over your shoulder to see the man walking forward with a piece of paper in his hands, you noticed it was of a crayon drawing, but as you took a moment to inspect it further, you realized it was exactly like how the man who had gotten all his teeth ripped out his attacker. Jesse nodded his head, saying it was the tooth fairy. Dean flipped it around so he could look at it with a bit more detail. “That's what you think the tooth fairy looks like, huh?”

“Yeah. My dad told me about him.” Jesse said. You noticed it wasn't what your mother told you of what the tooth fairy looked like. She wasn’t the one to paint the imaginative figure as someone you would be afraid to accidentally meet in the middle of the night. But father figures tended to tell different tales to their children so they wouldn't expect a special award. “What, didn't your dads tell you about the tooth diary?”

“My dad?” Dean chuckled as he placed the piece of paper down to the table for safekeeping so he wouldn't ruin it. “My dad told me different stories.”

“Well, the tooth fairy isn't a story.” Jesse said in a matter-of-fact voice.

Something inside you clicked at what he said, you glanced down at the drawing, noticing the detail was far too perfect for there not to be a connection here. “Jesse,” You looked over at the little boy to see what his response would be. “What do you know about itching powder?”

“That stuff will make you scratch your brains out.”

“Pop Rocks and Coke?”

“You mix them, you’ll end up in the hospital. Everyone knows that.” Jesse said. He answered all of your questions with the right response, but there was just one more that you wanted to see if he would respond correctly with. You pulled out the joy buzzer from your pocket, Jesse’s eyes widened slightly in fear. “You shouldn't have that. It can electrocute you.”

“Actually, it can't. It's just a wind-up toy. It's totally harmless.” You reassured him. “Doesn't even have batteries.”

“So, it can't shock you?” Jesse asked.

“Nope. Not at all. I swear.” You said. Jesse took your word on what you were saying, he nodded his head slowly, changing his mind on the toy. “All it does is shake in your hand. It's kind lame. See?” Without a warning, you were testing your theory by placing the buzzer against Sam’s chest, who was staring at you with a panicked expression from what you were about to do. But all he got was a bit of a vibrations he could barely feel, Jesse let out a laugh from his over dramatic response. You could feel your lips stretch into a smile. “What was your name again, kiddo?”

Jesse answered all of your questions exactly how you thought he would. Childhood innocence was a thing that should be cherished, and while most of the lies parents told them for good measures, this was making other people face the once fictional consequences. You said your final goodbyes to Jesse, deciding you had gotten exactly what you needed, you left him to finish his lunch that would be getting cold soon. The boys followed behind as you pocketed the buzzer, a smile stretching across your lips, for some reason you could see yourself in Jesse. He was a little boy who still believed in lies that most kids his age stopped believing a long time ago. Not to mention the feeling of being home alone, having to cooks meals for yourself and finding ways to pass the time when your mother was away during the weekends when she had to spend it working at countless school functions. You headed down the porch steps, not thinking much about the near death experience you pulled on Sam, but he was still very much pissed.

"What the hell, Y/N?" Sam questioned you, running down the steps so he could catch up with you.

You shrugged your shoulders, not seeming to think what the big deal was. "I had a hunch.” You said. “I went with it."

Sam didn't exactly show the same enthusiasm for your spontaneous thinking as you did. "You risked my ass on a hunch?!" He hissed at you.

"You're fine, Sasquatch. I'm the brains of this group, remember? And besides, now we know who's turning this town into Willy Wonka's nightmare." You said. You stopped right between the white picket fence and glanced over at the house you had just exited from. "Everything Jesse believes come true. He believes the tooth fairy looks like Belushi, joy buzzers really shock people. That's what really happens."

“Yeah. But convince him the joy buzzers don't actually work, and they go from killing machines to crap toys.” Sam said, catching on to the theory you knew was too good not to be true.

“He probably doesn't even know he's doing it.” You said. All fingers pointed at the kid, but you couldn't jump to conclusions that he was doing this out of fun to get back at people he probably didn't even know. He was just a normal kid in a small town, not know what kind of power he held. You glanced over at the house and to the window on the second story floor. Jesse moved the curtains so he stare at the three of you from a distance. You reached up an arm and waved at him, giving the boy a friendly smile. For some reason there was something about him, something inside of him that wasn't good, but you knew it wasn't his fault. You turned around on your heels and began walking back to the Impala and asked the frustrating question, “How is he doing it?”

