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pof203 · 3 years

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Tiger & Bunny Fanfiction: The ghosts of the past haunt best

This is a fan plot for Tiger & Bunny's 10th Anniversary. It was inspired by Chapter 20 of the Comic, All lay loads on a willing horse.

NOTE: Some elements of Ghost Hunters, The Conjuring Universe and other horror movies and scary stories involved.

Meet the Original Characters

Karl Storm Feather

Voiced by Robbie Daymond.

Bio

Karl is a 16-year-old Psychic-Type NEXT with the ability to sense and see aura, reveal aura, and even manipulate aura. He is a student at the Hero Academy. (This story takes place during summer break.) His parents own a grocery store which he helps out at and he loves ghost stories and scary movies. Even though he's being trained to become a hero, Karl's real passion is paranormal investigating. He is the leader of the paranormal research and investigating team, The Groovy Ghosties.

History

Karl's NEXT powers first awaken when he was 8 years old. He and his soon-to-be girlfriend, Beatrice "Bea" Kelleman, were at her apartment watching a scary movie. Then, Bea's older brother, Sidney "Sid", snuck into the dark living room dressed like a bloody ghost with a hideous monster mask and scared the two little kids as a prank. Bea was crying and Karl was mad. So mad that his powers activated for the first time and tried to choke Sid with his own aura. Fortunately, Bea managed to stop him and Sid was spared. Sometime later, Karl started attending the Hero Academy. However, he, with an interest in the supernatural and the occult, really wanted to become a paranormal investigator, following the work of renown demonologists, Ed and Lorraine Warren. (I apologize to the relatives of the Warrens for using them in this story. They'll only appear in it as pictures.) So, he started the paranormal team, The Groovy Ghosties. This team consists of himself as the lead investigator, his girlfriend Bea, her older brother Sid, Sid's best friend Steven Burrow, Bob Lyman the neighbor kid from across the street, his friend from school Darla Torrington, fellow Academy student and Bea's best friend Marcia Fey, and Marcia's girlfriend Sarah Sands. This usually leads to him and Marcia being ridiculed and made fun of by the other Academy students who think that they should focus more on becoming heroes instead looking for ghosts. But they are not giving up. The truth is out there and the Groovy Ghosties will find it!

Appearance

Karl is a 16-year-old Native American teenager with tan skin, black hair, and grey eyes. He wears the Hero Academy's sweatsuit with a Native American necklace. Bea and some of the other Academy students often describe him as a "rather handsome animal". Karl says, "I look more like my dad when I he was young."

Personality

Karl is kind and caring young man who believes in the good in others. However, he is prone to losing his temper when pushed enough.

Trivia

Karl is slightly based off of Jesse Cosay from Infinity Train and Charlies Little Bull from The Casagrandes. Both of them were voiced by Robbie Daymond.

Even though many would say that he would be a fan of Sky High because they both have goofy attitudes, Karl is actually one of the extremely rare fans of Rock Bison. Partly because Karl believes in the underdog (or in this case, the undercow) and partly because Bison's sponsor, Kronos Foods, is one of his parents' grocery store's major suppliers.

Karl is allergic to nuts. Because of this, his parents only sell them in the store when he is away at school, but put them in the back when he's helping them.

If he were to end up on Hero TV, Karl would try to convince Apollon Media to have segments in between episodes where he and his friends would investigate supernatural phenomenon.

Beatrice "Bea" Kelleman

Voiced by Cristina Valenzuela.

Bio

Beatrice, often known by others as Bea, is Karl Storm Feather's girlfriend and a member of the Groovy Ghosties where she is in charge of the team's gear. She is also Sid's younger sister.

History

Bea lived in one of the apartments above The Storm Feathers' Grocery Store with her parents and her older brother, Sid. Like Karl, she also has a love for the paranormal. She was also there when Karl's NEXT abilities first awoke and nearly shocked her brother to death. Fortunately, she managed to calm him down and saved Sid. Sometime after Karl started attending the Hero Academy, he introduced Bea to Marcia Fey and they became best friends. They later formed the Groovy Ghosties. Her job on the team is to create and inspect their ghost hunting equipment.

Appearance

Bea is a 16-year-old teenager with black hair which she dyed blonde blonde, though some it is still black, and brown eyes. She also has a charm bracelet she got as a birthday present from Karl, Marcia, and Sarah.

Personality

Bea is a nice person. She is very optimistic and is willing to do what she can to help her friends. She can also be very driven, but devoted.

Trivia

On Hero TV, her favorite hero is Barnaby. Though, she likes Dragon Kid, too.

Bea's parents are plastic surgeons (mostly nose jobs).

If she were not a paranormal investigator, Bea would either make movies or become a dermatologist.

Bea is actually how Karl became interested in becoming a paranormal investigator. She gave him one of the Warrens' books.

Sidney "Sid" Kellemen

Voiced by Grant George.

Bio

Sidney, often known as Sid, is Bea's older brother. He is a member of the Groovy Ghosties as the skeptic of the group. He mainly joined them to keep an eye on his little sister.

History

Sid has always thought that his sister and her boyfriend's interested in the paranormal is just silly as he doesn't believe in that sort of stuff. So as a prank, he dressed up as a bloody ghost with a monster mask, snuck into the dark living room while Bea and Karl were watching a scary movie, and scared them good. As a result, Bea was crying and Karl lost his temper which lead to him activating his NEXT powers for the first time and nearly killed Sid by choking him with his own aura. Fortunately, Bea managed to calm him down and Sid was spared. Since then, he came to distrust Karl. Sometime later, Karl started the Groovy Ghosties. Bea joined and so did Sid. He did not want to, but his parents said he had to to watch over Bea. Sid is the skeptic of the group. His job is to try and find a more logical explanation for every supernatural case the group investigates. He and his best friend, Steven Burrow, are in a band, The Blue Rose Experience, together who do parodies of Blue Rose's songs.

Appearance

Sid is an 18-year-old man with black hair with a bang that covers one of his dark brown eyes. He has a fine build, but not very strong. He often dresses in a grey short-sleeved shirt and black pants.

Personality

Sid is a self-proclaimed realist. He believes that everything that everything has a scientific and logical explanation. He appears to be a bit apathetic, but he truly cares about his family and little sister. Though he won't admit it, he is also very close to his friend, Steven.

Trivia

Sid is slightly based off of Shinjiro Aragaki from Persona 3. They also share the same voice actor.

Many would imply that Sid and Steven's relationship is romantic. However, they are probably just real good friends as both are fans of Blue Rose. But this remains to be seen.

Sid's skepticism comes from simply being scared of the unknown. Though, he doesn't want to admit it.

In the band that he and Steven are part of, Sid plays the bass.

Steven Burrow

Voiced by Bumper Robinson.

Bio

Steven is Sid Kelleman's best friend and fellow member of the Groovy Ghosties. He is the public relations, responsible for finding cases, and providing spiritual and religious insight for the group. He and Sid are also members of the band, The Blue Rose Experience.

History

Steven and Sid have known each other since the 6th Grade. When they got into high school, they both joined The Blue Rose Experience, a band who are fans of Blue Rose and do parodies of her songs. They later joined Karl and Bea's paranormal research and investigation team, The Groovy Ghosties. At first, Steven's highly religious parents objected to their son joining a group they deem "doing the Devil's work". However, Steven assured them that he will be very safe and they will be very safe, so they let him join. Sid's job on the team is PR, finding cases for the group to solve, and provide them with spiritual and religious insight.

Appearance

Steven is an 18-year-old African American young man with black hair and black eyes. He has a tattoo of the Holy Mother on his back.

Personality

Steven has a positive attitude and isn't afraid to say what needs to be said. Like his family, he is very religious, but isn't afraid to try new things.

Trivia

Many would imply that Steven and Sid's relationship is romantic. However, they are probably just real good friends as both are fans of Blue Rose. But this remains to be seen.

Steven is also a fan of Barnaby. Whenever he's not with the band or the Ghosties, Steven is doing volunteer work at the same orphanage that Barnaby visits.

Steven is actually the grand nephew of the CEO of Titan Industry.

Bob Lyman

Voiced by Bryce Papenbrook.

Bio

Bob is a 13-year-old member of the Groovy Ghosties as the cameraman. He was actually the Groovy Ghosties' first client.

History

Bob was the Ghosties' first client. Less than a month after they began, Bob had what he described as a paranormal experience. One night while he was in bed, he woke up, but couldn't move or speak. Then, he saw a shadowy figure come out of his closet and stare at him for about a minute before leaving the room. After they left, Bob finally got free of his trance and went out the room after the figure, but they were nowhere to be found. The next morning, Bob and his parents found their living room, which was nice and tidy the previous night, a total mess, but none of them heard anything. Bob went to Karl, Bea, Sid, and Steven about this. Karl reveals that Bob's trance was sleep paralysis which is sometimes caused by ghosts, which was probably the shadowy figure. Sid, however, simply says that Bob just has a nightmare and nothing else. But Bob asks how that could explain the living room being a mess when no one heard anything. It was time for the team to investigate. They set up cameras and things and waited that night. Then, odd things began to happen. First, they could hear footsteps going around. Sid said it was probably somebody upstairs or next door. Bob said the upstairs apartment is vacant their neighbors on both sides are either on a date or on vacation. Then, the temperature of the room started to drop. Sid said that because it is winter, of course the temperature would be cold. However, it was actually in mid March so winter would be near over and the weather getting warmer. They could hear voices saying something like, "There are two." Then, Karl could have sworn he saw one of the pillows on the couch move on its own. Until was about midnight or so, they decided to call it a night. A few days later, they concluded that whatever was in the house means no harm and that Bob and his parents have nothing to fear. Since then, the odd occurrences stopped, though they had a feeling that it was not over. Since then, Bob became interested in what the Ghosties do and convinced them to let him join the team as their camera man to help record footages of ghosts and chronicle their cases. Later on, Bob's friend from school, Darla Torrington also joined on.

Appearance

Bob is a 13-year-old boy who has tan skin, light brown hair, and blue eyes. He often wears a t-shirt with a picture of Wild Tiger and Barnaby on it.

Personality

Bob is a happy-go-lucky kind of kid who loves his friends and want to help them whenever he can.

Trivia

Bob is named for Bob Papenbrook, the late father of Bob's voice actor.

Bob is a fan of both Wild Tiger and Barnaby. His dream is to join Apollon Media and become a camera man so he can record the many adventures of his favorite heroes.

Bob often sleeps with a teddy bear. It's also where he keeps his secret savings.

Darla Torrington

Voiced by Sandy Fox.

Bio

Darla is a 12-year-old girl who is friends with Bob Lyman from school. She is the youngest member of the Groovy Ghosties as the sound manager and researcher.

History

Darla is a friend of Bob from school. When Bob told them about the Ghosties, she joined them out of curiosity. Her main job is to handle the sounds (this including making sure every sound is recorded, including ghosts they might encounter on investigations).

Appearance

Darla is a 12-year-old girl with blonde hair and green. She wears a suit-like dress complete with tie, sweater vest, and and a grey skirt that reaches down her knees.

Personality

Like Sid, Darla is also a bit of a skeptic. However, she wouldn't mind trying something new. She is brave and understand.

Trivia

Even though she is younger than Bob, they are in the same grade. She was skipped ahead.

She is a fan of Dragon Kid.

She is Orlando Cooper's niece.

Marcia Fey

Voiced by Erin Fitzgerald.

Bio

Marcia is a NEXT with powers similar to magic. She can a lot of things. She is a student at the Hero Academy with Karl Storm Feather. She is in a same-sex relationship with Sarah Sands and is Bea Kelleman's best fiends. She is also a member of the Groovy Ghosties where she is the team's occult consultant.

History

Marcia's NEXT powers first awoke when she was about 3. She was watching a witch anime and became interested in what they did and did them herself. When her parents saw her levitating above her bed, they thought she was possessed by a demon. However, hey later found out that she was actually a NEXT who just came into her powers. For many years, she had to keep her powers secret by her parents. Later, she was accepted into the Hero Academy where she met Karl. They both had an interest in the occult. Later, Marcia met Sarah and they became a couple. Then, Karl invite them to join the Groovy Ghosties on their paranormal cases. They agreed. Marcia is the team's occult consultant and user. She provides magic where it is needed.

Appearance

Marcia is a 17-year-old lady with blonde hair with red and blue highlights and brown eyes. She wears the Academy's sweatsuit.

Personality

Marcia is described as a nice-but-tough girl who is willing to do the right thing. But don't get on her bad side, she will express herself the best way she can when it happens.

Trivia

Marcia is a mixture of Chie Satonaka from Persona 4 and Sana Chikage from Mind Zero.

The anime they Marcia was watching when her powers activated was Witch Craft Works.

Marcia's favorite heroes on Hero TV are Dragon Kid and Fire Emblem as they prove that anyone can be a hero.

She is not a big fan of scary things, but she joined the Groovy Ghosties in hopes of changing that.

Sarah Sands

Voiced by Cree Summer.

Bio

Sarah is Marcia Fey's girlfriend and a member of the Groovy Ghosties as the team's equipment manager and the team's secondary driver.

History

Sarah has always been a fan of heroes. One day, she and her mother were working the cafeteria of the Hero Academy when she met Marcia. The two fell in love and have been a couple ever since. Then, Karl invited them to join the Groovy Ghosties on their cases and they agreed. Sarah's job is equipment manager and drive's the team's van whenever Sid cannot.

Appearance

Sarah is a 17-year-old African American woman with short brown hair and grey eyes. She also wears a pair of red glasses. She also has a ring which was a gift from Marcia.

Personality

Sarah is nice, but a bit sassy. But, she is brave and is willing to do what needs to be done.

Trivia

Sarah is actually the one who came up with the name Groovy Ghosties based off some cartoon her mother used to watch. This implies that the Scooby-Doo cartoon exists in the Tiger & Bunny Universe.

Sarah is a fan of Dragon Kid and Fire Emblem since they prove that anyone can be a hero.

Sarah's mother is the head cafeteria worker at the Hero Academy.

Sarah's father who is a preacher actually knows Steven, his parent and Barnaby since the orphanage Steven and Barnaby volunteer at is owned by the church Reverend Sands preaches at.

Reverend Sands also helps the Groovy Ghosties either to bless a haunted place or object, or perform an exorcism if they're are dealing with something evil. He also performs a blessing in the Ghosties' artifact room.

The Groovy Ghosties (in general)

The Groovy Ghosties are a ghost hunting team who go around Sternbild City solving paranormal, supernatural, and occult cases. Karl started it out of an interest in the supernatural. Karl is the lead investigator, Bea is the tech specialist, Sid is the skeptic and driver, Steven is the PR officer, case finder, and spiritual and religious expert, Bob is the cameraman and expert, Darla is the sound manager and researcher, Marcia is the occult consultant, and Sarah is the equipment manager and secondary driver.

The Groovy Ghosties' man headquarters is an old warehouse where they meet up a few times a week. They also have an artifact room where they keep items they collected from some of their cases. In the words of Ed Warren, "Everything in this room is haunted, cursed, or have been used in some ritualistic practice. Nothing here is a toy. Not even the toy monkey." Due to the growing evil in that room, Sarah's father, who is a priest, come in to bless the room every week or so.

Tiger & Bunny Characters who will star in this story

Kotetsu T. Kaburagi/Wild Tiger

Barnaby Brooks Jr.

Keith Goodman/Sky High

Antonio Lopez/Rock Bison

Ivan Karelin/Origami Cyclone

Ryan Goldsmith/Golden Ryan

Agnes Joubert

Cain Morris

Mary Rose

Orlando Cooper

Mario

Alexander Lloyds

Ben Jackson

Saito

Yuri Petrov/Lunatic

Mr. Legend

Robin Baxter

Kaede Kaburagi

Muramasa Kaburagi

Plot

Our story begins with Karl Storm Feather who just got out of the bathroom after taking a shower when he saw his parents watching Hero TV. Wild Tiger and Barnaby had just captured another criminal. Then, Mario announces that another open submission will be open for a wish to be granted by them. Remember that the Groovy Ghosties will be having a live stream while investigating an abandoned orphanage which is believe to be haunted the ghost of it matron, Karl decides that this would be an opportunity to get more recognition for the team.

So, he goes to his computer and writes a letter:

Dear Apollon Media,

My name is Karl Storm Feather. I’m a student at the Hero Academy.

I’ve heard of this time you had to help some guy look after a cursed tea set. You know, me and my friends have been doing some investigating into the supernatural ourselves. We are a team of paranormal investigators known as the Groovy Ghosties.

I know it’s not something you guys would normally do, but we were hoping that maybe you could do something for our live stream. We are investigating the old orphanage which is just a little way from the orphanage that Barnaby Brooks Jr. lived. Our PR, Steven Burrow, said that it’s supposed to be haunted by the ghost of its matron, Reverend Mother Clarice Dellaway, after she died falling from the window. They say since she died, odd things happened. Some were so terrifying that they had to close it down. According to Steven, they’re thinking of reopening the place since the current orphanage is getting too full. They want to move there, but they’re afraid of the ghost and what she might do.

We would like to do it, but I think we might need a little more help with this case. So we’re hoping that you could come and help us with this. I know that we and the orphanage would be so happy. Meet us at our headquarters: Warehouse 13, Bronze Stage.

Please help us. Thank you.

-Karl Storm Feather, Lead Investigator of the Groovy Ghosties

Karl finished the letter and printed it. He put it in an envelope and was ready to send it. However, he remembered that at the Hero Academy, the other students made fun of him because of his love for the paranormal. This lead him to be scared that it would only embarrass him, the team, and even the heroes. So, he decides not to send it and goes home.

The next day at the Grocery Store, Darla Torrington comes in with Antonio Lopez. They notice Karl looking down. They asked what was wrong. He said that he could not bring himself to submit a wish to Wild Tiger and Barnaby about investigating the orphanage. Darla thinks it that is a shame. However, Antonio tells him that no matter how ridiculous his wish may sound, there is still a good chance it could be granted. Karl is still a bit unsure, but is willing to go on with the investigation. However, Darla decides to submit the wish for him through her uncle, Orlando Cooper, who is a cameraman for Hero TV. Antonio secretly decides to help as it it the least he can do for one of his favorite neighbors.

The next day at Apollon Media, Kotetsu Kaburagi, Barnaby Brooks Jr., and Agnes Joubert are looking though some submissions (most of which are for Barnaby). Then, Orlando and Antonio added one more submission to their pile. At first, Agnes did not think it would be worth their time, but Kotetsu said that because Antonio is his best friend, they should at least take a look. Barnaby also decides to take a look when Orlando said it came from his niece and her friends. They read the note. At first, Kotetsu was not sure, however, Barnaby assured him it would be fine, especially since this involves the orphanage that he grew up in and now helps in. Besides, Agnes said this would be a perfect way for Barnaby to make up for the cursed tea set. Barnaby groans saying that she is still not going to let that go. Antonio tells Orlando to tell Karl, Darla, and the others the good news.

Later that day, Kotetsu is at the train station when the train pulls up. Then, his daughter, Kaede, and his older brother, Muramasa, get off. Kotetsu is happy that his daughter will be spending two weeks with him. Kaede said that she only came in hopes that her won wish would be granted: To spend more time in Sternbild and with Barnaby. Later at a restaurant, Kotetsu, Kaede, and Muramasa are having dinner when Barnaby shows up. Kotetsu and Barnaby explain that they are going to investigate a haunted orphanage. Kaede, out of curiosity, wants to go, too. Kotetsu and Muramasa say that may be a bad idea saying that if she gets her, her grandmother would never forgive them. Kaede was disappointed.

At Bar Number 06, Antonio is hanging out with Keith Goodman and Ivan Karelin when Antonio tells them about what happened. Ivan wonders if it would be alright if he came as well, since he knows a thing or two about the occult. Antonio is not sure, but Keith said that he might convince Agnes as he is the King of Heroes. Antonio thinks that may work, but he wants him to convince her to let him come as well since Karl is a fan of Rock Bison.

Back at Apollon Media, Agnes, Orlando, Cain Morris, and Mari Rose are talking about the wish they were going to film. Alexander Lloyds, Ben Jackson, and Saito hear them. Lloyds reveals that one of his children watches the Ghosties' videos and that he would like to come as well, mainly to get a picture of the team and their autographs. Saito decides to come too. But this, being a man of science, is only out of skepticism whispering that there are no such things as ghosts. Ben, however, is a believer and would like to see this for himself. They agree to let them come.

At Justice Tower, Yuri Petrov was about to get ready to return home for the night when Lloyds called. He said that he will be joining Kotetsu and Barnaby to investigate a haunted house and to let the sponsors know that he may not come tomorrow, but will try to come the day after. Yuri agrees. After the call ends, the ghost of Yuri's father, Mr. Legend appears. Yuri asks if he's ever going to stop (appearing to him). Mr. Legend just smiles and asks if what he's doing (going around as Lunatic and killing criminals) is really justice to anyone. Yuri tries to block him out, but flashes of the day his powers first activated and killing his father keep rushing through his head. He looks into the mirror to see that he accidentally rubbed off the makeup that hides his scars. He looks to see his father is still smiling. Then, he looks back to his computer to see call history. Curious, he goes to his computer and goes to the Groovy Ghosties' website where he watches an episode of them investigating an abandoned diner that was used as a front for a cult to lure virgin women with a waitress job only to kidnap them and drag them down to the basement where they would sacrifice them to their dark masters. The cult was found out and arrested by Stealth Soldier (whose powers are finally revealed to be the ability to shroud an area in fog). Down in the basement, Karl finds the knife that was used in the rituals. He he then activates his powers and reveals a dark aura coming from it. Later in the episode, Karl, Marcia, and Steven take the knife and place it in the team's artifact room with Marcia reciting some kind of spell and Sarah's father, Steven, and Steven's parents reciting a prayer. Karl then turns to the camera and says, "The evil has been contained." When the episode ended, Yuri just stares for a moment. Then he looks up to see Mr. Legend not there. Yuri takes out his phone and texts Lloyds saying that he will be coming as well.

At Abbas Prison, everyone is on high alert saying that a prison has escaped. The warden is yelling at a guard who says that only loosened the restraints on his eye-covering mask because he kept complaining that he was sweating in the face, he didn't know he could just shake it off and end with the guard in the cell. In a public bathroom at a park, Robin Baxter comes out of a stall just after changing out of his prison uniform and into his roller suit. He casually glides out but quickly hides behind a bush as some kids come around. He hears them talking about rumor that Wild Tiger and Barnaby going to work with the Groovy Ghosties. Another kid wonders if they would get to see the team's artifact room saying that even though they have weird meaning, some of them are actually quite priceless and would be worth a king's ransom on the market if they weren't so creepy. This gives Robin an idea.

The next day, some cars were coming in carrying Wild Tiger, Barnaby, Kaede, Rock Bison, Sky High, Origami Cyclone, Agnes, Cain, Mary, Orlando, Lloyds, Ben, Saito, and Muramasa. (Yuri was behind them in his own car.) Kaede had managed to convince her father and uncle to let her come saying that if she didn't, she was going to complain to her grandmother, their mother. Barnaby said he doesn't mind since he gets along with Kaede and Agnes thought that the daughter of a hero and now a future hero would up the ratings. They arrive at the warehouse that's used as the headquarters by the Ghosties. Darla is outside waiting for them. She calls the rest of her team out and Karl screams in excitement that they actually came, especially Rock Bison.

Inside the warehouse, Karl, Bea, and Sid explain what they do and the things in the warehouse. Origami asks Karl why he wants to become a paranormal investigator when, as a NEXT, he must become a hero. Karl states that not all heroes go around wearing a costume and be on TV, some of them don't have have powers. Agnes thinks that's just ridiculous as only NEXT can be heroes. Origami also states that at the Hero Academy, the other students make fun of him and Marcia for what they do. Marcia says, "Let the naysayers say nay like the dumb horses they are. This is what we do and we love it... Except for Sid." Both Bison and Tiger commend Karl and Marcia for their faith. "And besides," said Barnaby. "Even ghosts need to be saved... Speaking from experience." Karl assumes that he's talking about the cursed tea set, but Barnaby blushes with his eyes on Tiger saying that it's something like that while Tiger is just confused. Agnes has everyone taking pictures while Yuri wonders off and finds the artifact room. He finds that one of the Ghosties accidentally left their key in the keyhole. At first, Yuri is tempted to unlock the door and go inside, but refrains himself from doing so. But then, he sees his father's ghost appear next to him. Reluctantly, Yuri finally gives in and unlocks the door and goes inside. Inside, Yuri looks at all the objects inside, including:

a pack of poker cards

a white satin evening gown

a pair of red shoes

an Asian music box

the melted remains of a candle

a wooden mask

and a golden locket.

Suddenly, Yuri happens upon the knife he saw from the video. Yuri gets closer for a better look. He was about to pick it up when someone grabs his arm and pulls it away. At first, Yuri saw it was his father, but it was quickly revealed that it was Karl who gabbed it and said, "Didn't your mother tell you to look with your eyes and not your hands?" Yuri also saw that Tiger, Barnaby, Bison, Agnes, Cain, Mary, Orlando, Lloyds, Saito, Bea, and Sid where in. Sky High, Origami, Kaede, Muramasa, Ben, Darla, Marcia, and Sarah were still out taking pictures. Outside the door, Steven was scolding Bob for leaving his copy of the key in the door where someone could unlock it and enter. Yuri says he saw the knife in the episode and Karl says he's happy to know a justice of the peace has taken in interest in what the Ghosties do. Tiger is a bit skeptical about the items in the room. Karl explains that everything in the artifact room is either haunted, cursed, or have been used in some ritualistic practice and reminds him not to touch anything. Each of the visitors take an interest in the listed items.

Lloyds is attracted to the cards.

Cain and Mary are attracted to the gown.

Agnes is attracted to the shoes.

Bison is attracted to the music box.

Tiger and Barnaby are attracted to the melted candle.

Saito is attracted to the mask.

Yuri is attracted to the knife.

You'll know about the locket soon.

Karl notices this and tells them about the items.

The cards belong to Jimmy "The Gambler" Gambino who made a bet on a boxing match and lost which lead to him to be killed by some gangsters he owed money to. Since then, the ghost of his cut-up remains haunted the cards, earning him the name "The Torso". The Ghosties found the cards while they were investigating the ruins of a glass mansion which was owned by Cyrus Kriticos. Sid's skeptical conclusion was that people were scared of the stories and made them imagine seeing a cut-up body and that Kriticos was a crazy old man.

The gown belonged to a young woman who died and was burred with it because she didn't want anyone else wearing it. However, it was taken by graverobbers who sold it to a shop here in Sternbild. That shop rented the gown to another young woman who need something to wear to his school's prom. That night, when she had it on at the dance, she felt sick and went home. The next morning, her mother found her dead. The mother could not bring herself to give the gown back to the shop out of fear that the ghost of the gown's original owner would kill someone like she killed her daughter and has been on a dummy in the attic for many years. When the Ghosties came to investigate it, the mother gave them the gown in hopes that it would give the mother peace of mind and keep others safe from the gown. Sid's skeptical conclusion is that the gown had some kind of bacteria that came from the woman's rotting corpse that when introduced to living flesh would cause some kind of lethal reaction.

The shoes belonged to in old lady who lived on the Silver Stage. The shoes have been in her family for years dating back to when they were living in Denmark. The shoes have a curse on it. When they are put on, they stick and never come off and force the wearer to dance whenever music is played. Sid's skeptical conclusion is similar to the gown, but the deadly bacteria caused something similar to the dancing plague of 1518.

The music box belonged to a Chinese woman named Lu Mei who lost her family to a plague. She made a pact with a demon known as a yaoguai which gave the box the power to grand seven wishes. However, the first six wishes come with a price: the lives of the owner's friends and family. Then, after the final wish, the yaoguai claims the owner's soul. Sid received box from his pen pal, Ryan, before his mysterious death. (Most likely from making his seventh wish.) Sid has yet to come up with a logical explanation.

The melted candle used to magic candle known as the Black Flame Candle, which was made from the fat of a hanged man. It is said that if a virgin lights it on the night of a full moon on Halloween Night, it can resurrect the dead for one that one Halloween Night. The last time this happened, a young teenage boy lit it and brought back a trio of sister witches who wanted to steal the lives of the children of Salem, Massachusetts. The Ghosties brought it back with them from a case they were doing in there. Sid's skeptical conclusion was that it was just a prank as he believed that the story of those witches were just that, a story.

The wooden mask was made by a woodcarver who crafted a it from a tree where a dark spirit was trapped a century earlier by a Cajun medicine man. The mask compelled the carver to kill his family and others in the village until a young woman kills him to stop the killings. Now the cursed mask is rumored to be buried at the woodcarver's grave. However, the mask was found by a camp counselor who donned it and was compelled to kill everyone at the camp. Eventually, the mask was recovered while the Ghosties were searching for ghosts there. Sid's skeptical conclusion was that the mask a natural hallucinogen that puts the wearer into a frenzied state.

Karl was just about to talk about the locket when Steven comes in to say that the orphanage called and that they are ready for them. Karl says he will tell them about it another time. They leave the room and Karl locks it. Steven comforts Bob for making a mistake and reminds him to be careful next. With that, they leave, but Steven leaves his own copy of the key behind on his desk behind a picture of the Holy Mother. Just after they leave, Robin Baxter come into the warehouse through a window. He spots the artifact room, but could not enter because it was locked and needs a real person inside to switch places with and he forgot his lockpick case. Then, he goes over to Karl's desk and tries access his computer. At the orphanage, one of the older nuns tell the Ghosties, the heroes, the crew, and the Kaburagis the story of Mother Clarice Delleway. As a side job, Mother Clarice was a birdkeeper who took care of birds who were sick or injured. But one day, one of the birds got out of its cage and onto a branch out side of her office window. Mother Clarice tried to get it, but the bird taking off surprised her and she lost her balance and fell out of the window to her death. Sometime after her funeral, odd things began to happen. Whispers could be heard at night, objects and furniture were found to have been moved, and rooms would start to get really cold. Then, an orphan girl who despised Mother Clarice started having nightmares about falling from her office window or being under Mother Clarice as she fell. This drove the girl mad as she tried to cut herself. The girl was sent to an asylum where she got better and was adopted. However, this started happening to some of the other orphans, all of which entered her office and disrespected her or her birds (even though they were taken away after her death) in it. The church could no longer take seeing the children suffer like this and decided to close the orphanages. It has been standing empty to this very day.