+ + +

There was something about having little kids being involved on hunts that made you more protective of them, it made you work more diligently, pushing yourself for answers to make sure the job got done right. It wasn't that you slacked before. It was just that you wanted to protect the innocence of the youth for long as possible. You couldn't help but feel that for Jesse, only on a much larger scale. It took you a few hours of taking to a dozen people on the phone and doing a few illegal activities that would get you into trouble with the law, but you found exactly what you wanted. You headed back to the motel in the late afternoon with a case file in your had, the papers still a bit warm after you printed them from the library. You didn't even knock when you opened up the door to the boys’ room, you wanted this out so you could leave early tomorrow morning.

Dean was sitting on the bed with his legs kicked out and doing research by skimming through an old looking book, Sam remained at the table from the last time you saw him with his laptop, digging for whatever he could find about what might be going on here. You, however, found the golden ticket. “So, I dug up what I could about Jesse Turner. It's not much. ‘B’ student, won last year’s Pinewood derby contest. But get this,” You walked over to Dean and lightly smacked his bare foot with the file you’d been carrying before sitting at the edge of the bed so you were now facing Sam. “Jesse was adopted. His birth records are sealed.”

“Naturally, you being Nancy Drew, unsealed them and found…?” Dean wondered what the big info was that you were keeping from them. You looked over your shoulder and gave the man a smallest smile from the nickname you haven't heard him use on you in what felt like forever.

“There's no father listed, but the little bugger had to come from somewhere. Jesse’s biological mom is named Julia Wright. And get this,” You said, giving the boys the real kicker. “She lives in Elk Creek, on the other side of the state.”

+ + +

Early the next morning, you and the boys headed back on the road, taking a trip across state to Elk Creek so speak to this Julia Wright. You couldn't find almost anything on her, it was almost like she dropped off the face of the earth after giving birth. When you arrived, you noticed right away Julia's house seemed a bit worn down and secluded, and when you headed for the gate that surrounded all of her house, she added a measure to her Boo Radley feel by hanging up a "No Trespassing" sign to ward off any unwanted visitors. You weren't intimidated as you pushed open the gate door that was covered in overgrown weeds as the boys followed behind, heading straight for the front door.

You patiently stood outside on the porch as Dean did the honors of ringing the doorbell, and waiting for someone to answer. You mindlessly looked down at her locks to examine them for a second or so, but you found yourself furrowing your brow in confusion, taking notice when there was two deadbolts along with the handle that required a key. Either Julia had some neighbors a few miles down the road needed to keep away from, or the woman really didn't like visitors. You seemed to have gotten the vibe when a woman's voice came from behind the door, making her presence known. "Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying." Dean looked over at you and his brother, he was rather baffled himself at the very cold welcoming. "We're not salesman. Agent Page," He introduced the three of you to the woman who was standing on the opposite side of the door, cautiously watching you from the peephole. "These are my partners Agent Plant and Agent Patterson, FBI." You reached inside your pocket and pulled out your badge, putting up to the small peephole next to the brothers so Julia could inspect it from behind the door. But it seemed you didn't gain her trust just yet, she required one more step. "Put your badge in the slot. Your partners', too." Julia instructed. You folded up the badge and did what you were told, you slipped it into the mail slot for her to cautiously examine. She spent a moment or so, trying to find just a spec of a flaw, but the badges fooled even the real FBI. You heard her unlock the deadbolt, and a few more from the locks clicking back into place. It seemed like a production before the door swung open, Julia handed back the badges without even cracking a smile. "What do you want"?

"Um," Sam was taken back by the woman's bluntness. He put his badge back into his jacket pocket, Julia stared at him with a cold expression, still wanting to know what this was all about. "We just had a few questions. About your son." "I don't have a son." She answered with a short tone. "He was born March twenty-ninth, nineteen ninety-eight, in Omaha." You said, thinking a bit more information would help jog her memory from eleven years ago. Julia looked over at you, her face remained expressionless. "You put him up for adoption?" Like mother, like son.Julia answered your question with another one. "What about him?"

"We were just wondering...and I know this is gonna sound strange, just bare with me. But did you have a normal pregnancy?" You asked her, hopeful from the nervous smile that was starting to stretch across your lips Julia wouldn't stare at you with a more offended look from the bold question. She didn't even respond, so, you tried asking another one. "Was there anything strange?"

It seemed you finally struck a nerve in Julia. She slammed the door in your face and shouted on the top of her lungs, "Stay away from me!"