Barnaby asks how come he never heard the story while he was growing up in the current orphanage. The nun said it was because Barnaby was too young to hear the story without getting scared and the subject was never brought up again until now when the current orphanage was starting to get too crowded. The old orphanage has more room for more children. They were hoping that the money collected by the church, they could fix up the building, but they cannot until they are sure that it would be alright with a mysterious presence there. But then, Steven, who was doing volunteer work at the time, heard about this and told the nuns about the Groovy Ghosties. After thinking about it, they decide to give them a try. The heroes agree to help as well, particularly Barnaby.

Later on at the abandoned orphanage as it starts to get dark, the team (except for Bea and Sarah), the heroes, and the crew (except for Agnes, Cain, and Mary) get ready. Kaede had to stay behind with Muramasa, Yuri, and Saito. Saito, Cain, and Mary, were in the van with Bea and Sarah to monitor the ones going into the orphanage. Inside the orphanage, the remaining team, the heroes, and the remaining crew looks around in the old building. Then, they divide into teams:

Karl with Wild Tiger, Barnaby, and Rock Bison.

Sid and Steven with Lloyds.

Bob and Darla with Orlando.

Marcia with Sky High and Origami Cyclone.

With Karl, Tiger, Barnaby, and Bison, they investigate Mother Clarice's old office. Karl activates his powers and tries to sense any aura. He says there is some faint residual energies coming from a certain part of the office. Barnaby says that the nuns told him that that spot was where the cage that held the birth that escaped used to be before she died. Karl senses that that energy that was given off from the cage is still in the orphanage meaning that the cage might still be there. Karl radios the others.

With Sid, Steven, and Lloyds who are investigating one of the rooms get the message. As they investigate the room they found that the church was originally going to turn this room into a home theater for the children to watch movies when they are unable to go to the city to watch them. But due to the strange happenings and the orphanage closing down, it never happened. Steven says they should hope that after they have given the orphanage and the church peace of mind, they will continue with that plan. Sid, however, believes that the theater was the real reason why they closed down the orphanage because the theatre would cost so much money that they didn't have. So they made up the supposed haunting to get out of paying. Steven disagrees but should be open-minded. Lloyds wonders about doing the same the next time someone like Wild Tiger shows up in his office. Though, chances are it would turn out the same.

With Bob, Darla, and Orlando, they are investigating one of the classrooms. Darla's tablet starts to pick up some odd sounds. She plays it back to hear what sounds like heavy breathing. At first, Bob thinks that Darla was breathing too heavily near the tablet, but then remembers that she was sticking it out that it couldn't pick it up. Orlando then spots something on the camera. He says that it looked like some faded transparent image passing out of the blackboard, but quickly vanishes. Bob takes a look and confirms it to be a semi-apparent specter.

With Marcia, Sky High, and Origami Cyclone, they inspect the dorms. Marcia casts a spell to track movements other than hers, Sky High's, or Origami's. Origami is interested in Marcia's powers saying that it's rare to see a Magic-Type NEXT. Marcia explains that you never know what kind of NEXT will appear. Sky High agrees and says that Marcia will make a great hero. Marcia says she still has a lot to think about that as there are some things about hero works that might scare her a bit. Origami says she know how she feels and that he would get scared sometimes, but he remembers that fears has a way of being made work for (you) than the criminals. Then, he takes out some ofuda (Japanese paper talismans) saying that he too has a way cast spells and begins placing them around.

Outside, Muramasa, who had left, returns with some pizza and coffee. Muramasa asks if they really believe in all this supernatural stuff. Sarah asks if he is a religious person. Muramasa says that whenever his brother goes off doing what heroes do best, he, their mother, and his niece pray for his safety. Sarah says that's good. Mary and Yuri reveal that they are Jewish, Cain is a Christian, and Agnes and Saito are Atheists. Bea said that there are times when even the Warrens have trouble with keeping the faith, but they keep at it. Bea asks Kaede why she wanted to come along. She says that apart from wanting to spend more time with her father and Barnaby, some of her friends have actually watched the Ghosties' webisodes and was a bit curious. Bea says that curiosity killed that cat, but it makes the person a bit more knowing.

Karl, Tiger, Barnaby, and Bison meet up with Bob, Darla, and Orlando in front of the door that leads up to the attic. Karl says that the aura is strongest up there and Bob says that the wispy figure reappears and was headed this way. They go up to the attic where Bison says that his infrared thermometer's number just went down. Karl says they most likely found a cold spot which is known to be caused by the presence of ghosts. They search the place until Barnaby finds something under a tarp. It was a bird cage. Karl uses his powers to reveal that there is a strong aura around the cage. Bob takes a picture and sends it back to the crew outside. Bea and Agnes says that one of the older nuns showed them pictures of Mother Clarice and her office. They find that bird cage is the same cage that the injured bird escaped from. Karl tries to pick up the cage, but another aura swats his hands away. Then, Darla picks up a sound. She plays it back and it sounds like a voice saying "No". Karl suspects that it is Mother Clarice. He asks her if she is there. He then uses his powers to reveal a blueish aura which Karl believes might be her. Darla tries to record the sound, but nothing comes up. Karl assures Mother Clarice that they come in peace and wish to know why she is here. Darla records the sounds and picks something up: "Away". Karl asks if she is talking about the bird that flew away. Tiger asks Barnaby if he asked what became of the bird. Barnaby did ask the nuns that, but they said they are unsure, although, one of the children found the scattered remains of a bird, most likely the bird that got away met its end by a cat or a fox. Suddenly, the room got even colder. Karl suspects that Mother Clarice is upset about what became of the bird. Karl then tries to assure her that even though that bird probably did not make it, her other birds were cared for, the nuns told them that after her death, they birds were sent to a zoo to be well taken care of and that she did a great job taking care of them. The aura responded as if trying to say yes. Barnaby then says that the current orphanage needs a new place to stay since it is getting full and that they want to use this one, but they can't unless they're sure it is safe. Bison then asks if it is alright if they could move to the old orphanage since it has more room. The aura then responds again. Darla even records the sound and plays it back to say "Stay." Tiger, who was getting a little shaky at this point says, "We'll take that as a yes." Karl then asks if they could bring the bird cage with them since her task is done. The aura responds again. However, Karl says it felt more like a no. Karl then says that if Mother Clarice wishes to stay, she must obey that rules of the living and not scare or harm anyone, especially the children. The aura then responds as if to say yes. Then, Darla records something that sounds like "Respect." Barnaby says that the nuns and the children will respect her memory as long as she means them no harm. The aura responds like saying yes again. Then, Karl calls Steven and Marcia to come.

Later, Steven, Marcia, and the rest of their teams arrive. Karl asks Steven to perform a blessing. Marcia was to use her powers with Karl in case something goes wrong and the spirit fights back. Origami says that he will also contribute with his ofuda. He then places the paper talismans on each wall of the attic as Steven begins to pray. The room shakes a bit. Karl tries to assure Mother Clarice that they just want to make sure that she will keep her promise. The shaking dies down a bit. Finally, Steven finishes his prayer saying that the spirit is at peace. Though she is not ready to ascend to the heavens, she assures them that none will have to fear her. Karl says it is time to call it a night and to review what they have found and share what they've learned with the orphanage. So, they regroup outside and leave.

Back at the warehouse, Robin had finally managed to access Karl's computer (the password was Bison which Robin thinks is not very clever). Robin then access the files of previous episodes, cases (on and off the record), and even a few videos. Robin opens one of the videos to see a recording of Ed and Larraine Warren performing an exorcism on a possessed man. Robin thinks that the Ghosties are sick and obsessed. Then, he access another video file about a haunted house on the Bronze Stage. It showed pictures of Karl, Marcia, Marcia's father, and Steven performing an exorcism in front of the house. Then, Robin finds a catalog files of everything in the team's artifact room. He reads them until he find the entry on the gold locket.

The locket is haunted by a banshee, a female Irish spirit whose wails can predict the death of another and can drive even the most virtuous of men to the brink of insanity. The story goes that the locket was a gift from an Irish nobleman to his wife for her birthday. Then, one day, the nobleman said he had to go out to sea to check on one of his farms the next day. That night, they heard a loud wailing that almost shook their entire estate. The looked out to see a woman in a black dress and her face was covered by a black vail. When they went out to see who she was, she vanished. The next day, the nobleman left. But then, a violet storm hit and the ship was lost. Sometime later, the ship was found, but the crew and the nobleman had all drowned. The nobleman's wife was in total grief as the banshee's wailing kept sounding at night. Finally driven mad with grief and the wailing, the wife hung herself in their room. After her death, the servant ransacked the entire estate taking everything: The money, the gold, the jewels, and even the locket. A few nights after taking the locket, the servant who took it started to hear the banshee's wailing. A few days later, the servant died of a heart attack. The locket ended up in the hands of the servants daughter who wore it to her wedding. On her wedding night, she and her new husband heard the banshee's wailing. The next day, the husband, who was riding his horse at the time, lost control of it and they both road off a cliff to their deaths. The wife feared it had something to do with the locket. She put it in a box and berried it near the estate in hopes that the banshee would leave her be. Many years later, someone dug up the locket and sold it to a shop in Kinsale. Sometime later, the locket was bought by Mrs. Cooper, Orlando's mother and Darla's grandmother. She wore it to a party that was thrown by her friend. Then, Mrs. Cooper heard a faint wailing and looked over to see a woman in a black dress and a dark veil standing near her friend. At first, she thought it was just another one of her friend's friends who was probably waring those clothes out of mourning, but less than a minute later, she vanished. The next morning, Mrs. Cooper got word that her friend had been killed by a burglar sometime after the party while the friend was in bed. Over the next two years, similar occurrences happened. Mrs. Cooper finally decided she needed answers. Fortunately, she learned that Darla and her friends are paranormal investigators and contacted them. So, Darla, the other Groovy Ghosties, and even Orlando, came to Kinsale, Ireland. They investigated the locket and it was definitely haunted. Since they could not do much about it, they decided to take the locket back to Sternbild to be locked in their artifact room.

Robin seemed to have taken a great interest in the locket. However, he is still unable to get inside the artifact room. He searches the desks until he arrives at Steven's. He looks at the picture of the Holy Mother and tells her not to judge him. He turns down the picture to find Steven's copy of the key sitting behind it. He picks it up with a smile saying, "Amen." He takes the key and unlocks the door. He goes into the artifact room and looks around until he finally comes upon the locket. At first, Robin was a bit hesitant because of what he read, but shrugs it off as just a silly ghost story and says, "I already lost my marbles the day I decided to become a thief." So, he takes the locket in its box. But for extra cash, he also takes the pack of cards, the white gown, the red shoes, the music box, the melted candle (for some reason), and the knife.

Just after he put the items into his bag, he leaves the room only to run into the team, the heroes, and the crew who just returned from their case. The heroes try to catch him, but Robin just uses his powers to switch places with them to escape. Barnaby says that they have blind Robin first as his power require him to see that person while he is switching places with them.

Outside, Robin stops someplace to take another look at his loot. When he does, he gets a feeling that they are shaking for some reason. Suddenly, a mist comes in. It turns out Marcia was casting a spell. Origami shapeshifts into a ghost to try and scare Robin into dropping the bag. But just as he was about to sneak up to him, Tiger's phone rings. Robin hears this and realizes he is being tricked and flees. Agnes yells at Tiger for leaving the ringer on. Tiger apologizes and answer his phone to find it was a wrong number. The heroes go after Robin again. He manages to allude them until he was caught between Karl and Marcia who both activate their powers with Karl trying to tie him up and blind him with his aura and Marcia ready to cast a knock-out spell. However, Robin manages to see Karl well enough. They two were now charging at Robin, but he activates his powers ready to switch places with Karl. But as he was doing this, all the items in the bags also glow, but not blue like Robin, but a dark purplish color. Then, Robin trades places with Karl and Marcia nearly hits him. They look to see Robin had escaped them. But just as he was about to leave and the heroes and crew arrive when the bag begins to shake violently and explode. When the smoke cleared, they saw that the items in the bag have disappeared except for the locket. They heroes make a go for Robin, but he grabs the locket and switches places with a nearby workman. Robin escapes.

Later back at the warehouse, Steven checks the artifact room and to see if anything else had been taken. Karl also sees that Robin has accessed his computer. Kaede asks why the exorcism video was only of pictures and sounds. Karl says it would make the episode way too scary if they showed actual footage of an exorcism and to respect the victims and their families, they don't have reveal their identities. Karl finds the catalog and identifies what was stolen. Kotetsu asks what just happened with the bag exploding. Karl says that all NEXT have unique aura that become more active when their powers are activated. They discovered that when these powers are activated near the items in the artifact room, it causes some kind of reaction, as if the NEXT's powers were waking the items up. And last Karl and Marcia noticed, three NEXTs activated their powers around them. With that, the haunted, cursed, and ritual items are now fully awake. Karl says they need to find those items before they end up with people who will be endangered by their dark powers. Kotetsu and Barnaby say that they will do whatever they can to find them.

Meanwhile, on a roof somewhere, Robin is look down at the city when he looks at the locket his put around his neck. He is a bit disappointed that this was the only thing he could recover, though it would still fetch a price. However, Robin starts to get curious about what was inside. He tries to open the locket, but to no avail, almost as if it were welded shut. Robin just stares at the locket when he suddenly hears wailing sound. He looks up to the building across him and sees a woman wearing a black dress and a dark veil. Robin was a bit scared an looked away for only a second. He looks back to see she was gone. Robin's face beings to look grim with fear as the sound of the music box can be heard along with the sound of women cackling.

To be continued...

Story Trivia

Most of the items listed above along with the backstories come from different stories and movies.

Jimmy "The Gambler" Gambino, also known as "The Torso", is from 13 Ghosts.

The white satin gown is from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz.

The red shoes come from the story of the same name by Hans Christian Anderson.

The music box is from Wish Upon.

The Black Flame Candle is from Hocus Pocus.

The mask is from You Might Be The Killer.

Sorry if I'm ending the post here. I was afraid that it was getting too long and I already have a lot of things to do. I might continue this, I don't know if it will be before or after the anniversary, but I'll see what I can do. Thanks and thanks again all for taking the time to read this.

Let's believe HEROES

#tiger and bunny #tiger & bunny #tigerbunny10 #fanfic

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skookworks · 4 years

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Gallery – Half Hour Sketches 31 to 60

From last year, the second set of thirty daily/half hour sketches. Do you have any favorites?

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Story Seed #45 A Bad Seed Blooms

Karren was always a difficult child. Demanding, clingy, prone to throwing tantrums when she didn’t get her way. Dealing with her on a daily basis was enough to convince her parents that they didn’t want to have another child. Yes she was often charming. Yes she was usually very entertaining and she could seem very loving but, damn, she was awfully narcissistic.

When Karren was eight, her mother became pregnant (their contraception method failed) and her parents decided that they’d keep the baby. Karren would adapt, she’d have to. Right? And for a while it seemed like Karren would. She was delighted by the idea of having a sibling. She had fun playing nursemaid and helper to her mother and she revelled in the appreciation that her parents showed her for her new attitude.

The baby came, a little sister. Karren played doting big sister, giving cuddles, helping with bottles and rocking her to sleep. But, her parents had less attention for her and got crankier form lack of sleep, the old Karren resurfaced. She was jealous of the baby, angry that it just wouldn’t behave. Her play became meaner and rougher. One morning her mother caught her holding a pillow over the baby’s face. She wasn’t trying to kill the baby, she was just trying to make it stop crying, she didn’t know what she was doing, did she?

Her parents made arrangements to send Karren to a boarding school. Until she could depart her parents never left her alone with the baby and they locked her room at night.

Two days before Karren was to depart her mother took her and the baby to run errands. Karren had been behaving. She seemed contrite. Maybe safe? As they returned to the house their car was blocked in by a pair of black SUVs and armed men pulled them from the vehicle.

Karren’s parents were comfortably upper middle class. Karren’s grandfather, her father’s father, was rich and had made a lot of enemies getting that way. The kidnappers were in the employ of a Russian gangster that Grandfather had doublecrossed.

Karren, her mother and her little sister are taken to a remote location. Karen’s mother is forced to record a ransom plea. Karren pouts, Karren yells, Karren is not a cooperative hostage. The kidnappers beat her, tie her up, cut off one of her little fingers and send it with the ransom demand.

Karren’s father is in shock and desperate. Grandfather is disappointed. His son was always a weak thing. Grandfather harrumphs and takes charge. He has his security chief put together a team to rescue the kidnapped mother and her girls. But Grandfather didn’t get rich by giving a shit about anyone but himself. The team is to rescue the family if it’s convenient but it’s more important to him that they kill as many of the Russians as they can. The “girls” are expendable.

And Karren? Karren is very, very mad. Her parents could be boring. Her parents could be strict. Her parents often spoiled her fun. But they’d never hit her. They’d never hurt her. And now these smelly men have dared to hurt HER and threaten HER mother and HER little sister?

Karren is clever. Karren will get out of her bounds. Karren will make them all very, very sorry.

Recommendation

I am behind on my newsletters. I have a virtual stack of them waiting to be read and, at the moment, I can’t remember which ones I’ve already recommended. So this week I’m recommending a youtube channel: Cartoonist Kayfabe. Jim Rugg and Ed Piskor are veteran comics creators and they regular post a lot of videos about comics. I’ll let them introduce themselves –

Local News

I don’t have heroes. When I was a kid I kept discovering that the folks my history classes promoted as role models were often pretty horrible people. Even the ones the weren’t horrible were usually … human. That is, they weren’t necessarily nice, they weren’t always faithful and they often did things that were sloppy and stupid. As a kid, I was looking for perfect heroes to model myself after and real humans just kept failing provide me with the examples I wanted.

As I grew up I came to admire the people who stood up, who took action to make the world a better place, regardless of whether they were also shitty spouses, terrible parents or lousy friend. Rather, I’ve learned to admire the noble actions they took and accept that the rest of their lives and behaviors were probably pretty messy.

I’ve been following and reading Warren Ellis‘s work since I encountered his columns at 9th Art back in the 90s. I posted some art in the Remake/Remodel challenges in the FreakAngels forums. I found a lot of interesting newsletters (and was inspired to do this one) because he recommended them. I don’t get many regular comics these days but I did pay attention to what he had coming out next. I mostly heard about that when I read his latest newsletter. I only heard about the controversy when he posted his last one. This essay gives the pertinent details with links to more info.

Of all the bad actors who have come in to light in the last few years, Ellis is the first one whose work really matters to me. After a few days passage I’m still … I don’t know. I believe the women. You don’t get 30 or more artists to agree on something unless there is truth there. And they’ve got the emails. (And being a whistleblower is never about money unless you’re already rich and famous. Being a poor whistleblower means you, at best, become a famous and poor whistleblower. Anyone who thinks that someone calls out injustice for fame and glory and wealth is someone who doesn’t actually care about injustice.)

I admire his work. I’m sorry he’s behaved poorly and kind of relieved that he didn’t behave worse. I sympathize more with the women who had to put up with his shit than with him for what’s happening now. What struck me, in his statement, was this –

“I have never considered myself famous or powerful, to the point where I’ve made a lot of bad jokes about it for twenty-odd years.”

It’s a reminder to me that our perceptions of ourselves are often off the mark. You might think that someone in Ellis’ position, who has had the accomplishments and influence that he’s had, would have a better perception of his place in the world. But most of us don’t. Most of us hear our internal dialogues, our fears and our doubts, much louder than the feedback we get from the outside. We rarely perceive ourselves accurately.

It’s a reminder that I/we have much more power in the world than I/we think I/we do. It’s a reminder to be more aware, to think before speaking and acting. It’s a reminder to talk more about perceptions and expectations even when doing that seems like it’s going to kill the flow of an interaction. I may think things are hunky dory but the person I’m with might just be being polite.

I don’t think I’m currently in a position of power. In previous jobs I have been a supervisor and an assistant manager and a manager. As I moved up in responsibility I became conscious of having a responsibility to model “professional” behavior. Getting wasted and flirting with one’s coworkers isn’t a good look for the boss. Now I’m just one mail carrier in a station of about a hundred other carriers. I go to work. I don’t really socialize. I just want to put the hours in so I can get paid and go home and draw. Do I have power? Of course I do. I’m an older white guy who, to the new hires at least, probably seems like I’ve been around forever. Postal carriers have a union. Carriers advance by seniority. There’s a culture of not ratting on your fellow carrier when they misbehave. So I maybe could fuck with the new hires and get away with it. I’m pretty sure that veteran carriers already do that.

I have gotten tired. I have withdrawn. But I’m not dead. It’s time to pay a little more attention at work and in the world. I am not a hero. But I do have power and I can take a few noble actions now and then.

Tuesday Night Party Club #25 Gallery - Half Hour Sketches 31 to 60 From last year, the second set of thirty daily/half hour sketches.

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goatyellsateverything · 5 years

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Ok. To try and string together the movie lore from a series that I dont think was intended to go this way when they started.

Note: Spoilers if you havn’t seen The Conjuring 1&2 and the Nun.

So, back in Templar times, a mad Count performed a ritual to bring the demon Valak to earth. He was interrupted by the Knights Templar who stormed his castle, killed the Count, and used the Blood of Christ to seal the portal he’d created. From that day on, it became an abby where particularly devout nuns kept a constant stream of prayer going in order to ensure the portal could not be opened.

For years the nun’s constant prayers kept the portal closed until WW2 and the carpet bombings. They aren’t clear in the movie if it was the physical breaking of the stone barrier (they show a flashback of the bombings and the floor where the portal was cracked) or if the bombings interrupted the constant vigil and prayer, breaking the spiritual barrier; but in any case, thats when Valak was released. It then went on to torment the nuns, trying to get a vessel to leave the abby because it could not step out on the holy sanctified ground. Why Valak could walk inside the literal HOUSE OF THE LORD is a major criticism I have.

The nuns went to get the Blood of Christ, still housed in the abby but were thwarted and murdered by Valak. The last surviving nun committed suicide by hanging herself out the window in order to keep Valak from gaining a vessel and being released on the world.

Father Burke and Sister Irene are sent to investigate the death and to find out if the ground was still holy. Irene, Burke, and Maurice face the demon in order to close the portal. I know I’m skipping the entire movie here but its really not relevant to the point here. ^^; I really do recommend seeing it if you’re into this sorta stuff. ANYWAY. The 3 face Valak in the catacombs. Valak nearly drowns Irene; but shes playing dead; and the demon grabs for the orb that had the Blood of Christ. However, Irene had broken the orb, took the Blood into her mouth, and when Valak lifted her out of the water, Irene spat it on the demon with, well, obvious results.

BUT. Unbeknownst to anyone, Valak had possessed Maurice with part of its demon essence, giving it the vessel it needed to leave the abby. Years later, Maurice encounters the Warrens and Valak, I dont know, took a liking to Lorraine? This is where it starts to get confusing. (I know right? THIS is where it gets confusing?)

[Side note: Maurice’s exorcism was considered a success, however shortly after he seemed to “relapse” and tried to kill his wife before turning the gun on himself. Its an important note to make because its relevant to my theory at the end of all this.]

First, ignore literally everything in the first movie except the lecture they have with the video of Maurice. Beyond that, the entire movie is a self contained story. Well, at least until we get the new Conjuring/Annabel movie sometime next year but that doesn’t seem like it has anything to do with the Nun so we’re skipping it for now.

So we move onto the second Conjuring movie and a ritual that the Warren’s are doing to try and see if the Amityville horror case was an actual demonic possession, or if the human man responsible was just, well, evil in his own right. They dont really give a clear answer to that one. Maybe they are trying to save it for another movie? In any case, after Vera’s spectacular (not sarcastic. it really was genuinely good acting) pantomime of the murders while in the shoes of the killer, she seems to come out of the killing trance but it isn’t clear if it was Lorraine coming out of the trance or if it was Ronald himself being released from possession to witness what he’d done. The scene moves on with Ed trying to pull Lorraine from her trance but Lorraine follows the sounds of children laughing to the basement of the home where she finds 3, I think boys (they were kind of ambiguous and only on screen for a few seconds), with black eyes. They turn and stair to the side and Lorraine is faced with the Nun, Valak, for the second time, (the first being Maurice’s exorcism) and it shows her a vision of Ed’s death.

Yes that was all necessary to explain. Moving on.

The Warren’s are asked by the church to investigate the haunting in Enfield. The original real life story was about a girl who was being haunted by the ghost of an old man who lived and died in the house. In the movie, its still the old man, however HE is being used as a pawn by Valak who wont let him move on.

QUESTION

How did Valak orchestrate this haunting in England when was attached to Lorraine in America? This is a major plot hole. I cant find any way to justify Valak being both in England AND America at the same time. Maybe there was another partial transfer like when it posses Maurice? Its something that really needs to be explained or shown if thats the case. Maybe The Nun 2 will be about Maurice’s case and it’ll show a similar partial transfer?

Moving on. (We’ll just have to accept it for now)

So Valak uses the old man to posses the english girl. Then it forces her to try and throw herself out the window, onto a tree thats been struck by lighting and (SOMEHOW cuse this is how physics works) and sharpened into a spear. Ed catches her as she falls but nearly falls himself until Lorraine, having found the demons name, was able to cast it back to hell, releasing the girl and her family from its torment and, presumably, allowing Bill to move on as well.

Thus ending the story of Valak. Maybe.

Now whats my theory?

Valak never gained its true full power while on earth. Valak is the defiler. It perverts the Lord and His creations. I think it needed to first pervert the soul of its chosen host, turn them away from their most sacred and holy mission. Once thats done, it needs to have its host commit suicide; one of the most egregious sins against God; in order to take possession of the human soul and fully manifest on earth.

With the nun at the abby, it probably planned to have her perform some vile act (possibly murder someone in the town nearby or even just destroying the glass orb with the Blood in it) before having her kill herself. She took her life before Valak could posses her.

With Maurice, it tried to make him kill his wife to whom he was deeply dedicated to and loved dearly. He managed to wrestle back control, managing to wound but not kill his wife, and then killed himself. Valak hadn’t managed to force Maurice to kill the woman he loved and, like the nun before him, he may have been absolved of the sin of suicide because he was sacrificing himself both for his wife and to keep Valak from its vessel.

With Janet, Valak almost had what it wanted. A lot of factors worked against the girl. She was greatly depressed because her father had left and her mother was constantly worried about the kids, money, everything. She had a friend at school that convinced her to mess around with a Ouija board (which we know from other examples is NEVER A GOOD IDEA) and got her into other trouble. She was the middle child in a broken home so not quite babied like her little brother but not given the same benefit of maturity as her older sister. These things weakened Janet’s spirit and allowed Valak to slip through a crack and begin tormenting her.

But what “holy mission” could a little girl have that Valak could corrupt? Her little brother and her love for her family. Her little brother had a speech impediment that made him the target of bullying and she’d appointed herself his guardian (pretty normal for an older sibling). As Valak dug into her, she began tormenting her little brother using the Crooked Man vision and in the end almost took and killed him. It was actually Bill, the old man, who managed to keep her from harming her brother outright. But the damage was done, at least enough to satisfy Valak, and all it had to do was make her fall from that window.

At least, thats my theory anyway.

Its kind of a cobbled mess because the movies didn’t really have the intent from the beginning. Unless you are writing a slice of life, no stakes, everything is encapsulated into each individual story; you have to have an ending in mind. It doesn’t have to be 100% fully fleshed out, but you’ve got to have something. Thats why series shows that are arbitrarily pushed past their intended ending because its popular end up stagnating or just being bad because there is no end now. Nothing connects up and when you try to go back and make a coherent story, it ends up badly confused and often screws up the rules you laid out in the beginning.

Anyway.

Thats my way too long “I’m seriously over thinking this bullshit” rant on the Conjuring Series.

See you next time when I rip into the Annabelle movies because god damn THAT is some confusing shit. >.<

#goat yells at horror movies #The Conjuring Series #The Conjuring #The Conjuring 2 #The Nun

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acaseforpencils · 6 years

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Jason Chatfield.

Bio: I grew up in the far flung suburbs of Perth, in Western Australia, and used to spend my paper route money on MAD Magazines (I cheaped-out and stole my dentist’s waiting room issues of the New Yorker. I think I was the only kid who looked forward to going to the dentist).

I moved to New York in 2014 and started pitching to the mag in person. I’m not sure Bob liked me, so I went back to pitching via email. Then I went in on his last day and finally sold my first piece. I feel like it was his final f—k you to the magazine. “Here! Have a Chatfield!”

Find this print here!

The cartoon was a goofy play on Vlad the Impaler.

I didn’t sell to the magazine again until last month, but I’ve had a handful sold as dailies. And I’m published in MAD often, so they’ve clearly done away with any of their standards.

When I’m not drawing gag cartoons I write and draw a syndicated legacy strip called Ginger Meggs which I took over 10 years ago. It’s been around since 1921 and now appears daily in 34 countries. He’s kind of an Australian version of Dennis the Menace, except he predates him by about 30 years.

Tools of choice: For drawing/roughs, I use a Prismacolor Turquoise clutch pencil with a red lead and try to find some paper with a little bit of tooth. The mixed media pads at Blick do the trick nicely.

I ink using a Uni-ball Vision Elite Stick Roller Ball Pen… or a Pigma Micron 03.

DO NOT use the Uni-Ball Vision Rollerball Pens, Fine Point (0.7mm) if you’re traveling. They explode on planes. And ruin your copy of The New Yorker.

For a wash, I just use watercolor and whatever brush is lying around. Nothing fancy. There’s a scanning app on my phone called “Adobe Scan” which does a nice job of scanning line-art into a PDF when I’m out of the studio and need to email in a quick rough.