You didn't have time to exchange a few worried looks from the outburst you weren't expecting from the woman. Sam quickly reached out and opened the door before she could lock it, and despite reassuring Julia that you weren't here to hurt her, the woman ran fast as she could to the other side of her house. You hated wearing heels for the job, it always slowed you down, but the boys managed to be faster, catching up with her in the matter of seconds. Julia tried to find shelter in the kitchen as she swung to slam the door again in their faces. But the Winchesters were much stronger. Julia realized she wasn't capable of taking on two men that were twice the size of her, so she immediately reached behind her and grabbed a canister of salt from the counter. Julia swung the salt directly at you and the boys, expecting for some kind of painful reaction, but all she did was dirty up her floor as the salt fell to the floor. She furrowed her brow and looked at the three of you, as if she expected something else to happen. You stared back at her, surprised from what she said next. "You're not demons." "How do you know about demons?" It seemed the four of you had found common ground at trusting one another when Julia realized you weren't possessed. You and the boys were now in the dining room, the boys sat at one end of the table, opposite of the woman as you took the head, watching as Julia gingerly sipped her tea. You made her some after you noticed she was still shaken up from the unexpected welcome knocking on her front door, bringing up the past she was desperately tried to forget. She took another sip before retiring the teacup to the saucer. Julia leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest, now feeling comfortable enough to speak the truth. "I was possessed." Julia admitted. "A demon took control of my body, and I hurt people. I killed people." You inhaled a breath, knowing the overbearing guilt of being possessed and doing horrible things, you remembered how Lilith tricked you, making you watch like a passenger in your body when she let that hellhound in, tearing his body apart. "That," You tried to comfort her, but you seemed to have stumbled over your own words, guilt creeping into you for a moment as you subconsciously looked over at Dean for a split second before back to her. You nervously swallowed and tried to speak again. "That wasn't you."

"But I was there. I heard a woman beg for mercy. I..." Julia trailed off, she focused on the chipped and fading floral design on her tea cup. You noticed her eyes glazed over from what she admitted next. "Felt a young girl's blood drip down my hand." "That's how you knew about the salt." Dean said, Julia nodded her head to answer. "Yeah," She said. "I picked up tricks. It was in my head for months." "How many months?" "Nine."

"Oh." You whispered, not expecting to hear the unexpected news. Never have you seen or heard a demon taking possession of a pregnant woman, but you didn't think much of it. "So your son..." "Yeah, the whole time. The pregnancy, birth—all of it. I was possessed." Julia admitted the three of you. "The night the baby was born, I was alone. And the pain was—the pain was overwhelming. I, I screamed, and it came out a laugh, because the demon was happy. It used my body to give birth to a child. When it was over, something changed." You quietly listened to her story, trying to imagine what she could have gone through. "When it was over, something changed. Maybe the—the demon was tired or if the pain helped me fight it, but... Somehow, I took control.And the demon wailed inside me. It pounded against my skull. I thought my head was gonna explode. But I knew. I knew what I had to do."

Julia shifted her weight on the chair as she leaned forward slightly, her hands wrapped around the warm cup, feeling the heat seep into her skin. She remembered how she had crawled across the cement floors, how disgusting the rock salt she shoved down her throat felt, and every second of the grueling labor pains. You watched as she almost mindlessly drifted off to her old memories, her arms fumbled away from the cup, only to make it seem she was holding a newborn baby, caught up in the vivid memories of that night eleven years ago. "And when I was alone with the baby...A part of me...part of me wanted to kill it. But, God help me, I couldn't do that. So, I put it up for adoption, and I ran."

“I noticed on the birth certificate you were the only parent listed. “ You said. “Who was the father?”

“I was a virgin.” Julia responded, almost as if she was discussing the weather. You found yourself frozen in your spot at the table, her answer made your blood run cold as the silence seemed to have grown thicker around the room. If she was possessed when she was still a virgin, and if the demon got her pregnant...You were lost in your own personal thoughts, terrified for what this might actually mean, you accidentally jumped out of your skin when the woman spoke up again, having a few questions of her own. "Have you seen my son? Is he human?" "His name's Jesse. He lives in, uh, Alliance." You told her. Your lips stretched into a faint smile she made eye contact with you, it was easy to see that she was nervous, afraid of what had come from this. "He's a good kid."

Julia nodded her head, your words gave her a bit of hope that, just maybe, her biological spring off didn't inherit something evil from his second mother. You reached out and touched her hand, giving it a tight squeeze, knowing you understood everything she was going through, from being possessed to thinking might be wrong with Jesse, and even yourself. You left your cell phone with her, telling Julia to call you if there was anything more she could remember, and if she was feeling even the slightest bit in danger. When demons were involved, things had a tendency of getting messy, no matter how long they were away.