I use a Wacom Mobilestudio Pro for finished artwork. I like to get out of the studio and work from a bar or restaurant, so it helps that I can take that with me. I use a little glove that I got on Amazon so I don’t grease up the screen, and the felt-tip nib that comes in the pen-holder makes the friction between the stylus and the screen more like pencil on paper. Unfortunately, they’re not waterproof, as I found on a recent vacation…

youtube

My wife plays piano and sings at bars around the city so I’ll often sit at the bar during her sets and draw. Digital/Traditional depends on what deadlines are most pressing. (She has a weekly residency in Astoria —if anyone’s interested in going, let me know!)

A lot of people email me for advice about tablets —I’ve been trialling/demo-ing Wacom products for 15 years— I think they’re great. If you’re married to doing stuff by hand but want to colour digitally, you can get a decent tablet without going broke. Depends on your workflow.

Writing Desk: My wife and I were living upstairs in 5A when my neighbour in 4B died. He was a brilliant poet and had an incredible old writing desk. It’s the only thing that was left in the apartment, so I’m looking after it ’til his grandson moves in at the end of our lease. I work for countless hours at this old thing. It’s beat up, but I’ve patched it together enough that it won’t collapse and bury me mid-brushstroke. I’ve stuck a few of my favourite toons on the top of it.

Tool I wish I could use better: My brain. It really is a sack of cats. Whenever I want to sit and do work, it clocks off. Then it comes up with a pearler of an idea at 3 in the morning when I’m trying to sleep. I write it down in my phone, but autocorrect makes it indecipherable by morning.

I like working with my writer friend, Scott. We both do comedy at night and have developed a nice short-hand. We also seem to have the same library of references and can build on each others’ premises, which tames my sack-of-cats.

Tool I wish existed: The Deadline Extender.® I’ve never missed a deadline, but that said… an extra 3 or 4 minutes to allow for a terrible wifi connection, or a errant scanner wouldn’t go astray.

Also: The Deadline Extender® PREMIUM: Let’s you go back in time to when you were procrastinating and slap yourself in the face. $30 p/month.

Tricks: Ok, well. This is going to sound a bit Dalton Trumbo, but bear with me: I do my best work…in the bath.The most productive 3 hours of my week are during Scotchbath Sunday; an immoveable chunk of time on Sunday evening whereby I lock myself in the bathroom, run a bath, lug my drawing stuff onto a bit of wood that sits over the bath, and just write and draw. Nothing else. I write weeks worth of my syndicated comic strip (Ginger Meggs), I write New Yorker cartoons, scribble up roughs for dailies— and when I feel like I’ve earned it (usually 2 hours in) I tap the side of the bath three times, and my wife peels herself from her piano and I unlock the door to a nice big glass of scotch. It’s a hell of a carrot on a stick to work towards when you’re stuck. (PS. Lest you think I’m some kind of Don Draper-era misogynist; the scotch reward part was her idea. I think she realized it keeps me in the bath and out of her way.)

Anyway. It’s a great way to switch gears creatively. It’s like being on an aeroplane. No wifi, no phones — just the work you need to get done. Get involved. #ScotchBathSunday.

Oh! And if I get my deadlines done for the week, I have a small budget for a solo lunch somewhere where I can eat cheese and draw. I really didn’t know cheese ’til I moved to America. (And yes, I’ve already been to Wisconsin. Good Lord.)

Tips? I always tell younger artists to not even think about touching a drawing tablet until they’ve learned to draw by hand first. Otherwise they’ll always be drawing away, knowing they have the insurance of the CTRL+Z key at their disposal if they screw up a line. That’s not a good habit to have when you’re working to a deadline. But, once you do know how to draw, by all means dive head-first into the digital realm. It’s incredible. Procreate, Sketchbook or Photoshop are all great.

Misc: One of the hangovers from working in advertising illustration is that I’ve had to be a bit of a chameleon style-wise for the last 15 years and haven’t allowed myself to just settle into one style. Lately, I’ve just decided to say “Bugger it!” and try and find a loose, consistent style that I’m comfortable with, that’s an apt conduit to my silly ideas.

I always loved George Booth’s line, and his ability to create a scene with so much movement but just at the right moment in time. Also Sam Gross’ dark, hilarious cartoons with perfect line-economy. And I’d give my left arm (I draw with my right) to know how Barry Blitt has so much control with his washes…

Chatfield’s portrait of Sam Gross

While I’m geeking out, I love seeing younger cartoonists find their feet and thrive in a style that just feels like they’re speaking to you— Ellis J. Rosen, Sofia Warren, Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell, Jason Katzenstein, Amy Kurzweil, and a seemingly endless list of talented younger artists who are putting in the work are a big inspiration.

I know it should be Steig or Thurber or Addams, but my favourite cartoonist is Sergio Aragones.

I was always so enamoured of MAD growing up and studied the lines of Jack Davis, Mort Drucker, Al Jaffee and the Usual Gang of Idiots. I remember being so frustrated I couldn’t even come close to getting my work to look like theirs, but I think I found a style somewhere in between when I fell short.

I think Wil McPhail’s poses are masterful, and I wish I knew how how the hell he did that. One day I’ll trudge up to England and knock on his door to ask him. I find myself doubled-over at John Cuneo’s Instagram, and Ed Steed’s absurdly funny gags. I have a slew of toons I’ve torn out of years’ worth of magazines and taped to my studio wall, or my zillion year-old writing desk. I’m constantly humbled by how generous and welcoming the existing crop of New Yorker cartoonists have been to a goofy Aussie immigrant — Joe Dator, Matt Diffee and Pat Byrnes, Mort Gerberg and an ever-growing list of prolific, talented cartoonists who make the 99% weekly rejection tolerable.

I’ve made some of my closest friends and have been lucky enough to meet my cartooning heroes through the National Cartoonists Society. I got to spend a lot of time with Sergio at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival in the UK last year which made my year. We were signing together for a whole afternoon and I spent more time geeking out with him than signing.

Okay. Enough drooling. Sorry.

I’m a fan of cartoonists.

Website, etc. I have a weekly podcast where I throw around ideas for New Yorker cartoons with a fellow comedian and writer, Scott Dooley. It’s called “Is There Something In This?” It’s a bit of fun. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we do take the art of writing gags very seriously. It’s an extremely difficult skill to master, and we’re virtually zygotes at it. We have lots of listeners now, which is bewildering. Talking about drawing is like dancing about architecture, but here we are. Anyway you can find it on iTunes or wherever you waste time listening to podcasts.

My website is jasonchatfield.com and my comedy stuff is up at jasonchatfieldcomedy.com ( I’ve been doing stand-up comedy for 11 years. If anyone wants to come see a show, hit me up! I’ll put you on the door). My instagram is @jasonchatfield. I’m still trolling the British chap who has the @jasonchatfield handle on Twitter to no avail. To that end, I’m @jason_chatfield on Twitter.

If you want more art supplies in your life, A Case for Pencils is on Instagram and Twitter. You can also find me, Jane (the person who created/edits this blog), on Twitter here, which is where I stick the paintings that I’ve been doing instead of interviewing people consistently (I needed to balance working on other people’s work and my own work!). Oh, and If you’d like to support this blog, which is always very appreciated, there are many different ways to do so, which you can find here!

#Jason chatfield #how to draw New Yorker cartoons #artists on tumblr #art supplies #drawing process #artist interview

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jaxcynsfanland · 6 years

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Gawd Nightlight! Spend all this time flitting through my head wearing black and then change it up last minute as I'm coloring you and insist on soft blues?! Da Faq Boy?! Welp, here's to another simple picture I done did doodled. I feel like I'm doing a good job remembering how to work GIMP and even teaching myself new things, like how to get clean lines when the scanner screws them all up! 8D As I've said before, my inner child ("Tripp" as she's commonly referred to amongst the Muses and myself) has adopted Pitch as her resident father figure. When Nightlight realized this he sorta flipped a switch and went into overprotective!Guardian mode. Thing is, Nightlight in my head is a wee bit of a derp; not really sure how that happened exactly, he's just got this derpy way of talking and acting and going about his business, and I *love* it in him so much I can't bear even the thought of him changing to be any other way. Anyway, when he goes all protective Guardian mode, his sole objective was to get Tripp to safety, he just sorta tunnel-visioned on that specific goal. Now, the *common sense* thing to do would be to take the child away from the potential danger and explain to the child that the danger is not to be approached or handled in any way. Does Nightlight do this? Nope. Did Pitch *beg* him to do this? You bet your sweet ass he did. What Nightlight logic-ed in his head was, "if Nightlight is around, the bad man cannot hurt the child for Nightlights protect children, so Nightlight will stay with the child and keep the child safe from the bad man." I guess there *was* some semblance of madness in his method on account that Tripp had already bonded herself to Pitch and was dead set on keeping him in her life, ya know, despite how many times Pitch tried to pry himself free or scare her off and NOTHING seemed to work....Anyway, the trio have been nearly inseparable ever since. At first this set up had Pitch looking like the grumpiest black cat hiding under a bed you could ever hope to see. You know, the kind that swats at the child and when it realizes that's not going to work, tries to make a break for it? Only now the child has it's tail and so it digs it's claws into the carpet for dear life? But, oh, no such luck! And then the look of sheer soullessness as it's finally wrest free of the floor and squished in this totally unwanted hug of complete admiration? You know the look on a cat's face when they go through all that and they're just *begging* you to shoot them so they don't have to put up with that? Yeah, that was Pitch for a while. And I loved watching every minute of it. XD Eventually Pitch stopped swatting at my inner child. Eventually he stopped resisting her in everything altogether. Now he just accepts it and goes along with whatever demand parenting hurls his way, and he's getting pretty damn good at it too. The other Guardians are still weary and don't especially like that my inner child favors Pitch over them (I think Bunny even started crying when she rejected his offer to live in the Warren), but they've also realized that Pitch is now virtually incapable of hurting her and they have nothing to fear. Except those times when taking care of an insane 7 year old and a more childish Guardian cause Pitch to lapse into a moment of insanity himself and pop into their homes wearing silly hats and laughing psychotically as he sits in their fridge and smears mayonnaise over his face.....yeah, I don't understand why either, it's just what Nick told me happened. Not exactly what he wanted to find at 3 in the morning when he was looking for cookies to snack on....but I digress. Can I just say though that I love the way my Muses always pull themselves into these cute makeshift families? Because I do. I really, really do. :3 https://www.deviantart.com/kokusfanland

#rise of the guardians #guardians of childhood #pitch #pitch black #pitch black and nightlight #nightlight #nightmare king #inner child #bedtime #she's cute when she's asleep #inner child adopted pitch

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isabellakristen · 7 years

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Do You See This? | Chatzy

Summary: Edward finds out what the Joker's done to the city, and tells Isabella. As expected, things don’t go well Trigger warnings: Emotional abuse, imprisonment Written by: @riddle-me-that and @isabellakristen

Ridder: Ed had the news on in the background for white noise, Isabella had started this thing where she attempted to bore him into not watching her anymore but it hardly worked on him. He needed the sound however, to keep himself from losing his mind as he watched her flip the pages of his book. He nearly let out an irritated sigh, when he thought he heard a familiar voice on the TV. A voice he listened to in Arkham. Shouting out down the hallway, trying to keep the other rogues from getting a moment's peace.

He turned his head and looked at the screen with the news on it. Turning it up and feeling a pit of rage flare up in his chest. Joker was using tactics the Riddler used. He even had a cane for crying out loud. Twirling it in a dramatic gesture.

He scoffed loudly at the display and quickly turned his attention to the screen with Isabella on it. "Can you believe thi–" He hissed in her direction. Talking to her like she was in the room for a moment. He shook his head and turned her television on remotely from his location. Putting it on the station with the news on it. He thought about using the mic and ranting at her but he couldn't. It felt too soon to do that. He grunted in frustration and texted her.

[text: UNKNOWN]: Do you see this?? [text: UNKNOWN]: It's just like him to always have the first laugh.

Isabella: Isabella knew that her best attack was defence. She couldn't do anything to Edward, from where she was. She didn't know where his cameras were, or what, exactly, the extent of his reach was. All she could do was wait it out. And she realised, after a day in captivity, that, if he wanted a show, the only thing she could do was deny him one. Edward needed attention, and entertainment, and she wouldn't give it to him.

So, she simply read. She didn't look up at the ceiling, where she looked when she addressed him, like he was some sort of unseen god, ethereal and omnipresent, above her. Hours passed, and she didn't move an inch, only turning the pages of her book, reading it silently, almost finding some peace, actually losing herself in the story.

It was night now, and she was reading by the living room lamplight. She turned the page of her book, completely engrossed in it, and there was a sudden onslaught of noise and bangs and manic laughter and helicopters and sirens, and she jumped violently, her head darting up sharply. Was it an attack? It was so loud. She turned to the TV, and saw that it had turned on by itself. There was chaos in the city – a banner at the bottom of the screen said this was live. She could hardly take it all in. The Joker. Civilians laughing helplessly. Police cars careening through the streets.

For one, insane, selfish, moment, Isabella felt sickening grateful that she was being held prisoner inside her own home, so she wasn't there, surrounded by insanity.

But what about her family? What about Jubilee, and Warren, and Harry? What about Harley and Oswald and Jim? Isabella couldn't even imagine what Harley must have been going through, if she was seeing her ex, the monster she’d tried so hard to escape from, causing this devastation to the city.

She felt her insides turn to ice, and she grabbed her phone, completely ignoring Edward's texts, her hands shaking so much that she couldn't open her contacts list. She had to call them. She had to make sure her friends were okay. She knew that Edward wanted her to reply, to talk about this. That was why he'd turned the TV on. He wanted to complain about Joker. But she could only think of her friends.

Riddler: Was she ignoring him? She seemed shaken and he was too sick to understand why. It was just the Joker affecting ignorant civilians. So what if they died? She killed innocent people when she worked under him. Why did she care now? "Don't ignore me..." He muttered, flickering her tv to indicate to her that he was upset with her. She had ignored him for hours and now she was ignoring him again. She was lucky he was keeping her prisoner. She was lucky she was trapped inside her house or it might have been her dying on the news. He glared at her screen and tried to text her again.

[text: UNKNOWN]: Isabella.

He attempted. His hands shaking with energy, he almost screwed up the name. He huffed. Wanting to complain about the Joker and how much he personally didn't like the guy. He was making so much of a scene, he had the whole city's eyes on him. Ed craved that kind of attention right now and he just wasn't getting it. His head ached and he felt weirdly upset. He nearly whined her name again but he stopped himself. Isabella was ignoring him because she was concerned for some reason. It took him a while before he figured out it might be her friends.

He thought about his for a second. Oswald, Harley, Jon... but he knew they would be fine. They were strong.

[text: UNKNOWN]: Isabellaa [text: UNKNOWN]: What are you doing. Cut that out.

Isabella: The TV flickered, and Isabella hardly looked up from her screen. It was clearly a ploy from Edward – a way to get her to notice him – and she didn't have time for it. She was trying to drown out the sound of the civilians, the awful sounds of domestic terror in the city. Once she got hold of someone, she would watch the TV. It had been so long since she'd seen a TV, heard the noise of one, that it was grating, but it was her only lifeline to the outside world.

Her phone buzzed again, and a small envelope symbol appeared in the top left-hand corner of her phone, to inform her that she'd received another text. She stopped trying to scroll through her contacts – her hands were shaking so much that she kept scrolling too fast, and getting lost in the list. She was panicking a little, and she knew that, but all she could think was my family, my family, my family. She had to check up on them. Edward could wait. He had her captive all hours of the day, and she hadn't tried to reach anyone in the outside world, or leave her home, or break any of his awful rules. But now, she had to call War, Jubs, Harry, Oswald, anyone.

Her phone buzzed again, and she sighed in irritation. She knew that Edward didn't appreciate being ignored, and he obviously wanted her attention very much. At least she knew her plan to ignore him was getting under his skin. It felt like a tiny, pathetic, victory, but a victory nonetheless.

So, caving, she opened the texts. This was wasting precious time. What if Jubilee had been shot? Was she fighting? Was Warren? Was Jim there? Jim would be there, of course. He was a police officer. She stared down at Edward's messages, hardly believing the petulance of it. All he cared about was Joker showing off. She'd been faced with Edward's ridiculous ego before, but it hadn't stunned her in a long time, and she could hardly believe how completely arrogant he was.

"I'm calling my friends," she said bluntly, looking away from her phone and up at the ceiling to address Edward. "I don't know where they are. I don't know if they're there. Warren's a registered hero, and Jubilee's an ex hero. They might be fighting Joker’s men. I need to make sure they're okay." She didn't bother to hide the fear in her tone. Edward knew she had friends, and people she considered family. It would be stupid and pointless to pretend that she wasn't panicking.

It was odd, speaking to him after an entire day of completely freezing him out, and she immediately looked back down at her phone, closing the text messages, but not opening her contacts yet. She was distracted by the sound of wild laughter on the TV, and she looked up at it, trying to make sense of the chaos on the news. Oh, god, the newscaster's voice. Isabella hadn't heard another person speak out loud in over 24 hours. She stared at the newscaster, on the screen, not even taking in what he was saying. Just basking in the sound of another human speaking, for a few seconds.

Riddler: He scoffed. Warren, she said. She was worried about Warren. There was a slight discomfort in his chest. Of course she was. He thought, for a second about letting her call him but just couldn't allow it. He couldn't allow her talking to Warren of all people. He used to hate that man for how friendly he was to Isabella. For that strong physique that reminded him so much of Tom. Kristen had a type, a type he assumed that transferred to Isabella. He didn't want her to move on right now. To care deeply for Warren. She abandoned him and now she could move on. He fidgeted with his phone. Unable to stop himself.

She ignored him all day, she ignored him and now she was showing that she cared about a hero. She wasn't a villain. She was nothing like him. Out of a fit of rage he reached over and shut her power and TV off before texting her.

[text: UNKNOWN]: No.

She couldn't just ignore him again like he didn't matter. It was like she was abandoning him all over again. He knew she cared about her family, but she was imprisoned and he couldn't stop the game for this madness. He wouldn't allow her to have contact with the outside world anymore. This was supposed to be a simulation of his experience. And he had hardly any contact with the outside world.

[text: UNKNOWN]: Visiting hours are over, Isabella. [text: UNKNOWN]: Don't make me turn your phone off too.

Isabella: Suddenly, the power cut out. The living room light she'd been reading by turned off, and the TV screen went black. Isabella stared at it, squinting in the sudden darkness which, for a moment, seemed pitch black, because her eyes hadn't adjusted. The TV had been her thin, tenuous, connection to the outside world, like a tiny window through which she could see other people, the utter chaos of the city, the horror unfolding by Joker's hand. Edward had given it to her and snatched it away so suddenly, so cruelly, that she wanted to burst into tears.

The silence, which she'd grown used to, now seemed to heavy, after the sounds of the news. She missed the newscaster's voice, and knew how stupid that was, but she felt terribly alone. But she wasn't alone, of course. Edward was with her. Always.

When her phone buzzed again, Isabella had to fight back a sob. He didn't need to tell her no. She knew what he was going to say. Turning off her power had been such an obvious message. But she was still terrified for her family, her friends, her colleagues. She had to check up on people. Was Edward afraid that she was going to tell them what he was doing to her? No. That wasn't it. He just wanted to stop her doing it, because he could. This was a power trip for him. A sick, awful, game, and she was the only participant. So, she opened his messages and looked down at them, even though she knew what he was going to tell her.

Her stomach clenched tightly, and she didn't want to beg him, but she had no choice. Warren could take care of himself, she decided. He was safe. Jim was a police officer, so he'd be fine too. She mentally cycled through her friends and family, trying to think of one person she had to speak to, to see if they were okay. Maybe, if it was just one person, he would let her do it. And she knew. She knew who she needed to check on.

"You can have your fun later," she said, in a cold voice, hating that she had to appeal to his mercy. "You can punish me later. But please. Let me call Jubilee. Edward, she's my daughter. I have to know she's alright. I won't stay on the phone for more than five minutes, I swear." She couldn't keep the pathetic tone out of her voice, and she despised the fact that it cracked a little. But she had to think of Jubs, potentially in danger, potentially fighting. She had to know her daughter was safe.

Riddler: He felt the rage bubbling up in his chest. She was begging him. Begging him to allow her to speak to her daughter and he hated every second of it. He watched her as she spoke, the look on her face and the crack in her voice. His fists tightened and his teeth ground together. How dare she? He thought to himself.

He wasn't thinking when he turned on the mic and shouted loudly at her. "You took my daughter away! Why should I allow you to speak to yours?!" He snapped. Knowing it would be loud, his voice echoing through her apartment from every room.

He was quiet then for a moment, attempting to calm himself down. He shouldn't have revealed it so fast. She could probably hear the mania in his tone but he couldn't take his action back now. He took in a deep breath, shaking a little from his anger. She was acting like he was some kind of monster for what he was doing, but all he wanted to do was show her how he felt. She wouldn't understand otherwise. He bit at his lips and texted her back quickly.

[text: UNKNOWN]: I told you. Visiting hours are over. I can't allow it. [text: UNKNOWN]: I can't.

Isabella: Isabella heard a quiet click and, for a moment, she expected the power to flicker back on. But then, from some unknown source, she heard Edward shouting, and she physically, visibly, jumped. The sound of his voice went right through her, shaking her to the core. He had wanted to scare her. He could speak to her? She had spent almost two days in complete and utter isolation, with only her books and his texts for company. And she could hear his voice? It was tragic, but it made her feel less alone, just like the TV had done. And her fear was temporarily clouded by her happiness that she would be able to hear another person speak, even if it was Edward.

There was something in his voice that she recognised. A kind of manic energy, mingled with his fury. His anger wasn't surprising. But she couldn't miss the insanity beneath it. And she didn't even think about what he'd said. Her thoughts were whirring.

Had he slept, since he'd started this game? She knew what Edward was like, when he fixated on something. He'd become obsessed with torturing her. She knew that, even without hearing the mania in his tone. But had it reached that terrifying height of invulnerability, where he stopped sleeping and eating, just to hyper-fixate on watching her? The thought made her feel nauseous. She was his new favourite project.

And then she actually thought about what he'd said. She took his daughter away? Sabrina? She hadn't stolen Sabrina. Sabrina had needed someone to take care of her, someone to watch out for her, and Isabella had moved out of the city, so she'd invited Sabrina with her. But she had no idea where Edward's daughter was now. They hadn't spoken in days. Why on earth would he think she's taken Sabrina away? It was ridiculous.

Isabella blinked up into the darkness, and she had no idea what to say. Before she could speak, her phone buzzed, and she opened the texts immediately, now. He had her attention. In the back of her mind, she was still utterly terrified for Jubilee, and her friends and family, but she'd been so shaken by Edward's reveal that he could speak to her, that she was temporarily derailed.

She read the messages, and might have been imagining the desperation in his written tone. The repetition of I can't. As if he was almost trying to convince himself. Maybe he was having the tiny flicker of doubt? She knew that it was too much to hope for, but she hoped anyway. Weakly, dimly, distantly, she hoped.

"Edward, I didn't take Sabrina," she said, softly. She deliberately used her gentle, soothing, tone, the one that he used to love so much. The voice she used to use to talk him down from his frenzies. If she could just break his resolve a little more, if she could just reach him, then maybe she would be able to speak to her daughter. "I'm sorry you feel that I did. But I just wanted to make sure she had a home while you were... away."

She took a slow breath out, and fumbled with her phone in the dark, trying to feel the buttons blindly, keeping her gaze up to the ceiling, praying that he didn't have night vision on the camera, so he couldn't see what she was doing. She kept her phone facing down, trying to hide the light from him, and had no idea if she was even on the contacts list, but she kept pressing randomly, mentally picturing her phone screen as she did so.

And she spoke gently again. "Please. Let me call Jubilee. Bend the rules just this once, Edward. For old time’s sake?" Her eyes burned with tears as she said that, and she didn't press the Call button. She knew that she would suffer, if he didn't give her permission and she called Jubilee anyway. And she thought that it would be worth it, to just hear her daughter's voice, to make sure she was okay. But she wanted to avoid suffering any more than she had to.

Riddler:

[text: UNKNOWN]: You did. [text: UNKNOWN]: I got out of Arkham and you had both disappeared. You took her from me.

He texted, angrily before sighing. This was too much, he needed to ignore her for a moment. He could still see her, due to the night vision of his cameras. He could always see her, even when she couldn't see herself. He made it a point to watch her at all times. She needed to feel watched, because it would scare her and that was the whole point wasn't it? He wanted her to suffer. He wanted her to feel like this was a prison.

He dropped his phone, rubbed his hands together and turned in his chair to face away from the monitors. He felt sick, like he had too much energy and nowhere to channel it. Ed ducked his head and looked down at his hands. He was slightly trembling, his heartbeat felt fast and there was this sense of nervousness in him that just simply wasn't going away. He needed a break. He took in a few deep breaths. Isabella was there, but he felt lonely again. He wanted to talk to her but he couldn't again. He needed the mic to have a sense of meaning. And he needed his voice to give off power.

He wanted to see Penguin. Was he okay? He wanted to talk to him. Just as she wanted to speak with Jubilee.

She spoke up again. Begging to speak to Jubilee, he could hear her but his hands were still shaking and he thought about not replying for a moment. He waited a long moment before turning around in his chair, back to the monitors. Watching her, glancing at the news. He groaned. "One phone call." He said into the mic. "Five minutes."

Isabella: It was humiliating, having to beg him. Sitting there in the dark, Isabella hated herself so much. Hadn't Edward said he'd wanted her to grovel? She felt so weak and powerless and afraid. It was pathetic. What could he do, to stop her? She should just call Jubilee without permission, and take whatever punishment he devised afterwards.

But what if he hurts Jubs? She couldn't shake that fear, that marrow-deep terror that he would know what the worst punishment imaginable for her insolence was. If he hurt Jubilee instead, inflicting the suffering Isabella had earned onto her daughter, just for the sin of making a phone call. There would be some sort of poetic justice to that, wouldn't there? The way Edward had taken the punishment for Isabella's crime, and gone to Arkham, he could hand Isabella's punishment on to Jubilee.

She couldn't call unless he said yes. It was too much of a risk. Her phone buzzed again, and she looked down at the texts, and her heart sank. Edward honestly believed she'd stolen his daughter? He really thought she'd taken Sabrina? Isabella cared for Sabrina like she was her own child, and she'd just wanted to make sure she had someone to look out for her. It hadn't been out of spite. But Edward wouldn't believe her. She stared down at the typed letters, and she felt the loathing in every word. He wouldn't believe that she hadn't meant to take Sabrina away.

And you had both disappeared. Isabella hated thinking about Edward realising she'd left him. But she didn't have a choice. She'd needed to leave their house. She couldn't stand it in there, surrounded by the memories of their life together, sleeping in the bed they used to share, alone. It had been killing her, day by day. She couldn't move on with her life, if she stayed in that place. It had haunted her. So, she'd moved cities and run away and left Edward behind, like he'd told her to do. He'd told her to go, so she'd gone.

The silence dragged, and she didn't dare break it. She fiddled with her phone, but didn't call Jubilee. She could feel Edward deliberating, mulling it over, considering this small act of mercy. Please say yes, please say yes, she thought, over and over. And then, he spoke again, and she gasped when he granted her this wish. It was so tiny, but she felt gratitude – shameful and embarrassing gratitude – squirm inside her stomach. She sighed quietly. "Thank you, Edward," she said, into the darkness, already looking down at her phone, calling Jubilee.

What would she say? How would she be able to stay calm? The phone rang and rang. And rang. Isabella pressed it against her cheek, and sat perfectly still, with her eyes closed. She tried to forget Edward's watchful gaze, the fact that he would probably regret being kind, the fact that she was his prisoner. All she focused on was Jubs, her daughter. Another ring. And another. And then the automatic, robot, voicemail message. Isabella wanted to burst into tears at the sound of it, but then there was a beep, and she had to talk immediately, or Jubilee would receive a voicemail that would only scare her.

"Hello, darling. I saw the news. I hope you're okay. Please, please, don't do anything reckless. I'm safe, and holed up somewhere. I'm not in any danger." She kept her tone light and happy and sickeningly bright. "You won't be able to call me back, I'm afraid. But please text me when you get this, okay? Be safe, Jubilee. I love you. So, so, much."

And she ended the voicemail immediately, because she couldn't say anymore. She didn't think about Edward, or what he was going to say next. She just let the tears fall, and she held her phone in her lap and bent her head and cried in quiet, gasping, sobs, grateful for the darkness, because there was a slim chance that he couldn't see her break down.

Riddler: He still felt a sense of sickness, listening to the way she spoke lovingly to her daughter. He wanted to roll his eyes, she had this motherly, sweet role to her. A role she had always had but... he wasn't sure if it was real anymore. She had left him when he most needed her.

He frowned and got back to his feet. Staring at the monitor again for a bit, she finished up with her message and after a second – he could hear her soft crying. He felt a very slight sense of guilt within himself, but he wasn't sure why. He shouldn't feel guilty. He clutched his fists again and shook quietly. His head aching. He hated this. He was supposed to like this.

He wouldn't let her on though, and brought up his phone with a shaking hand. Thinking about ridiculing her for crying but he couldn't do that for some reason. He shifted his eyes away from the monitors again and muted the sound of her quickly. He couldn't stand listening to that sound anymore.

[text: UNKNOWN]: It's bed time.

That was all he said. He was still a disaster. He needed a shower and he needed something to wear... it was dangerous on the streets right now. He didn't want to leave her alone but he did want to visit Os. He needed to get out of the space he had spent days in, it felt almost like a cell right now. His safehouse was feeling awfully cramped.

He took a second before looking towards the monitor one last time. He'd continue texting her like he never left his safehouse but for now, he'd leave her to cry. He hoped she wouldn't see it as a kindness.

Isabella: Isabella tried to cry quietly, but she knew that Edward would be able to hear her anyway. She clutched her stomach and hunched over and sobbed. Throughout all of this, she hadn't cried. Ever since she'd learned that he'd trapped her inside her own house, and wanted to turn it into her own personal Arkham, she had not broken down. She'd come very, very, close. Of course she had. But she'd always managed to hold it in, to keep herself together, to keep up the paper-thin facade of indifference. Because Edward would enjoy the sound of her crying, and she couldn't stand that.