You and the boys said your final goodbyes to Julia and headed out the front door, exiting the way you had come in. Things had gone from a little complicated all the way up there to disastrous. You needed help, and not just from Bobby, you needed someone who knew more about things that just went bump in the night and what would happen if a demon got pregnant with a baby. Without wasting a second, you pulled out your phone and called Cas, hoping he would know what to do.

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climbingmounttsundoku · 6 years

Text

Explaining the mysteries of the universe

Last November, I wandered the physics department at the American University of Beirut looking to for a professor to help me script a short video series about quantum mechanics. It was Friday afternoon so the department was virtually empty, save for one office with its door left ajar. Little did I know when I walked in and introduced myself that I was shaking the hand of a man responsible for many theories and models that are aiding humanity unravel the mysteries of the universe.

I did find that out after I had gone back to the office and read up on his work online. I recently paid a second visit to his office for a one on one interview to talk about his work on Supersymmetry and noncommutative geometry, and the state or research in the Middle East.

“As a child I was completely absorbed in mathematics,” explains Ali Chamessdine, who is currently serving as a physics professor. But as chance had it, he ended up enrolling in physics for his undergraduate degree. He humorously attributed it to the fact that his older brother was already studying math, and that the family would not allow both siblings to learn the same trade. He chuckles, and then tells me that at the time, mathematics at the Lebanese University was taught in French, and that that was the real reason he opted for physics instead.

He completed his degree and received a scholarship to work on his PhD at Imperial College London. There, he was advised by Mohammad Abdus Salam, a Pakistani theoretical physicist and a future recipient of the 1979 Nobel Prize for physics, while working on thesis about Supersymmetry. The perk of working under such an esteemed figure, according to Chamseddine, is that you get to attack the best problems, “that you really go to the frontiers immediately.”

Going beyond the Standard Model

The Standard Model is a theory that was developed in the second half of the 20th century and finalised in the mid 70s. Using a number of particles of matter and forces, it explains an awful lot of experimental results as we study matter and energy. The problem however is that it only explains an awful lot, and not everything. There are many phenomena, such as the expansion of the universe, dark matter, and some aspect of the theory of gravitation that the theory cannot account for. And as such, other models have been built.

Enter Supersymmetry

Supersymmetry suggests that for each of the elementary particles there exists a so called super partner. Elementary particles are either fermions or bosons. Those elementary particles, with a few exceptions, have extremely short lifespans, about 10 to the power -23 seconds. Fermions and bosons are distinguished by their spin, an inherent form of angular momentum. Fermions have half integer valued spin, 1/2, 3/2, 5/2, etc, while bosons have integer spin. There are 48 types of fermions and 12 types of bosons.

The theory states that each of those particles must have a partner from the other group, known as its superpartner, with a spin that differs by half an integer, so for each fermion a boson and vice versa.

None of the existing fermions and bosons are partners; in fact, a supersymmetry partner has never been observed. So if the theory is proven, we will have double the amount of elementary particles: 48 + 12 partners.

“It will be the biggest revolution since Einstein with his special and general relativity”

The plight is that in order to find these particles, you have to create them, and in order to do so, you must build accelerators that reach these very high energies. The accelerators at CERN have been recently upgraded with the Large Hadron Collider, and “hopefully, with this energy it will be sufficient to create these particles that have not been seen yet.” Just finding one or a couple at first would be sufficient to prove that the model works, and that would mean that “physics as we know it would completely change,” he explains, “this supersymmetry is a fundamental symmetry of spacetime.”

After he completed his thesis, he joined the European Organization for Nuclear Research, more commonly known as CERN, as a research associate. There he proposed a theory in 1981, which later became a basic theory of String Theory. In it he proposed that our world is in 10 dimensions of space.

Following CERN, he went to Northeastern University in Boston. It was a time when Supersymmetry wasn’t fashionable in the US according to Chamseddine. But that didn’t deter him. There he proposed a model that predicts where the Supersymmetric particles should be and what are their signatures; “you have to tell them what to look for,” he explains.

With more than 2000 citations, the paper is “very influential” and is still used by experimentals today looking for Supersymmetry. Chamseddine calls it his best work.