But now? She couldn't stop. Hearing the sound of an automated voicemail instead of Jubilee's voice snapped something inside her, and Isabella just bowed her head and sobbed to herself. It hurt. It hurt so much. She was alone in the dark with the man who had killed her, the man who she had murdered for, watching over her like a god. And outside, in the real world, people were being attacked by Joker and there wasn't a thing Isabella could do about it. There was the real world, with Warren and Jubilee and Jim and Harry. And there was her world. With her and Edward.

Her phone vibrated again, with another message, and she rubbed her eyes, blinking quickly. If he laughed at her, if he mocked her in any way for being so weak, she didn't think it would even hurt. But she opened the new text, and saw three patronising words. It's bed time.

Relief washed over her in a cool wave. He was leaving her alone. He was letting her rest. And she breathed out a sound that was half a sob and half a sigh, and just did as she was told. It was easier. It was easier not to fight him anymore. He told her to go to bed, and she was so weary, and so she did.

She couldn't bring herself to stand up from the couch, so she lay down on her side and curled into a foetal position, with her knees drawn up to her chest, still crying softly. How many times had she curled up like this with Edward right beside her, as they watched a movie, or he dozed in front of her, with her arm over his waist?

Isabella closed her eyes. Her friends and family would be safe. They had to be.

#chatzy.#riddlemethat #hera!event #emotional abuse tw #imprisonment tw #[EVERYTHING IS HURTING RIGHT NOW]#[NOTHING IS OKAY]

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victoriagloverstuff · 6 years

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5 Great Books of Hollywood Outsiders

The Los Angeles literary genre became a household staple when my family moved there from Italy in 1994. My parents unloaded garage sale finds of Joan Didion, Nathanael West, Christopher Isherwood, and Raymond Chandler, and countless celebrity biographies at the house every weekend. The books were intended as literary tour guides to understand a certain kind of loneliness, a feeling of being unhinged that was specific to the city, particularly Hollywood; the pinnacles of success and dark areas of addiction of Jerry Stahl’s Permanent Midnight, the sordid repertoire of Kenneth Anger’s Hollywood Babylon, and Marya Wyeth’s painful meanderings in Joan Didion’s Play It As It Lays were a warning about the things that could happen to the women of the land: psychiatric ward internments, suicides, divorce, and nocturnal excursions on freeways.

For me, the texts functioned as group therapy, introducing me to a circle of ghosts and living legends that provided much needed comfort: everyone went through it—brutality, fear, solitude, miraculous streaks of good luck, bursting bank accounts and overdrawn notices. Whether or not you became successful, the toll was always the same. Nathanael West’s The Day of The Locust reassured me that madness was not elitist. It visited the rich and the poor, the industry’s insiders and newcomers without distinction. Jean Stein’s oral history West of Eden, Eve Babitz’s L.A. Woman and Slow Days Fast Company, and David Ulin’s anthology Writing Los Angeles live by my bedside table and serve as a plane ticket from Italy whenever I want to escape to grandeur, desperation, and lust.

But as much as I love a good LA-based novel or essay, I’ve noticed that the stories that truly kept me company were the ones about outsiders, the people who lived on the fringes of show business and re-invented the rules according to their own vision. Maybe everyone in Hollywood feels like an outsider, but below are my favorite ones.

Christopher Isherwood Diaries, Volume 1, 1939-1960, ed. Katherine Bucknell

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A European writer in exile, Isherwood immigrated to the United States in 1939 with his friend W.H. Auden and joined the community of expats, artists, and intellectuals who had fled Nazism. As uncontrollably cool as Isherwood was, there was no way he could not have been an outsider: British, gay, a pacifist, an ardent explorer of Hinduism, mysticism, and vedantic consciousness, and the future life partner of a man thirty years younger than him.

He worked in Hollywood as a writer for hire, but to him it was a way to have an income: “The studio, is just an office I visit in the daytime.” His diaries offer a unique insight into the feelings of those who had been lucky enough to escape the war. He essentially became an outsider observing outsiders, people striving to find a moral balance between everything they had left behind (war, deportations, bombings, persecution) and everything they were stepping into (sunshine, movies, ocean).

How did they navigate the duality of this shaky territory? Where and how did their sense of guilt for having escaped come into play? The diaries are also filled with observations about Hollywood figures like Greta Garbo. In particular I adore his account of a picnic with the diva and the guru Krishnamurti: “Garbo was anxious to meet Krishnamurti. She was naturally drawn to prophets––genuine or otherwise . . . She wanted to be told the secret to eternal youth, the meaning of life—but quickly in one lesson, before her butterfly attention wandered away.”

The Animals: Love Letters Between Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy, ed. by Katherine Bucknell

Katherine Bucknell deserves a monument for the archival work she’s done editing Isherwood’s diaries. It’s thanks to her research and drive that I encountered the epistolary relationship between Christopher Isherwood and his lover, the American portrait artist Don Bachardy. The two met in 1952, becoming involved shortly thereafter and openly living together in Hollywood for decades as a gay couple with a big age gap. Through their letters (and the subsequent podcast curated by Bucknell, where Simon Callow interprets Isherwood’s letters and Alan Cumming plays Bachardy) I fell in love with this brave and visionary couple.

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The letters reveal what it means to be a real artist, true to your calling, essentially timeless and disconnected from fashion, moralist impositions, and lifestyle trends. Isherwood allowed their love story to develop over years and long distances (Hollywood, New York, London, and continental Europe) so that Bachardy could develop his artistic career and see the world. The Animals is both a book about love and a book that teaches us the grace of being part of one’s artistic milieu (literature, film, art, ballet in this case) without falling into the trap of having to adhere to its rules. Isherwood and Bachardy wrote to each other for years in the guise of horse and cat. Bachardy was “Kitty”, “Fluffcat,” “Sweetpaws,” and Isherwood is “Drub,” “Dobbin,” “Old Pony.” The safe animal world they created was their way of making sense of their existence, lived simultaneously on the fringes of society and in extreme engagement with it.

Peter Viertel, The Canyon

This somewhat autobiographical coming of age gem from 1940 is virtually impossible to find today. The protagonist, George, grows up in a canyon by the ocean with a small gang of friends, a delightful cast that includes Betsy, a sensual tomboy who opens him up to his budding sexuality. As the kids grow they become more aware of their class differences, and the wild, free life of the canyon grows more complex and layered. At 17 the group breaks up for good. In the novel, a twenty-something George ponders those days of early youth and the way in which a small neighborhood was once considered a town.

Even though this is not a proper Hollywood book, it is written by a personality who is Hollywood as they come. Peter Viertel was the son of poet and theatre director Berthold Viertel, and screen and fiction writer Salka Viertel, who was a great friend of Greta Garbo and a godmother figure to Isherwood. They immigrated to America during the First World War when Peter was still a boy. On Sundays, the Viertel house hosted members of a certain kind of bohemian expat community, including Marlene Dietrich, Charles Chaplin, and Aldous Huxley. This novel is in a way a reflection of Peter’s own relationship with the land and people he was tied to from an early stage in life. Somewhere beneath the surface is the suggestion that if you move to Los Angeles, Hollywood will find a way to creep inside the hidden canyon of your community, break up your friendships, and instill its barriers, determining from early on who is in and who is out.

Isis Aquarian with Electricity Aquarian, The Source: The Untold Story of Father Yod, Ya Ho Wa 13, and The Source Family

Thanks to the documentary Wild Wild Country, it has become easier to understand why hundreds of wide-eyed young people would live communally, run organic restaurants, and follow a charismatic guru who acts like a rock star. I have always been fascinated by Father Yod, an otherworldly Hollywood Hills figure who started a commune and married 14 women, all of whom were young, beautiful and seemingly either pregnant, breastfeeding or with small children on their hips.

This book, edited by one of these very women, Isis Aquarian, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing for Document Journal has been an essential travel companion for me since I first discovered it. Part oral history, part photography book, it documents the lives of the members of the Source family, the other side of the coin of the Manson family. As Isis says: “We were the beautiful, rich and generous. We had sex, drugs and rock and roll, but we encountered the spirit.” Father opened The Source Cafe in the late 1960s on Sunset strip, hosting a bunch of kids in a mansion in the hills in exchange for their work at the restaurant.

In its heyday, the Cafe’s patrons included Jack Nicholson, Frank Zappa, Julie Christie, Marlon Brando, and Warren Beatty. But not long after the Manson murders of 1969, Hollywood had little patience left for white robes and polyamorous cult leaders, and the very people who had enjoyed the “divertissement” of this peculiar gang of Hollywood cool kids were the ones who drove them out of the city. Though the family possessed the aura of rock stars (father fronted a psychedelic rock band called Ya Ho Wa 13. The CD is included in the book) this remains a story of outcasts and lost souls. When the family broke up, several of them relocated together to Hawaii in 1974, only to be rejected by the locals there. With nowhere to go and very little money left, Father Yod made a grand exit by jumping off a cliff with a hand glider on a windy day. He broke his back, refused to go to a hospital, and died surrounded by his most faithful “children.” This exceptional book goes hand in hand with the The Source Family a feature length documentary directed by Jodi Wille and Maria Demopoulos.

Michael Frank, The Mighty Franks

The Hollywood memoir as a genre in itself deserves a whole other best-of list in my personal repertoire. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it weren’t for Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking, Drew Barrymore’s Little Girl Lost, Priscilla Presley’s Elvis and Me, and the classic Mommy Dearest by Christina Crawford. Within this genre, Michael Frank’s recent memoir, The Mighty Franks, is a tsunami of everything I love most: a dysfunctional family with no sense of boundaries, Laurel Canyon, European Jewish émigrés, amazing style, and a passion for arts and film. At the center of this story is the relationship between young Michael and his mercurial, seductive aunt Harriet, or “Hankie,” who elects him as the heir of the family’s artistic legacy––aunt Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch are screenwriters and producers, and the title The Mighty Franks is Hankie’s way of addressing the family.

Good read found on the Lithub

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progarchy · 7 years

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Better late than never. I apologize for the delay in posting, but 2017 has been very eventful for me.

The first Frank Zappa song I ever head was “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow.” I was attending college at the time and broadening my musical horizons. This introduction to the Zappa Universe was thanks to a certain infamous file sharing program. The first time I heard this bizarre, hysterical and musically acrobatic “song,” I think I stared at my computer screen and blinked, not knowing what the hell just happened. I dove into this music thanks to the likes of Steve Vai, Warren Cuccurullo and Dream Theater. And any song that begins with “Dreamed I was an Eskimo” had to be crazy special and deviously clever. It was, and it was merely a preview of the eccentric brilliance that was out there in the Zappa catalogue. Several purchases later and a couple chance encounters with Mike Keneally and Steve Vai (a Martin Guitar Clinic and NAMM appearance), I found myself itching to somehow experience Zappa’s music in a live setting. Behold, Zappa Plays Zappa is born, brainchild of Dweezil Zappa.

This leg of the tour was in part a celebration of the Freak Out! album and entitled “50 Years of Frank: Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%k He Wants – The Cease and Desist Tour.” The name of the tour is a response to the trademark dispute that has occurred between Dweezil Zappa and the Zappa Family Trust (Ahmet Zappa/Executor). The trust ordered that Dweezil cease using the “Zappa Plays Zappa” moniker and to cease using images of his father, Frank Zappa, on all merchandizing. The details of this dispute can be found elsewhere and it’s a very sad read. Frank Zappa passed away in 1993 and left a mountain of a musical legacy behind. He was regarded as a genius, an avant-garde innovator that was never afraid to break the rules. He was also one hell of a guitar player. Dweezil Zappa has carried on this legacy by presenting the music of Frank Zappa at his live shows. It is only fitting that Dweezil, an accomplished guitarist in his own right, honor that heritage and with stellar musicians, many of whom were part of incarnations of Frank’s touring bands. For this touring cycle, the group would present selections including songs from Freak Out!, the debut album by The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa’s first rock combo.

The Freak Out! tracks are the wackiest, and yet some of the most brilliant music pieces you’ll ever experience. It didn’t sound like anything that was around at the time and still doesn’t sound like anything that’s out now. It’s freaky, complex, intricate, fun, jazzy, zany, it grooves, it boogies, it rocks, it sways, and it’s just one giant amalgamation of bizarre sound and eccentric brilliance. The vocals dart from spoken word narration, to lounge singing, to doo-wop, to soulful crooning, and on and on and on. It’s madness. But there’s something amazingly entertaining and musical about it. Only a certain breed of power musicians can pull off this crazy, impossible to play music with heart AND expert precision. The current line-up is no exception. They’re like musical super heroes. The Zappa musicians have always been untouchable players and unusual characters: Odd, weird, funky, freaky, cool, but above all…freaking geniuses. And at the core of this line up is a mellow and low-key guitarist in jeans and a black V-neck, armed with a gentle smile and a Gibson SG. There’s a calmness and serenity to Dweezil when he’s onstage, it’s spellbinding watching him, seeing him lay down his parts with nurturing care, then seeing how he glances over at his bandmates with equal parts pride and a quiet joy.

Zappa Plays Zappa is no stranger to Fresno. Fortunately for us, the group has performed in this area once or twice previously. Kudos to the group and booking agents for not forsaking our little neck of the woods. From the moment the group came onstage we knew we were in for an unmatched experience, variety and virtuosity. From the netherworldly bounce of “Transylvania Boogie,” to the vocal hilarity and madness of “It Can’t Happen Here,” the soulful “How Could I Be Such a Fool?” to the creepy waltz of “Who Are the Brain Police?,” it was an insanely wild roller coaster ride. During a pause, many in the audience began shouting song titles. Someone shouted “Watermelon!” Dweezil with a playful smirk said something like “Requests? You’ know what we’re gonna do?…We’re gonna stick to the fucking setlist, that’s what we’re gonna do,” and with a smile he and the group powered on. David Luther on lead vocals, guitar, keys, and bary sax, was an eerily perfect match for this group. That deep voice is a striking resemblance to Ike Willis, Napoleon Murphy Brock and Frank Zappa’s vocal style. “It Can’t Happen Here” is a great example of that zany vocal delivery. “What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning?” saw vocalists Cian Coey and Scheila Gonzalez harmonize and sing the hell out of that song. It was an exercise in power soul. The set had transitioned from Freak Out! era tracks to 200 Motels. And then the band reduced itself to a power trio, with Dweezil, Ryan Brown and Kurt Morgan ripping into a bitchin’ version of “Apostrophe,” the title track of the same album. You could feel and hear the great Jim Gordon and Jack Bruce in their playing. Bassist, Kurt Morgan, was awesome to watch. His facial expressions, nonverbals, mannerisms, his movements onstage. The way he curled his lips and bobbed his head when he locked into a tight, thunderous groove. And damn, no one, I mean NO ONE can rock cargo shorts and orange socks like that man. Throughout the concert, Kurt was playing insane bass parts, singing backgrounds, AND having an incredibly euphoric time while doing it. You could see the musical joy on that man’s face. And the way he played that bass during “Apostrophe,” I’m amazed those strings didn’t fuse onto the fretboard with all the kinetic energy and heat going on. About drumming power-house Ryan Brown, wow, everyone in this group has a legacy of big shoes to fill. The drummers in all the Zappa groups have always had the distinction of being an “it” guy, drummer’s drummers. One has to continue a legacy built upon and including Jimmy Carl Black, Ansley Dunbar, Vinnie Colaiuta, Terry Bozzio, Ed Mann, Chester Thompson, Chad Wackerman and Joe Travers. Bottom line, the drummer had better be a bad ass drummer. Ryan was able to easily channel the spirits of all the Zappa alums that came before him, and laid down a kicking groove while keeping all the intricacies and nuances needed to pull off those complex parts. And then there’s the striking Scheila Gonzalez, who can’t be a real person.She has to be some kind of musical virtuoso android fem-bot sent from the future. She’s an accomplished, award winning multi-instrumentalist, able to play flute, sax, keys, and sing like her life depended on it. She possesses a powerful voice, husky and throaty, and it gels well with Cian Coey’s raspy yet soulful diva vocals. Main keyboard player and violinist Chris Norton brought it all together, gluing the group together and anchoring it with complex leads and great background singing as well. KILLER line-up. At one point during the set, Dweezil made reference to these songs, the bizarre qualities of the music and how it all must have freaked out parents in the 60s. Dweezil expressed “This isn’t music from the past, it’s music from the future. We just haven’t caught up with it yet.” The group continued to faithfully execute pieces like “Inca Roads,” “Zomby Woof,” “Doreen/You Are What You Is,” “Keep It Greasy,” “Packard Goose,” and of course the lovely and tender closer to Joe’s Garage (and my biggest reason for attending this concert), “Watermelon in Easter Hay.” It gently murmurs its way into the world, delicate and dreamy, with a guitar tone that borders between space rock and surf rock (think of Santo and Johnny’s “Sleepwalk”). I have this deeply sentimental connection to that song. When I think of that melody, I think of my young kids, and snapshots of the joy and color of their growing up comes to mind, I’m not sure why. The song is regarded by many, including Dweezil, as Frank Zappa’s greatest guitar solo. There are several videos showing a composed yet emotional Dweezil Zappa, performing that song with great care and reverence as tears roll down his face. I think this Fresno gig had him just as nostalgic. Side note: Duran Duran performed a version of this song during a 1994 New York City concert, with Warren Cuccurullo on guitar (a Zappa alumnus, kind of young, kind of wow). The show continued with encores and the final closer, “Muffin Man.” This was an insanely great concert, performed by master musicians. It deepened my appreciation for Zappa’s brand of weird but devastatingly awesome music. I’m so fortunate I was able to see these guys close to home. If you have even the slightest inclination to go see this group, please do, you won’t regret it. Just watch out where the huskies go.

Concert Review: Dweezil Zappa (Zappa Plays Zappa) @ The Tower Theater, Fresno CA 05/03/17 Better late than never. I apologize for the delay in posting, but 2017 has been very eventful for me.

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zenruption · 7 years

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The Daily Disaster-4/26

Add to Flipboard Magazine.

AN UNDER-APPRECIATED PROBLEM WITH THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY IS HOW HE AND HIS STAFF CONTINUOUSLY NORMALIZE DISASTER. BECAUSE WE WITNESS NEW SCANDALS, GAFFES, COVERUPS, HYPOCRISY, MISDIRECTION, INCOMPETENCE, ATROCITY, CRONYISM, IGNORANCE, RACISM, XENOPHOBIA, TREASON, EMBARRASSMENT, LIES, DYSFUNCTION, POWER GRABS, WAR ESCALATIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL ASSAULTS, MISOGYNY AND MORE ON A DAILY BASIS, THE MAGNITUDE OF EACH IS DIMINISHED IN OUR CONSCIOUSNESS BY THE SIMPLE VIRTUE THAT WE HAVE BECOME SATURATED. BECAUSE OF THIS, WE AT ZENRUPTION WILL BE PUBLISHING A DAILY CURATION OF THE EVENTS THAT HAVE BEEN REPORTED, FROM VARIOUS SOURCES, INCLUDING LEAKS WITHIN THE WHITE HOUSE, SO THAT WE CAN FULLY EXPERIENCE THE LEVEL OF DISASTER OUR EXECUTIVE BRANCH HAS BECOME AND THE IMPLICATIONS IT HAS ON ALL OF US. Today, April 26, 2017

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and contribute!

By Jerry Mooney

The U.S. recorded its slowest economic growth in five years (2016). GDP up only 1.6%. Trade deficits hurt the economy very badly.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2017

...the Ninth Circuit, which has a terrible record of being overturned (close to 80%). They used to call this "judge shopping!" Messy system.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2017

Out of our very big country, with many choices, does everyone notice that both the "ban" case and now the "sanctuary" case is brought in ...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2017

First the Ninth Circuit rules against the ban & now it hits again on sanctuary cities-both ridiculous rulings. See you in the Supreme Court!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2017

Two giant tax breaks for most Americans seem on the table: 1) the value of your mortgage deduction 2) tax breaks from your 401(k)

— West Wing Reports (@WestWingReport) April 26, 2017

Protections for those w/ pre-existing conditions has always been one of the most popular parts of the ACA. 87% support in a March CNN poll. pic.twitter.com/axNl2K0HFR

— Nick Gourevitch (@nickgourevitch) April 20, 2017

^^^ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . pic.twitter.com/iqcoOcGiPi

— JΞSŦΞR ✪ ΔCŦUAL³³º¹ (@th3j35t3r) April 26, 2017

Via @AynRandPaulRyan ❤️ pic.twitter.com/UwT0rjHmml

— Alt_Dept. of Labor💃 (@alt_labor) April 26, 2017

Nothing says FREEDOM like taking away protections for people with pre-existing conditions... ...oh wait except for members of Congress. https://t.co/Y6odu9qbCs

— Rogue White House (@RogueWhiteHouse) April 26, 2017

RT- Fight back against #ACA repeal. Here's the list of potentially vulnerable GOP Reps based on Nov. election data. Call them.#RESIST NOW pic.twitter.com/VaufNAfmER

— State of Resistance (@AltStateDpt) April 26, 2017

Keep chipping away at it Trump. By 'it' I mean the law and the Constitution. pic.twitter.com/gPsfxbiBJM

— JΞSŦΞR ✪ ΔCŦUAL³³º¹ (@th3j35t3r) April 26, 2017

House Freedom Caucus lining up behind revised healthcare bill https://t.co/WMIXLX2OaI

— West Wing Reports (@WestWingReport) April 26, 2017

@realDonaldTrump Ok see you there!!! pic.twitter.com/f9M8sfen7g

— Alt_Dept. of Labor💃 (@alt_labor) April 26, 2017

Pres can't understand "...why there aren't more golf courses in national parks. Yellowstone would be so great to play." #AntiquitiesAct

— Rogue WH Snr Advisor (@RogueSNRadvisor) April 26, 2017

Does this make you as mad as it makes us? Call your member of Congress and tell them to vote NO on Trumpcare: https://t.co/xeIZXIBnN6 pic.twitter.com/MfOeQNoQPl

— Rogue White House (@RogueWhiteHouse) April 26, 2017

My latest #USAToday column: four basic things the President could do to broaden his support https://t.co/xmFZBWMOXp https://t.co/DNNCR6jAsk

— West Wing Reports (@WestWingReport) April 26, 2017

Ivanka is simply a version of her hypocritical father w/ a better grasp of sentence structure. Nothing more. Nothing less. https://t.co/NSnSYzYxEs

— State of Resistance (@AltStateDpt) April 26, 2017

You know Obamacare wins when Reps are trying to replace it, but keep it for themselves. #thanksobama https://t.co/wslv9GMJND via @voxdotcom

— Alt Dept of ED (@Alt_DeptofED) April 26, 2017

Let's get on those phones today! Plz RT pic.twitter.com/7r84weNUiZ

— ALT DOJ (@ALT_DOJ) April 26, 2017

Pres has now tried 3 times to "fire all the judges" by calling "special meetings". We kind of just let him tire himself out, like a baby.

— Rogue WH Snr Advisor (@RogueSNRadvisor) April 26, 2017

Still safe... #resist #persist @KelliGoneRogue @Alt_DeptofED pic.twitter.com/STfLUOQCA2

— Robert Spence (@BurbankRob) April 26, 2017

Today POTUS will make his case for war. Not because it's necessary. Because he thinks it's what a President is supposed to do.

— Rogue POTUS Staff (@RoguePOTUSStaff) April 26, 2017

Precisely. All the praise for being "Presidential" when he bombed Syria went to his head. Now he's looking for his next fix. https://t.co/1Rwhxf2IdD

— Rogue POTUS Staff (@RoguePOTUSStaff) April 26, 2017

President, who backed away from a trade war with China ("they're not currency manipulators," he now says) has turned his sights to Canada

— West Wing Reports (@WestWingReport) April 26, 2017

Trump admin refuses to hand over documents about Michael Flynn to the House Oversight Committee. Sometimes silence speaks the loudest.

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 25, 2017

Unusual event: As tensions w/North Korea rise, all 100 Senators have been invited to a White House briefing today. President will "drop by"

— West Wing Reports (@WestWingReport) April 26, 2017

President has spoken of how big and important his tax plan is. But he won't be on hand for its formal unveiling today, his schedule shows

— West Wing Reports (@WestWingReport) April 26, 2017

@realDonaldTrump You called Russian spy Mike Flynn in the middle of the night to ask if a strong dollar or weak dollar was good. lol. YOU KNOW NOTHING.

— Rogue CPI (@RogueCPI) April 26, 2017

@realDonaldTrump And for the record, did you just call it a ban?

— Rogue CPI (@RogueCPI) April 26, 2017

@realDonaldTrump Challenging the judiciary? Keep dipping your toe in the authoritarian waters, Donald. We won't allow it. We will hand you your ASS.

— Rogue CPI (@RogueCPI) April 26, 2017

@realDonaldTrump If your staff wasn't incompetent this wouldn't be happening. Thankfully, they are.

— Rogue CPI (@RogueCPI) April 26, 2017

Mike Flynn did not act alone! Mike Flynn did not act alone! Mike Flynn did not act alone! Mike Flynn did not act alone!#trumprussia #resist pic.twitter.com/yKN5IHoKiC

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) April 25, 2017

NEW POLL: Majority says funding for Trump's border wall not worth a government shutdown https://t.co/9qj4gDGmvu pic.twitter.com/ES1smjjCw5

— The Hill (@thehill) April 26, 2017

U.S. may need stronger defense against North Korea missiles: admiral https://t.co/euCnsjRKNT

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) April 26, 2017

BREAKING: Here that one-pager on the White House's tax reform plan just handed out by Spicer. pic.twitter.com/Ciu9DIPah9

— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) April 26, 2017

Playbook beyond the Beltway: -The state of play on the shutdown -HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS to support AHCAhttps://t.co/EwYGjDHBI5 pic.twitter.com/sBYC3UQgR6

— POLITICO Playbook (@playbookplus) April 26, 2017

LIVE: Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin and National Economic Director Gary Cohn unveil Trump's tax proposal https://t.co/K6ZyyxOaLt

— Reuters Live (@ReutersLive) April 26, 2017

Trump to LePage: "I knew him when he was heavy and now I know him when he was thin and I like him both ways, okay?” https://t.co/dLPWoQUgOd pic.twitter.com/zpKX4eOwop

— POLITICO (@politico) April 26, 2017

Republicans continue painting PR masterpiece by trying to exempt selves from Obamacare repeal: https://t.co/zeOU79eJDN pic.twitter.com/tmPkB7m6gc

— Slate (@Slate) April 26, 2017

Flynn stonewall underscores FBI/House/Senate Intel belief there is a Trump "Active Cover-up" on Russia pic.twitter.com/jDZM2LdKM5

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) April 26, 2017

The last thing we need is a tax code even more rigged in favor of billionaires and corporate insiders. #AgainstAllOdds https://t.co/7Z3yBAEEnr

— Demos (@Demos_Org) April 26, 2017

Trump's tax plan would repeal estate tax, reduce number of income tax brackets to three: report https://t.co/m5E1aRPpEw pic.twitter.com/4TN7GllGfD

— The Hill (@thehill) April 26, 2017

Trumpcare just became even more cruel https://t.co/wG26gAYeTr pic.twitter.com/6Ga74IClPU

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) April 26, 2017

.@DouthatNYT makes the only honest case you can make in favor of Trump's 100 days: it could have been worse. https://t.co/kYmGSXnOcn

— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) April 26, 2017

Trump is reportedly threatening to blow up Obamacare payments https://t.co/ftmsp8EsXD

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) April 26, 2017

Trump "is increasingly being treated as a normal president even though he is anything but," says @MaxBoot. https://t.co/6CeiNOuGnd

— Warren Bass (@warren_bass) April 26, 2017

Watch a GOP staffer go on a tirade about how doomed Donald Trump's corporate tax cut is: https://t.co/IjZ7jUPKYf pic.twitter.com/OOKUfvG846

— Slate (@Slate) April 26, 2017

Trump's hastily written tax plan could wind up alienating critical Hill Republicans https://t.co/poHx024q9r pic.twitter.com/mJzHlTw0tT

— POLITICO (@politico) April 26, 2017

WH has found a great formula for losing: issue questionable order, say things that hurt DOJ argument, & attack judges who control its fate. https://t.co/O7hbN0tL9S

— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) April 26, 2017

WH has found a great formula for losing: issue questionable order, say things that hurt DOJ argument, & attack judges who control its fate. https://t.co/O7hbN0tL9S

— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) April 26, 2017

Trump considering executive order to withdraw US from NAFTA https://t.co/Rjp0GGhUxY pic.twitter.com/XD6daCKEbD

— The Hill (@thehill) April 26, 2017

Senate Intel Chairman Richard Burr has financial investment in Russia-tied oil drilling company https://t.co/YEkaLfN8xH #Russiagate

— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) April 26, 2017

JUST IN: Freedom Caucus will support new ObamaCare repeal bill https://t.co/eL4uGrm6Qy pic.twitter.com/ogOz150YUS

— The Hill (@thehill) April 26, 2017

Fate of AHCA in the house now rests w 23 reps from districts HRC won, where #resistance activism has greatest chance to have an effect.

— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) April 26, 2017

Freedom Caucus endorses latest Republican plan to revise Obamacarehttps://t.co/igLdTpe5hu

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 26, 2017

Holder: Trump's voter fraud comments lay foundation for voter suppression https://t.co/3yzvH5ClZy pic.twitter.com/FeG9O05M9b

— The Hill (@thehill) April 26, 2017

Steven Mnuchin thinks Trump can fix taxes, reports @gillianbwhite https://t.co/2o134BD63U pic.twitter.com/IFj08gDHQl

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) April 26, 2017

Poll: Nearly 4 in 10 believe Trump campaign helped Russia meddle in election https://t.co/8caRQABrbG pic.twitter.com/HSJzqEJX3G

— The Hill (@thehill) April 26, 2017

Why it's impossible for Republicans to investigate the Trump-Russia scandal https://t.co/ZwlQjEqMQp pic.twitter.com/PsHV2EkRiW

— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) April 26, 2017

Trump's mystical grasp of time is straining the limits of grammar: https://t.co/lsmPkrbT83 pic.twitter.com/iUWQfQkiMZ

— Slate (@Slate) April 26, 2017

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