The big shift: Noncommutative geometry

After 1985 he left the US and joined the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, known as ETH Zurich, as a research professor. From then on, his research took a different path into noncommutative geometry, and during his 12 year stay there, he worked on this new kind of geometry.

“When Einstein came, what he discovered essentially was that the space we live in is not flat,” he explains. “What Einstein discovered was that matter in space, like the Sun, will curve the space,” which in turn creates a gravitational force.

Euclidean geometry, the one we learn in school, cannot be used in such a theory. As an example, imagine a triangle drawn on a sphere. The lines here are in fact arcs, and consequently the angles do not add up to 180 degrees.

And so Einstein had to resort to another geometry to explain his general theory of relativity and, one that was invented decades earlier, by a German mathematician called Bernhard Riemann.

Chamseddine says that in this instance, the geometry shaped the dynamics of the gravitational force. Here, the wisdom of all of Einstein’s studies is that “geometry fixes the physics.”

At the time when Einstein was alive, only two forces were known: gravitational force and electromagnetic force. Since then, it has been discovered that there are two additional forces; one is called the weak force, the other is called the strong force.

Einstein was able to build a theory that describes gravitation using Riemannian geometry, but it could not account for the other three forces. You need a new kind of geometry explains Chamseddine, “this is noncommutative geometry.”

Noncommutative geometry was initially invented by a French mathematician and fields medalist by the name of Alain Connes. Currently, both he and Chamseddine have been working on building the theory, trying to understand all four forces in this new geometry. “Recently, we were able to figure out the nature of geometry that gives you all the forces together.”

This is an ongoing project. In the summer, Chamseddine travels to France for three months to the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHÉS), as a Louis Michel Chair, a post for distinguished long term visitors. “We keep making advancements and simplifications,” Chamseddine concludes. “It is the frontiers of mathematics.”

Coming back to Lebanon

In 1998, he was lured back to Beirut, with the promise of building a research center, the Center for Advanced Mathematical Sciences. But soon after, the support became minimal. “They wanted the center to bring money, but research in fundamental science doesn’t pay.” As a consequence he left the center.

Chamseddine was also very briefly involved in the Jordan based SESAME project, a cooperative research venture by scientists and governments from all over the region built around a repurposed, “outdated” cyclic particle accelerator. “It’s a big mess; I think it will have a rough ride.” The launch date for the center has been pushed back at several occasions.

The sad state of scientific in the Arab world

“It is really bad, you know…” Chamseddine runs out of words for a moment, this was the only time he struggled for an answer. Even before all the events that have recently unfolded in the Arab world, one barely had any hope he says, but right now “we are going backwards at the speed of light.”

Back in 1980, when he was working at ETH Zurich, “that center alone received two billion swiss francs each year from the government...” His pause this time was followed by a short burst of laughter. Adjusted to inflation, that rounds up to about 3.7 billion dollars. Bear in mind that Switzerland is a relatively small country. At the time it had about 6 million citizens. For comparison, that sits between Lebanon and Jordan right now.

The heart of the problem is the lack of long term vision. Here, he says, they would think that such an investment would be a waste, but elsewhere they see it as an investment in the people. “They throw money into research and it pays off, everything pays off.” But not directly.

The monetary rewards usually come as a byproduct. “How can you put a value on the world wide web? It came from CERN you know.” Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the internet, was a scientist at CERN. He initially devised a network to share information among universities, and later grew and evolved to become the internet.

Monetary return isn’t always guaranteed, but that is not a loss. What we get in return is much more important. And that is...

Another type of gold

What people like Chamseddine are trying to do is to explain the universe. “In research, we don’t say we do something because it has a certain application.” In fact, “there is a high probability that out of what we do, nothing practical will come out.” Explaining it is not easy either because “every time you find an explanation something deeper lies behind it. In this way science never finishes.”

It is like looking for gold. “You go to a field where you think gold may exist, so you start digging. You find something and you say, ok, i want to find some more, so you dig deeper. Now how far should you dig until you find something, it is not known, nobody knows.”

The Paradox

Chamseddine’s two main researches are at odds. “They don’t talk to each other.” Unlike Supersymmetry, non-commutative geometry tells us that we found almost everything that there is. Any new discoveries will be marginal, which the theory can more or less predict, but not accurately. The picture that we have right now is almost complete; no new particles, let alone doubling the number.

“To us it is like a game, we are puzzle solvers, we sit down for days sometimes thinking of a little mathematical puzzle and we try to make sense of it. Where it would take us? We don’t know. But if we knew, it would not be fun anymore.”

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